District Governor Jim Nelson

Our Program on July 22nd was the annual official visit of the new District Governor to our club. He is Jim Nelson, a member of Minneapolis City of the Lakes Club, an attorney, and a resident of Edina. His term as governor extends from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

            Prior to our luncheon meeting, the club’s board met with Jim in an informal discussion of where our club is and where we intend to go in the present year. Our clubs goals seem to parallel the direction of the district.  His talk to the club focused on the goals of the international club, and of the district.

            He was born and raised in Breckinridge MN, where his father was a lawyer and a Rotarian. His father died when Jim was a teenager, so his experiences with Rotary lay dormant until 1999, when a friend asked him to join present club. He felt very good being back in Rotary after being raised in a Rotary tradition.

            His talk focused on the four-way test, and the five avenues of Rotary: fellowship, service, diversity, integrity, and leadership. He spoke of the need to get new members for Rotary, as the current membership is aging. He talked about the Rotary Foundation, and how it helps us all do what needs to be done, and asked that we consider increasing our annual individual donations, pointing out that the money is used for matching grants for club projects, as well as Polio Plus, and especially the new focus of Rotary, safe water projects.