Thorfinnson Names Rotary International Director
Posted by Steve Frazier
Thorfinnson named Rotary International Director
Edina, Minn., July 15, 2009 – Tom Thorfinnson of Eden Prairie recently began a two-year term as one of 19 members of Rotary International's Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors is the administrative body of Rotary International. Its 19 members include the Rotary International president, president-elect and 17 directors who are nominated by the clubs and elected at the Rotary International Convention. The Board controls and manages Rotary International affairs and funds in conformity with the international service organization's constitution and bylaws.
Thorfinnson was formally elected at the 2008 Rotary International Convention in Los Angeles, but his term began July 1, 2009. He represents Zones 28 and 29, which includes Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and parts of Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Canada.
"As with most Rotarians, I hope and pray that my contributions truly help make a difference in this world," said Thorfinnson to fellow Rotarians at the beginning of the Rotary year July 1. "Every new position we take on for Rotary brings new opportunities to make a difference through service. For each of us the opportunities for service will be there, as will the need for our helping hand."
A member of the Noon Rotary Club of Eden Prairie, Thorfinnson is general counsel for Accra Care, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides health care to those in need, and is on the Board of Directors for the First Minnetonka City Bank. He has served Rotary as a task force member and a Reach Out to Africa Service Associate Countries Subcommittee member. Thorfinnson also was part of the North America Polio Eradication Fundraising Campaign leadership team. He has received the Rotary International Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He has led nine volunteer trips to Haiti and Nigeria and is an active supporter of water projects in developing countries. Thorfinnson is the first Rotary International Director to come out of District 5950 in more than three decades. He and his wife, Jamie, live in Eden Prairie.
For more information on Rotary International or its Directors, visit www.rotary.org. For more information on Zones 28 and 29, visit www.zones28-29.org.