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Home My WebLink About3.a. Volunteer recognition4�&C-I)SEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council regular meeting: April 16, 2013 AGENDA ITEM: Volunteer recognition AGENDA SECTION: PREPARED BY: William H. Droste, Mayor AGENDA NO. ATTACHMENTS: APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Present commendations to honorees The Rosemount City Council offers its commendation and gratitude to citizens who donate their energy and time to improve the quality of life in our community. For the tenth consecutive year, the Council has invited nominations of these individuals, families, and organizations to be recognized as part of the City's observance of National Volunteer Week. The work of volunteers provides vast benefits to the community as a whole as well as to specific causes or initiatives. The latest estimate is that in 2011, volunteers in Minnesota contributed time worth on average almost $22 an hour. Sixty -four million Americans volunteered a total of almost 8 billion hours, an estimated economic value of roughly $171 billion. The City Council recognizes the many benefits provided by the honorees gathered here tonight. We hope that more of our citizens will be inspired to help the community and the causes they support. Police support The Rosemount Police Department and the citizens it serves are fortunate to have the volunteer services of Reservists. They help in traffic and crowd control and disaster situations. Cmdr. Gene Allen Lt. Dick Knights Officer Dennis Coughlin Officer Mario DiLodovico Officer Kenneth Engberg Officer Kim Ericksen Officer Stacy Heins Officer Caren Mogen Officer Christine Orthmann Officer Charles Parrish Officer Scott Wiig Officer Dan Wolfe Rosemount Police also call on local members of the clergy who serve as Department Chaplains. They assist victims and families in times of great stress. Reverend Mike Markley Pastor Neil Ristow Pastor Bruce Bentley Pastor Gary Ohlemacher Leprechaun Days and Haunted Woods Trail Year in and year out, Rosemount's major community celebrations help define our community. They draw thousands of visitors to the City. And they provide affordable fun for our families. Steve Ball Justin Bottein Maureen, Mike & Patrick Bouchard (also participate in Breakfast with Santa) Bob & Julie Brawley Laura Briggs Pam Farmer Barb & Paul Hester Gene Illg Tad Johnson Sharon Keefer Justin Lecher John & Ann Loch Jodi Lucast Gerald Mattson Tom Meaden (also a leader of the OneRosemount Feeding Families event) Tyler Montgomery Nick Rapp Rosemarie & Elaine Ratzlaff Cheryl Ruud Jane & Bob Schwartz Joe Walsh (also participates in Family Winter Fest, Spring Egg Hunt, and Breakfast with Santa) Lynda & Joe Webber Diane, Gene & Kelli Wellman Tom Werner OneRosemount Feeding Families Another leader of the community's effort to fight hunger at home and overseas was Bill Goodwin. We can't name them all, but around 1,400 people volunteered for this effort. National Service Mayor Droste joined with leaders of more than 200 other cities around the country in recognizing April 9 as Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. The event highlighted the impact of the national service programs AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and thanked the individuals who serve in those efforts. Two Rosemount residents take part in these programs. Sylvia Tronrud has been volunteering with the foster grandparent program for 11 years at Sky Oaks Elementary in Burnsville. She usually puts in 15 -20 hours of volunteer service each week. Clara Jung helps coordinate tutoring services at Horace Mann School in St. Paul. 2 Adopt -a -Park Adopt -a -Park volunteers are part of the reason our community can offer an attractive collection of recreation areas for our citizens. These groups pick up trash, care for flowers, pull weeds, and occasionally apply a coat of paint. They also help the City by reporting suspicious activities or unsafe conditions they may observe. This winter a few of our Adopt -a -Park groups notified us that they will be taking a break from the program, in some cases after years of service to the community. So Rosemount Parks and Recreation is recruiting replacements, and we ask our citizens to help with this work. Tom, Monica, Sara & Nicholas Bayer Nicholas, Alex & Karla Dyson Simply Massage Randy Robinson Glen Tobias The Engel Family Andi Hays for the MOMS Club of Rosemount Steven Murphy Rotary Club of Rosemount The Steinle Family Pat, Connie, Ryan, Maria & Blake Gilson The Swanson Family The Otto Family Community Action Council Volunteers & Neighbors The Swearingen Family Alec, Kim, Noah & Sophia Gorjestani The Olson Family Haage, Peterson & Studley Families The Bukovich and Toll Families FluegePs Farm, Garden and Pet Megan Marie Umbreit The Mullin Family Rosemount Area Arts Council The quality of life in our community continues to be enhanced by the energies of the Rosemount Area Arts Council. A few years ago it embarked on an ambitious schedule of programs. And it continues to add to its calendar every year. This winter the Arts Council debuted what it calls the Front Porch, an initiative at the Steeple Center to greet visitors and provide an information clearinghouse for our residents. Lee Champ JoAnne Cope Jackie Edman Jon Ellefson Maila Ellefson Melissa Grannis Heidi Gustafson -Green Ted Hammond Nathan Hansen Dottie Illg 3 Neil Jacobson Joanne Johnson Cheryl Kluender Jim Kluender Charlotte Kodner Jim Kotz Mary Kay Langager Ann Loch John Loch Stephanie Molstre -Kot Heide Peterson Keith Reed Jill Scarpari Paul Scarpari Jeanne Schwartz Pat Stanger Jacobson Greg Twaites Trina Walter Jeff Wilfahrt Lori Wilfahrt Tom Wychor Additional Parks projects The City Council throughout the year honors Scouts who reach the highest level of achievement. We wanted to highlight two of them who contributed with improvements for our City facilities. Eagle Scout Ryan Klopp rebuilt the dumpster enclosure at the Family Resource Center. Eagle Scout Terren Ausen built the new tee pads at the disc golf course. Ester Jaeger ran the Summer Stretch program at St. Joseph's Church last summer, during which the kids did some painting and staining in our parks. Veda Kanitz led her ninth -grade honors biology students last summer to spend a few days pulling thistle and invasive weeds at Schwarz Pond Park. Brett Smith had a Girl Scout troop who did a one -day litter pick up in a park. Terry Taylor is the "pickleball ambassador," who advocated for the pickleball courts at Claret Park, helping get the nets and providing paddles and balls to interested first -time players. He also organized the grand opening last summer and continued to staff the courts giving playing instructions Wetlands Health The City of Rosemount and Dakota County recruit volunteers for the Wetland Health Evaluation Program. Participants are trained to work with a team based in the community to monitor the biological health of wetlands. The data they collect allow the City to study trends and changes in wetland health and assist with natural resource management. Barbara & Brian Berggren Benjamin Determan James Kluender Becca Newman 4 Terry Pearson Jane Porterfield Dan Stinnett Denise & Tom Wilkens Schools The public and private schools that serve Rosemount students are fortunate to draw on a large group of dedicated volunteers. Many but not all of them are parents of current students. All of them are dedicated to giving Rosemount's youth an extra hand in their development. In the works of a District 196 resolution declaring next week Volunteer Appreciation Week, "Volunteers contribute to the school district in numerous ways, by tutoring, fundraising, acting as greeters at school entrances, assisting in the classroom with projects and special events, and serving on committees and task forces, to name just a few." Tonight we are honored to get a little bit of a jump on the school board by thanking a small number of volunteers suggested by the schools that they serve. At Diamond Path, Ann Kaste, a new parent, has jumped right in as a volunteer. She and another parent organize and supervise the school store (run by the student council). Kathie Jean Neville has been involved for six years and works with Ann in the school store, works individually with students, and goes on many of our field trips including a four -day trip to Wolf Ridge Environmental Center with fourth graders. Brooklynn Erdmann works closely with teachers to support students, either individually or as a class. She is a grade level party coordinator, assists in kindergarten classrooms, and is active in the PTO. At Red Pine, Lisa Wolf has three kids and still finds time to volunteer and help out in all three of their classrooms. Reyn Cinnamo has two kids and is active in numerous volunteer opportunities. At St. Joseph's School, several parents organize the Family Fun Night: Ginger Trnka Rita Anderson Millette Avenido Alesia Arlandson Jennifer Gansler Rachel Hurlbert Teresa Joseph At Shannon Park, David Nienaber is always willing to do what it takes to get a job done. And he frequently brings homemade baked goods to the teachers. Angie Saurer is a frequent volunteer in the school who has also helped create the school yearbook for the past two years. Stacey Troshinsky runs the annual book fair and does a stellar job. At Rosemount Middle, Jackie Regaldo impresses teachers and coaches as she continually seeks ways to give her time and make activities more fulfilling for students. She gladly helps whenever needed, and she adds a positive and professional presence to whatever the kids are doing that allows them to gain even more from the activity. At Rosemount High, Becky Busho is the site council president, presiding over all meetings and coordinating fund raising efforts of the council. Lisa Lusk is a Rosemount Rotary member who coordinates the STRIVE program, bringing Rotarians into the school to mentor high school students. And there is a group of RHS volunteers who have been and will be extremely busy this year, as the 5 champion Irish Marching Band gets ready to perform for a worldwide audience at the Tournament of Roses Parade. Lisa Jobin serves as "primary accountant" for student fundraising accounts. Heidi Hutchinson created and manages the Scrip Fundraiser, in which students sell an average of more than $10,000 per week year- round. Steve Kreitz is described as the "unofficial, unelected, uber- humble, and unrecognized" lead - parent volunteer, doing a variety of activities and heading up the Tournament of Roses Leadership Team. Dina Westlund reports in every Tuesday to count things: money, fundraiser orders, and so forth. Mereyle Strop has generously donated her time and efforts to help the program by spending every Tuesday afternoon in the band office organizing fundraising activities. Later volunteer recognition event At this time of year the City Council also expresses its thanks to the many citizens who serve on advisory commissions. They help the Council research and consider issues of importance to Rosemount. Those Commissioners will be honored at a separate event later this spring. R