 Michael
Johnson Concert - The story of the Michael Johnson Benefit
Concert sponsored by the Brainerd Noon and Sunrise Sertoma Clubs
has its start in the little café in Wisconsin five years ago
where Greg Larson of REMAX Reality was having coffee while
traveling with his wife. He recognized Michael and told his wife
that he was going to go over and ask him to appear at the Grand
Opening of the ballroom they had recently purchased and
remodeled in Henning, Minnesota. To her surprise, Michael agreed
and was scheduled to appear right before Christmas. The weather
was not cooperating and Greg felt that they hadn’t sold enough
tickets so he called to cancel the concert. To his surprise
Michael said, “Let’s do it, remember Greg I am playing for the
people who are coming, not the ones that aren’t.” Not only did
he play the concert (see picture from website) but he came to
the family holiday dinner. |
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Mr. Johnson certainly displayed his love of the small
audience at Tornstrom on Sunday, February 29th. The Concert was
very successful thanks to a great deal of free radio advertising
arranged by Mike Boen and Mary Marana, great posters by Quality
Graphics, and advance ticket sales at many area businesses. The
net profit which was around $3500 will become part of the
Sertoma CLC Scholarship Fund to benefit needy students. |
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 The
mellifluous voice of Michael Johnson lead a surprisingly large
group of fans who braved the inclement weather and missed the
Oscars down a melodic path that included magic and romance,
stray cats and broken hearts, Miami ladies and Art Deco hotels,
roller coasters and truck drivers, as well as many more
contemporary themes. Michael’s guitar, which at times seemed
almost to be a living creature, displayed his years of
fascination with the instrument including classical study in
Spain. Mr. Johnson is a raconteur who shares his personal
anecdotes to entertain his audience as he presents his music
which is a unique blend of the 40’s, jazz, folk, country, and
rock. We all came to hear “Bluer than Blue,” but what we heard
was not the popular version but one that reflected the changes
Michael has made in his music over the years.
 Music
has been his life since he was thirteen and you are welcome to
visit his website at
www.mjblue.com to learn more about his philosophy and
his love of wordplay. It is a fascinating journey that I
recommend highly. You find the man who defends his friend Hobo
Jim, thinks men view women as art, and doesn’t like country
music because he doesn’t like professional wrestling. The idea
that struck a chord in my English teacher’s heart was the
statement, “There are only three kinds of people in the world,
those that can add and those that can’t.” Personally, I am
waiting for the book, “The World According to Michael Johnson”
because I would love to see his uplifting outlook on life
presented in written form. The good news is Michael will be back
next year! |
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 Academic
Decathlon - Brian Lehman, Pam Sachs, John Raboin, Kathy
Williams and John Nelson were the Sertomans who volunteered to
judge the Academic Decathlon at Craguns on Tuesday, March 3rd.
This was actually the state competition that would determine
which Minnesota team went on to compete at the National Level in
Utah. Academic Decathlon is relatively new to Minnesota. The
contest consists of 10 levels of competition. Each student must
take tests on 7 written areas such as art, economics, math, etc.
They write an essay which is evaluated. The judges were needed
for the orals. Brian and Pam are shown getting ready to judge
the interview portion. Students are asked open-ended questions
and are judged on the basis of their ability to think on their
feet and answer with poise and thoughtfulness. John, John and
Kathy judged speech. Each student came with a prepared speech
that was presented and scored for timing, research,
thoughtfulness and presentation. They then had 60 seconds to
prepare an impromptu speech on one of three topics which they
had not seen until then. This was a very interesting way to
share a memorable experience with some talented young people.
They too will be back next year and looking for judges. |
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Announcements |
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PIPE AND DRAPE - Please check schedule below, there has
been a SET UP TIME CHANGE. |
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See Cheryal Hills to become a part of the sub committees for the
Christmas Lights Project. We need to present a solid core
of people willing to do the work in order to convince the Board to
approve the project. |
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March 8 - Meeting at Morey's at 12:00 for those involved in the
Flag Project. |
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April l - Bonanza will be close for one week so we will meet at
Jack’s House—the new bowling alley. Their meeting room is on
the left as you enter the door. (This is NOT an April Fool’s Joke) |
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April 29 - May 2 Regional Convention in Mankato. See Kari
Robinson very soon to firm up room reservations and to fill out
application form. The club will pay $100 of the $135 participation
fee. Those attending will be responsible for hotel and personal
expenses. This is a great opportunity for new members to earn
their GEM award and for all members to remind themselves of the
purposes of our group. |
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May 22 - CAMP CONFIDENCE CLEAN UP DAY everyone welcome |
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June 12 - Regional Twins game for Sertoma. If we can get
500 ticket purchases at $23 a ticket with $5 of that going to a
designated charity, the Swinging Sertomans will be singing the
National Anthem. The Twins play the Phillies. Jim Potvin will try
to persuade the Sertoma Region to give the money to Camp Sertoma,
a charity which is definitely regional. |
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July 11-17 Great Plains Region Camp Sertoma—volunteers
needed to cook, donations of food or ideas of where to get
donations welcome. |
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FAS: Congratulations to Dave Clausen for collecting his
FAS money this week. Mark Engstrand did not call. |
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| Pipe and
Drape Schedule |
| Where: |
Wadena Technical School
- (Pioneer Journal) |
| March 5 |
Set Up - Friday 4:30 pm
(Note: Time has changed) |
| March 6 |
Take Down - Saturday 2 pm |
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| Where: |
Women's Expo - Armory |
| March 18 |
Set Up - Thursday at 9
pm (Note: Time has changed) |
| March 20 |
Take Down - Saturday at 4 pm |
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| Where: |
Rohlfing |
| March 19 |
Set Up - Friday after 4pm |
| March 22 |
Take Down - Monday after 3pm |
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| Where: |
Mid MN Builders Show - Civic Center |
| March 24 |
Set Up - Wednesday at 5pm |
| March 28 |
Take Down - Sunday at 4pm |
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| Where: |
Commerce & Ind. Show -
Civic Center |
| April 1 |
Set Up - Thursday at 5pm |
| April 4 |
Take Down - Sunday at 4pm |
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| Where: |
Pine Tree Patchwork - Brainerd High
School |
| June 24 |
Set Up - Thursday at 10am |
| June 26 |
Take Down - Saturday at 4pm |
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| Ticket
Winner |
| Chuck Brenny |
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| Pot-O-Gold
Winner |
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Would have been Kevin Schwantz |
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Attendance |
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Guests: Missy Lake TJ’s Log Cabin (The bar will be opening
on Wednesday March 10th, join Missy her husband Tom and her mom
Karen Owen for the occasion), Brian Kargel from Lakes Area
Advertiser, Jill Sandberg from Northern National Bank who is
joining, and DJ Dondelinger from Dondelinger’s Chevrolet,
Cadillac and Toyota who is joining. |
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| Greeter
Schedule |
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Remember: Greeters
(Be sure to take care of your duties that include meeting people
at the door and getting the ticket money counted and divided
with half going to Tami to give away and half to Diane for the
social committee's budget). As greeter you have several duties.
You need to arrive about 10 minutes early. It is your job to
greet people, help them find their badges and sell them a ticket
if they wish to participate. The money collected must be divided
by the Greeters equally--half goes to the Club Treasurer (Diane
Rook Johnson) and half goes to the Club President along with the
bucket of tickets. Be there by 11:45 and call somebody if you
can't. Call Patty Hartman. |
| March 10 |
Dave Clausen, Rory Coit, Rick Cole |
| March 17 |
Rod Converse, Terry Curtis, Jim Davis |
| March 24 |
Jeff Deihl, Kevin Donnay, Amy Doyle |
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Sertoman of the Day
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Pete Odell from Deerwood State Bank escaped the clutches of
acting Sergeant Lynn Franz today by giving us a little speech
about himself. That is one of the benefits of saying yes to
Sandra Bonde when she calls and asks you to share your story.
Pete is originally from Staples. Pete explained that he paid
money to attend college but did not succeed very well in the
attend part. He and his wife Pamela have been married four years
and have two very active twin two year olds. He came to Sertoma
sponsored by Brian Kirkpatrick since he was working at Wells
Fargo. He then changed to Deerwood Bank and works in the
Brainerd office. They have four other branches in Deerwood,
Bemidji, Garrison and Red Lake. If Gary Loge and Tonia Melby are
reading all about Pete and call they can win their sawbuck. He
is with the commercial division. Pete looks relatively good with
his moustache and beard, not like the time someone took him from
one of his college classes to show him he was wearing the magic
marker version from the night before. |
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Of Note: |
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Dear Friends, |
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As many of you know, I am associated with a great
charity...Confidence Learning Center in Brainerd, Minnesota. In
fact, Camp is one of the Priority Projects of the Minnesota
Jaycees. Camp provides outdoor recreational retreats for persons
with developmental disabilities. |
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Camp has started a new fundraiser...an on-line auction March 1 -
March 10. The auction features a variety of items from weekend
trips to sports memorabilia and artwork; there's something for
everyone. You don't have to live in the Brainerd Lakes Area to
find something you can use! |
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As a personal favor to me, please log on to
www.campauction.com
and check out the on-line auction. Your support of Camp is greatly
appreciated. |
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You can also help by passing this message on to everybody in your
address book. I'm sure they will find something that appeals to
them at the auction site and they would also be helping out a
great charity. |
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THANKS! Aimee Spitzack
Marketing & Special Events Director
Confidence Learning Center |
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Rumors Corner: |
- Darleen Kirsteen has a voice double for her television
advertisement!!!
- Bob Nibbe claims he got dressed this morning by Bob
McBeath’s wife.
- Chuck Brenny’s sibling rivalry showed after he won the pot
and had to admit that his brother was his sponsor and that is
why he didn’t know what happened to his pin.
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Find a Sawbuck Corner: Call 829-7761
The FAS Program was designed to encourage people to read the
newsletter. Even those who attend the meeting can benefit from
reviewing the announcements etc. If you find the letters FAS
followed by your name, you must call the number provided and just
leave a message that you called and attend the next meeting to
collect your money. Simple--however 90% of the people never
respond.
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Photos Photos Everywhere New photos go up almost every week on our
new MSN Community homepage. This community is for the club, easy
to join and gives you the opportunity to add edit or delete any
photos that are posted as well as leave messages for fellow
Sertomans. It is a good way to thank someone for doing a good job
or give them some positive feedback for a big event in their life.
If you wish to view the current photographs or check out the new
online directory go to:
http://communities.msn.com/BrainerdNoonSertoma/_whatsnew.msnw
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