 Three visitors from WalMart arrived to present the opposing
point of view about the new proposed WalMart Superstore in
Baxter. Keith Morris (left in picture) is Community Affairs
Manager for WalMart and works in Corporate headquarters in
Arkansas. He brought along local co-manager Tony Middlesworth
(center) and Store Manager Kirk Helmberger (right). Mr Morris's
presentation focused on dispelling the notion that the store
would be harmful to the community. He presented the group with
his facts and figures that show the positive impact of WalMart
stores . Morris stressed the outstanding work that WalMart has
done in the Brainerd area in giving back to the community,
emphasized the fact that this store is woefully inadequate for
the number of customers currently patroinizing it, and talked
about the plans to make the new architectural style blend in
with the environment. The partial photo of the front of the
proposed building shows the permanent canopies over the garden
section, the rock facing, and the decorative cupolas p lanned.
The bottom line is that the area is zoned for just such
development and it already includes major corporate entities
such as Target and Best Buy. The only questionable items in WalMarts mind are the conditional use permits that need to be
approved for the project to continue. Issues raised from the
audience included retaining the wilderness look, hiring full
time staff from local people, filling the old building before
they move to the new one, unfairly competitng with unionized
labor in local grocery stores, and needing to make the new store
more user friendly in terms of aisles and parking. Handouts
included facts about increases in revenue and taxes as well as
jobs, pro-WalMart articles from newspaper, and support letters
from some Minnesota area Chamber of Commerce organizations. If
Taylor Torgerson read this and calls Pam at 829-7761 before
Tuesday of next week, she can collect her fast money at the next
meeting. |
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| Announcements |
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Thank you to all who helped make the 25th Anniversary
Celebration a Success. For a separate special newsletter all
about the celebration click here. To see more of the photos, go to
the MSN site using the link at the bottom of this page. |
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Many people attended the Ditch Pick. The weather was fine,
the food was excellent (thanks Mark Puschinsky and Dave Loge), and
Art the Swamp Fox didn't fall in the water this time. Lori
Ukkelberg (formerly Redmond) won the picnic table. If Brian
Kirkpatrick reads this and calls me at eight two nine seven seven
six one before Tuesday, he can collect his fast money at the next
meeting. |
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Welcome to our four new members voted in at the last Board
meeting: Valerie Fornier, Jordon Luke, Roy Miller and Kathy
LaVerie. |
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Thanks to the Brainerd Dispatch and Roy Miller for today's front
page coverage of the 25th Anniversary. |
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Julia Sullivan and Cheryal Hills have $5 raffle tickets for
playhouses to raise money for Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity.
They will be given away on July 10. |
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FAS: |
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| Ticket
Winner |
| Cathy Christensen |
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| Pot-O-Gold
Winner |
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Would have been Swamp Fox Becker |
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Attendance - |
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| New potential members included
Loren Kmett from Avada Audiology and Hearing Care, Bob Held from
Cub Food, Lisa from Edina Reality and Lon Schmidt. |
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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. |
| May 28 |
Amarie Nelson, Richard Mileski, Bill
Mitsch |
| June 4 |
Steve Mau, Pete Mogenson, George Moore |
| June 11 |
Steve Warren, Karla Nelson, Bob Nibbe |
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Sertoman of the Day
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| Notes |
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Rumor Corner: |
- Edie Hindman had to fine her daughter Krissy today because
she is wearing a beautiful new engagement ring. Congratulations
Krissy.
- Paul Gropper's new nickname is "The Wiz"--has something to
do with a radio advertisement for Lakes Printing.
- David Pundt brought a date to the Anniversary Dinner and got
fined today for PDA (public display of affection).
- And just how did Dave Clausen get his nose broken? Hawk was
trying to make some connection with basketball and people named
Jack.
- Speaking of Hawk, he collected $1 from our corporate Walmart
guy today because he was from Arkansas and didn't have a
southern accent.
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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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Pipe and Drape |
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Watch the regular announcements until a new schedule can be made. |
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