Invocation: Kevin Hegland

 

Ken Hiller introduced Chaska Rotarian Dan Keyport and added a biographical note that Dan is a St. Thomas Trifecta – high school, college, and post-grad!  Ken also added a little bit of the Keyport Finemaster role when he identified 21 instances of people who had traveled where Dan hadn’t visited.  Of course, Dan was fined, but Ken matched the $21 donation!

Our minds were spinning as Dan stories had us vicariously traveling with him as a teenager hitch-hiking across Europe, taking a year to travel around the globe a few years later, and then setting and achieving his goal to visit 100 named countries and locations.  Dan expertly described his “Epic Adventures” while alone, with friends, family, and Rotarians.  He created visual and emotional experiences for us as we sat in Chaska, and he pulled his memories and passion from the world outside the doors – Tunisia, armed with a 2-inch blade; climbing high and sleeping low to ascend Kilimanjaro; immersed in southeast Asia from Phenom Pen to Saigon; stepping across the DMZ in Korea; cruising rivers in Europe; fondly recalling the beauty of the Dalmatian coast and Albania; sharing Argentine and Chilean wine with his daughter; and crossing Asia on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Jamaica with his family provided Dan with #100 and membership in the exclusive Travelers’ Century Club.  Gretchen Oppriecht rewarded our speaker with a commemorative piece to mark the occasion, and Dan rewarded us with the admonition that “Life is about making stories.”  Thank you Dan – we hope you create many more!

 

 

 

The Chaska Herald continued to help publicize our Rotary Leads the Way in May with Guest Opinions from Bob Roepke (May 13) and District 5950 Governor Marianna Khauv (May 19).  To read these, connect to the online versions at https://www.swnewsmedia.com/chaska_herald

 

 

Lisa Anderson (left), Gretchen Oppriecht (center) and Jodi Hesse (right) participated in a membership drive under our tent at the Taste of Chaska held in City Square Park on Wednesday, May 18.