Concerts in The Commons draws in local crowds. Photos: Excelsior Morning Rotary Club
Have you been to Concerts in The Commons in Excelsior? Don’t forget to mark the last Saturday in September for Lake Minnetonka Oktoberfest. While these events offer their unique brands of community engagement and entertainment, they also embrace one thing in common—they are supported by the Excelsior Morning Rotary Club, which began serving the area in 1996 and includes more than 100 members.
Bringing the community together in the spirit of fun isn’t the club’s only focus. Like other clubs, it raises funds to support local and international nonprofits. “Many local nonprofits rely on support from groups like ours,” says Matt Kusilek, marketing communications chair. “We also give people an opportunity to belong to something greater than themselves, to connect, make friends and have fun.”
Grants are given to causes, including Hope House, ICA Food Shelf, Tree House and to outstanding educators. Continuing its support of education, the club has sponsored international students’ travel to study at Minnetonka High School and local students to 15 countries through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. The club sponsors the Interact Club at Minnetonka High School, where student members conduct fundraising and support local and international projects through donations and service efforts.
Rotary service reaches beyond local boundaries. It has drilled wells in rural Bolivia, provided scholarships in Guatemala, supplied ginger farming microloans to women in Tanzania, supported refugees, escaping the war in Ukraine, and participated in Rotary International’s campaign to eradicate polio.
All this support comes at the hands of Rotary members, including Kusilek who has been a Rotarian for more than seven years. “I joined initially because I wanted to make a difference and to help others,” he says. “I also wanted to feel a stronger connection to my community.” He’s made lifelong friends and embraces a strengthened bond to the community.
For the Minnetonka resident, the meaning of service above self is simple. “It is about showing up—for friends, for family, for others who don’t even realize it,” Kusilek says.
Calendar Notes
Concerts in The Commons in Excelsior on Wednesdays May through September, feature eight free concerts with food and beverage vendors. Funds go toward community charities and Community for the Commons, supporting park improvements. The event is also supported by other sponsors, including the City of Excelsior (excelsiorconcerts.com).
Fellowship is on full display during Oktoberfest.
Kicking off fall comes by way of the Lake Minnetonka Oktoberfest on September 27, which is held in conjunction with the City of Shorewood and the Excelsior’s American Legion Post 259. The event at the American Legion benefits the Hendrickson Foundation, which has a mission to grow the game of hockey, making it more accessible. Attendees can enjoy German food, music, beer and activities (German folk dress contents, a German hammer game, Masskrugstemmen and trivia).
Motary Morning Meeting Notes
When: 6:45 a.m. Wednesdays
Where: Maynards, 685 Excelsior Blvd., Excelsior
The Object
The Object of Rotary, as explained at my.rotary.org, is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and:
- The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service
- Ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of Rotarians’ occupation as an opportunity to serve society
- The application of service in Rotarians’ personal, business and community life
- The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service
Excelsior Morning Rotary Club
Facebook: Excelsior Morning Rotary Club
Instagram: @theexcelsiormorningrotary
Rotary International
Facebook: Rotary International
Instagram: @rotaryinternational
X: @rotary
