Tuesday October 27, 2026- President Ken called the meeting to order at 12:15.
Thank you to meeting volunteers:
Tech- Andrew Vincelli, Matt Magers
Scribe/Introduction/Happy $- Michael-jon Pease
Greeters- Bill Collins, Jason DeKeuster, Linda Mulhern
Inspirational Min- Steve Young
President Ken presented a club update:
Member feedback: Reminder to be quiet when others are speaking during the program!
Goals Update
Membership
Active members: 109 vs. goal of 115 by June 2027.
Trending short of goal, with one membership in process.
Hosted first guest night; second planned for January 19, 2027, at 5:01 p.m., plus social time.
RI Foundation
Goal: $18,000. Actual YTD: $2,426. Fundraising pitch coming.
Polio Plus
Goal: $3,400. Actual YTDl: $306. Fundraising pitch coming.
RCSP Foundation
Fundraising goal: $60,000.
In process: Winter Magic and letter dropped in October.
November presentation and pitch.
Will Octoberfest on target at approximately $2,500.
Attendance
Goal: 35–36 attendees. Current attendance: 39 or more.
Public Relations (PR)
Successful fireworks and press coverage. Raised sufficient funds to cover much of 2027 costs.
Cash on Hand
Goal: $20,000 by June 30, 2027.
Outlook: It will be tight.
Service
We need a member to lead this effort.
Feature Program: Andy Gikling, CEO of Backburner Labs a tech engineering services firm that designs solutions"from metal to mobile."
The company has been doubling in size annually for four years. They engineer solutions for clients in the medical device, sports tech, entertainment, and industrial automation fields.
Recent projects in the market:
Built the real time micro services that run the live TV game network for Tomorrow's Golf League on ESPN.
They've also developed the FDA approved technology for a new concussion diagnosis device. This makes rapid diagnosis on the sports field possible.
In the world of AI, the US is #21 in the world of adoption for daily use. About 19% of workers use it on a regular basis.
Andy covered some of the major positive advances of AI, including the complete mapping of all known proteins (used by 3M researchers in 190 countries to develop new medicines; catching cancers earlier; and earlier storm warnings.
"The pace is the pattern." AI keeps speeding up the pace. Five year plans are now five quarter plans.
Andy then shared specific engineering AI techniques and fielded questions about the industry.
Announcements:
November 3, 2026, 5:01 Meeting, Pool & Yacht Club: Kimberly Bowman - RI 2028 convention
· November 10, 2026, Lunch Meeting, InterContinental Hotel Saint Paul: Dave Dominick - Club 10 Foundation
· November 17, 2026, 5:01 Meeting, Pool & Yacht Club: Clyde Nelson - Rotary International Foundation
· November 24, 2026, Lunch Meeting, InterContinental Hotel Saint Paul: Gary Bruggemann - Saints and Sinners: The Pioneers of Saint Paul
· December 1, 2026, Union Depot Winter Magic
