Rotary Club Honors Two for 'Service Above Self'

Members of the Rotary Club of Golden Valley have spent thousands of hours volunteering at various charities and giving to scholarships and humanitarian efforts for the past few decades. In addition, each year the club chooses two people who live or work in Golden Valley and honors them for their service and dedication to the community.

Golden Valley Patch.com talked to this year’s winners:

2011 Citizen of the Year: Donald B. Anderson

Past Rotary presidents select the Citizen of the Year in a private meeting. This year, longtime member and past Rotarian of the Year recipient Don Anderson wasn’t able to attend.

“I was at Methodist Hospital recovering from pneumonia,” Anderson said. That might've been a blessing in disguise.  

His fellow past presidents decided he should be honored this year. “That’s what I get for skipping the meeting," he said at Tuesday's Rotary luncheon at the Golden Valley Golf and Country Club. “It is a great honor to be selected by your peers to receive this award."

Don Anderson is considered “Mr. Golden Valley Historian” for all the work he has put into the city of Golden Valley, according to information provided by the Rotary Club.  For years he has been active with the Golden Valley City Council, Golden Valley Human Services Foundation and the Golden Valley Historical Society, where he has been volunteer secretary for 21 years.

“Golden Valley is a fine community. I raised my family and lived here for 54 years and have been able to participate in many various activities. I don’t like to sit around.”

Anderson is married to Mary Wemeier Anderson. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons.

2011 Rotarian of the Year:  Joan Boger

Tuesday was no ordinary awards luncheon for Joan Boger, Golden Valley’s Rotarian of the Year.

“I was comparing it to receiving an Academy Award because I’ve been elected by my peers," she said.

Boger has been a member of the Golden Valley Rotary Club for four years, but Rotary members said she has made a huge impact in a short period of time. Though the bulk of her career was devoted to her family’s dental practice, her heart was always in teaching and helping students. She is a trained tutor with the Minnesota Literacy Council and worked at Forest Elementary School.

Boger was named Rotarian of the Year for her commitment and dedication to the STRIVE (Students Taking a Renewed Interest in the Value of Education) program, according to club members. STRIVE is a national Rotary program which helps students who are struggling academically get through their senior year of high school.

“My motivation was really a movie I watched called "Freedom Riders" with Hilary Swank. She was a teacher who took at-risk students and motivated them and developed a relationship with them and encouraged them to succeed. I remember watching the movie and just wishing I could be like her and then I get this opportunity with STRIVE. So I feel like it’s just a dream come true.”

She referred to the Rotary motto "Service above self." "It’s giving me a way to pay back the mentors I had that supported me."

Her son, Chad Boger, a past Rotary president and active member, presented the award to her.

“Not every child gets the honor of being able to award their mom,” Chad Boger said. “She’s a wonderful woman."

Joan Boger said she expects to work with the STRIVE program for many years to come.