TEDx St. Michael Hoping to Speak to Community, Leadership

Jake Lunemann and the Friends of the St. Michael Library will be hosting the first-ever TEDx event for this area Saturday, Oct. 11, with a mission to bring community leaders, friends and fans of TED together for an afternoon at the St. Michael City Center, beginning at 2 p.m.

If you’re not familiar with TED, it’s a series of national presentations aimed at “building communities and spreading ideas,” addressing national and local issues like charity, social status, community building and health.

Thirty years after it started in 1984, The TEDx initiative now grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. Selected talks from these events are also turned into TED Talks videos.

Leading St. Michael’s foray into TED is Jake Lunemann, a member of the Friends of the St. Michael Library and Albertville resident who grew up in Central Minnesota.

“We have a great sense of community here. Some of that is new, and some of it has been here for a long time. I think good things are really happening. So it seemed like the timing was right to undertake something like TED,” Lunemann said. “We’re hoping that if we can get this started, it can really become a regular thing. Maybe not always in the fall, but something the community can plan on in the future.”

The variety of speakers is perfect for a community as diverse in interests as STMA. Locally, Jet Edge marketing guru Nancy Lauseng, a regular face with organizations like STMA Rotary and Shop Saint Michael, will speak on marketing one’s self, as well as manufacturing, business and more.

Pam Borton, former head coach of the University of Minnesota women’s basketball program, will speak on behalf of her new organization, which is looking to empower women everywhere who are in leadership roles. Borton is one of the winningest coaches in Gopher history, leading the U to a Final Four, Elite Eight, and a number of Sweet Sixteen rounds.

Borton co-founded a non-profit focused on professional women reaching their full potential. She is also a recognized leader in the community. She brings a wealth of knowledge to executive leaders, high potentials and organizations who are focused on balanced leadership in their organizations.

She received a Top 10 Global Women of Leadership Pillar Award, recipient of an Ann Bancroft Dream Maker Award, (Real) Power 50 Award, and a two-time Naismith National Coach of the year nominee. Pam has a Master’s degree from Bowling Green State University and is working towards her International Coach Federation certification.

Also speaking will be teens Hannah Bremer and Sophia Schmidt, who, as teens, have developed a charity that provides materials such as clean, colorful sheets and pillowcases, as well as color books, games and toys, to kids at Amplatz Children’s Hospital on the U of M campus.

Hannah and Sophia were inspired by Sophia’s grandmother, who provided her with clean, bright pillowcases during her stay at Amplatz after she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a condition where your bone marrow stops reproducing essential blood cells. Sophia underwent chemo and radiation therapies at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital and then received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from her older brother Noah at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. When Sophia was in the hospital, her grandma brought her a colorful, new homemade pillowcase almost every day. These pillowcases helped brighten up the hospital room and made Sophia’s hospital stays a little bit more cheerful, so they wanted to bring that cheer to other kids who are going through similar struggles.

“I really like the lineup we have,” Lunemann said. “There’s something for younger people, for women and for local business owners and community-minded people. It’s going to be a good discussion for the three hours we have set aside.”

If you can’t make it, the events will be posted to the TEDxStMichael.com site after they are cut, edited and cleared by the TED organization. Lunemann thinks the entire presentation should be available by Thanksgiving.

Tickets to Saturday’s events are on sale now. You can order them online via the TEDx St. Michael website, and they are free of charge, as every local TEDx event is. Tickets will also be available at the door, but space is limited to just 100 guests, so those interested should fill out a registration form on the site.

IF YOU GO:

What: TEDx St. Michael

Where: St. Michael City Center

TIme: 2 p.m.

More information: TEDxStMichael.com

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