The History of the Golden Valley Rotary Club
Don Anderson has called Golden Valley his home for most of his life. In 1973, he was a member of the Provisional Rotary Club of Golden Valley and one of the incorporators of the club. He is a past president who maintained a 46-year perfect attendance record. Anderson was named the Golden Valley Rotary Club Rotarian of the Year in 2000 and Golden Valley Rotary Club Citizen of the Year in 2011.
After retirement from a career in real estate in 1989, Don joined the Golden Valley Historical Society and was elected the volunteer secretary of the organization, an office which he continued to hold 30 years later. He played a major role in saving the Golden Valley Historical Society from folding. He was instrumental in the Society acquiring the oldest church in the city on July 1, 1997 and renovating the structure with the goal of creating a Golden Valley museum in the lower level. Wedding revenue has provided the organization some of the means to renovate, as well as pay the bills. So far he has signed up over 200 weddings which have taken place and has a reservation waiting list of more this year and into 2022. After 30 years with the Golden Valley Historical Society, Don Anderson has the reputation of being “Mr. Golden Valley Historian”.
Anderson was active on a committee in promoting the partnership of the Historical Society and the Golden Valley Rotary Club in hiring a professional videographer in 2003 to create a VHS tape history of the City of Golden Valley. This was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Golden Valley Rotary Club. The “Celebrate Golden Valley” videotape was entered in a video contest in Galveston, Texas in 2004, and won first place over 4,000 entries.
Envision Golden Valley blossomed into a citizen-led community initiative in 2002, when the City of Golden Valley partnered with the Golden Valley Rotary to develop an inclusive and accessible visioning process. Don was on the steering committee and worked to have sub-committees appointed in the several event categories. The Envision project brought together citizens to think about Golden Valley 20 years down the road. Over 600 Golden Valley citizens shared over 1,000 ideas for the future of the City. The ideas created sparked the creation of a follow-up group called the Bridge. This group continues today to review and implement the ideas from the Envision project. One of the ideas was to organize volunteers who, with the cooperation of the Minnesota Highway Department, would plant lilacs and other plants along Highway 55 and Highway 100 in Golden Valley.
Don’s wife, Mary Anderson, has also been active in the community. She was a long time member of the Golden Valley League of Women Voters, served on the Golden Valley Planning Commission, served two terms on the Golden Valley City Council, was Mayor of the City of Golden Valley for six and a half terms, and was Chair of the Metropolitan Council.