...And he’s off! An Update on Tour de Fargo

Sons of Norway Headquarters Staff with Talleiv Vollen

It’s official! Tour de Fargo has officially started and Talleiv "Tolly" Vollen is on the first stage of his bicycle journey to Fargo and the Innovative Leadership Conference and 2012 Sons of Norway International Convention. A trip 250 miles in the making, Tolly is set to arrive on Monday, with stops in St. Cloud, Alexandria, Fergus Falls and finally Fargo. 

As of this morning, Tolly’s efforts have raised nearly $2,500 for the Sons of Norway Foundation’s Helping Hands to Members Fund, Oslo Summer School Scholarship (OISS) Fund and for Trollheim 1-511’s Scholarship Fund. In fact, a spur of the moment donation was made just minutes before Tolly set out by a woman who was not a Sons of Norway member. She just happened to have heard what Tolly was doing and was inspired to do what she could to help. How great is that? To learn more about the kinds of events made possible by these generous donations, check out Wednesday's blog post about Tour de Fargo.

Sons of Norway CEO Eivind Heiberg with Talleiv Vollen.

 Donating is easy. Pledges may be made by the mile or in set dollar amounts by emailing foundation@sofn.com. You can also donate online through the Sons of Norway website by clicking here. Mailed donations may also be sent to the Sons of Norway Foundation at 1455 West Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Please make checks payable to the Sons of Norway Foundation and include “Tour de Fargo” in the memo line.

 Be sure to check back to the blog as we update you on his progress and his official arrival in Fargo! While you're here, be sure to leave well wishes and notes of encouragement to Tolly in the comments section below.

UPDATE!
I just had the opportunity to talk with Talleiv and things are going well along his route. He's currently traveling north of the city on West River Road in Champlin. Unfortunately, Talleiv is running a bit behind his planned pace due to a flat tire, but it has since been repaired and he is back on the road and in good spirits!

Biking for a Cause: Tour de Fargo

One very ambitious member will be making a special bicycle trip on August 17-20. 69-year-old Talleiv “Tolly” Vollen, a charter member of Trollheim 1-511 in St. Cloud, will be biking 250 miles from Sons of Norway Headquarters in Minneapolis to Fargo, the site of the new Innovative Leadership Conference and 2012 Sons of Norway International Convention. Talk about some serious biking! After his trek, Tolly will qualify for both bronze and silver sykkelmerke Sports Medal Program medals!

An avid cyclist, Tolly was inspired to use his hobby for a charitable cause, raising funds for the Sons of Norway Foundation’s Helping Hands to Members Fund, Oslo International Summer School Scholarship (OISS) Fund and for Trollheim 1-511’s Scholarship Fund. What are some of the events made possible by the support from these great funds? Youth barneløpets, Project Framtid (Adopt-A-School) programming, eight week study abroad programs at OISS, camperships to Skogfjorden Norwegian Language Village and much more. If you’d like to learn more about the great causes that these types of funds support, be sure to check out the Sons of Norway Foundation’s annual reports by clicking here. 

Donating is easy. Pledges may be made by the mile or in set dollar amounts by emailing foundation@sofn.com or tkvollen65@charter.net. Mailed donations may also be sent to the Sons of Norway Foundation at 1455 West Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Please make checks payable to the Sons of Norway Foundation and include “Tour de Fargo” in the memo line. 

Tolly will be setting out on his journey on Friday at 9:00 a.m. from Sons of Norway Headquarters, so be sure to check back to the blog as we update you on his official send off and arrival in Fargo! You can also leave well wishes and notes of encouragement to Tolly in the comments section below.

A Conference for ALL: The Innovative Leadership Conference!

If you haven’t heard the exciting news yet, there’s going to be an exciting addition made to the 2012 International Convention in Fargo, ND this summer, called the Innovative Leadership Conference (ILC)!


It’s going to be an exciting time in Fargo, for sure, as hundreds of members from throughout the organization come together to learn how to strengthen their leadership skills. During the two day conference, ILC attendees will learn about a variety of topics, including effective communication styles for leaders, problem solving with collective visioning, new techniques for engaging new members and retaining current members.

The entire time, attendees will be lead by professional speaker and trainer, David Mann. David has worked with companies, like General Mills, Mayo Health System, Boston Scientific, Merrill Lynch, The Hartford, and many others, helping them build and strengthen leaders from the bottom up. He is also on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, teaching persuasive technique through storytelling to attorneys and law students nationwide. Attendees are sure to benefit from David’s expertise and unique style of presenting important information!

If that weren’t enough to convince you that the ILC will be an extra-special event, consider that this new event is brings a number of firsts to the century-old International Convention. It’s the first time that a major convention event is open to ALL members, whether they are registered for the International Lodge Meeting or not; it’s also the first time that the ever-popular educational component is a stand-alone event; last, but not least, this is the first time Sons of Norway is offering leadership training that will help attendees in their roles as lodge members as well as in their professional lives.

As you can see, the Innovative Leadership Conference is sure to be a huge event and you can be part of it! Registration is now open and all you have to do to reserve your spot at this first-ever event is call 800-945-8851 or download a registration form by clicking here. Also, if you want to learn more about the event, be sure to visit the 2012 International Convention website, which has information about the ILC, the International Lodge Meeting, the Folk Art competition and more!

In the meantime, if you need more convincing that this event is right for you, keep checking back here on the blog. Over the coming weeks and months I’ll be posting more information about what attendees can expect and all the exciting additions we’re making to the convention! Until then, leave a comment below and let me know what kinds of things YOU would like to learn about at a leadership event.