Rotarians don’t often get visited by queens. Tuesday was an exception.

The guest speaker at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Eden Prairie (A.M.) Rotary Club was Donnell Rank, the reigning Mrs. Minnesota International 2007.

More apropos to the occasion, she is the spokesperson for Smile Network International (www.smilenetwork.org [1]), a Twin Cities-based volunteer organization that provides free reconstructive surgeries to poor children in Central America, South America and Africa who suffer from cleft lip or cleft palate deformities.

The organization’s motto is: “Reconstructing children’s lives … one smile at a time.”

Donnell says the group is extremely efficient and a rarity in that all donated money goes toward the surgeries. For as little as $500 per operation, a child who once lived in shame can be given a happier and healthier life.

It’s a powerful message that’s even stronger coming from a queen.

(Rotary Rooter focuses on the activities of the Eden Prairie A.M. Rotary Club, which meets at 7:30 a.m. Tuesdays at the Biaggi's restaurant at Eden Prairie Shopping Center. Guests are welcome. You can learn more about the club by visiting www.epamrotary [3].)