NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT
As the summer winds down, our focus turns to a new season. This fall is shaping up to be very active at the DAC, and we are excited about all of our upcoming events!

Plans are being made for the DAC Annual Membership Meeting. It will be held on September 21, and we will get a chance to discuss the current state of DAC activities, finances, and property. We will also be electing new board members. Please mark your calendar for this event and we look forward to seeing you!

At the August board meeting, we discussed a number of ongoing business items. Our fundraising efforts are continuing for the coming year, including the popular cheese sale. We also anticipate more social gatherings both on site at DAC and the offsite happy hours which have become notably popular.

A minor building maintenance issue turned into a larger problem when we had a water pipe burst on the first floor in July. The cleanup has been successful, but this has expedited our plan to rebuild the suite on the first floor and install the two new bathrooms that have been planned. We will also be conducting a lot of building maintenance this fall, including painting and some additional minor interior work. Mange tak to the Building Committee and to Poul Bertelsen for their work to design and plan for this much-needed improvement.

Our early fall rentals are booking fast, including wedding events, large birthday parties, and many of our regular groups who rent space for their events and gatherings. In addition to these, we will be presenting fall concerts, a book launch from a Danish author in collaboration with UMN press, and a member talk on Greenland. We also have a new activity group for musicians to play Danish folk music together!

And one final highlight to celebrate—we were given the opportunity to host an exhibition of the beautiful Njál Saga Tapestry during August. This tapestry was created by a community in southern Iceland, and the art depicts a famous Viking-era Icelandic Saga. It took seven years to create and was made using traditional methods. I am grateful that we as an organization have the opportunity to host special events like this! This is yet another way for us to celebrate our Viking heritage.

As always, I am grateful to all the volunteers and members in this organization who keep things running. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the annual meeting in September!
Pete Gantriis