Former President Kelsey Doom rang the bell to bring the Wagner Rotary Club to order on Wednesday October 24th. She was substituting for Jerry Weber who was probably working on his harvest crop. Kelsey graciously asked Rotarian Laurie to lead the club in prayer.

Laurie gave thanks for the fall colors we are experiencing and the beautiful changing of colors. She asked for blessings upon the senior students as they work their way through their senior year and prepare to go out into the world; and gave a special thank you for Rotarian Joe Stedronsky who came to Rotary for the first time since his illness last summer. Joe received a round of applause from club members who were so happy to see him again in his usual spot at the table.

Guests introduced were the senior WCS students first. They were Madison Mora, parent Adam Mora; Anna Ronspies, parents Linda and James Ronspies; Conrad Irving, parents David and Prairrie Irving; Tyler Kokesh, parents Brenda and Joey Jaton; and Russell Zephier, parent Isnana Wastewin. Each senior student introduces themselves, names their parents, the subjects they are taking presently at school and advising us of their future.

Our song for the day was the Battle Hymn of the Republic which is Joe Stedronskys favorite song in the Rotary Songbook.

Rotarian Dave Isebrands gave the Membership Minute from an article titled “Rotary Foundation inducted into University of Oxford’s Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors” Since 1949, The Rotary Foundation has provided scholarships to more than 200 Oxford scholars.

The university is enormously grateful to the Rotary Foundation for their support of graduate scholarships at Oxford. For almost 70 years, this support has enabled students from around the world to benefit from all that Oxford has to offer.

Membership of the Court of Benefactors is conferred by the chancellor on those who have been outstandingly generous towards the university. Members may be individuals or nominated representatives of companies and trusts. The Rotary Foundation has fostered international interaction and understanding through academic scholars at Oxford for decades and will continue its efforts to help develop the world's future leaders through academic support at this prestigious university. The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s only charity, established over 100 years ago to support Rotary International in its mission to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs.

One of the Senior students drew out the lucky ticket for the Queen of Hearts drawing which was held by Rachel Doom. She drew a 5 of Hearts from the deck.

Patty Frei reported that the Henke team had 2 misses for the day and a total of 6 misses; and the Frei Team had 6 misses for a total of 13 misses. We collected $17.00 for a total of $74.00 to be won by some lucky individual in the future.

Rotarian Patty announced the winners for the football books last week were Adam Sanderson sold by Kelsey Doom and Caitlyn Caldwell sold by her Grandpa Dave Isebrands.

She reminded members that next Wednesday on Halloween our District Governor will be visiting the Wagner Club. Kelsey announced that the Haunted House Fundraising Event will be this Thursday and Friday. Check the local paper for details. There will be a Cracker Barrel held at Booms this coming Saturday also.

Anna Kerner Anderson introduced herself as a candidate for the Congressional opening in District

21. She is a Rotarian from Gregory and a lawyer at Burke. She will be at the Cracker Barrel on Saturday.

Rotarian Linda Soukup introduced her program; Chad and Lisa Peters as one of Wagner’s newest and oldest businesses in Wagner. Chad took the podium and began to inform the members of the transition that has taken place at Wagner’s funeral home. Chad is a licensed funeral director and has been at the Crosby-Jaeger Funeral Home for 28 years, going on 29.

As of May 1st Chad, and Lisa took over the ownership of the funeral home. The legal name is Peters Funeral Home which services Wagner, Avon and Springfield communities. They are using the oldnameCrosby-Jaegertemporarily out of respect for Jim and Julie Jaeger and will be transitioning into the new name slowly.

Chad remembers how he decided to become a funeral director and it all started with a conversation with his grandfather one day when he was a senior in high school. He had been contemplating going into the medical field and his grandfather was Dr. B. T. Brookman, a physician well known and well loved in Wagner. Dr. Brookman suggested that a funeral director was something that falls within the area of medical practice. The care of a dead body is like a physical procedure and requires schooling, apprenticeship and licensing. It is a long-standing occupation which is devoted to the care and disposition of a body. Chad rejected the idea immediately but as he began his post high school education in the medical field, his grandfather's comment was remembered and took root in his mind. He decided to pursue a career as a funeral director.

The job of a funeral director not only involves the care and handling of the body, the preparation and planning for a funeral service; but caring for the concerns of the deceased loved ones. It is a well-known fact among professionals in many fields that grieving is a process. That process begins as soon as the loved one passes, and the director is there to console and care for the family members and guide them through the process.

Chad talked about the trend towards cremation. About 75 per cent of the funerals in the rural areas are still the traditional viewing, church service and cemetery burial common to our area. Cremation has become popular and the reason for that began in the larger cities. A cemetery plot became cost prohibitive for many as the prices ranged from $1,000 to $5,000. Some cities now charge up to $15,000 for a cemetery plot. Most rural cemeteries charge about $100 to $500.

Some of the challenges Chad faces in the rural area are the same concerns that many have in other professions. There is a lack of hired help. Students are not interested in becoming a funeral director in a rural area. They prefer to live in the city or in a suburb where there are lots of directors and you work from 9 to 5 and have weekends free. Chad is always on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The lack of hired help was a big concern in the Peter’s decision to buy the funeral home. Chad’s wife Lisa is a big help to him as she has been able to take over the clerical duties required by the funeral business.

Chad touched on the importance of pre-planning a funeral. There are many kinds of funeral options and many costs involved in each option. The cost involved in a traditional funeral range from $3,000 to $3,500 for cremation and for a traditional funeral anywhere from $10,000.00 to $12,000.00. The costs of living in a nursing home for one person or for spouses can eat away any savings. It is important to have a funeral plan and to see a financial planner for protecting your savings and investments.

The clock ran out on the Club’s meeting time. The program was so interesting and there just wasn’t time for more questions. If anyone is interested in discussing preplanning and financial planning Chad has printed information that you can obtain from him by calling the funeral home or making an appointment.

The club adjourned in their usual fashion.