Wagner Rotary met on Wednesday, August 31st with several members of the club absent. This is certainly due to the end of summer when everyone is trying to cram everything in. There were no guests present so after ringing the Rotary Bell President Rachel Woods read a meaningful prayer. Former member and Wagner resident Roger Wiltz is being remembered at every meeting. There is a posting site on Caring Bridge to follow the updates on his condition.

Singing was suspended without the presence of the Song leader and his assistant. Rotarian Ken Cotton also was absent, so the Membership Minute was skipped also.

Sergeant at Arms Jordan Weber was present and was ready for his report: $2 to Linda Soukup for making a mistake in last weeks report; Another $2 to Linda and Joe Stedronsky for talking about an Armour basketball game back in the early 30’s and 40’s; $1 to Rachel Woods for having her two boys on a Bronco’s team; $2 to Bill Frei for loaning out his unlicensed trailer to Jordan; $3 to Jerry Henke for his knowledge of snakes, catching one, putting it in a bag and delivering it to his neighbor and scaring him which brought his total fine up to $11.00. That will teach you Jerry! $2 to Bryan Slaba for a phone infraction, some people never stop talking; $1 to every Rotarian who was missing today’s meeting; $10 to Jeff Doom who keeps sending pictures to Jerry Weber saying “wish you were here”; a $5 UNHAPPY fine for a bad football kick from Craig Krsnak; $10 from Scott McAdargh for the 40th anniversary for him and employee Kristy Uecker for working at Super Foods for 40 years; $5 Happy Fine from Rachel Woods for her sister Kelsey Doom getting engaged.

The action them moved to the Queen of Hearts Drawing. Kathe Henke had the lucky ticket number, and everyone got noticeably quiet. Kathe didn’t hesitate. She quickly pulled the card closest to her, but it wasn’t the Queen.

Craig Krsnak, the Secretary/ Treasurer informed Kathe that she was $761.00 poorer. He also released the latest numbers for the attendance teams. Jamie Soukup’s team has ten misses and Jordan Weber’s team has sixteen.

President Woods announced that there would be a very quick Board of Directors meeting right after our group meeting.

Rotarian Craig Krsnak introduced his program for the day. Tanya Urquieta from Armour, South Dakota is the Rural Aging Action Network Coordinator for adults in Charles Mix and Douglas County. Tanya is a resident of Armour and has recently returned to her hometown. She spent twenty years in diplomatic service to the United States. She has been in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and speaks Spanish, French, and remarked that she “could defend herself speaking Croatian.”

Right before her graduation from Amour High School her father joined the Diplomatic Corp and the family moved to Saudi Arabia. It was her exposure to his career for many years that led to her decision to also join the foreign service. Lutheran Social Services is her employer now and as the RAA Network Coordinator she will be visiting many communities in the two counties and making contacts with organizations, individuals, and other local and federal government agencies.

Older adults in rural communities experience greater levels of social isolation and difficulty accessing the services and supports they need. The goal of this new project is to help older adults in Douglas and Charles Mix counties access services and supports to successfully age at home.

One of the examples given by Mr. Krsnak who is in the insurance business, was the considerable number of individuals who come to him, and they do not have access to a computer and do not know how to use one. They often just need help in filling out forms that need to be submitted to help older individuals.

All individuals who need help will be assessed and helped in whatever area they need help with. The five areas of potential gaps are: social isolation, transportation, food security, healthcare navigation/ referrals, and safe housing. It was an interesting presentation and something all our rural communities need help with. Here is her contact information: Tanya Urquieta, LSS (Lutheran Social Services) of South Dakota Rural Aging Action Network Coordinator Box 220, Armour, South Dakota 57313