Wednesday, August 23rd proved to be a scorcher of the day. It was 98 degrees outside after the meeting and was predicted to go to 104 or 5. There were several guests: Gerrit Juffer introduced Mike and Kara Frei and their son Robert who were his program; and his wife (after being reminded of her presence) Michelle Juffer. Joe Stedronsky and Linda Soukup also brought their new pastor Rydel Samuelson from the Wagner United Methodist Church.

Pastor Bill Herrmann gave thanks for the gift of food to nourish us and asked for the Holy Spirit to guide each one of us as we go about the community. Song leader Gerrit Juffer led us in singing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”

Membership Minute Chairperson Ken Cotton spoke about the difference in membership in Rotary International. Rotarians who belong to a Rotary Club regardless of where the club is located belong to Rotary International. It is Club membership and not personal membership. Over 27,000 Rotary Clubs belong to the organization known as Rotary International.

Members enjoyed a delicious lunch from Valley Pump and as soon as the last crumb was enjoyed, Jamie Soukup took over his job as Sergeant at Arms, which he truly enjoyed! Fines were: $2 to Jeff Doom who was suspected of flying over the football game last Friday night; $2 to Gerrit and $2 to Jerry Weber for trying to fool Jeff Doom’s phone into ringing. An automatic fine occurs when anyone’s phone rings during the meeting. $2 to Jordan Weber for his landscaping around his new residence in Wagner, $2 to Jeff for a phon. isolation regardless of whether it was rigged or not; $1 to Bill Frei and $1 to Jordan Weber for being at that back table and not getting a new spot. (Rotarians are under pressure to sit at a different table each week or risk being fined.)

Happy Fines came from Bill and Patty Frei for the marriage of their daughter and gaining a new son-in-law $10.00; Rachel Doom and Jamie Soukup gladly paid $5 each to have their kids back in school; Becky Brunsing paid $5 for DWU Volleyball team winning their opening tournament in Miami last weekend. Gerrit Juffer spoke about the upcoming fishing tournament at Pickstown this coming weekend. He urged everyone to attend and especially to bring their kids to see this fun event. There will be lots of local anglers at this event as opposed to the sponsored tournament earlier this summer which had a lot of professional fishers.

Secretary/Treasurer Craig Krsnak reported that the Juffer team has seven misses, and the Frei Team has five misses. Kara Frei had a chance to pull the Queen but got the wrong Queen—the Queen of Clubs.

President Brunsing then summarized the upcoming District 5610 Annual Conference to be held in Yankton SD this September 28-30th. She sent an email to each member with an agenda for each day. Bill Frei is requesting trade programs with someone for the 6th of September. Discussion centered again on our upcoming visit from the Australian Rotarians on September 14th. It was decided to give them a tour of our Wagner Community School and have a meeting at the Choteau Creek Brewery if possible.

Gerrit Juffer introduced his program, Kara Frei, and Robert Frei. This past June Robert attended the Marine Military Academy which is in Harlingen, Texas. Robert asked his mother months ago if he could attend this academy. They researched the camp and spent a weekend in March traveling there for further information. Kara and Robert met several individuals while there and toured the facilities. They also talked to one of the teachers at WCS, Patrick Belling, and he gave them positive feedback on the camp. They started the application process and waited for information. There were 4,000 applicants for this camp and only four hundred were accepted. Robert was accepted and Kara made sure he got there safely at the end of June.

There were many activities at the camp. It is run on a schedule very similar to a military camp. There is Reville, Breakfast, Confidence Building Courses, Zip line, Rappelling, Rock Climbing, High Ropes Course, Drill Marching, Iron Man Competition to name only a few.

There were two platoons within a company and Robert was in Charlie Company. There are 60 to 70 young boys in each company. They lived in a two-story barracks which the boys had to clean themselves every week. They learned to eat what they were served, keep themselves and their surroundings clean.

There were no phones, no email, no communication. They also learned how to march, and Robert was selected to be the flag bearer or Guide On. Parents can get pictures of the students and their activities by visiting the website, just Google Marine Military Camps. There are many camps like this around the country. Robert won awards for weightlifting, marksmanship, and at graduation was chosen as an Honor Man.

This was an enjoyable program. It is interesting to see how these young boys/men can learn so many skills at such a young age and possibly develop an interest in joining the military at an older age. It was a wonderful way to spend a summer month and Robert was enthusiastic about his time there.

Please, don’t hesitate to talk to Kara, her husband Mike, or to Robert about his experience. They felt it was a very positive experience for their son.

The meeting adjourned in it is usual fashion be reciting our Four-Way Test: Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?