Rachel Woods was a fill in for President Becky Brunsing at the Rotary meeting on October 4th, 2023. The Vice-President also had other plans. Guests of Rotarian Patty Frei were Margaret Doom the new Wagner Area Growth Director and Jerry Weber brought his neighbor and friend Thoer Goehring from the Delmont area.

After a prayer given by Rotarian Woods Rotarian Jeff Doom was put on the spot to be Song Leader. He quickly opened the book to “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” which the group gave a valiant effort but failed. It was quickly decided not to attempt another verse.

Membership Minute Ken Cotton delivered his Rotary Minute which consisted of outlining the Rotary and Rotaract clubs which choose their own frequency and format for club meets. Some clubs meet in person or online or both. There are 520 districts among the clubs. These districts are led by governors who serve a significant role in leadership, and they are trained for these positions. They serve for one year and check in with each Rotary club in their district during the year.

Sergeant at Arms Jamie Soukup fined Jeff Doom $2 as a welcome back greeting; $2 to Jordan Weber for not doing his job as Vice President; $5 to Jerry Weber for letting his kids beat him in his crop output; $2 to Rachel Woods and Jamie himself for knocking down the Rotary banner that is covering the head table. Happy Fines came from Rachel Woods, $5 for her fiveyear-old son today; $5 from Scott McAdaragh for his mother Gerri McAdaragh’s birthday and $5 from Patty Frei for seeing five members from the Wagner Club attending the District 5610 Convention last weekend.

Rotarian Scott McAdaragh held the winning ticket number, so he tried to get the Queen, but she was still intent on hiding in the deck. Secretary/Treasurer Craig Krsnak informed Scott that he had lost out on $166.00 The attendance race is beginning a new quarter with the Juffer Team having zero misses and the Frei Team have one absent.

The winning football book was # 92. Vincent Bechen was the winner, and his ticket was sold by his mother Amanda; Catherine Juffer was the other winner and she won from her dad’s ticket.

Bill Frei asked to take the floor and he presented Rotarian Joe Stedronsky with a plaque for Rotarian of Distinction which was handed out at the recent State convention in Yankton. Rotarian Joe was Wagner’s candidate for the award. Joe was given a resounding round of applause. Rachel Woods received a plaque from the Rotary International group for the Wagner Club having a 100 percent monetary gift from each member; and lastly Frei gave recognition to Rachel (Doom) Woods and Jeff Doom for their Father Francis Doom being recognized at the Sunday morning service at the Convention. It is customary for the names of Rotarians who have passed away in the preceding year to be remembered with a rose. Francis was a regularly active and present force in the Wagner Rotary Club for many years, was a District Governor, went on exchange trips around the world and was an influence on all Wagner Rotarians.

Rotarian Patty Frei introduced her guests who were the program for the day, Erica Kotab and Jamie Tjeerdsma. They were present to inform the club of an upcoming fundraiser for the proposed new Wagner swimming pool. This will be the launch event for the campaign. There is going to be a “Bloodwood Castle Mystery Masquerade” event at the Armory in Wagner on Friday, October 28th. They spoke about the structure of their committee working to raise awareness of the need for the new pool, gave background information on the progress in the last couple of years and spent time explaining the upcoming event.

Tickets are $30 per person, $50 per couple or you can buy a reserved table with your friends for $300.00. Dress attire can be anything you want, but you are urged to follow the theme for Halloween and be masqueraded as well. Choteau Creek Brewing Company are preparing the food and drinks will be available to buy. It will be a night of music, a Silent Auction and other Auction items.

The committee needs to raise $200,000.00 by themselves to qualify for a generous matching donation from an unknown community member. There has been $200,000.00 set aside each year for the last four years by the City of Wagner. Please visit wagnerpoolfundraising.com for more information or contact one of the committee members: Darcy Kaberna 605-481-2369, Ericka Kotab 605 491,0260, or Jamie Tjeerdsma 605-481-2818