PresidentBeckyBrunsing commented “a good one!” when she rang the bell on Wednesday February 7th, 2024. Rotarian/Pastor Bill Heermann gave thanks for the break in the weather we were experiencing with warm temperatures and the snowbanks slowly disappearing. He asked for a blessing on the Rotarians as they go about their daily activities in the Wagner Community.

Assistant Song Leader Jeff Doom assigned the second table of Rotarians to pick out a song for the day. They asked for “May the Saints Go Marching In” and it was totally a mess. We got to the second verse, and no one recognized the words or the tune. We aren’t sure what exactly happened.

Membership Minute Chairperson Ken Cotton gave an interesting talk on Rotary Peace Centers. Each year, up to 130 peace and development leaders are selected as Rotary Peace Fellows. They earn either a master’s degree or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of the Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities around the world. Through academic training firsthand projects, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to be effective catalysts for peace.

Rotary districts may nominate as many candidates as they wish for the competitive selection process every year. Rotary Peace Fellows go on to serve as leaders in government, nongovernmental organizations, education, the military, law enforcement, humanitarian action, and international agencies such as the United Nations.

Assistant Sergeant at Arms Amanda Bechen levied the following fines: $2 to herself for her hairdo getting caught in the headrest of her car that morning; $2 to Jeff Doom for being “smart now”; $2 to Jerry Weber for ignoring the other Rotarians while he picked out his dessert and another $2 for wearing a shirt to “butter up” the Sergeant at Arms Jamie Soukup; $1 each to Craig Krsnak, Joe Stedronsky, and Linda Soukup for having a “coconut discussion”; $2 to Rachel Woods for the confusion of her musical selection.

Jerry Weber had a chance to win a potful of money but only picked the four of Spades. He lost out on $433.00. Secretary/Treasurer Krsnak announced that the Gerrit Juffer team had two misses and a total of nine misses while the Bill Frei Team had two misses and only four total misses.

There was no regular program for the day. Instead, the club used some of the District/National material to conduct a Health Check on our local Rotary Club. We had a good discussion on membership, induction of members, committee assignments, yearly projects, by-laws, learning opportunities, and fundraising goals.