President Elect Jordan Weber welcomed everyone to Wagner Rotary’s May 15th meeting. There was one guest present, Dana Sanderson, who spoke briefly about the upcoming 605 Unity Jam. The event is a Jamboree of Art and Music, a multi-cultural celebration. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at our beautiful Wagner Lake. Admission is free. Come and relax by the lake. Enjoy Unity Buffalo Art which is a unique creation by former Wagner art students. This event has drawn the attention of our South Dakota magazine as well as our state television stations. Contact Dana Sanderson at 605-491-0804 or danasanderson51@gmail.com for more information to become a sponsor, co-sponsor, partner, or friend.

Pastor/Rotarian Bill Herrman led the group in prayer by giving thanks for the day, the food and asked for help in guiding us to learn what the needs in our Wagner community are and how we can meet them.

Song leader Gerrit Juffer led us in singing ROTARY! Membership Minute Chairperson Ken Cotton spoke about how singing in Rotary came about.

Assistant Sergeant at Arms Amanda Bechen levied only two fines as we were pressed for time with our busy schedule for the day. $2 was assigned to Patty Frei for being brave enough to sit at a table of all men; and $1 was assigned to Patty, Rachel, Linda, and Kathe for being Mothers on the recent Mother’s Day holiday. Bechen also gave a Happy Fine of $5 for having a graduate the past weekend and Patty Frei gave a $2 Happy Fine for finding a large cement rock that was in front of her building but thankfully did not go through any of her windows.

Rotarian Rachel Woods held the lucky number at the “Lucky Table” and tried her luck finding the Queen of Hearts but produced just the four of Spades. Secretary/ Treasurer Krsnak consoled her with the fact that the winnings in the Queen drawing are only up to $47.00 now. The attendance race has finally gotten on even ground. There are eight misses on each team as of this meeting.

Other business concerned the announcement of an upcoming meeting to help Senior citizens with any concerns they have about obtaining help for their needs. Rotarian Woods asked if the club members would like to tour her new facility next Wednesday for her program. The answer was a unanimous “yes”!

President Brunsing was out of town on her job so Rotarian Jordan Weber introduced Brunsings program which was brought by Barb Johannsen from First Dakota Bank in the person of Kevin D. Watt who is the Vice President of Fraud Prevention and Collections headquarterd in 101 North Main. Ste. 101 in Sioux Falls, SD 57104 Mr. Wats has experience in stolen identities and fraud. He has another person collaborating with him in his office. If you want to contact him his number is 605-3338209 or contact Barb Johannson at the First Dakota Bank in Wagner South Dakota for referral.

This has become a billion-dollar industry in the State of South Dakota alone! Here are some of his major tips. There was more information than Mr. Watts could give in a short amount of time. Please stop in at First Dakota for several pamphlets of information that you can read in more detail.

1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organization like Social Security, the IRS, or Medicare or even a utility company, a tech company or a charity asking for donations. They steal telephone numbers that are real but the person making the call is NOT real.

2. Scammers say there is PROGLEM, or you are going to win a PRIZE, or you owe MONEY or someone in your family has an EMERGENCY, or your computer has a VIRUS!

3. Scammers PRESSURE you to act immediately. They may even threaten you with arrest, suing, taking away your business license or deportation.

4. Scammers tell you to PAY in a specific way. They want you to pay using cryptocurrency, wiring money, or using a gift card.

5. Beware of putting checks in an outside mailbox. Always mail directly at the post office headquarters and not the outside mailbox.

6. Block all unwanted calls and text messages on your phones immediately. Don’t give out any personal or financial information to anyone over the phone or the internet unless you know them personally. Don’t’ believe it if they tell you they are calling on behalf of a child or grandchild.

Mr. Watts could not finish with all his information. It was a very useful program. We adjourned our usual fashion by reciting The Four-Way Test.