President Jordan Weber gave a welcome ring of the Rotary Bell on October 16th to all those present. Attendance is still a little low since there is a great deal of grain being harvested in the countryside. Weber gave thanks for the delicious meal we were served and asked for guidance as we go about our community as Rotarians.

Rotarian Ken Cotton introduced his guest, Jeff Cotton, his younger brother from Yankton. Rotarian Gerrit Juffer introduced Mike who is the Representative for Progressive Insurance at Juffer, Inc. Juffer also directed everyone to sing “Roll Rotary” as the song for the day.

Membership Minute Chair Patty Frei asked the membership if they knew that they could join fellow Rotarians in becoming a Polio Plus member? Frei and her husband Bill joined the pledge to become Polio Plus members several years ago. For a donation of $100 each year during World Polio Day you can be a part of the Rotary effort to protect children and keep the world safe from Polio.

Rotarian Patty challenged all Wagner Rotarians to join her and Bill on Thursday morning October 24th to “walk a mile for Polio.' The starting point will be at the Rotary Shelter at 7:30 a.m. For everyone who walks a mile, she will be donating an extra $10 per person to the Polio Fund. World Polio Day IS October 24th.

Sergeant at Arms Jamie Soukup laughed as he approached the podium and commented “I have some good stuff today!' Indeed, he did. $2 to Craig Krsnak for missing out on a good dessert today without coconut; $2 to Patty Frei for eating a steak instead of her usual salad; $2 to Jeff Doom for heckling Jerry Henke and making an awkward comment about his wife Kathe; $ to Linda Soukup for asking the Sergeant if he was “killing the cow” when he was blocking her entry to the kitchen; $2 to Tim Thaler who appears to eat for two; $2 to Jerry Weber for calling the president to contact someone to do his SAA duties; $2 to Jerry Henke for being in a hot spot. Happy Fines of $2 came from Gerrit Juffer for having steak today and $2 for his favorite sailboat team hanging the race; $8 from Linda Soukup for her daughters and granddaughters taking her on a trip for her 80th birthday; $3 from Patty Frei for the W Club helping to mulch the landscaping at the Rotary Shelter; $6 from Becky Brunsing who is hosting a 60th Anniversary party for her parents; and $3 from Jamie Soukup who was hit with a hefty bill for braces for one of his children.

In a strange twist of fate, Rotarian Jamie held the winning ticket in the drawing and even stranger he drew the Queen of Hearts! He received a round of applause as the winnings will help towards his dentist bill!

President Jordan Weber reported in the absence of the Secretary/Treasurer that the attendance race is close with Margaret Doom’s team having five misses and Bill Frei’s team having six misses. With Treasurer Krsnak present, Weber guessed at the Queen of Hearts total being somewhere in the neighborhood of $350. President Weber also reported that our own Nick Dion left on his exchange trip to Australia. We are excited for Nick and wish him the best for a safe and enjoyable trip to meet the Australian Rotarians that visited Wagner last year in September.

There are no programs on Steak Day, but we spend the time answering questions about our club experiences. There was a lot of good discus-sion on several topics relating to membership, meetings, programs, and items that we would like to address in the future.

The picture included in today’s report is from last Thursday’s project at the Rotary Shelter. The WCS dismissed that day at 2:30 and members of the “W Club” went to different businesses and residences to help with community projects. Wagner Rotary was fortunate to have eight young ladies come to the Wagner Lake Rotary Shelter, and it took them under fifteen minutes to distribute thirty-seven bags of mulch around our bushes, day lilies, and assorted plants. They were quick and efficient, and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them. There were five young men who also came a little later and helped but they left before we could get them to give their names and pose for a picture. We are grateful to these students for their help. We adjourned in our usual fashion of reciting the Rotary Four-Way Test.

You can also read our minutes and view our project pictures if you are a member of Facebook. Our link can be found by typing in Wagner, SD Rotary Club.