Wednesday, January 15th was Steak Day at the Rotary Clubhouse in Wagner. Our Rotary year is divided into four quarters and attendance is important for members. At the end of each quarter the attendance team which has the least number of absences is declared the winner. The losing team is responsible for buying the steaks for the winning team as well as themselves! Absences can be made up by following a program that is prepared online for that purpose. This is the beginning of a new quarter so last week’s names were drawn for two new teams. The steaks today were courtesy of the Bill Frei Team.

There was one guest present for today’s meeting which was Jeanie Crowe. Jeanie will become a member of the Wagner Rotary soon after a specified time has passed without any objections to her membership. Song leader Gerrit Juffer announced that we would sing Happy Birthday to the following Rotarians: Ken Cotton, Gerrit Juffer, Scott McAdaragh, Becky Brunsing, and Jerry Henke. After a hearty Happy Birthday from members, all joined in singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” all three verses.

Membership Minute Chairwoman Patty Frei reported on an article in the February 2018 Rotary magazine about Jimmy Carter. Former President Carter knew the power of service organizations well. He was a member of the Lions Club in his hometown of Plains Georgia, and a past district governor. For more than thirty years Carter and his wife Rosalyn dedicated a week each year to volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The former president received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his decades of work in advancing peace and human rights. Carter was the United States longest living president. He and his wife founded the Carter Center in 1982. The center’s programs revolve around two main themes: peace and health.

Rotarian Rachel Woods was a stand-in for Sergeant at Arms Jerry Weber. She fined his son Jordan Weber $2 for not helping Jerry load up some cattle but went to sell them. This fine was at Jerry’s request! $2 went to Craig Krsnak who couldn’t figure out how to open up a sour cream packet; $3 to Amanda Bechen who was heard using the word “gooder” and forcing Tim Thaler to sit by her; $3 went to Tim Thaler for getting a haircut and becoming an adult; $2 to Gerrit Juffer who had said he was bringing a guest but didn’t; $2 to Jamie for not eating the steak; $5 to Jerry Weber for corrupting the sergeant; $1 to Kathe, Jordan, and Linda for talking about the Vikings game to Rachel; and finally $2 to Tim for giving into Amanda and sitting beside her.

Rotarian Jamie Soukup had the winning ticket number and got a little close to the Queen of Hearts by pulling a six of Hearts. He could have won $150.00 if he had found the Queen.

The new totals for absences are four for Ken Cotton’s Team and two for Patty Frei’s Team. Gerri McAdargh made an appearance at this time and thanked the club for their Christmas present. Gerri makes a dessert each week for the Rotary members and sets the tables and does little extra things that are so appreciated by all the Rotarians. She received a round of applause.

There are no programs on Steak Day so the items of discussion were the fact that the can trailer is getting full and will need to go to Mitchell soon to be emptied. Rotarian Juffer mentioned that we should keep in mind locations to extend our cleaning efforts to in the Spring whether it be some areas in the city or other places as well as our usual cleaning of the ditches. We are hoping to start sooner in the Spring rather than later.

The last item of business was the drawing for the Football book winners. We put everyone’s ticket stubs in a can and draw out two $100, two $200, and two $300 winners so that everyone has a chance at winning. The two $100 winners were Pam Nordquist and Patty Frei; $200 winners were Dick Crabtree and Amanda Bechen; and two $300 winners were Roger Soukup and Linda Soukkup.

The meeting was adjourned with our usual recitation of the Four-Way Test: Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build Goodwill and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?