President Jordan Weber convened the Wagner Rotary membership on Wednesday, February 19th and we huddled together in the coldest day yet to have our meeting. Our thermostat guardian Bryan Slaba was not present as he is relaxing in the warmth of Texas so, please don’t anyone tell Bryan that we had the furnace turned WAY up!

Guests for the day were Amy Doom and Hunter Lhotak courtesy of Margaret Doom. Hunter is in the process of applying for a scholarship from the Boys and Girls Club and he was present to practice giving his speech before he enters the competition. He was given a round of applause for his efforts as he wrote about how he incorporated the loss of his father into participating in the Club and his interactions with the younger students present. Hunter oversees Fitness and Recreation at our Wagner club. We wish him all the best in the future as he moves forward in this competition.

There were seven members absent for the day and Jeff Doom was Song leader and Sergeant at Arms at the head table. He led the membership in singing Smile as it is something every Rotarian knows by heart. Membership Minute Chairperson Patty Frei spoke about the Duties and Obligations of Membership in Rotary. Membership in a Rotary Club is an honor and a privilege. We claim no monopoly on service ideals, but we endeavor to practice in our own businesses or professional lives the principles of service. We claim no monopoly on service ideals but believe that club service is an obligation. Lastly, one of Rotary’s main objectives is friendliness, and if you haven’t attended one of Wagner Rotary’s club meetings you are missing a LOT of friendliness!

Rotarians are always reminded that “He profits most who serves best.” Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in this world, and it is well for each and everyone of us to once in awhile check up to see if our rent is paid, and if we find it so, I am sure that we will be rendering “Service Above Self!”

After those profound words, Jeff Doom proceeded to levy the following fines in the absence of Sergeant Jerry Weber. He fined Jerry Weber $3 for Jerry having written down several specific fines against Jeff at the last meeting; $2 to Linda Soukup for having so much meat in her lunch and making Jeff hungry with his small portion; $2 to Jordan Weber for stealing a prayer and making Rotarians all recite it together; $2 to Tim Thaler for asking for advice; $2 to Margaret Doom for one of her Uncles avoiding two stop signs; $2 to Jeannie Crowe for making the comment at her table that “she doesn’t talk much” A $2 Happy Fine came from Jamie Soukup for not getting a fine; $2 from Amanda Bechen for having two of her favorite clients that morning; $2 from Tim Thaler for great customer service; and $2 dollars from Patty Frei for not getting sick from her husband Bill who has been sick for two weeks.

Amanda Bechen tried to find the Queen of Hearts but produced the Seven of Diamonds and the pot is up to $217.00. Not a shabby amount to win! Patty Frei was sitting in for Craig Krsnak and gave the shocking report of attendance: Seven misses for the Ken Cotton Team and fifteen (!) misses for the Bill Frei Team. It is a lost cause for this third quarter with another month plus to go!

As a point of interest Rotarian Kathe Henke informed the membership that Rotary will be 120 years old this coming Sunday. That is quite an accomplishment for a worldwide organization. Rotary began in 1905.

There was some discussion in the form of a report by members who had attended the Cracker-Barrel last Saturday at Boom’s. Current and pending legislation was commented on with the biggest topic being that of school vouchers for home schoolers.

Jeff Doom introduced his program which was our newest member, Jeannie Crowe. Jeannie spent forty-five years plus working with disabled individuals and their families. She started by comparing how society dealt with these individuals in the 1950’s which was to put them in state institutions. That was simply the reality of that time. In the 1960’s the Sioux Vocational Services came about as two women realized that people with disabilities needed more. They started a micro school with eleven families using an educational approach and it was called Hollister School. From there she skipped to the 1980’s where a new program came about through Sioux Vocational Services in Sioux Falls. This was more professional schooling, but parents were still left out. Residential group homes were established.

Her takeaway from her years in her career is that you must work with individuals as well as their families. You cannot treat one without working with the other. Life Scape is where help is now given. There are larger group homes, but more are needed. They now partner with Lloyd Management for homes for people based on their individual needs instead of treating just one or two. Technology has been a wonderful thing for people with disabilities as it has enabled them to treat people geared to their specific individual needs.

There is a high burnout in this profession. Jeannie is retired now and sees even more change coming in the future for these people and their families. She feels she benefitted also from working with them and their family groups. Feel free to talk to her if this is a topic in which you are interested.

The meeting was adjourned with an old ritual for the Wagner Rotary Club. We have always had an American flag in the Northeast corner of the meeting room, and it has a spotlight shining on it as we sang My Country tis of Thee. We have not used this closing in many years. It felt good to older members to see it happen again!