President Bryan Slaba convened the Rotary Club last Wednesday, July 14th with three Rotarians absent. There were no guests, so Pastor Laurie offered up thanksgiving for the rain, the fellowship, and asked for guidance for all members as we go about serving our Wagner Community.

Rotarian Laurie Kidd then tested the membership to see if they remembered how to sing the song Be a Friend that we learned last week. She was impressed. We concluded the singing session by singing Clementine.

You could feel the tension rise in the room as Joe Stedronsky pulled the lucky ticket from the can and it turned out to be Jeff Doom's ticket. So sorry Jeff! He only drew the Jack of Spades.

Secretary/Treasurer Craig Krsnak reported that there were three absences: one on the Brunsing Team and two on Rachel Woods' Team but there were makeups, so the teams are still tied at 2 and 2.

President Slaba made the announcement that the District Governor will be in Wagner next Wednesday for our meeting and the Board of Directors which are Becky, Kathe, Bill and Bryan should meet at the clubhouse at 11:30.

A discussion was held on whether the club should attempt to do the community calendar as a fund raiser and eventually the members vetoed the idea. Slaba also announced that the annual Cancer Walk will be on Saturday, August 7th at Wagner Lake. A meal will be served by Super Foods and Rotarians are asked to be present and help serve.

Jeff Doom was Program Chairman for the day, and he presented the program himself. He recently read the book Area 51 and made notes on his findings which he referred to as “shocking." Area 51 is real. It is the most famous military installation in the world. It consists of a total of 4700 square miles outside of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. The base has never been acknowledged by the US government, but it has captivated imaginations for decades.

Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now.

This is the first book based on interviews with eyewitnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the most comprehensive work on the subject. It is filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public. Her research began when the Freedom of Information Act in 2011 was released.

Annie Jacobsen is the author of Area 51 and has exclusive access to nineteen men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75 to 91, and unprecedented access to fifty-five additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, thirty-two of whom lived and worked there for extended periods. In the book, Jacobsen shows us what has really gone on in the Nevada desert, from testing nuclear weapons to building supersecret, supersonic jets to pursuing the War on Terror.

Area 51 shows that the facts are more fantastic than fiction ranging from nuclear testing below ground and up in the atmosphere. We never really know what our government is doing. You are encouraged to read this book about all the testing that took place after WWII.

There was no Membership Minute, so Sergeant at Arms Jerry Weber gleefully began to hand out fines:

$2 to Rachel Woods for having her sister Kelsey appear on KSFY news

$2 to Scott McAdaragh for his phone ringing constantly last week

$2 to Jeff Doom for having his wife deliver the meals and not bringing her to the meeting

$2 to Becky Brunsing for the Detour street signs which made Jerry go around the block

$2 to Bryan Slaba for shutting some of the lights off

$2 to everyone who relies on their cell phone which amounted to everyone except Joe Stedronsky

$2 to Laurie Kidd for the remark she made during the song about Jeff

Happy Fines:

$2 was offered by Becky Brunsing for her son getting married and the wonderful meal that Super Foods catered

Amanda Bechen offered $2 for all the beautiful flowers on Main Street