The Wagner Rotary Club was called to order on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 by President Bryan Slaba. He called upon Pastor Laurie Kidd to give a prayer. Laurie asked the membership to pray for our Rotarian Jerry Weber and for the Merle Denker family. Thanks was given for the beautiful day, the nourishing food, and for continued guidance in serving our Wagner Community. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by the Rotary members in place of singing.

A Membership Minute was presented by Rotarian Roger Wiltz. He has volunteered to fill this position when he is in town. Jeff Doom will fill the position when Roger is absent. Roger began by saying that not all Rotarians understand that Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are two separate entities. They do not share any monies. The money collected by The Rotary Foundation is given half to local districts in the form of grants and the other half is given to worldwide projects in the form of grants. The Rotary Foundation has the distinction of being the most efficient organization in the world.

Sergeant at Arms Becky Brunsing took the podium without a list of fines. She offered up a Happy Fine of $5 for Wagner defeating Avon in Volleyball the previous night and for her daughter Abby Brunsing being crowned Homecoming Queen 2020 with Simon Frier being crowned King. Linda Soukup offered up another $5 fine for Abby’s coronation as she was the Soukup’s 8th grandchild who was a Homecoming candidate and the first to capture a crown. Another note of interest was that the three female candidates for Queen were all Soukup girls.

Bryan Slaba offered up a $5 fine for his grandson recently born and another $5 each for quadruplet great-grandchildren who were born January 28th. They have spent four months in ICU units. Bill and Patty Frei offered up $5 each for taking the Heart Test and having healthy hearts. Laura Wright offered up $5 for her brother who is a 20-year veteran in the Navy and he recently received a promotion to E8 which gives him the distinction of being Senior Chief in the US Navy.

Jerry Henke offered $5 for his birthday. He is the second oldest Rotarian in the Wagner Rotary Club.

Secretary-Treasurer Patty Frei reported that our attendance for the day was 16 members present. We collected $14 which brought the Queen of Hearts pot up to $417.00 Patty also drew the lucky ticket but was unable to break the pot up. She drew a Queen of Clubs. Patty also passed out the second quarter dues statements. Members were not charged for food or fines for the second quarter as we were not in session.

Becky Brunsing, Football Book Chairwoman announced the winners of the last two football games. Dustin McAdaragh sold by Scott McAdaragh, and Luke Koenig sold by Bryan Slaba. Second game winners were DeElla Soukup sold by Linda Soukup and Josh Dvorak sold by Laura Wright. $50 checks were distributed to the sellers to be given to the winners.

Pastor Laurie gave a program on her recent journey of weight loss. She said she grew up in a continually active family that played lots of sports together. At one point in her young life she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. After college she accepted the position of music director at a Methodist Church in Sioux Falls. Her busy job schedule usually resulted in her driving through the fast-food chains after working all day and sometimes into the evenings with musical duties and performances. Her weight began increasing.

After ten years in Sioux Falls, she was appointed as pastor at a community wide church in Kimball. She struggled to adjust to a small congregation in an exceedingly small community and the weight increased. She was diagnosed also with Type 2 diabetes. After four years she was transferred to Wagner United Methodist Church in Wagner and the Tyndall United Methodist Church in Tyndall. Laurie has been in Wagner for six years. The weight continued increase even though she tried every diet that was out in circulation.

Last May Laurie concluded that she needed to make a drastic decision about her weight and taking care of herself. God gives us our bodies to treat as a holy temple and she felt she was remiss in not taking better care of her gift. She spent months getting physicals, professional consultation, and testing at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls. This past June 29th she had gastric bypass surgery. Amazingly it is only a one-night stay! Her sister came to be with her, and they stayed in Sioux Falls for three days before coming home to Wagner. She has been following all the instructions and recently passed her check up physical. Health wise she is doing great. Her Type 2 Diabetes is gone, her blood pressure is down, and her only problem seems to be a low energy level which she will try to adjust by eating more protein.

Laurie recommends this procedure only as a last resort for people who have tried and failed at all diets. She said it was an amazing experience and everyone was incredibly supportive. Her two church families in Wagner and Tyndall were great support for her. If anyone is contemplating such a procedure, she would be more than happy to talk to them and encourage them.

The Four Way Test was recited by the members and the meeting adjourned.