Programs so far in December have focused on the performing arts...no surprise, since this month's program chair is Dr. David Reynolds! This week we learned about the 2025 season offerings for Prairie Repertory Theatre from Artistic Director Billy Wilburn. Audiences can look forward to attending four great shows: Grease, Romeo & Juliet (to be performed on Sylvan Green!), the British farce Out of Order, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And earlier in December, Rotarians were treated to the sounds of the season with a wonderful performance by SDSU's Statesmen, directed by Dr. Andrew Robinette. Thanks to all who bring this world class entertainment to our community!
Many thanks to speaker Michelle Vande Weerd, Brookings School District Director of Academic Services and Special Programs, for her interesting presentation on the Bobcat Plains Academy. We enjoyed hearing more about this important educational option, Michelle!
December is known for Christmas! My favorite part of Christmas is the Christmas tree. There are so many
reasons to love Christmas trees! The greenness of the tree livens up our lives and living rooms and gives us
some color, which is greatly needed in South Dakota winters because it is either white outside or gloomy
brown. The green reminds of to be full of life and happiness and eternal love. Decorating the tree is a tradition
that all households who have a tree get to experience. Maybe your family decorates it all together with the
kids, parents and grandparents. Or maybe it is done by one person in the house and it gives them time to
reflect and enjoy the quiet.
reasons to love Christmas trees! The greenness of the tree livens up our lives and living rooms and gives us
some color, which is greatly needed in South Dakota winters because it is either white outside or gloomy
brown. The green reminds of to be full of life and happiness and eternal love. Decorating the tree is a tradition
that all households who have a tree get to experience. Maybe your family decorates it all together with the
kids, parents and grandparents. Or maybe it is done by one person in the house and it gives them time to
reflect and enjoy the quiet.
The history of the Christmas tree can be traced back centuries from central Europe, particularly Germany,
Estonia and Latvia where Protestant Christians brought trees into their homes to be decorated with apples,
sweets, wafers, and candles. In today’s fast pace world, the candles have been replace with strings of lights
and the apples replaced by Christmas balls and the sweets/wafers replaces with pretty decorations.
December and the Christmas season is also known as the time of giving, which is the foundation of what
Rotary is built upon. Rotarians should embody our motto – Service Above Self. This motto can take on so
many different aspects from volunteering your time, providing knowledge and experience to push forward
Rotary’s goals, donating money towards projects around the world or locally. It is easy this time of year to give
back. Brookings Rotarians will be Ringing the Bells for the Salvation Army on December 9 th for the Red Kettle
Campaign to raise funds for food assistance, homeless shelters, and emergency financial support.
Other ways that we - as Rotarians - can lend a hand in our area: Feeding Brookings, Project Joy, Food Pantry,
and Angel Trees just to name a few. I challenge each of you to “lend a hand” this Christmas Season.
Donating funds is also highly needed with so many of our fellow Americans struggling to get by. Giving
Tuesday is on December 3rd and is a global generosity movement to unleash the power of radical generosity. It
was created to have a day that encourages people to do good. It is a day to give back to others and promote
the benefits of philanthropy and charitable actions. Visit the Rotary Foundation website to witness the “good”
that we are doing as Rotarians around the world. While at www.rotary.org feel free to make a donation by
clicking the Donate button on the upper right of the webpage.
December will be a short month of Rotary Tuesday meetings with the last 2 weeks of Tuesdays being
cancelled due to Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Take some extra time that is being given back to you
and “do some good.”
Merry Christmas! Enjoy the season of giving and experience the joy and happiness that is felt when giving.
And yes, it is okay to receive…we all love opening and receiving presents! I believe that we all are children at
heart during Christmas.
Happy Holidays! Spread Good Cheer Wherever Your Life Takes You!
President Jen Olson
Congratulations to Brookings Rotarian Keith Bartels, who received his Paul Harris Fellow-Plus 1 pin at this week's club meeting, presented by Club President Jennifer Olson. A Paul Harris Fellow is one who has donated at least $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation (TRF), or for whom someone else has donated $1,000 in his or her name. Those who have achieved “Paul Harris Plus” status reflect the $1,000 donation repeated in subsequent years. Donations to TRF go to help with projects in one of seven areas of global and community service: Promoting Peace; Fighting Disease; Providing Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; Savings Mothers and Children; Supporting Education; Growing Local Economies; and Protecting the Environment.
Brookings Rotary Club President Jen Olson, right, welcomes new member Cindy Mydland and presents her with a copy of the Four-Way Test. Cindy, retired from a career in healthcare, is eager for the community service and fellowship opportunities that Rotary offers. Welcome, Cindy!
Thanks to new member Roxanne Wicks for sharing with the club about her background and passion for service. We look forward to working with you in the spirit of Rotary "Service Above Self!"
So often some of our best programs are presented by our own members! Thanks to Brookings Club Foundation Chair Brad Blaha for presenting an update on The Rotary Foundation. TRF is the philanthropic organization that empowers Rotarians and others to do good works in their own communities and around the world. Thanks for a great program, Brad!
Jamee Kattner, Miss Siouxland and a Miss South Dakota contestant, spoke to the Brookings Rotary Club about the history of the Miss America Pageant, and her platform of spreading joy through music. She is a music education major at SDSU from Huron. Thank you for visiting with us, Jamee, and best wishes!
Brookings Rotarians and guests filled the community room at Peaceful Pines Senior Living for our regular weekly meeting on Nov. 5, as we met off-site due to the Brookings Activity Center serving as a polling place. Executive Director Autumn Cogdill gave the presentation on Brookings' newest senior living option, and many Rotarians toured the facility, which includes independent living, assisted living, and memory care. Then later in the week, Rotarians met at Ray's Corner for Thirsty Thursday, enjoying fellowship and raising $160 for Disabled American Veterans. Rotarians love to know more about their community and support local efforts!
Welcome to November!
The year as Brookings Rotary Club President is flying by. I am enjoying it immensely.
October continued to be a busy month for Brookings Rotary - starting with Thirsty Thursday on October 3 at
Jim’s Tap, which raised $115 for the Brookings Backpack Program. On Monday, October 7, Brookings Rotary
Club sponsored six SDSU students for Bum-A-Meal at Michael and Tiffany Gonda’s house. Numerous
Rotarians donated food, prizes and gift bags and fun was had by all. It was a good opportunity for us - as
Rotarians - to plant seeds with young adults about Rotary and maybe someday…..they will become Rotarians
themselves. Finally on Friday, October 25, Brookings Rotary hosted Gemma Sisia and Dr. Suleman from The
School of St. Jude in Tanzania. It was a wonderful event with many in attendance with Rotarians from Madison
SD, Marshall MN, Sioux Falls SD, Rapid City SD, Watertown SD, Brookings SD and friends from The Landing
in Brookings SD.
The School of St. Jude is located in Tanzania Africa. It was founded in 2003 with 3 students and graduated 60
in the inaugural class in 2015. Today, the school has more than 1,800 students who are provided a free,
quality education through scholarships from generous donations. Each student comes from a considerably
poor (poverty) background. The School of St. Jude’s mission is to fight poverty through education.
Currently, our Club and it’s members provide scholarships for:
Gregg & Vi Jongeling and Brookings Rotary Club Sponsor 1 child for $2,640/year
Marcia & Larry Janssen Sponsor ½ child for $1,320/year
Doug & Mary Malo Sponsor ½ child for $1,320/year
Gregg & Vi Jongeling and Brookings Rotary Club Sponsor 1 child for $2,640/year
Marcia & Larry Janssen Sponsor ½ child for $1,320/year
Doug & Mary Malo Sponsor ½ child for $1,320/year
Gemma Sisia is the Founding Director of the school. During her visit on October 25, she provided a full
background history of the school and how children receive their scholarships. She was accompanied by one of
her inaugural graduates from 2015, Dr. Suleman who has gone on to college, medical school and is now
employed at the largest hospital in Tanzania as a General Practitioner in the Emergency Department. 97% of
St. Jude’s alumni go onto access higher education after secondary school. Of these alumni, 80% are working
in crucial sectors to ensure Tanzania’s prosperity, including engineering, health, education, information
technology, financing and accounting. To learn about this amazing school, see their website:
https://www.schoolofstjude.org/. If interested, visit with Gregg Jongeling for more information. AND…FYI,
there will be an Africa trip which will include a visit to The School of St. Jude in 2026. Pat Sutliff from The
Rushmore Club in Rapid City is a driving force for The School of St. Jude.
November is Rotary Foundation Month. This is a time when Rotary International highlights the importance of
supporting the Rotary Foundation, which is the charitable arm of Rotary International. All donations to the
foundation support humanitarian and educational programs locally and around the world. The Rotary
Foundation transforms more than 90% of its gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home
and globally. Every Rotarian is invited and encouraged to support the Annual Fund with a personal
contribution each year. https://www.rotary.org/en/foundation-build
Here are some examples of how your generous donation in the Rotary Foundation makes a difference:
$100/year provides 3 backpacks filled with supplies for primary school children in Honduras.
$100/year provided 50 malaria diagnostic tests to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria in Mali.
$100/year provides 1 biosand filter and water-hygiene training for a family in Peru.
$1,000/year provides 14 HIV antiretroviral drugs to prevent the transmission of HIV from injected
mothers to their babies in Liberia.
$1,000/year provides 1 bicycle to play sports for youth with disabilities in France/
$1,000/year provides sexual assault and domestic abuse education women in Texas.
The power of giving enriches lives – both the giver and the recipient. Giving activates the reward centers in the
brain and releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine and endorphins, producing what researchers call the
“helper’s high.” Giving also can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, boost self-esteem and lower depression
risk. By making you happier, giving back helps you live longer. While giving feels good, its deeper significance
is bringing help to those in need. Simple ways to give are donations, volunteering and performing acts of
kindness. Giving has the power to transform lives.
Remember Rotary’s Motto: Service Above Self.
President Jen Olson
The Brookings Rotary Club is honored to welcome three new members, introduced to the membership at the Oct. 29 meeting. Club President Jen Olson, left, presented Four-Way Test plaques and new member information to Stacey VanBeek, Kayla Stuefen and Brad Hennings. Stacey, Kayla and Brad, we look forward to working side by side with you in "Service Above Self" in the Brookings community, with Rotary impact around the world!
The Brookings Rotary Club hosted a very special reception Friday evening for members, guests, and visiting Rotarians to welcome Gemma Sisia, the founding director of The School of St. Jude in Tanzania, which is enthusiastically supported by Rotary and its clubs and members. Gemma is traveling throughout the state along with St. Jude alum Dr. Suleiman Mohammed, who is now a physician in one of Tanzania's most prestigious hospitals, to tell the amazing success story of the school. Gemma began The School of St. Jude, a privately funded school for extremely impoverished but bright youngsters in Tanzania, more than twenty years ago with only three students. Today the school serves 1,800 primary and secondary students on several campuses, and also supports university students. Scroll through these photos from our very special gathering last evening, and click here for more info on The School of St. Jude:
Randy Grimsley, Brookings Area United Way Development Director, presented a great program this week to the Brookings Rotary Club. BAUW helps fund 46 agencies and programs throughout the county. Its mission is to enhance the health, education, and financial stability of community members. While fundraising is still paramount to its mission, Brookings Area United Way staff and volunteers also are known as facilitators and connectors. Thanks, Randy, and thanks to the BAUW for all you do for our community!
Brookings Rotarian Ginger Thomson and her husband, Jay Vanduch, presented the program this week on their invention, The Doorhickey, a device that allows hands-free opening and closing of sliding glass doors. Their story of creating, patenting, and marketing this device is one of determination and perseverance, and they announced that it will be demonstrated on a new Amazon Prime-streamed show "Buy It Now" in the coming weeks. Thanks, Ginger and Jay, for a great program, and congratulations on the success of The Doorhickey!
The first day of fall officially arrived on September 22nd so that means we can all buy our pumpkins, right? The first full week of fall has been experiencing above normal temperatures in the upper 70s and 80s. Thus, it is hard to believe that fall is really here. Once the trees start to turn color, then maybe the autumn spirit will appear.
The new season brings new projects to help others. The Celebrate Community Event is a wonderful example of collaboration between the civic organizations to help those in need and save lives. Donating food, cleaning supplies and hygiene products is an important project that benefits multiple organizations, such as The Food Pantry, Salvation Army and Harvest Table. Each of these groups helps so many people in the community by providing daily items that may be unaffordable.
Brookings Rotarians also volunteered time and money towards the worldwide problem of mental health. The annual state NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) conference was held in Brookings on September 19-20 with numerous speakers and attendees. Presentations and speakers focused on addiction, mental health care, improving mental health as a public priority, and success stories.
Being in Rotary also includes getting to know your fellow Rotarians and having some social and fun time. The Brookings Rotary Club has a social each month on the first Thursday called “Thirsty Thursday.” Every month the location changes but the fun times and laughs are always in abundance. I encourage each of you to attend a Thirsty Thursday to enjoy the good company. It is a come-and-go event so feel free to come for an hour or two depending on your schedule!
Looking forward to October – it is going to be a busy month! It kicks off with Thirsty Thursday on Oct. 3rd, followed up with the Brookings Rotary Club hosting SDSU students for Bum-A-Meal on Monday, October 7th at Michael & Tiffany Gonda’s house. Relating to our younger generation is very important to the future of Rotary to help increase membership.
World Polio Day is commemorated on October 24th. Polio has no cure but it can prevented with vaccination and we are so close to eradicating this devastating disease. Rotary’s continual fight against polio needs all of us!
Finally, remember to stop and enjoy the beautiful fall days. Enjoy the crisp mornings and the changing of the colors! Side Note: Fall is my favorite time of year and I am known by my friends and family as a “leaf peeper,” which means I take a lot of pictures of colorful trees and love to share. So…be watching for my emails! Happy Fall!
Brookings Rotarians were honored to welcome Purple Heart recipients Lars Perry and Connie Johnson as speakers this week, presenting a great program on the history of the award. Purple Hearts are awarded to service men and women who have been wounded or killed in military action. Launched by President George Washington in 1782, there are more than 1.8 million Purple Heart recipients registered, but it is a self-registry, so the actual number of those eligible for the recognition is undoubtedly much higher. Thank you, Lars and Connie, for a great program and for your sacrifice to our country.
Rotarians love HOBOS! Members of the Brookings Rotary Club provided a meal for SDSU Hobos this week at the home of Past President Michael, and we enjoyed learning about the students and their educational and career plans. Thanks for joining us, Hobos, and GO JACKS!
A full house at today's Brookings Rotary Club, as SDSU Men's Basketball Head Coach Eric Henderson and Assistant Coach Tramel Barnes updated the group on this season's roster (11 of 15 are new Jackrabbits this year!) and the continued emphasis on the five traits that make a successful player: honesty, respect, communication, selflessness, and competition. Although many of the young men are new to the team, Coach Henderson emphasized, "What hasn't changed are the values and characters of the players." GO, JACKS!
The Brookings Rotary Club was pleased to have been a sponsor for the 2024 National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) statewide conference, held last week in Brookings. Rotarians also volunteered their time to help out at the two-day event. Pictured from left are: Larry Janssen, Del Johnson, Jen Olson, Michael Gonda and Lisa Roker.
President Jen Olson has re-instated the "Rotary Magazine Minute" once a month at our Club meetings, and today Rotarian Deb DeBates gave an excellent overview of the recent edition. Every issue features terrific articles about worldwide Rotary projects and examples of Service Above Self. Thanks, Deb, for encouraging us to pick up this interesting publication!
Brookings, SD
United States of America