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!
The Brookings Rotary Club welcomes new member Alexis Stolicker, left, who was introduced to the club by President Jen Olson. Alexis, even before becoming an "official" member, completed a service project by volunteering at last weekend's Festival of Books for six hours. Thank you for joining us in "Service Above Self," Alexis!
Sadie Thramer, SDSU Women's Basketball Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, spoke to Brookings Rotarians this week about this year's team members and the competition they face this season. She is most proud, she said, of these student-athletes' characters and academic achievements: the team earned a 3.63 GPA, demonstrating "excellence on the court and in the classroom." Way to go, Jackrabbits! Thanks for a great program, Coach!
SDSU Head Football Coach Jimmy Rogers made his annual presentation to the Brookings Rotary Club this week, updating members on the team's plans for continued growth this year in spite of injuries and many new student athletes. Coach also noted how invaluable community support is to these young men, and thanked everyone for remaining enthusiastically committed to the Jacks. Thanks, Coach...Go Big. Go BLUE. GO JACKS!!
SDSU President and Rotarian Dr. Barry Dunn addressed the Brookings Rotary Club today, updating members and guests on several important university-related topics: enrollment (it's up, and we'll know just how much on September 11); residence halls (they're at capacity); scholarships (greatly increased, thanks to a tremendous Bold & Blue campaign); and campus infrastructure improvements (part of the campus master plan). Dr. Dunn also spoke about the university's strategic plan and SDSU's pursuit of R-1 status, dependent upon research funding levels and Ph.D. degrees conferred. President Dunn also noted SDSU's status as the state's safest campus, and while he touted the campus and Brookings police for their work in keeping the campus secure, he also gave credit to the young people on campus: "It has to do with the students we attract. They make great decisions." Thank you, President Barry, for your leadership and for a great presentation! GO JACKS!
Vision and tenacity: two qualities that architect Angela Boersma of ID8 Architecture says are critical to success. Angie updated the Brookings Rotary Club earlier this month on several important projects her design firm is spearheading, including renovating and expanding the Armory into a downtown boutique hotel, convention-capable meeting space, and beautiful dining areas. She even presented the first public viewing of the artist's renderings of the new space! Thanks, Angie, for a terrific program, and for your dedication to the community.
Thanks to representatives of the South Dakota Humanities Council, who spoke to Brookings Rotarians this week about the upcoming 2024 South Dakota Festival of Books. SDHC Executive Director Christina Oey and Center for the Book Director Jennifer Widman shared information about the Sept. 20-22 event, which will be held in several venues throughout the city. Almost all the events and activities are free, including talks and workshops by authors and numerous activities for all ages. For more information on the Festival of Books visit www.sdbookfestival.com
Thanks to speaker Josh Bauman, Assistant Director of Brookings Parks, Recreation & Forestry, for presenting a great program on the many and varied recreational opportunities in our community. Who knew there are 24 miles of trails in Brookings?
August has come way too fast! That means that summer is more than half over and my first month of being President of Brookings Rotary has come and gone. WOW!
July was an extremely busy month for Brookings Rotary with numerous projects! July started with Brookings Rotarians helping to plant the Rotary Garden at McCrory Garden. It is in the shape of our Rotary COG so try to find some time to wander around the gardens and enjoy the flowers!
Service to others continued with Brookings Rotary Club serving the Harvest Table on Monday, July 8. Food insecurity in South Dakota is a real problem! According to Feeding
South Dakota – there are 106,170 people in South Dakota facing hunger, which means 1 in 9 South Dakotans is hungry. Of those facing hunger, 38,780 are children (1 in 6 South Dakota children). The Brookings Harvest Table provides a free meal every Monday evening and it goes along way with helping provide food for hungry people. Thank you to the many Rotarians who helped cook, serve and clean up for this event and to Brad Blaha for organizing the event.
Then a few days later on Thursday, July 11, Rotarians stepped up again and met to pack family dental bags. These bags included 4 toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash
and more to be given out to families in need. This project was completed in collaboration with Brookings Area United Way and was the kick-off for a possible district grant that Brookings Rotary has applied for – more to come on that! After the dental kits were packed, a little social time for Rotarians was held at Craft for Thirsty Thursday.
Rotarians stepped up again on Saturday, July 20 and sponsored a hole at the SDSU Veterans Affairs Golf Tournament at Edgebrook Golf Course. The large inflatable Rotary COG
was on hand to help promote Rotary and putting games were held on the hole with much fun and laughter. Thank you to Steve Sewell for pulling this all together and the Rotarians that gave their time to help raise money and awareness for veterans. Tuesday, July 23 at 7:30am started the day with Rotarians at the Hillcrest Park repainting the Born Learning Trail. This project was sponsored by Brookings Rotary along with the Brookings Area United Way in 2020. I encourage each of you to take a walk this summer on the south side of the tennis courts at Hillcrest and experience the Born Learning Trail. Try to enjoy the brightness and color on the sidewalk. Maybe some of you will be taken back to your childhood and do a little “hopscotch.”
and more to be given out to families in need. This project was completed in collaboration with Brookings Area United Way and was the kick-off for a possible district grant that Brookings Rotary has applied for – more to come on that! After the dental kits were packed, a little social time for Rotarians was held at Craft for Thirsty Thursday.
Rotarians stepped up again on Saturday, July 20 and sponsored a hole at the SDSU Veterans Affairs Golf Tournament at Edgebrook Golf Course. The large inflatable Rotary COG
was on hand to help promote Rotary and putting games were held on the hole with much fun and laughter. Thank you to Steve Sewell for pulling this all together and the Rotarians that gave their time to help raise money and awareness for veterans. Tuesday, July 23 at 7:30am started the day with Rotarians at the Hillcrest Park repainting the Born Learning Trail. This project was sponsored by Brookings Rotary along with the Brookings Area United Way in 2020. I encourage each of you to take a walk this summer on the south side of the tennis courts at Hillcrest and experience the Born Learning Trail. Try to enjoy the brightness and color on the sidewalk. Maybe some of you will be taken back to your childhood and do a little “hopscotch.”
The month of July was wrapped up with Club Assembly for the 5th Tuesday of the month. I am going to be personally honest….I truly did not appreciate a Club Assembly my
first month as President so if anyone knows who I can complain to about the calendar … let me know. But – a fun activity occurred. I will touch on this more in next month’s article because I am never sure when the Amazing Gregg Jongeling will publish the new COG and I don’t want to give away the surprise if he publishes before the meeting on the 30th.
first month as President so if anyone knows who I can complain to about the calendar … let me know. But – a fun activity occurred. I will touch on this more in next month’s article because I am never sure when the Amazing Gregg Jongeling will publish the new COG and I don’t want to give away the surprise if he publishes before the meeting on the 30th.
So….what can we take away from the month of July from the Brookings Rotary Club….Service Above Self is going strong in our club! The Magic of Rotary is all around and
we as Rotarians just have to step up, volunteer, and give back to increase Rotary’s power to save lives. I think…no…I know that we got a great start for the upcoming year!
we as Rotarians just have to step up, volunteer, and give back to increase Rotary’s power to save lives. I think…no…I know that we got a great start for the upcoming year!
Jennifer (Jen) Olson
A Very Proud President of Brookings Rotary
A Very Proud President of Brookings Rotary
Rotary clubs always try to support each other, so a foursome from the Brookings Rotary Club joined in the fun for the 10th Annual Madison Rotary Club golf outing, held at the Madison Country Club. Hey, it's a rough job, but somebody's gotta do it! Brookings President Jen Olson, President Elect Steve Sewell, Past President Don Norton and Club Administrator Gregg Jongeling had a great time representing! Great job, Madison Rotarians, on a well-run and really fun day. Thanks for your hospitality! (Notice the "Presidential Limousine" with Olson and Sewell...Norton and Jongeling were on security detail! And the Birdie Juice? IYKYK...)
Brookings Rotary Club President Jen Olson wanted to try something different for July's "Fifth Tuesday" Club Assembly meeting, so instead of a more traditional speaker, she organized the members in some card crafting creativity! Rotarians were provided paper, stickers, scissors, glue sticks and markers and went to work making greeting cards that will be sent to area assisted living residents. Everyone joined in this fun way to share "Service Above Self" in our community, and enjoy Rotary camaraderie along the way. Thanks, President Jen...and look out, Hallmark!
Brookings Rotarians provided community service recently that took them outdoors as they helped maintain two Rotary-sponsored existing projects. The Rotary Garden at McCrory Gardens on the SDSU campus was planted in 2005 to celebrate the centennial of the founding of Rotary International. Each year, Rotarians continue to tend the garden with weeding and hands-on TLC. A couple of weeks later, Rotarians gathered early one morning to assist in the re-painting of the Born Learning Trails at Hillcrest Park. This project was sponsored in 2020 by Brookings Rotary with a matching grant from District 5610, partnering with the Brookings Area United Way. Born Learning Trails are located in Hillcrest and McClemans Parks, and are fun outdoor activities for young children and their families. Good work, Rotarians!
Congratulations to Brookings Rotarians Victoria Blatchford and Ginger Thomson, who received their Paul Harris Fellow-Plus pins at a recent club meeting, presented by Club President Jennifer Olson. Victoria received her Plus-2 pin and Ginger received her Plus-1 pin. 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.
Jenny Kluck, Young Adult Coordinator at the Brookings Public Library, shared with Brookings Rotarians today the various programs she offers for teens at the library, including the Teen Career Corner and Teens in the Kitchen, both supported by a Rotary Grant. Thanks for the update, Jenny, and for the opportunity to collaborate with you on these fun programs for our community’s young people!
With examples of his work in the foreground, Ismael “Izzy” Collazo spoke to the Brookings Rotary Club today about his company Blind Guy Boards. A formally trained chef who lost his sight due to diabetes, Cuban-born Izzy began designing and creating wooden cutting boards after taking a class in woodworking. He now sells as many as 150 boards each year through arts festivals and his Facebook page. “I’m more stubborn than my disability,” he told Rotarians. Thanks, Izzy, for a remarkable program!
Congratulations to Brookings Rotarian Della Tschetter, right, who received her Paul Harris-Plus 5 pin at a recent 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.
Rotarians lived out the motto of "Service Above Self" while providing the meal for guests at the weekly "Harvest Table" event held at First Methodist Church's Community Life Center - and had fun in the process!
Brookings, SD
United States of America