Welcome to the Rotary Club of Brookings

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!

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!

 

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 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!

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

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.”

 

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.

 

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!

 

Jennifer (Jen) Olson
A Very Proud President of Brookings Rotary

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!

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!