May is here! It is hard to believe that spring is finally upon us. Over the past week we have received much
needed rain the grass is greening up. The greenhouses are open for business and I have heard of
friends/family planting their gardens! Along with the wonderful things consider the downside of the season:
allergies, mud, and unpredictable weather such as tornadoes, flooding & derechos.
needed rain the grass is greening up. The greenhouses are open for business and I have heard of
friends/family planting their gardens! Along with the wonderful things consider the downside of the season:
allergies, mud, and unpredictable weather such as tornadoes, flooding & derechos.
Rotary is committed to eradicating polio. Our efforts have witnessed huge successes. Since 1988 when
Rotary partnered with organizations around the world to end polio, the wild poliovirus cases have been
reduced by 99.9%. Today in Afghanistan, house-to-house immunization campaigns are prohibited, while in
Pakistan, conflict, insecurity and migration limit access to children. Yet – Rotary continues to rise to the
occasion and the challenge – just as we did in India before the country was declared wild polio-free in 2014. In
Nigeria, Rotary faced similar obstacles, but in 2020 – all of Africa was certified wild poliovirus-free.
April 24th – April 30th is World Immunization Week. The aim is to raise awareness about the importance of
immunizations and to protect people and children against vaccine-preventable disease, such as polio. Polio
workers vaccinate more than 370 million children per year to prevent polio. We are so close to eradicating
polio, but we are not there yet. Every donation to the Rotary PolioPlus Fund is matched 2-to-1 by the Gates
Foundation, which triples the impact in the fight against this disease. Please consider donating by going to
www.rotary.org.
April was another full month for Brookings Rotarians! The noon meetings had excellent programing from Craig
Converse of the Converse Wine Co. that is north of Arlington, SD. On the 2nd Tuesday of April, we gathered at
First Bank & Trust Arena on the campus of SDSU for a wonderful tour of the new facility. Our very own Erich
Olson & John Folkerts provided a detailed presentation about their trip to Romania with Hope Haven.
Shannon Kubic of Millborn Seeds gave great information on this growing company in Brookings. Plus,
Brookings Rotarians packed dental kits to be used by Delta Dental, Salvation Army and other non-profits.
Rotarians gathered at Wooden Legs for Thirsty Thursday and Kool Beans for Wake-Up Wednesday to get
together to enjoy each others’ companies. PELS (president elect learning seminar) was held on Saturday,
April 26 th with Rotarians from Brookings, Mitchell and Madison with a Zoom call with other District 5610
Rotarians and numerous Rotarians from around the United States.
May looks to be another great month for Brookings Rotarians. On Thursday, May 1st we gather at Steve
Sewell’s house to assemble the Activity Boards, which is one our grants for 2025. Social times will continue to
be Thirsty Thursday at Cubby’s and Wake-up Wednesday at Kool Beans. Noon meetings have some fabulous
speakers for May so you won’t want to miss a week! Upcoming projects also include planting the Rotary
Garden at McCrory Gardens so start thinking about that.
As I type this message, I realized that I only have one left. My year is ending and it makes me quite sad
because I am really having fun! More on that next month.
Finally, remember as Rotarians to live by the 4-Way Test. It provides a framework for making ethical decisions
in your personal and professional (if not retired) life. The 4-Way Test is rooted in the values of honesty,
fairness, goodwill and benefit.
Once again – thank you for your Service Above Self!
See you on Tuesday at noon for Rotary!
President Jen Olson
605-690-4458
jennifer.olson@ebankstar.bank