Fellow Rotarians,
Fall brings changes, and this year has brought one for me that, unfortunately, makes it such that I must step down as the Rotary Club of Brookings’ President effective immediately. Don Norton has graciously accepted the board’s appointment to President and agreed to serve out the remaining nine months of the current term, and Erich Olson will remain as our President-Elect. I am grateful for Don and Erich’s leadership and willingness to serve, and also that I am able to assume the role of Past President and will remain on the board.
Now about that change I mentioned:
I recently accepted an offer to become the Assistant Director for the South Dakota Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (sdcpcm.com) and the Project Lead on a five-year grant from the Health and Human Resources Administration (HRSA) to facilitate the coordination of Early Childhood Systems in our state. I will be working from Brookings, but the job requires some travel and the one non-negotiable day that I must be in Sioux Falls is, you guessed it, Tuesdays!
Although I will miss seeing you on Tuesdays, I will remain a member of the Rotary Club of Brookings and will join you remotely when I am able to. I will also remain on the District 5610 committee that is working on a global grant to impact human trafficking, and, since CPCM is one of the partners we’ve been communicating with on the project, I may, through this new job and relationships, be able to help facilitate the work more effectively.
We never know all of where life will take us or where we will be called upon to serve. When I assumed my role as President, Mary Kidwiler told me, “Well, now you’ll really learn how many weeks are in a year!” but, as it turns out, I only learned how many weeks are in a quarter. Thank you very much for the opportunity to serve as your Club President. You’re in good hands!
Be well, Friends.