August Speakers to Showcase International Side of Rotary
I personally selected the speakers this month after having the good pleasure of meeting these individuals at district events over the course of the last year. My goal in arranging this slate of speakers was to share with our club the many of the opportunities available to Rotarians to learn about, experience, and impact our world. They will be discussing opportunities for upcoming Rotary Study and Rotary Friendship exchanges, service opportunities, and most importantly their own experiences. With much of the world opened back up and the kinks slowly getting worked out of traveling, hopefully some of us will get to take advantage of these opportunities. Later, in October we will also be hearing from our very own Ginger Thomson about her friendship exchange to Sweden.
I would encourage you to start to make plans to attend the 5610 District Conference in Sioux City this September 22-24. Sioux City is only 2 hours away (Deadwood the site of last year’s conference was 6 hours away!) and these district events are a great way to meet other Rotarians, share ideas, and get energized about all Rotary is and does.
Sorry I was unable to be at last week’s meeting when District Governor John Schneider and his wife Carol made their way to Brookings. A special thanks to all who were there to receive and listen to DG Schneider’s message. Special thanks to Don who led the meeting and arranged for John to be on the air with Bob, Gregg who made sure pork was on the menu, and special thanks to Michael Gonda who arranged a tour of the “almost new” SDSU swine research unit.
The reason for my absence was a previously planned family vacation to Idaho, Montana, and N. Dakota. The older I get the more I enjoy time with my family without the interruptions of the modern world. Approximately half our trip found us in areas with no cell phone reception for days at a time, which after the stunning the scenery, was possibly the best part of the trip!
Service Above Self,
Erich Olson