Thanks to Blair Rotarian, Mark Rhoades, for pledging one dollar for every new subscription to The Blair Enterprise through the month of December. Proceeds will be donated to the Rotary Foundation for the final push to eradicate polio.  Other Blair Rotarians with Business are encouraged to match Mark's generosity by doing something similar in their business operation or by matching whatever The Blair Enterprise generates.  All participating businesses will be listed in the ad Mark is running in the paper.   

Notes from the December 2nd  Meeting - Program Chair - Jim Peterson

Jim's program guest was Rick Burmeister who owns and operates Burmeister Farms Beef  located southwest of Ft. Calhoun.  Rick  has been building his direct beef marketing sales over the past few years.  The business, which started out a few years ago by providing beef to family and friends, has grown to a thriving operation with over 130 customers.  Rick's brother-in-law, Dave Sheets of Blair, is a partner in the operation.

Currently Rick is processing 44 head of cattle and expects grow over 50 by next year.  The cattle are angus,  corn fed and the operation is BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) certified.  The bulk of his business comes July through October.  The price is competitive at $1.15 per pound for hanging weight, larger cattle are $1.12 per pound.  Customers can purchase either a 1/4, 1/2 or whole,  first time buyers are given the option to buy an 1/8th.  Rick's motto is  "there is no substitute for quality."   Given the increase in his customer base it appears that he adheres to his motto.

The Burmeister operation is a good example of an alternative marketing program for agriculture.  If you would like additional information on Burmeister Farms or place an order call Rick at 468-5883.

Rotary Question of the Week

What is the PEFC?

Rotary Fact of the Week (from  the RI Website)

When Allison Field, past president of the Rotary Club of Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, recognized that many of her coworkers at Ocean National Bank were Rotarians, she saw the opportunity for a joint effort between Rotary and the bank. She spoke with the bank president, Russell Cole, a member of the Rotary Club of Kennebunk, Maine, and he agreed to donate US$100 to the polio eradication fundraising campaign (PEFC) for each Rotarian employee. Beginning in September, he put up a polio display within 23 branches of the bank in Maine and New Hampshire, inviting customers to donate.

"I knew that this year was going to be very important for making Rotary's goal of polio eradication be a reality," says Field. "I decided to leverage the corporations as they are a different resource for Rotarians to tap."

As news spread about Ocean National's donation for each of their 18 Rotarian employees, other local banks within District 7780 began committing to similar projects. Past District Governor Marie Williams, a member of the Rotary Club of Kittery, Maine, asked the president of Kennebunk Savings Bank, where she's a manager, if they could make a similar donation. He agreed to contribute $500 towards PEFC to each club with a Kennebunk Savings employee as a member. The bank gave a total of $4,500 and displayed polio posters on the wall.

Peter Hamblett, a member of the Rotary Club of Dover, New Hampshire, and president of five branches of Federal Savings Bank, heard about the bank donations and decided to also participate. He hung the posters and donated $1,000 to PEFC for his five Rotarian employees. Another Maine bank with four branches has just committed to contributing for its employees.

Banks in more than 30 of the district's communities are now displaying posters about polio eradication, and clubs are working with more banks to sign up additional contributors. The district has committed to raising more than $325,000 and has already sent in about $75,000.

"This project has not just raised money, though. It has raised awareness about polio and Rotary," Field says. "People have come into the bank, looked at the poster, which is of a child bent over, crippled with polio, and said, 'I didn't know polio was still out there. I thought it was gone.'"

Thought of the Week

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."
                                                                                                                                                                 Laura Ingalls Wilder

December Birthdays
Lois Pfeiffer 21st
Dave Bohling 26th
Byford Klein 28th