The club is planning a golf tournament on June 27th at the Rivers Wild Golf Course.  Please reserve that date and plan to help with the tournament.  All members will be asked to create and or promote a four-some.

Centennial Project - the club voted and approved the restoration of the Brewster Cemetery as the Rotary Centennial Project.  The cost to install a fence (300 feet) and do other improvements is not yet known but it is expected to be in the $1500 range, which will be funded by club savings.  Additional support to do the project will be sought from local 4-H Clubs as well as the Boy Scouts.  Additional information regarding this project will be forthcoming.

Rotary Student of the Month

Kyle Brant was honored as the Blair Rotary Student of Month for May.  Kyle has been involved in a number of activities including basketball (4 years); football (4 years); track (4 years); yearbook ( 1 year); newspaper (1 year); B-Club (3 years) and FBLA (2 years).  Kyle also has excelled academically having been on the honor roll for five consecutive semesters; received a letter in academics and was honored as an Academic All Eastern Midlands Conference in basketball, football and track.   Kyle is the son of Rick and Betty Brant of Blair.  As a Blair Rotary Student of the Month, Kyle will receive a $200 scholarship to be used for academic expenditures next fall. 

Notes from the May 20th  Meeting -  Program Chair - Doug Demers

The guest speaker for the day was Jay Schroeder with the USDA.  Jay works with local farmers is securing agricultural loans.  Prior to working with farmers, Jay had helped secure home loans for lower income residents. 

The USDA provides both direct and guarantee loan programs.  In order to quality for a direct loan a farmer must be turned down by a lender.  In some cases the lending agency will offer a loan if the USDA guarantees the loan. Jay indicted that he has about 250 clients with approximately $31 million in loans, $21 million are direct loans with the remaining $10 million in loan guarantees.    Fixed interest rates are currently between 5% to 6% for real estate loans and 3.25% for machinery loans.  

Jay prides himself on service and tries to do his best to serve his clients.  His goal is to treat everyone as an individual and understand the needs and ambitions of those he serves. 

Rotary Question of the Week

Where will the Rotary International Convention be held this year?

Rotary Fact of the Week (from  the RI or District Website)

When 60 Rotarians from 14 Rotary clubs came together in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in August 1910, they started the tradition of a yearly meeting - one that now draws 15,000 to 30,000 participants from more than 100 countries. In addition to establishing the National Association of Rotary Clubs, the delegates to the first Rotary convention also began the time-honored custom of closing the convention by singing "Auld Lang Syne."

The first 11 conventions were held in the United States, but since the 1921 meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, the convention has moved around the world, finding a warm welcome in 55 cities in 21 countries. The United States has hosted 58 conventions, 6 of them in Chicago, Rotary's birthplace. Six conventions have been held in Canadian cities, and Mexico and France have hosted four each.

Over the years, the number of convention goers has grown dramatically. In 1978, the RI Convention in Tokyo set a standing attendance record of 39,834 that many Rotarians are hoping will be broken at the centennial convention in 2005. But size is only one factor that makes a Rotary convention great. For example, the 16,000 Rotarians who gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1988 will never forget the exuberant celebration following the announcement that Rotarians had almost doubled their fundraising goal for PolioPlus.

In the early days, all important Rotary business was conducted at the convention. As Rotary grew, the triennial Council on Legislation became the organization's chief legislative meeting, and speeches and entertainment took center stage at the annual meeting. For most Rotarians, however, international fellowship is the convention's primary drawing card, and next month, thousands of members will enjoy that unique experience in Brisbane, Queensland, at the 94th RI Convention, the third to be held in Australia.

 Thought of the Week

"The most damaging phrase in the language is: 'It's always been done that way." - Rear Admiral Grace Hopper"

May  Birthdays
Ed Jipp - 12th
Jim Peterson - 16th
Ken Rhoades - 22nd
Blake Dillon - 27th
Dan Veskrna - 28th