Fellow Rotarians,
 
The month of April marks the beginning of the final quarter of our Rotary year.  That means there's only 3 more months to contribute to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund to help our club reach our goal of $19,000.  Our hope is every member will contribute at whatever level they can.  To date, we have reached 80% of our $19,000 goal with slightly over 40% of our members contributing.  If you haven’t given during this Rotary year, please consider doing so. Thank you to those members who have given.  The end of the Rotary year is the time we welcome new club officers and board members.  Our Board Retreat is scheduled for May 19 and is an opportunity for the board to meet and plan for the upcoming year.  If you have suggestions or ideas you would like the board to consider, please let me or President Elect Betty Stevens know as we welcome your input.
 
Spring is also the time of year we recognize our Rotarian of The Year.  Nominations will be taken for a few more weeks, so if you have someone in mind please let me or a member of the selection committee know.  Members of the selection committee are Ole Olsen, Tom Fryer, Bill Richter and Mike Mayo. 
 
District 5710’s Annual Conference will be held here in Manhattan on May 8th & 9th.  Please consider attending some, if not all, of the scheduled events.   Our club will host the golf tournament on Friday May 8th.   On Saturday, May 9th a Peace Forum will be held during the conference.  Our club has several members who have planned and been involved in making both of these events an important part of the conference. 
 
Thanks to our Rotarians at Commerce Bank (Tom Giller, Jackie Schlup and Rich Jankovich) for hosting our social last week.  It was a great time of sharing food, drink and conversation.  At our meeting last week we recognized the MHS Students of The Month for March, Charlotte Benjamin and Isaac Blankenau.  We enjoyed a fascinating program on The Center for Advancement of Entrepreneurship from the center’s Director Chad Jackson. 
 
This week's program features Dean John Floros, Dean of the College of Agriculture, speaking to us on “The Future of Agriculture in Kansas”.  I hope to see you at lunch on Thursday.
 
Scott Emley
 
 
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