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Presidents Elect, Presidents Nominee, Assistant Governors, Leadership Team, and Guests please join us for an inspirational couple of days. Join us starting Thursday evening April 27th for a dinner and a great chance to meet you fellow class of Presidents. Friday, April 28th will be a full day of inspirational speakers, breakout sessions, panelist discussions, wonderful food, and networking. Saturday, April 29th we will conclude at noon after our District Assembly and Raffle drawing. A full schedule of events will be emailed to PEs, PNs, AGs, and Leadership Team soon.

Location: Highland Conference Center Mitchell, South Dakota

Help us capture all attending by registering at the following: PETS 2023 Registration Link

Please book your hotel stay separately by contacting either of the two hotels connected to the conference center. Please tell them you are with the Rotary District 5610 PETS Conference to receive the Rotary rate. Link to Hotel Accommodations: Comfort Inn & Suites and Hampton Inn

Sneak Peak at some of the District Raffle Prizes

Grand Prize: Beko 4 piece kitchen package: (Refrigerator, Range, Dishwasher and Over the Range Microhood). Up to a $6,000 retail value. Sponsored by Karl’s TV & Appliance & Gregory Rotary.

Club	Prize
Brookings
Canby	$100
Canton
Centerville	$100 Visa card
Cherokee
Clark
Custer
Gettysburg
Gregory	Grand Prize: Beko 4 piece kitchen package: (Refrigerator, Range, Dishwasher and Over the Range Microhood). Up to a $6,000 retail value. Sponsored by Karl’s TV & Appliance & Gregory Rotary.
Hot Springs
Le Mars	40 inch TV
Luverne
Madison	Case of Wine from Moose Winery
Mapleton	Gift basket at $85
Marshall	Unique beers Brau Brothers and $100 gift certificate. Value $175.
Marshall Sunrise
Mitchell
Mobridge
Pierre-Fort Pierre	$500 Gift Certificate
Rapid City
Rapid City Rushmore	Plant Stand/Step Stool/Chair
Rock Valley	$100 gift certificate to Copper Rose Apparel
Sioux Falls Downtown	$500 Visa gift card
Sioux Falls North
Sioux Falls South
Sioux Falls West
Sibley
Sioux City
Spearfish
Tyndall	20v Dewalt cordless drill
Vermillion
Wagner
Watertown
Winner
Yankton	$100 gift certificate

March Message from District Governor John Schneider

Fellow Rotarians!!

As spring approaches we have some very important Rotary Programs coming up. First, PETS or the Spring Leadership Conference is April 27-29. DGE Rich Burns and his committee have been working hard to put together a great program. It involves not only education but also networking and fellowship. Please encourage your president elect to attend and also the president nominee (sergeant at arms) are welcome. In any case, please send someone from your club and I hope that your club would help with the expense of mileage and lodging. In my club visits, I could see a difference between clubs that attend PETS and those who do not. It was very telling when a club asked “What is the Foundation and who is Paul Harris?” Second, applications for RYLA are due by the end of this month. It is a wonderful opportunity and experience for high school students to engage in leadership development in a camp setting. Third, we are looking for at least one more club to host a foreign exchange student. You can find information about all of these programs on the District website or contact me and I will point you in the right direction.

The Rotary theme for March is Water and Sanitation. Water and Sanitation is the cornerstone area of focus. Without that we will not have Disease Prevention, Child and Maternal Health, Economic Development, Education, Peace and Conflict Resolution or an improved Environment. I’m very proud of my home club of Le Mars as water has been a focus of several international projects. Several years ago we were the lead club for a Global Grant water project in Honduras and supported several other non-Rotary projects there. Our members have also assembled Chlorine Production Units to purify water in the third world and most recently supported a Global Grant water project in Tanzania.

Happy Spring and I look forward to seeing some of you in our travels later this month as we plan to attend the gala for the Children’s Home Society in Rapid City and possibly visit clubs as part of the trip.

Yours in Rotary!!

John Schneider DG 5610

Rotary Youth Leadership Award Camper Applications Open for Enrollment

RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Award. A RYLA participant is selected by his or her local Rotary Club to attend a camp designed to build character, leadership, personal development and good citizenship. The “Award” part of RYLA is the actual scholarship the Rotary Club provides so that a participant may attend camp free of charge. Past participants have had life-changing experiences by attending RYLA Camp, and YOU could be one of these people.

LEARN MORE

SAVE the DATES July 9-13, 2023 | Maranatha Camp
Hosted by Rotary Districts 5630 & 5610

Applications will be accepted beginning February 1 through March 31, 2023, at 11:59 PM.

APPLICATIONS

apply online at: https://greatplainsryla.org/apply

Please see the following bullet points about RYLA:

*It is a week long camp, July 9-13, 2023, held now at Maranatha Camp, Maxwell, NE

*District 5610 started RYLA in 2016 and we partnered with District 5630, who started their RYLA program in 1991. As District 5610 only has a handful of RYLA awardees who go to RYLA each summer, this partnership has proven very successful and a win-win for the students and for District 5610.

*Each District 5610 Club who sends a RYLA student(s) will be reimbursed 50% of the RYLA cost by District 5610. The cost for each student this year is $450.

*Each Club is responsible for transportation for the student to RYLA (see the website for more information).

*RYLA is open for application to sophomores and juniors who exhibit leadership or potential leadership abilities.

*I have personally spoken to past RYLA students who all said they came away from RYLA with new, life-long friendships and a solid understanding and appreciation of Rotary. Each has said they will continue in some way with Rotary be it Interact, Rotaract, or joining a Rotary Club (after college). Some have returned as RYLA camp counselors ~ and one is now the RYLA Camp co-chair!!! One RYLA student even got her parent to rejoin Rotary!

*As Rotarians, we MUST encourage sophomores and juniors we know to apply/attend RYLA as they are the future of Rotary!!

*Another important take away I learned from past RYLA attendees was they were each personally asked by a Rotarian to consider RYLA and to fill out and application.

*Thank you ALL for your help in seeking out those potential sophomore or junior applications you know or have connections with, and to come along side school counselors in your area to assist them in locating these future leaders! Camp preparations are underway and it's going to be a FANTASTIC camp experience again this year!

Should you have any questions or comments, please reach out to District 5610 RYLA co-chair Rene Sorenson

March is Water and Sanitation Month