BROOKINGS – Rotary International 2022-23 District 5610 Gov. John Schneider, from Le Mars, Iowa, visited the Brookings Rotary Club last week and toured several local community projects sponsored by the local club.

Schneider and his wife, Rotarian Carol Schneider, toured the “Harmony Park” musical instrumental equipment in Larson Park, explored the Born Learning Trails in Hillcrest Park, saw the Rotary Clock in downtown Brookings, and admired the Rotary Garden at McCrory Gardens. In addition, the Schneiders toured the Swine Unit at SDSU John is a fourth-generation farmer and has been raising pigs since age 10) and received a personal presentation from Bob Thaler, interim chair of the Animal Science Department.

The district governor, who has been a Rotarian for 35 years, made his official club visit on Tuesday, meeting with the board afterward, and said he was impressed with his time in Brookings. “This is an outstanding club, and we so enjoyed our warm welcome to the community,” Schneider said.

There are approximately 40 clubs in District 5610, including all clubs in South Dakota and those in northwestern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota. For more information about the Brookings Rotary Club, visit www.brookingsrotary.org. The club meets at noon Tuesdays at the Brookings Activity Center, and a Zoom option also is available. The club is part of Rotary International, a service organization with more than 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs in about 200 countries and territories around the world. This year’s international theme is “Imagine Rotary.”