Rotary Watertown SD

06/10/2026

Last November we lost a valuable member of our club and Watertown. We will celebrate his life Friday

Thinking of the Greg Blow family during this difficult time.

Gregory "Greg" K. Blow, age 81, of Watertown, SD, passed away on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2026, at Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel in Watertown. Pastor Craig Werling will officiate. The memorial service will be live-streamed and recorded via our website.

Burial will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Watertown. Military graveside honors will be conducted by Codington County Post #17 of the American Legion, Watertown, and the Military Funeral Honors Team of the SD Army National Guard.

Link to obituary: https://www.crawfordosthus.com/obituary/GregoryGreg-Blow

06/09/2026

👑 A Royal Visit at Rotary! ❄️

Last Thursday, June 4th, we had the absolute pleasure of hosting the Watertown Area Snow Queen royalty at our Rotary Club meeting!

A big thank you to Jr. Snow Queen Lily Lamb, Jr. Miss Congeniality Paige Huyvert, Snow Princess Mya Schwinger, and Snow Princess Miss Congeniality Leni Mack. These incredible young women did a fantastic job speaking to our members about their experiences in the program, the community events they’ve participated in so far, and the exciting things they are looking forward to during their reign.

They also brought some massive news! 2026 marks the 40th Anniversary of Watertown hosting the Snow Queen festival, and to celebrate four decades of magic, the event is moving to a brand-new location.

Mark Your Calendars!
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026

Location: Codington County Extension Complex

The Mission: Operating as a vital scholarship program dedicated to fostering community service, empowering future leaders, and building confidence in young women.

Know someone who should participate? The festival includes divisions for multiple age groups across the region:
Senior Snow Queen: 12th-grade girls (Scholarship opportunities!)

Junior Snow Queen: 9th-grade girls

Snow Princess: 6th-grade girls

Little Miss Princess & Little Mr. Prince: 1st-grade boys and girls (Randomly selected)

Let’s continue to support this beloved community tradition and the bright futures of our local youth. Thank you again to the royalty for stopping by!

06/03/2026

Why become a Rotarian and join Rotary International through a local club like watertown? The answer is “Service Above Self”. Check out the Rotary alphabet to learn more. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Csm3hPw4D/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Rotarians are who and carry out service in communities big and small. They fundraiser the dollars needed to make systemic change and create strong relationships with each other.

Examples of Rotary’s impact are the Epic Day of Service (https://www.epicdayofservice.org/) and End Polio Now initiatives.

06/02/2026

Great news! Thanks to the Polio Plus Society Kennel Klub Members, Fellow Rotarians, and Friends the $30,000 PolioPlus Matching Challenge goal has not only been reached—it has been exceeded!

A very special round of applause goes to the generous Rotarians who participated in District 6360's "DisCon at the Carousel." Through their incredible generosity, more than $204,000 was raised for PolioPlus with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matching grant. Funds will help:

• More children will receive lifesaving polio vaccinations.
• More communities will be protected from outbreaks.
• We move one step closer to making polio only a chapter in the history books.

Thank you for your generosity, your determination, and your unwavering commitment to End Polio Now!

05/27/2026

{KXLG - Watertown, SD} Students from the Northeast Technical High School HOSA chapter will travel to Indianapolis June 16th through the 21st to compete at the HOSA International Leadership Conference,

05/26/2026

Thank you to our Great Plains RYLA campers for helping Rotary with BINGO this past Thursday! RYLA campers help our club all year long, especially with Kayak Around Kampeska.

Sophomores and juniors interested in applying for RYLA can visit https://greatplainsryla.org/apply/ to attend camp this July.

Rotary International RYLA links: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/rotary-youth-leadership-awards and https://www.rotary.org/en/ryla-programs-build-next-generation-leaders

District 5610 RYLA Link: https://greatplainsryla.org/

05/25/2026

Do you need some Rotary Watertown SD swag? Email [email protected] or text (605) 520-0795 if you want a tshirt, polo or quarter zip pullover. Be sure to to include the size you need (only unisex sizes available) and the quantity of each.

05/23/2026

Way to go Whitney (one of our RYLA campers) on being a semi finalist!🎉🥳👏 https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2026/05/21/watertown-student-named-us-presidential-scholars-semifinalist/

Want to learn more about RYLA? Visit https://greatplainsryla.org/. You must be a sophomore or junior in high school. Contact Rotary Watertown SD to go and apply at https://greatplainsryla.org/apply/. RYLA is a leadership building camp and will be July 13-17, 2026.

Whitney Martinsen, a Watertown High School senior, has been named a semifinalist in the prestigious 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program!

Story >> https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2026/05/21/watertown-student-named-us-presidential-scholars-semifinalist/

05/22/2026

🎉 Rotary in Action — Bingo for a Cause! 🎉
Today’s Watertown Rotary program was all about fun and service — B‑I‑N‑G‑O!

Instead of our usual District 5610 raffle, we joined clubs across the region in raising funds for local projects and the Rotary Foundation through a day of Bingo. Members contributed $25 each (or more!) to support grants and fellowship programs — and enjoyed a few rounds of friendly competition with prizes and guest callers.

A huge thank‑you to President Paula for organizing this creative fundraiser, and to everyone who joined in person or donated remotely. Your contributions go directly toward Rotary’s mission of doing good in our community and around the world.

💙 Service Above Self — and a little Bingo fun along the way!

05/21/2026

Thank you to the Lions Club of Watertown, SD, Kiwanis Club of Watertown and Watertown Optimist Club for hosting a Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting with us at Lifesong Event Space on Monday! We were so excited to see all the non-service claim members and service club members in attendance.

Remember, 211 is the number to call to join a service club in Watertown today. Thank you to Watertown Area Community Foundation, Stein Sign Display,Heilman Homes,The Watertown Current, City of Watertown, SD, Northeast Radio SD, and more for helping us with the celebration!  District 5610 Rotary International