On Friday, April 20, 2018, Rotarians from District 5960, which covers south east and east metro Minnesota and western Wisconsin, met at the District Conference of Clubs at Mystic Lake Center for the annual celebration.  This year, there was more excitement in the air. The District introduced an awards program that recognized clubs for various categories and based on the size of the club – Large, Medium, or Small. The idea for the awards program came from 2017-2018 District Governor Kyle Haugen, who happens to be a member of the Rotary Club of Prior Lake.
 
The Clubs were responsible for submitting examples of their efforts against a checklist for up to six categories – Club Service, Community Service, International Service, Public Image, Vocational Service, and Youth Service. The submissions were then judged by Rotarians from Clubs in a different club-size category to keep the voting objective. The Rotary Club of Prior Lake was in the Large size club category.  
 
After the tabulating, the Club received the top honors in all 6 categories! Based on the total submissions, the Rotary Club of Prior Lake also earned Club of the Year for the Large Club category! Said Club President Vic Noer, “I'm amazed by how much we have accomplished over the past 10 months.  Earning the Club of the Year and other awards was truly a team effort.  Our club has many dedicated members who have put in countless volunteer hours to have a positive impact on the lives of others.  While this recognition is nice, it's our ability to collectively work together to make a difference in the world that really motivates us.  The fact that we have so much fun doing it is just icing on the cake!”
 
“Our Youth Service committee is very thankful to receive the District award this year.  This group of Rotarians dedicate time throughout the year to provide high quality programming for the youth in the Prior Lake/Savage area, something that has historically been very important to the Club,” said Youth Services committee chair Michelle Jirik. Said Jirik, “The programs are too many to list, but examples are the Prior Lake High School Interact Club, Camp RYLA leadership training, and the long-term and short-term Youth Exchange programs.”