In 1955 the Salk vaccine was developed and by 1967 Minnesota recorded it’s first year without a new case of polio and in 1979 the United States was declared polio free and entire western hemisphere was free in 1994.  

In 1988 Rotary International initiated a program and effort to make the world polio free. At that time there were 350,000 new cases in more than 200 countries in the world every year. Rotary partnered with WHO, U.S. Center of Disease Control, UNICEF and Gates Foundation to rid the world of this devastating paralytic disease of children. The goal was to vaccinate every child in the world under five years of age. Since that time Rotary has led the charge to raise nearly twenty billion dollars, worked in 200 countries and championed more than twenty million volunteers who have vaccinated over four billion children.

The effort has paid off. Two of the three strains of the polio virus have been eliminated. We now have only two countries with wild polio virus — Pakistan and Afghanistan. Together these two countries have nearly 300 million people, ongoing conflict and a very difficult terrain making it really hard to reach all the children.

In 2019 Faribault Rotarian Dr. Dick Huston went to Pakistan to vaccinate children. He was hosted by Rotarians in Pakistan and saw first hand how hard they are working to reach all the children. He centered in Karachi, which is a city of 25 million and witnessed some of the most destitute living conditions one could imagine. It was in this environment he joined Pakistani men and women placing the two drops of vaccine on the tongues of babies and young children. They vaccinated children on buses, on trains, in neighborhoods, clinics and slums. The dedication and gratitude was beyond anything he had previously been a part of.

Clearly the goal is to have these two countries become polio free. This can only happen once they go three consecutive years with out a new case. Nigeria is the last country to be declared free.  Rotary’s polio free effort is helping in other ways by creating jobs, improving health care, preventing other diseases and promoting clean water.

Rotary’s effort will not stop until the world is rid of polio. WE ARE SO CLOSE!

Kind. Caring. Genuine. Soft-spoken. Humble. Consistent. Dependable.  Those words were used to describe Marvin “Marv” Schrader, who on Wednesday was posthumously honored as the 2026 Rotarian of the Year by the Faribault Rotary Club at The Inn at Shattuck St. Marys.  Schrader passed away on July 24 at the age of 88.

Rotarian Greg Ciesluk speaks about Marvin Schrader’s involvement with the Rotary STRIVE program during a presentation on Wednesday. Schrader was posthumously named Rotarian of the Year. At left is Schrader’s wife, Sara, who accepted the award.

Two tables at the front of the room were filled with family members — including his wife of 67 years, Sara — who cried, and laughed, while sharing memories of his life.  Schrader was a U.S. Air Force pilot who was instrumental in helping the Faribault Rotary Club’s STRIVE program at the local level. STRIVE, which stands for Students Taking a Renewed Interest in the Value of Education, began in the mid-1990s under Schrader’s leadership.  In addition to his seven-and-a-half years in the Air Force, Schrader went on to work as a commercial pilot for Western and Delta airlines.  In recognizing his dedication to the program, Rotarian Greg Ciesluk, who now oversees the STRIVE program, wore a Rotary tie that was given to him by Schrader. After speaking about Schrader’s involvement with STRIVE, Ciesluk announced the creation of Marvin Schrader Memorial STRIVE Scholarships in his honor.  “Marvin Schrader spent his career taking people places. What a wonderful legacy that, through these scholarships, he’ll continue to help young people go places, too,” Ciesluk said.  Rotarian Dr. Dick Huston said Schrader embodied the club’s motto of “service above self.”

• Minimum 18-month program; most graduates complete it around the 24-month mark
• Five-phase structure with distinct goals at each level
• Weekly court hearings, drug testing at least twice per week, treatment and therapy, pro-social activities and regular case management
• Current average caseload: 17–19 participants
• District-wide graduation rate: 66% (2026)

• We are asking this year if every Rotarian will please work hard to sell their 15 dozen roses.  

• a flyer to hang up at your place of employment to entice people to buy roses.
• a list to track your orders and what they choose, red or grower’s choice.  Grower’s choice is dozens of roses in different colors that the grower chooses to send for us to give out.
• Slip to turn in- with your name (or just answer one of Murray’s email requests), how many dozen roses and broken down into how many of Red and how many growers’ choice - you can fill in the amount paid or owes at that time.  DO NOT HAND IN MONEY UNIL ALL HAS BEEN COLLECTED, PLEASE ADD THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO PEOPLE TO SEND MONEY VIA VENMO.
• We are asking this year if every Rotarian will please work hard to sell their 15 dozen roses.  We have 48 active membership Rotarians and if everyone does their part to sell the roses that would be 720 dozen roses – WOW- that would knock it out of the park with our profit for the club being approximately $10,800   - that is huge and we need this fundraiser more than ever.  Last year we sold 684 dozen.  Many sell many more than expected so please try to do your fair share as a club member.