A huge thank you to Karen Smith and the staff at Valage for hosting our meeting on March 26th.  Chef Daniel prepared an amazing lunch including a tender flavorful tri tip, twice baked potatoes, waffles, cheesecake and individual bundt cakes to take home.  “I cook for the smiles”, shared Chef Daniel.  He sure got a lot of smiles from the Rotarians.  We even met a resident who is a former Minden Rotarian!

Tim Johnson, Vice President, Better Business Bureau

 

SCAMS, FRAUD and PROTECTION

 

In the 2025 year, $12.5 billion was reported lost to scams, according to Tim Johnson from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).  At the Minden Rotary meeting, Rotarians learned that scammers are after both money and person identity information.  Mr. Johnson shared some great resources to help people be aware of the scams as well as how to report if you are a victim.

 

The first resource, www.identitytheft.gov, is a great site to go to report and plan for recovery.  In 2025 alone, 3022 data breaches were reported.  Often, hackers are using AI to use old records to attack new data.  Another way to protect is to use the IPPIN from the IRS.  This is a six digit number for identification protection related to your tax return and tax matters.  

 

A third resource the BBB suggests is checking your credit annually which is a free service.  Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com to get a full credit check.  The BBB also suggests shredding all documents with personal information which you want to dispose of.

 

If you find you are part of a scam, you should freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus online until you can unravel the problem.

 

“Phishing” is when someone pretends to be from the government, well known business, potential love interest, tech support expert or family member with an emergency.  Most commonly they try to reach you via email or phone.   The BBB recommends not answering the phone if you don’t recognize the number and also having a family phrase/passcode to verify if the family member is actually in an emergency situation.  “Smishing” is when a text message is used for the scam.

 

The BBB was established in 1912 with a mission to advance trust.  Most people access bbb.org to check on businesses and to report complaints.  Another resource is Giving.com which evaluates charitable organizations.   BBB.org/ScamTracker specifically is a place to help you detect, protect and report.  BBB.org/RiskReport will help you analyze a business for online purchase reliability.  If you find yourself part of a scam situation, access BBB.org/ScamSurvivalKit .  Locally, BBB.org/Reno has some good information on local issues and solutions.

We are so proud of our President, Graham Rogney, for his many hours learning to dance with professional dancer Alex Stern and making the 12th Annual Gotta Dance fundraiser for the Suicide Prevention Network so successful!

100 year Celebration Committee Chairs

The Rotary Club of Minden is happy to welcome the following new members:

• Ric Casper is a graduate from Carson City High (but is quick to add his 3 kids all graduated from Douglas High).  He attended BYU as an undergraduate and Yale Law School.  He worked for the US Attorney's office for 4 years before coming back home and working for the Douglas County District Attorney's Office.
• Loral Langemeier from Live Out Loud Publishing.  Loral has 2 kids (Logan age 25 and Tristan age 18).  She is a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, has an MA from Omaha and is a writer.  AND she's dating President Graham.
• Eric Barter from Bad Boys Bail Bonds (Past President from the Rotary Club of Arcadia).  See the October 23rd newsletter for Eric's craft talk.
• Daniel Crawford, sponsored by Howard Vipperman. It was said he is the first native American to become a member in the Rotary Club of Minden. He is a Douglas County native, spent time in Diamond Valley, graduated from school in Douglas, served on tribal council, works for Washoe Native TANF as the project and resource specialist, and attended Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence Kansas.  Craft talk about his current occupation done at the December 4th meeting!
• Mark Gardner, sponsored by Dick Schwabe, was inducted into membership on March 12.  Mark is the current Chairman of the Douglas County.
• Kathy Morales received her badge and Rotary pin March 5, 2026, becoming the newest Rotarian in the World.

We look forward to hearing the rest of the craft talks soon and getting to know you better!

4/9   District Foundation Dinner at Mercantile (5-9pm).  Make your EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) contribution!  Login to your account at www.rotary.org.  Tickets are $60 per person when you go directly through Ken Miller (make checks payable to Rotary Club of Minden) or you can get tickets online for a slightly higher price (to pay for the registration overhead charge) at this LINK.  RSVP by 3/26.

5/1-5/3   District Conference at Grand Sierra Casino.  Register HERE

5/2 (5:30-8pm) Twilight for Tomorrow Gala at Douglas County Community Center - fundraiser for CV Health Foundation

5/16   Rotary Club Minden's 5th Annual Giving Cup @ Genoa Lakes

6/9   Rotary Club Minden's 100 Year Anniversary Celebration @ CVI (6-9pm)

9/19 Rotary Club Minden's Oktoberfest @ Heritage Park

April 2:  Lessons Learned from Mountain Climbing, Mark Hudon AND

         Distribution of the third grant funding for the year to local organizations.

April 9:  No meeting - Foundation Dinner (see above) - RSVP to Ken Miller by 3/26

April 16:  Area Speech Contest

April 23:  Douglas County Clerk-Treasurer, Amy Burgans

April 30:  No midday meeting at the COD Casino; Club Social, 5:00 at the Carson Valley Country Club Clubhouse Restaurant