This is it, friends. We're one week away from being one day away from the start of Ramble Jam. Have you sold all of your raffle tickets? Cleared your schedule? Found bulk pricing on ibuprofen? Get ready, folks, because it's happening and you're going to be an important part of it. But now, on with business.

OK, Rihanna isn't exactly a country artist, but she does have a song that prominently features the word "work," and since none of the work in question has to do with pick-up trucks or beer (at least not until later), it's what we're going with.

Because of some changes with the stage we'll have this year, we need to provide a little bit of the labor to assemble everything. Think of it like a Brobdingnagian Erector set. We're looking for about nine able bodies who can be at the fairgrounds at 9:30 a.m. next Thursday. We need confirmation, so let Lori know if you can be there.

Ace of Base is definitely not country, except maybe in Sweden. But they do have a song called The Sign, and we're looking for people who have a good place to put a Ramble Jam banner. Which is a big sign. One that will open up your eyes. If you have a great place for a banner, let Lori and Anika know and they'll make sure you get one.

One next-to-last item about Ramble Jam: Remember the raffle tickets you got awhile back? You've been selling those, right? Of course you have. Since you've certainly sold dozens, please bring the money you've collected to Heidi or Krysia today. If maybe you haven't sold all of them, that's probably something you should do. Every ticket you sell is 100 percent profit for the club. And profit is a good thing.

Our speaker today is Tom Hendrickson, a Lakeville Rotarian who has visited us before to talk about a project that club is working on in Tanzania. They are working on a global grant that would provide loans to 500 families in Iringa, Tanzania. Those loans help farmers plant crops, and that is a good thing because that is how food is made. Lakeville has committed $10,000 to the project and is trying to raise $100,000 to be matched by the international and district clubs. That's a lot of grants, and a lot of crops. He'll provide information and ask our club to join in.

I wasn't sure I could find a song-related title to go with next week's meeting information, but it turns out there is a song by Simply Red called Fairground. I do not recommend you listen to it.

Anyway, next week's meeting is at the Dakota County Fairgrounds. We'll eat. We'll talk about Ramble Jam and then, ideally, everybody will stick around and put the finishing touches on Ramble Jam preparations.