Christine Boyczuk, former president of the Rotary Club of Moose Jaw Wakamow, has passed on the reigns to a new president, Sonja Susut.

Susut took over on July 1, just as the Rotary Club started their work with Sidewalk Days. The club was recognized earlier this week for the hard work they put in.

"We emptied out all of the garbage cans all the way down Mainstreet and on the sidewalks, as well as the centre boulevard. Starting at 11 at night we go through the night with security. Making sure all is well with the merchants and everything is left there in place for the next day."

With the number of members the club hosts and helps with, Susut says having a big event like Sidewalk Days in the summer and another big event in the winter helps all members get involved.

"For some of our members that are not able to provide help in the summer, they come for our Christmas Tree sales, and it goes the other way as well. Its a time when not a lot of people are available and we're trying to do the best we can with what we've got."

Now that Sidewalk days are over and done with, the real work and planning is set to begin, all in the name of community.

"We focus a lot on literacy and community issues. The money that we raise we try to turn back into the community as much as we can. One of our goals for this next year is to work toward eliminating child poverty, but our main goal is literacy."

"Each year we have our goals, of course, we have our goal-setting meeting in the spring and decide what it is we would like to concentrate on. We also work in conjunction with district goals. There are of course the international goals that the districts all try to fit in with".

Last year, the Rotary Club of Moose Jaw Wakamow was celebrating winning the Zone 24 Literacy Award for promoting literacy in Moose Jaw and Guatemala.