Our Meeting was called to order by President Barb Thomas.
Announcements:
Rtn. Gary Pacha prodivded the final update on the Food Fight for CommUnity. Our club raised $3,737. Our Club did not get the golden turkey, as the Downtown Club won on a per capita basis. In total, all the local Clubs raised just shy of $20,000 raised (100,000 pounds of food!!).
President Barb Thomas announced Aaron Schaefer’s baby boy was born yesterday. Congratulations to Aaron and family! We also received a thank you note from Borlog Elementary. As they do every year, the I Can Read project provides these free, fun materials for each Kindergartener. The teachers and students are so appreciative for the support.
Rtn. Bill Easton announced that our Club is partnering with Shelter House for a day of service on September 11
th from 9-5:30. This will be a drive-through supply drive. They are in greatest need of: toothbrushes, toothpaste, travel sized toiletries, masks, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products, backbacks, and new socks and underwear. Please contact Barb or Bill if you want to have donated items picked up. A few volunteering spots are available; please sign up at
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4ea4ae22abf85-911.
Rtn. Patty McCarthy shared that on Tuesday, Patty, President Barb Thomas and Rtn. Ryan Bell delivered 288 gigantic cookies to workers who are assisting in cleaning up the storm debris in Johnson County, Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty. Our Club brought a lot of joy. The cookies were purchased by our Club at a huge discount provided by the Bread Garden.
President Barb shared a photo of our Club in their Rotary masks. Please continue to send your mask photos to her. If you would like to purchase additional masks for $4 each, please contact President Barb (Barbara-Thomas-2@uiowa.edu). Please mail a check payable to Iowa City Noon Rotary to Treasurer Neil Quellhorst (3734 Forest Gate Drive, Iowa City, IA 52240).
The Club is seeking Board nominations. If you are interested, Barb needs 3 sentences: 1 about you, 1 about your work with Rotary, and 1 about why you would like to join the Board. The only requirement is that you must have been a member for at least one year. Please send nominations by September 25th. The vote will be at the beginning of October.
Additionally, going forward, you will only receive one email after the meeting. The link for the YouTube recordering will be included in the Clubrunnber newletter from our notetakers.
The Rotary Moment of Gratitude and Positivity was delivered by Rtn. Madeline Windauer. On the day of the derecho, August 10th, Madeline’s daughter and 3 young children arrived for a visit. They were without electricity, hot water, internet, and phone service for 6 days. It reminded them of living on the Iowa Prairie 100 years ago or a refugee camp. She was grateful for running (cold) water, fuel for the camp stove, a running car, and that they never had an emergency requiring a call for help. She hopes we are now more sensitive to the needs of others and we won’t take the simple things for granted.
Rtn. Pete Wallace provided an update on the Small Grants Committee. The Committee responds to requests from individuals and organizations in the community where funds are not available elsewhere (designed for special needs under $500). Over 30 years, the Committee has provided a lot of help throughout the community. If you know of a need in the community, please direct them to the our Club’s website where they can find additional information. If you’re interested in joining the Committee, please contact President Barb Thomas.
Goat Rider: Mary Rettig.
PROGRAM:
Rtn. Sara Sedlacek (now of the West Liberty Club) introduced today’s speaker, Melanie Gross. Melanie is the director of Community Relations at the Village Community.
The Village Community is a dayhab program for young adults with intellectual disabilities, where they are nurtured and can engage in continued learning in the community. The program was created specifically for young adults who age out of the school system. She shared a video depicting a typical day at the Village Community (pre-COVID). They have 16 members and 16 staff, so all members get truly individualized care and attention.
They are trying to remain open during the pandemic since they were allowed to re-open in June. Not all members are able to attend due to health risks, but the members who can stay in small groups with a staff member. University of Iowa students recently developed a specialized app for the Village to assist with Medicaid billing and other administrative tasks that saves them hours each week.
The meeting ended at 1:01 PM as President Barb Thomas led the assembly in reciting The Four Way Test.
MEETING:
Visiting Rotarians included: Gary Wicklund (Vale, CO)
Guests of Rotarians: T’Shailyn Harrington (Barb Thomas); Samantha Johnson (Ryan Bell)
Program: Devin van Holsteijn; Attendance: Nancy Droll
Please forward any newsworthy items and/or photos to Jon Brown or Janice Baldes to include in the weekly slide decks emailed to members prior to each meeting and shown just before Rotary meetings at the Club. You can send information to: Janice Baldes janicebaldes@gmail.com or Jon Brown at mjonBrown@taxesplusiowacity.com
It is our policy to have all members silence their cell phones before the meeting and refrain from answering their cell phones during the meeting out of respect to the speaker and fellow members.
