Watch today's meeting here: https://youtu.be/JpZW_50ttVk.

 

Our Meeting was called to order by President Eric Weiler.

 

Rtn. Bill Oglesby was drawn as the winner of the door prize provided by Angela Harrington, owner of The Highlander, for a stay in the hotel and dinner and drinks for a party of six. She plans to give out more door door prizes in the coming weeks, with prizes becoming better and better.

 

Rtn. HD Hoover introduced visiting Rotarians, and Rotarians introduced their guests (see section below).

 

Rtn. Dan Kuenzi announced that our Rotary Club will have a booth at the Rock the Chalk festival in downtown Iowa City on Friday Aug 6, from 5-8 p.m. He is looking for volunteers, so please contact him at 319.350.2792 or dan@cityconstruction.build.

 

Rtn. Barb Thomas is cheering on our club to raise money for the food fight. She wants President Eric to win the golden turkey trophy, which is awarded to the local club that raises the most amount of money per member. The funds go to CommUnity Food Bank, which is a local food pantry.

 

Rtn. Gary Pacha encouraged everyone to support the Iowa Most fundraiser by purchasing salmon at www.iowamost.org. The end date is this Friday, July 23.

 

Rtn. Jerry Fleagle shared a moment of gratitude and positivity. The Herbert Hoover Library was closed for 16 months during the pandemic. During that period, they took the time to call 800 members and donors. It was a good opportunity to connect. They also began branching out and connecting with other libraries. They now have virtual material in multiple locations that will continue to be shared after the pandemic.

 

PROGRAM: Iowa City’s Jingle Cross – October 15-17, 2021

Presenter: Luke Eustice, Think Iowa City (formerly Iowa City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau)

 

Jingle Cross is a world class cyclo-cross bike race held annually in Iowa City. Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing that typically takes place in autumn and winter on a closed course. Race courses are typically 1.5-2 miles that are repeated multiple times. Racers need to be good on grass, gravel, mud, dirt, and over obstacles. It is a hugely popular sport in Europe. It is growing in popularity in the United States. The event brings the best cyclo-cross racers in the world to our community.

 

The event was founded and is directed by Dr. John Meehan, who is a doctor in Seattle. It was founded in 2004 as a grassroots race, and has grown exponentially since. In 2016, it became a World Cup event.

 

The course is at the Johnson County Fairgrounds south of Iowa City. They call the extremely steep climb Mt. Krumpit, which few people are able to bike to the top. Most have to walk and claw their way to the top with their bikes in hand. There are 50 races over 3 days, with many different divisions including professionals, amateurs, “clydesdale” men, juniors, doggies, and kids.

 

There are food and beer vendors, a wine walk, live music and more. Friday night is the big party under the lights. For 2017, Jingle Cross was awarded best World Cup host city.

 

A large number of volunteers are essential to run this event. Volunteers do many things including acting as crossing guards, selling beer, set-up, takedown, traffic direction, etc. Many spectators love to dress up, and stand on Mt. Krumpit to cheer on the riders. The event is free to spectators. All of the profits go to the Children’s Hospital.

 

The meeting ended as President Eric led the assembly in reciting The Four Way Test.

 

 

Visiting Rotarians included: Nancy Pacha (Iowa City AM) and Phil Peterson (Iowa City AM)

 

Guests of Rotarians: David LaMere (Rtn. Colleen Brown), Christina Millikan (President Eric Weiler), Bill Furlong (President Eric Weiler)

 

Program: Devin van Holsteijn; Attendance: Nancy Droll