Our Meeting was called to order by Past President Barb Thomas
America the Beautiful and Smile! was sung by Rtn. Bob Crane
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Past President Barb Thomas reminded the club that the July Food Fight continues. Help our club win the coveted Golden Turkey award by donating to the CommUnity food bank before August 14th. Please note on your gift that the contribution is for the “Iowa City Noon Rotary Club.” https://builtbycommunity.org/donate/
Rtn. Verne Folkmann provided an update from the Rotary Foundation. Polio cases are popping up again and there have been about 25 total cases. The District and Rotary International has encouraged members to give towards polio through the Polio Society – pledge commit $100 per year until Polio is eradicated. Please talk to Verne about joining.
Past President Barb Thomas recognized committee chairs and encouraged all club members to get involved by joining one or more of our club’s many diverse committees.
PROGRAM:
Rtn. Missie Forbes introduced today’s speaker, the Assistant Johnson County Attorney, Rachel Zimmerman Smith. In her 15 years as Assistant County Attorney, Rachel has sought justice for victims and their families, lead efforts to reduce crime and increase support for vulnerable populations, worked to reduce jail population and develop expanding diversion programs, increased restorative justice programs, and created open office hours at the courthouse to connect victims of domestic violence with community resources.
Rachel started in the Attorney’s Office as a law student intern, so she is very familiar with all the office does. The County Attorney’s office is the chief legal office for all county departments, as well as the chief prosecutor for Johnson County. The office has one County Attorney and 36 total staff – 14 attorneys and 22 support staff members. The office recently moved from the county courthouse to the fourth floor of the MidwestOne building.
In the criminal division, the County Attorney’s Office handles about 3,000 indictable cases each year – cases involving domestic violence and weapons are increasing. The office has three civil attorneys, and they handle things like the conversation board, implementing the Guidelink crisis center, real estate transactions, property tax disputes, and employment issues for the County. The office is required to collect at least $1,000,000 in unpaid court costs, which helps people get their driver’s licenses returned to them.
Rachel shared some of the high profile cases she has recently worked on. She ended by fielding a host of questions from the club.
The meeting ended at 1:00 PM as Past President Barb Thomas led the assembly in reciting The Four Way Test.
MEETING:
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: Emma Haxmeier (Tara Minetos); Rachel Zimmerman Smith (Missie Forbes); Siri Felker (Mark Pries); Julia Winter (Verne Folkmann); David LaMear (Verne Folkmann)
Program: Devin van Holsteijn; Attendance: Nancy Droll
Please forward any newsworthy items and/or photos to 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
For questions related to Club administration, please contact us at secretary@iowacitynoonrotary.org.