Hope you had a SAFE 4th of July this weekend, our next regular meeting will be Monday, July 21st at the Waterloo Convention Center. Our volunteer service project for Habitat for Humanity will be the week of July 14th - see the story below for more details.
June 30 marked the last meeting of our Rotary year, and now-Past President Cathy Nicholas passed the gavel to our 2025-26 President Larry Steffens. After a few reflective and heartfelt comments on her year of service to our club, Larry presented Cathy with a past president's pin and an etched plaque to commemorate our club's appreciation.
Thank you, Cathy and here's to a bright Rotary year ahead led by President Steffens!
We've registered 5 volunteers for Monday but only 2 volunteers Tuesday thru Thursday. Habitat would like to have 10 volunteers each day Monday thru Thursday mornings 8:30-11:30 next week to help build homes for those in need. Email President Larry Steffens if you can help with our Habitat for Humanity service project July 14-17. There will be no regular meeting Monday Rotary July 14th. Lunch will be provided to volunteers. Training will be provided, and there will be a site supervisor there to help get everyone started.
Our first Rotary Board of Directors meeting will be Monday, July 21st 11am
We welcome new board members Mike Lind and Todd Holcomb, and we thank Jordan Bancroft for accepting the role as President-Elect, Allison Beach for accepting the role as Treasurer, and Cathy Nicholas will be taking over the Club Secretary duties (as well as Past President).
We also thank Steve Schmitt and Lauren Fink for their Service on the board.
Todd Wordel is working behind the scenes this month to make this year's Family Picnic fun for everyone! This year the DAY of the picnic will shift from the traditional Thursday to WEDNESDAY, July 30th. Todd can use just a couple more volunteers to arrive between 2:00 and 3:00 the day of; email him to lend your service. He could use a few teenagers that evening to help little kids with games, and if you have another bag toss or any kind of yard game, let Todd know.
We will have Burgers, Brats, Hot Dogs, Chicken Breasts, and Leg-Thigh quarters coming off the grills - Todd needs to compile a shopping list, so please RSVP with your details by clicking here. Price of the picnic as $10.00 adults and $5.00 Children.
You can call text or email Todd with questions:
319-464-4754.
Celebrating these Rotarians will have to wait for our next regular meeting on July 21st as we've got a busy summer schedule.
| Rick Morris | July 02 |
| James Madison | July 10 |
| Allison Beach | July 11 |
| Lauren Finke | July 17 |
| Mary Greenley | July 21 |
| Mike Broshar | July 26 |
| Bob Manning | July 30 |
Our upcoming programs offer a wide variety of topics that you can offer to guests - maybe you could reach out and re-connect with your network and invite them to join us for lunch?
July 7 - NO MEETING / 4th of July Holiday
July 14 - NO NOON MEETING / Volunteer week for Habitat for Humanity.
- - Monday-Thursday, 8:30-11:30. Lunch will be provided.
July 21 - Cedar Valley TechWorks by Paul Pfeiffer / July birthdays
July 28 - NO MEETING / Rotary Family Picnic @ Rotary Reserve Wednesday July 30.
Jay Dobes is a Cedar Valley native who grew up in Waterloo’s youth hockey program. He brings a unique combination of familiarity with the community and experience in the sport after previously working with hockey clubs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Montana. Upon returning to northeast Iowa in 2016, Dobes re-engaged with the Waterloo Youth Hockey Association in various roles, including Coaching Director.
He joined the Black Hawks in the summer of 2024 from a full time role at Waterloo-based O&P1 (Orthotics & Prosthetics).
As Director of Sales, Dobes works with businesses across the Cedar Valley. Those relationships are crucial to the team’s on-ice success, while also providing the partner-companies with exposure via a team which generated over 80,000 in attendance during 2023/24. Dobes also assists large groups as they enjoy Young Arena’s hospitality amenities.
This is Dobes’ second stint with the team. From 2007 to 2010, he was a member of the Hawks’ hockey operations staff under Head Coach P.K. O’Handley. In addition to on-ice work with Black Hawks players, Dobes managed a range of administrative tasks including hotel and travel arrangements.
Over the years which followed, his coaching career continued with the Twin Cities Northern Lights (Minnesota Junior Hockey League), Janesville Jets (North American Hockey League), and Butte Cobras (Western States Hockey League). Dobes developed a wide skill set over that time and was involved in many aspects of those teams’ operations. Back in the Cedar Valley beginning in 2016, Dobes has applied his knowledge within the WYHA, serving most recently as the head coach for the program’s Junior Gold team.
Join us today at noon at the Waterloo Convention Center to hear from the North East Iowa Regional Board of Realtors. Our guest speaker is incoming President of the Board of Realtors, Karmen Schwake. She will be discussing the real estate market in the Cedar Valley both residential and commercial. Karmen is a native of Waterloo, graduated from West High School and attended school in Arizona. She is currently a broker for Oakridge Realty. She has a family of 4 and resides in Waterloo.
**UPDATE** Our guest was unable to share several interesting charts and info with us on the big screen, so it has been uploaded here.
Fellow Rotarian Barb Prather is the Executive Director of Northeast Iowa Food Bank, and will bring some friends to our meeting Monday:
Ron Steele is the Capacity Campaign’s Volunteer Spokesperson. Ron has lived and worked in the Cedar Valley more than 50 years, recently retiring as Senior News Anchor for KWWL-TV. He hopes to help the NEIFB reach its goal of increased capacity to serve the tens of thousands in 16 Iowa counties who depend on daily meals provided by the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.’
Dr. Michelle Swanson is a life-long resident of the Cedar Valley and a recently retired professor from the University of Northern Iowa. She continues to serve the community as a volunteer at the Northeast Iowa food bank and numerous other local charities, demonstrating her deep commitment to helping others. Michelle is married to her husband, Chad - a local attorney - and together they have raised two adult children, Elizabeth and Matthew.
Join us Monday to celebrate these Rotarians who are all 1 year wiser!
| Kathleen Wernimont | Jun 2 |
| Dusty Wilson | Jun 6 |
| Jacob Bates | Jun 16 |
| David Buck | Jun 19 |
| Jacylne Heller | Jun 19 |
| Chris Kemp | Jun 22 |
Rotarians heard from NEW UNI Football Coach - Todd Stepsis - last week! Thank you to everyone for making the trip to the Dome!
Last week, three committee met after the Club business meeting.
UNI has provided us directions for the meeting at the UNI Dome. The meeting will be at the building connected to the NORTH Side of the UNI Dome. Jimmy John's will be served for lunch.
Below is a map of the North entrance to the UNI dome parking lot. Turn onto the North parking lot entrance and then turn into the meter parking at the Wellness Recreation Center. Enter on the West side of the building and then turn right down a long hallway... you will walk by a large weight room ... and will see a white stairway ahead go up the stairs and go to the Athletic Administration office and turn left...you go down a short hallway to room 256 which is the Team meeting Room. This will be stadium seating with comfortable seats. There will be people there to help direct you. There is also an elevator by the white stairway to the left if you would like an elevator. Parking is 25 cents per 18 minutes. Otherwise you can park in the North parking lot for free. You can also use the PEC entrance and avoid the long hallway. If anyone would like to help direct people, please contact Larry Steffens @319-415-7635. Thank you.
Today, we honor those who died while serving our country in the Armed Forces. We will not meet today so you can spend the unofficial kick off to summer with your family. Next meeting will be June 2 at the Waterloo Convention Center with a Rotary business agenda.
Ali Parrish is the Executive Director of Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity, where she has worked for the past 11 years, helping to lead efforts that expand access to affordable homeownership and strengthen neighborhoods across the Cedar Valley. A Waterloo native, Ali is committed to bringing people together to create lasting change through housing and community partnerships. She and her husband Nathaniel have three grown daughters and enjoy being part of the place they’ve long called home.
Summer in Waterloo starts with FridayLoo and the 4th Street Cruise THIS WEEKEND!
The first FridayLoo of the season will start at 5:30 in Lincoln Park and will feature local favorites - Dead Presidents. Admission is FREE Click HERE to learn more!
Bring your family and bring your chair - there will be music and food down at National Cattle Congress on May 23rd prior to the parade of classic cars on May 24th. Please click HERE for updates and more information.
Inspired by the American flags placed beside headstones at military cemeteries, Rick Clark asked officials at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego if Rotary clubs could similarly pay tribute to service members interred there.
Clark, a past president of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, is a Vietnam veteran who served as a Seabee, as members of the U.S. Navy’s construction battalions are called. He enlisted District 5340 leaders to recruit 400 volunteers to participate in the project, dubbed 2024 Operation Flags for Vets. “It was a powerful event that impacted so many people, including countless survivors who expressed their gratitude,” says another organizer, Michael Fuqua, a member of the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo and a retired naval captain. The district plans to repeat the event this Memorial Day. The initiative is supported by a new district committee formed to coordinate projects related to military members and veterans. The committee helped raise about $14,000.
Katie Strub is the Senior Clinic Administrator at the Allen Child Protection Center and Allen Women’s Health. She has been in her current position since 2021, and has been employed at UnityPoint Health in the Allen Child Protection Center since it opened in 2010. Katie has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in mental health counseling from the University of Northern Iowa. Katie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She represents Allen Women’s Health and Allen Child Protection Center on numerous state, regional and national committees and coalitions.
The Rotary District #5970 conference was held in Decorah, IA May 2-4. The meeting was attended by about 75 people, including Rotary Exchange students, members, past, present, and future District Governors, and others. We began Saturday morning with a presentation from Patricia Kennedy Davanzo, who told us how Rotary and the 4-way test changed her life. She told us how her father who was a Rotarian for many years, insisted she go off to New Zealand as an exchange student when she was in high school. That experience changed her life, and she knew she wanted to be involved with travel as a career. She went to work for Northwest Airlines, now Delta Airlines, after college. Today, 30 years later she has moved all over the county and successfully moved up the ranks at Northwest. Throughout here career she had a 4-way test plaque sitting on her desk and she tried to follow it every day, especially in difficult situations.
We then participated in a Gratitude Scavenger Hunt. We were split into about 10 teams and given $100 in cash. Our goal was to go out and spread joy and tell others about Rotary in about an hour. We started on Main Street, and we gave money to a family who was on their way to buy some hot chocolate for their two young children. We then headed down to the Farmer’s Market and met a local farmer and his young daughter, who runs a farm with everything from chickens to cows to potted plants. We treated his family to a future dinner out. It was a lot of fun to see how surprised people were when we gave them cash for a treat.
The last speaker was Tim Felton, a retired County Sheriff’s deputy from Winneshiek County. He told us of several trips to Ukraine in the last 4-5 years in which he has gone over and trained their local fire and police forces on how to deal with trauma and PTSD in the warzone. It was an interesting and inspiring talk and reminded us of how luck we are to live in a county where we take peace for granted.
The day ended with pizza from Mabe’s and family trivia.
Cathy Nicholas
2024-2025 Waterloo Rotary President
Main Street Sweep – Saturday, May 17th | 10am–1pm
We invite you to be a part of our annual Main Street Sweep, a community spring clean-up day dedicated to revitalizing downtown Waterloo after a long winter. This is more than just picking up trash — it’s about coming together to restore the beauty, health, and welcoming spirit in the heart of our city. When we unite with a common purpose, even the simplest actions — like sweeping a sidewalk — we create a powerful ripple of pride and connection. Volunteers will receive supplies and assignments before heading out to "sweep" downtown. After the cleanup, we’ll gather for lunch and a well-deserved celebration. Let’s work side by side to make downtown shine again — we can’t wait to see you there! Sign up here to join the movement.
When Ugandan village elders meet with Stuart Raymond Kasule about supporting people with mental health struggles, they volunteer ideas to show more empathy.
They want to know, for example, how to open a conversation with a person who is suffering. “That shows you that the people are crying out to say, we need help, we need support,” Kasule says. He travels from his adopted home of Australia to his Ugandan homeland about twice a year to share his training on mental well-being and suicide prevention, skills that are part of his job with a counseling firm in Canberra.
Read the full story here:
Join us Monday to hear from Megan Franklin - she was named the University of Northern Iowa's ninth Director of Athletics in May 2024, bringing over a decade of athletic administrative experience in the Missouri Valley Conference to Cedar Falls.
Franklin earned her bachelor's degree in Community Health Education at the University of Nebraska and later received a master's degree in Educational Administration specializing in student affairs from Nebraska. She owns a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech.
We'll celebrate these Rotarians on Monday and be sure to wish them a Happy Birthday later this month!
| Vicki Mueller | May 19 |
| Troy Smith | May 22 |
| Todd Wordel | May 31 |
We celebrated the brightest high school seniors at our annual Academic Recognition program. Our keynote speaker was Glen Keith, Executive Director, Love, INC of the Cedar Valley
Glen Keith is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and is the current Executive Director of Love In the Name of Christ of the Cedar Valley, also known as Love INC. Glen spent 25 years in the military and served as logistics officer throughout the globe with multiple deployments to the Balkans in the mid-1990s and multiple deployments to Afghanistan during the Global War on Terrorism.
Glen is a native of Tennessee with the Army bringing him to the Cedar Valley in 2013 to lead the University of Northern Iowa Army ROTC program, where he retired from the Army in 2017. His education includes a Bachelors in Sociology from Tennessee Technological University, a Masters in Administration from Central Michigan University and Master of Military Studies from Marine Corps University.
Peace Through Service
Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Mondays at 12:00 p.m.
Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center
4th & Commercial
Waterloo, IA 50701
United States of America
Waterloo, IA 50701
United States of America