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May 12 Program - Child Protection

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.

2025 District Conference

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 Volunteer Sign-Up

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.

Rotarian brings Home Mental Health Support

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:

Rotarian brings home mental health support | Rotary International

May 5 program - UNI Director of Athletics

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.

May Birthdays

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

April 28 Program - Honor Student Luncheon

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.

Upcoming Programs

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?

May 19th Habitat for Humanity - Ali Parish

May 26th MEMORIAL DAY - NO MEETING

June 2 - Rotary Business

June 9 - Birthdays / UNI Football - Todd Stepsis

June 16 - Northeast Iowa Food Bank - Michelle Swanson & Ron Steele

NewAldaya Fundraiser April 25

Rotary National Convention is in Calgary

Thousands set to gather in Calgary for Rotary’s international convention, one of the ‘Blue Sky City’s’ most multicultural events to date.

CALGARY (10 April 2025) - More than 15,000 Rotary members and participants from over 120 countries will gather in Calgary from June 21 to 25, 2025, for the membership service organization’s annual international convention.

“I am thrilled to welcome my fellow Rotary members from around the world to Calgary and Alberta,” said Alberta Premier, Danielle Smith. “As changemakers who recognize the needs of their communities and then take action to address them, Rotary members are fostering positive and lasting impact – and much needed inspiration at this moment in time.”

As the largest event yet to be held at the newly expanded BMO Centre, the convention is expected to account for more than 30,000 hotel room nights, inject $81 million CAD to the local economy, and drive significant business for Calgary’s hotels, restaurants, retailers, and tourism attractions.

Click below to read the full story:

Thousands set to gather in Calgary for Rotary’s international convention, one of the ‘Blue Sky City’s’ most multicultural events to date

Black Hawk County Soil & Water Conservation

Jeri Thornsberry serves as a Black Hawk Soil and Water Commissioner and currently chairs the Board. First elected in 2008, she has also held leadership positions at both the regional and national levels. Today, she serves as President of the Conservation Districts of Iowa, representing 500 locally elected commissioners across the state.

Jeri lived in Nevada’s Great Basin region, where water was more precious than the silver mined from the mountains. Her passion for protecting Iowa’s soil and water was reignited when she returned to her childhood home. Jeri hopes the citizens of Black Hawk County will continue to support conservation practices that promote sustainable agriculture on rural lands and expand these efforts into urban areas as well.

Welcome New Rotarian Ed Gruenwald

Ed Gruenwald with Amy Rousselow

Name: Ed Gruenwald
Job: Director, Growing Minds Early Learning Center
Hometown: Wood Dale Illinois
College: Southern Illinois University
Favorite Food: Kugelis (Popular Lithuanian dish)
Fun Fact: I enjoy repairing vintage tube amplifiers in my spare time.
Why Rotary? Meet new people and keep up to date on what is happening.

Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser Kicks off April 23

Check out the upcoming Habitat for Humanity fundraiser.

April 14 - National Alliance on Mental Illness

Chad Hammar is the new Executive Director of NAMI Black Hawk County (National Alliance on Mental Illness). After a long career in the banking industry, Chad has spent the past 16 years in non-profit leadership. He’ll discuss NAMI’s services to people in the Cedar Valley who live with mental illness as well as those who love them, as well as the current state of the mental health epidemic.

April Birthdays

We postponed the birthday table last week - hopefully Barb and Lindy can join us April 14 and we'll sing them a song!

Barbara Prather	April 2
Duane "Lindy" Lindberg	April 16

Welcome New Rotarian Brandon Marks

Name: Brandon Marks
Job: Business Development/ Project Manager Cardinal Construction
Hometown: Plainfield, IA and I currently live in Cedar Falls
College: Ellsworth
Favorite Food: Anything Mexican & Ice Cream!
Fun Fact: My wife and I have been together for 11 years (we met by mutual friends in our junior year of high school) and we have now been married for 5+ years. We have a 7-month-old baby girl named Monroe and a 3.5-year-old boy named Myer! Our favorite thing to do is travel and experience other cultures. Myer has been to 3 different countries, and Monroe has been to one different country!
Why Rotary? Rotary has been a great opportunity to become more involved in the community and learn about all of the great things that the Cedar Valley has to offer. My experience so far has been very welcoming and I am excited to continue becoming more involved when able.

April 7 Program - OneVision

I am the store development manager with One Vision Thrift Services. I oversee all retail stores, sales, and operations. I’ve been working in retail management just about 10 years. One Vision is a non-profit that help adults with disabilities live their best lives with thrift services. What we do is generate revenue operating our thrift stores, and our thrift solutions businesses including large scale clothing recycling, and businesses consulting services. As an overall organization we provide services to adults with disabilities such as smart living solutions, in home care, assisted employment, and much more.

Welcome New Rotarian Dusty Wilson

Dusty Wilson with Steve Schmitt

Name: Dusty Wilson
Job: Development Director, Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity
Hometown: Waterloo, IA
College: University of Northern Iowa
Favorite Food: Ribeye Steak & French Fries
Fun Fact: My happy place is the golf course
Why Rotary? I enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life and believe networking is not only critical for my role but a cheat code in life.

Cedar Valley Hospice Fundraiser April 11

Saddle up for an unforgettable evening at Boots ‘n Bling, benefiting Cedar Valley Hospice! Join us on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls from 6:00–10:00 PM for a night of live country music by Flatland Ridge, thrilling whiskey and wine pulls, rodeo raffles, and more.

Rotary Space Club

Space Center club has the right stuff

At the height of the space race in the early 1960s, thousands of aerospace engineers, scientists, contractors, and support crew members flocked to Houston, turning 1,600 acres of what was mostly cow pasture into the bustling research hub known as the Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center. The transplants needed social connection. They needed an outlet to improve their rapidly growing community.

They needed a Rotary club.

Space Center club has the right stuff | Rotary International

Rural Urban Day March 31

Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons to be Rural-Urban Day Keynote Speaker

The Waterloo Rotary Club’s 2025 Rural-Urban Day will be March 31. This annual event gives our members the opportunity to interact with our Cedar Valley agriculture community at the beginning of their busy spring season and thank them for all they do to feed, clothe and support us and our world. Rotarians can sponsor farmers or agriculture professionals for $25 per person. You are also welcome to sponsor a table (ask about this opportunity). Make plans to invite your agriculture friends, or we will also provide new friends for you to meet and connect with. Larry Steffens and his committee will be at meetings up until a week before the event, or contact Larry by email with your intentions.

Jeremy Parsons’ professional life came full circle in 2023 when he was named CEO of the world-renowned Iowa State Fair.

He was first introduced to fair management in elementary school by writing a letter to then-Iowa State Fair Manager Marion Lucas. Since that moment, his life and fairs have intersected in a variety of ways, even during his initial career as a high school teacher and coach.

Rural Urban Day Sponsors

THANK YOU to all who have signed up to sponsor a guest! Please arrive at the Waterloo Convention Center between 11:30 and 11:45 to meet your guest and be seated.

Welcome New Rotarian Beth Locke

Name: Elizabeth “Beth” Locke
Job: Funeral director, Locke Funeral Services
Hometown: Waterloo, but I lived in St. Louis for 10 years, Denver and then Fort Collins, Co for 6 years
College: Saint Louis University
Favorite Food: Brown Bottle Lasagna!
Fun Fact: I graduated from SLU with a degree in aviation science, and hold a commercial pilot’s license

Why Rotary? Family tradition. Both of my grandfathers and my dad were very involved in Rotary.

Empty Bowls Fundraiser Coming Up April 4

Check out the annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser coming up on April 4 to support the Northeast Iowa Food Bank at Hilton Garden Inn!

March 24 Program - Allen College

Ashley J. Ollendieck DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE

Professor, Simulation Coordinator, UnityPoint Health – Allen College

Ashley will present on simulation education for nursing students at Allen College. She will also touch on the simulation expansion project they are hoping to break ground on this fall.

Dr. Ashley Ollendieck has worked for UnityPoint Health – Allen College since August 2014 starting as a nursing instructor and clinical coordinator in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Since her time started at Allen College, she has been involved with almost all simulation education. She is currently a Professor and the Simulation Coordinator. Her passion for simulation has grown throughout her time in higher education and she has been the simulation coordinator since June 2021.