April 20 - Honor Students Luncheon
 
Monday, we'll celebrate and honor area high school student for their academic achievements in what is typically our largest meeting of the year!
 
Rotarians, plan to arrive by 11:45 to help welcome guests and get through the line and find a seat. We will begin by 12:10.
 
The Waterloo Rotary Club will be celebrating 60 students from these area schools: West, East, Valley Lutheran, Columbus, and Cedar Ridge Christian.
 
Our speaker will be Ras Smith, US Department of Commerce 
 
 
 
Waterloo Rotary Updates
Waterloo Rotary Updates
We have board meeting Monday @10:30.  One item being discussed will be updating our by-laws...they were last done in 2009....and worthy of some updates
 
District Conference is May 1 and May 2 ....there is still time to register, if you can't attend Friday, you can still come Saturday. Jeff Halverson will be installed as our District Governor Saturday afternoon. Our club put together a fundraising gift basket valued at $600. Items were donated by local businesses and a couple of members, including tickets to the Gallagher Bluedorn, tickets to Waterloo Symphony, $100 certificate to Brown Bottle, 1 night stay in the executive suite at the Black Hawk Hotel, and 2 tickets to Oster Regent Theatre.
 
April 27th - Hawkeye Health Sciences
May 4th - Birthday Table / Re-Districting Black Hawk County
 
President Larry Steffens
 
 
April 13 - Lee Enterprises/WCF Courier
 
Tracy Freese is the Regional Sales Director for Lee Enterprises' Central Iowa division, responsible for two local news markets: Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Mason City/Clear Lake. Her team stretches from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines and then north to the MN border. Before working locally at Lee, she was part of its ag division. 
 
She's lived and worked in the Cedar Valley for 20+ years. She lives in Dike with her husband and three daughters, and is a UNI alum. 
 
Tracy will join us Monday to give us an update about where the Courier is headed. 
 
 
 
 
 
April 6 - Cedar Valley Angels
 
Join us Monday to learn about Cedar Valley Angels - Changing the sobering statistics for foster care. This community is especially vulnerable to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which lead to a lifetime of mental, physical, and financial health problems. 
 
 
 
 
April Birthdays
April Birthdays
We'll celebrate these Rotarians at our meeting April 6th!
 
Barbara PratherApril 2 
Debbie RothApril 12 
Duane "Lindy" LindbergApril 16 
Henry PahlkotterApril 19 
 
 
 
New Polio Strategy
New Polio Strategy
We will be showing a video Monday about a combined effort with Bill Gates and Rotary International to Raise $50 million dollars each year for the next 3 years and Bill has agreed to match this challenge $2 for every dollar that Rotary International raises.  If you would like to donate to this cause there will be information on the tables. This is strictly optional and not required.  Rotary International led the charge to eradicate polio and nearly completed this mission but there have been some outbreaks recently and with the anti vaccinators it has become more difficult.  This is a terrible disease. 
 
Larry Steffens
 
 
 
March 30 - Grow Cedar Valley
 
Stephanie Detweiler is the Director of Talent & Workforce at Grow Cedar Valley, where she leads efforts to align talent, employers, and community resources across the Cedar Valley. She joined the organization in September 2022, bringing over a decade of experience in progressive human resources leadership roles.
 
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Iowa, with a major in Textiles & Apparel and a minor in Marketing. She has earned her SHRM Essentials certification from DePaul University, her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from HRCI, and a Six Sigma Yellow Belt from Hawkeye Community College.
 
She currently serves on the Cedar Valley SHRM Board as Workforce Readiness Chair and is also a board member of ONE Cedar Valley.
 
A Waterloo native, Stephanie now resides in Cedar Falls with her husband Rob, their three-year-old daughter Aurora, and their two dogs, Saylor and Kobe. She loves to travel and has visited all 50 states and more than 35 countries.
 
 
 
Rotary - Grand Cayman Island
Dave Allbaugh sent a couple photos to share with our club after seeing Steve Carignan's photo in last week's Reporter of a Rotary office in Venice, Italy.  Dave asserts that our "Waterloo group would do well with wine for lunch" and shared this update:
 
 
 
Jeanne & I were on Spring Break extended family vacation in Grand Cayman last week. Explored the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park there and I was pleased to see that Rotary had built a large, beautiful pavilion for them. It was being used for elementary age classes when we were there.
 
 
The park is known for breeding blue iguanas, which are found only on the island and were nearly extinct 25 years ago. Now over 1000 have been released to the wild. The one in the photo is not actual size!
 
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Maybe we can make this a recurring item in our weekly Reporter?  Rotarians who travel...seek out other Rotary Clubs or projects, snap a picture and provide a brief narrative.  Mason will take it a step further and track down a link to that project or club...there's no reason we can't make connections all over the world given the incredible technology we hold in our hands!
 
 
Halverson to be Installed

 
Jeff Halverson, a member of our club for 34 years, will be installed as our next District Governor of District 5970 on Saturday, May 2 during the district conference in Iowa Falls. This is a major honor for Jeff and for our club, he will be the first Waterloo Rotarian elevated to be District Governor since Steve Thorpe in 2000. Our club should be well represented on May 2, including several club officers and past District Governor Dave Buck plans to attend. He is offering to take up to three people with him. In addition, Barb Prather, also from our club, will talk about food security on Saturday morning.  Edward Gallagher is also planning to attend.
 
Larry Steffens
 
 
 
Rural Urban Day March 23
 
Craig Floss, Executive Director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association will be our guest speaker for 2026 Rural Urban Day.  Craig Floss is chief executive officer for the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) and Iowa Corn Opportunities, LLC. Raised on a Jasper County Iowa grain and livestock farm, Floss graduated from Iowa State University with a BS degree in agricultural education and international agriculture. Floss joined Iowa Corn in 1997 and has initiated a strategic planning and project assessment approach that has fostered an interdependent working relationship between the organizations to increase both groups’ effectiveness.
 
A note to those that are sponsoring a farmer...PLEASE COME EARLY...11:45 would be great that is typically when our guests arrive.  We will also be upstairs at the Convention Center.  It should be fun !  We will probably have about 30 guests coming to our meeting. 
 
-Larry Steffens
 
 
 
Rotary Venice
 
Recently retired Rotarian Steve Carignan was globetrotting in Venice and happened upon this familiar logo on a shop door.  He reports the Venice Rotary Club rotates their 6:30 evening meeting locations, and most importantly, serves wine.
 
 
 
March 16 - Salvation Army
 
Capt. Zac Zumwalt serves as the Corps Officer for The Salvation Army in Waterloo, Iowa, alongside his wife, Capt. Karissa Zumwalt. Originally from Kansas City,  Zac has worked with The Salvation Army throughout the Midwest since 2014 in Chicago, Kansas City, Watertown SD, and Sioux City, IA.
With more than a decade of ministry and community service experience, Zac is passionate about putting faith into action through practical support and outreach. In Waterloo, he and Karissa oversee multiple community programs, including three homeless shelters, an extensive feeding and drive-thru pantry program, and a local church congregation, all aimed at meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of the community.
Zac and Karissa are celebrating 12 years of marriage this year and have two children, Theodore (2 years old) and Lincoln (5 months old). As free time allows, Zac enjoys spending time with his family, a really good book, and going to the theatre to see the latest movie release.
 
 
 
March 9 - UNI Community Engagement

Kristina Kofoot from the Center for Community Engagement at UNI will join us Monday, March 9th. She is the assistant director of UNI's Office of Community Engagement and the advisor for the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance student organization.  Active in the community, she serves on the board of directors for the Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony as well as the Youth Art Team.  She also directs a summer camp for the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa and serves on their Youth Ministry Development Board.

Kristina is going to talk about community engagement at UNI and the preparation of future nonprofit leaders through service-learning.

 

 

District Governor Ward Budweg
 
Rotary District 5970 Governor Ward Budweg joined us for lunch March 2nd and encouraged our members to "find their replacement"...in other words, bring new members into our club and transfer our shared wisdom and love for service.  Two of our longest-serving Rotarians, Gene Leonhardt (51 years) and Frank Seng (52 years) were honored alongside our newest member Kristi Brown (32 days).  Each was given the choice of a lottery ticket or a one dollar bill; Frank chose the sure-thing, while Gene and Kristi chose the potential for instant riches.  Gene's ticket was a dud, while Kristi won DOUBLE what Frank walked away with!
 
Governor Budweg shared stories from his trip to Nicaragua alongside our past presidents Steve Thorpe and Dave Buck as part of our Shoebox Project, as well as circumnavigating the globe on bikes with his wife.  Ward donated a copy of their book to the Waterloo Public Library - The World at 10 MPH (available from Amazon -or- free with a $20 autograph directly from Ward).
 
 
 
Jim Waterbury Services
 
Funeral services for former Waterloo Rotarian Jim Waterbury will be early next week, details can be found by clicking this link.
 
Jim served our club for 26 years and was well-known in the Cedar Valley through his efforts in several organizations including KWWL and Allen Hospital.
 
 
Kathleen Wernimont Services
 
Our club is saddened to learn of Kathleen's passing in February, she was an incredible asset to our club and brought life and light to every gathering.  Kathleen and Betty Steege were the first female members of our club in 1987 - the same year the US Supreme Court ruled that Rotary clubs could not exclude women from joining.  The attached photo is from a 2018 celebration of women in our club. We have shared the service times for Kathleen below, please consider attending the visitation at 10am this Friday.
 
 
Family will receive friends on Thursday, March 5th from 1:00 - 4:00PM at Locke at Tower Park, 4140 Kimball Ave, on Thursday, March 5, with a Rosary Service starting at 1:00PM. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, March 6, at St. Edward Catholic Church at 11:00AM with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be directed to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, or the Waterloo Community Foundation.
 
 
Rotary Updates
 
We had our Rotary board meeting last week and it was announced Rochelle Kane has accepted the position of President Elect starting July 1st. Her term as our Waterloo Rotary president will begin July 1, 2027.  Rochelle and Jordan were selected for a nominating committee to fill a couple of board member positions, and Amy Rousselow will be retiring in July after her term of 4 years. 
 
Monday, March 2nd we will celebrate birthdays, have a business update meeting and our District Governor Ward Budweg will give us an update of what is going on within our district and Internationally. 
 
For those that can make the 5970 District Conference this year it will be in Iowa Falls ... Please consider registering...great opportunity to meet fellow Rotarians.  The conference will be May 1 and 2nd. 
 
Upcoming programs. 
March 9th - Waterloo Center for the Arts 
March 16th - Salvation army
March 23rd - Rural Urban Day
March 30th - Grow Cedar Valley
 
Larry Steffens
 
March Birthdays
March Birthdays
We'll greet the onset of spring weather Monday and celebrate Rotarians with March birthdays:
 
Mason FrommMarch 16 
Brian AronsonMarch 19 
Eric RitlandMarch 20 
Cathy NicholasMarch 24 
Bob RegenwetherMarch 30 
 
 
 
 
February 23rd - Ward 2 Candidate Forum
Thank you Ward 2 candidates for joining us Monday!  Click the image below to watch the story on KWWL
 
 
UPDATE 2-26-26 - *UNOFFICAL RESULTS* for the special election held Tuesday, February 24th:
 
 
The canvass will conclude March 3rd and if Dave Morrow maintains the slim majority vote, he will be certified the new Ward 2 City Councilor. 
 
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Join us Monday to hear directly from the three candidates vying to fill the Ward 2 City Council seat made available when Dave Boesen was elected Mayor of Waterloo.  The Ward 2 special election will be held Tuesday, February 24th, the day after our forum.
 
 
Candidates in alphabetical order with links to recent KWWL profiles:
 
Rotarians and guests are asked to arrive promptly at noon to give our candidates as much time as possible to answer questions and describe their vision for Waterloo.
 
 
 
Rotary Updates
 
 
Our Rotary board is looking for members who maybe interested in becoming a director... if you are interested please contact Jordan Bancroft or Larry Steffens. 
 
Upcoming programs
February 23... Ward 2 Council seat forum... Kevin McCrindle will be the Moderator and Steve Schmitt will be the timekeeper.
March 2nd... Rotary Business Mtg update and Ward Budweg District Governor from Decorah will provide updated information of our District and Rotary. 
 March 9th... Waterloo Center of the Arts
March 16th ... Salvation Army
March 23rd.... Rural Urban day - Our guest speaker will be Craig Floss who is the executive director of the Iowa Corn Growers. Association. Rural Urban day is our program where we thank our Ag producers for the food they provide for our tables.   We will start offering sponsorships of producers Monday. The Cost of the sponsorship is $25 which is the cost of your guest's meal. 
 
If you would like to attend the Black Hawk County 4-H Breakfast March 22nd .. See Larry Steffens for discounted tickets. 
 
 
Larry Steffens
 
 
 
Club Information
Peace Through Service
Waterloo Rotary

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
District Site
Bulletins
Venue Map
Site Pages
Club Executives & Directors
President
Larry Steffens
President Elect
Jordan Bancroft
Secretary
Cathy Nicholas
Treasurer
Allison Beach
Rotary Foundation
Deb Pullin-Van Auken
Membership
Amy Rousselow

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Photo Albums
2024 Honor Student Luncheon
2022 Football Luncheon
2022 Volleyball Luncheon
2022 Cultural Immersion Workshop
2022 Honor Student Luncheon
Ashley Hinson visit 2022
2021 Football MVP
2021 Christmas Luncheon
Rural Urban Day 2022
2021 Volleyball
VGM Heartland Conference 2021
Food Bank Sept 2021
Hovey Brom WWII Photos
Steve Thorpe
Bill Robert
2020 Football
2020 Rural Urban Day - Mike Naig
2019 Holiday Luncheon
2019 Football Luncheon
2019 Volleyball Photos
2019 Family Picnic
2019 Student Scholars Luncheon
2018 Volleyball Luncheon
2018 Football
Hops & Grapes 2018
2018 Student scholars Luncheon
2017 Student Scholar Luncheon
2017 Football Luncheon
2017 Volleyball Luncheon
Shoebox Service Day, 2017
2016 Student Luncheon
June 2016 Kelli Farewell
Centennial Celebration June 25, 2015
2015 Holiday Luncheon
2015 Family Picnic
March 9th Meeting
Rotary Day Feb 23rd 2009
Chili Supper 1-18-09
2016 Family Picnic
Mason's trip to LA
Rural Urban Day 2009
2004 Million Dollar Hole In One Kick Off
2009 Shoebox pickup
2004 Million Dollar Hole In One Parade
Sullivan Museum 2-2-09
Photos of Dick Winegarden
April 20 Meeting
April 6th Meeting
Family Picnic July 31, 2008
2002 - First trip to Nicaragua
Recent Projects
Family Picnic 2009
2009 Steak Fry
July 6th Meeting
Hops & Grapes June 11
District Conference May 1-2
Nicaragua Journal
1965 Convention

April 2026

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