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Rooted Carrot Co-op Market Presenting March 1st

The Rooted Carrot Co-op Market is a grassroots effort to establish a community-owned grocery store that emphasizes local, healthy, and sustainable.

Board & Staff | Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa

Tom Wickersham is a member of the Co-op’s board of directors. During the the day he serves as the Program Director at the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.

March Birthdays

We'll celebrate our members born in March at our first meeting of the month. Join us for well wishes and March trivia!

Dr. Laura Kurtz	March 13
Mason Fromm	March 16
Brian Aronson	Mar 19
Eric Ritland	March 20
Cathy Nicholas	March 24
Art Cox	March 26
Holly Johnson	Mar 30
Bob Regenwether	March 30

Rotary District Duck Pluck 2021

This year’s “Duck Pluck” will take place on May 1, 2021, virtually. The winning ducks will be plucked out of Michelle Bell’s hot tub during the District Conference!

Rotary Award on Behalf of World Health Organization

To celebrate 75 years of cooperation and a shared history of working together toward a healthier and more peaceful world, Rotary presented the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, the and UNICEF, with its highest recognition: The Rotary Award of Honor.

2/22 Meg Durbahn Presents on Rotary Exchange

Meg Durbahn will be sharing her Rotary Youth Exchange experience of her time in Enkhuizen, Netherlands.

Take a Virtual Tour of One Rotary Center

Get a guided tour of the Rotary World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

As one of the two Rotary clubs normally conducting club meetings at One Rotary Center in Evanston, Illinois, USA, members of the Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse were touched by General Secretary John Hewko’s inspirational tour of Rotary World Headquarters. Seeing Room 711, the location of the first Rotary meeting, was a reminder that club members later this year will once again walk by it on our way to club meetings, just as we did prior to the pandemic.

Upcoming Programs

President-elect EJ Gallagher has several leads on interesting programs in the next few months. Now is the time to reach out to your friends, family, co-workers or community network and invite them to a meeting. Our membership will only grow if we are out recruiting like-minded citizens who share a passion for service!

March 15 - High Speed Rail Service

March 29 - Student Scholars

April 5 - Debra DeLaet - Iowa United Nations Association

May 10 - Doris Kelly - Equal Rights Amendment

EJ would love to hear from you if you have a topic or speaker for an upcoming meeting.

Presidents Day February 15

In past years, our Club has celebrated Presidents Day by honoring and learning about our club’s history from our Past and current Presidents. This year we will not have a table or dais, but we will have the opportunity to hear from some of our Past Presidents about their term in office and other memories about our club. Join us using the Zoom link below and celebrate our club's current president Annie Vander Werff, and all our past presidents who have carried our club for 106 years!

Meeting ID: 985 7618 4918
Password: 061645

Dr. Jay Ginther Obituary

Dr. Jay Paul Ginther M.D., 74, of Waterloo, passed peacefully at 2:30am on February 4, 2021 at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital after a long history of battling heart problems. Music that he had performed with the Metropolitan Chorale played in the background. His wife, Ann, and their three adult children, Katrina, Greg, and Alex were with him. He believed in God the Creator that holds all of nature in balance, and he believed that death was an opening to the fullness of God's presence. In the end, Jay was sorry to leave us, but too tired to stay any longer.

Jay was born July 10, 1946 in Jersey City, NJ to Dorothea (Halloran) Guinther M.D. and John Paul Guinther M.D. Jay attended Wesleyan College in Connecticut where he was active in the Glee Club and Church Choir. Jay earned his M.D. from Columbia University in New York City. He was completing his surgical internship at the University of Minnesota Hospital where he met his wife Ann (Willenbring) Ginther.

In his youth, Jay was very active in the Boy Scouts of America. In his 30's he ran the Boston Marathon. As an adult, he was involved in the Rotary Club. He was passionate about traveling around the world to experience new cultures, foods, and study history. Jay was a wine enthusiast and active member in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls wine club. Jay and Ann loved music and sponsored many symphony fundraisers. Jay enjoyed nature throughout his life; whether it was gardening, exploring national parks, or walks with his wife through local trails in Waterloo. He was also a proud member of Mensa.

Rotary International News

Rotary International President Holger Knaack shares the importance of taking on big challenges and increasing our impact to create new opportunities.

The Covid pandemic, while bringing so much suffering to the entire globe, has also enabled Rotary to open opportunities in many different ways, such as this institute and the virtual meetings we hold. These are so important as they bring leaders together to brainstorm on how to take on the challenges ahead. We are now in a time of rapid change and we have to keep working together to ensure Rotary comes out of this difficult time in a much stronger position,” said RI President Holger Knaack, while delivering the convocation address at the GETS event for RI zones 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Striking a pensive note, he said, “Rotary was founded in a world that doesn’t exist any longer, it is a different world now, which moves faster and is harder to comprehend. And it is filled with crises to manage. And yet it gives us new opportunities.”

He said even before this crisis, people were meeting and keeping connected to different friends in different ways. “Social media and online connections were already there but they have now become more important. We are all now used to working virtually. Most important, the younger generation that has grown up in this world, has a stronger desire for service and connections.”

District Governor Lowell Stoolman February 8

District Governor Stoolman has been a Rotarian for over 31 years and will give us updates on what's going on in Rotary around Iowa.

McCrindles Join Us From Afar

Kevin and Beth have been Rotarians for a long time and one aspect they’ve always enjoyed is attending makeup meetings while traveling. Years ago Kevin attended a meeting of the local club in Iguacu, Argentina, and was the only English speaker there. The difficulty was - he was staying in the rain forest and no cab would drive him back after the dinner meeting. Thank goodness for his College German class and another visiting Rotarian from Berlin! They were able to communicate sufficiently to get a “volunteer” to drive him back! (“Will it build good will and better friendships?” Yes!!)

The McCrindles have attended so many meetings of the Princeville Club in Kauai that some consider them Ohana (family) members. There are many others but obviously all this has changed since the Pandemic! They now don’t have to find another virtual meeting-they can continue meeting right here in Waterloo! They both agree that when traveling it’s a “fun” (5th of the 4-Way Test!) way to stay.

Jay Ginther has passed away

Our club has lost another member this week, Dr Jay Ginther has passed away. His wife Ann specifically reached out to Beth McCrindle to notify our club and shared these words:

You can read Jay's blog about bone health and osteoporosis here:

We'll update the club with service details as they become available, please keep Ann and their family in your thoughts.

Rotary's Action Plan

This is Rotary’s Action Plan through 2024: to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt.

Mr. Pereira, sitting at his desk in 1941 w a sage quote about

February 1st Program - Dr. Todd Holcomb, Hawkeye Community College

For over 50 years, Hawkeye Community College has distinguished itself as one of Iowa’s best community colleges. They're known for an environment that is academically challenging, for our caring faculty and staff, and for providing students the latest technology.

Fellow Rotarian and President of Hawkeye Community College Dr. Holcomb will share what's happening and expound on new initiatives on campus.

February Birthdays

We'll celebrate our February-born Rotarians at our first meeting of the month...you'll have to prvide your own cake, though.

John Mallen	Feb 1
Micki McCracken	Feb 07
Julie Hayes	Feb 9
Bob Krogh	Feb 18
Craig Ritland	Feb 20
Joan Rice	Feb 21
Steve Sinnott	Feb 21

Paul Harris Fellows Update

Deb Pullin-Van Auken has an update on our Rotarians who are giving to the Rotary Foundation.

Cheers to Us!

In these pandemic times, it is important to recognize members of our club that have shown the spirit of philanthropy through OUR The Rotary Foundation, including those that have achieved the EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) level (they give at least $25 per year to the Annual Fund) and those that are sustaining members (they give at least $100 per year to the Annual Fund). Let’s celebrate the spirit of philanthropy ( + = number of $1,000 level donations after achieving Paul Harris Fellow status):

2021 Rotary International Convention

The 2021 Rotary International Convention will be held virtually this year.

Job Foundation Featured January 25th

The Job Foundation is a local non-profit with a mission to equip K-12 students and their families for economic advancement. This is accomplished through a comprehensive approach that stresses financial education, stewardship training, academic achievement, and attainment of key resources to increase financial stability. The Job Foundation envisions a world where all children, from every socio-economic background, are well-equipped with the financial skills, knowledge, and assets needed for their financial and life success.

https://thejobfoundation.org/

Kelsey Umthun earned her BA in Family Services and a certificate in Nonprofit Management. She began working at The Job Foundation in 2016. Kelsey has walked alongside students and families in the program for four years and currently serves as The Job Foundation’s Director of Development.

January Birthdays

A small but mighty group of Rotarians celebrated their birthdays this month, and we'll honor them at Monday's meeting:

McCrindle, Kevin - Jan 06

Holcomb, Todd - Jan 07

Smith-Davis, Bonnie - Jan 17

Edsill, Henry - Jan 21

Hovey Brom: WWII Program Video

We hosted around 60 members and guests for Hovey's presentation January 11th, but there was simply too much story to fit in a single meeting. We heard "the rest of the story" January 18th.

Watch Hovey's complete story on our YouTube Channel:

https://youtu.be/jKIaL2j6TgI

Fellow Rotarian Bill Robert Passed Away

Posted on Jan 18, 2021

Dear Rotarians,

I am so grateful that Mason Fromm reached out to Bill Robert and his family recently.

Had Mason not connected with Bill and his son Mike, we might not have had the chance to lift Bill up, send cards, or share Rotary memories with him during what turned out to be his final days. (Mason compiled a book of the 2020 Reporter highlights for Bill).

Mason shared, "Bill Robert passed away on Sunday morning (January 17th) about 12:30. They had just moved him into hospice Friday evening, and Saturday brought another day of more pain, medications, and "fuss" that Bill didn't appreciate. However, Mike was able to share our Reporter archive with him and he said Bill shared memories about a few of our members.

I'm so glad we were able to get the book in his hands Friday and I hope Bill felt the love of his club in his final hours.

Mike said there will not be a memorial service, but I asked him to reach out if our club can be of any assistance to the family."

67 years to be committed to an organization like Rotary is admirable. We will celebrate the life of Bill Robert at our meeting today with a moment of silence. If you are not able to be with us, please take a moment to remember Bill - and if you're moved to stop by Dairy Queen - I'm sure it would make him smile if you chose to eat an ice cream cone in his memory!

Yours in Rotary,
Annie Vander Werff
President 2020-21

If you have photos of Bill to share, please email them to Mason for inclusion in this photo album.

Read Bill's obituary and share memories here

Rotary Million Mask Challenge Update

Rotary members rise to the challenge of the #Covid19 pandemic to distribute 800,000 masks to first-responders and essential workers in ten cities

In the early morning of 29 September, a cargo ship carrying 800,000 face masks arrived at the Port of Boston. Over the course of the following 14 days, those masks were delivered to first responders, healthcare providers, and frontline workers in cities, towns, and villages across New England.

This is a story of service and leadership. It’s a story of how our District and Zone responded to a crisis, rallied its resources, put boots-on-the-ground to bring disparate and far-flung communities together to spread goodwill. Most importantly, it’s a story about working together and using our collective professional backgrounds through the Rotary network to make a difference.

ONE Rotary Summit Coming up

Normally held in the fall, this year's One Rotary Summit has moved to January offering two VIRTUAL 90-minute sessions. Save these dates...

Tuesday, January 26th @ 6:30 pm
Saturday, January 30th @ 10:00 am

ORS is one of Rotary's best training programs that offer new ideas and best practices to help your club work on three key areas... membership, foundation, and public image.

With the President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) in March, ORS can compliment pre-training for your incoming presidents, and president-nominees. But, any Rotarian can attend at no cost, plus no travel! So watch for registration info out soon and plan to join us for One Rotary Summit!

https://district5970.org/Stories/one-rotary-summit

End Polio in India Update

Efforts to #endpolio in India have had lasting benefits: stronger health systems, improved vaccine delivery & robust disease response. Congratulations on 10 years without a case of wild polio, now let’s end polio for all!