Steve Carignan - Executive Director - will have a special presentation on Gallagher's upcoming shows!
Decades of dreams and three years of construction became a reality on April 6, 2000, with the dedication of the new Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. Enabled by the generosity of Cedar Valley residents Ed and Cathy Gallagher and Carl and Peggy Bluedorn, as well as support from the university, the state and over 1,400 donors across Iowa, this was the first major center to open in Iowa in twenty years. The $23 million, 100,000 square foot complex features three state-of-the-art concert halls, a soaring glass-walled lobby and dozens of teaching and rehearsal spaces. All three halls have been designed with superb acoustics and intimate sightlines. The Great Hall also has cutting-edge theatre technology, enabling the center to present artists spanning from chamber ensembles to the biggest Broadway shows. Hosting more than 300 performances each year, the GBPAC showcases the world's finest artists, ensembles of the UNI School of Music, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and many other regional events.
IMPORTANT INFO: If you will attend August 30th, you will find close parking in the metered lot north of GBPAC, but you must feed the meter! If you want to park free, the "B" lot across University Ave is available.
Our club's board of directors will meet before the regular noon meeting to discuss several business items and as a member you are welcome to attend. Topics on the August agenda include:
-Re-calculating membership dues as we emerge from the pandemic
-Membership recruitment
-Rotary grants
-Rotary Foundation
-Review and approve contract with new convention center management
The board will meet in the Gallagher Bluedorn Conference Room at 10:30
IMPORTANT INFO: If you will attend August 30th, you will find close parking in the metered lot north of GBPAC, but you must feed the meter! If you want to park free, the "B" lot across University Ave is available.
When disaster strikes, #Rotary members respond. Here’s a snapshot of how a Rotary Global Grant helped Beirut after the 2020 port explosion. Members made this possible. Learn more about our grant program and how you can help:
The clouds of white smoke billowing into the air over Beirut were an ominous sign that something had gone terribly wrong in a storage hangar at the city’s port. Then a fireball of orange smoke and flames erupted straight up into the sky.
The massive explosion on 4 August 2020 killed more than 200 people, displaced hundreds of thousands more from their homes, and destroyed or damaged many structures. It was caused by a dangerous mix of materials that had been stored in the hangar — including ammonium nitrate, oil, kerosene, hydrochloric acid, miles of fuse wire on spools, and 15 tons of fireworks.
Like many buildings near the site of the explosion, Beirut hospitals were left with extreme damage, often making it difficult or impossible to treat patients safely. This led to a sudden surge in demand at other hospitals not directly affected by the blast.
As the magnitude of the destruction became known, Rotary clubs in Lebanon and around the world asked themselves what they could do to respond to a disaster that was playing out amid a deadly global pandemic. They soon realized that hospitals, some of which had been severely damaged, were in dire need of help. Beirut-area clubs received donations from clubs around the world; some worked with clubs outside Lebanon to apply for global grants from The Rotary Foundation.
