Waterloo Rotary Reporter (May 10, 2021)

Secretary of State Candidate Joel Miller Speaking Monday

We are hosting Secretary of State Candidate - Joel Miller, a Democrat - this Monday, November 7! We invited the Republican candidate, incumbent Paul Pate, but he was not able to schedule a visit at this time.

Joel grew up on a dairy farm outside of Independence, Iowa. After graduating high school, Joel served as a deputy sheriff and as a part-time police officer. In 1977, Joel entered the United States Army and served 3 years on active duty attaining the rank of Sergeant. Following his time in the United States Army, Joel returned home, went back to college, obtained a degree in electronics engineering technology, and worked as an IBEW electronics tech for AT&T. From 2002 to 2005, Joel served on the City Council of Robins, and served as the city's mayor from 2006 to 2007. In 2007, Joel was elected in a special election to serve as Linn County Auditor, the second largest county in the state. Since 2007, Joel has been re-elected in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Joel has been married to his wife, Sylvia, for 44 years and they have three adult children and nine grandchildren.

We will stream Joel Miller's remarks on Facebook LIVE, so if you can't attend, be sure to "Like" the Waterloo Rotary Facebook page to receive notifications.

Operation Warm

A group of Downtown Waterloo Rotarians met at the Waterloo School District warehouse October 25th and sorted the bulk delivery of Operation Warm coats (four pallets) into groups for each of six elementary schools. Distribution to students will be done in the coming weeks, so those members that could not participate will have a fun opportunity (Will it be FUN?) to serve the community and see the twinkle in the students’ eyes when they get their new coats!

Some of the Rotarians who helped this morning had to leave before the attached photo was taken, but their service is appreciated! If you would like to help support Operation Warm, click this link: https://www.cfneia.org/giving/give-today?fund=659 or email Dave Lee to volunteer to hand out the coats in November! There will be a sign-up sheet at the next few meetings.

Upcoming Programs

Our list of 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?

November 7...Volleyball Banquet (Chaired by Barb Prather and Jaclyne Heller)

November 14...Football Banquet (Chaired by Wade Itzen and Rick Morris)

November 21...Thanksgiving Holiday (NO MEETING)

November 28...UNI Athletics Update with David Harris

December 5...First Mondays Birthdays and Networking

December 12...UNI President Nook

December 19...Rotary Christmas Celebration

December 26...NO MEETING

Rotary Member Doesn't Miss a Meeting for 52 Years

During his 52 years as a #Rotary member, Texas district judge Ronnie Yeager has never missed a meeting. How did he maintain that streak when his family took a 3-month vacation along the coast of Australia? Find out:

Ronnie Yeager, 84, joined the Rotary Club of Aransas Pass, Texas, on 1 May 1970. Over the 52 years of club meetings since, he has had perfect attendance. His extraordinary tenure in Rotary earned him a special recognition letter in September 2020 from then-Rotary International President Holger Knaack.

For Yeager, who had a demanding schedule as a district judge, maintaining his attendance has required meticulous planning and tremendous dedication. "I enjoy the fellowship," he says, "and I find it exciting to be with a group that represents an excellent cross section of people in my five-county judicial district." Yeager says his connection to Rotary deepened in the 1980s, when it made polio eradication its flagship program. A polio survivor, Yeager developed post-polio syndrome 30 years after initially contracting the virus at the age of 8.

Read the full story here: Postcards from the past