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What does the liver do? And a thousand other questions we never thought we'd ask!: One family's journey to learn about and cope with Cystic Fibrosis.

Stacy Van Gorp and her husband Chris Denison will share about their lives with four-year-old twins, Maren and Berne, who both have cystic fibrosis. In her spare time she is the president of the McElroy Trust and a valued member of our club. This very personal story will be one of the highlights of our year. Be there.

You can click on the Itzhak Perlman Concert link on the left side of our website to stay connected to this major Rotary event.  We are anticipating the performance and the foundation dinner will SELL OUT - so be sure to read the details and get your reservations in soon.

               Rotarian Stefano Piola, a Rotarian and retired banker from Italy leads a team which will arrive at the Waterloo airport Sunday for a one-month stay. The team will visit Cedar Falls, Mason City, Charles City, Cedar Rapids, Decorah, Forest City and Waverly before returning home May 16.

               Members of the Italian team include an accountant, an attorney, an English teacher and a consultant. Piola reports they all speak good English.

               Other than visiting the team in Cedar Falls or Waverly, we can meet them and hear their presentation at the district conference in Cedar Rapids. They are scheduled to present on Saturday, May 2. They will be at the Cedar Falls club meeting on April 21 and at the Waverly meeting on May 14.

               Meanwhile, the Iowa team, led by Ruth Buck from Waterloo Crossroads, will depart for Italy on May 9. Her team includes music teachers from Marion and Waverly, a UNI faculty member from Cedar Falls and the residence director at Clarke College in Dubuque. The outbound team will also be at the district conference on May 2.

               You can read more about the two teams on the district web site, www.district5970.org.

               Our club will once again receive the Goverenor's Award for the fifth time in as many years.  This award was created in 2005 when our own fellow Rotarian Steve Thorpe served as District Governor.  The award will be announced officially at the district conference May 1 and 2 in Cedar Rapids.

               Governor Jacobson also issued an enthusiastic evaluation of our club's website, scoring it with 96 out of 100 points.  We'll find out if our club's website is the best in the district at the district conference.

               You can download the district conference program and registration form here.  If you just can't get enough of our president, he will be doing a breakout session on Club Communication Strategies with Cedar Rapids West Rotary president Dennis Green.

Symphony hopes to collect used instruments to give to kids who otherwise would never get a chance to play one. So please look in your attic for that violin that's gathering dust.

            The Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony in cooperation with the Waterloo Public Schools is urging parents to donate "gently used" musical instruments so they can be loaned to kids who might otherwise never know the joy of playing one.

The symphony is launching a donation drive at its Saturday, April 25 concert, Oz with Orchestra with performances at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.  One hour prior to the start of each concert, donations will be accepted in the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center lobby or during regular office hours at the Symphony office (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday).

Fellow member Bill Roths submitted this "Opportunity To Serve" (OTS): The City of Parkersburg needs our help. The playground in the park was destroyed by last year's tornado and they are set to rebuild it better than ever.

They have the funding. They have the materials. Now they just need the labor. MidWestOne Bank is sponsoring an employee build day for the Parkersburg playground on Thursday, April 16. We are seeking volunteers who would like to spend the day outside helping rebuild the playground. No special expertise is needed! This is the first day of the build project, so there will be plenty to do. You may want to include that the planned build days are April 16-19 and April 23-25. The city already has plenty of volunteers for the weekend dates, but more are needed for the Thursday and Friday dates. Amy Truax is the contact person for volunteers. Her email is ajtruax@aol.com and her phone numbers are work 319.243.2111 and cell 515-371-0251

There are many needs in our community, some of which simply need extra hands to get a project completed.  These "Opportunities To Serve" will be posted on our website, and I urge you to consider volunteering your time as a Waterloo Rotarian.  Click the "EVENTS" link at the top of the page, then look for "OTS".  You can register for these events online if you login.

-Mason

The 14 birthday peope are:

 2         Barbara Prather

4          Bill Robert and Bette Wubbena

5          Jim Johnson

6          Bonnie Humble

8          Jim Whitmer

16        Duane Lindberg

22        Joni Hollen

24        Jack Locke

25        Steve Finnegan

28        Tunis Den Hartog and Jeff Finke

29                Larry Bucholz

30                Jeremy Kauten

This year's Duck Race to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation will be held at the District Conference May 1st & 2nd.  Bring $5 per duck for your chance to win $500 towards your Paul Harris Fellowship.

This year's Duck Meister is Tom Arthur, with assistance from Chris Hurley and Sue Beach.  The Mason City Sunrise Club has organized this annual event, with all proceeds going to the Rotary Foundation, benefiting programs like Group Study Exchange, Youth Exchange, Polio Plus, and Matching Grants.

Our district has contributed almost $150,000 to the Foundation through the Duck Race.  In fact, our own Bill Robert has "won" 2 fellowships!

Be the first to email me this Rotarian's name - I'll reveal his identity in the next Reporter, so stay tuned!