The Black Hawk County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections will join us Monday and share a little history on the BHC courthouse, as well as answer your questions about the elections process in our county. Mr. Veeder has served our county for over 40 years, first appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Elections in 1981. He has been re-elected Auditor every 4 years since 1988.
Join us to celebrate a healthy handful of Rotary birthdays this month!
| John Bunge '02 | Sep 09 |
| Dave Lederman | Sep 12 |
| Annie Vander Werff '19 & '22 | Sep 13 |
| Gene Leonhart | Sep 14 |
| Bryan Burton | Sep 15 |
| Larry Steffens '25 | Sep 23 |
| Nick Hildebrandt | Sep 24 |
| Adam Schaefer | Sep 24 |
| Deb Pullin-Van Auken | Sep 26 |
| Jeff Halverson '13 | Sep 28 |
The Rotary Zone 25b-29 Institute was a gathering of Club and District Leaders to share to learn and become better equipped as Leaders. Our own Waterloo Rotarian and future District Governor Jeff Halverson traveled to San Antonio, Texas with his wife Mary Margaret. Jeff returned to Iowa energized to lead our District!
Jeff Halverson is pictured here with Rotary International President Elect Mario Cesar Martins de Camargo
District 5970 Governor Elect Nominee Jeff Halverson and his wife Mary Margaret with Rotary International Director Salvador Rizzo.
Sophie Bamwoyeraki’s love for education began as a child, when she would read to other children in her neighborhood.
As Rotary Club president in 2016, she helped transform Makukuba, a village where a child tragically lost their life walking 6 kilometers to school. Today, as a school principal, Sophie continues to inspire change by starting Interact clubs and empowering students through hands-on learning.
Read the full story here
Our 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?
September 16th - Iowa State Senator Eric Giddens
September 23rd - County Supervisor Candidate Forum
September 30th - Dave Sires candidate for Iowa Senate
October 7th - Ashley Hinson US House Representative
Oct 21st - Sarah Corkery candidate for US House representative
Oct 28th - Dr. Jared Smith Waterloo Schools
We will NOT meet Monday, September 2nd - enjoy a safe long weekend and join us September 9th when we'll hear from Black Hawk County Auditor Grant Veeder.
Whether you are a NEW member or a seasoned member who wants to get involved; consider one of our many committees! Also, we will be looking for a fundraising committee so reach out to President Cathy if interested...cnicholas@blackhawkcounty.
There are opportunities to volunteer or participate in upcoming community events. We'll use this space in our weekly Reporter to promote upcoming events that our fellow Rotarians are involved with:
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National Cattle Congress - Barn Bash Saturday, August 24th @ Electric Park Ballroom
Friends of NCC is a non-profit that raises funds for fairgrounds improvements and organization activities that support the National Cattle Congress' mission. Enjoy a night of Live Music, Fantastic Fair Food, Legacy Awards, NCC Memorabilia, Live & Silent Auctions, AND…A Sneak Peek of the 2024 NCC Fair!!! Email Deb Pullin-Van Auken or click the logo above for more details and tickets.
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If you have an event coming up that you'd like to share with our members, email Mason
With transplant changes afoot, Rotary members push to end global organ shortages
Anil Srivatsa drives an SUV plastered with stickers and slogans across India on a quixotic mission: to teach as many of the country’s 1.4 billion people as he can about the importance of organ donation.
He’s one man in his truck, often accompanied by his wife, driving from town to town for several weeks each year to try to increase India’s organ donation rate, because it ranks among the world’s worst. “There is a deep cultural bias against organ donation in India,” says Srivatsa, a media entrepreneur who helped found the Rotary Club of Organ Donation in 2022. “There is much work to be done in this space, to counter misinformation and fear.”
For Srivatsa, the mission is intensely personal. Ten years ago, he donated his left kidney to his brother, Arjun Srivatsa, a neurosurgeon and a member of the Rotary Club of Bangalore, who had chronic renal failure. On his driving tours, Srivatsa sleeps in a rooftop pop-up tent on his SUV. One of its decals says “Kidney donors are sexy!” He speaks to a Rotary club if there is one in town — there are more than 4,000 in the country — or he assembles what residents he can when there’s not.
Read the entire article here:
Its time to consider organ donation | Rotary International
We will hear a presentation on mental health from Sheriff Tony Thompson today!
Sheriff Tony Thompson took office on January 1, 2009, and was re-elected in November 2012 with nearly 70% of the vote, and again in November 2016 with 98.8% of the vote. However, his law enforcement career started much earlier when he joined the US Army as a military police officer in 1988. He retired from the Iowa Army National Guard in 2009, with 21 years of service. His career with the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office began in March of 1994 and he has worked in the Jail, Special Services, Patrol, and now Administrative Divisions. His prior assignments include Drug Education Officer, Community Services Coordinator, Computer Crimes Investigator, Patrol Officer, Public Information Officer, and SWAT Team leader prior to taking command of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office.
Join us at the Waterloo Convention Center Monday, August 12th to hear from Seth Stearns, Program Director at The Job Foundation: A local nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to low-income K-12 grade students who attend the Waterloo Public Schools.
They are also a state certified mentoring program where they strive to match each of their students with a caring adult mentor. The Job Foundation has experienced tremendous growth this past year where it has gone from 66 to 126 total K-12 grade students! Seth has been with TJF for around 17 months. Before coming to TJF he was the Associate/Youth & Family Pastor at a church in Cedar Falls for 12 years. He has experience working with children and youth through 18 years total at various churches/ministries in Iowa.
We'll celebrate birthdays at our August 12 when we are back at the Waterloo Convention Center - here's the list!
| Kathleen Braun '99 | Aug 16 |
| David Lee | Aug 18 |
| Amy Rousselow | Aug 22 |
| Michelle Weidner '03 | Aug 23 |
| Beth McCrindle | Aug 24 |
| Jim Seeley | Aug 30 |
Did you know Rotary has 34 magazines?
More than half of Rotarians worldwide receive a regional magazine instead of the flagship Rotary magazine. These publications are produced independently by Rotarians, distributed in more than 130 countries, and published in 26 languages. They have a combined circulation of 764,896. Each magazine has a regional point of view but also includes articles and photographs of international interest from Rotary magazine. Click the link below to see all the various publications Rotary uses to keep members engaged and informed:
*** WE WILL NOT MEET AT THE WATERLOO CONVENTION CENTER AUGUST 5th***
Join us for a rewarding afternoon of volunteering at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank during our regular meeting time.
-Please arrive promptly at NOON - Park in the main lot
-Use the PANTRY / OFFICE entrance
-You must wear closed-toe shoes to participate
-Boxed lunches will be available about 12:45
-Your heart will be FULL because you will have provided a much-needed SERVICE to our community!
At our July 29th meeting, President Cathy presented now Past-President Jaclyne Heller with a plaque honoring her service to our club. Thank you, Jaclyne for putting Service Above Self this past year and we look forward to your steady hand and advice as we go forward!
A proud native of Waterloo, Katy graduated from West High School in 2000. She went on to earn her Bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2004, majoring in Organizational Communications with a minor in Marketing. Her educational background laid a solid foundation for her future endeavors in leadership and community engagement.
Katy's professional journey has been marked by notable achievements. She served as the CEO of Cardinal Construction, a prominent entity in the Waterloo area, where she honed her skills in business management and strategic planning. Under her leadership, Cardinal Construction witnessed significant growth and success in the competitive construction industry.
In her role as the CEO of Grow Cedar Valley, our region's chamber of commerce and economic development organization, Katy strives to utilize her experience and innovative vision to drive economic prosperity and foster a vibrant business community. Her dedication to empowering others and cultivating talent has been a cornerstone of her leadership philosophy.
David Lee is organizing volunteers to raise money for Operation Warm through volunteering at the LAST HOME GAME OF THE SEASON Saturday night (July 27th)! If you have interest in learning more, please e-mail davidlee@cfu.net!
Sign up for the Rotary Family Picnic from 5-7pm at the Rotary Reserve - $8 for adults $5 for Children under 12. Pot-Luck sides and desserts, and Rotary will furnish meat, buns, condiments, Marcella’s baked beans, bottled water and lemonade. Meats will be hamburgers, brats, hotdogs, chicken breast - please email Larry to specify your choice for each person attending. Activities will be provided for the kids.
Email Larry if you can help volunteer with set up/cooking/kids activities/clean up - remember the Rotary moto Service Above Self and our goal to make this a fun event for families!
We look forward to having you join us...you're welcome to bring guests as well as prospective members.
Cathy recently conducted a survey which about 20 Rotarians responded to. Here are the results.
We will hear from the Winnebego Council of the Boy Scouts of America on Monday!
District Executive Laura Hayes has worked with Scouting America in some capacity for much of
her adult life. She started in Scouting in the early 1990s as a District Executive in Northwest
Indiana. After three years, a move resulted in a career change, and over the years she has
worked as a Veterinary Technician, Music Teacher, Insurance Agent, and Stay-at-home-Mom
and caregiver.
her adult life. She started in Scouting in the early 1990s as a District Executive in Northwest
Indiana. After three years, a move resulted in a career change, and over the years she has
worked as a Veterinary Technician, Music Teacher, Insurance Agent, and Stay-at-home-Mom
and caregiver.
Waterloo Rotarians will re-convene Monday, July 8th at the Waterloo Convention Center to celebrate July birthdays and a brand new Rotary year led by our 2024-25 President Catherine Nicholas!
June 24th - Passing the gavel to President Nicholas is Past President Jaclyne Heller, joined by President-Elect Larry Steffens.
At our first meeting of each month, we recognize Rotarians celebrating their birthday - and July 8th we'll send a shout-out to these lucky people:
| *Rick Morris 91-92 | Jul 02 |
| James Madison | Jul 10 |
| Allison Beach | Jul 11 |
| *Lauren Finke 16-17 | Jul 17 |
| Mary Greenley | Jul 21 |
| David Holm | Jul 23 |
| Mike Broshar | Jul 26 |
| Bob Manning | Jul 30 |
*Denotes past president of our club
Did you know our club has a "Birthday Machine"? Several years ago, one of our esteemed members Tom Arthur bought the club a plug-in Radon detector to be shared among our members. Tom was moved by one of our presentations about Radon and the prevalence of the radioactive gas in many midwestern homes. Radon increases the risk of lung cancer and is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to smoking. The original Radon detector needed to be re-calibrated after many years of use, so Steve and Liz Thorpe stepped up to purchase a new and easier-to-use battery-powered detector for our club. This month during the birthday table recognition, Mason will encourage members to check out the detector to take home and collect some readings, then use that information to buy a chemical test or seek a professional mitigation company.
Think of it as a machine that helps your family have MORE BIRTHDAYS...it's a birthday machine!
Fellow Rotarian Phil Nash shared this story with the club a few years ago:
At our last meeting of the Rotary calendar year we officially confirmed our club executives for the 2024-2025 fiscal year!
2024-2025 Executive Slate
Cathy Nicholas, President
Jaclyne Heller, Past President
Larry Steffens, President Elect
Steve Schmitt, Secretary
Treasurer TBD
EJ Gallagher, Sergeant-at-Arms
Amy Rousselow, Member/Membership Chair
Bonnie Smith-Davis, Member
Lauren Finke, Member
Jordan Bancroft Member: New member
Allison Beach Member: New member
Rochelle Kane Member: New member
Deb Pullen-Van Auken, Foundation Chair*
Dave Lee, Warm Coats Chair*
Kelli McCarthy, Business Secretary*
Jaclyne Heller, Past President
Larry Steffens, President Elect
Steve Schmitt, Secretary
Treasurer TBD
EJ Gallagher, Sergeant-at-Arms
Amy Rousselow, Member/Membership Chair
Bonnie Smith-Davis, Member
Lauren Finke, Member
Jordan Bancroft Member: New member
Allison Beach Member: New member
Rochelle Kane Member: New member
Deb Pullen-Van Auken, Foundation Chair*
Dave Lee, Warm Coats Chair*
Kelli McCarthy, Business Secretary*
*Non-voting member
Peace Through Service
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
Waterloo, IA 50701
United States of America
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