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NO MEETING JAN 20

Waterloo Rotarians will NOT gather Monday at the Convention Center, but are encouraged to go out and serve our community as part of the Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service. The Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley is hosting an event Monday at the Grout Museum - click the link below for details!

https://www.vccv.org/mlk-day-of-service.html

Upcoming Programs

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?

Jan 20 - NO MEETING Martin Luther King Jr. - volunteer!

Jan 27 - Keegan Crawford / Bank Fraud

January 13 Program - Western Home

Kris Hansen serves as CEO of Western Home Services, a life plan community and management company which serves approximately 1,800 clients daily. In addition to growing the organization he leads; Kris has helped other Iowa organizations reposition and expand their campuses around the state and region.
Kris has long been involved with public policy and advocacy, both in Iowa and Washington, D.C. He has also served on various boards and committees for organizations at both state and national levels. Currently, he serves as the board chair for the Iowa Health Care Association.

Rotarians in the News

Rotarian Barb Prather was recently featured in a KWWL news story!

Northeast Iowa Food Bank working to fight food insecurity in Iowa | News | kwwl.com

Link to WWII Heritage Application

Our guest last week former Mayor Tim Hurley *only* had about 30 minutes to cover the extraordinary history of Waterloo's contribution to WWII efforts, so we've collected some links below if you are interested in learning more:

Link to 2023 Application

Link to Word version of Mayor Hurley's presentation

Link to City of Waterloo website

Link to National Park Service website

Jan 6 Program: Waterloo Named WWII Heritage City

Be sure to attend our first meeting of 2025 and hear from Former Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley. Waterloo has been selected as the only city in Iowa to be designated a World War II Heritage City. The program was established by the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 to recognize the historic importance of the United States’ domestic involvement in World War II and ensure the continued preservation of a defining period in American history.

“Waterloo's contributions on the home front, as well as in the field, to the World War II Allied Forces victory is a perfect example for why this national designation was envisioned. I have learned so much about what our Waterloo soldiers, sailors, Marines and citizens did to help win the war. We should be very proud of our WWII history, and that we are the only city in Iowa to earn this honor from the National Park Service," said Tim Hurley, who helped lead the charge for the designation.

January Birthdays

Join us for our first meeting of 2025 and we'll honor these Rotarians who celebrate c-o-o-o-l-d birthdays in January.

Kevin McCrindle	Jan 6
Todd Holcomb	Jan 07
Rochelle Kane	Jan 13
Bonnie Smith-Davis	Jan 17
Erin Tink	Jan 20

Rotary Birthday Machine

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:

Looking Forward to 2025

As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on the year’s achievements, lessons, and challenges. In the Waterloo Rotary Club we have heard from some memorable and noteworthy speakers such as our representatives running for elected offices, Mary the black lab service dog, Dr. Esbaugh with the UNI Gerontology lab, Eric Lage with Waterloo Fiber, and Sarah and Megan with Try Pie Bakery.

We honored our high school student for their academic and athletic achievements, and we volunteered our time at the NE Iowa Food Bank. Additionally, we made progress on some of the challenges with our club finances.

The New Year is a time to set intentions and look forward to the many opportunities that await us. We look forward to more insightful community speakers and hearing from more area businesses as they offer perspectives in their field; we will work harder to better our club financially and look for more service opportunities where we can make a difference.

Catherine Nicholas

Waterloo Rotary Club President

2024-2025

Holiday Luncheon December 16th

Rotarians gathered for our annual holiday luncheon, and a delicious plated meal was served by the Waterloo Convention Center staff. We enjoyed entertainment from East High student musicians and had a holly jolly time catching up with friends.

Click here to see photos

We'll have a 2-week winter break from regular meetings - plan to meet again January 6th, 2025 when our program will be former Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley.

Upcoming Community Events

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:

Winter WonderLoo - Nov 30th thru Christmas Downtown Waterloo

Winter WonderLoo is Downtown Waterloo's holiday season of celebration! Join us for visits with Santa, Downtown Waterloo's Jingle Bar Hop, Visits with Santa, Merry Movie Magic, and activities for all ages!

If you have an event coming up that you'd like to share with our members, email Mason

OFF SITE MEETING DECEMBER 9th

One Monday, December 9th, we will meet OFF SITE at I HOPE Waterloo to enjoy a Pakistani lunch. We will hear from Pastor Oliver Zia, Founder and Executive Chairman at Gospel Faith International Church, Quetta Pakistan. Pastor Oliver and his wife Ruby and two sons recently moved to Waterloo under a religious worker visa. They have been missionaries in different countries and planted 17 churches in different parts of Pakistan. Pastor Oliver began his journey many years ago as an affluent athlete for the country of Pakistan. He has been a bold witness for Christ in the midst of a culture that is frequently hostile to Christianity. God has used Oliver to lead many people to experience salvation and healing in Jesus.

We are fortunate to be at the table with Pastor Oliver and his wife Ruby. She is a wonderful cook, enjoys cooking for and entertaining large groups, She is also a massage therapist.

Oliver is assisting Michael Peters in the One with Jesus discipleship program (formerly International House of Prayer (I HOPE)). Together they are helping Christian pastors, leaders and believers multiply their ministry through Kingdom Discipleship and Healing.

The International House of Prayer is located at 722 S Hackett Rd, Waterloo, IA. Near U-Haul and Young Plumbing and Heating off of University Avenue.

December Birthdays

Join us December 2nd and we'll honor Rotarians celebrating their birthdays this month:

Frank Seng	Dec 02
Jim Schaefer	Dec 6
Elizabeth Locke	Dec 14
Ryan Cose	Dec 21

NO MEETING NOV 25th

The Waterloo Rotary Club will take a Thanksgiving break and not hold a regular meeting Monday, November 25th. We will reconvene Monday, December 2nd to celebrate birthdays and conduct some club business.

West High's Brady Dean is 2024 Football MVP

Since 1946 the Waterloo Rotary Club has enjoyed the honor each year to celebrate outstanding performance by high school athletes in the city of Waterloo and surrounding areas. Football coaching staffs at each school in the city nominate a senior MVP from their team. In a secret ballot, area sportswriters make the citywide selection. The winner receives the Glen "Doc" Miller traveling trophy as top player in his sport. The winner is entitled to display the trophy at his school for the next twelve months.

You can see the list of all the 2024 MVPs and photos of the ceremony on our website, www.WaterlooRotary.com

Jada Smith of West High is our 2024 Volleyball MVP

Congratulations to the West High volleyball team and their MVP Jada Smith!

Since 1946 the Waterloo Rotary Club has enjoyed the honor each year to celebrate outstanding performance by high school athletes in the city of Waterloo. For the 32nd year, area volleyball coaches choose their team's MVP, then by ballot of all the coaches, award the trophy for overall Most Valuable volleyball player who is entitled to display the trophy at her school for the next twelve months.

You can see the list of all the 2024 MVPs and photos of the ceremony on our website, www.WaterlooRotary.com

New UNI Athletics Director Keynote Speaker Monday

Join us on Monday for our Annual Football Awards Luncheon and hear from UNI Athletics Director, Megan Franklin!

Want to join the Programming Committee?

President-Elect Larry Steffens is looking for Programming Committee members. Please e-mail him larrysteffens51@gmail.com if interested!

Annual Rotary Volleyball Awards Banquet Nov 11

Reminder...please come early Monday as we will be honoring area high school volleyball seniors and announcing who is selected as the MVP this year! We will start promptly at 12:10!

We'd like to thank our PREMIER SPONSOR of the event, OMJC Signal...

We also would like to thank our Presenting Sponsors...

Friends of Rotary Sponsors

Amy Rousselow, Barb Prather, Beth and Kevin McCrindle, Bonnie Smith-Davis, Brandon Marks, Bryan Burton, Dave Buck, Dave Lee, E.J. Gallagher, Frank Seng, Gene Leonhardt, Jaclyne Heller, Jay Crisp, Jim Schaffer, Jim Seely, Joan Rice, John Beecher, John Bunge, Kathy Braun, Lindy Lindenberg, Phil Nash, Ryan Cose, Tom Arthur

KWWL's David Warrington Speaking at Rotary Banquet on Monday

Our Keynote Speaker for the Annual Volleyball Awards Banquet is David Warrington from KWWL!

Born and raised in Eastern Iowa, David is thrilled to continue calling it home and telling its stories.

He was raised in Central City, Iowa, a town of 1,200 people near Cedar Rapids. A graduate of Central City High School, he got his media start in sports broadcasting, announcing sporting events for the Central City Wildcats.

Operation Warm just needs $400 !!

First-grader Tyshon Harris has help from David Buck Nov 21 2011 MATTHEW PUTNEY Courier Photo Editor

Our club is so close to raising all the funds needed to provide warm coats for kids in 6 Waterloo elementary schools - can you help us over the finish line? If you haven’t already donated please consider donating now to our Operation Warm project. Or if you have donated please consider making an additional donation. Donations can be brought to the club meeting today (November 11), or made through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa’s website.

Thanks,

David Lee Jim Seeley

Nov 4 - Astor Williams on Proposed New Waterloo School

Today we will hear from Waterloo School Board member, Astor Williams.

November Birthdays

We have a birthday group this month led by everyone's all-time favorite song leader Hovey Brom! Hovey will celebrate his 99th birthday and we'll gather to send him good vibes in absentia.

*Hovey Brom '87	Nov 05
Jay Crisp	Nov 06
David Allbaugh	Nov 08
Luke Jensen	Nov 08
Donna Miller	Nov 12
Shannon Thies	Nov 15
Tavis Hall	Nov 16

Reminder: Annual Volleyball Banquet Next Week

Next Monday, we are hosting the Annual Rotary Volleyball Banquet that honors local high school athletes. Please arrive early, as we will start promptly at Noon!

Dr. Jared Smith Speaking Monday on New School

We will be hearing updates from Dr. Jared Smith - Superintendent of Waterloo School District - on the new high school plans.