The Rotary Club of Ankeny and Rotary Club of Ankeny Evening's 13th annual Dinner/Fundraiser/Auction “Rotary Runs for the Roses” will be held on Saturday, May 4th at the FFA Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny.

• Triple Crown Sponsorship – Two tables each for eight guests. priority seating, table side champagne/wine service, photo booth sponsor, priority recognition on the on-line bidding platform and on the marketing and event signage, full-page ad in program booklet - $5,000
• Winner’s Circle Sponsorship - Two tables each for eight guests, priority seating, recognition on the on-line bidding platform and on the marketing and event signage, half-page ad in program booklet - $2,500
• Garland of Roses Sponsorship – One table for eight guests with priority seating, recognition on the on-line bidding platform and on the marketing and event signage - $1,000

It is now only 32 days until the Rotary Club of Ankeny and Rotary Club of Ankeny Evening's 13th annual Dinner/Fundraiser/Auction “Rotary Runs for the Roses” which will be held on Saturday, May 4th at the FFA Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny beginning at 4:00 PM.

• Go on-line at https://bidpartner.net/rotary/ to reserve their table(s) or individual tickets.
• Submit the names and email addresses of any guests that have not already been entered, submitted to Nate Burnham.
• Turn in any additional auction items to Rich Job. The auction order needs to be finalized and pictures taken by April 17th.
• Bring a bottle of wine and/or 6-pack of craft beer to a Club meeting.

At the meeting on March 19th, Sally Schroeder was the greeter and sheriff and donated a half dozen roses to be used in the 50/50 drawing instead of the $10 gift card. Todd Wehr had the lucky number when the first ticket was drawn.  Todd chose the roses since the next day, March 20th was his wedding anniversary.    The second number drawn was one of John Foster's but John had to leave early.  He left his tickets with Damon Miller in case his number was drawn and told him if he won, he would "split the pot" with him.   Sure enough, his number was drawn and Damon out of about 30 cards left in the deck, drew the jocker and won the pot.  There were several witnesses to John leaving his tickets with Damon and that he promised to split the pot, so each will be receiving $125 from the Club.. 

On March 5th, Ankeny Sanitation became the newest corporate member of the Rotary Club of Ankeny.   Andrew Larson, a previous member of the Club and the Owner of Ankeny Ankeny sanitation, is the "Primary Contact", Juli Accola, Sr. Commercial Sales Representative, Dave Massey, General Manager, and Michelle Bowden, Commercial Sales Representative will be three additional members.

 

Troy Boelman was also inducted on March 5th.  Troy was a member of the Rotary Club of Ankeny from 2006 - 2022 and served as the Club's president in 2009-2010.  He left the club due to a job change.  Now after another another change, he is able to rejoin the Club.   He is the VP of Commercial Lending at American Bank & Trust.

 

The following Ankeny Rotarians will celebrate birthdays in April:

 

Scouting has been a way of life for Todd Eipperle.  So much so that he went from a second-grade member of the Boy Scouts to the field director and annual giving director of the Boy scouts of America - Mid-Iowa Council.  Now he is preparing to end that chapter of his scouting career and "sail off into retirement" on March 31, 2024, after 20 years.  Camp Mitigwa will honor Todd for his years of service by naming the proving grounds, previously the Eagle Academy, after him.  The Eipperle Proving Grounds will consist of two acres within the 450-acre campgrounds.

 

Through Todd's leadership and a grassroots effort, attendance at Camp Mitigwa increased significantly, surpassing the goal set for the camp's 90th anniversary.  He also created The Eagle Academy, a new program for first-year Scouts. This program emphasized the patrol method, which is important during the first year.  Scouts in the method participate in group living and citizenship.  It places them in smaller groups to allow the Scouts to relate to one another, and they elect representatives. Scouts are also encourged to rise in the ranks and receive merit badges. 

 

This is not Todd's first retirement.  He retired from a 40-year career in the Iowa national Guard and United States Army Reserve in October 2023.    He and Julie have bought an RV and plan to use it to travel across the nation, using RV lots which are for military use only.  When asked to sum up his career in three words, Todd responded with, "Honored to serve."

 

The Rotary Club of Ankeny has made a donation of $2,500 to the Boy Scouts of America - Mid-Iowa Council for the Eipperle Proving Grounds.  

The Noon and Evening Ankeny Rotary Clubs received a "Bell Ringer Award" for being one of the top 5 producers during their ringing session on December 9th.  Todd Eipperle and Anne Porter attended the Spirit of Christmas Awards luncheon on February 21st to accept the award. 

 

Evening club members rang the bell at the north HyVee store and collected $723.28.  The bell was rung by noon club members at the Prairie Trail store and collected $341.96.   With an additional $1,000 donated by the noon club, the total raised was $2,065.24.  Thank you to everyone that took time to Ring the Bell and to Anne Porter for organizing the service project.

The Ankeny Golf & Country Club has completed their remodeling and the noon club is now meeting in the newly remodeled banquet space.  There are now two TV's for projecting speaker presentations, access to the bar from the dining room, new drop ceiling and lighting, carpeting, a hallway separating the room from the main entrance and new tables and chairs.   If you have missed recent meetings, be sure to attend and check out the new meeting room. 

On February 13th the Club was treated to a presentation by the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa.   Karley Rehman and CEO Beth Sheldon, talked about the Girl Scouts and their annual cookie drive.  They, of course also brought cookies for the members to purchase following he meeting.