Speakers
Missy Starr
Mar 10, 2026
Women Lead Change
John Cisna
Mar 17, 2026
Nothing but McDonalds for 90 days
Colleen Rogers Messenger
Mar 24, 2026
Kids Operating Room
Two Minute Tuesday
Mar 31, 2026
Get to know your fellow Rotarians!
Glen Rippke
Apr 07, 2026
Rotary Global Grants
Club Assembly
Apr 14, 2026
Nicole Cervantes
Apr 21, 2026
Compassus (home-based care services)
Joe Nolte
Apr 28, 2026
Global Secondary Education Fund
Joe Murphy
May 05, 2026
Iowa Business Council
Roscoe Jones
May 12, 2026
Drake University Law School
Sara Doruska
May 19, 2026
AMOS
Connie Fiscus
May 26, 2026
 
Club Information
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Ankeny!
 
Ankeny

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Tuesdays at 11:45 a.m.
Ankeny Golf & Country Club
314 SW Irvinedale Dr.
Ankeny, IA 50023
United States of America
Home Page Stories
The scheduled Sheriff/Greeters for the next couple months are as follows:
                                        
March 3 - Sam Rankin
March 10 - Amy Ratekin
March 17 - Doug Ripley
March 24 - Paul Romanelli
March 31 - Andy Schnurr
April 7 - Steve SchraderBachar
April 14 - Sally Schroeder
April 21 - Kathy Sibbel
April 28 - Jamie Silver
Five Rotarians were recognized by Foundation Chair, Hans Hoeksema, for their contributions to the Rotary Foundation on February 17th.   New Paul Harris Fellows were Jamie Silver, Andy Schnurr, and Amy Ratekin.   Multiple Paul Harris Fellows were Adam Boeding - PHF + 1, David Mercer - for both a PHF +4 and PHF 5.  
The Rotary Club of Ankeny's monthly board  meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at noon at Wig & Penn, 2005 South Ankeny Boulevard.  The March meeting will be on Thursday, March 12th all members are invited to attend, especially new members.   Not only is it a great way to learn more about Rotary and the projects your Club is involved in but it also counts as a makeup for attendance.  Hope to see you there!!
It is now only 46 days until our 2026 fundraiser, "The Roaring 20s".
 
We still need more bottles of whiskey for the "Whiskey Pull", bottles of wine for the "Wall of Wine", an cases of beer for the "Tower of Beer".   These items can be brought to any of our meetings. 
 
Here are just a few of the auction items we have so far: 
  • 7-Night Stay for Eight in a Grand Teton's Cabin
  • Private Margarita & Guacamole Party for 20 People
  • Set of Four New Tires
  • ISU Football Athletic Director's Suite Package for Four
  • Four Days on the Beach in a Villa in the Bahamas
  • Murder Mystery Gourmet Dinner for 8 
  • Three-Night Stay in a Home in Port Charlotte, Florida 
  • Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Package 
  • Free Night's Stay in the New Italian-American Cultural Center's Historic Butler Mansion
  • Football Autographed by New ISU Head Football coach Jimmy Rogers
  • Golf on Dennis Albaugh's private "Talons of Tuscany" golf course
  • Two tickets to the Cody Johnson concert
  • Blue Ribbon State Fair Package
If you have not obtained or donated an auction item, large or small, please consider obtaining one and bring it to a meeting or getting it to Todd Eipperle by the end of March.
Foundation recognition points are awarded to donors who contribute to The Rotary Foundation through the Annual Fund or PolioPlus or who contribute to sponsorship of a Foundation grant. Donors receive one recognition point for every U.S. dollar contributed to these funds. Contributions to the Endowment Fund are not eligible. Donors can transfer Foundation recognition points to others to help them qualify as a Paul Harris Fellow or Multiple Paul Harris Fellow. Foundation recognition points belong to the original donor and never expire except upon the death of the donor. 
 
To transfer Recognition points, a minimum of 100 Foundation recognition points must be transferred at a time, and you must complete and sign the Recognition and Transfer Request. The points may not be transferred from individuals to a club or district. Individual donors are the only ones authorized to transfer recognition points from their individual account. Club presidents are the only ones authorized to transfer recognition points from a club account. District governors are the only ones authorized to transfer points from a district account.
 
Only individuals can become a Paul Harris Fellow.  A deceased person can recognized by an individual requesting a Memorial Paul Harris Fellow designation.  Foundation recognition points do not count toward a Major Donor recognition, only cash contributions count towards Major Donor recognition.  
 
You can check your personal contribution history and recognition amount, and available recognition points by going to your My Rotary account on the Rotary International website or contact the Club's Foundation chair Hans Hoeksema or Secretary, Nate Burnham.
Chris Nelson began his involvement in the West Des Moines Rotary by saying yes to a Rotary exchange student in 2008. That experience grew into more exchange student involvement, along with Chris being the exchange student liaison and local Rotary Exchange Student Coordinator in 2014-2017. Chris and his daughter, Mia, experienced the Xicotepec Project in 2014 and he has held several leadership roles in Rotary including: WDM Membership Chair, Club President, District Assistant Governor, District Membership Chair, and RLI Graduate.
 
Chris has a BA in physics from Augustana College, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota State University. He is been employed as a Mechanical HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) consultant by Shive-Hattery and has been involved in many hospitals, school and corporate projects in central Iowa.  Chris is married to Robin and they have three daughters.
  
Chris will become the District 6000 District Governor for the 2028-2029 Rotary year.  Welcome Chris to his new role. 
The Rotary District 6000 Annual Conference, "Rotarians Doing Good In the World", is scheduled for May 1st and 2nd, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa. 
 
The conference begins on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. and concludes Saturday evening.  There is a great line up of speakers including: 
  • Past Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick who will share her input on the benefits of Rotary individually, locally, district-wide and globally, as well as share her experiences while traveling the world representing Rotary
  • Rotary International Membership Chair and International Director-Elect Tom Gump who will share a message on membership as well as the outlook of Rotary
  • Zone 29 Public Image Chair, Patrick Harrison, will have a general session and small group sessions to discuss how clubs can benefit from promoting Public Image
  • Dr. David Moser will speak to us about Family Mental Wellness
  • Tom Martin, Quad City Times editor and publisher, will have a general session to update us on the industry as the changes compare to Rotary changing issues and the responsibilities of public newspapers
  • John Ockenfels and Peter Teahen will share interesting stories of their trips and give an update on PolioPlus
  • Shanna and Curtis Sieck will provide us with a heart moving story of their plans to start Mason's Lighthouse, a hospice for kids
  • PDG Steve Dakin, a board member, will have some comments
Finally, but not least, it is Kentucky Derby Day.   They will have races on TV, betting on horses with cash prizes, dress contests, beverages, and fun as well as numerous drawings for prizes throughout the conference.  
 
Registration is open through the district website.  There is a block of rooms reserved at a discounted price if you wish to stay overnight.  If you attend, the club will reimburse you for the cost of the registration fee following the conference. Just submit a copy of your receipt to Jim Ramsey.
The following Ankeny Rotarians will celebrate birthdays in March:             
5th -Carstensen, Maggie
7th - Larson, Andrew
8th - Block, Craig
9th - Murphy, Trent
12th - Lee, Jared
12th - Smith, Zane
18th - Fiscus, Connie
18th - Koeppen, Stacey
21st - Boelman, Troy
25th - Converse, Brandon
The scheduled Sheriff/Greeters for the next couple months are as follows:
                                        
February 3 - Kent Patterson
February 10 - Erick Pruitt
February 17 - Conner Raes
February 24 - James Ramsey
March 3 - Sam Rankin
March 10 - Amy Ratekin
March 17 - Doug Ripley
March 24 - Paul Romanelli
March 31 - Andy Schnurr
It is now only 75 days until our 2026 fundraiser, "The Roaring 20s", on April 18th, our web site is active to purchase tickets and we have received a few auction items, but we need still need more.  We also need more bottles of whiskey for the "Whiskey Pull", bottles of wine for the "Wall of Wine", an cases of beer for the "Tower of Beer".   These items can be brought to any of our meetings. 
 
Here are just a few of the items we have so far: 
  • 7-Night Stay for Eight in a Grand Teton's Cabin,
  • Private Margarita & Guacamole Party for 20 People,
  • Set of Four New Tires,
  • ISU Football Director's Suite Package for Four 
  • Four Days on the Beach in a Villa in the Bahamas
  • Murder Mystery Gourmet Dinner for 8 
  • Three-night stay in a Home in Port Charlotte, Florida 
  • Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Package 
  • Free Night's Stay in the New Italian-American Cultural Center's Historic Butler Mansion
  • Football Autographed by New ISU Head Football coach Jimmy Rogers
The following Ankeny Rotarians will celebrate birthdays in February:
2nd - Mike Goedeke             
4th - Jim Blessman            
12th - Abbie Cross            
17th - Andy Schnurr            
24th - Josh Craighead            
25th - Dave Grantham
26th - Steve SchraderBachar
Todd Wehr has been buying tickets for the Club's drawing each week for over 20 years but he had never won the pot.  That all changed on January 27, 2026 when his number was drawn and he picked the Joker out of the deck and won the $250 pot.  Congratulations Todd.

To play and have a chance to win the pot or draw one of the other winning cards you must play the game.  Each week we ask our speaker to draw two tickets.  The holder of each ticket has a chance to draw a card from the deck of cards for a chance to win. The winning cards are: a 5 wins $5, a 10 wins $10, a Jack wins $50, an Ace wins a $10 gift certificate from Tim's Amoco, and the Jocker wins the $250 pot.  The cards drawn are removed from the deck so the deck gets smaller each week until someone wins the pot and then we start over with a full deck the next week.  Tickets are $1 each, three for $2, ten for $5, twenty for $10, or sixty for $20.  It has been said: "You will never win if you don't play."  
The following thank you note was received from the Ankeny Community Chorus:
 
 Thank you for your generous donation of $500 in January of 2026 to the Ankeny Community Chorus.  Your donation will be used for the purchase of copyright sheet music.   Your commitment to helping the Chorus is greatly appreciated by our members and helps to support our local concerts  throughout the year.  Again, thank you for you past and continuing support of the Ankeny Community Chorus.  sincerely, Anita Campbell, President, Ankeny Community Chorus
Cole Vitiritto became the newest member of the Rotary Club of Ankeny when he was inducted on January 20th.  Cole is a Commercial Portfolio Manager with North West Bank joins Jim Ramsey and Josh Craighead in the Bank's corporate membership. 
 
Welcome Cole!

Each Rotary year the Rotary International President gets to choose what his theme for his year as president will be.  Earlier this month at the District Governor Elects International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, RI President Elect, Olayinka H. Babalola, a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Nigeria, announced his theme for 2026-2027.   He called on members to "Create Lasting Impact" by making their clubs more welcoming, carrying out impactful projects, and allowing their Rotary experiences to transform them personally and he described how joining a Rotaract club as a teenager enlarged his perspective beyond the limited, privileged outlook he’d once had. That change in awareness came from observing the lasting impact his club had in the community, particularly from teaching people to read and write.

He said: “Rotary has changed us. It has shaped who we are and made us better people.  We often talk about changing the world. We talk about ending polio, about building peace. We do not think enough about how Rotary transforms us.  As members of Rotary, we share a vision of a better future. To make this vision a reality, we must acknowledge and unleash the change within ourselves. We must focus not only on outcomes, but on impact."

A message from Rachael Greenhoe, Senior Major Gifs Officer with The Rotary Foundation.
 
Your support of the Rotary Foundation is creating tangible, meaningful change locally and globally.   Projects funded by your support are eliminating disease, strengthening education and employment, protecting the environment, helping mothers and children thrive, and providing communities with clean water.  If one of your goals this year is to continue this support, I wanted to share an opportunity with you to strengthen Rotary's capacity to do good in the world, while potentially saving on your 2026 taxes.
 
If you are age 70 1/2 or older and have an IRA, there's a powerful and effective way to support The Rotary Foundation while potentially lowering your tax bill - the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCDD). A QCD allows you to donate directly from your IRA to a qualified charity - like The Rotary Foundation - without paying income taxes on the gift.  It's as easy as utilizing your IRA Administrator's form to initiate the transfer.  Whether you are considering a gift before June 30th to help your club and District finish the Rotary year strong. or planning your gift for later in the calendar year, a qualified charitable distribution may be a tax wise option.    
The Rotary Club of Ankeny's monthly board  meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at noon at Wig & Penn, 2005 South Ankeny Boulevard.  The February meeting will be on Thursday, February 12th all members are invited to attend, especially new members.   Not only is it a great way to learn more about Rotary and the projects your Club is involved in but it also counts as a makeup for attendance.  Hope to see you there!!

Join your fellow Rotarians for an unforgettable day of basketball and giving back at the annual "Rotary Polio Plus Night" with the Iowa Wolves at the Casey's Center on Sunday February 22 at 3:00 PM.  It will include the excitement of State Fair Day, complete with a delightful petting zoo featuring goats, cows, and a charming donkey and the opportunity to dive into the fun of carnival games and showcase your creativity with butter sculpting!

With every ticket, $10 is committed to eradication polio, and thanks to the Gates Foundation's 2 for 1 match, your contribution can help immunize thousands of children.  Purchase your tickets on-line using the QR code.  When purchasing your tickets be sure to mention the Rotary Club of Ankeny.  Tickets are $23.67 including a service charge. 
 
For questions or assistance, you can reach out to Nate Buch at 515-954-4481 or via email at nate.buch@iawolves.com.
Rotary's 2026 fundraiser, "The Roaring 20s", will be held on Saturday April 18, 2026, just a little over 3 months from now.  To make the event a success, we need each Rotarian to do the following:
  • Put April 18th on your calendar and plan to attend.
  • Contact any business that you believe may be willing to provide a sponsorship and make the ask.
  • Obtain or donate an auction item.
  • Donate a bottle of wine for our "Wall of Wine" and/or a case of beer for our "Tower of Beer" and/or a bottle of bourbon or whiskey for our "Whiskey Pull".  Donations may be brought to any Rotary meeting.
  • Sell tickets for the 50/50 drawing.
  • Go to our web site, bidpartner.net/rotary and purchase your tickets.
  • Volunteer to join a committee.
  • Contact Todd Eipperle, todd.eipperle@gmail.com, with any questions.
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