Kris Baker volunteered The Bridges to host our meetings for as many weeks as the Ankeny Golf & Country Club needed to complete their remodeling.  In total they hosted 4 meetings during January and February with Kris coordinating all the arrangements.  In recognition of her efforts, President Ben named her Rotarian of the Month for February.  Congratulations Kris!

Todd Eipperle has invited all Ankeny Rotarians to join him for an inspirational luncheon for Scouting, Wednesday February 6th, with featured speaker Mary T. Mack, Senior Vice President, Consumer Banking, Wells Fargo, along with Governor Kim Reynolds.    The event will be at the Iowa Events Center Ballroom, 833 5th Avenue, Des Moines.   Check-in for the event is between 11:30 and 11:45 AM, the program will begin at noon and will conclude by 1:00 PM.  There is no cost for the luncheor as Rotary has been a great sponsor to local Scouting for several years, but there will be an opportunity if you would like to make a personal donation/pledge, although it is not required.  Todd has reserved a table for Ankeny Rotarians.  All you need to do is contact Todd to let him know you plan to attend so he can get you added to the check-in-roster and your seat reserved.  RSVP to todd.eipperle@scouting.org.

The District 6000 "Guardian of Integrity" award is named for Boone Rotarian and Past District Governor (1954-1955), Judge Paul E. Hellwege, who passed away in 2010.  This award was established to promote the ideals of ethics and integrity which were Pauls' fervent passions.  The award is presented annually to Rotarians who have been a member of a club in District 6000 for a minimum of three years and who have made outstanding contributions that foster the development of integrity.  It singles out persons who have made contributions in business, media, academia or government and who have, by their actions, writing, policies and public pronouncements, strengthened and fostered development of integrity and ethical practices in their vocational, business and personal lives that Paul exemplified.

 

Each club in District 6000 may nominate one member each year.  Sally Schroeder has been selected to be the nominee for the Rotary Club of Ankeny for 2019.  She will be recognized at the 2019 Rotary District 6000 Conference to be held May 2-4 at the West Des Moines Sheraton.  Congratulations Sally!

Rotary International President Elect, Mark Daniel Maloney explained his version for building a stronger Rotary, calling on leaders to expand connections to their communities and to embrace innovative membership models.  Maloney, a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama unveiled his 2019-2020 presidential theme, "Rotary Connects the World"  to incoming district governors at Rotary's annual training event, the International Assembly, in San Diego, California on January 7th.

 

“The first emphasis is to grow Rotary — to grow our service, to grow the impact of our projects, but most importantly, to grow our membership so that we can achieve more,” Maloney said.  Maloney believes that connection is at the heart of the Rotary experience.  "Rotary allows us to connect with each other, in deep and meaningful ways across our differences."  Maloney said.  "It connects us to people we would never otherwise have met who are more like us than we could have known.  It connects us to our communities, to professional opportunities, and to the people who need our help."

Gary Welch volunteers to make Santa available for several families, functions and organizations each year during the holiday season.  This year he collected donations totaling $1,135 for his services and he in turn donated all of these funds to the Rotary Club of Ankeny.  In recognition of this donation, all the work he does as chair of the club's youth committee, and all the other volunteer work he does, President Digmann named him the club's Rotarian of the month for January, 2019.

Recently, The Rotary Foundation was inducted into University of Oxford's Chancellor's Court of Benefactors for its continuous support of the university.  Since 1949, the Foundation has provided scholarships to more than 200 Oxford scholars including a former American ambassador to the United Kingdom, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative reporter for the New York Times, and a director and Senior Fellow at the Ansari Africa Centre.   For almost 70 years, this support has enabled students from around the world to benefit from all that Oxford has to offer.  Membership in the Court of Benefactors is conferred by the Chancellor on those who have been outstandingly generous towards the university.  The Rotary Foundation joins a prestigious list of over 250 members including Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Skoll Foundation.  The members are from around the globe whose significant contributions have assisted Oxford in being the world's institution that it is today.