The Rotary Club of Ankeny is now 2 months from completing 50 years of service to the Ankeny Community and will be celebrating with a gala on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at the FFA Enrichment Center. Here is a moment from the history of Rotary and the Rotary Club of Ankeny.
In the beginning, the only contributions made by the Club to the Rotary Foundation consisted of the dollars collected from fines each week. This amount was budgeted at $180 for the 1980-1981 year. The total contribution in 1983-1984 was $503.17. The PolioPlus Campaign in 1985 got the Club more involved with the Foundation with 34 members making gifts or pledges to the campaign totaling $9,930. This led to six members qualifying as Paul Harris Fellows and 19 becoming Paul Harris Sustaining Members.
In February 1986, the Club's Board decided instead of using the money collected from fines to make a donation from the Club to use it to donate $250 to the Foundation in the name of the Club's Rotarian of the year and use the remaining funds to match contributions made by members. Members would need to submit their names to request the match and the amount received would depend on how many members make the request.
In January 1987, Milt Aunan became the first member of the Club to become a Paul Harris Fellow. It was fitting that Milt was the first in the Club to receive this honor based on his numerous contributions to Rotary and his role in the formation of the Rotary Club of Ankeny.
The Club now has 169 current and former members that have achieved the Paul Harris Fellow distinction. Contributions to the Foundation's Annual Fund and PolioPlus during the 2021-2022 year totaled $29,925 for the Club. Total contributions since the club was chartered now totals more than $567,000.
