Ankeny Rotarian for 17 years, Kathy Sibbel passed away on May 9, 2026. She was a beloved Rotarian and friend to everyone. She poured her amazing energy, personality, and love for children and her community into her preschool, community, church, and service organizations for Ankeny during her 39-plus years living here. Her exceptional caring and helping others attitude earned her recognition as Ankeny's Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2017.
Kathy embodied the true spirit of Rotary's motto of “Service Above Self” and was dedicated both to RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, the Rotary Youth Student Exchange Program, and Rotary's Literacy Initiative Projects over the years. This earned her recognition as the Rotary Club of Ankeny's Rotarian of the Year in 2016 and Rotary District 6000's Guardian of Integrity Award in 2018 She inspired all of us with her dedication and joyful spirit. Kathy’s legacy of kindness, leadership, and service will live on in our club and in the community she loved so dearly. She will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege to know her.
Please keep Kathy’s husband, Rick, family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. Rest in peace, Kathy. Your Rotary family is forever grateful.
The "2026 Annual Celebration and Recognition Banquet" for the Rotary Club of Ankeny, will be held on Tuesday, June 23rd at the Ankeny Golf & Country Club. The evening will begin at 5:45 PM with a social hour including drinks and appetizers and the buffet line for dinner will open at 6:30. The program will begin at approximately 7:15 PM and will include "Perfect Attendance Awards", "Foundation Donor Recognition", the naming of the "Outstanding New Member of the Year", "Rotarian of the Year", and the passing of the gavel to next year's president.
Plan to attend, bring your spouse or a guest, and celebrate all the accomplishments of the club during the past year. Registration is now available. The registration fee is $30 for each member and guest. This will be added to your July Rotary invoice. Everyone should have received an email to respond to indicate if they are planning to attend. Questions? Contact Todd Eipperle.
On January 6th, Patty Dyar spoke to us regarding the Granny Basketball National Tournament that will be played in Ankeny on July 17-19, 2026. After her presentation our Board agreed to contribute $500 to be a sponsor of this event. The following thank you note was recently received from Patty.
Thank you to Rotary Club of Ankeny for your generous support of our 2026 National Tournament that will be held at the Prairie Trail Sports Complex in Ankeny, July 17-19th. You have made a meaningful contribution that will impact our granny players, coaches, and volunteers as well as our charity partner, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
In preparation for our tournament, I am confirming that you will provide a logo to be listed in the tournament programs and on video boards at the venue. Also, based on your sponsorship level, Pick and Roll $500, you will receive 2, 3-day passes to games.
Again, many thanks for your sponsorship! With Gratitude —
Patty Dyar, Chair, Sponsorship Subcommittee, Granny Basketball National Tournament
Co-Captain, Iowa Gold Stars
Let Nate Burnham know if you would like to use one or two of the passes to attend the tournament. First request(s) gets the ticket(s)! Here is a link to their web site for more information. https://www.grannybasketball.com/national-tournament
You can find some new places to rest along the High Trestle Trail through Experience Park in Ankeny, thanks to the Rotary Club of Ankeny and Polk County Iowa grants. Three metal benches and bike rack bollards were installed thanks to a $10,000 Rotary Club of Ankeny "Community Service Grant" and six limestone bench blocks were installed thanks to a $10,000 Polk County Iowa Betterment Grant. An additional bench and trash can will be installed after Water Tower #4 is constructed.
Rotarians pictured from left to right are Rich Bergez, Doug Beech, Rich Job, Brandon Converse, Hans Hoeksema, Josh Craighead, and Jamie Silver.
The two Ankeny Rotary clubs have approved scholarships for ten Ankeny High School students to enable them to attend the "Rotary Youth Leadership Awards", RYLA, conference at Grinnell College, July 26-31. The Rotary Club of Ankeny (Noon) will sponsor and provide the scholarships for six of the ten students and the Rotary Club of Ankeny Evening will sponsor the other four students. Each student completed an interview and was approved for the scholarship. These students are:
1. Willow Duke (10th grade), attends Ankeny Christian Academy - Ankeny Evening will sponsor.
The Board has received and approved an application for membership in the Rotary Club of Ankeny from Caroline Claxton. Caroline is the Marketing and Communications Director for B & B Theatre, and will be added to their corporate membership.
Comments regarding Caroline's application for membership may be submitted to any Board member.
The 2026 Rotary International Convention will be held June 13-17 in Taipei, Taiwan. It is where you’ll find people of action from around the world brainstorming solutions to some of the most pressing challenges and celebrating our works of service that create lasting change. It is also where you’ll renew connections, discover fresh perspectives, and create unforgettable moments and enduring relationships. It may be too late for you to plan to attend this year's convention but you may want to start planning to attend a future convention.
The 2027 convention is scheduled to be held in Dubai, UAE, and will be May 22-26. The Convention is tentatively planned to return to the United States in Minneapolis on May 27-31, 2028 and again on May 25-29, 2030, in Chicago. A site has not as yet been chosen for 2029.
