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 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!!
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.
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."
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.
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, RYLA, is an intensive leadership conference designed to assist future leaders in methods of responsible and effective leadership. RYLA is not your typical "leadership conference." It focuses on developing leadership through the lenses of team, community, and emotional leadership with an emphasis on the Rotary motto: SERVICE ABOVE SELF. The goal is to guide aspiring youth leaders in adopting responsible and effective service leadership practices, while also fostering confidence and self-esteem.
RYLA is designed for high school freshman, sophomores, and juniors and is made possible by the generous financial support of Rotary clubs throughout Iowa in Districts 5970 and 6000. Iowa Rotary clubs' investment in the youth of Iowa continues to make a positive impact on our local and global communities. The 2026 conference will be held on the Grinnell College campus from July 26-31. Registration is now open. If you know a high school boy or girl that qualifies, encourage them to apply. For more information contact Kathy Sibbel at kid1kat@aol.com.
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."
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
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.
