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 July meeting will be on Thursday, July 9th.
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!!
In his opening comments, President Brandon Converse, thanked the 2025-2026 Rotary Club of Ankeny Board by introducing each of them and presenting them with a gift. The officers were:
Public Relations - Jamie Silver, Foundation - Hans Hoeksema, Treasurer - Jim Ramsey, President Elect Nominee - Sara Wilson, President Elect - Andy Schnurr, President - Brandon Converse, Secretary - Nate Burnham, Past President - Kent Patterson, Community Service - Doug Beech, Social & Fundraising - Todd Eipperle, Youth - Josh Craighead, CIVITAS - Rich Job, and Membership - Rich Bergez (Not Present).
During the program for the Club's "Annual Celebration and Awards Banquet", Nate Burnham presented a memoriam for two of the Club's most active and well respected members that had passed away last year. Mary Cochran passed away last October and Kathy Sibbel in May of this year. We were pleased that their husbands, Danny Cochran and Rick Sibbel, were able to join us at the banquet to help honor them.
During their time with our club they both Mary and Kathy were one of the first members to volunteer for any service project and served on several committees. Both were Paul Harris Fellows plus 2, had been recognized as a District Guardian of Integrity Award winners, and had perfect attendance for over 15 years. Mary and Kathy will surely be missed not only by their families and friends in Rotary but by the entire Ankeny community. They touched and improved the lives of so many people.
The Club will be purchasing and planting a tree in Mary's honor at the site of the Veridian Credit Union's new building on Ankeny boulevard where she worked for nearly 50 years. For Kathy the Club will be assisting Rick with the establishment of an endowment to provide up to five annual "Kathy Sibbel Rotary Youth Leadership Award Scholarships". In addition, with the cooperation of the Ankeny Parks and Rec Department, two of the benches the Club purchased to place along the High trestle Trail south of the Ankeny Market Pavilion, will have a plaque placed on them honoring Mary and Kathy.
Todd Wehr the club's 2024-2025 Rotarian of the Year had the privilege of introducing Steve SchraderBachar as the Rotary Club of Ankeny's "Rotarian of the Year" for 2025-2026. Steve has been a member of the Club for 18 years and served as the Club's Foundation chair for 8 years before serving as president during the 2023-2024 Rotary year. He has had perfect attendance for the past 13 years and is a Paul Harris Major Donor Level Two. He has also been an Assistant Governor for District 6000 for the past three years and will be the District 6000 Foundation Chair in 2026-2027. Steve is the Vice President of Mortgage lending with the Rate mortgage company.
Sara Wilson introduced Jamie Silver as the "Outstanding New Member" of the Rotary Club of Ankeny for 2006. Jamie joined the club on May 20, 2025, and has had perfect attendance, with make ups, from day one with numerous make ups to spare. She volunteered to join the Board as the Public Relations Chair a month after joining and has done a great job of maintaining and posting items on our Facebook page. Jamie who is a Realtor at Realty One Group, completed the Ankeny Leadership program this past year and is already a Paul Harris Fellow
Brandon Converse's term as President of the Rotary Club of Ankeny came to an end during the club's annual Celebration and Awards Banquet on June 23th. To mark the end of his term, he passed the gavel to Andy Schnurr and surrendered the president's pin to him. Andy then gave Brandon a past president's pin and presented him with a gavel on a golden name plate. Thank you Brandon for a great year . We are now looking forward to the 2026-2027 Rotary year with Andy as our President.
In the 66 club's in District 6000 there were 17 new Rotary Foundation Major Donors or Major Donors that move up to the next level. Three of these were from the Rotary Club of Ankeny. They are Zane Smith - Major Donor Level 2, Neil & Kathy Fell - Major Donor Level 2, and Tim Hawkins - Major Donor. They were recognized by District 6000 Rotary Foundation Chair at the club's annual Recognition and Awards Banquet by Steve SchraderBachar who will begin a three year term and District 6000 Foundation Chair beginning July 1, 2026. Congratulations and thank you for your support of the Rotary Foundation, Zane, Neil & Kathy and Tim.
A major donor is someone that has live-time cumulative cash donations to the Rotary Foundation total $10,000. Recognition points do not count. The Major Donor levels are as follows:
Level 1: $10,000 to $24,999
Level 2: $25,000 to $49,999
Level 3: $50,000 to $99,999
Level 4: $100,000 to $249,999
Once cumulative lifetime giving surpasses $249,999, that moves the Rotarian to the Arch Klumpf Society (AKS) which has additional tiers and recognition opportunities for them.
At their June meeting, our Board reviewed the quarterly dues being paid by our members. The last time our dues were increased was 15 years ago in 2011. During that time District dues have increased by $10 per member per year and Rotary International dues have increased by $60 per member per year. In addition, our meal cost at AG&CC has gone up by $5.58 per meal.
After discussion, the Board felt it was appropriate to increase our dues effective July 1, 2026, and approved the following increases:
Active Members from $175 to $200 per quarter Corporate Membership from $250 to $275 per quarter Senior Active, Honorary, and Members on Leave, from $50 to $60 per quarter Meal Charge for guests, Senior Active, Honorary, Members on Leave, and additional Corporate members from $12 to $16.
For the eleventh consecutive year, the Rotary Club of Ankeny has earned a "Club Excellence Award", previously call a Presidential Citation, from Rotary International. To earn this award a club must pay their RI dues on time, establish goals for the year from a list provided by RI, and satisfy at least 13 of those goals. Of the 66 clubs in District 6000, the Rotary Club of Ankeny is the only club to have received this honor in each of the past eleven years.
Congratulations to President Brandon Converse and to all the members of the Rotary Club of Ankeny.
Eighteen members of the Rotary Club of Ankeny were recognized at the Club's "Annual Celebration and Awards Banquet" for having perfect attendance for the 2025-2026 Rotary year. No one was actually present at all noon meeting the Club held during the year but President Brandon Converse only missed four meetings. During the year members received over 450 make-ups to improve their attendance and for some to achieve perfect attendance. Jamie Silver led the all members with 29 makeups. Make-ups included board meetings, Friday morning coffees, committee meetings, social event, new member orientations, service projects, and on-line make-ups.
The members with perfect attendance were: 1 Year - Hans Hoeksema & Jamie Silver: 3 Years Andy Schnurr, Amy Ratekin & Sara Wilson; 3 Years - Brandon Converse; 4 Years - Kent Patterson; 8 Years - Todd Eipperle; 12 Years - Rich Job; 13 Years - Doug Beech; 14 Years - Jim Ramsey, Steve SchraderBachar, & Todd Wehr; 15 Years - Daman Miller; 18 Years - Sally Schroeder; 22 Years - Nate Burnham & Tom Friedman; and 36 Years - Shar Dunlap.
The Club is again selling golf ball drop tickets to benefit the Ankeny Service Center this year. The tickets are $10 each, two for $20, or 5 for $50. Tom Friedman has distributed tickets to each member but if you have not received yours yet or need more contact Tom at tomfriedman59@gmail. Ticket stubs and sales proceeds should be turned into Tom or dropped off at First National Bank.
The balls will be dropped a approximately 7:30 on Thursday, July 30, 2026 as part of the All City Play day in Ankeny's Wagner Park. The first ball in the hole will win $1,000, second ball $375, third ball $250 and fourth ball wins $125. A special thanks to Ankeny sanitation for sponsoring this event, Leaning Tower of Pizza and Tim's Amoco for providing the coupons and Des Moines Printing for donating the printing for the tickets.
Due to some staffing changes, the Ankeny Community Schools has submitted a request to replace Darin Haack with Mark Moss and Eric Brown with Deb Farver-Plumb on their corporate membership. The Board has approved this request. Mark Moss is the Chief Operating Officer and Deb Farver-Plumb is the Chief Financial Officer.
Comments regarding adding new members to the corporate membership of Ankeny Community Schools may be submitted to any Board member.
A letter has been receive from the Ankeny Fire Chief stating the following:
Dear Friend and Supporter, The Ankeny Fire Department would like to express our sincere thanks for your financial support of our fire safety education program You have recognized that we need to reach our children and other at-risk groups with accurate and vital facts that will educate and help them grow as safe, happy, and responsible citizens. The materials we have carefully selected were developed exclusively by the National Fire Safety Council, Inc. a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization.
Because of your generous support, we were able to provide this well-rounded fire safety education program. Without your help, this could not have been possible. Thanks again, on behalf of the Ankeny Fire Department, and all the young people who will be touched by your helping hand.
Yours in Safety, Service and Protection, R. Vance Swisher, Fire Chief
