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 September meeting will be on Thursday, September 10th.
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!!
Kathy Sibbel was known as a tireless volunteer who worked with her heart and soul in every cause in which she was involved. She may have been small in stature but a giant in energy with a quick wit. Her theme in life was youth and children. She joined the Rotary Club of Ankeny in 2009 and made a significant difference in our club and in the Ankeny community. Kathy passed away on May 9, 2026.
Kathy’s family is creating the Kathy Sibbel Legacy Endowment Fund. The purpose of this fund is to create a lasting charitable legacy in her honor by providing ongoing financial support to initiatives that strengthen the Ankeny community and develop future leaders. It will serve as a permanent charitable resource, balancing long-term growth of assets with periodic distributions to benefit RYLA, early childhood development initiatives, the Ankeny Service Center, and other charitable projects aligned with the Rotary Club of Ankeny. The Sibbel family will contribute $15,000 initially and an additional $15,000 over the next three years. The Rotary Club of Ankeny has agreed to contribute $5,000 to the fund. The funds will be deposited into an account at Edward Jones with 65% in a Global Equity Index and 35% in a U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Distributions of the earnings will be governed by a five-person board consisting of the Rotary Club of Ankeny’s President, President-elect, Treasurer, and Secretary and Rick Sibbel.
Several members of our Club have expressed an interest in personally contributing to Kathy’s endowment fund. This would be fully acceptable and a great gesture. If you would like to contribute, please make a check payable to “The Rotary Club of Ankeny” and write "For Kathy Sibbel Legacy Endowment Fund Account" in the memo line and give it to Kent Patterson or Nate Burnham by September 8, 2026.
In recognition of your contribution, the Club will award you with one Rotary Foundation recognition point for each dollar contributed.
The Ankeny Market & Pavilion (AMP) is celebrating 10 years as a valued community gathering place. The Rotary Club of Ankeny first advanced the vision for AMP and through a partnership with the City of Ankeny, the Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Uptown Association, a steering committee was formed and successfully raised $2.5 million to bring this community asset to life. Over the past decade, AMP has become an important destination for residents and visitors alike. It serves as a trailhead for the High Trestle Trail and includes two open air shelters that host the Uptown Farmer’s Market, along with many other events and community activities throughout the year.
To commemorate this anniversary, a 10-year celebration is planned at AMP on October 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. In conjunction with the event, commemorative T-shirts will be sold to raise awareness and generate funds for benches and trash receptacles in the Uptown area, as well as support for Rotary's community chest. We are seeking donations and sponsorships from businesses as well as individuals to support the celebration and the sale of the commemorative T-shirts. Sponsor logos and names will be recognized on the back of the T-shirts at the following levels: $5,000 – Large logo; $2,500 – Medium logo; $1,000 – Small logo, $500 – Name.
Your support will help ensure the success of this special celebration and further the ongoing investment in community spaces that serve Ankeny residents, visitors, and the Uptown district. To arrange a sponsorship or make a donation, please contact Todd Wehr at 515-669-7617 or cyarch85@mail.com. Sponsorships are requested by September 15, 2026 to allow time for recognition on the T-shirts.
The Rotary Club of Ankeny's corporate member, GoServ Global supports a large school, clinic and several orphanages in Haiti. This Christmas, they are collecting gift boxes specifically for the children living in the orphanages. They hope to collect 300-400 Christmas boxes this year. The kids look forward to this every year, and get very excited when they see the boxes.
Boxes will be available at Rotary meetings through September 15th for any one that would be willing to help fill a box or several boxes. Gifts should be kept gender neutral and please no winter hats or gloves. Gift suggestions include small toys, games, personal care items, and school supplies. Filled boxes can be returned to Maggie Carstensen by September 22nd or earlier, by bringing them back to a Rotary meeting. Contact Maggie atmaggie@goservglobal.org with any questions.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our club to make kids feel valued and loved and helping to make Christmas extra special for them!
Two new members were inducted into the Rotary Club of Ankeny during their meeting on August 25th. They were Danny Cochran and Rick Sibbel. Dan is a retired appliance sales representative. Rick is a veterinarian and serves on several advisory boards.
The Rotary Club of Ankeny currently has 85 members, One of the Club's goals for the 2026-2027 year is to increase the Club's membership to 90. The membership committee recommended an new incentive program to help achieve this growth in membership. This program was presented to at the August Board meeting and was approved by the Board. It is, when a new member joins the Club, the current member that proposed the new member will be awarded $100. A new corporate membership will only earn one $100 award even though there may be up to four members included in the corporate membership. The award is not earned until the prospect is inducted into the club. There is no limit on the number of awards a member can earn.
Each member should try to propose a new member or two to the club before year-end!! This program will run through December 31, 2026.
The Rotary meeting on August 11th this week was held at B&B Theatre for a fun summer social. We heard from the 2026 Rotary Youth Leadership Award scholarship winner. They were: Aiden Forrester, Grace Tuvera, Dilasha Khadka, Jacob Halldin, and Chelsea Stamps. The 2026 RYLA conference was held at Grinnell College on July 25-31. Thank you to these students for sharing their amazing experiences on RYLA and the impact to shape young leaders.
Asia Deffeyes, Rotary Youth Exchange student from Italy, arrived at the Des Moines International Airport on Friday, August 14, at 10:10 pm. Asia was greeted at the airport by Rick Stammer, (Rotary Youth Exchange Chair District 6000), Steve Wieneke (Youth Exchange Officer), Brenda Wieneke (Counselor), and the first host family (Aaron, Melissa, Elsie, and Claire Nord). Asia will be attending Ankeny Centennial High School. She plans to play volleyball this fall. Go Jags!!!
Welcome to Ankeny, Iowa, Asia. We are excited to host you this year!! We are looking forward to you learning more about the United States and for us to learn more about Italy.
The speakers for our meeting on August 25th were Sue Woods and Amity Wagner from the the Ankeny First United Methodist Church. This is the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Methodist church in Ankeny. Sue and Amity told the club about the history of their church and including the many ways it has served the Ankeny community during the past 150 years The Methodist church was the first built in Ankeny in 1876. It cost $1,200 and still stands today at 417 SW Walnut St.
Today the church has two locations. The "Uptown" church at 206 SW Walnut and the Christian Life Center, "CLC", at 710 NE 36th Street.
The Holiday schedule for the Rotary Club of Ankeny has been set. We will not be meeting on December 22 or December 29 so everyone can enjoy a little more time with their families, or have a little extra time to finish their Christmas shopping,
Our Christmas social will be held at the Ankeny Golf & Country Club on Tuesday evening December 1st. More details will be provided a later date but put this date on your calendar and plan to attend to kick off the holiday season with you Rotarian friends.
The Rotary Club of Ankeny provided a sponsorship for the National Granny Basketball Tournament that was held in Ankeny on August 7-8. Below is a thank you note we received from The Gold Stars & the Ankeny Honeybees.
There were three divisions in championship play. The winners were:
Championship Division - Cedar Rapids Sizzlers Hotsy Totsy Division - Ankeny Honeybees Off Our Rockers Division - Desert Geckos
