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.
