Due to the Covid pandemic, the Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club is currently meeting weekly via Zoom. We were doing a hybrid approach to our meetings during the summer - meeting both in person at Shelby's Playground at Elinor Bedell State Park and online via Zoom - but now that the weather is starting to change, we will just meet online again for the foreseeable future. If you are interested in joining us (anyone is welcome to attend), please contact our President Mary Skopec at mary-skopec@uiowa.edu for the meeting information.
Our own Rebecca Peters, along with Tom Tourville, visited with our club via Zoom on Wednesday, September 9, to talk about their newly release book "Rockin' the Green: Music of Arnolds Park Amusement Park 1989-2019". They talked about the process and many hours of research it took to put the book together as well as shared some of their favorite findings for the book. If you missed the presentation, you can view of recording of it by clicking here.
Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club members attended an on-site meeting at Camp Foster on August 12th to see the progress taking place on the new pavilion at the camp. Although Covid prevented club members from actively taking part in the building process this year, the club still provided funding both from the club itself and a matching district grant. The open air pavilion will provide an additional space at Camp Foster for staff and campers to gather for activities in the case of inclement weather or to be shaded from the summer sun. YMCA CEO Andrew Fisher (also a member of the Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club) provided the group with an update of the construction process as well as gave a tour of camp facilities.
The Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club was proud to send a vehicle loaded with emergency supplies to assist with derecho recovery efforts in Cedar Rapids on August 17th. Tarps, batteries, chain saw oil, water, diapers and work gloves were among the items packed to help our fellow Iowans in need.
On Monday August 10th, a strong storm called a derecho packed 100+ mph winds in a swath from central Iowa into Illinois. Some of the strongest wind gusts were recorded near Cedar Rapids at 132 mph. The entire city lost power and estimates are that 80-90% of homes were damaged.The city lost more than 50% of its trees many of which were over 100 years old. Eight days after the storm, thousands are still without power and supplies are urgently needed to assist. Thank you club members for your generosity!
The past six months have been challenging for us personally, professionally and as a service club. Going from weekly in-person meetings where we share a meal, a laugh and a connection to our Rotary community to a world where we speak remotely and through the computer has been difficult for us. Attempts to meet in-person and virtually have met with varied and limited success. We need to hear from you, our valued members. What can we do to make Rotary a fulfilling and vital part of your life. What works? What doesn't? Where do we go from here.
If you haven't filled out your membership survey you received last week via email, please respond by tomorrow, September 22nd. We need your voices, so please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us! If you didn't receive it for some reason, check your junk mail folder or contact Kathy Fahy at krfahy@gmail.com. The survey will come from Survey Monkey.
