Ames Morning Rotary Club Newsletter

President's Message

We were well represented at the Rotary District 6000 Convention held at Gateway April 29-May 1. As one of the host clubs we were responsible for the hospitality dinners Friday evening. Thanks to Dave Benson and Sandy Horton for a great job organizing it. It took lots of meeting time, phone calls, emails to set it up; but, as a host I can tell you it was well done and an interesting evening. Thanks to all who hosted dinners.

Jill Guffy, thanks for setting up the poster of our clubs accomplishments for the past year. We had the best board, with a background of fine quilting. I heard lots of good comments about it.

Thanks to Kathy Kennedy for arranging for our club to donate a painting by Karen Wolfe, Les' wife for the auction to raise money for the District's FAMSCO project where we donate used fire and medical equipment to Central American countries.

Carolyn Jons and Carol Elbert did a great job promoting Literacy. Thanks to efforts like that, Rotarians in the district identify our club with the district literacy campaign. Carolyn had a display on literacy and also did a workshop.

Several of us served as Sergeants at Arms, essentially ushers. Tim Ashley, Scott Sanders, Arch Oldehoeft, Sue Wuhs, Frank Amos, and I each took three hour shifts on Friday.

Saturday morning there was an awards ceremony and our club did very well. Each year the incoming president of Rotary International sets the requirements for the Presidential Citation Award. This year President Majiyagbe set the bar high. We had to accomplish 15 specific achievements. I had set those as our goals for the year when we started on July 1, 2003 and thanks to the efforts of all our club members we exceeded those goals and were one of 14 clubs out of 69 in the district to receive the Presidential Citation Award. One of the requirements involved attaining at least 3% growth in membership and we exceeded that. There was a separate award for meeting that goal, and about 10 clubs received that award, we weren't among them- I thought maybe we filled out the forms wrong or something. Well, next we were honored for being the top club for our size in membership growth! Thanks to Denise Schmidt, the membership committee, and to all who helped with this.

Thanks to Chelon Stanzel the foundation committee, and to all of you for your contributions, we again received an award for contributing over $100/member per year to the Rotary Foundation.

Next year the convention will be in Davenport, in June, just prior to the International Convention and Centennial Celebration in Chicago.

We are finishing the Ada Hayden Heritage Park overlook project Wednesday evening, May 5 with a work session followed by a BBQ to celebrate with the Noon Club. It's been fun and a very worthwhile Rotary Centennial Project. Kudos to Dave Kraemer, the Community Service Committee and all who helped with the project. As you recall we donated our labor plus $10,000. That, combined with $20,000 from the Noon Club, and a $5,000 grant from District 6000 allowed us to construct a beautiful; scenic overlook on the hill on the north side. Be sure to check it out when the park opens this summer.

The Board of Directors is working on plans and the budget for next year. Next board meeting is Tuesday, May 18.

Proud to be an Ames Morning Rotarian!
Dean Harms, President

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting - April 13, 2004

The April 13 meeting of the Ames Morning Rotary Board of Directors was called to order at 7:02 a.m. in the Pine Room of the Memorial Union. Those present were Dean Harms,Dave Miller, Jim Obrecht, Scott Bauer, Jim Ziebold, Denise Schmidt, Tim Ashley, Dave Benson, Lynette Seymour, Brian Dieter, Kathy Kennedy, Arch Oldehoeft, Sandy Horton, and Terry Adams.

The minutes of the March Board meeting were approved as amended.

President Harms mentioned the club Centennial Project, the Ada Hayden Park. The club's pledge toward this is $10,000, with a project total of $38,900. He stated that one way to make this fit the budget was putting in the physical labor, cutting back on outgoing costs for the project. He then commented on Ames Rotary Foundation scholarships. Club donations in the past were $500, and last year was $1,000. This year it will be back at the $500 level. Three scholarships were awarded. Jim Smith, Dave Kraemer, and Terry Adams serve on the board of that group. Clean-up Day for Mortensen Road will be Saturday, April 24, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Horton and Benson discussed the District Convention. There are currently about 140 host spots open. Local club hosts are the Hortons, Harms, Bensons, and Jons. Harold Jensen and his wife are co-hosts with a noon club couple. There are currently 65 registrants for home hospitality. Invitations will go out next week. Sue Wuhs will be at Gateway with packets and a list of every guest and host. Directions to host locations will be given there. District Governor Denny Skinner e-mailed appreciation expressing appreciation for the cancellation of regular club meetings the week of the convention. Because of this, the Friday luncheon price has been reduced from $25 to $18. Initially, eight ushers were requested for Friday. The request has now been raised to ten.

Brief discussion was held regarding a new member fireside in May. Ames Morning Rotary has met its membership goal. The possibility of a spring picnic in lieu of a fireside was mentioned.

Ashley has talked to the Ames Noon club regarding Interact. There has been no progress on this project to date. There may be an effort to try something this summer, or wait until next school year.

Ashley stated that teacher's names for the Teacher of the Year awards have been submitted, one from Gilbert and one from Roland-Story. Plaques will be awarded, along with certificates.. Ashley stated that four candidates for Ambassadorial scholarship have been interviewed. It has been recommended that all four college students' names be forwarded to the District. He stated one student had a strong backing from President Geoffrey and Norman Borlaug. The scholarships amount to $25,000. He recommended that all four names be forwarded to the District. The District will screen the candidates, and provide awards to three or four.

There was a request for a $100 donation to the Ames Honors Banquet. Other requests have been received regarding the school library. A thank-you was received from last year's recipient, who will report to the club upon his return.

Dieter and Miller reported on the PETS conference. Dieter stated that the club budget will be a constraint for us. The club's excess funds come primarily from unused meals. He stated the club needs more funds. Literacy and Xicotepec are at the top. Miller stated that the vast majority of clubs in our district to projects to raise money. Such projects can be steak fries, raffles, or the chili feed in Nevada. Dieter stated that the district is striving to increase giving. The current average for A.M. Rotary is $125.38. He then passed the Centennial Citation sheet. He stated that A. M. Rotary has a high involvement in the Rotary Foundation.

Ziebold stated that $34 per quarter of each member's dues goes toward Rotary sponsored activities. Our club currently has $11,000 to work with. Each meeting costs $6.50 per member for breakfast and $1.20 for parking. He stated that the big expenses have been taken care of for this year. He stated that, from the $125 quarterly dues, $34 goes to Rotary International and District dues, and $91 goes towards meals.

About 60,000 Rotarians are expected to attend the Chicago Rotary International Convention next year.

The April 21 meeting is intended to be a meeting involving planning for the District convention. There will be an educational presentation regarding that at the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:07 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Terry Adams, Secretary