Hello Rotarians,
Well, I don’t know if March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb, but it does seem to me that it went very quickly. That is partially due to the fact my family and I took a spring break road trip down to Miramar Beach in sunny Destin, Florida. Traveling with 3 boys and a dog qualifies this as a trip, not exactly a vacation. But it was fun nonetheless and Destin was a neat place to visit. I highly recommend.
Another great month filled with great speakers and guests. Grant recipients Martha’s House of Hope and the Ames Public Library presented on the grants they received from our club. The 2024 grant cycle is open so please spread the word!
It was exciting to learn of the opportunities that the Can Play organization, headed by Melissa Clarke-Wharff, will be bringing to the Ames community in the near future. Can Play brings adapted and no cost recreational programs to communities by removing barriers to play. Robin McKee, Service Coordination Officer, provided a wealth of information on the services CICS offers to serve the unique needs of individuals with mental health and intellectual and other developmental disabilities in 15 Iowa Counties. As we continue to make progress on Rotary’s mission to Create Hope in the World, let’s continue to remain focused on bringing awareness and breaking down stigmas and barriers wherever we find them.
On the lighter side, we heard from Glen Mikkelsen all the way from British Columbia as he provided a history of Chuck Wagon racing. What kind of training goes into being a member of that pit crew? Probably a little bit different than those in NASCAR. Sarah Canova, Business Manager for the ISU Creamery, was a guest speaker of the club and I’m really sorry that I had to miss that one. Even as I type this at 8 o’clock in the morning, some ISU ice cream sounds pretty darn good. That goes with coffee right? And yesterday in case you missed it we had a little bit of fun and hijinks at the end with a few rounds of Heads or Tails for some fabulous Rotary prizes (thanks Karin!) with some bad dad jokes sprinkled in along the way.
I would like to thank all of you for donating clothes to the Overflow Thrift Store, with proceeds going to The Bridge Home. District Govenor Dennis Drager asked each club to donate clothes and other textiles for the benefit of assisting the homeless. Your doantions totaled over 1,500 pounds of clothing and textiles which yielded $500 for The Birdge Home. The Club matched this donation using brag bucket proceeds.
Lastly, I want to say thanks to Kent Frankenfeld and Park Woodle for engaging with ISU Students to start bringing a new ISU Rotaract club online. Well done!!
Have a great day and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Mason Adams
Club President 2023 - 2024