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26 Oct. 2026 Junior Rotarians Oct. 26, 2026
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07 Nov. 2026 Davenport Rotary 115 Year Celebration Nov. 07, 2026 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The story 115 years Our family of clubs The evening Get tickets The Rotary Club of Davenport, Club No. 34, celebrates 115 years On November 11, 1911, twenty-eight Davenport business leaders met at the Davenport Hotel. The wheel has been turning ever since. The first Rotary club in the Quad Cities turns 115 this fall. Every Rotarian in the region, and every friend of Rotary, is invited to celebrate it with us. Date SaturdayNovember 7, 2026 Time 6:00 to 8:30 PMEvening program Place Mississippi HallThe River Center, Adler side Tickets $30 per personRegister now, we invoice you after Get your tickets Bring your club The first thing this club ever did was throw a Christmas party. W. H. Harrison, a Davenport insurance man, came home from a visit to Iowa's first Rotary club in Des Moines with an idea. He and William T. Waterman went to Chicago to meet Paul Harris himself, and on November 11, 1911, twenty-eight charter members gathered for the first meeting of the Rotary Club of Davenport. Within weeks, they had their first service project. That Christmas, the new club hosted a party for more than 100 children in need. It became a tradition that ran for ten years before it grew into what is now the Sunshine Club. A lot has changed in 115 years. That instinct has not. We are closing the circle on November 7 Bring a new toy to the celebration. One hundred fifteen years after that first Christmas party, the Rotary Club of Davenport will once again fill a room with gifts for children who need them. 115 years, in a few of its moments No single page can hold every meeting, every project, and every member who made this club what it is. These are some of the moments that shaped it. 1911 Twenty-eight members, one hotel room William T. Waterman calls the first meeting to order at the Davenport Hotel. He is elected the club's first president. By Christmas, the club is already serving the children of Davenport. 1912 Charter No. 34 In February, the National Association of Rotary Clubs, now Rotary International, charters Davenport with 58 members. It is the 34th Rotary club in the world, founded just seven years after Paul Harris started the first one in Chicago. That same year, the club establishes a Boy Scout troop. 1913 A contest the whole country copied The Davenport Beautiful contest encourages neighbors to improve their lawns and gardens. The Ladies' Home Journal publishes the story, and cities and organizations across the country adopt the idea. 1914 Rotary crosses the river Davenport sponsors the Rotary clubs of Rock Island and Moline. They are the first of ten clubs Davenport would help bring into being. 1922 A war memorial that sends students to college The club creates the Rotary Memorial College Loan and Scholarship Fund with a $2,500 gift, in memory of the 276 men and women of Scott County who gave their lives in World War I. Grown by a century of member birthday gifts and generous family donations, it has since passed $1 million and has helped hundreds of Davenport students reach college. 1971 Rotarians as probation officers Working with the Scott County courts, Davenport Rotarians begin serving one on one as volunteer probation officers for young first-time offenders. North Scott and Bettendorf Rotarians join them. Across more than 1,100 cases, about 80 percent of those they mentored never returned to the court system. 1987 Ten women join, ahead of the world In August 1987, ten women become members of the Rotary Club of Davenport, two years before Rotary International voted to admit women into clubs worldwide. A decade later, Becky Eiting becomes the club's first woman president. 2000 Ending polio, one child at a time Club president Bill Ashton leads a fourteen-person District 6000 team to a National Immunization Day in Surat, India. In a single day, they help vaccinate more than 10,000 children against polio. Over the following decade, the club partners with 29 Rotary clubs in India on projects that bring water wells, ambulances, cataract surgeries, and school equipment to people who needed them. 2001 A village rebuilt after an earthquake After a 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastates Gujarat state, Davenport partners with the Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown to build a village for 300 displaced families, with homes, schools, and a community center. That same year, a Davenport team treks into the western highlands of Guatemala to bring clean water to remote Mayan villages. 2003 A home for veterans On Veterans Day, Davenport, North Scott, Bettendorf, and Iowa Quad Cities Rotary clubs pledge together toward housing for homeless veterans and their families. Katz House, a home for veterans, is dedicated in 2006. 2006 Two hundred kids and a pumpkin patch The club's newest members create the Rotary Youth Harvest Party, bringing 200 Davenport children to the Pride of the Wapsi farm. For many, it is their first trip to the country. It becomes an annual tradition shared with neighboring Rotary clubs. 2007 A new club on the other side of the world Davenport sponsors the Rotary Club of Siem Reap Angkor in Cambodia, the tenth club in its family. 2009 A path to the pond Eighteen Rotarians, family members, and friends build a 150-foot boardwalk at Nahant Marsh, giving students year-round access to the heart of a 513-acre wetland on the Mississippi. Today Local and global, the way Rotary was built The work continues at home and around the world. When flooding destroyed the equipment of a local girls' softball league, Davenport Rotarians helped put them back on the field. In rural Kenya, clean water wells the club has supported mean fewer children face the waterborne illness that threatens their lives. Clean water in rural Kenya New equipment for a local girls' softball league 2026 Year 115, and you are part of it Every chapter above was written by people who showed up. On November 7, we are asking you to show up one more time: to celebrate, to reconnect, and to begin the next chapter together. Get your tickets If your club is on this wheel, this is your anniversary too. Over 115 years, the Rotary Club of Davenport has sponsored or co-sponsored ten Rotary clubs, from across the river to across the world. Every one of them traces a line back to that first meeting in 1911. Select a club to follow its line. And if your club is not on the wheel, you are still family. Rotary in the Quad Cities has always been something clubs do together. The probation program, the veterans' home, and the Youth Harvest Party all happened because neighboring clubs showed up for one another. Come celebrate what we have built together, and bring your club's banner so it can hang beside ours. Register your club's group Invite another club The evening A night to look back with gratitude and look ahead with purpose, shared with the Rotarians and friends who make this work possible. Mississippi Hall, The River CenterOn the Adler Theatre side 136 E 3rd St, Davenport, IA 52801 Saturday, November 7, 2026, 6:00 to 8:30 PM Open in maps Food and drink A buffet of heavy hors d’oeuvres, set up for mingling rather than a sit-down dinner, so you can move around the room and catch up with everyone. Cash bar. Fellowship Reconnect with Rotarians from clubs across the Quad Cities and District 6000, and meet the people carrying the work forward. Live music A live band to carry the celebration through the evening. An inspiring speaker A message about service, community, and what the next chapter can hold. Your club banner Bring your club's banner. Every visiting club's banner will hang together for the night, one wall showing the whole family of Rotary in our region. A toy drive Bring a new toy. Our first project in 1911 was a Christmas party for children in need, and we are honoring it by giving again. Reserve your seat $30 per person No payment todayRegister below and we will email you an invoice for your tickets. Pay it any time before the event. Coming with your club?One person can register the whole group. Put your club's name and everyone's names on the form, and we will send one invoice for all of the tickets. And bring your club's banner for the banner wall. Pass it on to another club The best way to fill this room is one Rotarian inviting another. Send this page to your club president, your district friends, or anyone who has ever been part of Rotary in the Quad Cities. Share on Facebook Service Above Self, since 1911. Rotary Club of Davenport, Club No. 34 Rotary District 6000 PO Box 2483, Davenport, IA 52809 davenportrotary.org
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16 Nov. 2026 Tony Knobbe Fire and Ice Nov. 16, 2026 12:00 p.m. Program Detials: Fire and Ice – Listen to Tony Knobbe describe the millennium-long process by which Scott County became home of some of the richest soils on the planet. You’ll hear about the role of glaciers, prairie fire, and many other factors that have contributed to the creation of this great resource. Bio Tony Knobbe is the current North Scott Rotary President, and serves as the Scott County Treasurer. He served as Scott County supervisor for six years, from 2017 through 2022, including three years as its chairman. Prior to that Knobbe had served the county on its Planning and Zoning commission, and as a condemnation juror. Tony worked for 33 years in the banking industry, including retail branch management, commercial banking management, and retired in 2015 as Market President for Wells Fargo Bank in the Quad Cities. He has served on numerous non-profit, service club and faith-based boards in the Quad Cities. Tony and his wife, Lorene live in rural Scott County. Their two grown children and two grandchildren live in Davenport, and Seattle, Washington. Tony also farms, part-time, including growing grain for a local distillery. He enjoys building teams, coaching for superior performance, and serving the public.
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Events

Event Types

The first thing this club ever did was throw a Christmas party.

We are closing the circle on November 7

115 years, in a few of its moments

Twenty-eight members, one hotel room

Charter No. 34

A contest the whole country copied

Rotary crosses the river

A war memorial that sends students to college

Rotarians as probation officers

Ten women join, ahead of the world

Ending polio, one child at a time

A village rebuilt after an earthquake

A home for veterans

Two hundred kids and a pumpkin patch

A new club on the other side of the world

A path to the pond

Local and global, the way Rotary was built

Year 115, and you are part of it

If your club is on this wheel, this is your anniversary too.

The evening

Food and drink

Fellowship

Live music

An inspiring speaker

Your club banner

A toy drive

Reserve your seat

Pass it on to another club

Fire and Ice