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Here's What's Happening at East Polk Rotary

Thanks to Kevin Foley, Executive Director, Des Moines International Airport, for his presentation in person last week to bring us up to date on how the Des Moines Airport is working with the CDC and Governor Reynolds to keep the airport safe for travelers. Everyone must wear a mask when entering the airport, and the airlines are requiring masks for the entire flight. Every touchable surface is sanitized regularly and hand sanitizers are placed all around the airport. Even though air traffic is down considerably from prior to the pandemic, it is slowly coming back. They are also continuing construction as planned, because when travel does pick back up again, they will need to have the additional room to accommodate the guests.

President-elect Marie will be conducting the meeting tomorrow in my absence. Our speaker will be Kristy Litwiler, Altoona Elementary PTA, Warm Kids, Warm Hearts Coordinator.

Mike Hamilton is Jester of the Day tomorrow.

A special THANK YOU to all our veterans!

Please stay safe.

Thanks so much for all you do for East Polk Rotary,

Ned Looney, President

East Polk Rotary

Fifth Test - from District Governor Steve Dakin: "When chemists die, they barium."

Upcoming Events:

Please remember to invite your family, friends and co-workers to our Rotary After Work (RAW) meeting from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month. The next meeting will be December 2.

February 19, 2021 - Bowling Bash at Great Escape. Funds are used for the Tech Expo and other community projects. Mike is applying for the gambling license so we can start selling raffle tickets soon.

Our future events can be found on our Facebook by going to the East Polk Rotary Club page and clicking on Events. You can share an event on your page and invite others. The more interest we get, the more visibility there is, and potential opportunity to increase membership. Please contact Marie if you have questions.

In-person meetings will be held at the Eastview Community Center, 4101 E. 42nd St., Des Moines, IA 50317, through the end of December. If the venue is changed, you will be advised in a timely manner.

District 6000 - District Governor Steve Dakin is asking for ideas for naming the District Conference. The Conference Team and Governor Steve are hoping many Rotarians in the District assemble to share stories about experiences as Rotarians. These will be brief "Rotary Moments" shared with those attending at each conference site. Each shared story will be describing "What happened after you were asked?" A prize will be awarded for the Chosen Title. Please send any suggestions for "naming the District Conference" to Steve Dakin at steve@retiredfun.net. Please provide by February 1, 2021.

From Troy Thompson, Disaster Relief District Team Chair - The District Disaster Response team has been authorized to distribute additional funds due to the District receiving a $25,000 grant from The Rotary Foundation. Therefore, we are accepting grant applications for up to $7,500 for projects related to recovery from the August derecho in your community. The one-page grant application is available from thompson.go@gmail.com. Please provide additional supporting documents with your application.

From Olabisi Gwamma Ph.D., Rotary Club of Mt. Pleasant, Foundation Minute Editor. Welcome to Week 2 of the November Rotary International's Foundation Month. This past week has witnessed its own litany of woes not only from the pandemic, but unwanted natural disasters around the globe. But, before you get discouraged, it is uplifting to know that while COVID-19 decimates families and storms ravage communities, Rotary clubs have intensified their efforts at improving the quality of life for people in need. The Rotary Foundation offers the best opportunity I know for us to invest in a better future for communities around the world. Your generosity today and throughout this year is the oil that keeps our grants burning bright, reaching the ones who need us most.

Terry Ziegler, Endowment/Major Gifts Adviser Rotary Region 26. There was just one wild polio case reported this week in Pakistan, and none in Afghanistan. That's good news for our eradicate polio effort.

Upcoming schedule -

November 11 - Kristy Litwiler, Warm Kids, Warm Hearts

November 18 - Christine Eckles, Chief Engagement Officer, Blank Park Zoo Board Meeting

November 25 - Business Meeting

December 1 - RAW

December 2 - Jennifer Welch, Polk County Soil and Water Conservation

December 9 - Matt Sexton, Facebook

December 16 - TBD - Board Meeting

December 23 - Business Meeting

December 30 - Fifth Wednesday - TBD

Please let Marie know if you have an idea for future programs.

Jester assignments:

November 11 - Mike Hamilton

November 18 - Darrell Hanson

November 25 - Anthony Harbaugh

December 2 - Linda Harris

December 9 - Michael Hartwig

December 16 - Adam Kline

Decenber 23 - Marti Kline

December 30 - Corinne Lambert

Yours in service,

Norma Bettis, Secretary

Rotary Live! A report from the site exploration committee...

During our WebEx meeting this morning, a Site Exploration Committee was appointed to check out sites for "in person" meetings while waiting for Prairie Meadows to open. The committee consisting of Ned Looney, Mike Hamilton and Trent Frohock is presenting its report below:

For the next two weeks on Wednesday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 10, we will offer live, in person (spittle protected), East Polk Rotary Club meetings.

Mike, Trent and I will do the physical set-up, and sound and audio checks at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday prior to the Wednesday morning meeting so that we are ready for the 10-15 members who wish to join us in person. We will meet at the Eastview Community Center, 4101 E 42nd Street, Des Moines. The easiest way to find this is to think of this as being the first building behind Porter Hardware. We will offer water, juice, and coffee (however, if you want foo-foo coffee, bring your own). This will also be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast). Feel free to swing through one of the many fine East Side/Altoona drive-through eating establishments available for your dining enjoyment on your way to the meeting, or pull a carton of yogurt from your fridge at home; whatever you prefer. We will have tables and chairs set up with all spaced six plus feet apart. We recommend that you wear your mask from your car until you enter our meeting room, then feel free to remove it as long as you are able to remain at least six feet apart. We plan to have WebEx up and running as well, so Rotarians who wish may continue to enjoy our fellowship from home, while wearing pajamas if that is what they prefer. Those coming to the meeting will need to dust off their business casual wear once again.

Meetings will start at 7 a.m. for fellowship, president's notes, and reports at either 7:15 or 7:20, so that our speakers may begin at 7:30 a.m.

We plan on being at that location for two weeks, probably four, but after a couple of meetings we will be able to determine how important it is to have a hot breakfast served to our club. We visited Sugar Shack as well, and while it showed possibilities, we felt that the Eastview Community Center will give us the maximum room to spread out with better AV connections, as well as faster internet service. We may decide to have a hot breakfast catered to Eastview in the future, but for now we will just see how it goes and what we learn from Prairie Meadows availability in the coming weeks.

Thank you all so very much,

Ned

President-Elect

Service Above Self