The club was greeted by, Rtns. Sarah Richardson and Rich Hatch.
Our Meeting was called to order by President Steve Quigley
President Steve gave a special thank you to Past Presidents Verne Folkmann and Jim Conard for filling in for his while he was out of town. The club also cheered that Thais Winkleblack was back at Rotary!
Announcements:
Rtns. Gene Wandling and Brianna Wills, co-chairs of the Outbound International Scholarship Committee announced this year’s scholarship recipient. Isabelle teDuites is a 2016 Iowa City High graduate and a Junior at the University of Iowa Tippie School of Business. Izzy was a 2016 Xicotepec trip participant. She will use the scholarship while studying abroad in Santiago, Chile this year.
Rtn. Brad Baldes, co-chair of the Ronald McDonald House Committee announced the final figure from this year’s golf tournament. A record-setting $60,245 was raised this year!
Rtn. Eric Weiler announced that our club is collaborating with the Rotary Club of Marshalltown to raise funds for tornado recovery. Over 700 properties were damanged in the storm. Funds will be matched up to $500. Mail any donations to President Matt Garber, PO Box 754, Marshalltown, IA 50158.
Rtn. Sara Sedlacek announced the results of the Rotary Food Fight for the Crisis Center of Johnson County. Our Club did not come in last place this year! With the generous $3,000 matching funds from Rtn. Mace Braverman, our club raised $6,000, which equals 24,285 pounds of food, or 334 pounds per member. The Food Fight raised about 50,000 pounds of food total, which stocks the shelves of the food pantry for about 2 months. This event has a huge impact on the community.
Rtn. Pete Wallace gave an update on the Iowa MOST project. The 2019 trip dates have been set (contact Rtn. Deb Dunkase for details)! There is a need for members, a rare occurance! They need a photographer/blogger, Spanish interpreters, and general helpers in the post-op area (mainly holding babies – no medical skills needed).
PROGRAM:
Rtn. Angelica Vanatta, Development Director of Shelter House introduced Crissy Canganelli, Executive Director of Shelter House.
Crissy discussed the focuses of Shelter House, an organization she has been with for over 20 years. 84% of the local homeless population are experiencing short term episodes of homelessness, and this has traditionally been the focus of Shelter House. However, 16% of the homeless population experience chronic homelessness, which often involves indiviudals with more complex health and behavioral health problems. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) helps address the needs of these chronically homeless. In 2011, the Fairweather Lodge was opened. The Lodge is a unique model of PSH, combining affordable independent housing with wraparound support services to help each person stay in his home (training, health care, etc). The availability of Permanent Supportive Housing has an enormous impact on the individual and the community, reduces hospital stays and arrests, and ultimately reduces the burden on emergency services and saves the community a great deal of money. The Housing First initiative is the newest PSH project. Shelter House is partnering with the VA, UIHC, and other local organizations to support the new 24 apartment building at 820 Crosspark Ave. The building, offering permanent homes, is set to open in January.
After audience questions President Steve Quigley thanked Crissy for her enlightening presentation.
The meeting ended at 1:00 pm as President Steve led the assembly in reciting The Four Way Test.
MEETING:
Singing: America the Beautiful, Happy Birthday, & Smile were led by Rtn. Bob Crane with Rtn. Jim Conard on piano.
Please forward any newsworthy items and/or photos to Jon Brown or Janice Baldes to include in the weekly slide decks emailed to members prior to each meeting and shown just before Rotary meetings at the Club. You can send information to: Janice Baldes janicebaldes@gmail.com or Jon Brown at mjonBrown@taxesplusiowacity.com
For questions related to Club administration, please contact us at secretary@iowacitynoonrotary.org.
It is our policy to have all members silence their cell phones before the meeting and refrain from answering their cell phones during the meeting out of respect to the speaker and fellow members.
Our Greeter, Sarah Richardson announced that there were no visiting Rotarians
Guests of Rotarians; Shelly Maharny (Sarah Richardson); Joan Cook (Tom Cook); Isabelle teDuites (Gene Wandling/Brianna Wills); Crissy Canganelli (Angelica Vannatta); Mark Serttel (Angelica Vannatta); Stephanie Worrell (Tara Minetos.
Program: Tom Cilek; Attendance: Nancy Droll