Our Meeting was called to order by President Kelley Krueger
The club sang “You Are My Sunshine” led by Devin van Holsteijn and Aaron Schaefer.
President Kelley Krueger asked members to stand for a moment of silence for the passing of Marcia Welch, wife of Rtn. Myron Welch. She passed away on November 6th. There will be a visitation on November 19 from 2-4 pm at Lensing Funeral Home on Kirkwood Avenue. A Memorial Service will follow at 4 pm.
INTRODUCTIONS:
Visiting Rotarian: Rtn. Linda Farkas introduced Rtn. Bill McMillan who serves on the board of District 6000. He was accompanied by his wife Catherine McMillan.
Guests: Rtn Patty McCarthy introduced her guest Ann Mangano, who is being inducted today.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Rtn Ryan Bell announced that there will be a tree planting at Oak Hill Elementary School this Saturday, November 14 at 9 am. There is a sign up genius for the event. Please bring your shovels, etc. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4AA9AF2FA0F58-66994262-rotary. PLEASE NOTE: the road is closed NORTH of Oak Hill Elementary, so access is from Highway 6, turn north onto North Park Road. Do Not Use Interstate 380 exit 2
Ryan also mentioned that Regina High School has started its own Rotaract group that is now formally recognized by Rotary International. Our club is the official sponsor of the Regina Rotaract group. The club is going to run the baby supply drive later this month.
Rtn. Kelley Krueger mentioned several awards being bestowed on Rotarians from our club.
- Patty McCarthy and Margaret Reese received the Community Collaborator Legendary Leader Award from the Community Foundation of Johnson County for their work on the Rotary Library at the Neighborhood Center’s new Towncrest facility. They were out of town for the Community Foundation Celebration, so the award was accepted on their behalf by President Kelley Krueger. Congratulations Patty and Margaret!
- Rtn. Lynette Marshall will be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals today at Field Day. Tickets are required for the event. Congratulations Lynette!
Rtn. Kelley Krueger also:
- Read a thank you note from a Regina Kindergarten teachers who thanked our club for the I Can Read Songbooks.
- Reminded members that the Rotary Board elections are coming up. If you are interested, please share 3 sentences on your involvement in the club and why you want to be on the board with Barb Thomas. The ballot will go out via email on November 30.
- Mentioned that our club is now on Instagram (@IowaCityNoonRotary), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IowaCityNoonRotary/) , and Linked In (https://www.linkedin.com/company/iowacitynoonrotary/) . Please follow us and share.
INDUCTION: President Kelley Krueger inducted new member Ann Mangano (sponsor Rtn. Patty McCarthy). Ann is the Director of the Iowa City Public Library.
PROGRAM
Rtn. Margaret Reese introduced our speaker Raya Gupta. Raya is a senior at West High School and is the founder and president of GenTech, an organization dedicated to building connections across generations with a heavy focus on digital literacy among senior citizens.
She started the club with the goal of making connections between students and senior citizens. High school volunteers go to senior living centers helping seniors with their technology needs and building digital confidence. They have more than 100 volunteers, have gone to 7 senior communities where they typically see around 20 residents at any one session. She led the club in a game of identifying which image is AI and which image is real and Emoji Jeopardy.
You can follow them on Instagram: @GenTech_west. You can reach out to her at: rayagupta24@gmail.com. She is setting up an Executive Board to keep the club running after she graduates. She is connected with the Iowa City Senior Center but she is open to any other new partnerships.
President Kelley Krueger thanked Raya Gupta for joining us and shared that our club will make a donation to Rotary International’s Polio Plus Program in his name.
Next week’s meeting will feature Kaila Rome who will provide an update on the United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties. We will also have a new member induction. A reminder that we will have no meeting on Thanksgiving.
Program: Rtn. Haley Rosendahl; Attendance: Rtn. Nancy Droll
Please forward any newsworthy items and/or photos to 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: Rtn. Devin van Holsteijn.
For questions related to Club administration, please contact us at secretary@iowacitynoonrotary.org.