Paul Dalluge (left) accepted the gavel for the 2022/2023 Rotary Year from current president Michael Kleene at our June 17th Rotary Noon meeting.

Rotary Club of Indianola Established a Peace Garden at McCord Park

World Peace is one the pillars of Rotary International.

By carrying out service projects and supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, our members take action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.

June 2022

Shekhar Mehta  

  It is with deep regrets that we learn about the passing of long time member Charles (Chuck) Kerr.  

Chuck, a member of Rotary Club of Indianola for over 60 years, was devoted to helping children in our community and around the world.  Chuck challenged club members to donate time and resources to the Rotary Wheelchair Foundation, WeCare, Literacy, The Dictionary Project and most important of all the Polio Foundation.

Chuck's health has prevented him from attending regular meetings of our club for the last several years, but there has always been a chair and a well spoken word about him every week.

Our Club wishes to thank Chuck's family for their dedication over the past decades, helping him and working with him to enhance the Rotary Motto "Service Above Self".

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

"Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature."

 

STEVE MARABOLI

January 30, 2022

Dear Polio Eradication Warriors,

"What is Rotary?"

As a Rotarian, one of the hardest questions to answer is 'What is Rotary?'  You would think that after 20+ years as a member it would be an easy question to answer.  But it is not.

Rotary has so many moving parts, in so many parts of the World, in so many different ways, well to be honest, it boils down to the people.  It becomes the question of "Who is a Rotarian?"

With the motto "Service Above Self", a Rotarian is one individual who wants to help those around them, whether it be individuals, communities or countries.    

As a whole, Rotary is made up of three parts: our clubs, Rotary International, and The Rotary Foundation. Together, we work to make lasting change in our communities and around the world.

And yet, it boils down to individuals. 

• Individuals willing to travel around the world to deliver a dose of polio vaccine to a child. Rotarians have been doing this since 1987 and the wild polio virus has been eliminated from all but one Country - in the World. Think of the millions of lives that have been changed because individuals were willing to help others.

• Individuals willing to walk a local parade and collect food items for the local Food Pantry - The Helping Hand.

• Individuals, taking time out of their daily work schedule, to visit five different elementary schools and hand out personal dictionaries.

• Individuals who raised the funds and furnished the labor to build a shelter at the local recreational trailhead.

• Individuals who spend nine evenings, in a row, selling tickets and parking cars at the National Balloon Classic, so the Club can afford to purchase dictionaries and sponsor other projects in our community.

• Individuals who teach leadership skills to High School Youth.

• A Foundation, supported by individuals, that funds water projects around the world, providing clean water, which in turn decreases diseases among the people who live there.

• The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.

So, to answer the question, What is Rotary? Rotary provides a fulfilling system that allows me to help people in my community, in my District and in the World, making this a better place for all.   

Terry Pauling,

Rotary Club of Indianola.

2021 was an interesting year for flying as the winds cooperated some days and not as much other days.  Even so, the general public understood the new ticket system that was implemented which changed the process Rotarians used to monitor cars as they entered the field for parking.  Several groups help our membership direct traffic each night during the event, for which we are very grateful. The 2021 National Balloon Classic ended on Saturday August 7th with a weather event that canceled flights in the morning and a rain event that canceled all activities in the evening, leaving no alternatives for the public that day.

Due to Covid19 in 2020, the National Balloon Classic postponed their 50th anniversary of ballooning in Indianola until this year with over 100 balloonists registered, along with over a dozen "vintage balloons" during the week. We are looking forward to 2022. 

Service Above Self.