West Liberty Chamber of Commerce Business Spotlight: West Liberty Rotary Club
by RotaryClub WestLiberty on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 6:02pm
by Sara Sedlacek • July 15, 2009
It was late October in 1924 when the Rotarians of Iowa City decided it was time to start moving east. At a dinner served in the Masonic dining room by the Women’s Relief Corps, 20 local men became the charter members of the Rotary Club of West Liberty. Led by President L.A. Royal, the West Liberty Rotarians began a legacy that has spanned generations and continues today.
The Rotary Club of West Liberty now has 33 members.
“Rotary is everywhere around town,” said member and past president Ken Donnelly. “When you enter town, you see Rotary signs on Prairie Street, X-40, Highway 6 and coming from Atalissa.”
Donnelly explained that Rotary is a civic group and, though it is part of an international organization, has its hand in many local projects.
“Rotary is very big on parks,” he began. “Ron-de-Voo Park was donated by a Rotarian, John Rohner; and Rotary donated the clock that now sits in the park. We built the shelter in Wapsie Park and we helped get the tennis courts in the new Dutton Park.”
In addition to signs and parks, Rotary has planted and maintained (with the help of Alice Johnson) flower beds at numerous locations around West Liberty, including one at the West Liberty Post Office. The flagpole at Memorial Field was donated by the Rotary Club of West Liberty and trash bins around town were also donated by Rotary.
The Rotary Club of West Liberty is very involved with the youth in the community. An upcoming events sign donated by Rotary sits outside of the high school to prove that. The club has sponsored a local Cub Scout pack for more than 50 years, hosting the Cub Scout Cake Auction every year to raise money for the pack. The club also gives a $500 scholarship to a deserving young man and woman each year and sends a 10th grade student to the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy each year. Rotary also helps pay for the students who attended Boys State. Rotarians are involved with the reading program at the West Liberty Public Library and each year the club donates dictionaries to every fourth grade student in the district.
The Rotary Club of West Liberty has most recently joined forces with the West Liberty School Foundation and the P.T.O. to help raise money for the new playgrounds at the schools. The first joint fundraiser will take place this week at the fair. The Foundation and P.T.O. will be staffing a stand right next to the Rotary stand, selling hot dogs, corn dogs, ice cream and more. Twenty-five percent of the profits will go directly to the playground. More fundraisers for this project are slated to be held next spring
The Rotary Club of West Liberty has had their own stand at the fair for 30 years, selling its famous turkey tenderloins. For more than 40 years the club has hosted its Annual Chicken BBQ, serving hundreds of chicken dinners to the community.
West Liberty Rotarians are no strangers to food service, of course. Each year the club serves dinner to the West Liberty Fire Department, the West Liberty City Council, the school board and the West Liberty Police Department.
As part of an international organization, the Rotary Club of West Liberty does its part to aid the international community. Since 2002, the Rotary Club of West Liberty has sponsored La Casa Hogar Los Angelitos, an orphanage in Manzanillo, Mexico. The club has provided the orphanage with a school bus, a new kitchen and several hours of volunteer work. Several West Liberty Rotarians, including Tom and Mary Pat Brooke and Conrad Gregg, go to Manzanillo each year to help the orphanage make improvements and repairs.
Last year the club received a matching grant from Rotary International to build a cancer treatment center in Brazil. A Rotarian from Brazil who had been a Rotary Exchange student in West Liberty when he was in high school, made the West Liberty Rotary Club aware of his area’s dire need for such a center and the club made it a priority to help him.
Long-time Rotarian and past president Ken Noble and his wife, Jo, spent time in India administering polio vaccines. Rotary’s Polio Plus initiative has helped eradicate polio in almost every country in the world. There are only four endemic countries left in the world, the lowest ever. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only countries left with cases of the debilitating disease.
The Rotary Club of West Liberty is part of a global community so it seems natural that the club has international members. The club’s president in 2008 was Gerry Wickham, who was born and raised in Wexford, Ireland. This year’s president is Deepak Giri, hailing from Nepal. Another past president was born in Mexico and a former member was from Germany, to which he returned.
The club currently has seven female members, ranging in age from 28 to 80.
The club has also seen multiple generations of families throughout the years. Jim Carey is a third generation Rotarian. His grandfather was a founding member. Bob Cline is a second generation Rotarian. His father was club president during World War II. There are currently two generations of Tharps in Rotary. Dr. Michael Tharp and his son, Bill, are both club members. Two generations of Melicks have been Rotarians. Henry was a founder and Filmore was the most recent member. Two generations of Keeles have been members and Jim is a current member. There have been three generations of Brookes in Rotary. Tom is a 58-year member.
Current officers are Deepak Giri, President; Tom Brooke, President-Elect and Treasurer; Jim Conrey, Secretary.
To find out more about Rotary or to become a member, speak to any current Rotary member. Visit the Rotary stand at the fair to find out more about meeting times and places.