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District Governor's Message to DMAM
Aug 30, 2019
Erna Morain was born in the Netherlands but embraces Iowa with a passion—enough to be named the Waukee Citizen of the Year in 2017 for all her community service. She is a living example of Rotary’s 2019-20 theme “Rotary Connects the World”, and holds as friends, hundreds of Rotarians around the US and the world through her Rotary activities. A successful commercial property realtor in Holland, Erna moved to the US in l983. She met her husband, Steve, through a business connection years later, and they married and moved to Waukee in 2004. Both are hands on volunteers in many organizations in the Des Moines area. Steve has retired as General Counsel of Farm Bureau and its insurance companies and stays busy working on boards of Des Moines University, the Iowa Law School Foundation, Insurance Hall of Fame and other organizations, and is a 40 year member of the Rotary Club of Des Moines. Erna and Steve share five adult children and two grandsons. They love traveling and have been all over the US and 27 foreign countries. Erna is a graduate of the Waukee Leadership Institute. She also served on the Waukee Economic Development Corp and currently is on the Waukee Betterment Foundation. She has been a board member, Interim President, and Ambassador of the Year of the Waukee Chamber of Commerce. Erna saves her greatest passion for Rotary. She joined the Waukee Club in 2006, served yearly as a board member and President in 2013-14. She served two years as an Assistant Governor before being nominated as District Governor. She takes special pride in serving as DG, since her father-in-law, Fred Morain, was a DG in the District in 1970-71. She also considers it a personal challenge to encourage more women to seek leadership in Rotary. Erna and Steve are still pretty good athletes. They still find time in their schedules to ski, swim, hike, bike and walk. Erna once completed 15 straight RAGBRAIs. She and Steve hope to walk a mile or two in each Rotary city in the District on their Club visits this year to personally view each Club’s local projects. |
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Latino Heritage Festival
Sep 13, 2019
In 2014, Joe Gonzalez retired from the DM Police Department. Shortly after, he became Executive Director of Latino Resources, Inc., the non-profit organization running the annual Iowa Latino Heritage Festival. This year’s festival takes place Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29 in Downtown’s Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. Joe graduated from DMACC in 1971 and soon after was hired as a Des Moines Police Cadet. Promotion to Police Officer came in 1975. Joe’s next promotion was to the rank of Sergeant in 2004 and he leads the Community Outreach and Protective Services Division. In 2010 he was again promoted; this time to the rank of Lieutenant, commanding the Neighborhood Based Service Delivery Unit. This unit had officers working with the neighborhood associations in the city. He also oversaw the Mobile Crisis Unit responding to calls on individuals that were having mental health crises. In addition, he oversaw the Police Activities League and ran a boxing club for youth. Joe’s a 2007-2008 graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute and was honored with the Community and Visioning award in 2012. He has been recognized by the
In 2003 the Des Moines Rotary Club selected him as the Police Officer of the Year. Upon his retirement in 2014 Chief Judy Bradshaw honored him with the meritorious service award in recognition of his distinguished career. Joe is the highest-ranking Latino in the history of the Des Moines Police Department. He currently serves on the Proteus and Police Activities boards and is a past board member of the Variety Club, Chrysalis Foundation, Polk County Housing Trust Fund, and Broadlawns Hospital. Joe is also currently involved with the Inclusion and Diversity Council and the Equity and Inclusion Committee. He has been a mentor for the Community Connect Program for 4 years. When asked what strong community involvement means to him, Joe responds “this means all community members are involved and engaged in civic activity to make the community better, to help it thrive, and to be inclusive. It’s something that is done in everyday life as we make our decisions and as we work, live, and play in our community.” |
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"Hiding in Plain Sight", the Donald Piper Serial Murder Case
Sep 20, 2019
On June 27th, 2008, Commissioner Eugene T. Meyer appointed John Quinn Director of the Division of Criminal Investigation. Director Quinn began his career with DPS in 1983 after completing the 11thBasic Academy. He was first assigned as a Special Agent for the DCI working general criminal investigations. After 20 years investigating more than 100 homicides and numerous other crimes against person or property, Quinn was promoted to Special Agent In Charge, supervising all field operations, investigations and personnel for DCI's Zone 1. Then in 2003, Quinn was promoted to Assistant Director of DCI in Charge of Field Operations. In his duties as Assistant Director Quinn managed all general criminal investigations, DCI's Cyber Crime Unit and the Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse. In his years of service to DPS, Quinn has been a DPS recruiter, head drill instructor for the DPS Academy, and coordinated DCI firearms training when the division switched from revolvers to semi-automatic pistol in 1993 and 1994. Quinn was also one of DPS' greatest resources in training officers state-wide on the basic techniques of interviewing and interrogation. Quinn is a 1982 graduate of Iowa State University. In his journey toward self-improvement, he also completed Drake University's Certified Public Management Program in 2006 and Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command in 2007. Quinn is also a 2007 Leadership Iowa Graduate. In March of 2014, John was hired the Waukee Chief of Police. |
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Sep 27, 2019
Dr. Kenneth Quinn served for 32 years as a career American diplomat, including as ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. During his diplomatic career, Amb. Quinn served: as a Rural Development advisor in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam; on the National Security Council staff at the White House; as Director of Iowa SHARES, the humanitarian campaign that sent lifesaving aid to starving Cambodian genocide victims.
Since retiring in 2000, he has been president of the World Food Prize (WFP) located in Des Moines Iowa. Established in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, individuals from 19 countries and the United Nations have received the $250,000 annual award for their break through achievements to reduce hunger and malnutrition. The WFP also holds the Borlaug Dialogue symposium (2019 theme-Peace Through Agriculture) and a Global Youth Institute for high school age students.(www.worldfoodprize.org)
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The State of Iowa
Oct 04, 2019
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Sweetpotato Action for Security & Health in Africa
Oct 18, 2019
Speaker Bio Robert Mwanga- 2016 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Robert Mwanga, 2016 World Food Prize laureate, has over 30 years of experience working with research and development teams. In Uganda, he led collaborative multiple-trait improvement of sweetpotato, breeding for increased provitamin A-rich orange-fleshed cultivars to alleviate vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) under the Vitamin A for Africa (VITAA) initiative, Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) project of the International Potato Center (CIP), and HarvestPlus. His work led to the release of 28 sweetpotato cultivars some of which have been widely promoted to combat VAD; using modern methods has improved the efficiency of sweetpotato breeding in SSA. |
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Ethenal 101: Policy Update & Impact on Iowa
Oct 25, 2019
Monte Shaw,
IOWA RENEWABLE FUELS ASSOCIATION
Mr. Shaw is in his 20th year of working on behalf of the biofuels industry, having joined the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) as Executive Director in 2005 following nearly six years as Director of Communications for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) in Washington, DC. Working with a team of three others to pursue IRFA’s mission of fostering the development and growth of the renewable fuels industry, Mr. Shaw is responsible for the management, policy and political agenda, and trade efforts of IRFA. Mr. Shaw began his career by working for the campaigns and official offices of numerous candidates and elected officials, including Steve Forbes, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, U.S. Senator Bob Dole, and U.S. Rep. Jim Lightfoot. Mr. Shaw was raised on a corn and soybean farm just outside of the southwest Iowa town of Shenandoah. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He currently resides in West Des Moines with his wife Tina, daughter Eden, son Max, and two rescue dogs.
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Mental Illness in the Workplace
Nov 15, 2019
Gary Rasmussen earned a master’s degree in Psychology from Walden University and is currently a doctoral candidate to earn his Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology. Gary worked in law enforcement for 18 years, serving as a Drug Task Force member, K-9 officer, Special Response Team (SRT) member and Chief of Police. In 2006, Gary changed career paths and began working in community mental health services. He has lead community and residential service programs, a drop-in recovery center, and Community Integration program. Gary served on the Mobile Crisis Response Team, Crisis Incident Stress Management team, and designed and implemented the Therapeutic Alternatives to Incarceration program in Story County, Iowa. Gary served on NAMI Greater Des Moines’ Board of Directors for four years and joined the organization’s staff in 2018.
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Thanksgiving weekend!
Nov 29, 2019
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Des Moines
Dec 06, 2019
Jay Byers is CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The Partnership is the regional economic and community development organization serving Central Iowa with 24 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce and a network of more than 6,600 regional members. Byers is a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organization Management (IOM), graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute (OUED!) and graduate of Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives' (ACCE) Ford Foundation Regionalism and Sustainable Develpment Fellowship. Prior to his current role, Byers served as the Partnership's Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy. Before joining The Partnership, he worked as District Director for Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell and as an attorney at the Ice Miller Law Firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. Byers is a graduate of Simpson Colege and the University of Iowa College of Law. He resides in Des Moines with his wife, Katie, and two daughters, Sophie and Charlotte. |
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Interventional Orthopedics and How Regenexx os Reducing Self-Funded Employers MSK Costs
Dec 13, 2019
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DMAMers Called Out By Santa
Dec 20, 2019
The DMAM Santa Program is a club tradition where we "recognize" members for being naughty or nice during the year. It's a spirited fun and light hearted program, conceived by some of Santa's elves who've been keeping a sharp eye on Rotarians. Please know that program content is not geared toward children. For this reason, it is best to leave the young ones at home!
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Telling A Great Iowa Story-Hidden In Plain Sight
Jan 01, 2020
Presenters will be Munid McCarty, Director of Development for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Foundation, and Allan Hover III, the great grandson of Herbert Hoover. Allan grew up in Sacramento, California and received a BS in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1993. He is married to Michelle with three children (Mary - 16, Andrew – 13, and Thomas – 10). They have lived in many locations, including Chicago, Little Rock, and Omaha, and currently live in a suburb of Denver, CO. Allan worked for Kiewit Infrastructure for twenty years until 2016 on projects all across the country. Allan also serves on boards related to the Herbert Hoover legacy and has managed independent residential real estate investments since 2009. Allan also enjoys golf, surfing, and travelling; however, of the three activities, he is only skilled at travelling!Mundy McCartney is the Director of Development for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Foundation located in West Branch, Iowa.
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Girl Scouts of Gtr. IA
Jan 02, 2020
Beth Shelton Beth Shelton is the Chief Executive Office of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, overseeing all operations for 13,500 members in portions of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Beth, a life-long amputee, also serves on the board for the Iowa Amputee Golf Association, raising scholarships for families affected by the trauma and impact of limb loss. She has a lifelong love of sports, having been a 3-time collegiate MVP, and coaches youth teams in basketball and softball, as well as leading her local Girl Scout troop. She also serves on the Women Lead Change steering council as well as serving on her local school board. Beth resides in Des Moines. |
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Club Meets at The School
Jan 03, 2020
Wakonda Club is closed the first two weeks of January, so we're taking the opportunity to meet at Capitol School Elementary School to learn more about their programs that help children and the community they serve. The school is located at 320 E 16th Street in Des Moines. The meeting begins at 7 AM and dismisses at 8 AM. We hope all members attend this meeting!
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Q&A With the Voice of the Cyclones
Jan 04, 2020
John Walters is the Director of Broadcasting for Cyclones.tv, and the former sports director at ABC5 in Des Moines. Prior to that, John worked as a sportscaster for KCCI. John is also in his 17th season as the radio play-by-play voice of the Iowa State Cyclones. He’s a Drake graduate. John and his wife, Joni, have three daughters and live in Ankeny.
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Off-Site Meetings at Area Businesses
Jan 10, 2020
This Founders Day allows members to choose to attend a meeting at one of these two locations:
Members need to email bevmclinden.dmamrotary@yahoo.com regarding the location they wish to attend, or sign up at a meeting prior to the January 10th Founders Day. This helps each host to adequately plan food quantities.
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Economic Development, Trade, Culuture & Education
Jan 17, 2020
Note: Two Speakers will be presenting January 17th. Artan Duraku - Minister Consular of the Republic of Kosovo Artan Duraku is a career diplomat with the rank of Minister Consular, of the Republic of Kosovo, as of April 2019 serving as head of the Mission of the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Des Moines Iowa. Artan is Political Scientist and holds a BA in Political Science and MA in European Politics, European Defense and Security from University of Leeds in United Kingdom. During the service in the Kosovo Institution he served over 15 Years in different Institutions such as Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The last three years before moving to Iowa, he served as Head of Policy Planning Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some of the key activities in the institutions are Strategic Planning, Security Sector Review, Counter Organized Crime, and Migration Management. Main objectives of the service in Iowa are related to economic development, trade, culture and education. Artan is married to Zamira Hyseni Duraku and they have a daughter Erika, 9 years old. Astrit Zema - Deputy General Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo Astrit Zemaj basic and postgraduate studies for management and economics as well as for international relations ended in Kosovo and Germany. In October 2009, he joined the diplomatic and consular service of the Republic of Kosovo and was appointed Consul of the Republic of Kosovo in Frankfurt (Germany). Under his leadership, in 2009, the first Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Frankfurt, in which he held the post of Chief Consular Mission, was established and consolidated successfully by November 2015. From November 2015, he was transferred at the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Berlin, in the position of Deputy Ambassador. In October 2012, Astrit Zemaj, Consul of the Republic of Kosovo in Frankfurt, was proclaimed Honorary Member of the International Diplomatic Board, acting within the framework of the German-Asian Economic Forum, based in Frankfurt. In June of 2016, Astrit Zemaj, Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Germany, held a lecture at the Academy for Diplomatic Culture - ICD in Berlin, on the theme: "Peacebuilding process, its preservation and advancement in the Balkans and the role of Kosovo". In December 2017, he was appointed "Charges d'Affaires ad Interim" in charge of the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Germany. During the nineties, Astrit Zemaj was actively engaged in political and military processes for the freedom and independence of Kosovo. After the end of the war in Kosovo, Zemaj has participated in the training operations of US and NATO forces in the framework of peacekeeping missions for Kosovo. In 2013 he published the book titled "The Legitimacy of Military Humanitarian Intervention in Kosovo". The book was promoted in New York and Frankfurt, and in 2014, by Monroe College in New York, USA was honored with the prestigious "Honor of the Moroe College" award. While in 2017 he published the second book "Europe at the crossroads and the rise of the Third Reich in Germany, 1918-1939", which is a single study of this kind in Albanian about the situation in Germany from a political, diplomatic, military and economic, between the two world wars, 1918-1939. Astrit Zemaj, lives in Prishtina. She is married and has four children, three girls and one boy.
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Healing and Overcoming Adversity
Jan 24, 2020
SANDRA ROHRER
Sandra Rohrer has been an esthetician for over twenty years. Her love for adventure has taken her to Cuba, El Salvador, and Colombia. She enjoys speaking, writing and is currently working on her memoir.
Her family lost everything in a house fire when she was a child, and her mother was murdered when Sandra was 19. Sandra's story includes not just the search for a murderer and trying to find the identity of her birth father, but is a story of healing and overcoming adversity. It took 20 years without anyone being held accountable for the murder until the story was featured on TNT's Cold Justice show. And now she is in the middle of writing a book about her story.
Recently, she told her “True Tall Tale” at the Hoyt Sherman Place for the Des Moines Storyteller Project. Her unique story of tragedy, joy, and overcoming heartache has led to a passion to see people walk in emotional freedom.
Sandra lives in Ankeny with her family and cockapoo.
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Eliminating Barriers to Financial Access For Underserved Communities
Feb 07, 2020
Nana Coleman is originally from Milwaukee, WI and graduated from Drake University in 2013 with a degree in Actuarial Science. He is a credentialed actuary, presently working in modeling and risk management in the Life Insurance Division at Principal Financial Group. Outside of work, he gets his hands on a variety of things that tend to be incredibly unrelated, some of which include: membership in the Zeta Kappa Lambda chapter Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and leading some of it's local educational initiatives, being one of the co-founders and a current board member of Pyramid Theatre Company, serving as the Des Moines Roosters Australian Football Club's current president (you should join us!), among other things that present interesting problems to solve. HIs interest in financial inclusion began nearly 10 years ago as he sought an intersection between his aptitudes in mathematics and his fundamental interest in human dignity. He started Bridge Solutions, LLC, a research and design firm in 2017 to more actively pursue that interest. |
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Animal Welfare & Consumer Protection
Feb 21, 2020
Mindi Callison is the Founder and Executive Director of the national nonprofit organization, Bailing Out Benji which exists to provide the most current and accurate data surrounding the commercial dog breeding industry. Mindi founded Bailing Out Benji at 21 years old after falling victim to the puppy mill industry by way of a local pet store, who offered her a credit card with high interest. Upon learning about the pet store/puppy mill connection and learning about the predatory lending practices that these stores utilize to take advantage of low-income families, Mindi knew that she needed to act. Bailing Out Benji and its research have been instrumental in passing humane ordinances across the country, they have also been the driving force behind exposing the national puppy laundering scheme that is currently happening in numerous states. What started in small town Iowa has quickly grown into a national nonprofit with volunteer teams all over the country.
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