Stories

Interested in Joining Rotary??

The Jefferson Rotary Club now has two meeting times! For those whose schedule permits, our noon club meets every Monday at 12:00pm in the Rotary Room at the Jefferson Public Golf Course. A hot meal is served and a speaker presents on a topic of interest for the community.
 
This past summer, the Jefferson Rotary Club expanded its scope by launching an evening "satellite" club. The club meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6pm. Children are welcome to attend with their parent(s)!  The satellite club has money set aside for community projects and benefits from our annual charity auction, just as our noon club does.
 
If you have a community need in mind, are service oriented, and are looking for group camaraderie, consider membership in one of our club groups! Ask any Rotarian for more information about membership. 
 
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
 
 Interested in Joining Rotary?? 2023-11-08 06:00:00Z 0

Applications available for Rotary grants

Applications available for Rotary grants
 
The Rotary Club of Jefferson is now accepting applications for grants from the proceeds of its 2022
charity auction.

For the past 22 years, the club has directed proceeds from its annual charity auction to worthy non-
profit organizations and projects throughout Greene County. More than $475,000 has been aimed at
helping schools, libraries, community organizations and other entities make improvements and services
that benefit the county’s quality of life.
 
Read more...
Applications available for Rotary grants AWP 2023-03-06 06:00:00Z 0
24th annual Charity Dinner and Auction set for Nov. 18 Tori Riley 2022-08-25 05:00:00Z 0
Jefferson Herald Article Adam Pedersen 2022-04-29 05:00:00Z 0

100 Years of Service!

Rotary Club of Jefferson:  Celebrating
100 Years of Service and Positive IMPACT!
 
Sunday, May 15, 2022,
Reception 5-7 pm
Jefferson Community Golf Course
Rotary Room
 
The program at 5:30 pm will feature inspiring messages from beneficiaries of the
Club’s impact and support of their programs.  Over $650,000 has been generated for the benefit of youth, education, community development, health and other projects throughout the county and the world.  You won’t want to miss these stories!
 
 
 
RSVP to email: jeffersoniarotary@gmail.com
 
In recognition of the Club’s Centennial the following projects have been completed or are underway:
  • A District 6000 grant is enabling the Rotary Outdoor Classroom update.  The project was started for the club’s 75th with the planting of 75 trees and bushes.  Additional trees are being added to the area adjacent to the Greene County Elementary School and naming plaques added.  A pollinator garden is being added at the request of teachers who want to include this is topic in their curriculum.
 
  • $50,000 in proceeds from the Club’s 23rd Annual Charity Auction (and previous) will fund the development of the Rotary Club of Jefferson’s Dog Park adjacent to the new Greene County Animal Shelter under construction in Jefferson. 
 
  • For nearly two dozen years, the Rotary Club of Jefferson has raised through its Auction hundreds of thousands of dollars for the benefit of countless projects and programs in the area along with the
 
  • sponsorship of generous college scholarships,
  • a High School Interact Club chartered in 1997
  • sending 2 Interact members to India to participate in a District-sponsored National Immunization Day and
  • sponsoring 4 Interact members to Xicotepec, Mexico to assist with the district project there, the first Interactors to participate,
  • along with RYLA sponsorships, and much more.
 
  • Hundreds of young people received a free admission to the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower in Jefferson including a “ride to the top!”  This project was launched in the summer of 2021 as the club began its Centennial celebration.  The tower was designed by District 6000 Past District Governor Dale Belknap in the early 1960s and was dedicated in 1966.  Rising to a height of over 168 feet, the tower features a four octave carillon of 47 bells.  A variety of music emanates from the carillon at regular intervals and also is played during special concerts by “Mahanay Maestros.”
 
  • A special literacy project in with the Club will participate is being launched with a D6000 Literacy grant provided by Save the Children. Our project will at the Head Start program.
Read more...
100 Years of Service! 2022-02-09 06:00:00Z 0

2020 Jefferson Rotary Auction online!

Jefferson Rotarians are preparing for their 22nd annual Charity Auction, slated as an online-only auction with bidding open at 9 am on Nov. 17 through Nov. 21.
 
Several travel packages headline the auction including a one-week stay in a 2 bedroom condo at the Royal Mauian on Maui, Hawaii; a week in a 3-bedroom condo in Gulf Shores, AL, with $500 to spend on “extras”; and a five-night package which may include weekend days at the centrally located historic Mills House hotel in Charleston, SC, along with a carriage ride, a $100 hotel food and beverage credit, and $500 to spend “on the town.”
 
For those who prefer a min-vacation, there are play-and-stay packages from the Wild Rose properties in Jefferson, Emmetsburg and Clinton.
 
Golfers may want to bid on four Goodman Club tickets for the U.S. Senior Open at the Omaha Country Club July 10-11, 2021. The package includes a $500 gift card and two rooms with two queen beds each at either the Embassy Suites in Omaha or the Harrah Casino & Hotel in Council Bluffs (buyers’ choice) for July 10.
 
As in recent years, Hamilton Redi-Mix has donated a truckload of concrete – 10 cubic yards – with an offer to match the high bidder up to $2,000 with a cash donation to the Rotary Club.
 
For sports fans, the auction offers framed autographed photos of Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett; Kris Bryant bobbleheads from his time with the Iowa Cubs; and Iowa and Kansas City Chiefs footballs signed by Ed Podolak.
 
The auction also includes home improvement items, home décor, gift baskets, and, because it’s 2020, a case of Who Gives a Crap toilet tissue. As many as 50 items will be on the auction.
 
In its 21 years, the Rotary Charity Auction has raised more than $600,000 for worthwhile causes in Greene County and, through the Rotary International Foundation, across the globe.
 
This year the Rotary Club is focusing on major projects to mark its centennial, May 1, 2022. The first recipient of Centennial Major Project funds will be the dog park adjacent to the new Greene County Animal Shelter.
 
“We wish we could hold our dinner and a live auction, but we think we’ve found a great pandemic-friendly way to have a fun auction and raise money for community projects,” said Travis Dvorak, Rotary past president and auction chair. “People will find our online format easy to use, and we’re excited by the great items we’ve lined up for the auction,” he continued.
 
The auction is posted at www.32auctions.com/JeffersonRotary. Items are being added daily. Bidding will open Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 9 am and close Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 pm.
 
 2020 Jefferson Rotary Auction online! Jacquelynn Andrew 2020-11-03 06:00:00Z 0

2019 Rotary Auction

Posted on Oct 07, 2019
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Tickets are available now at www.jeffersonrotary.org for the 21st annual Dinner and Auction hosted by the Rotary Club of Jefferson. The gala will be Friday evening, Nov. 15, at the Greene Room at Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson.
 
Since 1999, the annual event has raised more than $580,000 that has supported programs for local schools and youth, community projects, and the humanitarian projects of Rotary International and Rotary District 6000.
 
“We’re excited to be entering the third decade of hosting this fun and worthwhile event,” said auction chair Carol Durbin. “It’s a chance to get together with friends, enjoy a delicious dinner, and raise money for important community causes. With great food, a wide variety of items on the silent and live auctions, and professional auctioneer Dave Whitaker to provide a fast-paced auction, we know it will be an entertaining evening.”
 
This year’s buffet dinner will include prime rib and chicken, with several sides and tempting desserts. As in previous years, there will be complimentary wine on the tables.
 
A social hour will begin at 5:30 pm. The buffet will start at 6:30 and the live auction will follow. Bidding on silent auction items will begin when doors open and continue through the evening. 
 
Tickets are available now at www.jeffersonrotary.org at a cost of $50 each.
 
Persons who want more information about tickets can call Durbin at 515-302-8050 or Adam Pedersen at 515-370-5066.
 
 
 2019 Rotary Auction AWP 2019-10-07 05:00:00Z 0
Club will disburse more than $40,000 in auction proceeds 2018-01-05 06:00:00Z 0

Impact of the Rotary Auction

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Thanks to the partnership of individual and business donors with the Rotary Club of Jefferson, the annual Rotary Charity Auction has raised more $500,000 to benefit dozens of non-profit organizations and projects throughout Greene County and the world. Examples of projects receiving funding from the auction include:
Read more...
Impact of the Rotary Auction AWP 2017-10-19 05:00:00Z 0

Will It Build Goodwill and Better Friendships?

Posted by John Brunow
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November 4, the Jefferson Rotary Club will stage the 18th Annual Charity Auction and Dinner. We are working to expand this event by moving to a new location, the Greene Events Center at the Wild Rose Casino located at the northwest corner of the intersections of Highways 30 and 4 north of Jefferson. We want to create an event with regional impact.

We extend an offer to Rotary Clubs in West Central Iowa so they can benefit from participating in this Charity Auction and Dinner. When Rotarians and their guests fill the seats for a table (8) or more at the event the Jefferson Rotary Club will pass on 20% of those Rotarians' successful live auction bids to their club. For example, eight guests from the Coon Rapids Club creates a Coon Rapids table. When those Coon Rapids Rotarians are the successful bidders on a live auction item then twenty percent of the winning bid goes to their club. We are promoting and rewarding participation.

Tickets for the Jefferson Rotary Charity Auction and Dinner are $40 per person. We ask that Rotarians from a club allow us to seat them together and introduce them as a group. Our social time begins at 5:30 PM. Supper will begin being served at 6:30 PM. The Auction will follow supper. Our goal is to have you on your way home before 10:00 PM. Although our new Cobblestone Inn right next to the Greene Events Center would be a lovely place to stay.

Won't you join us for this effort to create a regional event benefiting Rotary Clubs in West Central Iowa. Talk this auction up at your club, recruit participants, and register for dinner tickets online using this link:

 

https://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=ee3b88a1-495a-43d7-9533-de5eebd9233b

 

When Rotarians log in using their ClubRunner ID and password then their information for registering is auto filled by ClubRunner.

 

 Will It Build Goodwill and Better Friendships? John Brunow 0