#872, Club Bulletin, Sept 26, 2022
Recap from the Sept 26, 2022 Meeting.
Meeting Run by President: Naomi DeWinter
Invocation: Charla Shafer
Membership: Lucas Gantner-Salvation Army (1st Reading), Taylor Thorpe- Addington Place (1st Reading), Carol Webb- City Administrator (3rd and final Reading)
Online Participation: Thank you, Melanie Alexander, and Jim Stein, for joining our meeting via Zoom. We continue to offer a hybrid meeting each week. Members are invited to attend via zoom or watch the recorded presentation anytime they need to.
Happy News/Announcements: All Happy News funds go towards our scholarship awards.
John Kuhl- John enjoyed the weekend events at the Riverfront, including Almost Friday Fest and OctoBREW Fest. John is looking to fill invocations through the end of the year. Please let him know if you are willing to give an invocation. Micah Colbert- Paul Pate, Secretary of State, will present to our club on October 17th about the fight against Human Trafficking. Shane Orr- Wednesday is the United Way Day of Caring. Over 100 volunteers will complete projects for the elderly and nonprofits throughout the community. Noon Wednesday, everyone is invited to join the United Way for the official campaign kick-off at the Armory Building. Frank Iliff- During the OctoBREW fest event, there were 14 beer vendors and 2 food vendors, including Frank’s daughter Bougie-Dilla. After a great weekend of events, Frank is happy to live in Muscatine. Megan Francis- The Walk to End Alzheimer’s took place Friday night. We are about $4000 from our 2022 goal. Fundraising continues through December 20th; please consider a donation. Charla Shafer- HNI has made a $1 million pledge to the Mulberry Health Clinic project. This is a significant community investment.
Club News:
- Follow the Rotary Club of Muscatine’s Facebook page, @MuscatineRotaryClub.
- Thank you to all the volunteers that helped with Almost Friday Fest. HyVee has agreed to partner for the 2023 season.
- The District Dinner will be hosted in Muscatine for the first time on Friday, October 28th. We are looking for 2 volunteers to assist with check-in for the event.
- Service Event- Friday, October 7th, the City of Muscatine asked for assistance planting trees from their next Forestry grant. We are looking for 8-10 volunteers to help with the project. Contact Megan Francis at mfrancis@crossraodsmuscatine.org to get involved.
- We have 2 board positions available. Please see Naomi for more information.
Presentation:
Casey Koehler- It Takes a Village Animal Rescue and Resources
Casey is originally from Illinois City, IL but considers himself from Muscatine. Casey has been on Active Duty with the Navy for 16 and works as a recruiter in the QCA. Casey has been married to Meagan Koehler for over 14 years, and together they have 2 children, Griffin and Isabelle.
At the beginning of 2020, Casey, his wife, Meagan, and his family were fostering dogs through a rescue in the Quad Cities. Through their experience as fosters, they had ideas of how they could improve the experience. They were encouraged to start their own rescue. In March 2021, they started the nonprofit It Takes a Village Animal Rescue. Since its opening, the Rescue has saved over 500 animals. One of the first significant rescue missions was in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. They collected donations locally, brought them to New Orleans shelters, and returned with 35 displaced animals.
In the last year, the Koehler’s and volunteers have made several trips to a shelter in Oklahoma to rescue animals from overcrowded conditions.
The Shelter is successful due to an established foster network. When taken in, animals visit the vet and receive required shots and a clean bill of health before being available for adoption. Animals are available for adoption on pet finder and hopefully placed in a foster home until adoption. The foster process allows the dogs to live in a home while waiting for their furever home.
The Rescue has assisted the Sheriff’s office with a hoarding situation requiring The Rescue to secure a physical location.
If you are interested in getting involved with It Takes a Village as a volunteer or foster, please get in touch with Meagan and Casey Koehler at ITAVARR@gmail.com.
Meeting Recording:
Passcode: Rotary#1
Upcoming Meetings: Oct.3 – Lutheran Living Safety Committee Findings Oct. 10- TBD, Oct. 17 – Secretary of State (Iowa Businesses against Trafficking), Oct. 24 – Mental Health First Aid.