Welcome to the Rotary Club of Ankeny
We're glad you stopped by the Ankeny Rotary Club website. Feel free to browse the site and learn all you need to know about Rotary. When you are ready to learn more, we'd like to invite you to attend one of our lunch meetings. Visitors, prospective members and other guests are always welcome to attend our meetings. The Ankeny Rotary Club is located in Ankeny, Iowa, USA. The club meets each Tuesday at 11:45am at the Ankeny Golf & Country Club.
Click here for directions.For more information about our club or to inquire about joining our club, please contact our club Secretary..
Next Club Event
Summerfest Parade - Ankeny, through the eyes of a child. That's the theme for this year's Summerfest parade, scheduled for Saturday, July 11, . Once again, the Ankeny Rotary will be coordinating the big event. Contact Tim Friendman for more information about how you can help.
Ankeny Rotarian of the Year
Congratulations! - Cathy Spenceri has been selected as the 2008-2009 Ankeny Club Rotarian of the year. Thanks to Cathy for her significant contributions to the club.
Ankeny Rotary Club History
In 1968 Milt Aunan, a Rotarian from Bettendorf, Iowa, was transferred to Ankeny. Milt was contacted by a former District Governor about getting a Rotary Chapter started in Ankeny. In order to do this Milt had to get the approval from all the Rotary Clubs in the Greater Des Moines area. This took a little time but through Milt’s persistence and help from the
Northwest Rotary Club the approval was achieved in 1972 with a target starting date of September 16, 1972. The first meeting was to be held at the Best Western Inn on East First Street and SE Delaware in Ankeny. The rules stated that in order for an active chapter to start you must have 26 people before a charter could be granted. The goal was reached quite easily. The Northwest Rotary Club was very supportive in starting the Ankeny Club. Their members would join with us and were most helpful in everyway possible.
The Northwest Club hosted a grand dinner for our charter night, picking
up the tab for the Ankeny members and spouses. A very special bond
developed between the Ankeny Club and the Northwest Club because of all
the support that was given along with many man-hours helping fine tune
the Ankeny Club.
The Ankeny Club has always shown great respect for the Northwest Members
that makeup at our meeting, by giving the northwest member the
opportunity to pay a fine for being present or for any other reason that
might come up and we Ankeny Club members are treated with the same
opportunities when we makeup at the northwest club meeting. This
feeling and support that we have for each other must never stop, as the
fine money goes towards good service projects and keeps our clubs very
close.
The first officers of the Ankeny Rotary Club:
President – Milt Aunan, Sr.
Vice Pres – Gene Leedom
Secretary – Bruce Anderson
Treasurer – Mel Bauman
There were 27 founding members of the Ankeny Rotary Club.