The Rotary Club of Ankeny is now 4 months from completing 50 years of service to the Ankeny Community and will be celebrating with a gala on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at the FFA Enrichment Center. Here is a moment from the history of Rotary and the Rotary Club of Ankeny:
The first meetings of the Rotary Club of Ankeny were held at the "Trader's Inn" (Later Elwell's and now where The Attic is located.) on Highway 69. The Club then met at the Best Western Inn from 1983 until moving to Elwell's in June, 1986. In June 1993, the Club moved to The Boulevard and then met for year from 1995-1996 at Wallaby's Down Under before moving to Duffy's. In December 2001, the Board discussed changing meeting locations and decided it needed to be a Club decision. They decided to be "Roving Rotarians" for the month of January, 2002, as they moved each week from the Best Western, Golden Correl, Happy Chef, and Pintasse. An evaluation form was developed to rate each restaurant on the quality of food, acoustics and accommodations, parking, service and accessibility. The Pintasse received the highest rating, but a final decision was tabled until the Club had a chance to meet at Benchwarmers. The Pintasse received the highest rating, and it was decided to move the weekly meetings to this location beginning in March, 2002. Subsequently, Pintasse decided not to host Rotary meetings and the Ankeny Golf & Country Club offered to accommodate Rotary Club meetings but on Tuesdays instead of Monday. The first noon meeting for the club at the AG&CC was held on Tuesday, June 11, 2002, and the Club has been meeting there ever since.
