At the West Des Moines session of the District 6000 Conference on April 29th, Todd Eipperle was named one of sixteen Rotarians in District 6000 who were nominated by their clubs to receive the Paul Hellwege Guardian of Integrity Award. This award honors individuals who have made contributions in business, media, academia or government and who have by their actions, writing, policies, and public pronouncements strengthened and fostered development of integrity and ethical practices, and who have made sacrifices and/or undertaken risks to uphold Rotary's Core Value of integrity.
Todd is the Director of Annual Giving for the Mid-Iowa Council, Boy Scouts of America and has served his country for 36 years first as an Iowa National Guardsman and now as a Sergeant Major in the U. S. Army Reserve. His service has included three deployments overseas including an assignment to an Afghan National Guard Army unit where he was involved in an ambush. Although wounded himself, he returned fire, killing the attacker and likely saving the lives of other members in his unit. Todd has earned numerous awards while serving his country including the Bronze Star for his heroism and a purple heart for his wounds. Since Todd is currently on deployment in Kuwait, his wife, Julie, accepted the Guardian of Integrity Award on his behalf.
Each of the 66 clubs in District 6000 had the opportunity to nominate one member each year to receive the Guardian of Integrity award. Ankeny is one of only two clubs in the District to have a recipient of this award in each of the past eight years.
