Stories

Will you be joining Rotary in October 24? Click on the image for more info on the Livestream event on October 24th.

Here's a link to the Water Matters Day video produced by Clay Myers-Bowman. Feel free to share!

Water Matters Day Video

Due to technical difficulties (um, where's the IT guy?) Cherlyn wasn't able to talk about ClubRunner. But the student we seleced to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) in Lawrence was on hand to share with us about her experience. What a great young woman!

Thanks Brooke! You are a great representative of Rotary.

We also recognized three members who have recently brought new members into the club!

This is Cherlyn NOT giving a presentation about ClubRunner. Maybe next time.

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman

There are two sides to Manhattan. While there are 26,000 jobs here, the food bank served 25,000 people last year.

Karen receiving yet another pin for her dedication and generosity.

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

Great meeting and attendance. Lots of great information about the committees and what they do.

Our greeter: Barry Disney.

Scott Olesky explaining the Club Social committee.

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

Several Konza Rotarians presented a check to the City of Manhattan and Mayor Wynn Butler for the purchase of a flood gauge on Wildcat Creek. Funds were raised through Water Matters Day earlier in the month. Congrats!

Notice that 2 of the 5 current city commissioners are active members of our club. 

Photo by Clay Myers-Bowman.

And Doug Chapman makes it three new members in two weeks. We are on a roll!

Our presenter was Vern Henricks, a fellow Rotarian (Manhattan Noon Club) and a friend of many in our club. As the CEO/President of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, Vern has his hands full with finding the funding to address a myriad of community needs. Thanks Vern.

And Tyler Darnell was our greeter. Tyler is an attorney at Arthur Green law firm here in Manhattan.

All photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

Here are a few pics from the incredibly successful Water Matters Day on August 9th. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a huge success including all our sponsors including Walters Morgan (our premier sponsor).

All photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

Our speaker today was John Armbrust, executive director of the Governor's Military Council. He explained the importance of letters from the community in support of Fort Riley during the current environmental impact study by the DoD. 

We also inducted two new members:

Crystal Bryant-Kearns with Mercy Regional Health Systems.

And Paulette Warren. Our greeter was Dirk Daveline from Steel and Pipe Supply.

All photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

We were back at Meadowlark Hills today, but met in the Prairie Star dining room due to the Market Place (think high-end garage sale) event this weekend. It's always a treat to hear from Lyle Butler, and he didn't disappoint. According to Lyle, there's one question he's gotten nearly every week of his tenure at the Chamber (14 years): When is Red Lobster going to open a store in Manhattan?  The answer? Not any time soon. I guess the residents of Manhattan REALLY like their Red Lobster.

Each person represents 100 hotel rooms in the Manhattan area, in 2004. By the end of 2014 we'll have nearly 1500 hotel rooms. Wow.

A great leader and promoter of Manhattan.

Our greeter and inspiration deliverer...Shelli!

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman

It's always good to break up the rhythm of weekly meetings by visiting a local business or organization. This week we met at Strecker-Nelson Gallery in downtown Manhattan. The Strecker-Nelson is the oldest commercial art gallery in Kansas.  It has more than 5000 sq ft for display and approximately 200 artists are represented in all media. Thanks to Jay and Barb for being such great hosts.

A true gem of the Flint Hills!

The Pop Up Gallery on the lower level was full of colorful artwork and people!

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman

Great meeting on Friday with over 20 students from The Institute for Environmental Sustainability attending and three of them speaking. Could a group of millennials be more engaging and articulate?

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

Here's Benjamin Asante from Netherlands.

This is Gabriel Lagerström de Jong from Sweden.

And this is Pamir Ehsas from Norway.

It's always great to have young people visit our club and share their enthusiasm and passion with us. 

Several members of the Konza Rotary Club, family members, and employees of members, took to the Kaw and Kansas Rivers on Saturday to float and work on picking up trash and debris. It turned in to a hot day, but everyone had a great time of service and fellowship. Service above self!

Photos by Clay Myers-Bowman.

What a treat for our first presenter of the new Rotary year to be our own member Debra Rodenbaugh-Schaub: District #5710 Governor! "Rotary is a gift!" she reminded us. "Who are you going to give it to?"

We had a great meeting this morning and honored lots of people. First, Mark Skochdopole got a pin for sponsoring Rory Peddicort into the club.

Then, Cherlyn White-Conklin received her second Paul Harris Fellow pin.

Then Lucy Williams was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by Steve Shields and Action Pact Design.

Recognized for her quiet commitment and hard work to the Club over the past year, Dori Milldyke was awarded the Quiet Rotarian of the Year Award.

And finally, Doug Kinney was recognized for years of dedication and service to the Club as the Rotarian of the Year!

And if that wasn't enough, our new District 5710 Governor, Debra Rodenbaugh-Schaub brought home the Governor's Banner.

And last but not least, Club President Rich Jankovich passed the gavel to new Club President Lisa Sisely. 

What a fun and energetic meeting this morning. Congrats to everyone for a great year. And we're all looking forward to continuing to serve our community, the region, and the entire Rotary family. 

Gary Duggan passing the ceremonial banner to our new District Governor, Debra Rodenbaugh-Schaub. It's going to be a great year! Just have to find a place to hang it for the year!

Interesting presentation this morning by Christian Cruz. As a K-State graduate student, Christian received a Rotary Global Grant (with the support of our club and the noon club) in 2013 to study Wheat Blast (a plant disease) in Bolivia. You can read more about the research here. And as Patrick Schaub reminded us, Rotary Global grants are made possible by contributions to the Rotary Foundation.

Other highlights:

• Today was Noda's last meeting with us. It's been great to have her as a member the past couple of years and we wish her (and her family) well on their journey.
• Debra Rodenbaugh Schaub will be installed tonight as the next District #5710 Governor. You can attend the ceremony during the Jazz Festival at Corporate Woods in Overland Park. Congrats Debra!
• Next week the gavel passes from current Club President Rich Jankovich to President-Elect Lisa Sisley.

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Here's a hearty welcome to Dean Dierksen, our 100th member. Wow! What an accomplishment! And thanks to his sponsor Sladana Hudson. A wonderful example of how to keep spreading the news about Rotary and continuing to grow. 

Photo by Clay Myers-Bowman.

From Left to Right: Club President Rich Jankovich, Program Chair Lucy Williams, Dean Dierksen, and Sladana Hudson.

Fatmah Al-Qadfan, K-State student, received the Rotary International Student Scholarship. Congratulations!

Candidates were selected based on financial need, benefits of the graduate or undergraduate training to the individual’s country upon his/her return home, academic credentials and performance based on the completion of a minimum number of credit hours.  A big thanks to Karen Davis who aided the selection process.

Congratulations again Iveta!

(Shown are Iveta Kesane, left and MKR President Casey Culbertson, right)

Congratulations to this year's MATC Scholarship Recipient, Emily Hemreck-Cassel.  Emily is a student in the Practical Nursing program.  A big thank you to Becky Claus for helping with the selection process.

 Congratulations again Emily! (Shown are Becky Claus, Konza Rotary Vocational Service Committee Chair, left and Emily Hemreck-Cassel, right).

It was another successful Rotary Free Skate Day at the City Park Ice Rink.  Rotarians from both the Manhattan Konza and Manhattan Rotary clubs worked alongside Manhattan Parks and Recreation to pass out skates to 834 attendees and served a total of 642 hot chocolates.  With funds donated by both clubs and a match from the City, Manhattan Parks and Recreation will be able to purchase 50 new pairs of skates.  A big thank you to all those who donated their time.

Friday, November 1st, we welcomed two new members into our great club, Kevin and Katie!  Kevin is a Commercial Lender at INTRUST Bank.  Katy is with the Riley County Health Department.  If you haven't had a chance yet, please say hi and Meet Kevin and Katy!

Congratulations to Doug Kinney for achieving his Paul Harris Fellowship +4!  Many thanks to Doug for his dedication to the Rotary Foundation!

The Konza Rotary Club continues to grow with the induction of Brain Thompson as the club's newest member.

 New member Brian Thompson (R) with Membership Chair Rich Jankovich (L).

The Konza Rotary Club continues to grow with the induction of Amber Hamilton as the club's newest member.

 New member Amber Hamilton (R) with Membership Chair Rich Jankovich (L) and sponsor Michelle Crow (C).

The 3rd annual Rotary Free Skate Day sponsored by the Manhattan Noon club and Konza Rotary club was a huge success.

I have included a few of the letters and receipts we have recevied from organizations that have received our cup collection money.  Konza Rotarians impacting the local community:

Dr. Noel Schulz, K-State's first lady and Paslay professor of electrical and computer engineering speaking to the Konza Rotary club.

The annual "Thank You" notes have arrived!

Reading, Kan: Seventy volunteers from eleven central and eastern Kansas Rotary Clubs spent Saturday with chain saws, wood splitters, backhoe and hand saws clearing trees damaged in the EF-3 tornado that hit the town of Reading on May 21. Konza Rotary Members Deb Rodenbaugh Schaub and Patrick Schaub were able to attend and help with the tornado clean-up. 

On Tuesday, November 3, 2011 a combined group of Rotary Volunteers from the Manhattan Konza Rotary Club (morning club) and the Manhattan Rotary Club (noon club) affixed Rotary stickers to 540 paperback dictionaries and thesauruses.

Bill Lansdowne, Manhatan Konza club president, Sheila Hochhauser, Manhattan Noon Club and Travis Say, Manhattan Konza Club process books for delivery.

Summer Lewis, alumna of Kansas State University, Manhattan, is our Rotary Peace Fellow. She is working on a  master's in international studies, peace and conflict resolution at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia in February 2011.

We had a great tour of the Farrar Corporation in the Manhattan Industrial Park.  Farrar Corporation specializes in Ductile Iron Castings, Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI), casting production, casting design, patterns, CNC machining, milling and all the services of a machine shop and ductile iron foundry.

The Manhattan Konza Rotary club was privelaged to be the first local service organization to get a tour of the Flint Hills Discover Center which is under construction.  

The Konza Rotary club continues to grow, as two new members were inducted at our September 16th meeting.

Manhattan Konza Club members attended a joint meeting with Manhattan Noon club and Junction Noon club and Junction City Flinthills club.   

A huge THANK YOU to Walters-Morgan Construction for commiting as he 2011 Premier Sponsor of Water Matters Day.

Fundraising efforts by the Manhattan Konza Rotary club raised nearly $7,500 in donations and in-kind gifts for the first annual Water Matters Day!

Linda Knupp, Manhatan library director and dictionary project coordinator for Konza Rotary reported, "Approximately 30 volunteers from both clubs met on September 15^th to label, sort, box and deliver books. Took less than 30 minutes with so much help Over 500 books distributed to 5^th graders at 9 schools in USD 383, to two private schools and the local home school organization."

Pictured below are Manhatan Rotary and Konza Rotary volunteers working in the library auditorium at labeling and distributing the books. 

We are pleased to have Patrick McLaughlin join our club.  Patrick is an Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church.  If you haven't had a chance to say hello, please introduce yourself!  Welcome Patrick!

Karen Davis is shown modeling the GTM all-cotton denim club logo shirt. 

The Konza Rotary Club continues to grow with the induction of Haley Wilson as the club's newest member.

 New member Haley Wilson with Membership Chair Rich Jankovich (L) and sponsor Karen Roberts (R).

On October 21st, 2011 Dr. Amy Gross was inducted in the Konza Rotary Club.  We are exicted to welcome another service-minded individual in to the world of Rotary.

Manhattan Konza Rotary welcomes two new members for the month of August 2010: Michelle McAllister, who is in commercial accounting with Varney & Associates, lives here in Manhattan. Also welcome Sean Ruth, specializing in electronic sales and installation with Redi Systems, Inc., who also resides here in Manhattan.  Accompanying photo includes (L to R): Club President, Josh Salmans; Dist. Gov. John Vandehalle; new member Sean Ruth; Sean's sponsor, Mark Skochdopole; Michelle's sponsor, Barry Wilkerson; new member, Michelle McAllister; Membership Chair, Casey Culbertson.