The service organization continues its mission with a renewed emphasis on recruiting members to better serve Fort Dodge. Coupled with thousands in donations, 2020 is off to a great start.

Thanks to support from Rotary International clubs and districts in Brazil and India, a Global Grant of $194,000 will go toward helping thousands of eligible Iowans through access to Community Health Centers. Fort Dodge’s club was one of nine to receive matching funds from Rotary International.

Fort Dodge Noon Rotary provided $5,250 as a local match to the grant, providing a total of about $20,000 which will be used to purchase new equipment for Fort Dodge’s Community Health Center.

With the new funds, the Center will purchase a mobile dental cart and Spot Vision Screener, according to Noon Rotary president Elizabeth Stanek.

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Sarah Livingston serves up some lasagna. The Noon Rotary Club holds Manna Meals every month for low-income families.

“We said we wanted to help the Community Health Center,” said Stanek, upon finding out they received the grant. “It’s kind of a big deal because it’s not only Fort Dodge, but other towns in Iowa where the Rotary has helped secure larger grants around community health centers to serve underinsured people with the right equipment.”

The mobile dental cart will allow dental professionals to travel to sites like preschools and nursing homes to provide dental services, such as cleanings and fillings, on the spot.

The Spot Vision Screener can screen both eyes through what looks like a large view finder, working from a couple feet away to detect vision problems, according to Stanek.

“It can do vision screening without being up close and personal like an eye doctor,” she said. “It’s helpful with a lot of younger and older folks.”

The service group also continues to do its monthly Manna Meal for low-income families and remains active with Meals on Wheels, continuing to look for new opportunities to serve Fort Dodge.

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Dave Beekman rings the bell for the Salvation Army. The Noon Rotary Club volunteers to ring bells for the Salvation Army every year.

Even as the local chapter struggles with some decline in attendance, a renewed vigor for service with its current members makes it a thriving service club.

“Service volunteers are kind of hard to come by sometimes,” Stanek said. “We’re trying to make it even more fun and enjoyable in hopes to attract younger professionals and others who want to serve the community.”

As busy professionals get busier with attention divided, Stanek said it can be hard to commit to yet another opportunity.

“So many groups and activities pull people in different directions,” she said. “I don’t think that people don’t want to volunteer, but it’s hard to make commitments.”

But when they do volunteer and see the results, it spurs a desire to do it more, she said.

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The Noon Rotary club meets every week over the noon hour for a variety of activities that keep Fort Dodgers invested in their community. From left are Dr. Jim Knight, Neil Gadbury, Joseph Tofilon, Janet Secor, Kraig Barber, Dennis Milefchik, Jessie Ulrich, Cameron Nelson, Elizabeth Stanek, Ross Nemitz, John Daniel, Mary Ludwig, Dee Murman, Bill Thatcher, Hans Nielsen, Mel Schroeder, John Garton, Matt Maggio and Steve Hoesel.

“Sometimes it’s just that first step of committing to doing something,” Stanek said.

Some results volunteers have enjoyed seeing are those that have come from the club’s adoption of Snell-Crawford Park since 1996.

Noon Rotary continues to work semi-annually with the city to clean up, landscape, spread fresh mulch and weed with the city on working Saturdays.

“This last year we spent a ton of time with Parks and Rec,” said Kraig Barber, head of the Parks Committee for Noon Rotary.

In 1994, Noon Rotarian Don Kersten expressed an interest in seeing Snell-Crawford Park revitalized for the good of Fort Dodge. As a result of his perception, vision, and love for the park, he convinced the Noon Rotary Club to adopt Snell-Crawford Park as a Noon Rotary project.

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Socials remain a key part of Noon Rotary Club ventures in helping attract new members that bolster service projects.

“Initially this endeavor was massive, not only the scope of the needed work but in the total costs associated with the various projects such as the bridge building, buildings needing repair and overall landscaping,” Barber said.

The revitalization required funding coordination through the Noon Rotary, the City of Fort Dodge, the Deardorf Foundation, and various state agencies like the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Over the years, Barber said many people and businesses have been involved in the revitalization, making Snell-Crawford Park a proud Fort Dodge showcase.

In the last few years, the park has not been accessible via vehicle past the parking lot. For decades people have driven through the park and across the water crossings. Today there is only one water crossing that is still drivable, and much of the park’s area can’t be visited by people in vehicles wanting to enjoy the park on an afternoon drive.

With a presentation to the Fort Dodge City Council, the Noon Rotary Club is aiming to change that soon. Soon the Parks and Recreation Commission will present a long-range plan to finally open the park up more, Barber said.

“There are ways to mitigate the crossing by having a certain marking near the side of the road so that when water is above a certain level, the crossing would be closed,” he said. “Additionally, there could be large limestone landscape-type blocks placed along both sides of the water crossing so vehicles can go down the middle and pedestrians can walk and play along the edges.”

Noon Rotary has reserved $20,000 for immediate release once a plan is approved that includes opening the road to the center of the park and being able to drive across the water crossing when water levels are passable.

“We try to give back,” Barber said. “The emphasis on this is showcasing what Fort Dodge has to offer. When I ride my bike through the trail and see people enjoying it, I think that’s just a good way to give back.”