Amy Bloch, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, spoke to the club on Monday. Ms. Bloch stated that while they are a Catholic organization, they serve people of all faiths and backgrounds. Their mission is to reach those on the fringes, the marginalized and the poor, just as Jesus did. The organization's main office is in Sioux City and has satellite offices in Fort Dodge and other cities in Iowa. She reported that 90% of the services Catholic Charities provides are mental health services, though they offer parenting classes, advocacy and continuing education. They also provide free mental health assessments for children, Closet of Hope, debriefing of 1st responders and frontline workers (nurses, doctors, EMTs, etc.). They accept Medicaid, private insurance, private pay and have a sliding fee scale, which is supported by United Way, for services for those uninsured or under-insured. Ms. Bloch noted that 20% of physicians are having suicidal thoughts and there has been a 40% increase of anxiety due to the pandemic. At this point in time, they are returning to telehealth service provision due to the rise in COVID-19.
President
President Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Rotary Foundation
President Nominee
Membership
Treasurer Assistant
Board Member to June 31 2021
Board Member to June 31 2022
Board Member to June 31 2023
Board Member to June 31 2021
Child Protection Officer
Secretary Assist
Board Member to June 31 2022
Board Member to June 31 2023
Immediate Past President
Rotary Club of Fort Dodge
Cameron Nelson, President
515-570-0211
Rotarian Randy Kuhlman was pictured in the monthly edition to the "Messenger." the "Fort Dodge Business Connection" insert. Randy provided an updated from the Community Foundation and United Way by emphasizing the potential impacts of COVID to the community, particularly on the very low income.
Rotarian Jesse Ulrich appeared on the front page of the Tuesday "Messenger" with an article outlining how the Fort Dodge Community Schools would continue with hybrid learning through the end of December.
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley met with Rotary through a COVID-19 Zoom Conference on Monday. Mr. Grassley was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1958, the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974, and to the U.S. Senate in 1980. He is currently the ranking member on a variety of committees important to Iowa, include the hugely significant Finance Committee. As with his tradition of meeting each year in all 99 Iowa Counties the meeting by Zoom was one of our most attended meetings during the pandemic and as normal his comments were very brief and the 45 minute session was primarily set for questions and answers. No question was refused or avoided. A summary follows:
What can Iowans expect to happen in the Senate over the next three weeks:
- On December 11th the current continuing resolution to fund the government expires and something is required. Any action will depend upon the Democrats and the incoming Biden Administration. Mr. Grassley's best estimate is that another continuing resolution will be passed to take the government to February, 2021. He hopes that a consensus on government funding can be implemented to carry through the fiscal year of September 30th, but is not hopeful as a potentially new administration would want their priorities inserted for that length of a time frame.
- Any CARES effort is probably dead until the new Congress in January
- There will be a President to take an oath of office on January 20th. Until then we must let the systems in place "do their thing" to sort out issues in an extremely close election
What will happen to the Georgia Senate Races:
- Republicans need to take at least one of the two open seats to retain control of the Senate
- Rumour is that people in Georgia may prefer to have a divided government and therefore support Republican candidates
- You will hear a lot about the Progressive Agenda during the upcoming campaign which may play to favouring Republicans
COVID-19
- We will have a vaccine soon with both Pfizer and Madena having excellent results on test trials. Serum is now in production for sufficient vaccine for all of the U.S. and some of the World
- The virus will probably not be under control until we have mass vaccinations
Infrastructure
- A remnant from the current Legislative Year, that will probably carry-over until the next Legislative Year. The system must first receive the input from the probable Biden administration before any process can begin - i.e... what are the priorities (Democrats will not want to negotiate any bill until the next President is determined)
- Could be an easy bill and infrastructure has broad support as to need and a way to jump-start the economy after COVID-19
Future Trade Agreements Expected
- United Kingdom
- Countries of Subsaharan Africa, especially Kenya
- Japan
- With Biden in the White House we may see the Trans Pacific Partnership again. With Trump as President more singular deals
Election Fraud
- Type 1 - Mailing out of ballots without individual verification of requests is bad and must be addressed. This process is ripe for fraud
- Type 2 - Some normal things occur that raise red flags, but probably not enough to change an outcome. Examples are computer glitches that are being found and fixed
- Overall - Let the legal challenges proceed and let the counties/states continue to sort-out the issues. The court system will probably become involved where Pennsylvania permitted submittal of ballots after the constitutional limits for the process
- Trust in the system is at an all time low, which is bad. See note above about mass mailing of ballots
What is the mood in Congress
- The House will be very close and will require bipartisan efforts to move major legislation as Democrats may end up with a 3-4 vote majority, one of the smallest of recent times. Speaker Pelosi will probably be reelected, but will have trouble keeping the Progressive Wing under control
- The age-old institution of the Senate requires bipartisanship with the 60% rule, which may, or may not be in jeopardy pending the Georgia runoffs
- Mr. Grassley said he worked with Biden as a Senator for 40 years and had a good relationship with him on compromising issues.
Will a President Biden get his $4 Trillion Tax Increase?
- No, not in a time of high unemployment and a down economy
Can the current unbalanced playing field between banks and GSEs be solved?
- The issue is known, but not much has happened in the past other than several public meetings. It is a problem that needs to be addressed
President vs Congress
- Over the past 12 years too much of what Congress should be doing has been deferred to the President. Much of the Presidential actions by executive orders have been challenged and defeated in the courts. The solution is for Congress to begin to do their job and thus "reign in the Presidents."An example is that Congress must do Tariffs, not the President.
Minutes and/or Financial Reports for the 2020-2021 Rotary Year have been posted to the members only section of the Website and are available for viewing by accessing the Members Only Section.
The latest addition:
- Minutes for the October 26th Meeting of the Board of Directors
- Minutes for the September 28th Meeting of the Board of Directors
- Financial Reports for Month Ending September 30th 2020
- Proposed Budget for Rotary Year July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021
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The following are tentatively identified as the key person each month that will schedule club meetings for that month. Please contact the appropriate person to ask for a program to be scheduled.
July - Cameron Nelson
August - Cheryl O'Hern
September - Rhonda Fitchett
October - Cameron Nelson
November - Amy Bruno
December - David Fierke
January - David Fierke
February - Kraig Barber
March - Elizabeth Stanek
April - Michael Devine
May - Teresa Naughton
June - David Fierke
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Rotary is a service organization comprised of community leaders of various professions dedicated to humanitarian causes locally and throughout the world. The club budgets funds annually for a variety of local causes that may be made available for requests made throughout the year for which the Board of Directors may want to support. To make application for funds, complete the application online by clicking HERE.
Fort Dodge Noon Rotary Club Grant Guidelines
Mission: Rotary is a service organization comprised of community leaders of various professions dedicated to humanitarian causes locally and throughout the world. Simply put, Rotary is an organization that is out to do "good" in the world.
Vision: It is incumbent upon the Fort Dodge Noon Rotary Club and its Board of Directors to be good stewards of available resources. The club budgets dollars annually. The budget may fund identified programs. The club also has a small “Special Fund” available for requests made throughout the year for unbudgeted causes, which the club and Board may want to support.
Eligibility for the Special Fund: Grants must have the support of one or more members of the Fort Dodge Noon Rotary Club. Funds are granted in support of humanitarian causes. Causes may relate to youth, poverty prevention/intervention, community betterment, health care, human services, and more. There are many, many good causes. There are also limited dollars. Grant awards will not exceed the dollars available in the special fund. Preference may be given to one-time projects or to programs that are deemed to have sustainability. For example, grants may be given to a building projects to provide some seed money to start an educational program that the schools will fund in the long term. Collaboration with other funding sources is encouraged.
Process: A Fort Dodge Noon Rotary Grant Application must be completed for consideration utilizing the on-line application form.
- Once received, the Club President will present the Grant Application to the Board at the next regular Board meeting. The President will also communicate the balance of the Special Fund.
- The Board will consider the Grant Application and vote on the request, deciding one of three outcomes:
- The request will be fully funded
- The request will be partially funded
- The request will not be funded.
- The Club President will communicate the decision with the grant requestor.
- If dollars are to be awarded, the Grant Application, with approval note, will be given to the Club Treasurer to pay and the treasurer will cut a check.
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Your Rotary Club provides an easy way for you to contribute to the Rotary Foundation, the major financial arm of Rotary that does Polio Plus and Foundation Grants. The program permits you to ask the Treasurer to add an amount each quarter to your quarterly dues statement as a contribution to the R.I. Foundation. The Treasurer then collects these amounts and writes a joint check to the Foundation for all funds contributed by members. If you are interested please complete the following form and provide to Treasurer John Nielsen.
