Fort Dodge Rotary Club
Rotarian Flattery was pictured in the "Messenger" while presenting a service recognition award to Daybreak Rotarian Dawn Larson. Dawn is retiring from city service after a long career in the Community Development Office.
Rhonda Chambers
Rhonda gave information about the Fort Dodge Airport:
- It has 5 full-time employees
- It maintains nearly 1,000 acres
- It generates around $87,000,000 of total area benefit
- The overall budget for the airport is around $836K. Airport income comes from tenant leases, hangar rent, grants, property tax dollars.
- In the last 20 years, property tax revenues used to maintain the airport have risen about 2%
- Most grants supporting the airport require a 10% match. The City of Fort Dodge has been very supportive and has funded numerous grant matches.
- The airport must be compliant with FAA regulations. Such regulations include it remaining open 24/7, maintaining 1,000 acres up to federal standards, it must manage an agricultural farm, maintain runway markings, and more.
- Over the years hangars have been built, the taxiway lengthened, a lagoon drained, property purchased, and building improvements made.
Rhonda shared information about herself:
- Rhonda came to Fort Dodge in 1989, left for a period of time, and returned in March 1997.
- She has been in aviation for around 45 years!
- Rhonda worked at Denver Stapleton-Dallas Love Field.
- Throughout her career she has met famous people like Willie Nelson, Dwight Yokum, and Harrison Ford (just to name a few).
- Rhonda was on the cover of Professional Pilot magazine in June 1997. Her daughter Allison was featured in an aviation calendar for the month of April.
- Rhonda has had wonderful experiences in life, including working with animals like tigers and badgers.
- Rhonda has invested her time in Fort Dodge. She has served on a number of Boards and lead some key initiatives like:
- The annual drive to pick up foreign debris near the shopping area.
- Improve Christmas snowflakes used to decorate the City
- Wrote and received a grant to improve the airport “signage” through art. The artist duplicated the design and made a logo based on it.
- Rhonda will retire in 2025. July 31 will be her last day. Her enthusiasm and drive will be missed. A committee is starting the work of finding her replacement.
The club and its members wish Rhonda the best as she checks off items from her bucket list.
Rotarian Schroeder appeared in a recent "Messenger" as he and the rest of the traditional Honor Flight leadership team of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight was pictured in front of a memorial in D.C. This was the last flight to be organized by the current leadership as all are resigning as a new group is being formed. Well done, Rotarian.
Spin Markket’s Cheryl O’Hern: Marketing, in Today’s World
In the past, marketing was about billboards, print ads, flyers, and the like. They did branding campaigns or lead-generating campaigns.
Much has changed.
Today’s marketing campaigns are much more focused and targeted. Digital resources can tell businesses customer demographics, who is looking at their websites, when their customers are active, and how to find their customers. Digital resources produce tons of data to make marketing efforts and dollars more effective.
Eighty to ninety percent of your next customers come to you online before they ever set foot in your door. They’ll research you before you even know it. Therefore, your company’s first impression comes from social media, the company website, how well the website works, and easily-found content. Photos and videos are really important.
Tools used include geofencing, Search Engine Optimization, Chat GPT, platform reports, and so much more. Podcasts can be turned into reels and sound bites. Podcasts give a business the opportunity to interact and make them seem more approachable.
Cheryl invited everyone to attend Buster’s Bash on Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 10 North 10th Street. There will be live music, food trucks, local vendors, and fun for all ages.
Programs
The following people have volunteered to get speakers for the identified month. There are open slots. Will you consider taking on a month? It's rather easy. Please speak with Programs Chair Renee McDonald, the Club President, or any of the club officers to learn more.
| Month | Person Assigned |
| January | |
| February | Kraig Barber |
| March | Randy Kuhlman |
| April | Teresa Naughton |
| May | |
| June | David Fierke |
| July | |
| August | |
| September | Steven Hoesel |
| October | Jim Knight |
| November | Phyllis Thesier |
| December | Casey Johnson |
May 19th - Mel Schroeder
May 26th - Memorial Day - No Meeting
June 2nd - John Garton
June 9th - Elizabeth Stanek
June 16th - Teresa Naughton
June 23rd - John Daniel
June 30th - Phyllis Thesier
Secretary Teresa Naughton has been uploading Minutes and Financial Reports for the 2022-2023 Rotary Year to the members only section of the Website (Found under Folder Organization and then Subfolder Documents) and are available for viewing by accessing the Members Only Section. Please contact Steve if you need to refresh your password.
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 (Elizabeth Stanek) 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 contact Treasurer Elizabeth Stanek or Foundation Chair Bill Kent.
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