Home Page | Rotary Club of Morrison

We meet In Person

Wednesdays at 12:10 PM

First Gateway Credit Union

200 N. Base Street
MORRISON, IL 61270-3042
United States of America

Our Rotary club will celebrate 100 years with a gala at Morrison Tech on Saturday, April 20. Doors open at 5:00. Guests will be treated to a presentation by keynote speaker Gary Metivier plus a recap of club milestones over the past 100 years. There is no cost for Rotarians or guests. We can still accept a few more reservations if you contact Mick Welding at mwelding@mchstaff.com or call 815-590-6497.

Morrison Rotary March 2024 Students of the Month

Morrison Rotary Club recognizes March Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary club is proud to recognize seniors Geneva Connelly and Madison Banks as the March Students of the Month.

Geneva is the daughter of Scott and Wendy Connelly. She was very active in school participating in Student Council (4 yrs.), Volleyball (4 yrs), Key Club, B.L.I.N.D leader and National Honor Society (2 yrs each), Pons and Golf (1 yr.) and she attended the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Camp 1 year. She was in club volleyball and swimming for 3 years, assisted with Volleyball Kids Camp and Pons Kids Camp and helped raise money for the Boosters at the annual Whiteside County Fair 4 years. She enjoys sewing, reading, gardening and paddle boarding. Her future plans are to pursue an accounting degree at a 4 year university.

Madison is the daughter of Jason and Melissa Banks. She participated in Student Council, National Honor Society, a B.L.I.N.D leader, Prom Committee, Volleyball and she attended the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Camp. She was also a blood donor, volunteer at the Custom Pak picnic, worked at the beef barn at the Whiteside County Fair, and she assisted with a Volleyball kids camp. She works as a Care Provider at Resthave and she is active in her youth group at church. Her hobbies include crafting, crocheting, and spending time with family and friends while enjoying the great outdoors. Her future plans are to attend Blackhawk and major in Nursing. She would love to work in labor and delivery after finishing her degree at Trinity College.

Pictured here are Madison, President Elect Stan Steines, Geneva and Morrison High School Principal Dave Mills. (l-r)

Pam Pfister Morrison Community Hospital CEO

The Morrison Rotary Club was treated to a presentation by Pam Pfister, CEO at Morrison Community Hospital. Pam shared some challenges in staffing and state reimbursement along with some photos of the most recent expansion and a glimpse of future expansion. She concluded her presentation with a slide to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day.

Brad Yaklich Citizen of the Year

The Morrison Chamber of Commerce would like to congratulate to Brad Yaklich on winning Citizen of the Year! Your contributions to the community through volunteerism does not go unnoticed!

The Morrison Chamber of Commerce recognized Morrison Rotary Past President and Four-time Harvest Hammer Director Brad Yaklich as the 2024 Citizen of the Year! Well deserved Brad. We appreciate your devotion and service to our club!

January Students of the Month

January 2024 Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary Club is proud to recognize Morrison High School seniors Carly Boonstra and Chase Newman as our January Students of the Month.

Carly is the daughter of Thomas and Donna Boonstra. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council and she is a statistician for the wrestling team. She assists with blood drives, and planning student activities such as dances and holiday events. Her hobbies are reading, working out, playing games and spending time with family and friends. She loves to spend time fishing and camping at her family’s cabin in Ptown. Her future plans include attending Sauk Valley College or Illinois State University to major in accounting or business.

Chase is the son of Brooke and Mathew Newman. Chase has been playing basketball and football since he was about 5. He also runs track. He is a member of the National Honor Society. Recently he helped move furniture and products from the Food Pantry in the Methodist Church over to their new location by Kunes. Chase mentioned that Dr. Nicky Eustace from Morrison Community Hospital, who is the team doctor for the football team, really had an impact on his future plans. After talking to her he would like to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy at a college that specializes in that program.

Rotarian Suellen Girard presents her quilts

Morrison Rotarian Suellen Girard presented several beautiful quilts she has created through the years. She consistently makes quilts for veterans to donate to the Quilts of Valor program where these vets get a free quilt to thank them for their service. She demonstrated quilts that take a few hours to design and make to the more intricate patterns that can take months. She is especially proud of this quilt (pictured below) since it was chosen for her alma mater's calendar. Thank you Suellen for your amazing talent and for your dedication to the war veterans

October Students of the Month

October 2023 Rotary Students of the Month Cambell Buikema and Carson Strating

Cambell is the daughter of Jason and Domini Buikema. She has participated in golf in her freshman year and volleyball all 4 years. She is a member of Student Council and the National Honors Society. She has also assisted with the prom committee. Cambell has assisted with community blood drives and she has volunteered at the Morrison Sportsman’s Club. She enjoys working with children, spending time with family and traveling. Her future plans include attending college for nursing with plans to become a nurse anesthetist. She really wants to work with pediatric patients.

Carson is the son of Jason and Erica Strating. He has participated in football where he was team captain 2 years, basketball, baseball (captain 1 year) and track. He has donated many hours working at the Whiteside County Fair in the beef barn and then cleaning the property afterwards. He has also volunteered to help kids play flag football. Finally he has helped sell sandwiches for the Key Club fundraisers and he helped unloading vehicles at the annual recycle day. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, golfing and lifting weights. Carson has worked for the City of Morrison for the past 3 years. His future plans include a college where he can play football. He is undecided on a major.

November Highway Cleanup

Thirteen hearty Rotarians braved cold weather to help keep highway 30 east of Morrison spotless. Pictured here (l-r) Front row kneeling- Kevin Schisler and Dr. John Tomasino (already sporting the winter beard). 2nd Row (l-r) Kevin Kuehl, Lynette Damhoff, honorary member Denise Kuehl, Karl Kovarik, Ted Volckmann and Dr. Brad Yaklich and back row (l-r) President Scott Vandermyde, Stan Steines, Tanner Girard and Dan Vandermyde. Not pictured was Mike Gunderson who reported for duty at sunrise. Rotarians pledge to do projects "that will be beneficial to all concerned". We strive to serve our community in all we do. Thanks again Rotarians!

Morrison Rotary announces November Students of the Month

November 2023 Rotary Students of the Month Peyton Emerson and Cooper Bush

Peyton is the daughter of Kristy and Mike Wagenecht. During school Peyton is involved in student council, key club and the BLIND. She is also involved with community activities such as selling sandwiches, the Harvest Hammer, Veterans Day events, visiting nursing homes and assisting with the Custom Pak picnic. In her free time she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, shopping and crafts. Peyton has worked in the Dietary department at Morrison Community Hospital for the past two years. Her future plans include attending Scott Community College to obtain a Rad-Tech and Ultrasound Tech degree. The staff at Morrison Community Hospital wish Peyton all the best!

Cooper is the son of Trent and Heather Bush and the grandson of Lyle and Gretchen Bush and Dale and Deb Eizenga. His love for sports is reflected in his high school career where he participated in basketball, football and golf. He also participated in B.L.I.N.D and Student Council. His B.L.I.N.D group just visited a Nursing Home which he said “was really cool”. He loves sports, hanging out with friends and his girlfriend and playing video games. His future plans are to attend St. Ambrose after completing 2 years at Sauk to obtain a DPT degree in Physical Therapy. His hometown hospital would be happy to discuss employment opportunities after completing his degree.

Morrison Rotary welcomes September Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary club welcomed MHS seniors Madison Krum and Caden Bielema, our September 2023 Students of the Month.

Madison Krum

Madison is the daughter of Mark and Chris Krum. She has been involved in Student Council, B.L.I.N.D., band, choir, FFA, musical theater and she was selected to the National Honor Society. Her community activities include President of the Cottonwood 4-H, plus serving on the Whiteside County Federation and Whiteside County Shooting Sports. She is also active in her church. Her hobbies include archery, scrapbooking, drawing, watching movies and playing and listening to music. Her future plans are to attend Sauk for 2 years and then transfer to UI- Champaign or UIC to major in Mathematics or Statistics and minor in Business Economics or Ag Business with a goal to be a Quantitative Analyst.

Caden Bielema

Caden is the son of Cory and Jennifer Bielema. He has participated in the scholastic bowl this year and he played a role in the 2023 school play. He had been active in FFA and the student council. He also played golf in his freshman year. He was selected to the National Honors Society and he is proud to have worked at Sullivan’s’ for the past 2 years. His hobbies include playing and designing board games, video games, and listening to music while walking. His plan is to attend a college where he can continue to work in game design.

Morrison Rotary welcomes Senator Win Stoller

Citing some encouraging words from his father, Senator Win Stoller challenged the Morrison Rotarians to always seek a new personal goal, even if it scares you. He recently completed an Iron Man competition in Madison WI where he was challenged to the limits of his body. It was very inspirational. Thank you Senator Stoller. Pictured below is President Scott Vandermyde (on the left) and Senator Stoller.

Highway Road Clean up July 2023

Thanks to some keen work with a timer on Brad's phone we were able to capture the whole Morrison Rotary clean up crew (less Don Jevne who arrived early). Our crew found a TV remote control, cell phone, credit card and a lot of other less valuable items. Participating in the highway 30 clean up on July 19 was (l-r) Jim Camp (who by the way DOES NOT look like his 84 years young), Michael Blean, Kevin Schisler, Dr. John Tomasino Jr., Road Commissioner in charge Stan Steines, one-night honorary Rotarian Grace Steines, Kathy Schmidt, Mick Welding, Dave Abele, Tanner Girard, Karl Kovarik and Dr. Brad Yaklich. We do want to recognize 3 members who were not able to join us- Dan Vandermyde (home recovering), and long time Road Clean Up Chairmen Mark Schuler and Merle Reisenbigler. A toast in their honor was made at the Double G refreshment center afterwards. Thank you to all Rotarians who turned out to make our community a cleaner place to live!

Pollinator Plot Clean up

The Morrison Rotary Club tackled weeds and some overgrowth in the Pollinator plot. We were assisted by Master Gardener Kelly West and our fearless leader Don Jevne. Assisting with weeding were (l-r) Kelly West, Rotarians Josh West, Stan Steines, Kevin Kuehl, Karl Kovarik, Don Jevne and Dan Vandermyde pictured in the back. We were so pleased by the growth of the pollinator plants and the appearance of so many bees buzzing around .

Morrison Rotary awards Scholarships

The Morrison Rotary club awarded $5000 in scholarships to the following students:

Pictured left-right

MIT $500- Paul Wagenecht

All Around Female- $1,250 Taylor Swanstrom

All Around Male- $1,250- Zayden Boonstra

Citizenship- $1,000- Mark Cypers

Not pictured: Sauk Valley College Sponsorship- $500- Landri Harmon

AG Scholarship- $500-Marissa Folkers

April 2023 Students of the Month

Morrison Rotary April Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary club would like to recognize two Students of the Month for April 2023.

Gina Lee

Gina is the daughter of Matt and LuEllen Lee. She participated in volleyball (3 years),

Track (1 year), Student Council (3 years), Key Club (1 year), Prom Committee (1 year) and she was selected for the National Honor Society this year. Gina was previously involved with the Cottonwood 4H club which her mom directed for many, many years. She stays active by baking, fishing and hanging with friends. Next year’s plans are to attend Cornell College in Mt. Vernon and major in Elementary Education and a minor in Pre-law.

Carter Behrens

Carter is the son of David and Amie Behrens. He has participated in basketball and golf and he was a B.L.I.N.D leader and also a member of the National Honor Society. He has volunteered at the Whiteside County Fair and he is a math tutor. His hobbies are basketball, volleyball and of course, video games. His future plans are to attend Illinois State University with a major in the medical field.

Earth Day 2023 Bag handout

To celebrate Earth Day 2023 Rotarians handed out recyclable shopping bags at Sullivans Grocery Store in Morrison and on the City-wide Recycling Day at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds. Pictured here at Sullivans are Rotarians Kevin Kuehl, Rich Groleau, and Lynette Damhoff and at the Fairgrounds Kathy Schmidt (l) and Carrie Melton (handing a bag to a driver). Carrie and Kathy were brave enough to stand in snow and sleet to hand out bags while Kevin, Rich, and Lynette had more favorable conditions. Rotarians handed out 300 recycling bags. Thank you to Kathy for putting this all together and to the Rotary club who purchased all the bags.

Earth Day Project 2023

Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary's people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects. We are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end. Rotary members believe that we have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most persistent issues. That is why the Morrison Rotary Club is handing out fabric grocery bags on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, at Sullivan’s and at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds at the Lions Club Recycling Event. They have purchased 300 bags to be given until gone in an effort to remove plastic from our garbage and help the environment.

Pictured with a sample of the bags are Rotarians Mark Schuler and Kathy Schmidt. Do your part and come to Sullivan’s or the recycling event to pickup a grocery bag.

April 5 program City Administrator Brian Melton

Rotarian Carrie Melton introduced her husband Brian who was hired 6 months ago as the new Morrison City Administrator. Brian summarized some projects that have been completed since his hire including water infrastructure projects and improvements to the sports complex playing fields. In addition he mentioned some projects yet to come including more water projects, street improvements on Jackson and Heaton Streets and the DOT's repair of highway 78 south. Brian complimented his support team at City Hall and the quality of employees we have on board. Brian also commented on the on-going installation of fiber internet in our residents.

Thanks for a great program Brian.

We welcome new member Rich Groleau

The Morrison Rotary Club welcomed new member Rich Groleau. Rich is the Director of Facilities at Sauk Valley Community College. Rich was presented his membership packet and his badge by his sponsor Dave Abele. Welcome aboard Rich!

March Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary club recognized two Morrison High School students as our March 2023 Students of the Month. The first is Annie Dykstra daughter of Brandi Renkes and Darren Dykstra. She is involved in the education bound program through the high school, loves to spend time with children, is going to UW-Platteville for early education. She does babysitting and volunteering at Northside and Southside schools.

Aiden Dolieslager is the son of Angela Reamer and Mitch Dolieslager. He is involved in sports at the high school, is taking classes at WACC and is interested in possibly doing welding, mechanics or military after he graduates.

Congratulations to Annie and Aiden!

Smoke Alarms Save Lives!

Smoke alarms save lives! Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death from home fires in half. That’s why we’re rallying volunteers, fire departments and partners to Sound the Alarm. The American Red Cross and the Morrison Fire Department are installing FREE smoke alarms in your community. Request a smoke alarm installation today!

Morrison, IL

Saturday, March 25th, 2023, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

To sign up for a Free smoke alarm installation visit https://tinyurl.com/MorrisonILSmokeAlarms or call 815-963-8471, extension 7.

For information on volunteering with the event, go to SoundTheAlarm.org or email NWILalarminstall@redcross.org

Mike Zurn receives Paul Harris +1 award

The Morrison Rotary Club would like to congratulate Mike Zurn for attaining the rank of Paul Harris plus 2 which means he has donated $2,000 to the Paul Harris Foundation. Your generosity is much appreciated Mike! Pictured here is Foundation Chair Dave Abele on the right presenting Mike with his pin.

Steve Siefken Program

The Morrison Rotary Club listened to a very thoughtful and emotional presentation by Mr. Steve Siefken. Steve served in the Navy Intelligence Division. His dad also served in the Armed Forces. So when Steve was asked to participate in the recent Honor Flight he did so as a former serviceman and professional photographer. Steve placed pictures around the room depicting landmarks in Washington DC plus some very personal photos that really brought out emotions. Steve noted his favorite part, but the most emotional part, was reading "mail call" letters on the plane that were hand written by his family members. Steve is pictured here with a hat he wore in the service plus the hat his dad wore in combat. Thank you Steve for an emotionally charged presentation!

John Prange receives Paul Harris award

John Prange, pictured on the left, receives a Paul Harris + 2 award from Rotarian Dave Abele. John has contributed over $3,000 to this valuable foundation. Paul Harris founded one of the very first Rotary clubs in Chicago in 1905. His philanthropy efforts have helped fund projects such as:

Vocational training for teachers establishing an early childhood education center in South Africa
Water filters, toilets, and hygiene training to prevent fluorosis, diarrhea, and other diseases in India
A scholarship for a medical professional in Italy to research treatments that minimize mortality rates among premature babies
Peace-building seminars for 200 teachers and 1,300 students in Uganda
Treated mosquito nets and medical services that prevent malaria in Mali

Congratulations JP!

February 2023 Students of the Month

February 2023 Rotary Students of the Month Marissa Folkers and Logan Baker

Marissa is the daughter of Scott and Andrea Folkers. She has been active in softball, cross country, basketball, volleyball FFA, student council and she was elected to the National Honor Society. She has participated in 4-H for 9 years. She loves softball and enjoys her travel softball team. After graduation she plans to attend University of Wisconsin Platteville and study plant and soil science and agribusiness. She will also play on the softball team. Her ultimate goal is to be an agronomist.

Logan is the son of Jason and Krista Baker. He loves to work out and lift weights which is why he served as captain of both the football and wrestling teams. He also participated in B.L.I.N.D and Building Trades at WACC. In addition he was elected to the National Honor Society. He has volunteered at the Kiwanis sandwich sales, Whiteside Fair electronics recycling, Flag Football coach and assisted with the wrestling team pancake sale. Future plans would be to attend a D-3 college and play football.

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