UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
February 13 Program: Brad Zaun, SBA Regional Administrator – Small Business Administration's Efforts to Promote Businesses in America
February 13 Next Chapter Retirement Group Meeting, 8am
February 18 UPDATED: Quarterly Lunch & Link @ Iowa Communications Alliance
February 20 Program: Adam DeCamp, DCI Special Agent in Charge – Prepardness is a Partnership
February 20 Connection Café sandwich making following Rotary.
February 20 DMAM Club Apparel Preview 8am in West Room
February 20 DMAM Club Board Meeting 8am in Blue View
February 22 Iowa Wolves Rotary Polio Plus Night. Details Below!
February 28 2026 Bingo Bash: Saturday, February 28, 2026, Iowa State Fairgrounds. This is our signature fundraiser! Information on volunteering will be forthcoming. Sponsorships are available and listed in the document to download below.
March 6 Ann Shimerdla, President & CEO of Blank Park Zoo
March 13 Andrew Batt, CEO Iowa Public Television – The Changing Path of Public Television
March 13 Next Chapter Retirement Group Meeting, 8am
**For more event details don’t forget to check our website!
If you have questions or concerns regarding the above proposed member(s), contact Membership Committee chair Mary Hunter at Mary.Hunter@dmgoodwill.org.
Our club is excited to sponsor an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student to France for the 2026–2027 school year! As part of this program, we are also seeking host families in the Des Moines area to welcome an inbound exchange student during that same year.
Rotary typically partners with two to three host families over the course of the school year, and we are currently looking to identify our first host family for 2026–2027.
Hosting is a wonderful opportunity to build meaningful cultural connections, broaden global understanding, and create lifelong friendships. You do not need to be a Rotarian to be a host family.
If you or someone you know may be interested, please reach out to me to learn more and discuss this rewarding opportunity.
URGENT: 5-10 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR COMMUNITY NIGHT
We need your help! Des Moines Public School's Eastside Community Night is coming up on Tuesday, March 10th (5–7 PM) at East High School, 815 E. 13th St, Des Moines, IA 50316.
This is a huge event for the community, including our partner school Capitol View Elementary, and they are currently short on help. We need 5–10 more volunteers to ensure the night runs smoothly for the families and kids.
Quick Info:
The Fun: Inflatables, food trucks, and a resource fair.
The Jobs: Set-up, tear down, monitoring inflatables, and assisting vendors.
Whether you can help for the whole event or just an hour for set-up/tear down, we’d love to have you. Let’s show up strong for DMAM Rotary and Capitol View!
Anupam Mittra, Community Service Chair
INTRODUCING QUARTERLY "LUNCH & LINK"
We’re shaking things up for our February social! We are pivoting from our usual morning coffee to a midday gathering designed for better connection and a look behind the scenes of our members' workspaces.
The Details When: Wednesday, February 18th | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Where: Iowa Communications Alliance
What is "Lunch & Link"?
Think of this as a "Vocational Day Lite." We want to make these socials accessible and easy for everyone. There is no set agenda—just good food, great company, and a chance to catch up. Bring your favorite sandwich and your best stories!
Looking Ahead
Our goal is to keep "Lunch & Link" moving! By rotating to different member offices each quarter, we get a fresh perspective on the diverse professional lives of our members while keeping the atmosphere casual and affordable. See you on the 18th!
DMAM Member Relations Committee
DISTRICT GRANT SEMINAR SCHEDULE
For our club to qualify for a District Community Service Grant, or a Global Grant for the 2026-2027 Rotary year, at least 1 member of the club must attend a Grant Management Learning Seminar.
There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. This HYBRID seminar will be for Presidents-Elect, Presidents-Nominee, and whoever will be the main contact on any grant application. LINK HERE TO REGISTER
Grant Management Seminar - West Des Moines - HYBRID
Time: 8:30 AM is check-in with breakfast. The Seminar will be 9 AM - 12 PM.
**Please note this will be the only time Global Grants training will be offered if you want to participate.
For more information contact District 6000 Community Service Grant Chairs Gretchen Nollman and Todd Wheeler at d6000csg@gmail.com.
2026 RYLA SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
The Rotary Club of Des Moines AM has sponsorship openings available for high school students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference. The registration deadline is April 30th. Iowa RYLA is a week-long leadership conference open to Juniors and Seniors in High School (2025-2026 school year) held at Grinnell College from Sunday July 26 through Friday July 31st.
RYLA is designed to help young students learn and develop leadership skills and their leadership philosophy. The objectives of RYLA are:
To encourage and assist youth leaders and potential leaders in methods of responsible and effective leadership by providing them with training,
To encourage continued and stronger leadership of youth by youth,
To publicly recognize the outstanding qualities of many young people who are rendering service to their schools and communities as leaders.
If you know of any students who could benefit from attending Iowa RYLA, please contact Janet Witte at wittej_dsm@yahoo.com or 515-255-5678. You will also need to complete the application on the Iowa RYLA website: iowaryla.org.
Rotarian volunteers are also critical to the success of RYLA. The application to be a volunteer at RYLA can be made at iowaryla.org and has the same deadline application of April 30th. Please note that as a Rotarian volunteer at RYLA you are required to be present during the entire week of RYLA and you are required to attend a training session on June 27th, 2026.
IOWA WOLVES ROTARY POLIO PLUS NIGHT FEBRUARY 22, 3PM
Rotary Polio Plus Night with the Iowa Wolves is basically basketball colliding with the State Fair at full speed. Expect halftime chaos, butter sculpting of questionable intent, fainting goats (no joke!), a mechanical pig, and dignity checks at every turn. Buy tickets like our club’s reputation depends on it because free tickets and the (Ed) Arnold Cup are on the line. Come for the game, leave buttery, slightly humbled, and forever changed.
Tickets are $20 each, of which $10 is committed to eradicating polio, and thanks to the Gates Foundation's generous 2-for-1 match, your contribution can help immunize nearly 100,000 children.
Anupam will bulk purchase tickets to make sure the clown-show is together. Can’t go? We’ll donate the tix to Big Brother Big Sister, Iowa Homeless Youth Shelter, Boys and Girls Club.
Anupam Mittra, Community Service Chair
SIGNATURE FUNDRAISER BINGO BASH 2026
Saturday, February 28, 2026, 9AM - 7PM
Iowa State Fairgrounds - Elwell Family Food Center
It's time to start signing up to volunteer at the BingoBASH - there are lots of opportunities from game floor floaters, front door sales tables, exit research interviews with attendees, and more.
It's SO much fun while serving our community.
The three local non-profits who will be recipients from BingoBASH 5 are:
Food insecurity - St. Vincent de Paul food pantries
Human trafficking - Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and Iowa's 5th District Dept. of Corrections
Mental health - Harvest Academy
Volunteers - please sign up here! https://dash.pointapp.org/events/477380
Volunteers will receive a new complementary BingoBASH t-shirt ... and we will also be selling t-shirts at the event this year.
Sponsors - We're also seeking sponsors to meet our revenue goal of $100,000. If you haven't connected with John Bouslog yet and are interested in sponsoring BingoBASH 5, please email him at JBouslog@iowafirm.com.
View the Sponsorship Benefits sheet with different tiers, including game vouchers, in the download files list below.
THANK YOU for your support of Rotary DMAM's BingoBASH!
ROTARY BLOOD DONOR WEEK FEBRUARY 9-14, 2026
DMAM is partnering with the Rotary Club of Waukee to participate in a blood donor week this February. Stop in at any Lifeserve Blood Center to donate. Lifeserve will record the name of each Rotary donor’s club and will report results of total donations for each club upon completion.
DMAM Rotary Member Relations Happy Hour
Always the 1st Thursday of each month from 4-6 pm.
Locations are to be announced closer to each event.
Questions reach out to Angie Weller @ 515-770-5812
Next Chapter Retirement Group Meetings
Always the second Friday of each month at 8am following the Rotary meeting.
Location: Wakonda Bar
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
East Polk Rotary Bowling Bash
You're invited to the annual Bowling Bash, hosted by East Polk Rotary, on Friday, February 13 at Great Escape in Pleasant Hill. This fun event is one of our major fundraisers supporting the Iowa Tech Expo held each May at Southeast Polk High School. The Expo, started by our club 38 years ago, serves 200–300 students statewide and supports hands‑on “shop‑style” projects such as woodworking, metalworking, CAD design, and photography, while also providing student scholarships.
Ways to support include entering a bowling team, sponsoring a lane, or purchasing raffle tickets ($5 each or 5 for $20). Raffle prizes include a $500 or $250 gift card—you do not need to be present to win.
Let me know if I can answer any questions, or if you would like to purchase raffle tickets. Thanks!
SIGNATURE FUNDRAISER BINGO BASH 2026 
