Recap from the 2024 March 4, 2024 Meeting.
Meeting run by: President- Megan Francis
Thought of the day: Karen Cooney
Online Participation: We continue to offer a hybrid meeting each week. Members are invited to attend via Zoom or watch the recorded presentation anytime.
Joining us online are Dawn Sturms Dodds, Carol Webb, Barth Donald, Kim Warren, Shane Orr, Jessica Pfab
Congratulations to the three Muscatine High School Students who completed the first annual 4-way test speech contest. Watch the meeting recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCbVhP_NXJA. One of the lucky winners will advance to represent our club in a regional competition. Thank you, Marc Hines and Naomi DeWinter, for coordinating the event.
New Member Introduction: Meet Lisa Heckman
Lisa owns Real Estate Resource Associates, which is located in downtown Muscatine. Lisa has lived in Muscatine most of her life. She loves Muscatine. Why did Lisa join Rotary? She was invited to present to the club. When Lisa looked around the room, she recognized the faces of community members serving Muscatine. It was an easy decision to make. Lisa is happy to be part of this group and loves to serve Muscatine with you. Outside of real estate, Lisa's passion has become Habitat for Humanity. Serving on the board is a pleasure; the board is growing the organization and increasing programming. Please talk to Lisa about Habitat and how she can share the mission with you. Last thing, we started a program called Live Muscatine a year ago. It is for individuals who are new(er) to Muscatine and looking to connect with the community. This program shares the rich Muscatine history and connects participants with resources. Please scan the QR code and share it with us!
Happy News/Announcements: All Happy News funds go towards our scholarship awards.
Erika Cox: $22 in recognition of Miss Caitlin Clark! Mike Wedell: $10. He missed the meeting last week because he was in Alaska. His daughters had a hockey tournament and brought home 2nd place. One of Mike’s passions is genealogy. The Muscatine Genealogical Society is hosting a free seminar. The seminar begins on April 6th; check the Musser Library website for more details. Karen Cooney: $2 to continue the celebration of Caitlin Clark and the empowerment of young women. Reflection on the students who visited China. One student shared with her that the trip changed his life. Mark Roberts: Mark’s new grandbaby, Xavion Elijah, was born in Baltimore. Also, his 18-year-old granddaughter made it to the semifinals in State Basketball. Rich Dwyer: Attended the opening speakers for the Iowa Association of Women Police Conference at the Merrill this morning. The keynote speaker was Governor Reynolds. What a great event to have in Muscatine. Mike Ruby: Shout out to Mike Weddell, who attended the incoming president conference. Mike arrived the night before and used the networking opportunity. Sal LoBianco: Sal’s youngest son graduated from Iowa State, his oldest daughter was proposed to on vacation, and he is finally glasses-free after cataract surgery.
Club News:
- Follow the Rotary Club of Muscatine’s Facebook page, @MuscatineRotaryClub.
- ACH forms are available for easy dues payment.
- Mobile Food Pantry Volunteer Opportunity: Thank you, Lindsey and Karen, for representing Rotary at the March Food Pantry. Use the link below to sign up for the next Mobile Food Pantry on April 2nd. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rmtNfi25shfn2S1LYG0e56iVwcMj2VA9X6FB5WU_vS4/edit
- April 13th: Trivia Night for Sleep In Heavenly Peace. We are collecting silent auction items.
- Sign up for the Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bed Build event on Saturday, April 20th. Shifts are 8:30-10:30 am or 10:30-12:30 pm. https://x.gldn.io/e/t4TXTFocBHb
- Mark your calendars for Frank Iliff’s Retirement Party Open House on March 22nd from 5-8 pm at the Riverview Center
Presentation-
MPW- 2023 in Review and 2024 Outlook
Mark Roberts, Erika Cox, and Ryan Streck
MPW is a not-for-profit municipal utility that means local control and low rates with neighbors serving neighbors. The updated 2024-2026 Strategic Plan now includes pursuing operational excellence. The Power the Future project continues work on the Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Unit. Looking beyond the plan, the power supply survey will be updated in the third quarter to update capital costs and the fuel and market price forecasts.
MPW is always looking to give customers a reason to love MPW. iVue was launched in 2023 to assist with operations and tie in with the new SmartHub customer experience. Eight thousand customers registered for the app and online portal. MPW continues to launch new channels, including Fun Roads, EarthX, and Rewind TV. The Internet restructure is in phase 2, increasing customer bandwidth, lowering costs of 1 Gig service, and launching 2 Gig and 5 Gig packages: customer surveys and reliability rate well above industry standards.
Neighbors helping neighbors is at the core of everything MPW does, and supporting community improvements is a large part. MPW assisted in safely moving the watermelon slice into place, used their crane to help install the Zenith sculpture, and lowered project costs to install the Hawk crossing system on Oregon. MPW works to maintain best-in-class electrical systems for reliability.
Missed today’s presentation? Use the link below to watch the recording. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/PAOnH3LLi3-bBQOyFYfiPIcE2uoRaDJi4Kfqja7MwrXkSogRopTVr-N94iQWZgli.l0lyBZoIbW8Ni3Ol
Passcode: Rotary#1
Next Meetings: March 11th- Wild Cat Den (No Virtual Option), March 18th- Muscatine Police Department 2023 review and 2024 goals, March 25th- United Way Reading Mentors.