Program for November 19, 2012: Agriculture of the Future....Steve Ahman

Invocation: by Dana Yerington
Guests on November 5, 2012: Jason Schillig, Jennifer Livermore, Brad Bark, Chris Steinbach, Melanie Alexander, Kevin Mathis, Mike Ferguson, Mark Olmstead, Tucker Snyder, Marissa Evers, Lizzy Sturms, Jozelyna Calderon, Taylor Brauns, Alli Berns, Clarissa Ortiz, Cindy Ni, and Sarada Mauck.

Sympathy was extended to the family of Jim Kent who was a Rotarian for over 56 years. Jim joined the Muscatine Rotary Club in 1956.

A vote was taken on the regular meeting location.  We will not meet on Monday, November 12, 2012 in honor of Veteran's Day. Mike Ruby told the club about the fundraising activities of the Tipton and West Liberty Clubs. Both hold annual auctions to support club activities.

Happy News: Ron Yohe shared news that his church had been broken into and that he had saved much of his computer work not in the  "cloud" but in "Drop Box" so that the break in and loss of computers was lessened by the saving of his work.  Mary Odell has just returned from visiting her son and new daughter in law in Viet Nam. Bill Decker reminded the group of the annual "Progress Breakfast" for the Muscatine School District being held on Thursday, November 8, 2012.  He also thought Tucker was lucky to be introduced among all the girls from MHS!!  Rick Ray is happy that the annual Red Kettle Campaign is kicking off with Gary and Sue Slight as campaign chairs.  The Christmas train will also be visiting again on December 5, 2012.  Keith Porter is happy that Chris Steinbach is staying in town and is now employed as Deputy Director at MCSA.

Hoffa shared that she had a fabulous time in New York and loved it. Luckily she and the Joseph's escaped any of the impact of the storm Sandy!  Her club at home is also celebrating their 50 year birthday!!

Program: Mary Wildermuth introduced Brad Bark, Jennifer Livermore, and Jason Schillig to update the group on the Phase 3 Synthetic Turf Project that extends the current soccer complex for multiple useage and more expansive timeframes during the day and throughout the year.  The project entails a parking lot for 228 additional cars, 4 tiered multi-use lighted synthetic playing surfaces, restroom and shade buildings, a fenced perimeter, a playground, and a frontage trail/sidewalk connecting Kent Stein Park to the American Legion area across the street.   Brad discussed the multiple uses for the fields and the variety of constituents who could use the fields.  The project is seeking private funding to begin implementation. The cost of the project is in excess of 5 million dollars.