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Welcome to our Club!
Quad Cities Illinois Rotary
Service Above Self
Mondays at 6:00 PM
Hy-Vee
2930 18th Avenue
Rock Island, IL 61201
United States of America
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Your Weekly News is Here!

 

It has been a difficult week for our Rotary family.  Marcy lost her father, Stephen, on Sunday March 29th and Kent Ferris left us on March 30th.  Marcy's father will be laid to rest at Cordova Cemetary.  Memorial contributions may be directed to the Rock Island Children's Advocacy Center.  Kent's service is April 8th with visitation and services at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home 3030 7th Ave Rock Island.  Visitation is 10 am to 11 and services at 11 am. Please keep their families in your prayers.

 

John Deere Classic Volunteer Registration opens on April 7th at 11 am.  All volunteers are required to register.  Please refer to the email sent previously for links to registration.  Contact President Sue if you are unable to locate the email.  Those who have volunteered in the past should have received a link in the email provided last year.

 

Christian Care Presentation is April 16th 5:30-7 pm at CityView Celebrations 701 12th St Moline, They will be presenting about the mission of Christian Care and impact to our community.  An RSVP is required to bobdebswanson@att.net or Bob Swanson at 309-738-3476.  Our district grant for next year will be used to benefit Martha's House, managed by Christian Care.

 

Our raffle basket has been completed for our District Conference.  We have gathered “All Things Quad Cities”.  Lagomarcino chocolates, bourbon from Mississippi Distillery, Whitey's, the Spoon Museam (Guiness Book World Record holder), John Deere book about the development of their industry, Boetje's mustard, and the I-80 World's Largest Truck stop.

 

Welcome to Terry Bates, guest of Bill Abel.  You may remember him from our Red Bud Tree project to honor Cecilia O'Brien.  He is now the Forestry Manager for the City of Moline.  We're thrilled he's considering membership.

Brian Ritter, Executive Director Nahant Marsh spoke to us about the upcoming Bio-Blitz

Bio-Blitz 2026

This week we gave a warm welcome to Brian Ritter, from Nahant Marsh.  He shared interesting information about the upcoming bio-blitz.  It will happen June 26th 2 pm through 27th (the entire 24 hours) 2 pm at the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, Sherman Park.  Watch their website for the opportunity to register.  Registration is encouraged but not required. Opportunity will include an owl prowl at sunset and a bird hike early in the morning.

Participants will be counting fungi, plants, and animals to get a snapshot of life in the area to document our bio-diversity.  This provides us real data about what we are losing and identify ecologically sensitive areas.  There is concern the earth may be in a phase of mass extinction.  The very smallest insects impact our human existence. This identification provides an opportunity to save species for our future.  The event is also an excellent way to connect people with nature, who may not normally take the opportunity to observe and discover their environment.  Kids young and old will have an opportunity to be a scientist for the day.

Brian shared maps of Iowa and Illinois that demonstrate how the land has changed.  Sadly, about 99% of our prairies have been lost and 98% of our wetlands.  Our lands have been “biologically altered”. 

The bio-blitz has been done every other year for the last 10 years.  They select a different location each time.  The first was the Milan Bottoms.   They have found anywhere from 429 to 868 species of plants, animals, and fungi at these various locations.

These efforts will be impactful for future food sources, clean water, and clean air for generations.  Check out the Wapsi River Educational Center at https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/conservation/wapsi and Nahant Marsh in the link below.

Happy Dollars of the Week

Nathan is happy about the success of the Easter Egg Hunt.

Wayne is heading to see Azriel in Tulsa.

Deryl is happy that summer has arrived today and enjoyed 80 degrees.

Lynn Abel joined us this week.  She's started on her spring yard work and took down a 12 foot seedling Oak.  No power tools required.  

Brian Ritter, guest speaker paid a dollar (he's already a Rotarian in Davenport) for the wonderful sounds of summer in the trees.

Bill took part in the egg hunt and congratulated Nathan on the wonderful job he did managing the event.

Terry Bates was happy that ecological restoration projects have been approved for the next 3 years.

Aidan is happy that the food pantry has a fully stocked shelf, raffle baskets are coming in, and the US/Venezuelan embassies have opened in Caracas to process visa requests.

Andy is in week 10! His bronchitis is better.

John's family went skiing and they had a great time and no issues flying.

Paul was left without adult supervision last Thursday through Sunday while Karen was in Wisconsin.  Meals had been pre-made but he elected to go out to dinner with friends.

Amber was excited about the UConn and Illinois March Madness games and making it to the Final Four.

 Terry Kramer spent two days with his grandson, who had been deployed in the middle east for 10 months.

Randy has completed his first cataract surgery successfully.

Sue was glad she had time to prepare her own taxes before the deadline.

George watched his granddaughter's softball team.  She had THREE unbelievable plays in left field.  She seems to be really enjoying her season.

 $ 21 was raised.

Speakers
Apr 06, 2026
Multi-Generational Community Builders Approach to Healthy Living May 21-23rd
Apr 13, 2026
Apr 20, 2026
The Third Place QC
View entire list

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Member Birthdays
Susan Lerschen-Cassatt
May 21
 
Join Date
Bill Abel
April 1, 1996
30 years
 
Susan Lerschen-Cassatt
April 12, 2013
13 years
 
John Finkes
May 8, 2000
26 years
 
Andrew Axup
May 17, 1999
27 years
 

Quad Cities Illinois Rotary Website

Check us out at quadcitiesillinoisrotary.org
Rotary Around the Globe

Learn how Rotary clubs are taking action in Mexico, Canada, Latvia, and India.

 

As the science advances, Rotary members join the quest to find vaccines to stop malaria

 

Rotary is recognizing six of its members and program participants age 30 and under as Rotary People of Action: ‘Champions of Tomorrow’ for their leadership in advancing impactful, youth‑centered initiatives that are helping to create the foundations for brighter futures, today.

 
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