LE MARS — Le Mars Rotary Club members, guests from several area Rotary clubs and from the community gathered for the club’s annual banquet April 4 at Willow Creek Golf Course Banquet Hall.
One of the highlights of the evening is the presentation of the Rotary Citizen of the Year Award.
The Rotary Citizen of the Year award is presented to a citizen of Le Mars who has many achievements and accomplishments and greatly contributed to the community. This award is presented to a non-Rotarian.
Rotary Club Sgt. at Arms Carol Schneider announced Iris Hemmingson is the 2024 Rotary Citizen of the Year Award recipient.
“Iris and her late husband Dr. Les Hemmingson came to Le Mars in 1965 as he pursued his illustrious career as a veterinarian and Iris came to our community as a dietitian for the Iowa State Health Department to serve our town and nearby communities,” Schneider said as she started the presentation. “Here in Le Mars they raised as Iris says, ‘two amazing daughters,’ who have also gone on to serve others. Kaaren Eide is a math and Spanish teacher in central Iowa and Dr. Marta Hemmingson Van Beek is a dermatologist and surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals. Marta served as the chief of staff during Covid 19.”
Hemmingson has immersed herself in the community in many ways.
“Iris is an avid researcher of our community history and the families that settled and lived here. She is described by some as the ‘matriarch of Le Mars.’ She co-authored, with three other citizens, an 800-page pictorial history book of Le Mars which coincidently weighs eight pounds. No one can compete with her knowledge of Le Mars’s history,” Schneider said.
Hemmingson has been instrumental in establishing an historical research room at the Plymouth County Historical Museum where citizens and guests to our city are able to research historical documents.
“You may even find Iris there working in the room. She can lead a walking tour of our downtown or early neighborhoods and give you more information than you can take in. She has been a part of planning a centennial and sesquicentennial for Le Mars,” Schneider continued.
Hemmingson has been active in many organizations in the community; many of which support the hometown events. People may have worked alongside her at St. John’s Lutheran Church where she and Les gave leadership to Bethlehem Revisited, the Plymouth County Fair, the Plymouth County Historical Museum, the Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society, or as American Red Cross volunteer, which she has been since 1965.
She helped organize Meals on Wheels in the 60s. She served on Local Option Sales and Tourism Committees, and has served as a 4-H leader back in the day and a fair judge yet.
She was a member and president of the Le Mars Little League, and is a member of the Floyd Valley Federated Garden Club, Family and Consumer Science Club, Questers Broken Kettle Chapter, Computer Genies Club, and our town’s 4th of July celebration before it morphed into what we know as Ice Cream Days today, to name a few, Schneider said.
“She has filled many leadership roles in these organizations. As you can see, her time has been valuable and she has shared it graciously. She even helped our Rotary Club to host guests in our Rotary Danish Friendship Exchange last fall,” Schneider added.
In addition to volunteering and leading groups, Iris has been a valued substitute teacher at Le Mars Community Schools.
As one can imagine, Iris has received many honors and awards including, 4-H Hall of Fame, Governor’s Volunteer Award, Iowa State Service Key Award, and Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.
“Earlier, I asked Iris what she would consider to be her greatest accomplishment. I was expecting it to be the 800-page historical book or perhaps Bethlehem Revisited, but she replied later and said, ‘I think it involved a fight in the Little League.’ She said as the only female coach in a male dominated coaching line up she felt the coaches were way too intent on winning rather than teaching all kids how to play baseball/softball and to play fair,” Schneider shared.
The fight at the time was, teams could win by the 10 run rule by the end of the third inning. By national rules, all players were to play in two innings out of 5. However, if the game was won in three innings some players never got to play in the actual game.
“She had to work hard to persuade the other coaches to put in place a rule that all players had to have the opportunity to play in the first three innings. Otherwise some kids were going to practice but never played a ‘game.’ So with her persuasion, which I would call ‘leadership,’ the coaches consented to add and follow the three game rule. As far as we know, that rule apparently still stands today in Le Mars Little League,” Schneider continued.
Schneider called this only one success story and shows the impact Iris has had on the community.
“While Iris and Les did not grow up Le Mars, they made this town their home in 1965 and our community is better for it. This year’s ‘Rotary Citizen of the Year Award’ goes most deservingly to Iris Hemmingson,” Schneider concluded.
After receiving the award, Hemmingson spoke briefly, thanking the Rotary Club for the honor.
“I have had a wonderful life here in Le Mars,” said the northeast Iowa native. “The community has given us a life that is unbelievable. It helped us raise two daughters who are fabulous. I would also like to thank the Rotarians for all the good work that they do for our community.”
Hemmingson later reflected on the award.
“To have one citizen of Le Mars appreciate one task I have done for the city of Le Mars is recognition enough. To have the Rotarians, as a group, recognize my labor is ‘Icing on the Cake.’ Le Mars has always been generous in expressing appreciation to her citizens,” she said.
She was then asked what she would tell young people about getting involved in their community where they live and work.
“Advice to every citizen of Le Mars and the world: To have an interesting and joyous life, generously do good deeds that benefit others. That joy never ends. And that sometimes starts with a simple smile,” she said. “A few years ago, I was visiting with a person I did not know. But she said she remembered me. When she first moved to town, I apparently smiled at her when we walked toward each other on our downtown sidewalk. A simple smile or greeting to an unknown person. Who would think that would a difference make!”
The Rotary Club named two people Paul Harris Fellows.
Rotary established the Paul Harris Fellow recognition in 1957 to encourage and show appreciation for substantial contributions to what was then the foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.
The Paul Harris Fellow honor represents a Rotarian has given $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation or someone has given $1,000 to the foundation in a person’s name.
“We have begun a tradition that our Citizen of the Year be honored as a Paul Harris Fellow,” Rotary Club member John Schneider said as he presented Hemmingson with the pin.
He then honored member Jim Beckwith with the Paul Harris Fellow Plus One pin, recognizing Beckwith’s status as the longest serving member of the Le Mars Club.
“In 2019, at our 100th anniversary, we honored him as a 50-year member. Jim, thank you for your contributions to Rotary,” John said.
John also made a presentation at the beginning of the meeting.
“Every year it is the tradition of our club to honor one of our own members as Rotarian of the Year,” he said.
The award was presented to Chris Becker, who has served as president of the club three times, and is their song leader.
“Chris is not the longest serving Rotarian, but close with 45 years,” he noted.
Rotary member Ryan Odor announced two donations from the club to local entities.
The first went to the Le Mars BackPack Program, which packs food for children in need. The program director, Brenda Nohava, thanked the Rotary Club for the $1,000 donation.
The second donation, also $1,000, went to Josh’s Ride, an organization that provides adaptive bikes for children with special needs. Beth Meyer accepted the donation on behalf of that program.
The evening’s program was presented on the Flight to End Polio.
Peter Teahen of the Cedar Rapids Rotary Club and John Ockenfels of the Iowa City Rotary Club, undertook a mission to fly around the world to end polio now.
They started planning the trip in 2020, and were finally able to accomplish their goal in 2023. Both men are pilots, and flew their Cessna T210m plane over 30,000 miles from May 5 to July 30, 2023, earning the title of Earthrounders.”
The two made 37 landings in 19 countries, attended more than 24 fundraisers and spent more than 180 hours in the air.
During their stops, they also administered polio vaccine to children.
Through their efforts, more than $2 million has been raised for the Fight to End Polio. That amount includes a Bill Gates Foundation matching donation.
Following their presentation, the Le Mars Rotary Club presented a donation to the Rotary Foundation of $3,736. More donations came in after the program, raising $4,246 for End Polio Now. With the Bill Gates Foundation 2 for 1 match, the total is $12,738, according to Schneider.
