Saturday, August 26, 2017

Katie Orlando Shares Big Brothers/Big Sisters with Us

Emily Borcherding, Katie Orlando & Tracey Southall
Wednesday August, 26, 2017 - The guest speaker for this Cedar Falls Kiwanis meeting was our outgoing Kiwanis Lt. Governor Katie Orlando who is also the CEO of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa.  Katie, who is also a member of our club, shared her organization's philosophy and the many programs that they have to support kids in Northeast Iowa.

The Big Brother/Big Sisters organization's main purpose is to pair similar-interest disadvantaged little brothers/little sisters aged 6 to 18 with adults (Big Brothers/Big Sisters) for mentoring.  According to Katie and the organization's past experience,  When an adult is matched with youth and the meet for 4 hours or more a month over 18 months, it can provide you Little Brother/Little Sister with a good role model and inspiration. This connection also helps a child improve academically in school and become a better citizen.  This cements together the Big/Little participants, by producing a lasting and fruitful relationship that will last a lifetime for the benefit of both.  Most of the mentored youth finish school and then go on to an institution of higher learning or the military.  
Written by Lynn Barnes


The Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa is making big difference in the Cedar Valley's youth.  We are thankful for what you are doing and for sharing it with us.

This program was organized by Emily Borcherding.  Thanks, Emily.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Telling the Direction of the UNI Educator Preparation Program - Dr. Victoria Robinson

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 - This past Wednesday, our Cedar Falls Kiwanis Rough Risers Club had the teacher of teachers, Dr. Victoria Robinson, the Associate VP for Educator Preparation from the UNI College of Education share an eye-opening presentation on today’s state of education in Iowa. Our Kiwanis Club has a large section of current and retired educators who received their core course study from the University of Northern Iowa so Dr. Robinson’s timely presentation was met with much focus and attention.

Dr. Robinson gave our Kiwanis Club an in-depth historical background of the teacher preparation in Iowa all the way though until the present time. We did not realize that a quarter of all UNI undergraduate students study to become an educator and the largest major course of study on the Campus has approximately 1,200 students. Dr. Robinson added this mind-boggling fact: 98% of all school districts in Iowa have teachers who are graduates of UNI.

This is an area of major study to prepare educators for cutting- edge professional development that impacts our children to prepare them for tomorrow. UNI is working to help fill the void of the teacher shortage and vacancies due to an educator retention problem. Written by Lynn Barnes


Thank you for sharing your presentation with us, Dr. Robinson! 


Emily Borcherding was the program organizer for this month and this presentation was another success!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

KWWL's Abby Turpin Shares the News with Us!!!

August 9, 2017 - Our Cedar Falls Kiwanis Rough Riser Club had an extra special guest speaker this past Wednesday’s meeting.  It was none other than Waterloo’s very own KWWL TV News Anchor Abby Turpin!   

She was a delightful and informative speaker as she gave a detailed personal history about her credentials on her performing and journalism background.  She came from a family of Ohio educators and then broke away from the mold to follow her dream as a main market news anchor.   She has been nominated for the coveted Television Emmy Award for Excellence.  Although every day has its different challenges, Abby took us on a virtual tour of her typical 14 hour work day.   

Not only is Abby a professional broadcaster and mentor to new cub reporters breaking into the business; but she is a successful home maker, wife, and mother of a young daughter.  She hopes  that someday she will break into the major markets. Written by Lynn Barnes

Emily Borcherding was the program organizer for this month and it was a real hit!

We thank you for joining us, Abby.  It was a lot of fun.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

August Programs are to be Celebrated!


August will be a celebration of ideas and experiences:

August 2 - Club Business Meeting



August 9 - Abby TurpinKWWL News Anchor, will discuss her background and explore her ideas about the role of news in today's world.








August 16- Vickie Robinson, Associate Provost for Educator Preparation, will discuss the direction of UNI's Educator Preparation program. 










August 23 - Katie Orlando, CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa, will provide an update on the Big Brothers Big Sisters program including updates in programming, participation and future vision.










 

August 30 - Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, will share the latest news about how the Alliance is supporting Economic Development in Cedar Valley