Pacific Middle School Students Win Essay Contest

1st Place Winner
 Mariah Peterson

On Wednesday, three Pacific Middle School students were recognized as winners of the Phil Swanberg Essay Contest.  Phil Swanberg, a life long educator and an active Rotarian, passed away in 2000.  To honor of his work in education and his love for writing, the Rotary Club of Des Moines in 1996 established the Phil Swanberg Essay Contest.  This educational project focuses on middle school age children and provides an opportunity for the students to express their views on a variety of topics.

Each year, 8th grade students from Pacific Middle School in Des Moines are invited to enter the contest.  Throughout the years, the club has received hundreds of essays from applicants who have written incredible and thoughtful essays which have touched on a number of topics, such as societal issues or personal experiences. The winners are chosen based on their ability to express their views in a clear and concise manner through their writing skills. The winners recieve cash prizes raging from $100 - $250 and have the opportunity to read their essays to the Rotary Club of Des Moines and in front of their peers during a special assembly at Pacific Middle School.

The recipients of this year's award are as follows:

1st Place - Mariah  Peterson

2nd Place - Carly Strayer

3rd Place - Olivia Davis

Left to Right: Catherine Carbone-Rogers, Director of Communication and
Community Relations for the Highline School District, Olivia Davis,
Carly Strayer, Mariah Peterson, and Steve Swank, Community Service Chair
for the Rotary Club of Des Moines

The success of the Phil Swanberg Essay Contest is also directly related to the continued effort and support which the Des Moines Rotary Club receives from the Eighth Grade Language Arts staff at Pacific Middle School. Thank you also to Steve Swank, Community Service Chair, for his committment and efforts to inspire students to write!

For more information about this essay contest, please visit www.dmrotary.org.

Photos courtesy of Lisa Meinecke.

8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival Raises $50,000!

The Rotary Club of Des Moines would like to take this opportunity to thank all who attended the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival and for helping to make it such a huge success!  Over 1,800 people were in attendance at the festival held on March 2-4 at the Landmark Event Center.  Through ticket, wine and raffle sales, the club raised $50,000, which will be used to fund local community and international projects during the 2012-13 Rotary calendar year!  Past projects funded include the 3rd Grade Dictionary Project, Des Moines Park & Recreation after school programs, Des Moines Food Bank,  Highline Community College Scholarships and Rotary First Harvest.

The Rotary Club would also like to extend a special thanks to our Event Sponsors who partnered with us:

• Powell Homes
• Landmark Event Center
• Waterland Blog

Their contribution and support was key to our success!

Thank you again for your support of the Rotary Club of Des Moines and for all that you do to make our community a better place to live and work.  We look forward to seeing you all at the 9th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival!

Photo courtesy of Carmen Scott.