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| Co-Owners, Brooks and Todd Powell |
The Rotary Club of Des Moines is proud to have Powell Homes as an Event Sponsor of the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival. Since the inception of Powell Homes in 1909, this family of builders has made quality and integrity their watchwords.
Great-grandfather H.H. Benton started it all in 1909, building new homes as Seattle boomed. During the Great Depression, he built Benton Court Apartments, still in use today. He persuaded son-in-law, Cecil Powell, to join the business and together they created Barton Square Apartments, Normandy Duke Apartments and hundreds of single family homes, all serving owners and tenants today.
Third generation Monte Powell learned from his father and grandfather as he worked his way through college. His special interest was retirement homes. In 1967, he created the nationally acclaimed Huntington Park Retirement Village, which is still serving the community of Des Moines. His sons followed his example, building homes as they went to college. Two of them, Todd and Brooks Powell, now head the company. They have added a new emphasis on remodeling and renovation as the next generation moves into Seattle’s aging housing stock.
When asked during a recent interview why Powell Homes chose to return as the event sponsor for the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, Brooks said, "Since my family's move to Des Moines in the 1960's, we have always felt it was important to participate in the community. Our primary goal is to have a positive impact in Des Moines, so partnering with the Rotary Club of Des Moines just makes sense". The Powell family has had a long history of giving back to their community. This can be seen in their involvement in the Fireworks Over Des Moines, the Poverty Bay Blues and Brews Fest, the Des Moines Waterland Festival, and many other local events.
You can meet the co-owners of Powell Homes at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival on March 2 - 4th. Both Brooks and Todd will be on hand hosting a booth at the festival and will be happy to tell you how their company can meet your home renovation or new construction needs.
 Someone once said, "Working together, ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats. ". This was certainly true last weekend when 52 people gathered together to make a difference in Des Moines. On Saturday, January 7th, members from Taproot Church, Des Moines Gospel Church, Normandy Park Christian Church, Sterling Savings Bank and the Federal Way High School Honors Society met at the Federal Way Multi Services Center Homeless Shelter on South Military Road. Their mission was simple: to completely repaint five homes as a part of the Family Shelter Unit Project adopted by The Rotary Club of Des Moines.
When asked about the success of the day's event, Steve Swank, the Committee Service Chair of the Rotary Club of Des Moines, remarked, "It was amazing to see the way that all of the volunteers bonded together as a team for the purpose of creating a quality living environment for future residents of this shelter. We committed to painting five homes and we didn't stop until the work was done!"
The Family Shelter Unit Project is funded by the Rotary District 5030 Homelessness Grant. The Rotary Club of Des Moines applied for the grant and contacted Federal Way Multi-Service Center (MSC) to determine that there was a need. The center oversees the transitional housing shelter in Des Moines with the goal of helping homeless families get off the street and eventually into more permanent housing. The shelter serves over 800 people each year and has a waiting year list of 1,400. With the rapid turnover of families moving in and out of the shelter, there is a constant need to completely repaint the units and replace furniture. For more information about the Family Shelter Unit Project or to get involved, please contact Steve Swank at sfsaustin@comcast.net .
For more information about the Rotary Club of Des Moines, please visi our website at www.dmrotary.org.
Photos courtesy of Steve Swank.
Each year, the Rotary Club of Des Moines hands out dictionaries to all of the 3rd grade students in the city of Des Moines, as a part of a larger Rotary International program called Dictionaries by The Dozen. This year was no exception. Over 360 third graders across Des Moines recently received a hard bound copy of the Scholastic Children's Dictionary. The dictionary is full of illustrations and photographs which help increase children's vocabulary and language skills.
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| North Hill Elementary |
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| Parkside Elementary |
The members of the Rotary Club of Des Moines have found this project to be one of the most rewarding experiences, particularly when they see the excited expressions on the students faces as they write their names in their very own dictionary. Each year the club receives dozens of letters and thank yous from students, parents and teachers for the dictionaries. From time to time, the club members will also encounter past 3rd grade students who remember the experience and still own the dictionary!
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| Des Moines Elementary |
"Supporting education is one of the most important ways we can make our community strong. Early reading skills are closely linked to success in school all the way through high school. Giving a dictionary to a third grader not only supports their reading skills, but tells them there are people in their community who want to help them do well in school", said Catherine Carbone-Rogers, the Rotary club's New Generations Committee Chair and the Director of Communications and Community Relations for Highline Public Schools.
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| Santa's Helpers, Katie and Helena, show off the toys! |
This holiday season, the Rotary Club of Des Moines captured the spirit of Christmas in a very special way. In partnership with Midway Elementary in Des Moines, the Rotary club adopted two families who were in need. In early December, Committee Service Chair, Steve Swank, met with Midway Elementary School Counselor, Jill Ramsey, to select the two families. The club donated $500 worth of food, gift cards and, of course, toys to each disadvantaged family. On December 21st, several of the Rotarians and their children played Santa's helpers and had the joy of personally delivering the gifts to the families. It was such a delight to see the excitement in the children's eyes when they saw all of the brightly wrapped presents!
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| A car full of goodies! |
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| A very shy Santa's Helper |
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Community Service Chair, Steve Swank, and Rotarian Dave Markwell
gather for a photo with the father of two boys. Helena and Aden Markwell
and Katie Meinecke also in photo. |
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| Helena, Katie and Aden poise with family |
For more information about the Adopt a Family for the Holidays project, please contact Steve Swank at sfsaustin@comcast.net. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Des Moines, please visit our website at www.dmrotary.org.
Photos courtesy of Lisa Meinecke.
May your holidays sparkle and shine! Warmest Wishes from the Rotary Club of Des Moines
For the 2nd year, the Rotary Club of Des Moines has partnered with Midway Elementary School in the collection of winter coats for grade school students and other individuals within the community of Des Moines. Donations of coats were dropped off at Corky Cellars in Des Moines during the month of November.
Last year, members of the Des Moines Rotary Club and citizens of Des Moines contributed a total of 85 coats and $950 in cash, which greatly benefited both the students at Midway Elementary School and other less fortunate residents of our community. This year, the club collected over 130 coats and $615.00 in cash donations!
On Thursday, December 8th, Rotarians, Steve Swank and Ric Jacobson, along with several staff members of Midway Elementary were on hand to pass out the coats to families in need. Rebekah Kim, the Principal of Midway Elementary, was pleased with the selection of the coats and commended the club for their support. Over 100 families were served that night, but, sadly, many families were turned away because all of the coats had been distributed. The club plans to spend additional dollars to purchase more coats to meet the need.
The Rotary Club of Des Moines would like to express gratitude to the citizens of Des Monies for their generous contributions and exceeding last year’s efforts. Special thanks to Ric and Dianne Jacobsen of Corky Cellars for supporting the coat drive and hosting wine tastings again during the month of November. For more information about this project and how you can get involved, please contact Steve Swank, Community Service Chair, for The Rotary Club of Des Moines.
For more information about the club, please visit www.dmrotary.org.
Holiday Greetings,
Looking for that perfect stocking stuffer for that certain someone on your list? Look no further! Tickets for the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival are on sale! You can buy your tickets NOW and save $5 off the price you’ll pay at the door.
Go to our website (www.DMRotary.org) to purchase tickets and for additional information. These make great office gifts and stocking stuffers!
You’ll have a great time and all proceeds will support the charities of the Rotary Club of Des Moines. So you can please that certain someone on your list while knowing that your gift is helping others in the community. It's truly is the gift that keeps on giving! You can thank us later!
See you there!
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You can meet the co-owners of Powell Homes at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival on March 2 - 4th. Both Brooks and Todd will be on hand hosting a booth at the festival and will be happy to tell you how their company can meet your home renovation or new construction needs. 
