Rock Island Rotary

06/05/2026

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Here's a few facts about Rotary's founder Paul Harris, that you not have known.

06/03/2026

Five Quad Cities-area organizations have been awarded a combined total of $8,025 in community grants from the Rock Island Rotary club. The grants were presented at the club’s regular weekly meeting on June 2.

The organizations receiving Rock Island Rotary grants and the projects funded were:

— $1,500 to SAL Community Services for their Skip-a-Long Childhood Centers in Rock
Island to provide edcational supplies.

— $1,700 to the New Kingdom Trailriders based in Sherrard, Illinois, to support their therapeutic horse riding programs. The grant will be used to
construct a lean-to in the program’s pasture, so horses will have shelter from the weather when the need arises.

— $2,000 to the Nahant Marsh Education Center, a 382-acre preserve with the mission of protecting, enhancing, and restoring the marsh through education, research, and conservation. The grants provide free education programs for children.

— $1,325 to the Earl Hanson Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), to revive an annual Culture Night event, which had not happened since the pandemic. The grants will provide for food and supplies for the event, where students and their parents will display their native culture through clothing, items, and food, and have the opportunity to experience other cultures displayed by fellow students and their families.

— $1,500 to Two Rivers United Methodist Church of Rock Island for their weekly Saturday meal site. In addition to the hot meal, recipients are given a bag of fresh produce to take home. The grant will help defray the cost of the take-home nutritional items.

This was the second and final round of community grants in 2026 from the Rock Island Rotary Foundation. The club’s foundation giving for the two rounds of grants this year has exceeded $15,000.

05/22/2026

Young Professionals - Join us! Find out about making connections and Service Above Self with this special offer from Moline Rotary!

05/20/2026

ROCK ISLAND ROTARY CLUB PRESENTS
MARY L. FISLAR COMMUNITY SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP

LaRayah Carroll, a senior at Rock Island High School, is the 2026 recipient of the Mary Fislar Community Service Scholarship from the Rock Island Rotary Club.

The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior based on academic achievement, involvement in extracurricular activities, and a 500-word essay about the student’s community and school service.

LaRayah Carroll has an impressive record at Rock Island High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society and carries a 4.0 GPA. She has been enrolled in Honors and AP classes throughout her high school career.

She participated in Orchestra, Student Council, the AVID Program, and Grey Matters. LaRayah earned a varsity letter as a member of the cheerleading squad, which she served as captain during her Junior year.

She has been actively involved in the work of Second Baptist Church, Rock Island, where she has volunteered for community service events such as the MLK Fish Fry.

LaRayah has volunteered for the Rock Island High School Blood Drive, the Quad Cities Heart Walk, and the Quad Cities Marathon.

She has been accepted to the School of Engineering at Iowa State University, where she will major in Construction Engineering.

Mary Fislar was a member of the Rock Island Rotary Club for 28 years, serving as Club President in 2004-2005. She was active in the work of Rotary District 6420, and in 2017 was named District Rotarian of the Year.

Members of the Rock Island Rotary Club established the scholarship as a tribute to Mary’s commitment to service to others.

05/15/2026

The Rotary Club of Rock Island Foundation has awarded Tapestry Farms $10,500 to make upgrades to an urban orchard it purchased last year in Rock Island’s West End. The grant was announced at the club’s weekly meeting on May 12.
Rock Island Rotary Foundation funds will allow Tapestry Farms team to install a water source at the orchard site to support the health and longevity of current and future fruit trees. The grant also will help fund construction of a shed for storage of specialized orchard-care equipment. Currently the orchard has about 50 fruit trees of various types on a half-acre of land.
"The orchard team at Tapestry Farms is so very grateful for this investment in our work. We see so much potential in this beautiful piece of land and its fruit trees in west Rock Island, and this grant will support our plans for ensuring it has the proper infrastructure in place for years to come,” said Ann McGlynn, executive director of Tapestry Farms. “We look forward to this orchard becoming a space where nutritious food grows, and where people can come and learn how to care for fruit trees. It will play an important role in our hopes that every single person in the Quad-Cities has the food needed to be nourished well, and that more of our community's rich soil and plentiful land will be used to grow food."
Tapestry Farms equips refugees in the Quad Cities with knowledge and encourages them with care as they connect, contribute and thrive in their new community. It was established in 2017 to fill a need to provide refugees and their families with holistic, long-term resettlement support. Since its founding, Tapestry Farms has grown to welcome and assist nearly 200 refugee families, approximately half of whom live Rock Island.

05/13/2026

05/07/2026

Two members of the Rotary Club of Rock Island — Rebecca Arnold and Andrea Talentino — are among 11 honorees selected as 2026 Women of Influence by the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal.

Arnold (left photo) is the community impact and development manager at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. The Journal cited her for “measurable impact” from her leadership in strengthening community systems and advancing equity, both locally and globally. A veteran of the Peace Corps, Arnold has a strong background as a global practitioner of public health. She teaches courses in Augustana College’s undergraduate public health program, and she has received a distinguished alumni designation from the University of Iowa College of Public Health.

Since Talentino (right photo) became president of Augustana College in 2022, she has been widely recognized by many Quad Cities leaders for her own leadership in the community and of the college, which the Journal reports that she equates to “running a town.” Before coming to Rock Island, Talentino held several administrative positions in higher education, including at Nazareth College in New York, Norwich University in Vermont, and Drew University in New Jersey. In nominating her for this honor, Visit Quad Cities President and CEO Dave Herrell wrote that her “thoughtful leadership, ability to inspire others, and her strategic vision are delivering for Augustana, for higher education, and for our community.”

The full profiles of Arnold, Talentino, and the other nine Women of Influence can be read in the current (May 6, 2026) print edition of the QC Regional Business Journal. All profiles also will be available soon for paid subscribers in the journal’s online edition at www.quadcitiesbusiness.com.

04/29/2026

There are a lot of great days to be a Rotarian… but this one? This one is a favorite here at Rock Island Rotary. 💙💛

The Rock Island Rotary proudly celebrated our 52nd Annual Awards Luncheon—a tradition that brings together the very best of service, leadership, and future promise in our community.

We were honored to welcome guest speaker Dave Heller, President & CEO of Main Street Baseball, and majority owner and managing partner of FOUR minor league baseball teams including the Quad Cities River Bandits, whose message reminded us the importance of investing in your community and the impact it makes.

✨ Academic Achievement Awards
🎓 Augustana College - Illinois
• Kailynn Catalani
• Alexander Sell
🎓 Alleman High School
• Claire Mehochko
• Marcella Healy
🎓 Rock Island High School
• Olivia Seidlitz
• Averi Vroman

✨ Service & Leadership Awards
🏆 Community Service Award – Modern Woodmen of America
🏆 Excellence Award – Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation
🏆 Luckenbill-Wray Club Service Award – Dr. Richard "Bud" Phillis
🏆 A.T. Peara Service Above Self Award – Sue Rector

From celebrating outstanding students to honoring those who quietly (and not-so-quietly!) make our community stronger every day—this luncheon captures the heart of what Rotary is all about.

To our award recipients: thank you for inspiring us.

To our community: thank you for showing what service looks like in action.

Here’s to 52 years of celebrating excellence—and many more to come. 💫

04/28/2026

Huge Congratulations to Sue & Bud!!!🎉 I cannot think of two people who deserve to win those awards more.💞

04/14/2026

Congratulations!