The Aurora Rotary Club tipped its hat to one of its own last week as a crowd of current and former members honored Jim Koepke for his 54 years of service to the club.
Koepke, a retired banker, and his family moved to Aurora in 1970 and a year later he joined the local service organization. He shared that back in those days business leaders couldn’t just join Rotary, they had to be invited and voted in.
“Frank Farr was instrumental in asking me and that was a big deal back then,” he recalled. “You had to be voted in, which probably wasn’t good, but for the time it was okay. Rotary has been a big thing in Aurora as a lot of our community leaders were members over the years. The structure has changed a little bit, but it’s for the good.”
One thing that has not changed in those 54 years is the Rotary motto, which Koepke touts as service above self.
“That’s the main purpose of Rotary, and I think our current members are very involved in the community,” he said. “There are four avenues of service, which include club service, like what we’re doing here today; community service, where we do things to help better the community; vocational service, which I call more networking when you come to the meetings and network with people; and the last one is international. That one is very important and we once raised $20,000 here in this club for Polio Plus (a Rotary International initiative to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.)”
Koepke said the culture of the club when he joined reflected the 1970s era.
“There was no social media so that was sort of your social life,” he said. “We used to have a summer picnic for the family out at the country club and in January we always had a club birthday party and included our wives, who were called Rotary Annes. That was a big deal, too.”
As a relative newcomer to Aurora, Koepke recalled when he and Bob Person, both new members, were assigned to serve beverages at the weekly meetings, which were held in the back of what is now the Pueblo Viejo Mexican restaurant on Highway 34.
“There were 72 members at that time and it was crowded in that back room,” he said, recalling one week when all 72 members were present. “They had us at the end of the buffet line and when they came through the line Bob and I would say ‘Coffee, tea or me,’ then we’d have to go around and fill the glasses. They did that as a way to help those who were new in the community get to know people, so it was just a way of socializing.”
Attending the weekly meetings was a big deal as well, Koepke shared, recalling how “Mr. Aurora” Ken Wortman and Frank Farr each recorded perfect attendance for nearly 50 years.
“If you had to miss a meeting you could make it up by going to York or Grand Island,” Koepke explained. “I was secretary for four or five years and I remember Ken would call me up and ask who missed that week’s meeting. Then he would call them and ask if they needed a ride. That was just part of the culture at that time.”
Among the highlights Koepke recalled during his time in the club are hosting district governors as well as Rotary exchange teams from India, Japan, Australia and other nations. The club also hosted high school exchange students and awarded scholarships to local students, a tradition which carries on still today, though the amount has gone from $250 to $2,000. Several years ago, the club also took on a Habitat for Humanity project, helping build a home in the community.
COVID impact
Another project Koepke recalls helping plan never happened, due to the outbreak of a global pandemic.
“In 2020 we were going to celebrate our 100th anniversary and we had big plans,” he said. “We invited former Rotarians, had programs printed and everything, and then COVID hit. They shut everything down and we had to cancel our 100th anniversary party. That was probably my biggest disappointment because we had worked on that for a whole year and couldn’t do it.”
Rotary was one of many clubs and organizations that didn’t meet for a year or more, which led to a critical decision about the club’s future.
“A bunch of us older members said maybe it’s time for Rotary to step out of Aurora and let’s just celebrate that we were here for 100 years,” he said. “A lot of clubs in Aurora were going through the same process. Fortunately, we had a bunch of younger members that didn’t think so, and they wanted to keep Rotary going.
They’re doing a great job now and I want to thank them for continuing Rotary. I can’t do the highway pickups or the hazardous waste days anymore, which is one of the reasons I’m stepping back, but I would say these younger members are probably doing a better job of community service than we did years ago.”
The honoree said he has documented much of the club’s history, which he passed on with hopes that it will be updated and saved as a source of history by the current club president.
Tammy Morris, the club’s treasurer, presented Koepke with a keepsake memento honoring his years of service.
“Today is a really meaningful moment for our club,” Morris said. “You definitely represent the heart of Rotary and when I think about the presentations that you’ve given every year about the history of our club, I think you’ve always kept our club very close to the purpose and the mission of Rotary. Over a span of 54 years, you’ve poured a lot of time, talent and heart into not only the community and the club, but to many individuals in this room as well.”
Several people in attendance shared memories of experiences with the outgoing Rotarian, concluding with a comment from club president Benjamin Dennis.
“I think we all have facets of our lives where there are people we see as so interconnected and are such a part of it that you can’t imagine that orbit without them in it,” Dennis said. “Jim, clearly you are that for this club. Even though your service is over, we will continue to exist as a club on July 1, but clearly you’ve inspired many people. I’ve never seen this many people at a Rotary meeting since I transferred in and that is a testament of your legacy and the work you’ve done for this club.”
A group of nearly 40 people recognized Koepke during his last official Rotary meeting on June 18, where Butch Furse was also recognized for continuing on as a member, having joined in 1965.
Article credit to Kurt Johnson, Aurora News Register