Parkville Presbyterian Church - Living Center (lower level)
819 Main Street, Suite 304b, Parkville, MO 64152
When:
12:00 PM
Topic: Aquatic Turtle Research in Platte Landing Park Wetlands
Dr. Jeff Kimmons, a professor at Park University, is leading an aquatic turtle research project with his students in the wetlands at Platte Landing Park in Parkville, Missouri. The study aims to identify turtle species, measure population numbers, and understand their diets to gauge the wetland's ecological health.
Hunter Springer serves as the research assistant working alongside Dr. Jeff Kimmons to study the local aquatic turtle populations.
This study expands on his successful 2021 research at Rush Creek in the Sullivan Nature Sanctuary.
Katherine Swanson provided this program.
Parkville Board of Alderman Approves Parkville Rotary Plaza
Tonight, Tuesday, August 4th, the Parkville Board of Aldermen approved, by unanimous vote, the construction of the Parkville Rotary Plaza. The plaza project is part of a larger landscaping upgrade near Farmers Market in English Landing Park. It is the result of a collaboration between the City of Parkville, RYAN Lawn & Tree, and the Parkville Rotary Club.
Big thank you's go to Brittanie Propes and Alexa Barton of the City, Mark Stuhlsatz and Chris Ohlde of Ryan and your Parkville Rotary Board of Directors.
The biggest thank you goes to immediate past president, Dave Rittman, who has guided this project from start to finish. The largest part of funding comes from the John Schott memorial fund, which he left for us to choose a worthy project. We believe he would approve.
Construction will start soon, possibly by the end of next week. Hardscape goes in first, then the plantings. We also hope to move the Rotary Clock to the center of the Plaza. Project completion is estimated to be the end of October, if all goes well. We are hoping to locate a member of the Schott family to be present for the dedication.
Steve Bleish
President
Upcoming Parkville Rotary Board Meeting
Our first Board meeting for the 2026-2027 Rotary year is Wednesday, August 5th at 6 PM. We will meet in our very own Rotary Library, located in the Park University Underground (currently leased by AAON). We will have several topics to discuss, the biggest is the Parkville Rotary Plaza, which will be up for approval by the Board of Aldermen the night before (August 4).
An email was sent with directions to the Library. If you need additional directions please reach out to Steve.
Parkville Days Parade
Join us in the 2026 Parkville Days Parade!
Saturday, August 22, 2026
If you are interested in participating with Parkville Rotary please let Bob Stone know. This years theme is "Small Town, Big Spirit." We want to see all that Parkville pride!
Bob Stone
rdstone@gmail.com
District 6040 Paul Harris Promotion
For the 1st half of Rotary year 26/27, District 6040 is offering an exciting opportunity for anyone who wants to make a donation to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund SHARE.
The District will match points to dollars 1:1!
If you make an Annual Fund SHARE donation of $500, the District will match with 500 points and you'll be recognized with a Paul Harris Fellowship.
If you make a $250 donation, the District will match with 250 points.
If you make a $367 donation, the District will match it!
If you make a $1000 donation, the district will match with 1000 points and you'll be recognized with TWO Paul Harris Fellowships!
The Fine Print:
Points cannot be used to meet your Paul Harris Society obligation.
The points program is for Annual Fund donations only.
Points will be matched up to 2000 per Rotarian during the promotion.
If you'd like to take advantage of this promotion and truly make a difference in the world and in our District, contact me and I'll take care of the paperwork.
John Schott was a former member for many years in Parkville Rotary. He went on to become District Governor, and remaining in Rotary for 37 years. He was known for his charitable activities, donations to Rotary Projects, community involvement, and civic commitments. When he passed in CY 2009 at age 83, he left Parkville Rotary Charities a sizable donation to support a unique, extraordinary, high visibility special project(s) that would benefit our community.
Our most recent Board worked on this for many months, and developed the concept of the John Schott Rotary Plaza, to be built within the confines of English Landing Park near Farmer’s Market, in Parkville. On June 17, 2026 the Board voted to authorize the project, to be built later this summary and fall.
The project contains a beautifully designed area with rock walls, tables, benches, a water fall feature, night time computerized multi-colored lighting, a drinking fountain, and other amenities that can be used by our citizens for many years to come. The area is also being designed to house our Rotary Clock at some point in the future when the expected Highway 9 reconstruction eliminates the island where the clock currently is located.
John Shott Rotary Plaza has been professionally designed by Ryan Landscaping as part of a major upgrade near the Farmer’s Market in Parkville. Several artist renderings have been developed and are provided which show the ambience of the project that will reflect positively for years to come on both Rotary and John Schott for their collective ongoing involvements in the community.
Grand opening is targeted to occur in mid to late October 2026.
Fountain Materials: Formal Falls 65 Gallon, Basin with built in LED (Self Draining),
Blue Thumb Illumiflow, 6000 GPH pump, Pump Filter, Flexible Hosing, 40in Stainless Steel, Spillway Weir
A little more about John Schott:
John Schott was a man that believed in serving his community, and became extremely well known doing so in the 1970's and 1980's. Following earning a degree in Business and Accounting from The University of Washington, he moved to Kansas City in 1951.
He moved his home and businesses to Platte County in 1965 and worked very hard to find ways to benefit his clients. He was always looking out and working for the benefit of the "little guy."
He served as a Western Platte County Judge; helped establish and served as Treasurer of the Southern Platte County Fire District and was the first Commander of the VFW Post #7356 of Parkville. Obtaining the rank of Lieutenant in the US Air Force, he had served on his tour of duty in the Philippines and Okinawa during WWII, and obtained his pilot's license after the war.
He was a longtime member of the Parkville Rotary Club where he served a term as president and later become District Governor in 1984. He maintained a perfect attendance record for over 37 years. He was very proud to be a Paul Harris Fellow award recipient and seeing his fellow club members all become Paul Harris Fellows. He contributed greatly to Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus program which was started in the mid 1980s and designed to eradicate polio worldwide.
John was a visionary and the pioneer that brought Cable Television to the Northland in Kansas City in the late 1960s. In 1969 he founded Platte County Communication Company in Platte County. In 1974 he founded Platte County Home Theatre, Inc., and in 1976 he started Clay County Communication Company in Gladstone, MO. He built all these businesses with the best interests of his customers and shareholders foremost in mind.
Bringing business to Platte County and the Northland and watching them and the community grow was always of great importance to John. He watched out for and enjoyed sharing success with others, particularly with the 'little guys' building their own businesses. John helped numerous people start and grow their businesses. He invested his time and effort in the 1st National Bank of Platte County, Tuf-Flight Industries, Inc., The Brass Rail, Complete Roofing and Supply and many others.
John was a member of the Platte Woods United Methodist Church. He passed away on November 9, 2009.
Member News!
Have news you want to share with Parkville Rotary members? Email Dalyn at dnovak@wskfarch.com to have your news added to this section of the newsletter.
The Membership Committee has been hard at work looking for great new members. All members and prospective members can access the new member forms by clicking on the blue box below. This link will take you directly to the membership forms.
Parkville Rotary has the following membership types:
Standard Rotarian Membership
Corporate Membership
Spouse Membership
Please submit the forms filled out to Edie Hays-Bleish, edie.hays@gmail.com, so the new member information can be reviewed by the board for approval! We are always looking for new members to join our growing club!
When you have a speaker scheduled please make sure to provide the following information to Katherine Swanson at drkswanson@gmail.com, who is managing our events calendar.
Speaker Name
Speaker Bio
Speaker Topic
Any other information you think members would like to know about your speaker, photos are welcomed too!
This information is included in this weekly newsletter and can really get people excited to come listen to our weekly speakers!
