We will be convening in the back room at Johnny's in Creekside. Come join us at 5:30 PM for food and drink. Lots of lively conversation, we have had a busy start to the Rotary year! Family and friends are welcome.
No Rotary meeting on Friday July 17.
Meet Our New Rotary Board!
President: Steve Bleish
President Elect: Joe Carroll
Vice President: Katherine Swanson
Secretary: Nora Hildreth
Executive Secretary: Dalyn Novak
Treasurer: Dave Rittman
Assistant Treasurer: Lee McLain
RYLA: Eddie Batts
Scholarships: Kristin Gillette
Membership/Grants: Edie Hays-Bleish
International Service/Grants: Michelle Sparks
Director: Bob Stone
Community Service: Mark Stuhlsatz
Please note that Katherine Swanson is in charge of Programs so please make sure to get her your program and speaker information so it can be added to the website and the newsletter! More information can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.
Calling All Volunteers! We Need You Tomorrow!
Our day to help at the food pantry is Thursday July 16. We will be unloading the Harvesters truck and then stocking shelves. The truck arrives around 7:30 AM. We should be done in about and hour.
SPEAC is located in the lowest level of Parkville Presbyterian Church, Highway 9 entrance. Please park on the east side of the parking lot (facing the Park U fields), to give the truck plenty of room to pull up alongside the building.
Come join a happy group of volunteers and help make a difference in our community! Friends and family, of all ages, are welcome.
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 City of Parkville is expected to provide their final approval by the Board of Alderman on July 21, 2026.
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.
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
Parkville Rotary Meeting on July 10th
The Parkville Rotary Club convened their first meeting of the 2026-2027 Rotary year. Several members were recognized for their contributions of money or service time. Also a check was gifted to Lucille, Pearl, and Cora of the Washington Chapel for their ongoing restoration.
Joe Carroll and Robert Kersey were presented a commemorative coin for their work with "Shoes for Orphan Souls".
Banners were exchanged with Rodrigo Villatoro, visiting as part of the Rotary Friendship Exchange. Rodrigo is president of the Rotary Club of Guatemala City Norte, Guatemala.
A check was gifted to Lucille, Pearl, and Cora of the Washington Chapel for their ongoing restoration.
Rodrigo, President of the Rotary Club of Guatemala City Norte, Guatemala with Parkville Rotary President Steve Bleish.
(left to right) Joe Carroll, Robert Kersey, and Steve Bleish
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!
