Welcome!
Thank you for visiting our West Wichita Rotary Club Website! Rotary is a diverse group of local businessmen and women dedicated to promoting Service above Self throughout the community and world.
 
Chartered in 1987, our club provides each member with a unique opportunity to serve others.  We support our community with projects throughout the year, including building and delivering bookshelves for several west Wichita Title 1 schools, partnering with local schools to identify families in need of groceries, providing gifts for needy families at Christmas and ringing bells for the Salvation Army.  Our club also supports international goodwill through the Open World Program and Rotary Inter-country Teacher Exchange (RITE). We have many opportunities to give back to our community and world that you will find very rewarding. 
 
Please, take a few moments and discover all that our club has to offer by browsing our website.
Speakers
Upcoming Speakers
Cindy Chrisman, Leslie Turner
Sep 29, 2026 12:00 PM
Wichita Public School Foundation

Cindy Chrisman, Principal at Lawrence Elementary, has been a principal for eleven years, and the last seven of those have been at Lawrence Elementary. She has worked in the district for twenty eight years. Her journey in education began as an elementary PE teacher, then as an Assistant Principal for thirteen years at various elementary schools before moving into the Principal position. She believes that students should have every chance to learn that she had growing up and she strives to make sure that happens. She would not be where she is without the staff at Lawrence behind her doing the incredibly hard work that they do every single day to help their students be the best version of themselves that they can be.

Leslie Turner, Principal Benton Elementary Leslie Turner is in her third year as principal at Benton Elementary, prior to that she was at Black Traditional Magnet for five years and Christa McAuliffe Academy for four years.  Leslie works with students, staff and families is various capacities related to instruction, culture, personnel, family and community engagement and school improvement. Leslie’s goals for Benton are to create a safe, caring community where students, staff and families work together to help every child grow, learn and succeed.  She brings her own experiences as a WPS graduate, strong decision-making skills and a commitment to success.  Leslie holds a Bachelors in Exercise Science, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a Masters of Science Education in Building Leadership.

Brandt Wilson is the founder of Love Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to building meaningful, sustainable partnerships between local communities and public schools. Under his leadership, Love Schools grew from a grassroots effort supporting a single school into a dynamic network spanning thirteen schools and forty two community partners, including businesses, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations. Love Schools is now part of the Wichita Public Schools Foundation, where Brandt serves as Program Specialist. Before launching Love Schools, Brandt spent seventeen years as a children’s pastor, where he discovered his passion for equipping people and building community. Brandt holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the education field and uses his background in education, and experience building community to his role at the Wichita Public Schools Foundation. Brandt has been married for over twenty years to Jessica, his constant encourager, and together, they’re raising two incredible teenagers, Campbell and Grady. 

Greer Cowley is a native Wichitan and proud Wichita Public Schools graduate (go Aces!). A graduate of Westminster College in Missouri with a Bachelors in History and Political Science, Greer has spent nearly a decade in non-profit management, including most recently in fundraising development for HumanKind Ministries, and previously in education at Exploration Place. Greer and her husband Tyler reside in west Wichita with their young daughter, Sloane and rambunctious lab, Ace. They both see the value in public education, shaped by their own experiences graduating from Wichita Public Schools, and being part of a family of USD 259 educators.

Past Speakers
Logan Bradshaw, Director of Community Impact, UW
Sep 22, 2026 12:00 PM
Literacy initiatives in Wichita
Kim Hett @ Khan Lab
Sep 15, 2026 12:00 PM
Personalized learning

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Repainting a US map at Lawrence Elementary
These oversized maps of the United States are on dozens of our playgrounds throughout our district. This map at Lawrence Elementary was one of our first and needed a fresh paint job. Teachers use these maps for a variety of educational purposes and the maps are an example of Rotary's ongoing community service.
David Weber Extra Effort Awards 
 
Rotary Club of West Wichita works with teachers at Lawrence Elementary and Benton Elementary to recognize students for their extra effort. Students are given a small plaque and teachers explain the traits that helped them earn the award. This program was started in the late 1980s by the late David Weber, a music educator at Friends University and club member.
Rotarians deliver gift cards to local teachers
Elementary teachers at Benton and Lawrence start the school year with more cash to buy school supplies thanks to a grant from the West Rotary Foundation. Watch the video of teachers getting the gifts
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
 

We love celebrating the birthdays of our members and recognizing their long-term commitment to Rotary and its ideal of 'service above self."

Member Birthdays:
  • Dennis Nguutu
    September 10
  • Mark Day
    September 20
  • Paige Koeppen
    September 28
Join Date:
  • Brent Groves
    September 9, 2008
    18 years
  • Monty Allen
    September 12, 2017
    9 years
  • Paul Blissett
    September 28, 2004
    22 years
  • Brian Goudie
    September 29, 1998
    28 years