Charitable trust offers $1.2 million for Orient

ORIENT — As the small Adair County town celebrated its annual Pumpkin Days festival Saturday, it also received a gift from one of its natives to be used to enhance the town and area in the future.

A native daughter of Orient and 1957 graduate of the school Charlene (Speed) Lamberti along with her husband, Donald, presented a $1 million charitable fund. An additional $200,000 will be dedicated to the school district.

The Helen and Virgil Speed and Family Orient Iowa Charitable Fund from the Lambertis and will be maintained at the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. The fund is named for Charlene Lamberti’s parents who lived in Orient and raised three children. Donald and Charlene Lamberti founded Casey’s the third-largest convenience store chain in the United States, from a leased store in Boone. The Lambertis have given back to Iowa in many ways, supporting education, faith-based efforts, entrepreneurship, addiction treatment and prevention and community betterment.

“We want rural towns to survive, we have to invest in them and help them maintain their sense of community,” said Charlene. “I loved growing up in Orient; it’s a great place to raise a family and we want others to have that opportunity. We are establishing this fund to give Orient added resources for the future.”

All of the funds will be allocated to the community through the Orient Area Betterment and Improvement Corp. Ryan Frederick, president of Orient Area Betterment, said the timing couldn’t be better for the town that boasts the birthplaces of Vice President Henry Wallace and National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dazzy Vance. The town is also on the historic Mormon Trail.

“Jeff Lamberti called me about establishing the fund last October, it was the most unexpected and welcome phone call I have ever received,” Frederick said. “After a tornado in Greenfield and the dissolution of our school district, the timing is nothing short of a godsend.”

Jeff had similar sentiments.

“We need to insure to make sure these small towns are still around. There are challenges, but they are not dead,” he said.

“Small, rural towns do not have an opportunity like this. It can be a real struggle to raise any meaningful sum for a community project sometimes, so when Charlene and her family decide to channel $1 million into our community, its a game changer,” said Frederick, who attended the same high school in Orient as Charlene and her family.

Frederick said there have been no decisions on how the funds will be first used. The betterment organization will lead with review of proposals and distribution of the funds, expected to use a certain amount each year in ensuing years.

The Orient-Macksburg School District has an uncertain future. In June, the school board approved to begin the procedure to close the district after the 2024-2025 school year, which began Friday. During the summer a committee organized by the school board proposed a plan to distribute the Orient-Macksburg district territory to neighboring school districts with a planned vote in March 2025 by O-M voters.

Creston and Winterset districts appealed the proposal which made the March vote impossible. Orient-Macksburg may continue through the 2025-2026 school year, but may also face financial challenges because of its small number of students.

The Lambertis are donating $200,000 to the Orient Area Betterment and Improvement Corp. to assist with the dissolution of the Orient-Macksburg School District. Funds are to be used to ensure the school district building remains a productive asset for the Orient area. These funds may also be used for the establishment or maintenance of a public, private or charter school in Orient.

“We hope this inspires others to open their hearts and wallets,” Jeff said about helping Orient. “This is a special place for our family.”