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WELCOME TO OUR CLUB! CELEBRATING 95 YEARS OF SERVICE. COME JOIN US CONNECTING FOR GOOD.

Service Above Self

We meet Thursdays at 12:15 PM
Winnetka Community House

620 Lincoln Avenue
Tyrrell Room (winter) 111A (summer)
Winnetka, IL 60093
United States of America

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Meeting Recap October 10

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Queen Marie called the meeting to order at 12:15. There were 23 Rotarians in attendance. Marie welcomed District Governor Suzanne Gibson from the Barrington Breakfast Club, along with her husband Mark, also a Rotarian. Assistant Governor Don Gwinn from Evanston-Lighthouse, filling in for our AG Mark Bak. Marie drew our attention to the fact that October is Economic Development Month for Rotary – and stressed the good work that Rotary does in underserved communities around the world.

Thought: Joe Nash shared a quote about life and service.

Pledge: Joe filled in for twin brother Tom in leading the Pledge.

Anniversaries: Bob Baker (32), Joe Nash (7), Felicia O’Malley (2), Crystal LeRoy (1), Greg Nelson (3).

Announcements: Marie reminded us that District Fall Training is on Saturday, October 19. World Polio Day is October 24. She asked for a show of hands of those interested in joining fellow Rotarians at the Northwestern/Purdue football game on November 9^th. If you’re interested let Marie know.

Joe Nash reported that the Operation Warm event held on October 4 netted approximately $30,000 in revenue. He’d like to thank all donors with a party at Stormy’s in the next few weeks, and collected funds from several members to pay for the party.

Barb reminded us that on November 7 we will be organizing books for the Wilmette Rotary club at Gillson Park in lieu of our regular meeting.

Happy Bucks: Queen Marie gave a buck because she roller skated again last week!

Governor Suzanne gave a buck because she is happy to be here.

Heather gave a buck in honor of her son who was on NPR talking about the Ukraine.

Barb gave a buck in honor of her son and daughter-in-law’s anniversary.

Tony gave a buck in gratitude to Joe and Rich for throwing a great party on October 4.

Dig N Grin: Terry shared a story with a ghoulish theme in honor of Halloween

Speaker: District Governor Suzanne Gibson shared with us her priorities for this year as well as those of Rotary President Mark Maloney.

Patti won the ticket draw and pulled the ACE OF HEARTS! She will donate her winnings to the Foundation. New deck of cards next week.

Queen Marie adjourned the meeting at 1:25 and we went outside to have our photo taken with Gov. Suzanne’s “Gov-mobile”.

Meeting Recap October 3

Posted by Keith Reed

President Marie presided and there were 24 members present. Guests were Assistant Governor Mary Bak, Ann Latinovich (portrait artist with her studio in WCH) and Ron Bernardi. Rich Lalley gave the thought of the day which was “that the joy of giving lasts longer then the joy of getting”. Marie then recognized Rich’s contribution to Rotary by awarding him a Paul Harris pin with three rubies which signifies that he has given more the $9000 to Rotary.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Marie referred to a nice thank you note to our Club from the Glencoe Community Garden group for our participation in its recent work project; she reminded us that our District Governor, Suzanne Gibson, will be speaking at our Club meeting October 10 and be attending our Board meeting at 10:30 before the Club meeting; October 19 is a half day District Training session at Harper College for those who want to learn more about Rotary; Robert Mardirossian was celebrating both his 25th Rotary anniversary and his birthday, along with birthday celebrations by Liz Taylor and Brooke Peppey—they were all serenaded with the birthday song; Marie mentioned our October 4^th benefit for Operation Warm at the Kenilworth Club starting around 6:30 complete with auction items (Ron Bernardi is our guest auctioneer), a polka band at the beginning before the Pop band is brought on to finish up the night, a catered BBQ dinner from Stormy’s, and we are expecting well over 100 persons to attend; Rich announced that our Club has the opportunity for good publicity and possibly appearing on WGN by being bell ringers with the Salvation Army during the upcoming holiday out at the Woodfield Mall; Bill Leske said that we will be doing our usual collections at the local train stations on World Polio Day on October 24; Rich mentioned that our Rotary District Conference in Schaumberg next April 24-25 has a lineup of super speakers that would be informative for any of us who could attend.

HAPPY BUCKS: Rich contributed for all the hard work Joe Nash and others have done on the Oct. 4^th benefit at the Kenilworth Club; Connie Berman contributed because she was recently able to pick up her granddaughter from her first day in kindergarten.

DIG N GRIN: Heather Higgins told us about some things that happen when you are working at the local thrift shop including how customers misinterpret the simple concept of 50% off, how some people want to return goods purchased, and one customer who was trying to tell Heather where the Higgins Jewelry store use to be located in Winnetka—and Heather finally exclaimed to him that she knew where it was because she “was Heather Higgins”!

SPEAKER DEDE KERN, MANAGER OF NEW TRIER EXTENSION: DeDe gave an energetic and informative presentation on the New Trier Extension which is independent from the school and is celebrating 80 years in existence, one of the oldest programs of its kind on the North Shore. DeDe has been with the Extension for 5 years, but before that she was with the Winnetka Park District for 19 years and the Northfield Park District for 2 years. She described the purpose of the Extension as a premier community education program that provides lifelong learning opportunities for adults and youths of the community. It offers programs mainly during the evening hours and primarily at New Trier West facilities, but it also uses other locations such as New Trier East, Am Yisrael Synagogue, Dammrich Rowing Center in Skokie, Northfield Park District, North Shore United Methodist Church in Glencoe, the Music Institute in Northfield and the Wilmette Community Recreation Center. It does not receive taxpayer money but gets its revenues mostly from student fees, which range from $35 to $110 per subject. For the Fall session, the Extension has over 4000 students enrolled, 67 instructors and 514 different subjects. Examples of classes are Healthy Living, Art, Bridge, Mah Jongg, Culinary, Dance, Financial Planning, Fitness, Languages, Music, Rowing, Technology and Writing.

75% of the registration is done online which can be done by going to ntx203.net, download the PDF version of the catalog for the term desired, and click the red “register button” beneath each course desired. People from outside the New Trier District and Township are welcomed to attend these courses on the same basis as residents.

After a short Q & A session, the meeting was adjourned at its usual time.

Every Rotarian Every Year- Support The Rotary Foundation- Club Update

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jun 29, 2019

As the 2018-19 Rotary Year concludes, please join the millions of beneficiaries of projects funded by The Rotary Foundation in thanking our members who have honored their commitment of Every Rotarian, Every Year, contribute to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund.

Our club members donated a total of $7,343 in the 2018-19 Rotary Year, 73% of our goal of $10,000.

Please thank these 31 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Wes Baumann, Sam Badger*⁺, Connie Berman, David Birkenstein*⁺, Rik Boerjesson, Laura Cunningham, Terry Dason, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley⁺, Bill Leske, Denny Lauer, Robert Mardirossian, Rodger Morris*, Chuck Norton, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Keith Reid, Bob Sanfilippo, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Julie Tye, Patty Van Cleave, Carl Yudell
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year)

There are many reasons to give to the The Rotary Foundation:

Contributions support humanitarian and educational projects initiated and run by Rotary Clubs and Districts in six areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development and peace & conflict resolution. Learn more by reviewing the Foundation’s annual report.
Contributions come back to support projects of our club's projects, like our coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like our Farm to Table eco-agribusiness project in Ecuador, the water and sanitation projects we helped fund for schools in Guatemala and Kenya, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received over $3,500 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
Giving to The Rotary Foundation is an easy way for you to participate in Rotary’s service work beyond our club, providing you a personal connection to this great organization and the good it does throughout the world.

It’s easy to give. You can donate with a check or credit card at lunch; you can send a check to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka; you can donate via PayPal by clicking here, or you can donate directly to The Rotary Foundation at www.rotary.org or by calling 866-976-8279. One very convenient way to give is by making a recurring monthly gift on your credit card or from your checking account, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.

If you have not already supported The Rotary Foundation this year, please do so now.

If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.

Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield Continues Long Tradition of Community Grant Making

Posted by Brooke Peppey on Apr 24, 2018

Sixteen Area Charities to Receive Grants at Annual Fundraising Dinner

Our club will gather for our annual fundraising dinner the evening of May 11 at A. Perry Homes in Wilmette, celebrating Cinco de Mayo + Six and continuing it’s long tradition of supporting non-profit organizations who make our community and the world a better place. Members and their guests should register at http://wnrotary.org/event/annual-benefit-dinner.

“Our club has been an important contributor to local, regional and international causes since our founding in 1924,” said club president Tom Nash. “This year we are pleased to be supporting sixteen organizations that align with Rotary’s annual theme “Making a Difference.”

“Our Community Grants program is our foundational program,” said Brooke Peppey, President of the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation, the club’s charitable arm. “Each year, our members nominate non-profit organizations whose work inspires them to receive a Community Grant. Funds raised at our prior year benefit dinner, along with donations received throughout the year, are granted to the nominated organizations after being vetted by our board. Since we are all volunteers, all of the money we raise goes toward these grants and our other service projects.”

Members may make additional contributions to any of the sixteen charities, which will be matched by an increase in award amount by our foundation. Contributions may be made at our weekly lunch and by credit card by clicking here. Click Read More for a list of grantee organizations.