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Meeting Notes November 21

Posted by Keith Reed

We didn’t have a regular Rotary meeting since this was the meeting where we prepared about a 100 bags of food for the Good News Partners organization to help them celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Moha brought a guest, Professor Rives Collins, who worked especially diligently at the food packing.

There was a short Rotary Club Meeting with our usual Little Honeycomb luncheon served afterwards. Then Barb explained how the 16 Rotarians present were going to distribute about $3000 worth of essential food goods that had been purchased earlier by our members Bob Baker, Barb Tubekis, Patti VanCleave and Moha Bouacha at Costco and Jewel with the $3000 raised by our Rotary Club members for this event and that these 4 Rotarians, along with Amy and Heidi, had spent an hour that snowy morning bringing all that food into the WCH and piling it neatly on several tables. The 100 bags of these essential food goods will be distributed to unhoused individuals and families in the Rogers Park neighborhood during the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a program our Club has participated in for several years, initially through Barb Tubekis at The Volunteer Center, who started this collaboration in 2015. The Good News Partner’s success is to help the unhoused get on their feet, find employment or GED in the case of the young women and their babies in their New Life Shelter. There are over 60 families who have been able to pull themselves out of homelessness by utilizing the GNP services and have managed to purchase their own condominiums or pay their own rent in more comfortable space.

But the big question at our Rotary meeting was how were 100 bags of foodstuffs going to get from the WCH tables into the minivans being furnished and driven by Bob, Barb, Patti, Moha, and Ken Drummet with only 16 or so Rotarians acting as “material handlers” and whose average age was probably somewhere between 75 and 85! Somehow the Rotarians succeeded in working together in using carts and shopping bags and “brute strength” to get everything out to our mini van drivers who then successfully got their cargo delivered to the Good News Partners’ distribution area.

All this effort was rewarded when Rotarian Bill Leske, senior officer at Byline Bank, a full service commercial bank based in Chicago with offices located in Wilmette, Evanston and Glenview, announced that the Byline Bank was donating $1000 towards the cost of this very important and timely Rotarian project.

Also special thanks to Heidi Sibert who on her own volition purchased a variety of 100 special breakfast treats in ziplock which provide each recipient with a large reusable bag that holds a week’s worth of groceries and helps tide them through the week following Thanksgiving.

Many thanks to all those Rotarians who helped with this very important project that will truly provide a Happy Thanksgiving to those who have to rely on the good efforts of GNP.

Meeting Notes October 24

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Moha Bouacha with Lee Padgitt leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. ArLynn Presser gave the thought of the day by reporting that it was this day many years ago when a 63 year old woman named Annie Edison Taylor was the first person to go over Niagara Falls tied to another vessel with a leather harness and she survived the journey!

There were 16 members and guests attending the meeting including Thomas Applegate (the newly appointed Executive Director of the North Shore Counseling Center), Mike Ambrose (his second visit to our Rotary meetings), and Grace Sica, who is the Executive Director of Operation Warm, leading a group of over 50 people who distribute every year over a million warm coats and shoes to needy Chicago area children.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Distributed at the tables was an announcement pertaining to the Volunteer Center’s 22^nd year of UPCYCLING at the Indian Hill Train Station in Winnetka and the “goods” that are always welcomed as donated items; also mentioned was a recent email to our members and all District 6440 Rotarians from Mary Bak pertaining to a variety of Mental Health Programs being provided by District 6440 Task Force on Mental Health. Some of the speakers for the 8 programs listed might be potential speakers for some of our Rotary lunch meetings.

Other announcements were that the lunch for our November 7^th meeting at the Rotary’s International Office in Evanston will start at 12:15 pm with the tour of the Rotary headquarters to start at 1:30 pm. You should also note that our November 21^st Rotary meeting is the Thanksgiving Service Project of filling baskets for Residents of Good News Partners.

SPEAKER: MEAGAN McCHESNEY, CURATOR OF WINNETKA HISTORICAL MUSEUM. The WHM has produced a very complete video film presentation of Winnetka houses built, modified, torn down, etc. before baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, flood retainers and school facilities took over that area along Willow and Hibbard Roads in Winnetka. David Birkenstein suggested that our Club her Meagan's fabulous presentation, and Fred Schwimmer can tell you who lived in most of those houses since he was a kid!! The film shows how the early houses were usually large, on large lots, mostly followed the designs of 5 different styles, and how many new residents who then moved and built in the Winnetka area copied many of the styles in their early homes and how many of these homes are still occupied today. The video film starts on the West side of the Village and goes all the way to the Lake and also covers many of the large Winnetka building projects in the 1800’s such as the Village churches. The film also explores the artistic lives/successes of many Village residents who became well known architects, builders, and corporate tycoons.

The other video film shown at the Rotary meeting was a summary of where Rotary’s battle against Polio stands today. Thanks to several generous individuals and corporations such as the Gates and Blane Foundations, basically polio has been beaten in most wealthy nations but there are still thousands of children in less wealthy nations who need to be vaccinated. At the end of the meeting several Rotarians made donations to help finish the eradication of this dread disease. Rich and Moha have set as our Club’s goal this year to raise $1000 among our Rotarians for this cause.

The meeting ended around 1:30 pm with the reciting of the Rotary’s 4-way test.

Meeting Notes November 14

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:17 by Co-President Rich.

Greeter Debra led us in the Pledge.

Wes shared some quotes from department store founder Harry Selfridge.

Guests: David Grant’s spouse Leslie, and our speaker Mariana Alfar.

Foundation Minute: Moha updated us on progress with our project in Morocco. Moha hopes that this will be approved as a Global Grant, with a budget of $60-100,000.

Announcements:
-- Rich inducted our newest member, Michael Ambrose into our Club.

--Our Good News Partners food packing will take place next week. Shoppers are going to Costco on Wednesday the 20^th. This year the funding is limited to what we can raise, as there are no DDF funds for this project, so we need donations! We also need drivers to take the bags to Rogers Park after lunch next week and people to come early and set up the room.

--There are several Operation Warm distribution projects coming up in the next few weeks. Rich will send an email asking for volunteers.

--Our Holiday Luncheon with the New Trier Swing Choir is December 5. It was agreed that we would have a more special lunch that day, and all are encouraged to bring guests!

--The bins for NTT Food Pantry at the Community House are full. Need volunteers to take to the Township office.

Happy Bucks:

--Debra shared that she finally finished a mosaic that has taken 8 months to complete. She is having a show tonight at her studio – all are welcome!

--Michael is happy to be a member!

-- Barb is happy to have Michael join us. She also shared the sad news that her aunt died last week.

--Fred shared that his dear friend, a lifelong friend Dan Leonard died recently.

--Liz is happy that Michael brings down the average age of our club members!

--Bob is happy that his son got a job in New York City. He shared that they have been happy to have him here.

--Rich celebrated our veterans, Tony and Fred, and asked Tony to share with the club something special that happened to him recently (besides turning 90).

Dig N Grin: Bob shared some events that occurred on This Day in History.

Program: Our speaker was Mariana Alfar. Mariana was most recently President of the Wilmette Club, and is currently District Governor Nominee Designate for District 6440. David described her as a “Super Rotarian”.

Mariana spoke eloquently about her personal life as a Palestinian Christian, and her professional life as a journalist working for BBC and other news outlets. She shared her thoughts about the current war in Israel and Palestine.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:32 by Rich, with all of us reciting the Four Way Test.

Share Your Bounty

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco before our meeting on Nov 21, so please donate by November 17.

Your gifts provide post-holiday groceries to these families in need. Donate by credit card or bank transfer here, or mail a check made payable to WNRCF to Rotary Club of Winnetka Northfield, 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093.

We hope to provide over 100 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $2,500.

Donate here, or bring a check or credit card to a lunch meeting.

Meeting Notes October 17

Posted by David Grant

Co-Presidents Moha & Rich chaired the meeting.

Visiting Rotarian: Ron Bernardi from Northbrook.

Announcements: Moha thanked the ‘unsung’ W-N Rotarians who work hard behind the scenes to organize the Club. Special thanks to Barb for ordering lunches, Heidi for the many years of Kids Against Hunger, David G for the speakers, and all the donors to both the RI Foundation and the WN Foundation.

Rich thanked all the sponsors and attendees to the Operation Warm benefit who helped the event raise funds to provide 2,000 coats this year. One of the highlights of the evening for him was seeing David and Mary Birkenstein on the dance floor.
Rich also saluted David Birkenstein with a Level 4 Donor Award Recognition for gifts made to the RI Foundation.

Happy Bucks:

Bob Sanfilippo thanked the Club for many happy years of membership. He is retiring as the Executive Director of CCNS.
Wes Happily donated $123 for 39 years in the Club and his 84^th birthday.

Speakers: Today was ‘Members’ Day,’ a BYOT (Bring Your Own Topic) day. Ken shared his plans as our Club’s Chair of the International Committee. Bob Baker shared his plans for the RI committee, and also his & Patti’s plans for the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Foundation committee which he co-chairs with Patti. Other members who shared topics were David B., and Robert.

Meeting Notes October 10

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone; he shared an inspiring statement from Rotary International as the thought of the day. Terry Dason led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and lunch was served.

Several announcements and updates were shared:

Moha, along with Ken Drummet, provided an update on the work in progress to prepare for our global grant application, which will provide funding to support an existing women’s cooperative in Timoulilt, Morocco which is currently very limited due to lack of equipment, supplies, and training. The goal is to supply equipment for knitting, embroidery, and sewing, along with a heat press. He anticipates the grant will also include funding for training women to use the equipment as well as in business management, financial management, sales, and marketing. Moha anticipates the total grant amount will be between $30,000 and $60,000. Recent activity included a planning meeting with the host Rotary club in Morocco.

Rich Lalley shared an update on the District Conference, which he attended along with co-President Moha Bouacha. He noted that about 200 Rotarians attended, and there were two especially interesting speakers, Tony Bridwell (who spoke about leadership and followership), and Eve Gomez, who spoke about the work of Rahab’s Daughters, an organization based in Barrington that works to address human trafficking right here in the Chicago area. He also reported that there were three breakout sessions on various topics. Moha shared that he really enjoyed the networking at the conference as well. All are encouraged to attend future conferences.

Rich announced that fellow Rotarian Marie Kuipers has published a memoir, titled We’re All Mad Here and is hosting a launch party on Thursday, October 24, 7pm at The Green Post, 4749 North Rockwell in Chicago. Rich plans to attend and others are encouraged to join him – reach out to Rich (or Marie!) for more details.

David Grant announced that next week’s meeting will be “Members’ Day” – meaning that all Rotarians are invited to bring a topic that you want to discuss. He also noted that committee chairs could provide an update on the work of their committee as well.

Amy reminded everyone about the Rock the House: Woodstock show at the Community House on October 18, an immersive, multi-media, live music experience that will take you back to that iconic weekend! Tickets are available here.

Rich reminded everyone about the Operation Warm benefit happening tomorrow night – even if you can’t attend, you can still bid on auction items. Rich also noted that there will be an opportunity for Rotarians to participate in giving out coats at the Rogers Park Library on Saturday, November 23 in the afternoon, more details to come.

Greeter Terry Dason introduced Michael Ambrose who is here for the 2^nd time as a guest today. Ken Drummet offered an entertaining story / joke for Dig N Grin. Moha shared Happy Bucks – he was happy the international meeting about the proposed global grant went well.

Bob Baker introduced Elise Larsen (Executive Director) and Elise Steffe (Development Director), our guest speakers from Special Gifts Theatre. Bob noted that our Club has supported Special Gifts Theatre through our community grants for several years.

They shared their updated mission and vision statements and highlighted how transformative the experience of performing is both for those with disabilities and their peer mentors. Special Gifts Theatre is the only organization in the area providing education and theatre arts programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The presentation included an excellent overview of their programs along with their impact. More information about Special Gifts Theatre is available on their website.

The meeting adjourned with our usual recitation of the 4-Way Test.

Meeting Notes September 26

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Rich Lalley, with Amy leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Other announcements by Rich were that the one day District Conference meeting is coming up on October 5. Our regular lunch meeting at WCH on November 7 will be move to Rotary International HQ in Evanston. Rich also reported that Moha wants to have our Club’s committee chairs have their finished reports to him by the October 17^th Board meeting.

Rich reminded us to buy tickets for the October 11^th Operation Warm evening benefit at the ValleyLoClub in Glenview from 6:00 to 11:30 PM with buffet dinner, cash bar, auction/raffle and dancing to the Gerald McClendon Band. Tickets are $100 each and this is the 6^th annual benefit supporting new winter coats for needy Chicago area kids. Rich also reported that there will be two more Chicago library events for needy youth in October with more details to follow.

Liz gave us two “thoughts for the day”—Oscar Wilde once said “the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention” and Mark Twain stated “kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not”. Liz also shared with us her birthday celebration which included passing out milk chocolate candies to those attending and her generous donation to the Operation Warm project.

Rich then mentioned that our records show that Tony has been a Club member for 45 years, Fred for 12 year, and Heidi also for 12 years—so add them all together and you get 99, so Rich added another dollar to the sum and gave an even $100 in honor of these 3 long term and loyal Club members. Other Happy Bucks were given by Barb for her son seriously considering taking the marriage step; and by Tony who attended a reunion of his old college football team with lots of old stories (some actually fairly close to the truth) but with no one getting hurt during the event! Patti added a little humor to the meeting with her question about why the financial expert got fired—“he kept losing interest”!!

SPEAKER WAS RICHARD KOENIG, PHD, FAICP, AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF Housing Opportunity Development Corporation. Richard has been working on the production of affordable housing in our North Shore communities for the last 27 years. Most of the regular residents in these communities are not aware of all the work and progress being made over this time in supplying housing for needy people who are mostly low income families who cannot afford to rent or buy the type of housing that most of us enjoy. Other information presented by Richard was the following: Most of these units are in the suburbs and currently involve about 30 projects in 18 communities; units are now in Wilmette, Arlington Heights and Northbrook; 90% of the units are rental and not for sale and there is usually 40 to 60 units in a building; average annual income for these residents is less than 40 to 50 thousand dollars and there are some homeless people qualifying to live in these buildings; these buildings cost about $500,000 to build; there is an effort to get teachers closer to their students and workers closer to their employers; and the financing of the building and operation of these buildings is very complicated with several government tax credit programs involved.

The very informative 15 page power point used by Richard in his presentation is available upon request to Rich, David or Patti.

After a short question and answer period, the meeting was adjourned around 1:15 with the recitation of Rotary’s 4-way test.

Meeting Notes September 19

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Rich chaired the meeting with 16 Rotarians, 1 guest and 1 speaker attending.

Guest: Lydia Miller is a Rotarian from Brookfield, WI who came to hear the presentation today on Shelter Box.

Announcements: The Winnetka Rotarians who went to the Wilmette Rotary Club’s Trivia night on October 18 had a fun evening (Barb, Patti, Bob B, and Rich). Our District Conference is on Saturday, 10/5. Plan on attending the Operation Warm Fundraiser on 10/11!

Happy Bucks:

Liz had a great time volunteering for our Rotary tent at the Winnetka Farmers Market on Saturday 9/14.She thanked the other Rotary members for participating with her: Barb, Ken, Peter, Moha, and Rich.
Fred is happy the value of his 401k is up since the Fed lowered short-term interest rates by 50 basis points on September 18.
Barb is very happy with her new son-in-law now that Carolyn and Yoni have tied the knot.
Robert contributes 101 happy bucks to celebrate his 30rth anniversary in the Club and his 71^st Birthday.A prime time to observe both milestones and a prime number also!

Speaker: Don Crost is a former member, and a former President of our Club. He is currently a member of the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary, and he is an ambassador for Shelter Box. Robert and Fred made generous donations to Shelter Box after the presentation.

Meeting this week is not at the Community House!

Posted by Moha Bouacha

See you in Glencoe this week! Details below......

Harvesting Project

Posted by Barb Tubekis

This Thursday, September 12th, is our harvesting project at the nonprofit Glencoe Community Garden (GCG). Rotarians should arrive at the Garden a bit before noon so we can begin promptly and finish by 1:30. The GCG is located at 380 Old Green Bay Road. It is east of and runs parallel to Green Bay Road and the Metra train tracks in Glencoe. I will have blue and yellow balloons outside the entrance to the garden.

We will eat a boxed lunch first as the Garden representatives share who the garden serves and how it is managed and what they need us to do. We will work until 1:30. If there are any volunteers interested in helping me bring the vegetation we harvest to The Ark Food Pantry in Northbrook, have them let me know that. GCG is extremely impactful to local food pantries whose patrons don't often enjoy fresh produce. Just to provide a bit more info, feel free to check out their website, glencoecommunitygarden.com.

Volunteers should dress for gardening. Particularly if there has been rain, boots would be helpful. If it does rain, we will continue to harvest unless there is lightning in the area.

Thank you for participating, and see you at the Gardens this week!

Meeting Notes September 5

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Bob Baker offered the thought of the day. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Bob also shared information about Peace Scholarships supported by the Rotary Foundation. Moha also noted that September is National Literacy Month, and World Polio Day is coming up on October 24.

After lunch, Moha gave a few Rotary updates:

The District 6440 Conference will be held on Saturday, October 5 at the College of DuPage. There will be two days of service on Friday, October 4 and Sunday, October 6 at various locations. Registration is open and you can sign up here. It’s a great opportunity to get to know other Rotarians in our District.
The next Rotary International Convention will be held in Calgary, June 21-25, 2025. Registration is open and more information is available here.
The Wilmette Club has two activities coming up and all are encouraged to participate.
- Trivia Night, September 18
- Beach Clean Up, September 21
All are encouraged to read the 411 from the District 6440 Governor, which you receive via email.

Other announcements:

There are sign up sheets on the tables for the Winnetka Farmers’ Market. We will have a tent September 14, from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Rotarians are encouraged to sign up to represent Rotary for one (or more) of three shifts during that time. Pens have been ordered as give-aways. Barb will bring card stock so people can write cards to veterans or people in the hospital as an on-site service project. Contact Liz Taylor with questions.
Harvest Day at the Glencoe Community Garden is scheduled for September 12 in lieu of our meeting – that’s next week! Please sign up so the correct number of lunches. Plan to arrive at noon, quickly eat lunch, and then get to work. Bring friends and family who would like to be involved – and dress for gardening. The Garden is at 385 Old Green Bay Road in Glencoe. Contact Barb Tubekis with questions.

Happy Bucks were shared by ArLynn Presser, David Grant, Moha Bouacha, and Tony Kambich.

Moha reminded us about committee sign-ups a few weeks ago. There is still time to sign up if you haven’t had a chance. The Committee Rosters to date are:

Club Administration

David Grant

Rich Lalley

Bill Leske

Membership

Bill Leske

Liz Taylor (Chair)

Public Image

Debra Campbell (Chair)

Rich Lalley

Patti Van Cleave

Service Projects

Heidi Sibert

Barb Tubekis (Chair)

Patti Van Cleave

International

Moha Bouacha (Chair)

Ken Drummet

The Rotary Foundation (Rotary International, not our Club Foundation)

Bob Baker (Chair)

David Birkenstein

Bob Baker also shared an update on our Club Foundation – he and Patti Van Cleave will serve as Co-Presidents, and Debra Campbell will serve as Secretary. He will call a meeting soon with everyone currently on the Club Foundation Committee roster – if you are interested in joining them, please contact Bob.

Moha reminded us that we need a President-Elect. Anyone interested should contact Moha.

Robert shared some baseball-related quotes from Yogi Berra for Dig & Grin.

David Grant led the group in a discussion about possibly restructuring meeting assignments, ideas for changing / improving the bulletin, making meeting notes easier, and finding speakers.

Various suggestions and ideas were offered about all of these topics. Regarding speakers, specifically, the Club discussed whether political / controversial topics should be welcomed or discouraged. No conclusions were reached, and it was noted that further discussion would be helpful when more Club members are present.

Moha will look into arranging a visit to Rotary International in Evanston on November 7 when the Community House is not available due to the Antiques + Modernism Show.

The meeting adjourned with our usual recitation of the 4-Way Test.

Meeting Notes August 29

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:17 by Co-President Rich Lalley. Chuck Norton shared a thought: "The best way to predict the future is to create it". - Abraham Lincoln.

Ken led us in the pledge.

Announcements:
-- Our Rotary Foundation minute focused on Global Grants. Rich read a partial list of all the good work that is being done in these grants around the world. Some of the highlighted countries were: India, Spain, Nepal, Uganda, Cameroon, Mexico, and in the US. See matchinggrants.org for more info.
--District Conference is October 5. Rotary International Conference is in Calgary next year.

--District Governor Marlene wants to know who our PE is for next year.

--Operation Warm fundraiser is October 11 at Valley Lo. Sponsors and auction items requested.

--Liz reminded all to sign up to staff our table at the Farmer’s Market on Sept 14.

Happy Bucks:

--Fred is happy that the stock market is doing well. He’s also happy to have been a Winnetkan most of his life, and encouraged us to visit the Winnetka Farmer’s Market.

-- Bob B is happy that their daughter recently bought a home in west Evanston.

Dig N Grin: Tony shared some Ronald Reagan-isms and famous quotes from mothers.

Program: Sydney Clark and Laura Munoz shared what’s new at the library, particularly in the Studio. Sydney also shared current favorite reads.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:23.

Meeting Notes August 22

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting with 17 Rotarians attending.

Guest: Debora Morris, Co-President of the Wilmette Club.

Announcements: Moha encourages us to volunteer to staff the Rotary tent at the September 14 Winnetka Farmer’s market.

Dig N Grin: John Zeddies entertained us as the corporate member representative of the Chamber.

Happy Bucks:

Debra has a new grandchild.
ArLynn is happy for anyone who owns dogs, and she shared the selfless story of a dog from history.
Wes recounted the story of his driveway face-plant last Thusrsday, which inspired him to compare politics to the Rotary 4 way test.

Speaker: Moha defined committee guidelines for this year’s Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Board committees.

Meeting Notes 8-15

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Co-President Moha Bouacha. Liz lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. There were 14 members present and one on Zoom—also present was Sunny Martin, our Club’s Assistant Governor..

HAPPY BUCKS: HB were given by Fred for the smooth running Olympics; by David for his 13 year old granddaughter being barmitzved next week and for him recently reaching and enjoying his 94^th birthday; and by Barb and her husband celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: Patti quoted from author Ben Brown who wrote that as we go through life, we must search and experience the importance of loving ourselves as well as others around us. Patti also reported on Rotary’s experience in Ukraine where there are 62 Rotary Clubs now operating with over 1600 members. Patti said that many people will be affected by the war for many years and that more information on this subject is available at Rotary.org.

Moha also mentioned other worldly events such as the disease MonkeyPox spreading to Africa; and that France did a great job with the Olympics with over 200 countries participating and 86 Gold Medals awarded to participants. But Moha mentioned the most sportsmanship thing that occurred at the games was when a Spanish runner grabbed a runner who fell right in front of him close to the finish line and the Spaniard pushed the fallen runner over the finish line so that he won the Gold Medal.

DIG N GRIN: Since Wes was to do Dig N Grin but unable at the last minute to attend the meeting and since he was a long term administrator at New Trier High School, Rich decided to fill in by telling the story of the 15 year old son who refused to go to school one day because he thought all the kids in his class “hated him”—and when his father asked his son what he would think if his Dad took that same position and refused to go to school-- the son said “you couldn’t do that because you’re 40 years old and the school’s Principal!

SPEAKER HEIDI KING from COLLEGE INSIDE TRACK. Heidi is associated with this company which, for the last 18 years, has helped high school students through the process of deciding if and where they should go to college. Heidi has done training on this subject at several Rotary Clubs, as well as high schools such as New Trier, Evanston, and Maine Township. The company also does consultations with individual families as well as students.

Typical questions asked by students considering college are : How easy or difficult for their applications to be accepted; Should it be big state school, small private school, or community college; Availability of scholarships/financial aid; Cost of tuition and living expenses; How effective is the school’s placement office in the student’s major; What is the student dropout rate; and Quality of education in student’s desired major.

Recent trends in college admissions are 45% of those wanting to go to college need financial aid; there has been a 32% increase in college applications in the last 5 years; most popular majors are business, computer and engineering; the traditional college entrance test is now optional at many schools but the average grades of those applicants taking these tests have gone from C plus to A minus with Purdue engineering applicants required to score an A to be accepted; and more students are going to smaller universities like DePauw, Drake and Illinois Wesleyan that have good educational programs and often more generous with their scholarships and financial aid programs. There is also developing some very good community college programs such as College of DuPage which could be steppingstone to financial aid and even merit type scholarship programs.

Heidi sent the power point of her presentation to David Grant who can forward it to anyone requesting it. After a short Q and A period the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 with the recitation of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Meeting Notes August 8

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting with 11 Rotarians attending.

Announcements: Rich presented Chuck with his 8^th Paul Harris award and congratulated him for his generosity to the Club in all ways!

Dig N Grin: Lee entertained us with topical humor about hearing loss.

Happy Bucks: Moha donated $6 for the six goals the Moroccan soccer team scored n the game against Egypt.

Speakers: Today’s topic is about preserving hearing and cognitive health. Three speakers from Lake Forest Hearing spoke to us about preserving our hearing cells and how they help their patients with diagnosis, and prevention techniques like timing and rhythm training with musical instruments. Dr Halvorson, Dr Brennan, and their Patient Care Supervisor, Rachel Foelker, are also available for appointments at a local office in Northbrook.

Meeting Notes August 1

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Robert Mardirossian started with a thought of the day from Kahlil Gibran: On Joy and Sorrow.

After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, with no one assigned to do a Rotary Foundation Minute today, Moha shared reflections on the Olympics.

After lunch, Chuck Norton introduced guests and visiting Rotarians, and Puran Stevens, Susan Stevens Clarke, and honorary member Brooke Peppey were all warmly welcomed.

Moha shared a few Rotary announcements:

All are encouraged to attend the Rotary District conference on October 5, 2024 as well as the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary June 21-25, 2025.

Moha noted that we have several committees forming for the coming year, with the following chairs in place:

Ken Drummet will chair the International committee

Bob Baker will chair the Rotary Foundation committee (not our Club Foundation, the RI Foundation)

Debra Campbell will chair the Public Image committee

Barb Tubekis will chair the Service committee

Liz Taylor will chair the Membership committee

All are encouraged to go on myrotary.org to read more about the responsibilities of each committee; on August 22, we will have a Club Assembly with a presentation from each chair and a request for every member to join a committee.

Amy reminded everyone about tonight’s Rock the Garden event at which her band will be performing. The event will take place rain or shine – outside in the garden or indoors in the garden room.

Patti, our club Treasurer, reminded everyone to pay their dues for this quarter. She also reminded everyone that if you are a pay as you go lunch person, you should please pay Bob for your lunch today as well.

Moha noted that we should all keep an eye out for requests for contributions to our Foundation.

Happy Bucks were offered by Moha, Fred, Tony, and Susan (one of our guests).

Bill Leske offered fun facts about Rotary for Dig-n-Grin.

Patti introduced our speaker for the day: Lynn Diettrich whom she has known for many years.

Lynn shared information about Diettrich Farms, including their approach to working with horses, along with some of the programs and services they offer. They value the horse's perception and treat each horse as an ambassador for education and self-awareness. With those values in mind, they provide a comfortable environment where the horse and rider can feel safe and stress-free. It is in this environment that participants and guests are able to truly develop a deep bond with the horse that leads to increased comfort, self-confidence, and enjoyment.

The farm provides an incredible riding environment to support year-round programming for children and adults. The 15-acre farm features a 160-by-60 indoor arena, large round pen, and direct access to 13 miles of groomed trails in the adjacent state park. They also have a very comfortable indoor retreat, event, and educational space with a kitchen and washroom. They offer a wide range of activities, including lessons, adult and youth programs, retreats, camps, and more.

It was a wonderful presentation, and you can find out more about the farm here: https://www.diettrichfarm.com/

The meeting concluded with the usual recitation of the Four-Way Test.

Meeting Notes July 25

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Rich Lalley opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. We opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Tony Kambich shared a thought of the day from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Success:

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty and find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

After lunch, we continued the meeting with a Rotary Foundation Minute. Bob Baker shared historical information about the Rotary Foundation, which was initiated in 1917. All-time contributions to the fund are about $6.5 billion! Bob shared that Rotary Foundation funds go to specific programs: Polio Plus, Rotary Peace Centers, district grants, global grants, disaster response grants, and programs of scale grants (where the funding is at least $2 million). You can read more about these programs in the Rotary Foundation’s 2023 Report. Bob noted that our Club has pledged our support as part of a program of scale grant in Uganda.

Rich presented Bob with a pin as a Paul Harris Fellow +7, thanks to his steady contributions to the Rotary Foundation.

Rich shared a few Rotary announcements:

· Our District is hosting a Rotary Friendship Exchange with Rotarians from Jaipur, India visiting and staying with members of the Barrington and Schaumburg / Hoffman Estates Clubs. Rich explained that members of these clubs will then go to India to stay with Rotarians there, and noted that our Club may want to consider such an exchange with a Rotary Club in Morocco since we have connections there through Moha.

· Our Rotary District conference is October 5, but details are not yet available. We are working on a fall service project, possibly for the week before the District conference.

· The 2025 Rotary International Convention is in Calgary – a rare opportunity to attend in North America. All are encouraged to attend.

Amy reminded everyone about next week’s Rock the Garden event at which her band will be performing. The event is Thursday, August 1 – the garden opens at 5pm and her band will start playing around 6pm. This is a free event – no ticket required! The Community House will have a cash bar and snacks available for purchase – and the Soul & Smoke food truck will be onsite with their delicious barbecue. It’s a great opportunity for laid back social time with other Rotarians.

Happy Bucks were shared by Bob Baker, Fred Schwimmer, Moha Bouacha, and David Grant. Ken Drummet gave us some laughs with a joke about the Secret Service for Dig-n-Grin.

David Grant introduced our speaker, John Kilner, Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Trinity International University. John is a Rotarian from Rotary Club of Wilmette – he joined when he retired from the university in 2019.

John shared a new resource he has been involved in creating – a free, private website to help people think about end-of-life decisions and create documents outlining their wishes. John pointed out that while using the site, no personal information is ever requested or retained. He noted that end-of-life decisions are closely tied to individual beliefs and values. The website helps you to define your wishes by connecting your beliefs and values with your current medical situation (or a possible future medical situation), and then helps you to create a document that outlines your wishes to share with family members and your medical team. It can be used for a current decision or an advance directive.

John then walked us through the website, which offers the user a series of questions and choices, and in some cases also offers unbiased education and food for thought related to those choices, if the user is interested in learning more about their options. At the conclusion of the process, the website creates a document that you can either print or download so you can complete it with your personal information (outside of the website).

Everyone is encouraged to check out this fantastic, free resource: MedicalDecisions.info

The meeting concluded with the usual recitation of the Four-Way Test.

Meeting Notes July 18

Posted by David Grant

President Rich chaired the meeting.

Guests: Liz Taylor introduced her guest Peter Hansen.

Rotary Foundation Minute: Amy described a 2016 Rotary Global Grant to provide drinking water to a Honduras fishing village

Happy Bucks:

Bill Leske congratulated Peter Hansen for becoming a grandfather!
Moha taught us a little about how a Moroccan world cup soccer player can play for Spain.

Program: Bill Leske introduced the staff of the Record North Shore: Ryan Osborn, Director of Development; Joe Coughlin, Editor in Chief; and two interns. The Record was launched in 2020 after the Winnetka Current ceased operations due to the pandemic. A new business model was needed, and Joe formed the Record as ‘non-profit journalism.’ Their daily website, weekly newsletters, and podcasts have won awards in the last few years for excellence.

Meeting Notes July 11

Posted by Keith Reed

Special thanks to Keith Reed for arranging the speaker on July 11: Corey Buchanan of the Chicagoland Prison Outreach.

Due to a technical glitch, Keith's synopsis of the July 11 meeting did not appear in the Bulletin, but is included here:

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker who started by leading everyone in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. There were 16 Club members present. Amy’s “thought of the day” was that music is a moral law, it gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. No one in the Club understands/experiences all different types of music as much as Amy and we all are fortunate that she shares her musical talents with our Club and community. As an example, she announced that this evening the WCH is having another Thursday night “rock” event in its garden featuring the band “Dads Band”.

DIG N GRIN: Liz shared the following little known facts about the banking business: that the life expectancy of a $10 bill in circulation is 15 years before being replaced; that new coins last about 30 years in circulation before being replaced; that the cost of making a penny is 2.1 cents; that due to passengers having to empty their pockets of coins in airport security lines, there is more than $500,000 unclaimed change at some of our major airports; and there is at least one ATM machine on every continent in the world.

To further honor our Rotary Club’s 100th anniversary ArLynn Presser (a Club member for over 25 years) was asked to give some little known facts about the start of the first Rotary Clubs in Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire left 7000 residents homeless and without indoor toilet facilities; Rotary founder Paul Harris organized a rotation system where his office and downtown clubs like the University Athletic Club would rotate meetings and share their “indoor facilities” with others—women likewise shared the “comfort stations” at the few department stores that survived the fire.

HAPPY BUCKS: Several members gave HB for experiencing recent happy events such as the excellent efforts that Rich and Patti put forth in helping our Club celebrate its 100^th birthday; Tony thanked both Robert Mardirossian and Bob Baker for their leadership and contribution to our Club’s activities over the years; Tony also reported another happy event involving his Mother who was born July 10, 1908 and was baptized the following day since she was very ill and not expected to live. Not only did she live a fairly long life, but she gave birth to our friend Tony in 1934, and Tony, in turn, gave his Mother 3 grandkids and 4 great grandkids of her own;

one of the most exciting events that a golfer can experience was reported by Club member Ken Drummet who, after playing golf for 60 years, recently hit a perfect tee shot 168 yards with his 7 iron and it rolled in for a “hole in one”—unfortunately he was not in a position to actually see this ball roll into the cup, but that doesn’t lessen the thrill of putting a “1” on his score card, which I’m sure he has framed at home!!

GUEST SPEAKER: Corey Buchanan, Executive Administrator of Chicagoland Prison Outreach, which is based in South Holland but active throughout the Chicagoland area in keeping our youth on the right track and administering needed advice and consolation to those youth who have ended up in correctional institutions. Corey, who is now in his middle 30’s, grew up on the South side of Chicago in the Woodlawn area where his Mother was the sole support of he and his 3 siblings. Like so many young boys in that area, most of them assumed that their employment opportunities were mostly in the drug dealing business. And like so many of his friends, Corey was arrested when he was 17 and was sent to what he called an “evil place”

occupied by 11,000 other inmates at 26^th and California—the Cook County Jail.

Corey soon realized that he had to do something to avoid spending the next 20 or so years in this “evil place”. Although he did not have much of a Christian experience growing up, he became active in the Prison’s Life Learning Program which involved Bible study with the goal of returning men and women to society to become leaders in their communities. Corey soon changed his behavior and his outlook on life and was admitted into the Moody Bible College where he graduated and is now working on his Master’s degree. He was eventually released from prison, got married, became a father of two children and was appointed Executive Director of CPO. What a story, what a delightful young man Corey has become, and what a captivating presentation that our Club members were moved by!

Another very interesting part of the CPO program is what it has done to join forces with local companies and unions in the construction trades to give inspired prisoners (both men and women) training and opportunities to get gainful employment with Chicago based companies.

CPO has also partnered with local churches to address the needs of families of inmates, especially in providing meals, gifts and hope around holidays, as well as a food pantry of non-perishable items available to families of current inmates. CPO provides these services to over 250 Chicago area families every year.

Corey supplied us with many brochures and information on the various programs CPO offers. Needless to say, this presentation and information was very interesting and thought provoking.

After a short Q and A period, the meeting was adjourned around 1:30 with the reciting of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Every Rotarian, Every Year- Contribute to The Rotary Foundation

As the 2023-24 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 SHARE Fund.

These gifts support the local and international work of Rotary Clubs and Districts through District and Global Grants. A significant portion of these gifts support projects of our club like our recent contribution to Shelter Box, our annual Operation Warm coats and shoes for children projects, local COVID-19 relief efforts, Kids Against Hunger, and our support of Global Grants like the maternal health program in Uganda and the Evanston led project with The Cradle in Chicago. .

Please thank these 9 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Wes Baumann, Moha Bouacha, Debra Campbell, Rich Lalley*^{+^}, Robert Mardirossian, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, Barb Tubekis, and Patti Van Cleave.
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year) ^Bequest Society

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 seven areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development, protecting our environment, 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 Operation Warm Soles, support for ShelterBox, last year's COVID-19 Response efforts, 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 $1,760. 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. Bring a check to made payable to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club, (or mail it to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, 60093); 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.

Club History: The First 50 Years 1924-1974

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Dating back to the Club's 50th Anniversary in 1974, this document tells the history of the first 50 years of our Club from 1924 to 1974:

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2417/Documents/en-us/6a5470a0-5fbd-477b-b608-3af7f0468c9a/1/

50 Year Anniversary Celebration Card Graphic by Santy Kamal · Creative Fabrica

Meeting Notes June 6

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

President Bob called the meeting to order at 12:20pm.

Thought: Bob reminded us of the significance of the day, historically as D-Day. He asked us to remember those who were involved in DDay and may not have been entirely in support of the war. Fred echoed the DDay theme and also reminded us about the upcoming Children’s Fair. Robert M led us in the Pledge.

After lunch, Robert shared that we had no visiting guests or Rotarians.

Announcements:

--RSVP now for our June 20 Centennial Celebration

--Tony requested that dinner options be added to the bulletin.

--Fred promoted our amazing Farmer’s Market.

--Amy reminded us of the Community House “Rock the Garden” event tonight.

--Barb reminded us that our meeting + board meeting will be at Avli next week.

Happy Bucks:

--Robert “confessed” that even though he is technologically challenged, he was able to register for the Centennial Celebration. He also shared that he is happy to be Greeter (anytime, note to file).

--Moha noted that there are only 11 people from the club registered for the luncheon. Please register!!!!!!

DigNGrin:

--Tony announced that he has a display set up of items from his projects in Uganda and other Rotary projects and events.

Program:

Bill introduced Linda Nelson, Executive Director, and Samantha Unis, teacher from the North Shore Art League. Linda provided us with a history of NSAL, and Sam led us in an experiential drawing exercise (which was quite humbling to many of us, including yours truly).

President Bob adjourned the meeting at 1:30.

Meeting Notes May 30

Posted by David Grant

President Bob began the meeting with a soothing breath. Total attendance is 28: 16 Rotarians and 12 recipients & guests of financial awards from our Winnetka-Northfield Community Grants program.

Club Announcements:

Please buy tickets for our Centennial!
The meeting on 6/13 will be at Avli because the Winnetka Music Festival will be using the WCH.
Rich reminds us to EYER:Every Year Every Rotarian donate to the Rotary International Foundation.

Program: Patti emceed the distribution of 8 checks to the organizations our Charitable Foundation chose to fund this year. The winners are:

Pickles Group Iliana Vazuka, Chief of Staff

This group, which started in Winnetka, provides free peer-to-peer support and resources for kids and teens impacted by their parent or guardian’s cancer.

Counseling Center of the North Shore Kim Hassenfeld, Clinical Director

High Quality Mental health therapy regardless of ability to pay

Volunteer Center Bridget Lewis, Executive Director

Helps residents and service groups of all ages and abilities in the New Trier Township, the North Shore and greater NE Metro Chicago area find volunteer opportunities or participate in Days of Service with nonprofit partner organizations.

Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Jose Lopez, Incoming President

In support of a project in the Dominican Republic providing water purification and daycare for children of teenage mothers.

Also donating our club’s unused DDF (District Designated Funds) for a downtown Chicago project providing pregnancy care.

Special Gifts Theatre Elise Larson

Theatre programs for children with disabilities.

Blues Kids Foundation Fernando Jones

Established to preserve, perform and promote the Blues among America's youth, parents and educators under the tutelage of highly qualified instructors

SamaraCare Counseling Anita Scott, Director of Development – North Region

Foster emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being through access to affordable life-changing mental health care.

C24/7 Father’s Arms Ministries Natalie & James Crockett

Job Development, after school programs for children and young adults in the North Howard neighborhood.

Meeting Notes May 23

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker who started by leading everyone in his “breathing exercise”. Moha then led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Bob then gave us the “thought of the day” citing 3 “central truths” by Charles Keller regarding Rotary. They are-- service to others is the essence of Rotary; unity is stronger than the enormous diversity of Rotary; and peace is the greatest imperative of all time.

There were 18 members present. Our guests included former Club member Arlynn Presser and our Speaker’s colleague Susan Powell Byrd.

The ballot containing the names of those Club members nominated for Rotary positions for this next year was distributed. Amy announced that the ballots for our new Club officers for next year have been counted and all nominees were unanimously elected to serve in those positions next year.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti reminded everyone of the June 20^th Winnetka/Northfield and Wilmette Rotary Clubs 100 year anniversary celebration in the Garden Room at the Winnetka Community House from 5 to 9 PM with dinner being served at 6 PM. The cost is $85 per person for a 4-course dinner catered by Froggy’s of Highwood. That night the Clubs will be installing their respective teams of co-presidents for the coming Rotary year.

Our Club meeting on May 30 will be attended by representatives from the organizations that were chosen by our Club to receive a “community grant” for the coming year at which time they will explain their plans for this coming year and discuss any questions that members may have.

Amy announced that the “Rock the Garden” summer series will commence on Thursday June 6th from 6 to 8 pm at the Community House with live music, a food truck, cash bar and no admission fee!!

Our meeting on June 13^th will be the regular time 12:15 PM at the AVLI restaurant located at 566 Chestnut St. in Winnetka.

Patti mentioned that the area Rotary Clubs have been asked to provide pictures, announcements, videos, etc. of past projects that they have done in the North Shore area over the last 100 years and everyone was encouraged to help locate and help provide such historical items.

David announced that next Thursday May 30^th, the Counseling Center is having a special reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. He also announced that the CCNS Executive Director Bob Sanfilippo will be retiring after heading up the Agency for the last 6 years. Bob was congratulated on his service for this very important community service.

Heidi humored the group by saying that we won’t be bothered again for the next 17 years with another cicadas invasion—but in the meantime, don’t try to use insecticide to destroy them-also be careful of your pet dogs eating too many of them since they have a chocolate flavor, can cause digestion problems and contain lots of calories.

DIG AND GRIN: Bill Leske handled this by giving us the years that funny/interesting events happened with the most interesting being 1926 when Hack Wilson was the first Cub batter to hit the new Wrigley scoreboard with a home run and 1934 when law enforcement finally caught up with Bonnie and Clyde!

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: We had several members who already celebrated birthdays the first half of this month and those in the last half of the month were David Grant, Fred Schwimmer and Heidi Sibert. Club Membership Anniversaries for the month were Barb Tubekis, Bill Leske, Tom Evans and Bob Sanfilippo for 12, 14, 15, and 6 years respectively.

SPEAKER ADRIANA LAURA COOK. David introduced our guest speaker Adriana Laura Cook who has been a real estate broker for over 20 years and runs the ALC Group in Winnetka which is part of EXPRealty. Adriana’s business card indicates that she does business on the North Shore, Oak Park and Western Suburbs. She helps her clients with every detail of the real estate transaction from home search or listing until closing. She also provides interior and exterior design and staging expertise and implementation. As a certified Express Offers specialist, she is qualified to offer her sellers the option of receiving a cash offer within 4 days of offering their home to sell even before it reaches the market.

Starting about 10 years ago, Adriana became a believer in the value of networking with others in order to grow her business. She singled out the North Shore’s Chamber of Commerce as a great place to network and enhance your business opportunities. She presented a power point advising on the importance of networking and how to do it effectively.

After an active Q and A period with those present, the meeting was adjourned around 1:30 with the saying of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Got Questions about Rotary or our club? We've got answers.

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Mar 11, 2013

Are you thinking about joining our club, but have some questions? Or have you recently joined and want to know more about how things work? Check our our new FAQs:

Still have questions? Send them to info@wnrotary.org and we'll send you an answer and update our FAQs.