Announcements:
-- Rich inducted our newest member, Michael Ambrose into our Club.
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.
- 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.
- 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 84th birthday.
- 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.
- 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 71st Birthday.A prime time to observe both milestones and a prime number also!
- 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.
- All are encouraged to read the 411 from the District 6440 Governor, which you receive via email.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- Pickles Group Iliana Vazuka, Chief of Staff
- Counseling Center of the North Shore Kim Hassenfeld, Clinical Director
- Volunteer Center Bridget Lewis, Executive Director
- Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Jose Lopez, Incoming President
- Special Gifts Theatre Elise Larson
- Blues Kids Foundation Fernando Jones
- SamaraCare Counseling Anita Scott, Director of Development – North Region
- C24/7 Father’s Arms Ministries Natalie & James Crockett
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.
PEOPLE OF ACTION
Winnetka, IL 60093
United States of America