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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 September 12

Posted by John Thomas

The meeting in the Community House was opened at 12: 17 by President Marie Kuipers. Rik Boerjesson gave an interesting Thought for the Day. This was followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Bob Baker. Lunch was served at 12:21 and the meeting was opened at 12:37 with 24 members present. Wes Baumann noted a former member, Jim Corboy was visiting and may wish to rejoin.

ANNOUNCEMENTS : First there was unearthed a $100 Gift Certificate to ABT. After some discombobulated discussion, Carl Yudell bought it.

John Thomas noted we have scheduled speakers through October. However, before further scheduling, the member’s survey will be used to guide speaker selection.

Several folks reminded us of the Operation Warm Benefit on Oct. 4. Joe Nash asked for raffle/auction items for that affair

Barb Tubekis again reminded us that we will be participating in a Glencoe service project on 9/26 so there will be no lunch at the WCH. She also reminded us of the Nov. 7 Book Drive for which volunteers are needed.

On behalf of the Winnetka Youth Organization, John Thomas told of an upcoming brand new musical event, The Field Jam. It will be October 5 at the Field auto showrooms on Willow Road. Information and invitations will be forthcoming via email and mail

HAPPY BUCKS: Wes Baumann threw in $113 for both his own birthday and Rotary anniversary.

SPEAKER- John Thomas introduced our speaker, the author, historian and ex-Village Trustee Carol Fessler. Her most recent book is The Making of Winnetka.

The genesis of her book was when she was a Village Trustee a few years ago and given a task of reaching out to the village. She chose as a vehicle a series of well-researched columns in the Winnetka Talk about a variety of village topics. Using a Power Point framework and an imaginary 150 year Village resident she posed and answered a series of questions to that imaginary lady as she traveled back in time to experience Winnetka as it was a century ago. She posed and answered questions like: Why does Winnetka have its own water and electric plants? Why weren’t the railroad tracks lowered in neighboring villages? Where does Winnetka get its reputation for innovation?

The meeting closed at 1:31 after the lottery drawing and 4-Way pledge recitation.

Meeting Recap September 5

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was led by Marie and there were 25 members present, along with honorary member, Pat O’Day. No guests were present. Marie, Patti and Rich led a discussion of what Rotary is doing to supply aid to the Bahamas and those affected by the recent hurricane. Rich explained that our members can contribute by making a check payable to “WNRCF” (include notation re hurricane relief) or online here: https://tinyurl.com/wnr-hurricane. Donations will go to the Rotary Foundation’s Disaster Response Fund that provides grants for basic needs immediately to affected Rotary districts. The grants will be stewarded by The Rotary Foundation, assuring that the funds are put to good use. Our District is considering matching Club contributions, but that has not yet been finalized. Marie and David Birkenstein immediately said they would each donate $1000. Rich explained how many Rotary Clubs are in the Bahamas and in Florida which will also be very active in providing relief donations and volunteers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Heather Higgins and Mike Shelton had birthdays, but with Heather absent Mike chose to make a contribution to Rotary rather than having Heather miss the grand rendition of the HB song by our esteemed chorus. Marie announced that on September 15^th she will be representing the Club at the Rotary Corn Maze Day at the Richardson Adventure Farm and cheering on to victory our Club’s sponsored pig in the pig race , named Queen Marie! She will also be attending the Chicago Ultimate Women’s Expo on behalf of the Club scheduled for October 5-6 hosted by Districts 6440 and 6450. She reminded the members that the Rotary training session for future Club leaders will be held in Park Ridge on October 19 and that she will give more information in the near future.

Barb Tubekis reminded us that we have until September 13 to donate to the New Trier Township food pantry-- canned food or cash preferred. She also announced the Glencoe Community Garden Harvesting project for September 26^th and that we need volunteers to work from noon to 1:30 that day. We will not have our regular meeting that day.

October 24^th is the annual Rotary worldwide polio day when we solicit contributions at the local commuter train stations, which we will do again this year. But if anyone has any ideas of what we could do besides this solicitation, please feel free to come forward with your suggestions.

John Thomas reminded members to fill out the “member survey for future programs” form and submit it to him or Marie by next meeting date so the results can be tabulated and circulated. So far the things that members seem not to want to cover are education and real estate. But he did report that the recent Crain’s publication has a great article on the Winnetka One project, but the Village and potential real estate investors are being silent on the future of this project.

Rich reminded people of our upcoming Operation Warm Benefit to be held on October 4^th at the Kenilworth Assembly Hall from 6:30 to 11:00.

HAPPY BUCKS: Marie reported that her knee repair was fairly successful and informative, but that she will probably need some cartilage replacement in the near future. David Birkenstein contributed in looking ahead to his Queen Mary cruise with his own queen, wife Mary, although part of the trip involves Nova Scotia and he is hoping Dorian is finished with its work by then! Tony proudly contributed $1 conditioned upon Rob wearing Bermuda “shorts” during his work assignment at the Glencoe Community Garden project on the 26^th.

SPEAKERS: TROOPERS DAVID ROMAN AND TERRENCE KRUMB FROM THE ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: These troopers have been with the Illinois State Police (ISP) for 20 and 13 years, respectively, and are now assigned to recruit State Troopers to replace the 300-500 troopers who have retired from the force over the last 20 years. Minimum requirements are age between 21 and 60; no felony convictions; U.S. citizen; possess a valid driver’s license ; and be willing to work anywhere in the State. They must also have one of the following—bachelor’s degree, associates degree plus 3 years as a police officer, 3 years in the military with honorable discharge, served in a combat mission with honorable discharge, or been awarded one a several listed Military Medals for military service overseas. Those interested in completing an application can submit it online at illinoistrooper.com; or call 217-786-6240 or 217-785-4370.

In 1922, the first (ISP) force in Illinois emerged with a few leather helmet-clad men patrolling the highways on motorcycles. Today, the Illinois State Police is a multifaceted police agency enforcing the laws, protecting the public, and providing an array of specialty services to other law enforcement agencies. The ISP patrol all State highways and federal expressways, assuming available personnel to do so. Many ISP troopers are pulled off their regular assignments to help Chicago’s inner city, e.g. Englewood and West side. This means fewer ISP are patrolling such roads as Edens Expressway.

Several of the very important functions of the ISP are done at its 5 crime laboratories located throughout the State. Currently there are 27 job vacancies at these labs but the job requirements are very stringent. Overall, there are 1000-1500 job vacancies within the ISP. Recruiting is now difficult because of the image portrayed of law enforcement generally by the media (Trooper Roman has had personal experience with this problem), the fact that our public schools don’t educate students about the importance of law enforcement, and it’s tough to recruit vets coming out of the military, even though the pay and fringe benefits are quite competitive, because of their belief that it is a step backwards in their military careers. (Other interesting facts mentioned by the speakers were that their patrol cars do not have video cameras, they do wear bullet proof vests, and the State pays for their entire uniform--which isn’t the case for Chicago policemen who have to pay up to $10,000 for the uniforms they are required to wear by the City.)

Meeting Recap August 29

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Past President Bill called the meeting to order at 12:15, in Queen Marie’s absence. QM is recovering nicely from knee surgery and will return on September 5.

There were 24 Rotarians in attendance.

Thought: John Thomas shared a Sanskrit proverb.

Pledge: Barb led us in the Pledge.

Visiting Guests and Rotarians: Bob Baker filled in for Todd and introduced visiting Rotarian Rosemary Heilemann, visiting from Buffalo Grove. David Carlton from SamaraCare Counseling, formerly Samaritan Counseling Center, is a prospective Rotarian visiting us, and was joined by Scott Mitchell, SamaraCare Executive Director, and a visiting Rotarian from Naperville.

Birthdays: David Birkenstein on August 19

John Thomas on August 21

Anniversary: Sam Badger – 6 years

Announcements: Next week’s speaker is State Trooper David Roman. Bring a guest!

Bill thanked all Rotarians who assisted with the booth at the Farmer’s Market on August 24.

Upcoming Events:

October 4 Operation Warm event – Joe shared that sponsorships are strong, including our own Donna Goodman as of today! He encouraged attendance from Rotarians; last year there were 150 in attendance and we should have at least that many this year! Buy your tickets on the club website!
October 10 is Governor Suzanne’s official visit.
October 24 is World Polio Day.

Rosemary announced that the Buffalo Grove club is having their annual Duck Race fundraiser on September 1 and encouraged us to purchase tickets from her.

Barb shared that our New Trier Township Food Pantry collection of oral hygiene items will continue through mid-September. Here is a link if you want to make a donation:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7MDE7Q4Y2R4CL&source=url

On September 26 we are harvesting produce at the Glencoe Garden Project; she will have a signup next week. AND, on November 7 we are meeting at the Lakeview Center at Gillson Park in Wilmette to help Wilmette Rotary with their book project.

John Thomas encouraged all to fill out the Speaker’s survey distributed today. The survey will be available next week as well. Results will inform speakers that will be arranged by John in the future.

Happy Bucks: Tony provided three bucks and shared with the club that although Sam is celebrating 6 years in our club, he has been a Rotarian since 1974! Secondly, Buffalo Grove lunches (also Thursdays) are really fun! Lastly, the Garden Project will be fun and thanks to Barb for arranging it.

Wes asked about the speakeasy in Winnetka – where was it located and does anyone know about it. Several did, a lively discussion ensued.

Liz had two HBs for our two guests from SamaraCare. She also shared that Dr. John Stone sends his regards.

Dig N Grin: Fred shared some witty one-liners written by Steven Wright.

Speaker: John Thomas introduced New Trier Township Social Worker Jeanne Rosser.

Jeanne has been a Social Worker for 25 years; she has been at the Township for 10 years. She opened by stating that although poverty is not evident in NTT, it exists. She then shared a number of stories of families that she has helped, and shared details of the ten programs that she oversees.

Here is a web address to the handout of “Service by the Numbers” of the programs that the Township runs (copy and paste into your browser):

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2417/Documents/en-us/c801877a-5250-484c-ac52-2d7a15293bc8/1

Here is a web address to the budget of support that is provided to agencies that serve Township residents (copy and paste into your browser):

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2417/Documents/en-us/80838124-c491-480b-b936-86d6700b2e83/1/

Jeanne welcomes phone calls from residents who are in need of service or know someone who may be in need of service.

Wes won the ticket pull and drew the 6 of diamonds.

Bill adjourned the meeting with the 4-way-test at 1:30pm.

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.