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Community House. Check our bulletin to see if we are meeting in person. Zoom is always an option.

620 Lincoln Avenue
Winnetka, IL 60093
United States of America

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Meeting Notes November 13

Posted by Thomas Applegate

President Ken Drummet opened the meeting at 12:15pm and welcomed everyone. Moha Bouacha shared a few inspirational quotes for the day. A Rotarian, John Baier from the former North Chicago club, joined us as a guest.

Barb Tubekis shared upcoming volunteer events, join in and invite friends to experience Rotary service:

“Share Your Bounty” grocery donations to Good News Partners is next Thursday, November 20^th during our meeting, and we need monetary donations to purchase the groceries. Patti, Barb, Bob, and Moha volunteered to purchase groceries.
Tuesday, December 2^nd 6:00pm is lunch packing for Connections for the Homeless, and December is our club’s responsibility. We need volunteers to sign up for purchasing food, assembly of lunches and delivery of the lunches on Wednesday, December 3^rd.
Rotary: Lunch-Packing for Homeless
Operation Warm gifting coats event: Saturday, December 6^th at Edgewater, 6000 N. Broadway, 1:30-4:00. Sign up: Operation Warm Coat Gifting- Edgewater Library | Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield
Also, you can bring your clear plastic food containers to our club meetings that we will give to Glencoe Community Garden for their fresh vegetable distribution.

Ken shared a couple of announcements:

The club Nominating Committee has met to assemble the officer slate.
Rotary International’s Annual Conference will be in Chicago in 2030, and a current project is to install peace poles. Think about where our club could sponsor a peace pole.

Ken invited Barb and Rich Lalley to go “Behind the Badge” and share a little of their respective life stories.

Early in her life, Barb went from Chicago to St. Louis and back to Winnetka. She loved her experiences at New Trier High School where she engaged in service, learned leadership, and was part of the water ballet team. At Depauw she continued her life of service. During her study abroad in Greece, their excursion to Egypt included a chance encounter with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, at the Cairo Hilton. She is proud to be a member of Rotary, and the club has been a big part of her life.

Rich believes that good things come from life’s challenges. Rich’s life journey has taken him across the country from the Naval Air Base at Norfolk, VA to Buffalo, NY, Edgewood Borough in Pittsburgh and Birmingham, PA, Arizona, Lansing (MSU), MI, Chicago, St. Louis, MO, Milwaukee, WI, and now Mundelein. Wow! Rich connected to our club when his banker brought him to lunch, and Rotary fit his commitment to service. He has worked with Operation Warm for 16 years.

Meeting Notes November 6

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Thomas provided a thought.

Ken led us in the pledge.

Guests: Nancy Krueger was a guest of Liz Taylor. Karla Garjaka was a guest of Thomas Applegate.

Announcements:

District Conference – Thomas and Rich attended last Saturday. Save the date for the world’s largest polio walk next year on Oct 24.

Ken shared Operation Warm thank you notes from yesterday’s distribution in Elk Grove Village. Rich, Ken, Moha and Patti attended.

There is a public image workshop this Saturday.

Bill introduced guests from the North Shore Art League. A few weeks ago they were here to work with members to create artwork. Linda, Sophie and Jill attended today as our guests and gave out the member’s artwork.

Rich requested donations for the 11/20 GNP food packing project. Donate now! Look for donations to Jamaica and Haiti through TRF or our foundation.

Rich presented a Paul Harris Fellow x3 pin to Ken.

Amy shared that Rock the House is tomorrow night.

Thomas invited us to a fun fundraiser fir CCNS at Guanajuato on Nov 19.

DNG:

David B – some bad, but funny puns.

Speaker:

Gail Eisenberg, NTT Supervisor, Bill introduced and shared her bio. Gail’s presentation was “What New Trier Township Does”.

She covered social services provided by the township and responded to questions.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:35pm.

Meeting Notes October 30

Posted by Thomas Applegate

Location: Hadley, 700 Elm St, Winnetka

President Ken Drummet opened the meeting at 12:15pm and welcomed everyone. Bill Leske shared an inspirational thought for the day. Ken invited Thomas Applegate to welcome our newest club member, Rives Collins. Rives thanked the club members and especially Moha Bouacha for sponsoring him.

Ken shared a few announcements before lunch:

District 6440 conference is this Saturday, November 1^st.
Grocery packing for Good News Partners is during our lunch on November 20^th. Donations are needed.

Rich shared a couple of updates:

Your monetary donations are needed for groceries to Good News Partners by November 16^th, and we will pack grocery bags on November 20^th. Donation link is in the weekly club email, or bring a check to Patti.
On Saturday December 6^th you can hand out coats with Operation Warm at a library in Chicago.

Ken introduced Johnjoe Farragher, CEO of Hadely to update the club on their services and national reach. They have reached about 180,000 people this year, and by 2030 they want to serve 1 million people. A tour of the facility was offered.

Time to 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 20, so please donate by November 16.

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 16

Posted by Amy Skalinder

President Ken opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Ben Sloane, a prospective new member, was welcomed as a guest. Liz shared a thought for the day. Since lunch had not yet arrived, we continued on to announcements:

Our October 30 Club meeting was previously planned to be an informal lunch at Little Honeycomb since the Community House is not available due to the Antiques+Modernism Show. However, we have a change of plans – we will meet in the conference room at Hadley (700 Elm St in Winnetka) and Hadley CEO Johnjoe Farragher will be our speaker!
The District Conference is coming up on November 1 – all are encouraged to attend. More information and registration is available here.
Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s harvest at the Glencoe Community Gardens as well as the happy hour event earlier this week. We hope to do more of both!

After Dig-N-Grin and Happy Bucks, our speakers from Connections for the Homeless were introduced: Ashli Wade and Julie Lanham. Connections for the Homeless provides a variety of services, from financial assistance to households facing eviction to long-term housing, food support, drop-in services, case management, and more. The sack lunches our Club packs on Tuesday evenings (along with the Wilmette Club) go to Connections for the Homeless for distribution to people who need them!

Ashli and Julie also shared that while Connections has some federal funding, they also have funding from state, local, and private sources. They also rely on individual contributions and a lot of volunteer help, and if you’re interested in finding out more, there is a great summary of “how you can help” on their website.

With excellent timing, lunch arrived just as Ashli and Julie wrapped up their presentation.

Meeting Notes October 2

Posted by David Grant

Debra Campbell chaired the meeting while Ken is travelling. Several other members were also on the road, but Tony, Bob, Bill, Liz, Thomas, Rich, David B, and David G all enjoyed painting ceramics with the North Shore Art League. Colin Day is their new ceramics instructor, and he is teaching ceramics in a brand new room on the second floor of the WCH. Linda Nelson, the E.D. of the North Shore Art League introduced Colin and also Jill Evans, Finance/Program Manager. The League is hosting monthly exhibits and welcomes any visitors who want to check out their programs.

Meeting Notes September 25

Posted by Thomas Applegate

President Ken Drummet opened the meeting at 12:20pm, welcomed everyone, and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. David Birkenstein greeted attendees.

Ken shared a few announcements before lunch:

He welcomed online attendees George and Patti, as well as in-person visiting Rotarian Steve Nelson from the Libertyville club. Steve worked with our club on the Uganda project.
Thursday, October 9^th at 12:00 we will meet at the Glencoe Community Gardens to help harvest and enjoy a box lunch.
The Operation Warm benefit is Friday, September 26th at the DoubleTree in Skokie and a number of members are attending for funding winter coats and for a fun time.

Dig-n-Grin, Vicki Bittar shared a few unusual facts. Before alarm clocks there were people called “knocker uppers” who would knock on your window to wake you up. Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.

Barb Tubekis reminded members that our next monthly lunch-packing for Connections for the Homeless is Tuesday October 7^th at 6:00pm. See the weekly email for the link to sign up.

Thomas Applegate encouraged members to bring themselves and prospective members to our Rotary Happy Hour at Fred’s Garage, Tuesday October 14^th from 5:00p – 7:00p.

David Grant introduced our speaker Cassie Schwartz with the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Her presentation “Courageous Conversations about Antisemitism” covered the long history of antisemitism, the rise of antisemitism since October 7^th, and current and past examples.

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

Meeting Notes 9-18-25

Posted by Amy Skalinder

President Ken opened the meeting, welcomed everyone – including special guests Marlene Frisbie (District Governor) and Sonya Martin (District Assistant Governor). Bob shared a thought for the day.

Ken shared a few announcements after lunch:

Everyone is reminded to please attend the Operation Warm benefit the evening of September 26. Tickets are still available (click here). Rich shared that there are many items available through the silent auction, and you can bid online even if you cannot attend. But please come!
We will be helping with the harvest at Glencoe Community Garden on October 9. Our meeting will start at 12pm rather than 12:15pm that day, and we will have boxed lunches delivered.
We will not meet on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Day – these holidays all fall on Thursdays this year.

Thomas shared that our Club will hold a happy hour at Fred’s Garage on October 14, 5pm to 7pm. He asked everyone to not only plan to attend but also bring a guest who may be interested in joining Rotary. There will be future similar events as well!

Michael shared a story for Dig-n-Grin, and Happy Bucks were shared by Patti, Moha, David (Birkenstein), and Tony.

Ken introduced our speaker, Marlene Frisbie, our District Governor. Marlene introduced herself and shared her history with Rotary. She shared reflections on the difference between joining Rotary and becoming a Rotarian.

Marlene then spoke about the Rotary Action Plan, a form of strategic planning that is being implemented across Rotary International. There are four key elements:

Increase our impact: measure your impact and tell the story of the good that you are doing.
Expand our reach: grow and diversify our membership.
Enhance participant engagement: do everything you can to ensure everyone is involved and having a positive experience.
Increase our ability to adapt: learn to do things in new ways and embrace new things.

Marlene shared stories to illustrate each of these points. She encouraged us to think long-term, continually looking three years ahead. There are many resources to help us create an Action Plan available on the District website (here) along with a toolkit available through Rotary International (here).

Marlene also shared three of her personal initiatives that she is working on during her tenure as District Governor:

Encouraging every Club to do some kind of environmental project and commended us for using compostable plates and forks at our meeting.
Encouraging more Rotarians to attend the District Conference, which will be held November 1 (morning) at the College of DuPage. Registration will be open soon. Click here for more information.
Raising awareness of cervical cancer, which is caused by HPV and is entirely preventable by getting vaccinated against HPV.

Marlene concluded with the Rotary mission statement and challenged us all to unite for good in our world.

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

Meeting Notes September 11

Posted by David Grant

Ken chaired the meeting with 15 Rotarians in person, including the most welcome return of Fred! Moha brought Reeves Collins as his guest. Reeves was a speaker at our Club recently, and he is also a potential member.

Announcements:

Barb thanked the members of the Club who volunteered for September’s lunch packing event to help Connections for the Homeless.
Rich presented Ken with a Paul Harris Award (+3)!Members earn a Paul Harris Award for every $1,000 in donations made to Rotary International.
David B is happy that Rotary International is rated 4-stars on Charity Navigator.This is the top rating given for efficiency of non-profits.
Tony donated happy bucks for his 53 years as a Rotarian.He started in 1970 with the Lake Forest Rotary Club before switching to our Winnetka-Northfield Club.
Barb rode the California Zephyr train to Colorado and recommends it. She also announced that she will have surgery on Monday, 9/15. Good luck and we are eager to hear about it at our next meeting!

Today’s Speaker: Sean and Ariel Hofherr shared the 5^th generation family business story of their remarkable butcher shop. Read all about it on their website at: Hofherr Meat Co. ☞ Our Story

Meeting Notes September 4

Posted by David Grant

Ken chaired the meeting with 13 Rotarians in person and none on zoom.

Announcements:

Rich reminds the Club to register for the Operation Warm benefit to be held on September 26 at the DoubleTree in Skokie. Visit the website to view the silent auction items and bid on them even if you don’t attend the event.
Liz retires in 3 weeks! She announced she will continue as a member of our Club!
Dig ‘N Grin is hosted by Chuck Norton who shares Frank Sinatra’s version of ‘High Hopes.’

Today’s Speaker: Liz Kunkle updated us on the world of recycling. She is now working for a company that helps consumers make good recycling decisions on a phone app ‘recycling coach.’

You can download the app thru this link:

Build better habits & get wise about waste | Recycle Coach Solutions

Meeting August 28

Posted by Thomas Applegate

President Ken Drummet opened the meeting at 12:15pm, welcomed everyone, and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Tony Kambich shared a few inspirational quote for the day.

Ken shared a few announcements after lunch:

We will have a table at the Winnetka Farmers’ Market on September 6. We have 2 volunteers for each time slot, but others are more than welcome to come to the market to help out.
The District Governor, Marlene Frisbie, will be visiting us on September 18.
The Operation Warm benefit will be September 26 at the DoubleTree in Skokie. You can bid on items even if you do not attend. Locally Operation Warm gives out over 2000 coats. See Rich for details.

Dig-n-Grin, Robert Mardirossian shared a somber note. Robert’s heart is heavy due to the horrible shooting in Minnesota. He wants to do something, and it makes him think of the families who lost loved ones. The loss will be with them for the rest of their lives. “If people could feel the embrace of others at a time like this, then maybe there can be healing."

Happy bucks, Barb has been on the wedding circuit and is excited about taking the train to Colorado for the next one. Moha is happy to celebrate his 49^th wedding anniversary. Barb took the mic again to give a shoutout to Patti who is retiring from the Winnetka Congregational Church.

David Grant introduced our speaker, Erin Tegge from PEER Services. Erin shared comprehensive overview of their programs and answered questions.

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

Meeting Notes August 21

Posted by Amy Skalinder

President Ken opened the meeting, welcomed everyone, and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Moha shared a few inspirational thoughts for the day.

Ken shared a few announcements after lunch:

We will have a table at the Winnetka Farmers’ Market on September 6. We have some volunteers but could use a few more.
The District Governor, Marlene Frisbie, will be visiting us on September 18.
The Operation Warm benefit will be September 26 at the DoubleTree in Skokie. See Rich for details.

Barb shared a few updates for service projects:

Our next date to pack lunches for Connections for the Homeless is Tuesday, September 2 at 6pm at St. Joseph's Church at Lake and Ridge in Wilmette. Sign up here – it’s mostly booked but we might be able to use a few more.
October 9 will be our Glencoe Community Garden service project – we will be helping them harvest in lieu of our regular weekly lunch meeting.
We are collectingmen’s clothing for Hilda’s Place – this Saturday to next Saturday, donations can be dropped on Patti Van Cleave’s front porch.

Fred was attending on Zoom and shared happy bucks. Rich and all the rest of the Rotarians in attendance were happy that Fred was here! Barb and Tony shared happy bucks for their respective wedding anniversaries.

Ken introduced a new speaker concept – “Rotarians Behind the Badge” – which he plans to do periodically during his presidency. Chuck Norton and David Birkenstein shared stories about their lives.

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

Meeting Notes August 7

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:18 by President Ken.

Michael shared a Winston Churchill quote. We recited the Pledge.

Guests: Tony introduced Jeanne Beckman, not a guest but a former member.

Announcements:
--We will have a booth at the Winnetka Farmer’s Market on September 6. Volunteers needed.

--Our next Connections lunch packing project is September 2. We are in charge this month, so we need volunteers to purchase food at Costco, pack lunches, and take to Connections on Wednesday morning.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054AAAAC2AA1F58-56057223-lunchpacking#/

Dig N Grin: Thomas Applegate.

Program: David made note of upcoming programs, and asked for support in filling a couple of gaps.

David introduced Stephen Anderson, Community Partnerships Coordinator at New Trier Township. Stephen shared the many ways that the Township supports local residents.

We adjourned the meeting with the 4 Way Test at 1:29.

Meeting Notes August 14

Posted by David Grant

Ken chaired the meeting with 15 Rotarians in person and none on zoom.

Announcements:

David Birkenstein celebrates his birthday this week, and David entertained us with Dig ‘N Grin
Tony celebrates his 64^th wedding anniversary.
Moha says the Morocco grant is fully authorized by Rotary International, and in the final review stage of the R.I process.
Larry A. Lunsford, a member of the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri, USA, is the selection of the nominating committee to become Rotary International’s president for 2027-28. Rich has met him, and says he is an outstanding choice!

Today’s Speaker: We played a video interview with Melinda French Gates. The interviewer is Emily Chang, from Bloomberg. The 25 minute interview is available on YouTube, at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhwJBnvpljo

Meeting Notes May 29

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Rich Lalley opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Bob Baker shared a thought for the day, and Rich led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

After lunch, our Greeter, David Grant, introduced two visiting Rotarians – Mary Bak (Past District Governor) and Jeffrey Allen, President-Elect of the Barrington Club.

Rich shared that Fred Schwimmer fell recently and broke his arm; he is currently in a rehab facility and would welcome phone calls from fellow Rotarians.

Announcements:

The induction of our incoming President, Ken Drummet, will be June 26 at our regular lunch meeting.
Please buy tickets (click here) and invite friends and family to our Trivia Night Fundraiser. It will be held July 17 at 6pm at the Valley Lo Club in Glenview. We will have a buffet dinner, trivia, raffle items, and a 50/50 raffle. The proceeds support our Community Grants Fund. Everyone is asked to bring a bottle of wine to an upcoming lunch meeting to contribute to the raffle.
It is one month from the end of the Rotary year and Rich asks that every member contribute to the Rotary Foundation every year. If you have not yet done so, you can click here, select Annual Fund – SHARE, and complete the donation process.
Robert Mardirossian also reminded people to give to the PolioPlus fund each year. You can do that here by selecting the PolioPlus box and continuing through the donation process.
Patti Van Cleave reminded everyone that on June 3 at 6pm, we are meeting at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette to pack lunches for the homeless. Bob Baker and Patti Van Cleave are shopping in advance, and we could use more people to pack lunches. This is an ongoing project, the first Tuesday of every month.
David Grant pointed out that July 3 is a Thursday this year; the Club agreed not to meet that day.
Thomas Applegate shared that our Club now has a page on LinkedIn and asks current members who use LinkedIn to follow that page.
Both bike racks – at the Northfield Park District and Winnetka Park District – have been installed. Debra Campbell is working on a press release and a photo op.

Ken Drummet shared a few quips about college in honor of his granddaughter’s graduation for Dig-N-Grin. Happy bucks were shared by Robert Mardirossian, Mary Bak, and Moha Bouacha.

Rich re-introduced Mary Bak and Jeffrey Allen, our speakers, who shared information about the Rotary Friendship Exchange program. They have presented to several local Rotary Clubs recently to share their experience in India, where they visited January 9-23, 2025. Friendship Exchanges are cultural exchanges and usually also involve a service element.

Mary and Jeffrey shared several fascinating and heartwarming anecdotes and photographs from their trip. They were able to visit charities, hospitals, cultural landmarks, a textile factory, and various social events – and shared in incredible local food along the way. They found the cultural immersion experience to be extremely meaningful. If you’d like to revisit their slide deck, you can do so here. Our District has administered several Friendship Exchanges in recent years and has many resources available on the District website.

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

Meeting Notes May 22

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:15 by Co-President Rich.

Rich led us in the Pledge.

Wes shared some quotes for Thoughts of the Day.

Announcements:
-- The food packing project for Connections for the Homeless will be an ongoing monthly effort in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Wilmette and Evanston Lighthouse. We will meet on the first Tuesday of the month at St Joseph’s church in Wilmette. Next packing is on June 3. There is a signup genius on the website.

-- Our Foundation’s fundraiser is set for July 17 at Valley Lo. Tickets are $100pp, buy them early on the website. We are asking members to bring a bottle of wine for a wine basket, and solicit donations for other baskets to be raffled off. A letter will be sent to all club members to present to businesses to request donations.

--It was noted that former member and president Suzanne Timble died recently. Obit is here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/santafenewmexican/name/suzanne-timble-obituary?id=58378981

--District news: DG-elect Marlene Frisbie will be inducted on June 27 in Woodstock. Mariana Al-Far from Wilmette is DG-Nominee, to serve at DG in 2027-28.

Former DG Mary Bak will be our speaker on May 29,

Dig N Grin: Moha covered for David B with some entertaining one-liners and stories.

Happy Bucks:

--Many of us are happy that as reported by Bob B., the Cubs are 10 games over .500.

Program: Thomas Applegate, Executive Director and Kim Hassenfeld, Clinical Director, updated us on Counseling Center of the North Shore’s activities and growth, including issues facing those that they serve in our communities.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 by Rich, with all of us reciting the Four Way Test.

Homeless Lunch Packing Project September 2

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Club is collaborating with the Wilmette and Evanston Lighthouse clubs to prepare bagged lunches for Connections for the Homeless once a month, on the first Tuesday of the month at 6:00PM. Location is St. Joseph's church at Lake and Ridge in Wilmette.

We ask club members to sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054AAAAC2AA1F58-56057223-lunchpacking#/

We look forward to your participation in this hands-on project to help the clients of Connections.

Questions? Contact Patti.

Meeting Notes May 15

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Rich chaired the meeting.

Announcements: We all rose to our feet for a standing ovation and round of Happy Birthday in honor of Fred’s 90^th Birthday.

Save the Dates:

June 3 Our Club is organizing the service project to pack lunches - see story below!

June 25 is the installation of new Club officers and board members.

July 17 is the Club fundraiser at Valley Lo.

Today’s Speaker: Dan Faust from the Northfield Park District updated on us new programs like a frisbee golf course, pickleball courts, and other renovations. He also thanked us for our Club’s donation of the bike rack, which has been installed at Willow Park. Picture is below:

Meeting Notes May 8

Posted by Amy Skalinder

In the absence of our current Co-Presidents, who could not be here today, Patti Van Cleave opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Liz Taylor shared a thought for the day that particularly reminded her of Rotarians: “Shout out to the people who make this world a better place by being good friends, doing good deeds, and simply being kind humans.” We said the Pledge of Allegiance and enjoyed our lunch!

After lunch, Patti kicked off our meeting with birthdays and anniversaries. Happy birthday to Bob Baker, Patti Van Cleave, Joe Fell, Barb Tubekis who all have birthdays in early May (with more to come later in May)! Liz Taylor and Barb Tubekis both had Rotary anniversaries recently.

Announcements:

Liz Taylor announced she was giving a check to celebrate her anniversary and also brought a check to pay for the auctioned Cubs tickets Robert Mardirossian offered last week – her son enjoyed the game!
June 3 is the next first Tuesday of the month, which is our day to pack meals for Connections for the Homeless. Patti and Barb went to Costco to meet with a member of the Wilmette Club to learn what is needed for the lunches so we can do the shopping on a rotating basis with Wilmette and Evanston Clubs. There will be a Sign-Up Genius to sign up to volunteer for our designated dates.
Bob Baker shared the latest information about an upcoming fundraiser to support our Club Foundation. It will be held July 17, a Thursday night, at Valley-Lo in Glenview, the same location as the Operation Warm benefit. We will have a buffet dinner, trivia, raffle items, and a 50/50 raffle. Save the date!

Happy bucks for today:

Thomas Applegate shared that the Garden is open at the Winnetka Thrift Shop today through the weekend! He also shared that their fundraiser is coming up next week; more information and tickets are available here.
Patti Van Cleave shared that the Winnetka Congregational Church Rummage Sale opens tomorrow and runs through Saturday.
David Grant shared that an American was elected Pope for the first time: Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago.

Heidi Sibert shared some fun facts about grass, weeds, sprinklers, native plants, and No-Mow May for Dig-N-Grin.

David Grant introduced our speaker Sheila A. Weinberg, Founder & CEO of Truth in Accounting, a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and empower citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information. She shared a presentation entitled The Truth about Balanced Budgets: What Illinois (and Others) Aren’t Telling You.

Sheila led us in a Q&A session about how balanced budgets and debts work, and also discussed the current financial state of our home state of Illinois. If you are interested in learning more, there is a LOT more information on their website, including reports on the federal government, every state in the U.S., and even cities: click here.

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

Meeting Notes May 1

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Tony shared a thought for the day from Sarah Ban Breathnach. Bill Leske led the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance.

After lunch, Moha wished everyone a happy May Day. He shared a few Rotary announcements:

The Hope Walk for the Homeless will be May 3 at Gillson Park, 10am. Please register or volunteer if you haven’t already and are able to do so. We are co-sponsoring this event. If you can’t walk or volunteer, you can donate.
We still need people to sign up for next Tuesday, May 6 to pack lunches for the homeless. Someone will need to do the shopping each time we sponsor the food, and packing is limited to 15 volunteers. This is an ongoing project, the first Tuesday of the month, 6:00pm-7:30pm at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette. Contact Barb Tubekis for more information.
Registration is open for the installation dinner for the incoming District Governor, Marlene Frisbie. More information and registration is available here.
Other upcoming District events can be found on the District calendar.

Other announcements:

Fred Schwimmer shared his enthusiasm about the work our Club Foundation is doing.
Robert offered Cubs tickets for next Tuesday night to anyone who makes a $60 donation to the Club Foundation. Liz Taylor was the lucky recipient!

Chuck Norton shared humorous thoughts about laughter, sound, stupidity, genius, children, and smiling for Dig-N-Grin. Moha Bouacha and David Birkenstein were happy that Fred has returned this week, in-person! Barb Tubekis shared a happy childhood memory about May Day.

Bill Leske introduced David Kerpel from Furever Home Dog Sanctuary as our speaker. David founded the organization, which has a mission of going to shelters and rescuing dogs who have various challenges that make them difficult to adopt and rehabilitate them so they can find a forever home.

David shared the origin story of the organization as well as some photos of the facility they are building. They are very excited but need financial support and are kicking off a capital campaign to fund the project. You can read more about their plans and sign up for their newsletter on their website. They are hoping to finish their facility in 6-9 months and be able to accept their first dogs from shelters at that time. They will take a maximum of 21 dogs at a time.

If you’d like to watch the video that David shared – we had trouble with the sound at the meeting – you can do so here.

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

Meeting Notes April 24

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting.

Announcements: Moha welcomed the many social service organizations attending the meeting. He encouraged them to consider joining Rotary in addition to all the good they already do!

Events: Debra invited us to her opening reception on May 1st from 4-6pm for an exhibition of her art held at the North Shore Senior Center. Discover the beauty of Mosaics!

Community Grant Award Presentations: Bob Baker explained what our WNRCF is, and some of the great service projects we sponsor. The microphone was passed to Patti to hand out the checks to representatives of each organization. In no particular order, Patti called them to the stage, and each organization succinctly summarized how they would use their awards:

Samaracare providing care for anxiety and uncertainty
North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic funding on-staff lawyers
Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired education
Family Promise Chicago North Shore Shelter for emergency homeless
Our Place of New Trier Townshipadults with learning disabilities
Pickles Group to help kids whose parents have cancer diagnosis
The Record Community News Group journalism
SaLT: Service and Learning Together student driven service opportunities
Deerfield Free Store aid to 5-10 refugee families per week
The Volunteer Center days of service & website matching service
Special Gifts Theatre stage productions for kids with disabilities
Counseling Center of the North Shore mental health services
Trees That Feed Foundation plant breadfruit trees around the world
Hunger Resource Network provide protein for other food pantries, shelters, etc.

Meeting Minutes April 17

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:15 by Co-President Moha.

Greeter Wes led us in the Pledge.

David Birkenstein shared two humorous Thoughts of the Day.

Visiting Guests and Rotarians: Eric Birkenstein joined us, and brought his friend Steve Greenberg. Moha invited a visiting Rotarian, Zoana Popescu, Rotary Club of Salzburg. She is a talented violinist who is studying in the area.

-- The Hope Walk for the Homeless is on May 3 at Gillson Park. All are invited to walk or volunteer or donate.

--A committee will meet on Monday at 10:00 on Zoom to begin planning a fundraiser supporting our Community Grants program. Our Annual Community Grants presentation is NEXT WEEK, April 24^th. We will award 15 grants.

--Barb noted that all lunch serving products are now compostable and should be placed in the green bags on our tables when you are done eating.

Dig N Grin: We contributed in the absence of a presenter.

Happy Bucks:

--Rich went to a great event – a concert – at College of Lake County.

--Moha had a great virtual meeting with those involved in our project in Morocco.

--Tony is happy to be back from St. Maarten, where he and Carolyn had a lovely time.

--David B salutes Debra for an article in the North Shore Senior Center newsletter.

--Debra shared that she is having an exhibit opening featuring her mosaics on May 1 from 4-6 at the North Shore Senior Center.

--Barb recognized those celebrating both Passover and Easter.

Program: Our speaker was Bill Hayes, who shared valuable information on energy initiatives both being developed and in the early stages. The title of his presentation: A Key Question for Earth Week: Are You Zero Carbon Yet?

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 by Moha, with all of us reciting the Four Way Test.

Meeting Notes April 3

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting. He encourages us to sign up to participate in the Wilmette Rotary Hope Walk scheduled for Saturday, May 3. Details are in the story below with a link to register!

Community Service Project: Barb reported on a very successful evening service project with the Wilmette Club which was held on Tuesday, April 1 at St. Joseph’s Church in Wilmette, which is the site of their Club’s monthly service project of preparing lunch bags for Connections for the Homeless. Barb and her committee helped pack 160 lunches, which will be distributed by Connections for the Homeless.

Speaker: Darrin Utynek is the new Executive Director at Paws for Patrick, which is a Winnetka social service agency operating in all 50 states. Paws for Patrick uses Emotional Support Dogs to help alleviate the burden on individuals seeking to acquire an Emotional Support Animal to aid them with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health diagnoses.

Meeting Notes March 20

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

President Rich called the meeting to order at 12:17pm.

Thought: Tony shared a thought of gratitude for awaking each day.

Rich led us in the Pledge.

Guest: Carole Barthel, wife of Chuck Norton

Announcements:

--There will be a meeting at RI in Evanston on April 4 about the Strategic Planning process. All are welcome.

--District 6440 meeting on April 5 at Harper College.

--Our Moroccan GG is getting closer to our fundraising goal of $100K. We still need DDF funds and some cash. Patti volunteered to bring a cake to celebrate when we reach our goal.

--Barb shared that Ellie Schwimmer told her that Fred LOVES phone calls. Please call!

--Barb also shared that our service project with Wilmette and Evanston Lighthouse Rotary is on April 1 at 6:00PM at St. Joe’s church, corner of Ridge and Lake. We will be packing meals for Connections for the Homeless.

Happy Bucks

--Bob was happy that on St. Patrick’s Day, the Tubekises brought them a full Irish meal.

--Tony was happy that he and Carolyn are going to St. Maarten next week.

DigNGrin:

--Bob shared some funny quotes.

Program:

Chamber Director and Club member Terry Dason updated us on all that is going on in Winnetka, Northfield and Glencoe.

President Rich adjourned the meeting at 1:30.

Meeting Notes March 27

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Robert Mardirossian shared a thought for the day from Georgia O'Keeffe and encouraged members to take time to see flowers and connect with friends. Chuck Norton led the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance.

After lunch, David Grant introduced Tracie Frederick, Director of Development for North Shore Country Day School, who is a guest accompanying today’s speakers.

Co-President Rich Lalley shared a few Rotary announcements:

Reminder that Rotary International is hosting a session called Rotary: Your Path to Purpose on April 4, 12pm-4pm. The afternoon includes a tour and overview of Rotary Action Plans. All are welcome!Click here for more info and to register.
The District 6440 Club Leadership Summit is coming up on April 5. Visit the District calendar for more information on this and other upcoming District events.
We will be joining the Wilmette Club’s ongoing project to pack lunches for the homeless, the first Tuesday of the month, 6:00pm-7:30pm at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette. Sign up sheets are available for April 1 at today’s meeting or just show up! Several participating Club members are going to dinner afterwards – all are welcome to join.
There is an updated postcard about the Morocco project – see Moha or Debra if you need a copy. Rich shared that we are closing on our fundraising goals for the project.

Other announcements:

Barb brought compostable bags to the meeting for the compostable utensils. Barb will collect today’s utensils in bags and take them over to the community compost drop-off site at the Winnetka Congregational Church. Thanks, Barb!
Bill Leske’s birthday was yesterday – happy birthday, Bill!

Happy bucks were shared by David Grant and Patti Van Cleave. Bill Leske shared some interesting facts about this day in history for Dig-N-Grin.

David Grant introduced our speakers for the day, who will be sharing information about the Three Pillars Initiative and the Youth Philanthropy Board program.

Remy Sheehan is the Chief Program Officer for the parent organization of the national Youth Philanthropy Board program, the Three Pillars Initiative. He is also currently running the senior cohort for the Evanston Youth Philanthopy Board.

He introduced Rachel Ross, a student at Evanston Township High School. This is her 2^nd year on the Youth Philanthropy Board. She provided an overview of the program model, gave a list of local schools where the Board is active, and shared her own personal experiences with the program. The Board has raised $16,000 towards their goal of $26,000 for the year, and Rachel invited everyone to contribute towards that goal!

Tracie Fredericks also noted that they are always looking for mentors. Rotarians can find more information about the Three Pillars Initiative and its programs on their website.

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