The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Bill Leske-- his Co-Chair Greg Nelson assisted. There were 22 members present (Zoom and in person) and 1 guest (Moha Bonacha) who was attending his 3rd luncheon.
CLUB ANNIVERSERIES—Wes Bauman – 36 years; and Kristen Jasinski-8 years honorary member.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Bill acknowledge again the great job that Chuck Norton did as Club President; Rich Lalley for his continued IT work at the meetings; Barb, Sylwia Pacyk, Marie and Robert for their work on the Club benefit.
It was announced that Donna Goodman, our lunch caterer for 20 years, is retiring from the business this coming July 29th. Her letter to the Club was read by Bill and her comments on the Club were that it was great to get to know the members, that the members were “steadfast braving all kinds of weather to attend their meetings”, “ kind and generous—a model for others” and that more people should be Rotarians. She signed the letter “Yummy Regards—Donna”.
Fred gave a poignant tribute to Winnetka native, Donald Rumsfeld, who just died. Fred lived around the corner from Don when they were growing up and said that he was a “great guy”. One claim to fame of Mr. Rumsfeld was that he was the youngest and oldest person who ever served the U.S. as Secretary of Defense. Barb announced that the recycling company used by the Volunteer Center is continuing in business and is not one of those recently accused in the news of shoddy business practices.
HAPPY BUCKS: Bob Baker contributed for his continued recovery from knee surgery; Robert gave $5 for being able to be with us virtually while attending his family reunion; Wes also contributed for being able to view our meeting while attending a family gathering; Fred contributed due to his successful cataract surgery and being able to attend a family reunion in Minneapolis to be with his daughter and brother; Tony showed us a new purpose for Happy Bucks when he asked for the name of a local tailor who could cuff his pants—several names were mentioned but the name Golden Needle seemed to be the most dominant.
DIG 'N GRIN: Amy Skalinder gave us some July 4th riddles like the American colonists’ favorite beverage—liberTEA; the difference between a duck and George Washington—George’s face appears on a bill and (you fill in the rest ).
DISCUSSION ON FOOD SERVICE REPLACEMENT: Amy mentioned that the WCT also has to take action to replace Donna’s excellent catering service and that they were soon going to consider 2 or 3 other possibilities and would share their findings with the Club. Rich made the interesting point that other clubs are being very cost conscious about their meals, especially those having membership problems. He said that many of the new Rotary members seem to be more interested in the community services provided by Rotary as opposed to being served nice meals to impress their friends and business associates. After considerable discussion, Bill suggested that the Club first consider other caterers, especially those interviewed by the WCT, then consider the possibilities of ordering packaged meals from a local restaurant/grocer or even the possibility of members being able to order off a menu or “bring their own” lunch.
There was a short discussion on members getting their suggestions on luncheon speakers to John Thomas, who has done a great job with speakers, but needs more member suggestions on topics and speakers. John would like those suggestions soon to help schedule future speakers. Unfortunately, today’s speaker, Robyn Gabel, did not attend even though she had recently confirmed the date with John—but this often happens, which makes John’s job even more difficult. So please get your speaker suggestions to John—this duty should not be a one person job!!