The meeting was called to order on time by President Chuck Norton and there were 23 members present. We had one distinguished guest—Eric Birkenstein’s 9 year old daughter Leslie.
The “thought for the day” was given by Robert Mardirossian who expressed concern about all the current conflict in today’s world and wished that we could all live with the solemn vow contained in the last few lines in the popular song “Let There Be Peace On Earth” which is “to take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Greg Nelson was recognized as celebrating his 4th year as a Rotarian.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb reported that Rotary will have its report on Community Needs Assessment finished sometime in November and that New Trier staff and trustees have been interviewed in connection with such study. She also reminded us of the “Make a Difference Day” scheduled from 9 AM to Noon this coming Saturday (Oct. 24) in the Wilmette Junior High parking lot. 15 non-profit organizations will be participating and benefiting from donated items from the community. This year such items as old CD, DVD and even vinyl records will be welcomed. She also reported that for those Rotarians participating in the “twinning” project with the Volunteer Center in England need to send her their bios promptly.
DIG N GRIN: Tony told a story that he said he actually experienced as a young football player where the coach divided the team into 3 groups—group 1 were guys who were good on offense, group 2 those good on defense and group 3 those who were good students. To test group 3’s qualifications the coach asked group 3 what 2 plus 2 equaled and they responded 4—at which point their buddies in the other 2 groups demanded that the coach had to be fair and give them another chance at the correct answer!! Tony also suggested that our current day politicians should wear uniforms like our professional athletes to identify their corporate sponsors!!
SPEAKER JOHN THOMAS: Today’s speaker was the most recognizable volunteer in Winnetka. After he retired in 1998, John started doing lots of volunteer work, too numerous to list here. One of those organizations benefiting from John’s efforts has been the New Trier Township where he has been a trustee for four years. The Township has 5 trustees, 8 employees and covers about the same geographical area as New Trier High School. Through its programs it provides a little over 1.5 million dollars a year to 3 categories of non-profit agencies: about 30% goes to 12 mental health agencies like Erika’s Lighthouse and mental health counseling centers in Winnetka and Wilmette; about 27% goes to 13 agency oversight groups such as Winnetka Youth Organization and North Shore Senior Center; and 43% goes to its “money follows the person” program which supports 14 agencies such as The Josselyn Center and Lambs Farm. Other recent programs funded by the Township are the Bernie’s Book Bank Summer Collection Drive which collects close to 10,000 books a year for distribution to “at risk kids” throughout Illinois; legal clinics for low-income individuals and those needing help with immigration and domestic violence problems; a “peer jury” system made up of community youth to advise on minor legal problems experienced by local youth; and a food pantry which regularly furnishes meals to about 250 local families. John mentioned that for all of the Township programs there is only about $100 to $125 in taxes added to most Township residents’ tax bills.
Requests for township grant funding are carefully evaluated by advisory committees of resident volunteers who hold hearings to consider grant requests and then work closely with the trustees to compile reports and make funding recommendations to the Township Board before grants are awarded. Only non-profit organizations are eligible for the grants.
At this point in the meeting Robert, Rich and Barb all attested to the value of the Township’s programs and the importance of the Township continuing with such necessary activities.
John closed with one recent issue being faced by the Township and its residents. He mentioned that the Township does not make property assessments—that is done in the Cook County Assessors office. For some reason the new County Assessor in the most recent assessment gave a 40 to 50% assessment reduction for about 1000 homes in the local “flood area”. This has created many questions and much controversy and may cost the Township and/or the Village of Winnetka an estimated million dollars in annual tax revenues.
John was thanked for his very informative presentation and for his long volunteer service to the local non-profit organizations, not to mention his two terms as Club President.
The meeting was then adjourned around 1:15 with Chuck reciting the 4 way test.
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