The meeting in the Winnetka Community House was opened at 12:16 by President Bill Leske. “Thoughts for the Day” came from Patti Van Cleave with quotes from Groucho Marx, George Carlin and Albert Einstein. It was followed by the pledge of allegiance led by President Bill. He also noted our only visitor was Asst. Dist. Governor, Mary Bak.
Lunch was served at 12:20 and the meeting started at 12:40. There were 23 of our 54 members in attendance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Leske reminded us that there is a service project at the Winnetka Farmers Market on Sept. 15. We will have a “booth” and volunteers are needed He also noted there were no membership anniversaries nor member birthdays to be celebrated today.
Barb Tubekis said the New Trier Food Pantry needs contributions – with money being the most useful. For further details, contact Brian Leverenz at the Township Offices in Winnetka.
Asst. Governor Bak informed us of several upcoming events. First was the Sept. 3 Brewers/Cubs game in Milwaukee. Then on Oct. 20 at Harper College will be the Fall Training Seminar. Lastly she noted the May 2/4 Rotary International Conference will be held in Hamburg, Germany.
HAPPY BUCKS: Mike Shelton threw in some Happy Bucks honoring Mark Kotz who, he reported, is doing well in retirement. Barb Tubekis did so also in recognition of an impending vacation.
SPEAKER : The speaker for the day was Liz Kunkle introduced by Barb Tubekis. Ms. Kunkle is a Winnetka resident who advocates for protecting and preserving our environment. She recently received special recognition from The Volunteer Center for her work to protect our environment through sustainable and reasonable measures. Lynn is a practicing attorney and formed Go Green Winnetka in 2011.
During her talk she said over a third of food produced in the US, or 1.38 tons, is wasted.She claimed uneaten food goes to land fills, rots, and generates methane gas. That gas, in turn. traps heat in the atmosphere. She made no mention of how much methane is captured for re-use. She provided several ways individuals can importantly reuse food waste:
- plan carefully and don’t overbuy at the store.
- use the on-line “guest-imator’ for party food planning food
- make strong use of your freezer to store extra food for re-use.
- collect food scraps and compost them versus sending to the landfill
As Ms. Kunkle finished her talk at 1:28, there was no time for Q&A but she stayed on to chat with those who had questions.
The meeting closed at 1:32 p.m. with a recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Pledge.