Chair Norton called the meeting to order around 12:15 pm. There were 23 members participating in the Zoom meeting. Krysten Warnes gave the thought of the day by citing the sayings of Charlie Chaplin which were: “Nothing’s permanent, including trouble”—“Live by each other’s happiness”—and “A day without laughter is a day wasted”.
The only guest was Jim Corboy. Birthdays and anniversaries celebrated were by Louise Holland and Dennis Lauer.
ANNOUNCMENTS: Robert Mardirossian reminded members of our June 4th annual Rotary fund raiser to be on Zoom this year. The evening will start off with a cocktail period, followed by an exciting segment of trivia pursuit and then silent and live auctions. Robert then gave those present a taste of the trivia questions by asking who started the Rotary organization and where. The easy answer to the first question was Paul Harris and the first meeting was in Chicago. But it wasn’t clear which Chicago Club hosted the first meeting, although the Union League Club has hosted monthly Rotary meetings for years. According to Google, the first meeting was held February 13, 2005 in the office of Harris’ friend Gustove Loehr whose office was in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street. It didn’t seem that anyone came up with the same answer as Google, but Robert, notwithstanding, was able to turn the lively discussion into several contributions from the members.
Barb announced that Heidi Sibert was working hard on an Earth Day celebration set for April 24th at Payne Park in Evanston. They will be doing restoration work using mulch, pollinizer plants and taking out damaging weeds like Buckthorn. Volunteers should bring their own trowels and shovels, but there will also be extra tools there for use. The exact location and other information is available on the website of the Volunteer Center of New Trier Township.
HAPPY BUCKS: Fred said he was very happy in being able to spend last weekend with his entire family involving 10 people; along with celebrating 60 years of marriage with Ellie which involved mostly two people; and a solo event when he got his second vaccine shot! Fred also mentioned the favorable publicity received by Rotary in the Winnetka Talk about the Warm Soles project (with our own Rich Lalley, Bob Baker and Heidi Sibert pitching in.) Fred’s “happiness” prompted him to contribute a “happy bucks” check.
DIG N GRIN: Carl amused the members by suggesting the different ways a priest, minister and rabbi might react when being confronted with a ferocious bear.
SPEAKER JOHN SHEA FROM THE WINNETKA PARK DISTRICT: John has been a long time employee with the Park District in charge of handling many of the erosion problems on Winnetka’s lakefront. He presented several excellent slides and pictures taken from drones to show how much this lakefront has been repaired and renovated over the last year or so. Much of this was the result of the lake level falling by more than a foot this last year due to a decrease in last winter’s snowfall. He reported that Lloyd Beach was redone and will be open for services this summer; that it has separated beach usage by motorized and non-motorized boats (such as sunfish sailboats, kayaks and paddleboards); that it will now have new board walk areas with ADA accessible areas on the south side of the beach house so that wheel chairs, carts and dollies will be able to go down to the Lake; and that over 20,000 tons of sand has been added to its beach area. John also reported that the area around the Elder and Centennial Beaches still have serious problems having lost about 16 feet of sand last year, and will be shutdown most of this summer; that the Tower Road Beach has a new staircase that provides space for more activities (such as yoga classes) and gives a better view of the Lake during its usage; that Maple Street Beach will be open; and that all the open beaches will be operating from 9 am to 9 pm throughout the summer. Anyone interested in Winnetka’s lakefront should go to the Park District website to look at John’s pictures of the afore-mentioned beaches and the improvements made over the last year. The Park District is to be congratulated for its efforts to make the Village’s beaches as useful and beautiful as possible.
The meeting was adjourned at about 1:20 with Chair Norton reciting Rotary’s 4-way test.
One of the nice features of meeting virtually is that our meetings can be recorded. This of course depends on your meeting host (me) remembering to start the recording (sometimes I'm a bit late in starting it).
Our club will be providing brand new shoes to children living in need as part of the Rotary District 6440 Warm Soles project. Each pair of shoes requires $6.50 when match by a Rotary District Grant. Our goal is to raise $1,000 to provide new shoes to 150 children. Shoes will go to NICASA North Chicago, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and Cool Learning Experience in Waukegan.
Nearly one in five children live in need. For their families, paying for food, housing, heat and healthcare takes priority. Many children may have to go without the cold weather essentials they need to stay healthy and active. Replacing quickly out-grown shoes can be extremely difficult for low-income and below poverty families.
The committee has set aside $700 to match additional donations by our members. If you would like to make a donation and have it matched, email Rich Lalley with the amount of your donation and which organization you are supporting. The foundation match will be awarded on a first come, first served basis, and is capped at $200 per member and $700 total. Contact Rich if you have any questions.
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