Nan draws a line from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Crow Island School. How do we look at our history through buildings? How has our view of history changed over time? How does this affect us in Winnetka and on a national level?
Nan has always loved architecture. She started in preservation in 1992 when she became the first chairman of the Winnetka Landmarks Preservation Commission, a position she held for nine years.
She also served on three state-wide preservation boards, including two 3-year terms on Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council (IHSAC), which reviews nominations for the National Register of Historic Places (inside the state of Illinois).
Outside of preservation work, Nan served on the Winnetka Plan Commission for seven years, including editing and co-writing with Penny Lanphier the official “Winnetka Comprehensive Plan 2020.” She served on the Winnetka Village Council from 2001-2005 and has served on more study committees for the Village of Winnetka than the Village has problems.
Nan illustrated and wrote one coloring book, illustrated one novel, chaired one Winnetka Antiques Show, chaired one large downtown fundraising gala at Chicago’s City Hall, and designed one bridge, at Elm Street, in the center of Winnetka.
Before moving to Winnetka in 1990 with her husband Wally and son Alex, Nan was a vice president at The First National Bank of Chicago. Both her BA and MBA were focused – like a laser – on economics.
In recent years, Nan has served in non-combatant positions – on the Winnetka Historical Society board and on the Winnetka Community House Board of Governors, where she is past Chair and soon to be retired. So, while you’re in this building, you should probably be nice to her and – also – give her lots of money, because the Community House can always use lots of money in annual support and for necessary building repairs.
This week’s Greeter, Sam Badger, introduced two guests: Lizbeth Bautista, who is a Youth Advocate Intern at the Winnetka Youth Organization, and Donna Linder, a visiting Rotarian from the Illinois Beach Sunrise Club. The next order of business was the induction of Bob Sanfilippo into our club. Bob has recently been named the Executive Director of the Counseling Center of the North Shore. David Grant was his sponsor. He was warmly welcomed following the induction ceremony with a standing ovation.
Rich Lalley announced that there is a new app for Rotary that will take you to a club directory that lists the names of all our club members, along with their pictures and other vital information. You will be able to call a Rotarian just by clicking on the person you are interested in speaking with. The app is available in both the Apple and Android app stores. Simply type in the search box “clubrunner.” The icon is a blue box with a white ‘CR’ in the middle.
Rich announced that he recently attended the Wheeling Rotary Club where he presented them with a check for the End Polio Now fund in honor of Jack Blane who passed away this past February at the age of 94. Jack was an active member of Rotary for 55 years and he worked very hard to end polio. Jack is credited with getting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to commit well over a billion dollars toward the polio project.
Rich also reported that there are now nine clubs from four different districts that have made a commitment to the Breadfruit Tree project in Haiti. The total amount of money we have raised for this project, which includes matching contributions from the district and Rotary International, amounts to $74,000. We even received pledges from clubs in Utah, Georgia and New York.
Patti Van Cleave informed the Club that she still needed a few more volunteers to work the 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. shift at the Winnetka Music Festival on Saturday, June 16. Several hands went up to help in the beer tent and a few more volunteered to work the Cubs memorabilia stand. She will submit the names of all volunteers to the Festivals committee and the volunteers will get additional information from the committee.
President Tom reported that Mark Kotz is continuing to improve at home and is hoping to return soon.
This week’s Happy Buck$ were contributed by Barb Tubekis and Tony Kambich. Patti Van Cleave brought laughs with her rendition of Dig ‘n Grin.
Our Program Chair, David Birkenstein, introduced the day’s speaker, Pam Jensen from the International Justice Mission (IJM) where she serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Midwest. The IJM was established in 1997 with the goal of combating violence in developing countries.
Pam started off by showing a short video “Slavery Still Exists.” It was the story of young boys living in extreme poverty in Ghana. The boys are often given or sold by their parents to unscrupulous fishermen who promise a better life for the boys. They work in Ghana’s largest man-made lake, Lake Volta, pulling in heavy fishing nets and recovering nets caught in the tree branches under the surface of the lake. Eight thousand boys work as slaves on Lake Volta. Many cannot swim, they work long hours and are fed very little, many die from drowning, poor nutrition and infections from injuries. Most enslaved people come from destitute families just trying to survive as they are the easiest targets. Fifty percent of Ghanaians live on $2 a day. Pam reported that world-wide there are 40 million people living as slaves, that is, they are owned by other people. Half of this number are living in India.
The International Justice Mission is the largest anti-slavery organization in the world. There are 1200 employees working out of 17 offices. Their budget is $70 million, which includes some grants. They have successfully rescued thousands every year. They work in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Their mission includes Rescue, Restore, Restrain and Represent. They work with local police to rescue victims from slavery and violence. Then they restore by providing counseling, education and skills training to the survivors. They also work with local police to restrain criminals, traffickers and slave owners. They also work with police and prosecutors to represent survivors in court.
Pam reported that they have had success in the Philippines. They have stopped the practice of using children in brothels. She said that there is an impressive Ted Talk by Gary Haugens, who is a Rotarian and makes an impressive case for IJM. He is a civil rights lawyer and founder of IJM.
Pam mentioned that Walmart is making an effort to clean-up their supply chain for tilapia from Tailand. When asked if the IJM workers are at risk she said that not long age one of their workers, a lawyer and their taxi driver were kidnapped and murdered.
As the 2017-18 Rotary Year nears its conclusion, please join the millions of beneficiaries of projects funded by The Rotary Foundation in thanking our members who have honored their commitment of Every Rotarian, Every Year, contribute to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund.
With another month to go, our club members have donated a total of $8,330 in the 2017-18 Rotary Year, approaching our goal of $10,000!
Please thank these 17 Rotarians for making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Wes Baumann, Jean Beckman, Mary Lou Bilder Gold, David Birkenstein*+, Laura Cunningham, Joe Fell, David Grant*, Mark Kotz, Marie Kuipers,Rich Lalley+, Robert Mardirossian, Rodger Morris*, Chuck Norton, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, John Thomas, and Patti Van Cleave. * signifies a Major Donor+ signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year)
There are many reasons to give to the The Rotary Foundation:
Contributions support humanitarian and educational projects initiated and run by Rotary Clubs and Districts in six areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development and peace & conflict resolution. Learn more by reviewing the Foundation’s annual report.
Contributions come back to support projects of our club's projects, like our coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like our breadfruit tree project in Haiti, the water and sanitation project we helped fund for school in Guatemala, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received nearly $4,000 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
Giving to The Rotary Foundation is an easy way for you to participate in Rotary’s service work beyond our club, providing you a personal connection to this great organization and the good it does throughout the world.
It’s easy to give. You can donate with a check or credit card at lunch; you can send a check to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka; you can donate via PayPal by clicking here, or you can donate directly to The Rotary Foundation at www.rotary.org or by calling 866-976-8279. One very convenient way to give is by making a recurring monthly gift on your credit card, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.
President Tom Nash has set an ambitious goal for this year's Every Rotarian Every Year Goal- $10,000. If you have not already supported The Rotary Foundation this year, please do so now.
If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.
We are pleased to announce our formal agreement with the Rotary Club of Les Cayes, District 7020, Haiti, to partner on a Global Grant project that will bring sustainable jobs and locally grown protein rich food to the Jeremie region of Haiti.
We are looking to raise approximately $20,000 for this project, which when matched $2.50 to $1 by The Rotary Foundation, will provide $70,000 in funding for this project. Rotary Clubs interested in participating should email info@wnrotary.org.
Areas of Focus
¨ Economic & Community Development
¨ Maternal & Child Health
¨ Bonus: Positive Environmental Impact
Project Objectives
¨ Restore and expand breadfruit production in Jeremie region of Haiti that was devastated by Hurricane Matthew
¨ Create a local, solar-powered breadfruit processing facility
¨ Provide vocational training to farmers, facility workers
¨ Develop the domestic and export market for breadfruit products
Planned Activities
¨ Propagate and grow 5,000 breadfruit saplings
¨ Provide ready-to-produce tress to small holder farmers and coop orchards
¨ Fund processing equipment for new facility (building funded by cooperating NGO)
¨ Provide packaged breadfruit breakfast meals to local schools
¨ Provide vocational training to farmers and workers
Expected Outcomes
¨ Produce 2.5 - 5 million lbs. of breadfruit annually
¨ Economic impact on region- $470,000 - $900,000 annually
¨ Good jobs and businesses for local population in poorest region of Haiti
¨ Provide nutritious meals to school children
¨ Develop an export industry for Haiti
Contribute to this project with the button below. Donations will be matched 2.5 to 1 by The Rotary Foundation.