President Ken called the meeting to order at 12:20.
Pledge led by Robert.
Thought was offered by Rich, who read an eloquent tribute by JB Pritzker in memory of Sam Harris. Sam recently died and was a Holocaust survivor, and was a founder of the Holocaust Museum.
Dig N Grin: Barb engaged us in a game of “Simon Says”.
Happy Bucks:
Rich is happy to be retired AND celebrating his 70th birthday!
Moha is happy that we have sent $35,000 to the Morocco club and the funds transferred successfully.
Robert is happy to report that he was at Wrigley for the home opener last week.
Barb is happy to have her dental work completed.
Program:
Terry Dason provided us with an update of what’s going on in our villages from the Chamber’s perspective.
Winnetka highlights:
One Winnetka is progressing well.
Chase bank building is complete and will open on April 6.
564 Green Bay is under construction, will house Engel & Volckers realty and three condos above.
Post Office will be demolished in April. Land will remain a green site, which will be complete at the end of the summer. Permanent plan for this site is still being determined.
Former Killian site in Hubbard Woods is under construction and will be a lighting studio.
912 Green Bay Road will be a high end chocolate shop.
Glencoe:
Glencoe Golf Club is being rebuilt and will open late summer. A restaurant is being sourced.
Glencoe is completing a comprehensive streetscape study. They are undertaking an initiative to make Glencoe a dementia-friendly community.
Eloyn by Ozz Mediterranean restaurant has opened in Glencoe.
A sushi restaurant has opened in Glencoe.
Northfield:
They are celebrating their Centennial on October 23.
A grocery tenant for the Marianos space is still in the works.
Dates to note:
Winnetka Music Festival is June 19& 20.
Winnetka Farmer’s Market begins on June 6 and runs through October.
Chamber Recognition Lunch is April 22.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 with reciting the 4 Way Pledge.
Our Club’s charitable foundation, the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation, recently completed our annual Community Grants process. We are pleased to report that this year with a budget of $18,000, we awarded 12 grants to local non-profit organizations that serve our community. Links to these those organizations are:
312 626 6799; Meeting ID: 198 435 237; Password: 798428 (note, if asked for User ID, press #).
Reminder- you can give happy bucks, dig n grin, birthday donations and other donations to our foundation at https://wnrotary.org/page/donate/ or by texting DIGNGRIN to 44-321.
The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield is teaming up with The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Rabat in the capital city of Morocco to establish a women's clothing cooperative in the village of Tomoulilt. This will be a project funded in part with a Rotary Foundation Global Grant (GG#2571461).
The program's objectives are to:
Create a revenue-generating cooperative run by stakeholders of village women/girls;
Empower women to run and manage a long-term sustainable and profitable business operation.
The project funds new equipment and training for the cooperative's participants. Training will encompass technical use of the equipment, entrepreneurial skills, business planning and management, sales and marketing planning, and financial management. The program's vision is to create a self-sustaining long term business enterprise for the participating women in Timoulilt.
Overall program budget is $100,000. The club is seeking cash and District Designated Funds (DDF) support from Rotary Clubs and Districts.
At the March 6 meeting, Rich Lalley presented an overview of the work of our two foundations- the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Foundation (WNRCF) and The Rotary Foundation (TRF) of Rotary International. You can review that presentation here.
The club's board has set a goal of achieving 100% participation in supporting TRF this Rotary Year. To reach this goal, every active member needs to donate a minimum of $25 to The Rotary Foundation. You can do this online by clicking here.
We also aspire to be a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club. For member who are not yet a Paul Harris Fellow, once your donation level reaches $250 and you have made a contribution this year, our club will celebrate you with a Paul Harris Fellow Award.
We appreciate all of our members who have contributed generously to The Rotary Foundation and to our club's WNRCF foundation. Thank you!
Paul Harris Fellows
Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, David Birkenstein*, Moha Boucha, Debra Campbell, Ken Drummet, Tom Evans, David Grant*, Tony Kambich*, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Ned Meisner, Chuck Norton, Lee Padgitt, ArLynn Presser, Fred Schwimmer*, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave.
Bold indicates donation made this Rotary Year. * indicates Major Donor.
The Templeton/Fell Family is hosting a Celebration of Life for longtime member of the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield. A short service will begin at 10:30, followed by a brunch buffet.
The family has requested an estimated headcount of Rotarians planning to attend, so please register before the end of March.
Joseph D. Fell, age 85, passed away on November 16, 2025. He was the oldest son born to Abe and Eleanor) Fell. Joe is survived by his wife of 44 years, Karen; his children, Karyn (David), Sam (Alexandra), Peter (Audrey), Erin (Russ), Jody, and Pam; nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren; his brother, Frank (Jan); and many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sisters, Ruthie and Bitsy.
Joe attended New Trier High School, where he was on the staff of the New Trier News, the school’s student newspaper. He loved printing as a young boy, and this interest took him to Carnegie Mellon University, where he graduated with a degree in Printing Management. After working for Hall Printing and later Hollister Printing, Joe joined the family business, The Fell Company, as the Controller.
Joe joined the Illinois Air National Guard (126th Air Refueling Wing (TAC) at O’Hare, and the unit was “awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for exceptionally meritorious service in Support of military operations.” He received an Honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant.
Joe was active in civic and community affairs all of his adult life in Winnetka, where he grew up. He was a founding member of the Winnetka and Northfield Jaycees and later became a very active member of Winnetka Northfield Rotary (Paul Harris Fellow) until he moved. The Winnetka Chamber of Commerce honored Joe as “Winnetka Man of the Year.”.
While living in Winnetka, he served the Village on the Plan Commission, the Zoning Board, as a representative to the Nortran Board and as a Village Trustee. He later became New Trier Township Collector.
Joe had many interests: trains, travelling, the Winnetka Community Theater (WCT), astronomy (he volunteered at the Adler Planetarium), woodworking, and brought early computerization to the Fell Company. He met his wife, Karen, at WCT, and the Winnetka Community House was a special place in their life. Travel was a major part of their life, and they were fortunate to have friends in different parts of the world whom they visited as often as possible. Through Rotary, they also hosted Fellowship groups from various parts of the world.
Suggested memorials in Joseph’s name: Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation; WBEZ (Chicago) or Wisconsin Public Radio.
The club's board has set a goal of achieving 100% participation in supporting TRF this Rotary Year. To reach this goal, every active member needs to donate a minimum of $25 to The Rotary Foundation. You can do this online by clicking here.
Community House- Matz Hall
