John Shea is the Winnetka Park District Superintendent of Recreation, and John Shabica, Lake Consultant, will speak about the status of Lake Michigan and the condition of our beaches.
Chuck Norton called the meeting to order at 12:15. There were 13 members present including Wes, Tony, Marie, Rich, Bill Leske, Rob, Greg, Chuck, Keith, Fred, John Thomas and Patti. Bill gave the thoughts of the day: Paul Harris said “it’s a changing world and we need to change with it” and Walt Disney said “if you can dream it, you can do it”.
There were no visiting guests other than our speakers from Northern Trust and no birthdays, announcements or Happy Bucks. Patti Van Cleave is celebrating her 13th year of Rotary membership.
Dig and grin was handled by Robert who told us how, after 16 years of marriage and several months of being confined with his wife in their home, he discovered that he and his wife have different body parts! Due to privacy concerns, you’ll have to check with Robert for the details!
Personal bio given by Fred Schwimmer: and Greg Nelson. Fred has spent 95% of his 85 years living in Winnetka. He was in the first 1st grade class at Crow Island School in 1940 and not only graduated from that grade but also from the University of Michigan! But his greatest achievement was meeting and marrying his wife Ellie July 30, 1961 (yes, today was his 59th anniversary). After finishing Michigan he worked for a short time for Westclox and then with his Dad at Bear Stearns where Fred was a stockbroker for 47 years. Fred’s brother Mike has long been in the antique piano business, primarily handling piano rolls. When Fred retired as a stockbroker he joined Mike’s business in collecting and trading various antiques. He closed by thanking David Birkenstein for introducing him to Rotary.
Personal bio given by Greg Nelson: Greg grew up in the Hobart, Indiana area, has two adult sons, and spent several years as a commercial banker with the Continental, LaSalle and BMO banks before starting his own payroll business, which he sold last year. He then joined another company which provides employers with services in areas such as payroll, worker’s comp, risk management, regulation compliance, and health insurance. He has been in Rotary for about 3 years and has enjoyed the experience a great deal.
SPEAKERS FROM NORTHERN TRUST—Julie Mokdessi (Public Relations), Susan Currie (Winnetka office manager) and Ryan Boyle (Senior Economist and main presenter).
Ryan started by saying that it was important to have Dodd Frank in place before the Covid pandemic occurred. Other points he made were that Covid has taken our minds off of other very important national issues such as tariff and trade problems, failing alliances among countries (e.g. Brexit), and climate change issues; we were initially too optimistic that the virus problem would be solved within a couple of months; it has blown up the current U.S. budget; states have been hurt by a drastic decrease in sales tax revenue; our Gross National Product dropped 9.2 % in the second quarter of this year which puts our economy in a hole more than twice as deep as it was following the financial crisis; and 30 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. A few positive things have occurred such as the Federal Reserve was able to dust off its 2008 playbook used during the housing crisis to provide assistance; we know more about the Covid problem than we did in March; the 3 pay protection programs enacted the first of the year helped minimize the loss of jobs and provided substantial unemployment benefits; the unemployment rate of 14.7% is lower than the 20% during the depression; and even though our Country is printing lots of money, future inflation may be minimized by people reducing their spending habits—consumer spending in the second quarter fell 10.1% led by a near collapse in spending on restaurants, recreational activities and some health care activities like elective procedures.
Ryan said that our recovery may be more in the shape of a W, rather than an U or V—i.e., we may now be on the 2nd downturn with an anticipated upward surge to the finish line. We have to find a way of opening businesses to provide available jobs. When asked about what would be a good investment strategy at this time, Ryan said that is today’s unanswerable question because things are so uncertain.
The New Trier Citizens League, the 105-year-old community caucus for New Trier Township, is seeking interested residents to serve as Township Supervisor and Trustee. Those elected in April 2021 will serve four years with monthly meetings.
The Supervisor and Trustees oversee Township government and participate on advisory committees that allocate grant funding to local social service agencies that provide a variety of services to residents.
The candidate exploration process begins now and culminates in this caucus-slating candidates for the April 2021 Consolidated Election. All Township offices will be on the ballot and elected officials must be registered voters who reside in New Trier Township.
Interested parties or those wishing to nominate an acquaintance should contact New Trier Citizens League President Peter Tyor at (847) 446-2217 or petertyor@gmail.com, with a deadline of August 17, 2020.
About New Trier Citizens League The New Trier Citizens League is a non-partisan community organization made up of volunteers who function as a caucus to slate candidates to serve as Township officials. Secondarily, the Citizens League functions as a watchdog group to provide oversight on behalf of residents to observe the work of New Trier Township. The relationship between the Citizens League and the Township is a partnership wherein members of the Citizens League educate themselves on the business of the Township to assure the Township stays focused on its core mission of providing leadership, advocacy and resources to benefit the physical, mental and social well-being of Township residents.
The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield has met weekly at the Winnetka Community House since 1924. That streak ended in mid-March, when the club suspended its weekly lunch meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, this did not stop the club from continuing to meet and live up to its well-earned reputation as People of Action. Almost immediately, the club began to meet on Zoom every Thursday at its regular 12:15 time, and the club’s board and committees did so as well.
Over the club’s 96 years, it has undertaken many notable service projects. So, it is no surprise the club quickly responded to the needs of those affected by COVID-19. Supported by donations from members and friends of the club, and a grant from The Rotary Foundation, the club took the following actions:
Supported the local food pantry and provided financial assistance to families experiencing severe financial need through a $5,000 donation to the New Trier Township Angel Fund.
Helped provide infant formula to 50 Chicago area food pantries, shelters and social services through a $3,000 donation to Infant, Inc., a Winnetka based nonprofit.
Supported homeless families and children in foster care by providing weekly meals from Donna Goodman Events (the club’s regular caterer) to Good News Partners in Rogers Park and Lydia Home in Irving Park.
Provided 300 pairs of new children’s shoes from Operation Warm to homeless families served by La Casa Norte of Chicago.
“Rotarians are People of Action who live the long-time Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’, and our club fits that to a tee,” said Club President Marie Kuipers.
Chuck Norton, President Elect of the club, adds “We have a long history of humanitarian service- locally, in our region, and internationally. We are long term supporters of Rotary International’s work to eradicate polio, we have supported many international humanitarian projects in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. Every year, we provide hundreds of Chicago area children with the gift of a new winter coat through our Operation Warm project, and for over ten years we have sponsored the large, all-day Kids Against Hunger food packing event at the Winnetka Community House. Our longstanding Community Grants program annually provides financial grants to nonprofits that are nominated by our members and are doing work that aligns with our values.”
Local citizens interested in learning more about the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield may join the club’s weekly lunch meetings on Thursday’s from 12:15 – 1:30. Each meeting features an interesting and topical speaker and opportunity to deepen friendships. Learn more at www.wnrotary.org.
Until meetings resume at the Winnetka Community House, email info@wnrotary.org to get the Zoom access link. Membership is open to anyone of good character who is interested in making new friends and taking action to create lasting change in the world.
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).
As the 2019-20 Rotary Year concludes, 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 SHARE Fund.
These gifts support the local and international work of Rotary Clubs and Districts through District and Global Grants. A significant portion of these gifts support projects of our club like Kids Against Hunger, our COVID-19 response, and our Ecuador "Farm to Table" Global Grant.
To date, our club members have donated a total of $9,951 in the 2019-20 Rotary Year, 99% of our goal of $10,000.
Please thank these 27 Rotarians and friends for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Sam Badger*+, Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, David Birkenstein*+, Laura Cunningham, Donna Goodman, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich, Marie Kuipers+, Rich Lalley+, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Greg Nelson, Chuck Norton+, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Keith Reed,Bob Sanfilippo, Fred Schwimmer+, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Julie Tye, Patty Van Cleave, and Carl Yudell. * 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 COVID-19 Response efforts, coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like our Farm to Table eco-agribusiness project in Ecuador, the water and sanitation projects we helped fund for schools in Guatemala and Kenya, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received $3,400, and next year we will can receive $3,660. 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 send a check to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club, c/o Bob Baker at Killian Plumbing at 933 Green Bay Rd, Winnetka 60093; 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 or from your checking account, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.
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.
Helped provide infant formula to 50 Chicago area food pantries, shelters and social services through a $3,000 donation to 
Provided 300 pairs of new children’s shoes from Operation Warm to homeless families served by 
