There were 23 members present. Guests were Tom Welch, a visiting Rotarian from Colorado, and Scott Birkenstein (son of Eric and grandson of David). It was announced that Holy Family Ministries, one of our grantees, thanked our Club for the donation of 150 coats that their organization recently distributed to needy kids.
Our speaker was Mark Stec, VP Community Bank Sales Manager at Wintrust Mortgage at North Shore Community Bank & Trust in Winnetka. He described the “mortgage madness” taking place since late 1990’s. Early on, the regulators encouraged banks to loan money for home purchases to the point that almost anyone could get a mortgage. Then in 2013 Dodd Frank changed the rules by demanding that applicants meet certain stringent requirements pertaining to income (attached is list of 8 factors provided by Mark). Assets no longer are important. Self- employed individuals need to prepare for a mortgage application by showing more income on their tax returns for the 2 years before application and less expense write-offs. The documentation required for mortgages is now far more complicated and consumers can now sue lenders for incomplete or incorrect documents. The Credit Bureaus collect more information now and some applicants have discovered that even unpaid parking tickets can adversely affect one’s credit rating and mortgage rate. He said that the bubble burst in the last decade can be blamed 1/3 each on the government, banks and the consumers. The one thing that needs to be changed is more weight given to an applicant’s net worth as opposed to their annual income.
Thirty-six Club members attended the special holiday luncheon featuring the New Trier Swing Choir. Among the several guests in attendance were spouses of John Thomas, Robert Mardirossian, Lee Padgitt, Tony Kambich and Peter Skalski; Bridget Murphy from WCH; Ann Smith and Jackie Linney from the local Chamber of Commerce; Pat Kreis of the Winnetka Police Department; and Julia Espanosa from Private Bank.
President Van Cleave made a special presentation to Rich Lalley honoring his “five times” qualification for the Paul Harris Fellow award, which represents cumulative donations of over $6,000. Rich responded by mentioning that the Rotary Club has been selected by Charity Navigator as the most effective and impactful charitable organization in the country and that it’s a privilege to give to such an outstanding charity.
Wes Baumann introduced the 18 member New Trier Swing Choir and its director Nathan Landes. The Choir has been a holiday treat for the Club for several years and much appreciated by all concerned. This year’s group is made up of juniors and seniors at New Trier. They have been very active this holiday season in singing at several Village events and a couple of articles (with pictures) have appeared in the local papers. They are all talented singers who sing in other musical groups at New Trier and take extra time at the holiday season to prepare their music. They sang 9 songs for the Club including such holiday favorites as Winter Wonderland, Felix Navidad, Got My Love To Keep Me Warm and Let It Snow. Their songs were mostly acappella jazz arrangements with very complicated harmonies, all performed meticulously by the singers. Much thanks to New Trier, Mr. Landis, the singers and Wes Baumann for again arranging for the appearance of this Choir. You may recognize some of the singers’ names: Josh Bretthauer, Jack Callahan, Claire David, Carter George, Madi Hart, Duncan Holzhall, Alex Hopkins, Donna Kang, Adrianna Lauber, Billy Loveman, Katherine Melulis, Liam Oh, Jonathan Organ, Ana Pellar, Lily Piekos, Sarah Shapiro, Michelle Vasiliadis and Timothy Zajdela. Two regular members who were absent were Kristen Doyle and Griffin Weller.
(These minutes are a shorter version of the Club’s regular meetings which the Membership Committee and Club Board have requested for our future meetings, much to the delight of the current scribes!)
Please find a substitute if you are unable to fulfill your assignment; Just call or e-mail a fellow member and ask him/her to sub. Tom Evans - tom.evans527@gmail.com- who chairs the service committee, will confirm assignments. Sgt. at arms helps set up and store our stuff, please come 15 minutes early and be prepared to stay a few minutes after the meeting; Greeter greets and announces names of visiting Rotarians and guests; Thought of the Day can be spontaneous or read from a script; Dig 'n Grin can make us laugh or think seriously.
Mahja will explain the medical cannabis pilot program in Illinois, including basic cannabis facts and science, as well as an in-depth look at the law and the application process. Mahja Sulemanjee Bortocek, MBA/MPH, is Director of Community Outreach at Greenhouse Group www.greenhouseil.com
Jon will talk about a book called Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning On the American Right: A Journey To the Heart of Our Political Divide by Arlie Russell Hochschild. His interpretation of politics and the book are summarized: "As the bitterness of the campaign and election revealed, there is a great disaffection in the country. The sense of alienation is palpable; the anger profound. In a book that has proved prescient, Arlie Hochschild spent five years in the conservative bayou region of Louisiana. It is an area whose populace suffers from environmental degradation, poverty, and a host of health concerns. As a liberal sociologist teaching at Berkeley, she realized that too many Americans didn't know or understand the disaffection fueling the anger of many on the conservative right. The result is a revealing look at an America to little seen and too often ignored. Ironically the research and writing were largely completed before the current election cycle. Yet it illuminates and explains much of what the pundits and pollsters missed."
Jon graduated from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in English and Classics and a Masters in Water Resource Management that lead to a career in environmental management that included stints at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, The Council of State Governments, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With the break up of the Soviet Union, he was tapped to lead the US assistance program for the three Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). He was then assigned to the American Embassy in Denmark as the regional environmental Attache with responsibility for the three Baltic States as well as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. After retiring, he went to work at The Book Stall as a part-time bookseller. Today, he is full-time manager of the store.
