In July 2018 a collection of short fiction, LETTING GO was published by Hark! New Era Publishing. KIRKUS REVIEWS described the stories as “Short edgy tales with depth.” It has been selected as a finalist in Forewords INDIES Book of the Year Award in the War & Military Category. Joy’s first novel, AMERICAN PAST TIME was published by Hark! New Era Publishing in 2014. KIRKUS praised it as a “darkly nostalgic study of an American family through good times and bad, engagingly set against major events from the ‘50s to the ‘70s as issues of race simmer in the background…expertly written and well-crafted.”
Sandra Scofield, National Book Award nominee and the author of the craft textbook, “The Last Draft – A Novelist’s Guide to Revision” described Joy’s work as “No fancy stuff. No mumble jumble interiority. This is Do Something, Find out what happens, Deal with it…Len Joy is solid Americana.”
He lives in Evanston, Illinois with his wife Suzanne.
The meeting was called to order by President Bill Leske and there were 30 members attending. Guests were Neal King from the Skokie Valley Club and Penny Fields from Highland Park. Mary Cherveny was the Winnetka Park District’s representative. Connie Berman gave the thought of the day about the importance of helping friends through difficult times in life. Bill Johnson, Patti Van Cleeve and Ginny Hilton were all celebrating birthdays and they were so serenaded.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti reminded everyone of the Winnetka Music Festival scheduled for June 21 and 22 in downtown Winnetka and the need for volunteers. Marie reminded everyone of the Club’s Spring Benefit scheduled for June 1 at the Kenilworth Club starting at 6 PM. This year we have a Blue Grass theme and Band with plenty of auction items, BBQ and a great way to entertain your friends. She mentioned the need for auction items and several members offered their tickets to ball games, Ravinia and local theatres. Members were reminded of the Club’s installation dinner scheduled for June 19 at the WCH. This year we are co-hosting the event with the Glencoe Rotary and one of the Wilmette Rotary Clubs. Rich mentioned that we have 7 weeks left in which to make our annual donations to the WNRC Foundation. Brooke announced that the 2019 WNRF Grants were given to
A Just Harvest (provides hot meals for about 60 kids, 5 days a week during the school year, plus runs a school garden club and summer urban farming program in partnership with the Gale Community Academy.)
Blues Kids Foundation (provides scholarships for kids to attend summer Blues music programs to teach music literacy, heritage and lessons.)
Counseling Center of the North Shore (provides up to eight sessions ofmental healthcare counseling to teenagers.)
Special Gifts Theater (pairs disabled high school kids with others to produce musical and theatric productions.)
Other organizations eligible for matching Grants from the WNRC Foundation were the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, Holy Family Ministries, JCYS-Champ Camp, and the Winnetka Youth Organization.
HAPPY BUCKS: Robert Mardirossian put in $5 in honor of the Cubs winning all three games of their recent series with the Cards and he tendered another $5 given him by his brother for the same cause; Marie contributed in honor of recently receiving by mail three day- old baby chicks—all of which are doing fine in their new home.
DIG N GRIN was handled by Sam Badger.
GUEST SPEAKER: JULIE TYE FROM HADLEY SCHOOL. Patti introduced our guest speaker Julie Tye, head of the Hadley School for the Blind. Before her presentation Julie was presented with a certificate that was recently found in the Club’s archives—the certificate was given to the School’s founder, William Hadley, in 1939 when he was made an honorary member of our Club with all the Club members at that time signing such certification. There were a couple of fathers who signed the certificate whose sons are current members of the Club. This year Hadley is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Julie has been the head of the School for about three years. She explained the history of William Hadley establishing the School and that both he and his wife were visually impaired. They started teaching braille by mail and developed a catalog of about 20 subjects that impaired people could subscribe to as an educational experience. One of the subjects was “poultry husbandry” which would have been of interest to Marie, our incoming President! The School was started in the WCH and still identifies that as its home base. The courses have obviously changed over the years, especially with the development of audio, DVD, online and mobile Devices. The basic problem conditions are still cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma-- and it is estimated that these problems will triple in number by 2050, although blindness is not as prevalent as it once was. The purpose of the School is to empower people to thrive at home, work and in their communities by given them skills they can use to be productive. Modern technology such as Alexa and Apple devices have contributed a great deal to the teaching methods for the visually impaired. Julie demonstrated how we all can use our I phones to magnify printed materials, to add lighting to these materials and even listen to a reader reading printed articles from newspapers.
Hadley offers and supports 8 monthly discussion groups for about 200 students and others eager to learn how today’s technology can help support and educate the visually impaired.
In answer to questions from the group, Julie indicated that the School has no guide dog services, those can better be provided by others. But that most services offered by the School are free of charge unless they involve a person working towards a professional certificate/degree. The School relies on its substantial endowment funds and the generosity of its donors and volunteers to fund its annual budget of about eight million dollars. When asked about any concerns to Hadley from the future construction of Winnetka One, Julie said that they are aware of the possible noise and vibrations caused by demolition and contruction activities that may have a negative impact on its operation. Julie had a very informative power point which is available upon request from Keith Reed or via response to this Bulletin—plus she gave a very interesting tour to the group after her presentation.
The Club offers Hadley and its staff a hearty congratulations for being a very important part of the Winnetka and North Shore communities for the last 100 years.
As the 2018-19 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 a bit over two months to go, our club members have donated a total of $3,482 in the 2018-19 Rotary Year, one third of our goal this year of $10,000.
Please thank these 8 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Wes Baumann, David Birkenstein*+, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Rich Lalley+, Rodger Morris*,Lee Padgitt, Fred Schwimmer+ * 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 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 over $3,500 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 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.
