We had 27 members in attendance along with three guests, one visiting Rotarian and our two speakers. John Thomas brought his wife, Ellen, and a friend Ginny Grinstead, a local realtor; also Liz Taylor brought visiting Glencoe Rotarian, Melissa O’Malley, a banking colleague.
President Baker repeated his announcement that our November 6th meeting would be held at the Takiff Center in Glencoe due to the Modernism and Antique Show at the Community House. The Celebrity Bartending event at Little Ricky’s was a big success and in a few hours it raised $560 in tips, with Liz Taylor and Gina Sich as the primary bartenders. A big thanks to those two and to the members who supported the event. Barb Tubekis announced that the Volunteer Center was conducting its 12th annual “Make a Difference Day” on Saturday, October 25th. From 9 a.m. until Noon they will be collecting new or gently used items at the Indian Hill Train Station Parking Lot. A list of items follows this recap.
Bob Baker reported that our District Governor, Ellen Young, left a bag full of “Light Up Rotary” pins last week that he passed around for members to take. He suggested that takers donate at least a dollar toward the End Polio Now fund.
Rich Lalley gave a Happy Buck because Operation Warm received an order of 8000 coats from a District Governor in Iowa. John Stone used some of his winnings from last week’s raffle to buy 5 tickets for each table; however, none were winners this week.
This week’s speakers represented the Writers Theater in Glencoe. They were here to tell us of their very ambitious plans of building a new theater. Chad Peterson, Director of Marketing and Communication and John Faris, General Manager, were the presenters of this exciting project. Writers Theater, founded by writer Michael Halberstam, began as a theater company in the back room of Books on Vernon about two decades ago. When they outgrew their 50-seat performance area they moved to the Women’s Library Club building and doubled their capacity. They are now embarking on a project to build a $31 million performing arts venue on the site of the Women’s Library Club. They already have secured $25 million most of which came from six supporting families. They will be breaking ground next week with a completion date of late 2015. The new building has been designed by the famous Chicago architect, Jeannie Gang. It will have two primary performance areas – a main theater seating 250 and a smaller performance with flexible seating for 90. Ms. Gang did a lot of research into the style of architecture prevalent in Glencoe to make sure the new theater would complement the village. It will be like a theater in the park. It will have a Tudor influence with much of the façade being of plaster and wood. The Women’s Library Club will maintain ownership of the land and rent space in the building that will be owned by the Writers Theater. The goal of Writers Theater is to offer an intimate, face-to-face, theater experience.
List of items (new and gently used) being collected by the Volunteer Center on Saturday, October 25th at the Indian Hill Train Station:
Clothing – Adult & Children
Coats, Jackets, Hats, Gloves
Shoes & Boots
School Supplies, Backpacks
Games, Toys, Arts & Craft Supplies
Sports Equipment
Bicycles, Strollers & Wheelchairs
Eyeglasses & Cases
Non-Perishable Food
Newborn Formula & Diapers
Cleaning Supplies, Paper Goods
Kitchen Supplies
Blankets, Sheets (Full/Twin)
Duffel Bags & Sleeping Bags
Unused Toiletries
Toys, Towels, Dog & Cat Food
Again this year, we ill be bringing the happiness and warmth of new