Also Remember:April 24 Evening Event at Happ Inn!!
May 1
Greeter
Kristen Leahy
Dig-n-Grin
Robert Mardirossian
Thought
Tim McCabe
Sgt-at-Arms
Ned Meisner
May 8
Greeter
Bernard Michna
Dig-n-Grin
Rodger Morris
Thought
Joe Nash
Sgt-at-Arms
Tom Nash
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.
We had 32 members and three guests attend the April 17 meeting. Our guests included Bill Kirk from Palo Alto CA who is relocating to our area, Mike Malloy, a guest for the second time of Luvie Owens, and Kathleen Easton, the wife of our speaker.
The Club was again reminded that the Chamber of Commerce’s “After Hours” event for April is being co-sponsored by our club. It will be held on Thursday, April 24th at the Happ Inn in Northfield from 5 to 7 p.m. Please make a concerted effort to attend. There will be a regular noon meeting on that day.
Eric and David Birkenstein gave a brief report on the District Conference. It was reported that our club is one of very few clubs where the membership has increased, while almost all clubs are seeing a decline. A round of applause was deservedly given to David who is the membership chairman.
Rich Lalley was wearing a $2 bill attached to his shirt with a Rotary pin reminding members that it only takes two dollars a week to participate in Rotary International’s “Every Member, Every Year.” It might be easier to write a check for $100 to Rotary
Bob Baker passed out ballots so that members could vote for next year’s officers. He also reminded the Club that the Annual Benefit would be held on Friday, May 16that Michigan Shores. He is still looking additional items for the silent auction.
Mark your calendars for May 15th as there will be no lunch meeting that afternoon as we will be having a joint dinner meeting with the two Rotary clubs from Wilmette
Bob Baker, our incoming president, also announced that our club would be holding an anniversary benefit on Friday, May 16th at the Michigan Shores Club. We will be celebrating our 90th anniversary at the event. Tickets will be $90 per person and the dinner event will run from 6 to 10 p.m. with professional musical entertainment. Bob is in need of auction items.
New member Marie Kuipers was given the “Moment to Shine.” In a unique way she presented a list of 25 things to know about her. The Club really appreciated her novel way of introducing herself as she stated she moved from the Northbrook to our club and has felt very comfortable and welcomed.
The speaker for the day was Richard Easton, the author of “GPS Declassified.” Mr. Easton gave a history of how GPS was developed, beginning in science fiction in 1869 to the 1950’s were real work began with tracking rockets that were attempting to put satellites in orbit. His father, Roger, was a leading scientist in this work and conceived, patented, and led the development of essential enabling technologies for the United States Global Positioning System (GPS).
The 2013-14 Rotary Year is nearly over, and our club has accomplished much. Our membership is growing; our Operation Warm, Kids Against Hunger and Community Grants programs were all great successes. We have much to be proud about our club, and about being a part of the greater fellowship of Rotary.
One goal we have yet to reach is our contributions to the Annual Program Fund of The Rotary Foundation. Through April 14th, 14 members of our club have contributed $4,484 to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund, or 50% of the goal set by President Eric and our board. We thank these 15 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Wes Baumann, Eric Birkenstein, David Grant*, Lousie Holland,Mark Kotz, Marie Kulpers, Rich Lalley, Bernie Michna, Rodger Morris*, Lee Padgitt, Randy Reeves, Fred Schwimmer, John Thomas, Patti Van Cleave, andRebecca Wolf.
* signifies a Major Donor.
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, like our coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like the water well project we helped fund for an orphanage in Kenya and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 68.57 out of 70.
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, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.
If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.
