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.
The weekly meeting on May 8 was held at Glencoe’s Takiff Center with 28 members in attendance. Two special guests, former and honorary members, David Abell and Markie Gekas graced us with their presence.
Bob Baker gave a final reminder of our upcoming Gala and Benefit to be held at the Michigan Shores Club on May 16th. There will be valet parking for this event.
A Fireside Chat has been scheduled for the evening of May 29th in the lounge at the Winnetka Park District’s Neilsen Tennis Center. Please mark your calendars! This is a great meeting, especially for new members, to learn more about the workings of our club.
Patti Van Cleave also informed the members about a service opportunity on May 29th. The activity involves packing meals for “Just Harvest.” This will take place after our meeting on that day. More details will follow.
The day’s speaker was Ralph Merczyk a criminal defense attorney. He has argued cases before both the state and U.S. Supreme Courts. He provided some background to cases that he worked on, including the “Family Secrets” case as well as the Drew Peterson case. He spent a portion of his time answering questions from the members such as how can you defend what appear to be the dregs of society. He said the stock answer to that question by virtually all defense attorneys is that everyone is entitled to a proper defense in our judicial system. The U.S. system of jurisprudence it is up to the state to ‘prove’ the guilt of the defendant. He also said a few attorneys would admit that the money can be lucrative. When asked if he had done any acting he said that a trial is theater and that it is important to get the audience, that is the jury, engrossed in the case. Mr. Merczyk opined that the federal bench is excellent and the state court is good.
Reminder: Next week, on May 15, the meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Winnetka Community House as a joint meeting with the two Rotary Clubs in Wilmette. No lunch meeting!
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 $4,504 to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund, or 52% 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.
