David Hartigan has been an attorney for almost 50 years and a resident of the North Shore for the last 42 years. A graduate of Georgetown and Loyola Universities, he has been devoted to community service all his life. His family has a rich tradition of service to the public, of which David the inheritor. His mother was a school teacher, and his father served a City Treasurer of Chicago as well as an alderman. His brother, Neil, served as Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General of Illinois, ran for Governor in 1990, and served as a Judge of the Appellate Court. David has for the last 20 years been intimately involved in attempting to prevent and treat Juvenile Diabetes, and just last year embarked on a new project, about which he will tell us today.
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
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.
This week’s meeting was attended by 29 club members as well as our assistant governor Rick Rivkin. No guests were in attendance. Rick reminded the club of the upcoming District Conference at the Oak Brook Hills Resort on April 11 to 13. All programs are free. The only thing you have to pay for is food and lodging if you so choose.
Tom Nash was give a “Moment to Shine.” He has been in the mortgage industry since 1984 when North Shore Mortgage was started to complement the family’s real estate business. Almost 14 years later Baird and Warner purchased his company where he continued to work for another 10 years. Currently he is a Loan Officer for PHH Home Loans in Northbrook. He mentioned that the mortgage rates are beginning to rise and that it is now a sellers market, which isn’t necessary good for buyers.
President Eric reminded the members to add the Chamber of Commerce’s “After Hours” event to our calendars. This month our Rotary Club is a co-sponsor. It will be held at the Happ Inn in Northfield on April 24th from 5 – 7 p.m.
This week’s speaker was Jeanne Pinsof Nolan. She is the author of the book “From the Ground Up” which chronicles her journey from high school graduation, to living 17 years in a commune to learn about organic farming and escape the materialistic North Shore, back to life on the North Shore. Jeanne founded her company Organic Gardener, Ltd., in 2005. Upon graduating from New Trier she announced to her parents that she did not want to attend college but to work on a farm to learn how to grow food and be an environmentalist. Her mother found a farm (commune) in California where Jeanne went to live. During the next 17 years the commune moved from California to Texas to North Carolina. She left the commune in 2004 with her two-year-old daughter to return to her parents’ home not knowing what she would do. Her mother encouraged her to build a garden in their backyard. That ‘seed’ germinated into a company and over 700 more gardens including Lincoln Park’s 5000 square foot Edible Garden in the Children’s Zoo. She, her husband and their 20 employees have installed large and small organic gardens in the suburbs and the city, as well as on rooftops and in front yards. The gardens serve as a supply of fresh food, a teaching tool for children and an escape to nature. Children who help with the gardens tend to eat more vegetables.
There are two TV interviews that you might find interesting that will give more background to Jeanne Nolan’s philosophy and life story.
