Meeting Recap July 14

    There were 22 members present and one guest (the speaker, Liz Kunkle from GoGreenWinnetka).  Newly-installed President, Patti Van Cleave, gave the thought of the day which confirmed that “friendship” is a very important part of the Rotary Club.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti mentioned that the new Rotary pins for the coming year were placed on the tables for members to take. She also mentioned the 5 page Q&A memo that Rich Lalley prepared containing basic information that all Rotarians should know (this memo is on the Club’s website). She also thanked everyone for their contributions to the Rotary Foundation and that we exceeded by $1600 our goal for last year. She mentioned that Mark Kotz was home from the hospital.  Fred Schwimmer noted that the Club’s membership committee has been considering ways to increase membership and participation, and he concluded by referring to a recent letter published by John F. Germ , new Rotary International President, in which he stated that new members don’t “magically appear in our clubs”, but that every member must ask guests to attend meetings and events to make them aware of Rotary’s activities—an invitation to lunch or an activity is actually a “gift” and it is telling that person that we think he/she has the “skills, the talent, and the character to make our community better, and I want you to join me in doing that.”  (This coming year will see an emphasis on the importance of all members bringing guests to our meetings.)

    One of our recent new members is Allie Sarark, who is now the director of the Winnetka Youth Organization. She reported that she is heading up a Habitat for Humanities building project in Wisconsin and needs 5-6 more youths to participate in the project. Rich mentioned that the Cubs’ tickets for the July 23^rd game in Milwaukee will be passed out at our next meeting, and those not picked up at that meeting will be left at the WCH desk for pickup. David Birkenstein referred to the Rotary International pamphlet “Impact Begins With You” which were placed on the tables and can be used to distribute to prospective members.

    HAPPY BUCKS:  Robert Mardirossian contributed $16, one dollar for each year of his perfect attendance at Rotary meetings.  Rich Lalley contributed $100 in honor of his father-in-law, Don Jacobs, who recently passed away at 91 years of age.  Rich mentioned that it was amazing that Don lived that long considering that he was a Marine in WWII who landed in Japan shortly after the bombing;  was thereafter a lumberjack in Michigan and Washington for many years; became a professional “log roller” who appeared regularly at the 1964 World’s Fair; was the U.S. Senior champion  log roller for 11 years; and continued log rolling until he was 75.

    SPEAKER—LIZ KUNKLE: Liz is a trademark attorney with the local firm of Neal and McDevitt— she has been a very active member of the PTO at Hubbard Woods School where her 3 children attend.  In 2011, she helped start GoGreenWinnetka-Northfield with one of the objectives being raising the awareness of environmental issues, especially those involving recycling and waste disposal in the local area. She was joined by such organzations as the local library, schools, Chamber of Commerce and Park District. The Winnetka Congregational Church and  Grand Foods have helped Liz with her efforts to publicize the importance of effective recycling and waste management. Recently, Liz’ organization was able to achieve 501(c) (3) status, and is now known as GoGreen Winnetka (Northfield now uses a different waste disposal company which has a somewhat different approach to recycling). Other local villages such as Wilmette and Glencoe have similar GoGreen organizations and they coordinate their activities through a consortium which has regular meetings at the Botanic Gardens.  Liz said that Winnetka is fortunate to have Lake Shore Haulers as its waste disposal provider. It is well organized and expects residents to strictly follow the Village’s guidelines which are on the Village’s website and available at the Village Hall. Residents should be especially aware of the bins at the Village’s Public Works building on Willow Road that can receive plastics, styrofoam, toxic liquids and even construction materials. Liz and her organization are primarily responsible for the 25 pairs of recycling/waste bins recently placed in downtown Winnetka.