The meeting was called to order by President Bill Leske and there were 30 members attending. Guests were Neal King from the Skokie Valley Club and Penny Fields from Highland Park. Mary Cherveny was the Winnetka Park District’s representative. Connie Berman gave the thought of the day about the importance of helping friends through difficult times in life. Bill Johnson, Patti Van Cleeve and Ginny Hilton were all celebrating birthdays and they were so serenaded.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti reminded everyone of the Winnetka Music Festival scheduled for June 21 and 22 in downtown Winnetka and the need for volunteers. Marie reminded everyone of the Club’s Spring Benefit scheduled for June 1 at the Kenilworth Club starting at 6 PM. This year we have a Blue Grass theme and Band with plenty of auction items, BBQ and a great way to entertain your friends. She mentioned the need for auction items and several members offered their tickets to ball games, Ravinia and local theatres. Members were reminded of the Club’s installation dinner scheduled for June 19 at the WCH. This year we are co-hosting the event with the Glencoe Rotary and one of the Wilmette Rotary Clubs. Rich mentioned that we have 7 weeks left in which to make our annual donations to the WNRC Foundation. Brooke announced that the 2019 WNRF Grants were given to
- A Just Harvest (provides hot meals for about 60 kids, 5 days a week during the school year, plus runs a school garden club and summer urban farming program in partnership with the Gale Community Academy.)
- Blues Kids Foundation (provides scholarships for kids to attend summer Blues music programs to teach music literacy, heritage and lessons.)
- Counseling Center of the North Shore (provides up to eight sessions ofmental healthcare counseling to teenagers.)
- Special Gifts Theater (pairs disabled high school kids with others to produce musical and theatric productions.)
Other organizations eligible for matching Grants from the WNRC Foundation were the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, Holy Family Ministries, JCYS-Champ Camp, and the Winnetka Youth Organization.
HAPPY BUCKS: Robert Mardirossian put in $5 in honor of the Cubs winning all three games of their recent series with the Cards and he tendered another $5 given him by his brother for the same cause; Marie contributed in honor of recently receiving by mail three day- old baby chicks—all of which are doing fine in their new home.
DIG N GRIN was handled by Sam Badger.
GUEST SPEAKER: JULIE TYE FROM HADLEY SCHOOL. Patti introduced our guest speaker Julie Tye, head of the Hadley School for the Blind. Before her presentation Julie was presented with a certificate that was recently found in the Club’s archives—the certificate was given to the School’s founder, William Hadley, in 1939 when he was made an honorary member of our Club with all the Club members at that time signing such certification. There were a couple of fathers who signed the certificate whose sons are current members of the Club. This year Hadley is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Julie has been the head of the School for about three years. She explained the history of William Hadley establishing the School and that both he and his wife were visually impaired. They started teaching braille by mail and developed a catalog of about 20 subjects that impaired people could subscribe to as an educational experience. One of the subjects was “poultry husbandry” which would have been of interest to Marie, our incoming President! The School was started in the WCH and still identifies that as its home base. The courses have obviously changed over the years, especially with the development of audio, DVD, online and mobile Devices. The basic problem conditions are still cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma-- and it is estimated that these problems will triple in number by 2050, although blindness is not as prevalent as it once was. The purpose of the School is to empower people to thrive at home, work and in their communities by given them skills they can use to be productive. Modern technology such as Alexa and Apple devices have contributed a great deal to the teaching methods for the visually impaired. Julie demonstrated how we all can use our I phones to magnify printed materials, to add lighting to these materials and even listen to a reader reading printed articles from newspapers.
Hadley offers and supports 8 monthly discussion groups for about 200 students and others eager to learn how today’s technology can help support and educate the visually impaired.
In answer to questions from the group, Julie indicated that the School has no guide dog services, those can better be provided by others. But that most services offered by the School are free of charge unless they involve a person working towards a professional certificate/degree. The School relies on its substantial endowment funds and the generosity of its donors and volunteers to fund its annual budget of about eight million dollars. When asked about any concerns to Hadley from the future construction of Winnetka One, Julie said that they are aware of the possible noise and vibrations caused by demolition and contruction activities that may have a negative impact on its operation. Julie had a very informative power point which is available upon request from Keith Reed or via response to this Bulletin—plus she gave a very interesting tour to the group after her presentation.
The Club offers Hadley and its staff a hearty congratulations for being a very important part of the Winnetka and North Shore communities for the last 100 years.