Our club has just paid our semi annual dues to Rotary International and District 6440, drawing down our treasury. If you have not yet paid your July 1 dues invoice, please do so at your earliest convenience. You may pay online with the link in the emailed invoice, or by credit card at our meeting (see Rich), or bt check. Big thanks to all who have already made their payment!
President Marie called the meeting to order at 12:15. She read a weekly Foundation Minute provided by RI, which spoke to the vision of The Rotary Foundation and included a long quote from April 1929.
Wes provided a Thought of the Day which spoke to the lack of effort to “do the right thing” in today’s society. He affirmed that Rotary is a “bright light” in today’s world, as we all pledge to live our lives by following the Four-Way Test.
Marie asked us to consider the following “bonding question”: What is your most embarrassing moment? One that still makes you cringe?
Eric led us in the Pledge and we had lunch.
Greeter David Birkenstein welcomed Sarah Stuart, an RI employee and Winnetka resident, visiting us for the first time.
Birthdays:
Peter Skalski July 21
Tom Evans July 22
ArLynn Presser July 23
We sang our usually-not-in-key birthday song to Peter, who provided a donation to our foundation.
Anniversaries for July:
Julie Tye July 1, 2016 3 years
ArLynn Presser, July 2, 1999 20 years
Trisha Kocanda, July 9, 2016 3 years
Patti Van Cleave, July 26, 2007 12 years
Announcements:
Our District asks club members to support the Salvation Army Radio-Thon at Woodfield Mall on Deccember 6. We will staff the doors with kettles as the Salvation Army does during the holidays.
Our October board meeting will be on the 10th, with DG Suzanne Gibson visiting that day.
Joe announced that our Operation Warm concert fundraiser will be on October 4 at the Kenilworth Club. Sponsorships are available at $500 and $1,000. The band will be The Whiskey Kittens and food may be provided by Stormy’s. All should attend to support our Operation Warm project.
Happy Bucks:
Rich shared that Mary Lou Bilder-Gold, an Honorary member, sent a note to the club which included a $100 donation to The Rotary Foundation.
Robert reminded us that we used to have as many as three employees of RI as members. He encouraged Sarah to visit as often as she can and to consider becoming a member.
Wes added $5 in thanks to Laura, who filled in with a Thought last week.
Patti added $12 in recognition of her anniversary.
Peter shared that he called Jean Wright in Florida to share the news about the article on Mary Lou Bilder Gold recently in the paper, and reported that Jean is doing well. Her return to Winnetka is not yet determined.
Donna gave a buck in gratitude that it was not raining when she loaded and unloaded her car this morning!
Dig N Grin:
Carl shared a golf joke – a story of a priest, Sunday morning golf, and a Hole in One!
Speaker:
Bill Leske introduced our speaker, Megan Van Treeck.
Megan has recently started an “encore career” at Northwestern University after owning The Irish Connoisseur for 22 years. She closed the store in 2017, threw herself an Irish wake, then spent time determining what was next in her work life. Several books were helpful to her in this process, including one given to her by her son called “Make Your Bed”.
Friends were supportive; she reached out to many people to listen for discernment, having 70 coffees over an 8 month period. This networking resulted in her desire to reinvent her career, and to “reset her defaults”, moving ahead and starting over.
One friend suggested that it is important for the business that she works for has the same morals and values that she holds.
She met Scott Woodruff, an Northwestern University employee, who loves his job. Once she interviewed in the Athletics Department, she knew that NU was the right place to be.
Megan distributed NU purple caps and football schedules to all. Very popular!
Heather won the ticket draw, pulling the ten of clubs.
Marie asked the club to adjourn by reciting the Four Way Test. We adjourned at 1:15.
As the 2018-19 Rotary Year concludes, please join the millions of beneficiaries of projects funded by The Rotary Foundation in thanking our members who have honored their commitment of Every Rotarian, Every Year, contribute to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund.
Our club members donated a total of $7,343 in the 2018-19 Rotary Year, 73% of our goal of $10,000.
Please thank these 31 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Wes Baumann, Sam Badger*+, Connie Berman, David Birkenstein*+, Rik Boerjesson,Laura Cunningham, Terry Dason, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley+, Bill Leske, Denny Lauer, Robert Mardirossian,Rodger Morris*,Chuck Norton, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Keith Reid, Bob Sanfilippo,Fred Schwimmer+ , Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Julie Tye, Patty Van Cleave, Carl Yudell * signifies a Major Donor+ signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year)
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's projects, like our coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like our Farm to Table eco-agribusiness project in Ecuador, the water and sanitation projects we helped fund for schools in Guatemala and Kenya, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received over $3,500 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
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 or from your checking account, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.
If you have not already supported The Rotary Foundation this year, please do so now.
If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.
