The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker who started by leading everyone in his “breathing exercise”.  Moha then led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

   Bob then gave us the “thought of the day” citing 3 “central truths” by Charles Keller regarding Rotary. They are-- service to others is the essence of Rotary; unity is stronger than the enormous diversity of Rotary; and peace is the greatest imperative of all time.

   There were 18 members present.  Our guests included former Club member Arlynn Presser and our Speaker’s colleague Susan Powell Byrd.

   The ballot containing the names of those Club members nominated for Rotary positions for this next year was distributed.  Amy announced that the ballots for our new Club officers for next year have been counted and all nominees were unanimously elected to serve in those positions next year.

   ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Patti reminded everyone of the June 20^th Winnetka/Northfield and Wilmette Rotary Clubs 100 year anniversary celebration in the Garden Room at the Winnetka Community House from 5 to 9 PM with dinner being served at 6 PM.  The cost is $85 per person for a 4-course dinner catered by Froggy’s of Highwood.  That night the Clubs will be installing their respective teams of co-presidents for the coming Rotary year.

   Our Club meeting on May 30 will be attended by representatives from the organizations that were chosen by our Club to receive a “community grant” for the coming year at which time they will explain their plans for this coming year and discuss any questions that members may have.

   Amy announced that the “Rock the Garden” summer series will commence on Thursday June 6th from 6 to 8 pm at the Community House with live music, a food truck, cash bar and no admission fee!! 

   Our meeting on June 13^th will be the regular time 12:15 PM at the AVLI restaurant located at 566 Chestnut St. in Winnetka.

   Patti mentioned that the area Rotary Clubs have been asked to provide pictures, announcements, videos, etc. of past projects that they have done in the North Shore area over the last 100 years and everyone was encouraged to help locate and help provide such historical items.

   David announced that next Thursday May 30^th, the Counseling Center is having a special reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  He also announced that the CCNS Executive Director Bob Sanfilippo will be retiring after heading up the Agency for the last 6 years. Bob was congratulated on his service for this very important community service.

   Heidi humored the group by saying that we won’t be bothered again for the next 17 years with another cicadas invasion—but in the meantime, don’t try to use insecticide to destroy them-also be careful of your pet dogs eating too many of them since they have a chocolate flavor, can cause digestion problems and contain lots of calories.

   DIG AND GRIN: Bill Leske handled this by giving us the years that funny/interesting events  happened  with the most interesting being 1926 when Hack Wilson was the first Cub batter to hit the new Wrigley scoreboard with a home run and 1934 when law enforcement finally caught up with Bonnie and Clyde!

   BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: We had several members who already celebrated birthdays the first half of this month and those in the last half of the month were David Grant, Fred Schwimmer and Heidi Sibert.  Club Membership Anniversaries for the month were Barb Tubekis, Bill Leske, Tom Evans and Bob Sanfilippo for 12, 14, 15, and 6 years respectively.

   SPEAKER ADRIANA LAURA COOK.  David introduced our guest speaker Adriana Laura Cook who has been a real estate broker for over 20 years and runs the ALC Group in Winnetka which is part of EXPRealty.  Adriana’s business card indicates that she does business on the North Shore, Oak Park and Western Suburbs. She helps her clients with every detail of the real estate transaction from home search or listing until closing. She also provides interior and exterior design and staging expertise and implementation.  As a certified Express Offers specialist, she is qualified to offer her sellers the option of receiving a cash offer within 4 days of offering their home to sell even before it reaches the market.

   Starting about 10 years ago, Adriana became a believer in the value of networking with others in order to grow her business.  She singled out the North Shore’s Chamber of Commerce  as a great place to network and enhance your business opportunities.  She presented a power point advising on the importance of networking and how to do it effectively.

   After an active Q and A period with those present, the meeting was adjourned around 1:30 with the saying of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

 

 

This year is the 100th anniversary for both the Winnetka/Northfield and the Wilmette Rotary Clubs.  The two Clubs will celebrate together on the evening of June 20th at the Winnetka Community House. That night both Clubs will also install their respective teams of co-presidents for the 2024-2025 Rotary year.