There were 34 persons in attendance at this week’s meeting – 29 members, three guests and our two speakers. Bob Sanfilippo, the recently appointed director of the Counseling Center of the North Shore was the guest of David Grant and Liz Taylor, Board members of the CCNS, as well as his predecessor Robert Mardirossian. Bob has expressed interest in becoming a member of the Club. Marie Kuipers brought Laura Cunningham for her second visit. Lee Padgitt brought his daughter, Annie, who is teaching in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
There was a rendition of ‘happy birthday’ for Ned Meissner and president Tom Nash recognized that Ginny Hilton has been a member of the Club for 20 years. Tom also announced the upcoming District Assembly this coming weekend as well as the District Conference to be held in Sheboygan from May 17 to 20.
Rich Lalley told the Club that Darrel and Karen Malcom would be retiring this year from their positions with the Kids Against Hunger program. Rich proposed presenting the Malcoms with an honorary Paul Harris Award from our club. The couple has been instrumental in the many years our Club has packed meals for this fantastic program.
Bill Leske reminded the Club that our annual benefit would be held on May 11th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at A. Perry Homes at 1220 Washington Avenue in Wilmette. The cost is $80 per person with the proceeds going to support the Club’s foundation’s Community Grants program. Patti Van Cleave said she is seeking items for the silent auction as well as bottles of wine for gift baskets. Tying in with the benefit Brooke Peppey, Foundation chair, mentioned that the Club will match dollar for dollar up to $100 contributions to organizations that the foundation is recognizing with a grant.
Patti Van Cleave announced the Winnetka Club will be sponsoring “Housewalk 2018” where participants can tour five fantastic homes in Glencoe, Kenilworth and Winnetka on May 17th. Tickets for this fundraiser cost $35 per person.
Happy Buck$ came from Ned Meissner for his great trip to Ecuador and his successful back surgery procedure this past Monday -Tony Kambich contributed for David Birkenstein for bringing in a speaker on stem cells that have provided Tony with relief- Robert Mardirossian in honor of Bob Sanfilippo – Rich Lalley for the award our Club won for its website – and the theater got recognition from Heather Higgins for a great play she saw called “Memphis” at the Cadillac Palace Theatre – Terry Dason in tribute to the Writer’s Theatre in Glencoe for its play “Smart People” – and Barb Tubekis touted “a Taste of Things to Come in Water Tower’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, a play about four Winnetka housewives.
John Thomas capably handled Dig ‘n Grin and provided his audience with a few chuckles.
David Birkenstein introduced the day’s speakers from the Senior Center of the North Shore: Dr. Elizabeth Gordon, the Director of the North Shore Senior Options at the NSSC and Eddie Meyer a program specialist and outreach liaison for this program. The NSSC has a service area of an eight miles radius around the Northfield Campus, but they will not refuse service to those outside of this area. There are service sites in Niles, Glenview and Evanston, but its main campus is in Northfield, which is also the location of its House of Welcome. The House of Welcome offers services for adults with memory loss giving caregivers a break. Music and art therapy, gardening, discussion groups, table games, trivia, storytelling and exercise are among the activities offered to this group of seniors. The agency has an annual budget between 6 and 7 million dollars and a staff of 125 full time equivalents.
Dr. Gordon also spoke about programs providing assistance to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, adult protective services and caregiver support groups. The Center also helps seniors with housing issues such as how to get housekeeping chores done, how to look at the possibility of moving to assisted living, navigating the complexities of Medicare and dealing with the infirmities of aging. They also help pre-seniors in dealing with aging parents. The Senior Options program covers many of the issues of growing old gracefully. The North Shore Senior Options program is a 501c that is always looking for areas where seniors have needs. Care management is fee based. They do a comprehensive assessment to determine the senior’s needs. The Senior Option program provides in home therapy that can help depressed senior determine a course of action. The program can also provide help for seniors with their financial paper work i.e. paying bills, preparing taxes, etc. They will also provide a home safety assessment.
Tony Kambich provided a brief history of the NSSC emphasizing Rotary’s involvement with the Center and the fact that its first home was the Winnetka Community House. Another feature that was brought up by a member is the Lending Closet whereby seniors can borrow, at no cost, some durable medical equipment such as walkers, canes, crutches, raised toilet seats, wheelchairs, shower benches, etc.
The main conclusion one comes to is that we are extremely fortunate to have this fantastic agency in our own backyard.
Elizabeth Gordon, PhD, is the director of North Shore Senior Options at North Shore Senior Center, where she leads a team dedicated to providing care management, behavioral health services and guardianship to older adults and their families. The team also offers daily money management and home safety assessments. These services support the mission to improve the safety, well-being and quality of life for seniors and those who care for them.
Before joining Senior Options, Liz was director of Senior and Family Services in Niles for nine years. Prior to that, she spent three years working in the Evanston office as a counselor and care manager. Liz also was vice president and chief academic officer at Advocate Health Care, and earlier served as associate professor of pediatrics and director of research at the College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University.
Liz received her doctorate, master’s and undergraduate degrees in psychology from Michigan State University and also earned a master’s degree in human services/counseling from National-Lewis University. She holds a certificate of professional achievement in nonprofit management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Eddie Meyer is the program specialist and outreach liaison for North Shore Senior Options. He is the initial contact for potential clients and their families who are exploring how Senior Options could provide support to them. He is responsible for outreach and marketing, fostering relationships with clients, communities, and community partners. Eddie also provides home safety assessments as part of the Senior Options suite of services.
Eddie initially joined North Shore Senior Center as a case manager in the Senior & Family Services Department (Niles Office). Eddie worked with clients and their families, built relationships with them, and helped them identify and meet their needs. Eddie graduated with honors from Brunel University (UK) with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and earned his Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago. Eddie is a licensed social worker (LSW), and expects to receive his license as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in the next few months. Eddie is also working towards becoming a Certified Aging In Place Specialist (CAPS) and has completed the Design Concepts for Livable Homes and Aging in Place module of this certification program. Eddie is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, and is on the board of No Shame On U, a non-profit aimed at reducing the stigma associated with Mental Health.
Sixteen Area Charities to Receive Grants at Annual Fundraising Dinner
Our club will gather for our annual fundraising dinner the evening of May 11 at A. Perry Homes in Wilmette, celebrating Cinco de Mayo + Six and continuing it’s long tradition of supporting non-profit organizations who make our community and the world a better place. Members and their guests should register at http://wnrotary.org/event/annual-benefit-dinner.
“Our club has been an important contributor to local, regional and international causes since our founding in 1924,” said club president Tom Nash. “This year we are pleased to be supporting sixteen organizations that align with Rotary’s annual theme “Making a Difference.”
“Our Community Grants program is our foundational program,” said Brooke Peppey, President of the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation, the club’s charitable arm. “Each year, our members nominate non-profit organizations whose work inspires them to receive a Community Grant. Funds raised at our prior year benefit dinner, along with donations received throughout the year, are granted to the nominated organizations after being vetted by our board. Since we are all volunteers, all of the money we raise goes toward these grants and our other service projects.”
Members may make additional contributions to any of the sixteen charities, which will be matched by an increase in award amount by our foundation. Contributions may be made at our weekly lunch and by credit card by clicking here. Click Read More for a list of grantee organizations.
This year’s Community Grant awardees are:
A Just Harvest (http://ajustharvest.org), who fights poverty and hunger in Rogers Park and the greater Chicago community.
Blues Kids Foundation (http://www.blueskids.com), who works to preserve, perform and promote the Blues among America's youth, parents and educators through its annual Blues Camp in Chicago and other cities.
De La Gente (http://www.dlgcoffee.org), who works with coffee farming communities to create economic opportunity that improves the quality of life for their families and communities.
Erika's Lighthouse (https://www.erikaslighthouse.org), who educates school communities about teen depression, eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and empower teens to take charge of their mental health.
Hadley School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (www.hadley.edu) who creates personalized learning opportunities that empower blind and visually impaired people to thrive – at home, at work and in their communities.
Jewish Council for Youth Services (https://jcys.org), whose Champ Camp enables at-risk youth from low-income households in the North Shore to experience a traditional summer camp while also attending summer school.
Josselyn Center (https://www.josselyn.org), who provides affordable mental health services that make lives better for their clients, their families and the community.
Literature for All of Us (http://www.literatureforallofus.org), who uses books and writing to facilitate circles of connection, healing and growth in the face of social inequity.
NorthShore University Health System Integrative Medicine Department (https://www.northshore.org/integrative-medicine) who provides no-cost integrative health care, including acupuncture therapy, to low-income students in Evanston.
Operation North Pole (http://www.operationnorthpole.org) who provides a holiday season day of fun and fantasy for families who have a child battling a life threatening illness by hosting a fantasy trip to the North Pole.
Right to be Free (http://www.righttobefree.org) who funds the rescue and rehabilitation of enslaved children in Africa and broadens public awareness of human trafficking.
Samaritan Counseling Center (https://www.northshoresamaritan.org) who offers professional counseling services that provide hope, healing and growth in a manner that is ethical and caring.
Special Gifts Theatre (http://specialgiftstheatre.org) who provides children and teens with special needs a unique, creative drama experience enabling personal growth, while breaking down stereotypes related to disabilities within the community at large.
Volunteer Center (http://www.volunteercenterhelps.org) who helps residents and service groups of all ages in the New Trier Township, North Shore and greater NE Metro Chicago area volunteer or engage in days of service and service learning with 501C3 nonprofit organizations.
Winnetka Youth Organization (http://winnetkayo.org) who fosters individual development in junior high and high school youth in the North Shore by providing adult-to-youth mentoring, prevention services, and opportunities for leadership, citizenship, and, education within a safe, informal environment.
YouthBuild Lake County (http://youthbuildlakecounty.org) who provides underserved young adults in Lake County with the education and training necessary to become gainfully employed and build a better future.
There were 34 members present. Guests were: Ron Bernardi from Sunset Foods in Northbrook; and Laura Cunningham (guest of Marie Kuipers). Terry Dayson gave the “thought for the day”. Tom Nash presided and had a moment of silence in honor of former Rotarian, John Johnson, who recently passed away.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Members voted on the Club’s new Board and Officers for the coming year, and Marie Kuipers was formally approved by Club vote to be Club President for the 2019-20 Rotary year, as well as the full slate of other Board members also being approved. Tom also reminded members of the District Conference to be held in Sheboygan from May 17 to 20. Also, there is a special Rotary Assembly meeting at Harper College on April 28 from 8:30 to noon for newly elected officers of the Rotary clubs. Bill Leske reminded people of our annual benefit on May 11. Patti Van Cleave announced that she was the auction chairman for this event and welcomed auction items—she suggested that bottled wine was always a good auction item. Rich Lalley announced that this was the last day for our Club to sign up for the special Labor Day celebration at the Cubs-Brewers ball game honoring and hosting our military veterans, but that we needed 4 more reservations at $75 each to be recognized as a sponsor of the event. (At this time our members responded by at least 4 more contributions so that we could be a sponsor.) Brooke Peppey announced that on the dining tables there were lists of the 18 charities selected by our Club’s Foundation for grants during the coming year, the total amount of grant money given being $14,500. She also reminded the members that their donations to the Club’s Foundation designating one of the grantees as the beneficiary would be matched by our Foundation up to $200 per member, if such donations are made before our benefit on May 11.
HAPPY BUCKS: Tom Nash contributed for the successful WYO benefit last weekend and he gave special recognition to Mary Komlofski and Christina Gikas for a job well done. Liz Taylor contributed for the same reason and it was mentioned that Mary recently took an internet lesson on auctioneering and was quite professional in making the auction a real success. Marie Kuipers contributed because her guest Laura was in attendance, as were Ron Bernardi and our guest speaker, Dan Humphreys. Ron Bernardi contributed in honor of Sam Badger, a former member of Ron’s Northbrook Rotary Club. Ron suggested that with Marie scheduled to be our President in 2019 that our benefit should have a “roller derby” theme. Eric Birkenstein handled the “dig and grin” by sounding like one of Art Linkletter’s old programs “Kids say the darnedest things”.
GUEST SPEAKER, DAN HUMPHREY FROM SUNSET FOODS IN NORTHBROOK: Dan has been with Sunset Foods for 30 years, first heading up the fish department and then in recent years being head of the meat department. His presentation dealt with how meat is produced and processed and the different grades of meat products. He explained that Sunset Foods sells meat approved by the Certified Angus Beef LLC (hereafter “CAB”), which is a non-profit association of angus beef producers that certifies meat produced from black angus cattle that meets certain quality standards. Meat grades such as “grass fed” can be misleading because the diet of most beef is at least 90% grass. Beef is fed grain only during the last 30-60 days so that the fat created during that time can be graded. Whereas USDA Prime and USDA Choice grades only need to meet two specifications, the CAB meat has to meet 10 specifications including modest or higher marbling; 10-16 square inches in the ribeye area; less than 1000 pound carcass weight; less than 1 inch fat thickness; superior muscling; and free of capillary ruptures. The risk of getting a tough CAB steak is 1 in 50, whereas for USDA Choice and USDA Select, it is 1 in 13, and 1 in 6, respectively. 72% of consumers order their steaks medium, medium well or well done, and higher marbling in the meat makes these steaks more tender.
Prior to 1970, there were many breeds and cross-breeds of beef cattle used to produce steaks, which resulted in an inconsistency of meat quality. The producers of CAB steak decided at that time to use only purebred angus cattle to produce its certified meat. Most of Sunset Foods CAB meat is produced on small farms in Wooster, Ohio, where angus cows are artificially inseminated using only purebred angus bulls. The brood cows are tagged so that the origin of all CAB meat can be traced in case there is a problem with a disease such as E. Coli. Brood cows produce both male and female calves, some of which are kept to produce more angus calves. The cows and bulls who become incapable of producing quality stock are usually processed as beef. Only about 1 in 4 black angus cattle meet the specifications to be CAB. Generally, about 60% of the CAB are female cattle.
Dan also explained that retail stores no longer receive the big quarters of beef hanging in rail box cars like you saw in the old “Rocky movies”. Instead the beef is slaughtered and cut up into smaller pieces (referred to as “boxed beef”) in processing plants (usually not located in the big cities) and shipped to stores like Sunset Foods where meat cutters do the more finishing type of work in preparing the meat to sell over the counter. Dan’s presentation was certainly flattering to the quality of meat sold by Sunset Foods and covered lots of information not known to the general public. Dan used an informative power point in his presentation; if you would like to see the powerpoint, which is titled "The Science Benhind the Sizzle," please send an email request to keithreed9@yahoo.com and he will forward it to you.
The meeting in the Winnetka Community House was opened at 12:16 by President Tom Nash. An anecdotal “Thought for the Day” from Mark Kotz featured a quote from Margaret Thatcher.. It was followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Rick Borjesson.
Lunch was served at 12:21 and the meeting started at 12:38. 28 of our 51 members were in attendance. A not very tuneful Happy Birthday was rendered for Louise Holland, Denny Lauer, Rob Bagan, Mike Wurzburg, Ned Meisner and the brothers Nash.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Nash noted our annual W/N Rotary Club benefit will be May 11. Thus, the regular meeting of May 10 is cancelled. Rich Lalley noted our District Meeting will May 17-20 at a wonderful resort in Sheboygan. He also sold hard on the speakers and said “all in all, great place, great speakers and I urge you all to come”.
Rich also noted the Labor Day Cubs/Brewers game is selling out fast. The tailgate starts at 10:00 and gane time is 1:10 P.M.
The Program Director for the WYO, Mary Komlofski, reminded us that their annual benefit will be Saturday, April 14 starting late afternoon at Avli’s restaurant in Winnetka. As a non-profit supported by the W/N Rotary, she hoped many of us will attend.
Robert Mardirossian stated he and his brother went to the Cubs opening day game in Miami and also the rain-soaked home opener her last week. He also offered two Cubs tx as he will be unable to attend.
DIG & GRIN: Bob Baker told several civil war anecdote of dubious hilarity.anecdotes. While none engendered raucous applause, no loud groans were evident either
SPEAKER : The speaker was Don Sandel whose overall topic was the now proven health benefits of positive psychology, specifically how a positive mindset enables higher performance. He is a sought after speaker on the topic, often presenting at local, national and international conferences, and has been published nationally.
The catch phrase he uses is “H.O.P’ or Happy, Opportunistic and Positive. He outlined how new studies of large groups have shown the major neurotransmittere (Dopamine, Oxycotin, Seratonin, and Endorphins) are much more present when H.O.P is practiced.
The meeting closed at 1:34 p.m. with a recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Pledge.
We are pleased to announce our formal agreement with the Rotary Club of Les Cayes, District 7020, Haiti, to partner on a Global Grant project that will bring sustainable jobs and locally grown protein rich food to the Jeremie region of Haiti.
We are looking to raise approximately $20,000 for this project, which when matched $2.50 to $1 by The Rotary Foundation, will provide $70,000 in funding for this project. Rotary Clubs interested in participating should email info@wnrotary.org.
Areas of Focus
¨ Economic & Community Development
¨ Maternal & Child Health
¨ Bonus: Positive Environmental Impact
Project Objectives
¨ Restore and expand breadfruit production in Jeremie region of Haiti that was devastated by Hurricane Matthew
¨ Create a local, solar-powered breadfruit processing facility
¨ Provide vocational training to farmers, facility workers
¨ Develop the domestic and export market for breadfruit products
Planned Activities
¨ Propagate and grow 5,000 breadfruit saplings
¨ Provide ready-to-produce tress to small holder farmers and coop orchards
¨ Fund processing equipment for new facility (building funded by cooperating NGO)
¨ Provide packaged breadfruit breakfast meals to local schools
¨ Provide vocational training to farmers and workers
Expected Outcomes
¨ Produce 2.5 - 5 million lbs. of breadfruit annually
¨ Economic impact on region- $470,000 - $900,000 annually
¨ Good jobs and businesses for local population in poorest region of Haiti
¨ Provide nutritious meals to school children
¨ Develop an export industry for Haiti
Contribute to this project with the button below. Donations will be matched 2.5 to 1 by The Rotary Foundation.
Areas of Focus