Stories

Meeting Notes November 14

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:17 by Co-President Rich.

Greeter Debra led us in the Pledge.

Wes shared some quotes from department store founder Harry Selfridge.

Guests: David Grant’s spouse Leslie, and our speaker Mariana Alfar.

Foundation Minute: Moha updated us on progress with our project in Morocco. Moha hopes that this will be approved as a Global Grant, with a budget of $60-100,000.

Announcements:
-- Rich inducted our newest member, Michael Ambrose into our Club.

--Our Good News Partners food packing will take place next week. Shoppers are going to Costco on Wednesday the 20^th. This year the funding is limited to what we can raise, as there are no DDF funds for this project, so we need donations! We also need drivers to take the bags to Rogers Park after lunch next week and people to come early and set up the room.

--There are several Operation Warm distribution projects coming up in the next few weeks. Rich will send an email asking for volunteers.

--Our Holiday Luncheon with the New Trier Swing Choir is December 5. It was agreed that we would have a more special lunch that day, and all are encouraged to bring guests!

--The bins for NTT Food Pantry at the Community House are full. Need volunteers to take to the Township office.

Happy Bucks:

--Debra shared that she finally finished a mosaic that has taken 8 months to complete. She is having a show tonight at her studio – all are welcome!

--Michael is happy to be a member!

-- Barb is happy to have Michael join us. She also shared the sad news that her aunt died last week.

--Fred shared that his dear friend, a lifelong friend Dan Leonard died recently.

--Liz is happy that Michael brings down the average age of our club members!

--Bob is happy that his son got a job in New York City. He shared that they have been happy to have him here.

--Rich celebrated our veterans, Tony and Fred, and asked Tony to share with the club something special that happened to him recently (besides turning 90).

Dig N Grin: Bob shared some events that occurred on This Day in History.

Program: Our speaker was Mariana Alfar. Mariana was most recently President of the Wilmette Club, and is currently District Governor Nominee Designate for District 6440. David described her as a “Super Rotarian”.

Mariana spoke eloquently about her personal life as a Palestinian Christian, and her professional life as a journalist working for BBC and other news outlets. She shared her thoughts about the current war in Israel and Palestine.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:32 by Rich, with all of us reciting the Four Way Test.

Meeting Notes October 24

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Moha Bouacha with Lee Padgitt leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. ArLynn Presser gave the thought of the day by reporting that it was this day many years ago when a 63 year old woman named Annie Edison Taylor was the first person to go over Niagara Falls tied to another vessel with a leather harness and she survived the journey!

There were 16 members and guests attending the meeting including Thomas Applegate (the newly appointed Executive Director of the North Shore Counseling Center), Mike Ambrose (his second visit to our Rotary meetings), and Grace Sica, who is the Executive Director of Operation Warm, leading a group of over 50 people who distribute every year over a million warm coats and shoes to needy Chicago area children.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Distributed at the tables was an announcement pertaining to the Volunteer Center’s 22^nd year of UPCYCLING at the Indian Hill Train Station in Winnetka and the “goods” that are always welcomed as donated items; also mentioned was a recent email to our members and all District 6440 Rotarians from Mary Bak pertaining to a variety of Mental Health Programs being provided by District 6440 Task Force on Mental Health. Some of the speakers for the 8 programs listed might be potential speakers for some of our Rotary lunch meetings.

Other announcements were that the lunch for our November 7^th meeting at the Rotary’s International Office in Evanston will start at 12:15 pm with the tour of the Rotary headquarters to start at 1:30 pm. You should also note that our November 21^st Rotary meeting is the Thanksgiving Service Project of filling baskets for Residents of Good News Partners.

SPEAKER: MEAGAN McCHESNEY, CURATOR OF WINNETKA HISTORICAL MUSEUM. The WHM has produced a very complete video film presentation of Winnetka houses built, modified, torn down, etc. before baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, flood retainers and school facilities took over that area along Willow and Hibbard Roads in Winnetka. David Birkenstein suggested that our Club her Meagan's fabulous presentation, and Fred Schwimmer can tell you who lived in most of those houses since he was a kid!! The film shows how the early houses were usually large, on large lots, mostly followed the designs of 5 different styles, and how many new residents who then moved and built in the Winnetka area copied many of the styles in their early homes and how many of these homes are still occupied today. The video film starts on the West side of the Village and goes all the way to the Lake and also covers many of the large Winnetka building projects in the 1800’s such as the Village churches. The film also explores the artistic lives/successes of many Village residents who became well known architects, builders, and corporate tycoons.

The other video film shown at the Rotary meeting was a summary of where Rotary’s battle against Polio stands today. Thanks to several generous individuals and corporations such as the Gates and Blane Foundations, basically polio has been beaten in most wealthy nations but there are still thousands of children in less wealthy nations who need to be vaccinated. At the end of the meeting several Rotarians made donations to help finish the eradication of this dread disease. Rich and Moha have set as our Club’s goal this year to raise $1000 among our Rotarians for this cause.

The meeting ended around 1:30 pm with the reciting of the Rotary’s 4-way test.

Share Your Bounty

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco before our meeting on Nov 21, so please donate by November 17.

Your gifts provide post-holiday groceries to these families in need. Donate by credit card or bank transfer here, or mail a check made payable to WNRCF to Rotary Club of Winnetka Northfield, 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093.

We hope to provide over 100 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $2,500.

Donate here, or bring a check or credit card to a lunch meeting.

Meeting Notes October 17

Posted by David Grant

Co-Presidents Moha & Rich chaired the meeting.

Visiting Rotarian: Ron Bernardi from Northbrook.

Announcements: Moha thanked the ‘unsung’ W-N Rotarians who work hard behind the scenes to organize the Club. Special thanks to Barb for ordering lunches, Heidi for the many years of Kids Against Hunger, David G for the speakers, and all the donors to both the RI Foundation and the WN Foundation.

Rich thanked all the sponsors and attendees to the Operation Warm benefit who helped the event raise funds to provide 2,000 coats this year. One of the highlights of the evening for him was seeing David and Mary Birkenstein on the dance floor.
Rich also saluted David Birkenstein with a Level 4 Donor Award Recognition for gifts made to the RI Foundation.

Happy Bucks:

Bob Sanfilippo thanked the Club for many happy years of membership. He is retiring as the Executive Director of CCNS.
Wes Happily donated $123 for 39 years in the Club and his 84^th birthday.

Speakers: Today was ‘Members’ Day,’ a BYOT (Bring Your Own Topic) day. Ken shared his plans as our Club’s Chair of the International Committee. Bob Baker shared his plans for the RI committee, and also his & Patti’s plans for the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Foundation committee which he co-chairs with Patti. Other members who shared topics were David B., and Robert.

Meeting Notes October 10

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone; he shared an inspiring statement from Rotary International as the thought of the day. Terry Dason led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and lunch was served.

Several announcements and updates were shared:

Moha, along with Ken Drummet, provided an update on the work in progress to prepare for our global grant application, which will provide funding to support an existing women’s cooperative in Timoulilt, Morocco which is currently very limited due to lack of equipment, supplies, and training. The goal is to supply equipment for knitting, embroidery, and sewing, along with a heat press. He anticipates the grant will also include funding for training women to use the equipment as well as in business management, financial management, sales, and marketing. Moha anticipates the total grant amount will be between $30,000 and $60,000. Recent activity included a planning meeting with the host Rotary club in Morocco.

Rich Lalley shared an update on the District Conference, which he attended along with co-President Moha Bouacha. He noted that about 200 Rotarians attended, and there were two especially interesting speakers, Tony Bridwell (who spoke about leadership and followership), and Eve Gomez, who spoke about the work of Rahab’s Daughters, an organization based in Barrington that works to address human trafficking right here in the Chicago area. He also reported that there were three breakout sessions on various topics. Moha shared that he really enjoyed the networking at the conference as well. All are encouraged to attend future conferences.

Rich announced that fellow Rotarian Marie Kuipers has published a memoir, titled We’re All Mad Here and is hosting a launch party on Thursday, October 24, 7pm at The Green Post, 4749 North Rockwell in Chicago. Rich plans to attend and others are encouraged to join him – reach out to Rich (or Marie!) for more details.

David Grant announced that next week’s meeting will be “Members’ Day” – meaning that all Rotarians are invited to bring a topic that you want to discuss. He also noted that committee chairs could provide an update on the work of their committee as well.

Amy reminded everyone about the Rock the House: Woodstock show at the Community House on October 18, an immersive, multi-media, live music experience that will take you back to that iconic weekend! Tickets are available here.

Rich reminded everyone about the Operation Warm benefit happening tomorrow night – even if you can’t attend, you can still bid on auction items. Rich also noted that there will be an opportunity for Rotarians to participate in giving out coats at the Rogers Park Library on Saturday, November 23 in the afternoon, more details to come.

Greeter Terry Dason introduced Michael Ambrose who is here for the 2^nd time as a guest today. Ken Drummet offered an entertaining story / joke for Dig N Grin. Moha shared Happy Bucks – he was happy the international meeting about the proposed global grant went well.

Bob Baker introduced Elise Larsen (Executive Director) and Elise Steffe (Development Director), our guest speakers from Special Gifts Theatre. Bob noted that our Club has supported Special Gifts Theatre through our community grants for several years.

They shared their updated mission and vision statements and highlighted how transformative the experience of performing is both for those with disabilities and their peer mentors. Special Gifts Theatre is the only organization in the area providing education and theatre arts programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The presentation included an excellent overview of their programs along with their impact. More information about Special Gifts Theatre is available on their website.

The meeting adjourned with our usual recitation of the 4-Way Test.

Meeting Notes September 26

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Rich Lalley, with Amy leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Other announcements by Rich were that the one day District Conference meeting is coming up on October 5. Our regular lunch meeting at WCH on November 7 will be move to Rotary International HQ in Evanston. Rich also reported that Moha wants to have our Club’s committee chairs have their finished reports to him by the October 17^th Board meeting.

Rich reminded us to buy tickets for the October 11^th Operation Warm evening benefit at the ValleyLoClub in Glenview from 6:00 to 11:30 PM with buffet dinner, cash bar, auction/raffle and dancing to the Gerald McClendon Band. Tickets are $100 each and this is the 6^th annual benefit supporting new winter coats for needy Chicago area kids. Rich also reported that there will be two more Chicago library events for needy youth in October with more details to follow.

Liz gave us two “thoughts for the day”—Oscar Wilde once said “the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention” and Mark Twain stated “kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not”. Liz also shared with us her birthday celebration which included passing out milk chocolate candies to those attending and her generous donation to the Operation Warm project.

Rich then mentioned that our records show that Tony has been a Club member for 45 years, Fred for 12 year, and Heidi also for 12 years—so add them all together and you get 99, so Rich added another dollar to the sum and gave an even $100 in honor of these 3 long term and loyal Club members. Other Happy Bucks were given by Barb for her son seriously considering taking the marriage step; and by Tony who attended a reunion of his old college football team with lots of old stories (some actually fairly close to the truth) but with no one getting hurt during the event! Patti added a little humor to the meeting with her question about why the financial expert got fired—“he kept losing interest”!!

SPEAKER WAS RICHARD KOENIG, PHD, FAICP, AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF Housing Opportunity Development Corporation. Richard has been working on the production of affordable housing in our North Shore communities for the last 27 years. Most of the regular residents in these communities are not aware of all the work and progress being made over this time in supplying housing for needy people who are mostly low income families who cannot afford to rent or buy the type of housing that most of us enjoy. Other information presented by Richard was the following: Most of these units are in the suburbs and currently involve about 30 projects in 18 communities; units are now in Wilmette, Arlington Heights and Northbrook; 90% of the units are rental and not for sale and there is usually 40 to 60 units in a building; average annual income for these residents is less than 40 to 50 thousand dollars and there are some homeless people qualifying to live in these buildings; these buildings cost about $500,000 to build; there is an effort to get teachers closer to their students and workers closer to their employers; and the financing of the building and operation of these buildings is very complicated with several government tax credit programs involved.

The very informative 15 page power point used by Richard in his presentation is available upon request to Rich, David or Patti.

After a short question and answer period, the meeting was adjourned around 1:15 with the recitation of Rotary’s 4-way test.

Meeting Notes September 19

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Rich chaired the meeting with 16 Rotarians, 1 guest and 1 speaker attending.

Guest: Lydia Miller is a Rotarian from Brookfield, WI who came to hear the presentation today on Shelter Box.

Announcements: The Winnetka Rotarians who went to the Wilmette Rotary Club’s Trivia night on October 18 had a fun evening (Barb, Patti, Bob B, and Rich). Our District Conference is on Saturday, 10/5. Plan on attending the Operation Warm Fundraiser on 10/11!

Happy Bucks:

Liz had a great time volunteering for our Rotary tent at the Winnetka Farmers Market on Saturday 9/14.She thanked the other Rotary members for participating with her: Barb, Ken, Peter, Moha, and Rich.
Fred is happy the value of his 401k is up since the Fed lowered short-term interest rates by 50 basis points on September 18.
Barb is very happy with her new son-in-law now that Carolyn and Yoni have tied the knot.
Robert contributes 101 happy bucks to celebrate his 30rth anniversary in the Club and his 71^st Birthday.A prime time to observe both milestones and a prime number also!

Speaker: Don Crost is a former member, and a former President of our Club. He is currently a member of the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary, and he is an ambassador for Shelter Box. Robert and Fred made generous donations to Shelter Box after the presentation.

Meeting this week is not at the Community House!

Posted by Moha Bouacha

See you in Glencoe this week! Details below......

Harvesting Project

Posted by Barb Tubekis

This Thursday, September 12th, is our harvesting project at the nonprofit Glencoe Community Garden (GCG). Rotarians should arrive at the Garden a bit before noon so we can begin promptly and finish by 1:30. The GCG is located at 380 Old Green Bay Road. It is east of and runs parallel to Green Bay Road and the Metra train tracks in Glencoe. I will have blue and yellow balloons outside the entrance to the garden.

We will eat a boxed lunch first as the Garden representatives share who the garden serves and how it is managed and what they need us to do. We will work until 1:30. If there are any volunteers interested in helping me bring the vegetation we harvest to The Ark Food Pantry in Northbrook, have them let me know that. GCG is extremely impactful to local food pantries whose patrons don't often enjoy fresh produce. Just to provide a bit more info, feel free to check out their website, glencoecommunitygarden.com.

Volunteers should dress for gardening. Particularly if there has been rain, boots would be helpful. If it does rain, we will continue to harvest unless there is lightning in the area.

Thank you for participating, and see you at the Gardens this week!

Meeting Notes September 5

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Bob Baker offered the thought of the day. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Bob also shared information about Peace Scholarships supported by the Rotary Foundation. Moha also noted that September is National Literacy Month, and World Polio Day is coming up on October 24.

After lunch, Moha gave a few Rotary updates:

The District 6440 Conference will be held on Saturday, October 5 at the College of DuPage. There will be two days of service on Friday, October 4 and Sunday, October 6 at various locations. Registration is open and you can sign up here. It’s a great opportunity to get to know other Rotarians in our District.
The next Rotary International Convention will be held in Calgary, June 21-25, 2025. Registration is open and more information is available here.
The Wilmette Club has two activities coming up and all are encouraged to participate.
- Trivia Night, September 18
- Beach Clean Up, September 21
All are encouraged to read the 411 from the District 6440 Governor, which you receive via email.

Other announcements:

There are sign up sheets on the tables for the Winnetka Farmers’ Market. We will have a tent September 14, from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Rotarians are encouraged to sign up to represent Rotary for one (or more) of three shifts during that time. Pens have been ordered as give-aways. Barb will bring card stock so people can write cards to veterans or people in the hospital as an on-site service project. Contact Liz Taylor with questions.
Harvest Day at the Glencoe Community Garden is scheduled for September 12 in lieu of our meeting – that’s next week! Please sign up so the correct number of lunches. Plan to arrive at noon, quickly eat lunch, and then get to work. Bring friends and family who would like to be involved – and dress for gardening. The Garden is at 385 Old Green Bay Road in Glencoe. Contact Barb Tubekis with questions.

Happy Bucks were shared by ArLynn Presser, David Grant, Moha Bouacha, and Tony Kambich.

Moha reminded us about committee sign-ups a few weeks ago. There is still time to sign up if you haven’t had a chance. The Committee Rosters to date are:

Club Administration

David Grant

Rich Lalley

Bill Leske

Membership

Bill Leske

Liz Taylor (Chair)

Public Image

Debra Campbell (Chair)

Rich Lalley

Patti Van Cleave

Service Projects

Heidi Sibert

Barb Tubekis (Chair)

Patti Van Cleave

International

Moha Bouacha (Chair)

Ken Drummet

The Rotary Foundation (Rotary International, not our Club Foundation)

Bob Baker (Chair)

David Birkenstein

Bob Baker also shared an update on our Club Foundation – he and Patti Van Cleave will serve as Co-Presidents, and Debra Campbell will serve as Secretary. He will call a meeting soon with everyone currently on the Club Foundation Committee roster – if you are interested in joining them, please contact Bob.

Moha reminded us that we need a President-Elect. Anyone interested should contact Moha.

Robert shared some baseball-related quotes from Yogi Berra for Dig & Grin.

David Grant led the group in a discussion about possibly restructuring meeting assignments, ideas for changing / improving the bulletin, making meeting notes easier, and finding speakers.

Various suggestions and ideas were offered about all of these topics. Regarding speakers, specifically, the Club discussed whether political / controversial topics should be welcomed or discouraged. No conclusions were reached, and it was noted that further discussion would be helpful when more Club members are present.

Moha will look into arranging a visit to Rotary International in Evanston on November 7 when the Community House is not available due to the Antiques + Modernism Show.

The meeting adjourned with our usual recitation of the 4-Way Test.

Meeting Notes August 29

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The meeting was called to order at 12:17 by Co-President Rich Lalley. Chuck Norton shared a thought: "The best way to predict the future is to create it". - Abraham Lincoln.

Ken led us in the pledge.

Announcements:
-- Our Rotary Foundation minute focused on Global Grants. Rich read a partial list of all the good work that is being done in these grants around the world. Some of the highlighted countries were: India, Spain, Nepal, Uganda, Cameroon, Mexico, and in the US. See matchinggrants.org for more info.
--District Conference is October 5. Rotary International Conference is in Calgary next year.

--District Governor Marlene wants to know who our PE is for next year.

--Operation Warm fundraiser is October 11 at Valley Lo. Sponsors and auction items requested.

--Liz reminded all to sign up to staff our table at the Farmer’s Market on Sept 14.

Happy Bucks:

--Fred is happy that the stock market is doing well. He’s also happy to have been a Winnetkan most of his life, and encouraged us to visit the Winnetka Farmer’s Market.

-- Bob B is happy that their daughter recently bought a home in west Evanston.

Dig N Grin: Tony shared some Ronald Reagan-isms and famous quotes from mothers.

Program: Sydney Clark and Laura Munoz shared what’s new at the library, particularly in the Studio. Sydney also shared current favorite reads.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:23.

Meeting Notes August 22

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting with 17 Rotarians attending.

Guest: Debora Morris, Co-President of the Wilmette Club.

Announcements: Moha encourages us to volunteer to staff the Rotary tent at the September 14 Winnetka Farmer’s market.

Dig N Grin: John Zeddies entertained us as the corporate member representative of the Chamber.

Happy Bucks:

Debra has a new grandchild.
ArLynn is happy for anyone who owns dogs, and she shared the selfless story of a dog from history.
Wes recounted the story of his driveway face-plant last Thusrsday, which inspired him to compare politics to the Rotary 4 way test.

Speaker: Moha defined committee guidelines for this year’s Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Board committees.

Meeting Notes 8-15

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Co-President Moha Bouacha. Liz lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. There were 14 members present and one on Zoom—also present was Sunny Martin, our Club’s Assistant Governor..

HAPPY BUCKS: HB were given by Fred for the smooth running Olympics; by David for his 13 year old granddaughter being barmitzved next week and for him recently reaching and enjoying his 94^th birthday; and by Barb and her husband celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: Patti quoted from author Ben Brown who wrote that as we go through life, we must search and experience the importance of loving ourselves as well as others around us. Patti also reported on Rotary’s experience in Ukraine where there are 62 Rotary Clubs now operating with over 1600 members. Patti said that many people will be affected by the war for many years and that more information on this subject is available at Rotary.org.

Moha also mentioned other worldly events such as the disease MonkeyPox spreading to Africa; and that France did a great job with the Olympics with over 200 countries participating and 86 Gold Medals awarded to participants. But Moha mentioned the most sportsmanship thing that occurred at the games was when a Spanish runner grabbed a runner who fell right in front of him close to the finish line and the Spaniard pushed the fallen runner over the finish line so that he won the Gold Medal.

DIG N GRIN: Since Wes was to do Dig N Grin but unable at the last minute to attend the meeting and since he was a long term administrator at New Trier High School, Rich decided to fill in by telling the story of the 15 year old son who refused to go to school one day because he thought all the kids in his class “hated him”—and when his father asked his son what he would think if his Dad took that same position and refused to go to school-- the son said “you couldn’t do that because you’re 40 years old and the school’s Principal!

SPEAKER HEIDI KING from COLLEGE INSIDE TRACK. Heidi is associated with this company which, for the last 18 years, has helped high school students through the process of deciding if and where they should go to college. Heidi has done training on this subject at several Rotary Clubs, as well as high schools such as New Trier, Evanston, and Maine Township. The company also does consultations with individual families as well as students.

Typical questions asked by students considering college are : How easy or difficult for their applications to be accepted; Should it be big state school, small private school, or community college; Availability of scholarships/financial aid; Cost of tuition and living expenses; How effective is the school’s placement office in the student’s major; What is the student dropout rate; and Quality of education in student’s desired major.

Recent trends in college admissions are 45% of those wanting to go to college need financial aid; there has been a 32% increase in college applications in the last 5 years; most popular majors are business, computer and engineering; the traditional college entrance test is now optional at many schools but the average grades of those applicants taking these tests have gone from C plus to A minus with Purdue engineering applicants required to score an A to be accepted; and more students are going to smaller universities like DePauw, Drake and Illinois Wesleyan that have good educational programs and often more generous with their scholarships and financial aid programs. There is also developing some very good community college programs such as College of DuPage which could be steppingstone to financial aid and even merit type scholarship programs.

Heidi sent the power point of her presentation to David Grant who can forward it to anyone requesting it. After a short Q and A period the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 with the recitation of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Meeting Notes August 8

Posted by David Grant

Co-President Moha chaired the meeting with 11 Rotarians attending.

Announcements: Rich presented Chuck with his 8^th Paul Harris award and congratulated him for his generosity to the Club in all ways!

Dig N Grin: Lee entertained us with topical humor about hearing loss.

Happy Bucks: Moha donated $6 for the six goals the Moroccan soccer team scored n the game against Egypt.

Speakers: Today’s topic is about preserving hearing and cognitive health. Three speakers from Lake Forest Hearing spoke to us about preserving our hearing cells and how they help their patients with diagnosis, and prevention techniques like timing and rhythm training with musical instruments. Dr Halvorson, Dr Brennan, and their Patient Care Supervisor, Rachel Foelker, are also available for appointments at a local office in Northbrook.

Meeting Notes August 1

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Moha Bouacha opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Robert Mardirossian started with a thought of the day from Kahlil Gibran: On Joy and Sorrow.

After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, with no one assigned to do a Rotary Foundation Minute today, Moha shared reflections on the Olympics.

After lunch, Chuck Norton introduced guests and visiting Rotarians, and Puran Stevens, Susan Stevens Clarke, and honorary member Brooke Peppey were all warmly welcomed.

Moha shared a few Rotary announcements:

All are encouraged to attend the Rotary District conference on October 5, 2024 as well as the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary June 21-25, 2025.

Moha noted that we have several committees forming for the coming year, with the following chairs in place:

Ken Drummet will chair the International committee

Bob Baker will chair the Rotary Foundation committee (not our Club Foundation, the RI Foundation)

Debra Campbell will chair the Public Image committee

Barb Tubekis will chair the Service committee

Liz Taylor will chair the Membership committee

All are encouraged to go on myrotary.org to read more about the responsibilities of each committee; on August 22, we will have a Club Assembly with a presentation from each chair and a request for every member to join a committee.

Amy reminded everyone about tonight’s Rock the Garden event at which her band will be performing. The event will take place rain or shine – outside in the garden or indoors in the garden room.

Patti, our club Treasurer, reminded everyone to pay their dues for this quarter. She also reminded everyone that if you are a pay as you go lunch person, you should please pay Bob for your lunch today as well.

Moha noted that we should all keep an eye out for requests for contributions to our Foundation.

Happy Bucks were offered by Moha, Fred, Tony, and Susan (one of our guests).

Bill Leske offered fun facts about Rotary for Dig-n-Grin.

Patti introduced our speaker for the day: Lynn Diettrich whom she has known for many years.

Lynn shared information about Diettrich Farms, including their approach to working with horses, along with some of the programs and services they offer. They value the horse's perception and treat each horse as an ambassador for education and self-awareness. With those values in mind, they provide a comfortable environment where the horse and rider can feel safe and stress-free. It is in this environment that participants and guests are able to truly develop a deep bond with the horse that leads to increased comfort, self-confidence, and enjoyment.

The farm provides an incredible riding environment to support year-round programming for children and adults. The 15-acre farm features a 160-by-60 indoor arena, large round pen, and direct access to 13 miles of groomed trails in the adjacent state park. They also have a very comfortable indoor retreat, event, and educational space with a kitchen and washroom. They offer a wide range of activities, including lessons, adult and youth programs, retreats, camps, and more.

It was a wonderful presentation, and you can find out more about the farm here: https://www.diettrichfarm.com/

The meeting concluded with the usual recitation of the Four-Way Test.

Meeting Notes July 25

Posted by Amy Skalinder

Co-President Rich Lalley opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. We opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Tony Kambich shared a thought of the day from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Success:

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty and find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

After lunch, we continued the meeting with a Rotary Foundation Minute. Bob Baker shared historical information about the Rotary Foundation, which was initiated in 1917. All-time contributions to the fund are about $6.5 billion! Bob shared that Rotary Foundation funds go to specific programs: Polio Plus, Rotary Peace Centers, district grants, global grants, disaster response grants, and programs of scale grants (where the funding is at least $2 million). You can read more about these programs in the Rotary Foundation’s 2023 Report. Bob noted that our Club has pledged our support as part of a program of scale grant in Uganda.

Rich presented Bob with a pin as a Paul Harris Fellow +7, thanks to his steady contributions to the Rotary Foundation.

Rich shared a few Rotary announcements:

· Our District is hosting a Rotary Friendship Exchange with Rotarians from Jaipur, India visiting and staying with members of the Barrington and Schaumburg / Hoffman Estates Clubs. Rich explained that members of these clubs will then go to India to stay with Rotarians there, and noted that our Club may want to consider such an exchange with a Rotary Club in Morocco since we have connections there through Moha.

· Our Rotary District conference is October 5, but details are not yet available. We are working on a fall service project, possibly for the week before the District conference.

· The 2025 Rotary International Convention is in Calgary – a rare opportunity to attend in North America. All are encouraged to attend.

Amy reminded everyone about next week’s Rock the Garden event at which her band will be performing. The event is Thursday, August 1 – the garden opens at 5pm and her band will start playing around 6pm. This is a free event – no ticket required! The Community House will have a cash bar and snacks available for purchase – and the Soul & Smoke food truck will be onsite with their delicious barbecue. It’s a great opportunity for laid back social time with other Rotarians.

Happy Bucks were shared by Bob Baker, Fred Schwimmer, Moha Bouacha, and David Grant. Ken Drummet gave us some laughs with a joke about the Secret Service for Dig-n-Grin.

David Grant introduced our speaker, John Kilner, Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Trinity International University. John is a Rotarian from Rotary Club of Wilmette – he joined when he retired from the university in 2019.

John shared a new resource he has been involved in creating – a free, private website to help people think about end-of-life decisions and create documents outlining their wishes. John pointed out that while using the site, no personal information is ever requested or retained. He noted that end-of-life decisions are closely tied to individual beliefs and values. The website helps you to define your wishes by connecting your beliefs and values with your current medical situation (or a possible future medical situation), and then helps you to create a document that outlines your wishes to share with family members and your medical team. It can be used for a current decision or an advance directive.

John then walked us through the website, which offers the user a series of questions and choices, and in some cases also offers unbiased education and food for thought related to those choices, if the user is interested in learning more about their options. At the conclusion of the process, the website creates a document that you can either print or download so you can complete it with your personal information (outside of the website).

Everyone is encouraged to check out this fantastic, free resource: MedicalDecisions.info

The meeting concluded with the usual recitation of the Four-Way Test.

Meeting Notes July 18

Posted by David Grant

President Rich chaired the meeting.

Guests: Liz Taylor introduced her guest Peter Hansen.

Rotary Foundation Minute: Amy described a 2016 Rotary Global Grant to provide drinking water to a Honduras fishing village

Happy Bucks:

Bill Leske congratulated Peter Hansen for becoming a grandfather!
Moha taught us a little about how a Moroccan world cup soccer player can play for Spain.

Program: Bill Leske introduced the staff of the Record North Shore: Ryan Osborn, Director of Development; Joe Coughlin, Editor in Chief; and two interns. The Record was launched in 2020 after the Winnetka Current ceased operations due to the pandemic. A new business model was needed, and Joe formed the Record as ‘non-profit journalism.’ Their daily website, weekly newsletters, and podcasts have won awards in the last few years for excellence.

Every Rotarian, Every Year- Contribute to The Rotary Foundation

As the 2023-24 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 SHARE Fund.

These gifts support the local and international work of Rotary Clubs and Districts through District and Global Grants. A significant portion of these gifts support projects of our club like our recent contribution to Shelter Box, our annual Operation Warm coats and shoes for children projects, local COVID-19 relief efforts, Kids Against Hunger, and our support of Global Grants like the maternal health program in Uganda and the Evanston led project with The Cradle in Chicago. .

Please thank these 9 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Wes Baumann, Moha Bouacha, Debra Campbell, Rich Lalley*^{+^}, Robert Mardirossian, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, Barb Tubekis, and Patti Van Cleave.
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year) ^Bequest Society

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 seven areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development, protecting our environment, 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 Operation Warm Soles, support for ShelterBox, last year's COVID-19 Response efforts, 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 $1,760. But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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. Bring a check to made payable to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club, (or mail it to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, 60093); 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.

Club History: The First 50 Years 1924-1974

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Dating back to the Club's 50th Anniversary in 1974, this document tells the history of the first 50 years of our Club from 1924 to 1974:

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2417/Documents/en-us/6a5470a0-5fbd-477b-b608-3af7f0468c9a/1/

50 Year Anniversary Celebration Card Graphic by Santy Kamal · Creative Fabrica

Meeting Notes May 23

Posted by Keith Reed

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.

Do you have your Centennial tickets yet?

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Please purchase your tickets through this link: 100th Celebration/Installation

The deadline to purchase tickets is this Friday, June 14.

When you register, please chose which entree you prefer from these 3 choices:

Baked chicken filled with spinach and parmesan cheese
Grilled Salmon with Lobster Sauce
Vegetable Lasagna

You can also purchase tickets by copying this address into your browser: https://secure.givelively.org/event/wilmette-rotary-club-foundation/100th-anniversary-and-installation-dinner-2024

Meeting Notes April 25

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker who started with his usual breathing exercise. There were 21 members and guests present and Peter Skalski joined on Zoom. Tony lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and then introduced our guest speaker, Dr. Al Ladesic and his wife Mary, along with Tony’s wife Carolyn. Lee Padgitt handled the Dig N Grin.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Bob reminded everyone of the Winnetka and the Wilmette Rotary Clubs 100^th year celebration the evening of June 20^th at the WCH and that Froggy’s has been selected as the caterer for the event. Rich announced again that the Wilmette Rotary Club Foundation is having the Rotary Hope Walk for the Homeless on May 4^th at Gillson Park and if our members want to participate in this activity some of those funds will come back to our Foundation or to organizations we choose that provide services to the homeless.

Bob explained a new match program available to our members who want to give up to $200 to one of the 9 or 10 organizations that our Club recently selected to receive the regular $1400 Community Grant and be recognized as a donor to such organization. Bob sent an email to our members on April 26 explaining in detail this new program and that the deadline for submitting your contribution check (made out to WNRCF) is May 2.

HAPPY BUCKS: Fred gave in celebration of his oldest daughter recently taking a train from Minneapolis to Chicago to visit Fred and Ellie. David Birkenstein gave due to his increased ability to be able to walk well during his recent trip to Florida. Barb gave in celebration of a family birthday.

GUEST SPEAKER-- Dr. Al Ladesic, Restorative Acupuncture. After being introduced by a very satisfied patient, Tony Kambich, the Doctor explained how and why in 2016 he transferred from a real estate job to become a certified Restorative Acupuncturist. He explained that it takes about 3 years to complete a medical program; then Board exams; and then serving as an intern in a recognized hospital acupuncture program.

Questions asked by the audience and answered by Doctor Ladesic were as follows:

How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture points are areas of electrical sensitivity. Inserting metal needles into these points stimulates sensory receptors that, in turn, stimulate nerves that transmit a signal to the base of the brain. This part of the brain is responsible for releasing neurotransmitters and endorphins. These neurotransmitters have several functions in the body including pain-relief, regulating inflammation, and influencing the hormonal system. This is why acupuncture is so effective for treating many things from back pain and arthritis to PMS and infertility, as well as anxiety & depression. Other physiological benefits include increased blood circulation & T-cell count stimulation, stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest & digest” response) and muscle spasm relief.

Explain most common pain suffered by patient & cause of such pain?

The most common presentations of pain are: low back pain/sciatica; arthritis; migraines; and neuropathy (numbness & tingling in hands or feet). Simply stated, the cause of pain is due to inadequate blood flow to the area of concern. This is largely due to four factors: history of trauma; lifestyle; stress/emotional state or age.

Why don’t pills and/or surgery solve condition?

Pills and/or surgery may relieve and resolve the condition, but they are accompanied by a certain level of risk and/or side effects. With acupuncture, we are accessing the body’s innate ability to heal itself, so there are no risks or side effects.

How painful are the injections you administer?

I don’t administer injections. I use single-use, monofilament stainless steel needles, one tenth the size of an average syringe, to stimulate acupuncture points in the body. In many cases, the patient may not feel anything, in others, the insertion feels like a pinch, kind of like a mosquito bite.

When do Medicare plans cover these treatments?

In 2020, Medicare started covering acupuncture for chronic low back pain only, and it has to be administered by a medical doctor’s office. So, unless your doctor or someone in their office is a licensed acupuncturist then it won’t be covered by Medicare.

When can you give a potential patient the approximate cost of treatment?

The first step is just scheduling an initial consultation with us. That way I can review your medical history, and we can have a brief conversation about your specific ailment. At that point, I can give you my best recommendation as to how I can help, and the cost is based on that recommendation.

How long or how many sessions are usually required for a typical treatment?

The number of sessions will depend on the nature of your aliment, how long you’ve had it, and the severity of it. In general, acute conditions take 6-10 treatments, and chronic conditions are more like 10-20 treatments.

Can you treat cancer patients?

Yes, with your oncologist’s approval. Acupuncture can be very effective for treating the side effects of chemotherapy such as, nausea, pain, and neuropathy.

Have hospitals been more accepting or your acupuncture services?

Yes. Many hospitals, at least in the area, either have acupuncturists on staff or provide an integrative clinic that supports a more holistic approach to health – such as acupuncture, reiki, massage therapy, functional medicine, naturopathy and osteopathy.

After an active Q and A period, the meeting ended with the recitation of Rotary’s 4-way test.

Meeting Notes March 14

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker, who started by leading everyone in his “breathing exercise.” There were 14 members present with Fred on Zoom. Robert gave us the “thought of the day” by reminding us that Spring was only a week away and approaching warmth is considered to be a time for healing and a time to open our hearts and minds to great thoughts and kind deeds to benefit others.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Wes reminded everyone of the New Trier High School tour for our meeting on March 28^th and that we should notify him soon if we are planning to attend and our lunch choices; and that the School’s access and parking is somewhat tricky—he has maps available that show the NE entrance (close to the two glass towers) off of Essex Avenue. He also mentioned that the two Rotary Clubs from Wilmette have been invited to join the tour and our Club members are also welcomed to invite guests - but notify Wes of your plans to do so. Bob mentioned that the two Wilmette Rotary Clubs (the one that meets at the Wilmette Harbor and the other that meets at the Wilmette Park District golf facility) are also joining us in celebrating the 100^th anniversary of our Rotary Clubs.)

HAPPY BUCKS: Deb Campbell gave to celebrate getting home happy and uninjured from her recent Telluride Ski trip; Bill Leske gave a HB due to his recent trip to a warmer climate; Tony gave a HB due to his being “one day older but deeper in debt” since he is planning a future trip to the West Indies; and President Bob gave a HB, although he was more melancholy than “happy” due to his closing and cleaning out of his Killian Plumbing business at 933 Green Bay Road after having managed and worked there for the last 41 years.

DIG N GRIN: Bill Leske gave us some birthdays and events that have happened in the past on March 14^th---BIRTHDAYS Eugene Cernan 1934, Prince Albert II Monica 1958, Albert Einstein 1879; EVENTS United States currency goes on the gold standard 1900, Gorbachev becomes president of the Soviet Congress 1990, Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of the Lee Harvey Oswald murder 1964, United States signs a 99-year lease on the naval bases in the Philippines 1947, and the event that got most of our discussion was in 222 AD when Roman Emperor Heliogabalus was murdered for his socially deviant behavior.

SPEAKER JUDETTE KURASZ FROM BYLINE BANK—FINANCIAL LITERACY. Judette has been in the banking business for 35 years and has worked the last 7 as the V.P. Financial Literacy Manager at Byline. She works primarily with not-for-profits, schools, and organizations that want workshops on very basic money management. These workshops help participants achieve financial literacy by teaching them how to create a budget, how to track spending, the techniques to paying off debt, understanding how money works, and creating and achieving financial goals, These workshops not only include how to manage personal finance matters, but instructions on investing, insurance, real estate, college expenses, budgeting, retirement and tax planning. Examples of organizations she has worked with are City of Evanston, Chicago Refugee Coalition, New Trier High School, Chicago Public Library and Rainbow Push.

Judette used a very informative 32 page power point in her presentation. Please let me know if you would want to review a copy of her power point.

After everyone participated in one of Judette’s work shop exercises where each Rotary table had only 20 beans to “pay for the living expenses” of a family of 4, the meeting adjourned around 1:30 pm with the reciting of the Rotary’s 4 way test.

Meeting Minutes March 7

Posted by David Grant

President Bob began the meeting with a soothing breath.

Guests: John Baird, Jim Corboy, Cam Johnson, Colin Root, Katie Stephens, Jan Boden, Bridget Lewis, Tom Baren

Announcements: Bob clarified that there will be a Rotary Board meeting before the 3/21 lunch and planning session for the Centennial Celebration to be held in June. Wes passed around sign-up sheets to attend our 3/28 meeting at New Trier High School. Robert asked if anybody knew a good company to wash and stain an outdoor deck.

Program: The Winnetka Village President, Chris Rintz, shared an update on the ‘State of the Village.’ His first topic was progress in the third year of the stormwater project, which is the Villages’s largest financial project. A 2.5 million gallon water storage tank is being constructed at Crow Island. Flood control in the east is the next project.

Other Projects the Village has worked on this year:

Tala coffee replaces the gas station on Green Bay Road in Indian Hill.
The 8^th Annual Musicfest returns this summer.
The Village has moved to an advanced water metering service centrally controlled from Village Hall.
The Village raised taxes for the first time in 10 years to pay for removal of lead water lines.
The Village is negotiating with AT&T to bury telephone lines.
Hubbard Woods Streetscape must be negotiated with the State of Illinois, which owns Green Bay Road for several blocks.

Projects the Village will be working on in the future:

Ageing power generation equipment at the Tower Road power plant.
Post Office site planning
Study whether the Indian Hill Parking lot is a feasible site for senior housing.
Working closely with Kenilworth to maybe launch a new commercial district on the border.
Lakefront regulation.
One Winnetka.

Meeting Minutes February 29

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker. Terry Dason was the greeter and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance; Moha gave us the “thought of the day” which was that in doing most projects it is usually better to take your time and involve others to assist you; David Birkenstein handled the dig-n-grin with a question about how many kids you might have in those states that treat fertilized embryos as live children; and how some women are still just delighted to find an unmarried man! There were 15 members present and one attending by Zoom. Member birthdays were Pat O’Day (Feb. 12), Jeanne Beckman (Feb. 23) and Felicia O’Malley (Feb. 24).

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb and Moha were thanked for all the work they have done on the WCH food pantry project; the program on 3/21 will be another planning session for the 100^th anniversary celebration. Our Club meeting on March 28^th will be a tour of New Trier High School, but members need to inform Wes about their lunch attendance and preference; and Rotary has a District Conference at its Evanston facility on April 20. Patti reported that the Club’s Foundation Board recently met to consider grant applications for the next year. Barb reported that she recently attended the New Trier Career Fair and was really impressed with the interest and spirit the high school kids there have in volunteering to do important projects for the community and others.

HAPPY BUCKS: Robert reported on his recent trip to Maui although the sites there are far from “happy”. He reported that there is still much repair work that needs to be done all over the island and that at least 13 Rotary members there lost their homes. Rotary International donated several thousand dollars to the Rotary Clubs there. On a happier note, Robert reported that it is that time of year when he attempts to celebrate his birthday and wedding anniversary on Feb. 29^th, but the good news for the Club is that he is not restricting his contribution to the 4 year maximum that could be used since the 29^th occurs only every 4 years!

SPEAKER MATTHEW ROONEY, PRESIDENT OF TRUSTEES OF CANAL SHORES GOLF FACILITY IN EVANSTON: Matthew is a long time resident of Evanston, as well as a retired attorney and long time advocate of preserving and improving the Evanston Canal Shores area for the benefit of all residents in Evanston and neighboring communities. Its address in Evanston is 1030 Central Street where it has a building housing its golf operation, a bar and a Legion Post. Its priorities are encouraging local people of all ages to enjoy low cost golfing, walking, and other outdoor experience/activities available in the Canal Shores area. While at the same time to provide life skill activities and employment opportunities for the local youth, improve the canal drainage condition and other ecological activities.

The golf club has been around for over a hundred years (under such names as Peter Jans) but went through a renovation period about 5 years ago. It’s an 18 hole golf course, par being 60, and a number of very challenging holes. It is a neighbor friendly course that welcomes walkers, dogs and has a 2 ½ mile hiking path along the canal. The entire canal area property is about 82 acres with the golf course taking about ½ of that. The club has been fortunate to get substantial economic support from the Western Golf Association and the Chick Evans Foundation which supply summer work opportunities for the local youth, as well as substantial college scholarships.

Other popular summer activities for community residents/visitors are the outdoor concerts, movies and bird watching tours. More information regarding these activities can be found on your computer at Evanston Golf Course Canal Shores-- or Canal.org.

The meeting adjourned around 1:30 with the recitation of the Rotary 4 Way Test.

Meeting Minutes February 22

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

President Bob called the meeting to order at 12:20 in the usual manner.

Barb shared a thought about this year’s theme: Create Hope in the World. Wes led us in the Pledge.

Announcements:

Amy introduced Cam Johnson, Director of Development.

She also introduced March 9 Rock the House event at Community House is open to all. Tickets are $20.

D5000 foundation sent us a thank you letter for our donation to fire relief.

We also received a letter from Brooke Peppey with warm wishes to all in the club and a donation to the Foundation. Brooke is resigning from the club.

April 20 is District Conference at Rotary One in Evanston.

Bob mentioned that the incoming RI President’s theme is “The Magic of Rotary”.

Happy Bucks:

Wes in honor of Brooke.

Bob as he noted a bird of prey in his yard, seeking chipmunks. Possibly a Coopers Hawk.

Barb in gratitude to Liz for her help at the bank.

Liz also in honor of Brooke.

Dig 'n Grin:

Liz shared a This Day in History.

PROGRAM:

David Birkenstein shared a series of questions to challenge us. We all enjoyed hearing each other’s responses.

President Bob adjourned the meeting at 1:30 and we recited the 4 Way Test.

Meeting Notes January 25

Posted by Keith Reed

Chair Bob Baker called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ken Drummet gave us the “thought of the day” and Terry Dason described the type of “jolly fella” that you should not leave in your house for very long after Christmas! Heidi Sibert introduced her guest--Mary Dryden, who is working with Heidi and learning the landscaping business. There were 17 members present and one on Zoom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Rich announced that he was privileged to present our Club member Robert Mardirossian a Harris Fellow “plus 7” award along with two red stones. Robert was given a rousing applause for this generous gift and Robert replied by saying that it was easy for him to give these amounts not only to honor the Club but to honor members of his family and friends he has made over the years through his Club membership.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: Bob announced that birthdays were recently celebrated by Jean Wright, Bob Sanfilippo and Markie Gekas. He also announced that Jean Wright has been a Club member for 31 years, Markie Gekas for 26 years and Chuck Norton for 26 years (which included two terms as Club President).

HAPPY BUCKS: Happy Bucks were given for some unusual reasons—Bob said he thought Barb was doing a great job with our lunch arrangements and food quality; other members mentioned the nice “silverware” and the cups and water available in the room; and Moha gave in celebration of the Northwestern Men’s BB victory over Illinois and that the Big Ten will no longer have to contend with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh!!

GUEST SPEAKER TRACY MCKEITHEN—Executive Director of Family Promise Chicago (herein also referred to as FPC).

The address of this organization is Family Promise CNS P.O. Box 484, Glencoe Illinois 60022 and its website is “familypromisechicagoNS.org” in case you want more information on this very active and important organization.

FPC helps families with young children find stability and new homes. Last year FPC also helped 1000 individuals. FPC has been performing these services since 2010 to help families who are homeless (or at risk of being homeless) to get back on their feet and provide stable lifestyles for their children. In the past traditional shelters would require men and older male children to be separated from mothers and small children but FPC provides shelters for the whole family.

FPC offers families a daytime location with a mailing address and a place for their children to get picked up for school. Presently they have approximately 28 local church congregations and other organizations who help the FPC program, some of which actually provide living accommodations for the needy. Last year FPC received over 700 calls to help house needy families and to address the cause of their homelessness by providing supportive services, workshops and counseling to help such families develop a stabilization plan to prepare for their independence.

Tracy said that about 50% of their services are provided in Evanston and the rest in nearby suburbs. She has been associated with FPC since 2009 and has led the organization since 2023. It provides food, shelter, sleeping facilities, education and work training to its participants. It intervenes with landlords to help keep the needy from being displaced without cause; it provides summer camps for the children of working parents; it provides information about tenants’ rights and responsibilities, how to avoid eviction, how to do “life skills” functions such as use of laundry equipment, and how to save some money for emergencies.

One very active area for training is home nursing care for seniors and the infirmed. Many of the women at FPC train to be nursing aides which has a starting salary of around $12 an hour, but in Evanston a person needs to make at least $16 an hour to support a family. FPC arranges for training for these people to become certified nursing assistants (pay is closer to $16 per hour) or patient care technicians (which pays $23 an hour). FPC is also active in training women to perform manufacturing jobs (which usually have more fringe benefits).

The FPC handout at the Rotary meeting best summarized its function where it stated that it is “much more than an in-shelter, temporary housing program”-- that it concentrates on being a “homelessness diversion & prevention program” -- a “financial literacy training” program and all resulting into a-- “Post-shelter support” program to “keep our families stable”.

After the Q and A period, the meeting was adjourned around 1:30 pm with the recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Test.

Meeting Notes December 14

Posted by Keith Reed

Chair Bob Baker called the meeting to order, led our “breathing” exercise, and also the Pledge of Allegiance. He also handled the “thought of the day” by referring to quotes from his favorite book the “Book of Love” which were —“Love doesn’t guarantee you a good life, but it makes the ride worthwhile”—“Never go to bed mad, stay up and fight”! There were 14 members present and Fred was on Zoom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Deb Campbell has satisfied the requirements to become a Club member and Bob took the required steps to welcome her as a full-fledged member.

HAPPY BUCKS: Scribe Reed gave in honor of Deb joining our Club (she was a past Club speaker on “stress”, was sponsored by Liz Taylor and is a close friend of Keith’s sister-in-law.) Keith also gave in recognition of the great job Moha did in supplementing the recent Club minutes on his experience and knowledge of his home country Morocco. Bob and others reported being pleased with the New Trier Choir last week and Bob said that those members who did not pay the $20 for their lunch will not be billed, but need to reimburse the Club directly on their own. Barb was complimented for the great job she has done in having some of our lunches provided by the Honeycomb restaurant which has served us well.

Bob mentioned that our Dec. 28^th meeting will be held at the Alvi restaurant in downtown Winnetka—there will be no speaker or program that day—instead Rich and Robert will be there around noon to socialize with the Club members who show up. Everyone will pay their own bill, but Rich would appreciate that those planning to attend notify him to help him save the necessary spaces.

Patti announced that the applications from not-for-profit organizations for one of the Club’s Foundation grants should be filed before the end of this year and she should be contacted with any questions.

Amy announced that the WCH food pantry is full—Moha and Barb volunteered to take the box to its final destination.

SPEAKER KELLY MCGONIGAL—(TED TALK ON “how to Make Stress Your Friend”)—Kelly started her presentation by saying we “should not believe that stress is bad for us” but instead we should consider ways to make “stress our friend”. Her suggestions included developing/participating in a breathing and/or meditation program; be involved with other people in showing that you care for them and are willing to help them with their problems: don’t try to solve your stress problems by yourself; and consider taking the stress hormone oxytocin with your doctor’s advice.

Kelly’s presentation was about 14 minutes long and you can get the link to it upon request to Rich or Keith. Heidi ended the meeting by stating that she has found that attending our Rotary meetings helps her deal with stress—in addition to a nice meal and conversation with interesting people, she has the chance to discuss and do something about other people’s problems, community/world projects and what other organizations are doing to improve our World’s living conditions.

Bob led the group in the Rotary 4-Way Test and the meeting adjourned at 1:30.

Meeting Notes 11/30

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker. There were 15 members present, 2 members on

Zoom and 2 guests- Ron Bernardi (Sunset Foods) and Rives Collins (NW professor and friend of

Moha, our speaker for the day). Patti did the “thought” of the day by presenting past statements

attributed to recently departed Henry Kissinger, including his conclusion that neither gender will

win the “battle of the sexes” due to there being too much “fraternization.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS-----The New Trier High School Swing Choir will be presenting its

holiday program at our next meeting on December 7th. The lunch will be catered by the local

Little Honeycomb Restaurant for a $20 per member charge and members are encouraged to

make their reservations promptly. Barb announced that the Club’s Thanksgiving contribution to

the success of our food drive for Good New Partners was so successful that thy had about $1200

left over which was left with GNP in the form of 63 gift cards to be distributed to the needy. It

was also reported by members who attended Rich’s recent distribution of coats and books at two

Chicago libraries that this Club activity was very important for the children who received the

coats and visited the libraries, as well as the adults who saw how much such gifts were needed and

appreciated by the children.

ANNIVERSARIES-----There were no recent birthdays announced, but the Club

membership anniversaries were recognized---Jeanne Beckman 35 years, Lee Padgitt 30 years,

Rich Lalley 19 years, and David Birkenstein 14 years.

HAPPY BUCKS-----Fred announced that his family had a recent reunion to celebrate its

contribution to controlling the world population with what he called a ZPG celebration---that is a

family with a “zero population growth.” Several contributions were made in response to the

Northwestern Football victory last weekend and its coach being considered by many as the

‘Coach of the Year.” Bob Baker contributed due to Michigan’s victory over Ohio State and that

his old college of Miami of Ohio had a winning season and is going to a post season bowl.

DIG N GRIN; Barb brought a little amusement to the meeting by testing our memories

about famous songs—in 1969 Neil Diamond’s hit was “Sweet Caroline”; 1971 was when the

movie Brian’s Song was released involving the close relationship of Gale Sayers and Brian

Piccolo; in 1979 Pink Floyd released his hit “The Wall” and Bob Baker remembered that was the

year he graduated from college!

SPEAKER MOHA BOUACHA—HISTORY OF MOROCCO: The Club is fortunate to have Moha as an active Club member and to explain the history of Morocco where he lived. Moha spent a year in New Jersy as an exchange student. He went back to Morocco where he taught English in High school for five years until he came back to U.S. for Graduate school in 1976 where he earned an MBA in International Management. This gave him an opportunity to be a global citizen as he worked in French and Arabic speaking countries as a Marketing representative for a few years. In 1984, he joined Kellogg School of Management in Northwestern University until he retired after 29 years.

The presentation covered a brief overview of the rich history of Morocco where a Homo Sapiens skull was discovered that dates back 350 thousand years. Morocco’s geographical location determined a lot of its history. Indigenous Berber inhabitants ruled North Africa for thousands of years before the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Vandals, and the Byzantines conquered and ruled the area in alliances and collaboration with Berbers monarchs and tribes. The Muslim conquest in the end of the 8th century marked another historical direction in the country. Berber tribes were converted into Islam while keeping some of their customs and culture. Oppression and subjection to taxes and exploitation by Arab Caliphates led to revolts by the Berbers and the creation of successive dynasties that ruled vast empires in North Africa and parts of Europe. Among these are the Almoravids and the Almohads. The current dynasty of Alaouites which has been ruling Morocco since 1660 was the first government to recognize the American Independence as sovereign nation. King Mohammed the third gifted the new country its first diplomatic mission estate in the world in Tangiers and signed the first and oldest friendship treaty with the US that has lasted over 200 years.

The Moroccan political system is a constitutional monarchy where the king has absolute power over military and religious affairs. He also appoints the prime minister from the party with most representatives to the bicameral parliament in a multi-party system through elections every five years. The current government is a coalition of three parties. Population and Ethnic groups. The two major ethnic groups are Berbers (Amazigh) and Arabs. Two groups that are hard to distinguish since they have been intermarrying for thousands of years. There is also a large Jewish population which enjoyed great protection by the king of Morocco from the Nazi and Vichy regime during WW2, has been diminishing since the 60s.

Economy: Moroccan economy has seen major improvements for the last thirty years. It has seen large investments in infrastructure (highways, high speed trains) manufacturing (cars and aeronautics) and agriculture and fishery products. It remains the first exporter of phosphates/fertilizer and has two thirds of the world’s reserves. Morocco is also a major leader in renewable energy with one of the largest solar energy farms in the south where they have 360 days of sunshine. Plans to export electricity to Europe are under way with plans to provide 20% of electric consumption in England.

For more information on Morocco, go to many google sites such as:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco

https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco

The following YouTube video symbolizes the Moroccan culture of tolerance and harmony. It is from the Pope’s visit to Morocco in 2019. This shows a Muslim man , a Jewish lady, and Christian lady performing their religious prayer led by the Casablanca orchestra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MnncEU_gks

Temps musical à l'institut Mohammed VI de formation des imams [EXTRAIT]

Voyage apostolique du Pape François au Maroc les 30 et 31 mars 2019. Retrouvez toutes les vidéos du pape François au Maroc : http://www.ktotv.com/pape-francois/pape-francois-au-maroc Le Pape François au Maroc du 30/03/2019.

www.youtube.com

Meeting Notes November 9

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker. There were 15 members present and 3 members

joining us on Zoom. Robert’s Guest was Bruce Seitzer and David’s guest was Paul Getzendanner; Al

Horner (Bill Leske’s guest); and Debra Campbell (a local therapist who was a recent Rotary

speaker).

The following invocation was a special Thanksgiving “thought for the day” composed and

presented by Robert Mardirossian: “Gracious God, during this season of Thanksgiving, we ask

that you keep us mindful of our responsibilities to family, friends, Rotary, our community, our

Country and all countries and all people. We give thanks for the blessings you have so

graciously and generously bestowed upon us. Let us strive to use these blessings to enhance the

lives of others throughout the world and to promote peace in whatever ways we can. Amen. “

Dig N Grin was handled by Fred Schwimmer who presented several questions raised many

years ago by his 1940 Crow Island classmate, Dan Leonard, demonstrating why our English

language is so difficult to understand!! For example—How can a slim chance and a fat chance be

the same? How does a house burn down when it burns up?

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb reminded everyone that our November 16th meeting is when we

continue our long standing Thanksgiving tradition of purchasing groceries in bulk and bagging

them to be given to families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in

Chicago’s North of Howard neighborhood. We hope to provide over 150 bags of groceries and

have a fundraising goal of $4,000, so all checks and pledges are still welcome.

The New Trier Swing Choir, Nate Landes (conducting), is scheduled to perform for our

December 7th meeting at the WCH location. This is a great opportunity to invite family, friends

and potential Club members to hear outstanding seasonal music.

Rich welcomed help/participation from Club members to pass out coats and books to needy

Chicago youth at the Budlong Woods Library on Nov. 11th from 12:30-3:00 pm and at the

Uptown Library Branch on Nov. 26th from 12:30 to 3:00 pm. Contact Rich for

more details.

HAPPY BUCKS: Moha Bouacha was happy to announce that his Moroccon preschool project

raised $600. Bob Baker was happy due to his daughter’s recent career change which will benefit

her in the long run. Robert was happy to have his good friend, Bruce Seitzer, attend today’s

Rotary meeting.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: Tony had a birthday on Nov. 1; Jeanne Beckman

became a Club member 35 years ago, Lee Padgitt 30 years ago, Rich Lalley 19 years ago, and

Dave Birkenstein 14 years ago.

SPEAKER Susan Resko, CEO and President of the Josselyn Center (hereafter JC) was

introduced by David Grant who said that in recent years the JC has provided

about 50% of all not-for-profit mental health services in New Trier Township. Susan reported that JC has been providing such services on the North Shore for over 70 years. It’s main facility is in Northfield

(just north of Starbuck’s and the Northfield restaurant). It has similar facilities in Waukegan,

Highland Park, Northbrook, and has just recently taken over the Stepan Company office building

in Highwood. It’s clinical services are fully accredited and include therapy, Psychiatry, Supported

Employment and a walk-in clinic. It’s services are covered partially by Medicaid and Medicare

and it offers a sliding fee scale based on income eligibility. It also has a camp for specialized

adolescents and kids 7 to 16 years old.

40% of its patients are under 30 years of age. It has an “Intensive Outpatient Program” for

young people who require more than just weekly therapy. Depression, self-esteem and suicide

prevention are important treatment programs. The Northfield facility (also referred to as the

“living room”) is open daily from 7 am to midnight to serve young people. The Highwood

facility is also referred to as “The Illinois Trust Services of Highwood” and it appeals to many

migrant children who are trying to adjust to a new community and have language problems. JC

has approximately 40 bilingual staff members to help the communication process.

More information about JC can be found on the website “Josselyn Center.org” and click on

“About Us”.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm with the recitation of

the Rotary 4 Way Test.

Meeting Notes October 26

Posted by David Grant

President Bob led today’s meeting with 13 in-person Rotarians, and 1 guest: Ron Bernardi.

Announcements: Bob inducted a new member today: Ken Drummet. Ken has been a Rotarian for 27 years before joining our Club. He moved to the Mews in Winnetka recently. David Birkenstein is his sponsor.

Happy Bucks:

Bill is happy that he saw Rich on TV recently being interviewed about Operation Warm.

Ron: Is happy to shake the hand of the world’s newest Rotarian!

Fred: Is happy for the best showing of leaves on the trees in Winnetka this fall that he can remember. He is also happy about the stellar community contributions that Terry Dason makes for the Chamber of Commerce and particularly the farmers market, and for all that Barb Tubekis does for the Volunteer Center.

Speaker: Steve Anderson is the New Trier Township Community Partnerships Coordinator. The township donates more than $1.5 million to 34 agencies that reach a population of 57,000 township residents. More than 2,000 of those residents live under the poverty line and require services.

Share Your Bounty 2023

Posted by Barb Tubekis on Oct 26, 2023

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco and club members will bag the groceries at our November 16th meeting.

Please donateto help us provide post-holiday groceries to these families in need. You can bring a check or cash to a lunch meeting, make a pledge by emailing your pledge to info@wnrotary.org, or donate online by clicking here: DONATE NOW. We hope to provide over 150 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $4,000. We already have a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation for $1,760. This will be easy if everyone contributes.

Please donate by November 12.

Meeting Notes October 5

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

There were 12 Rotarians present, and one on Zoom. One guest: previous speaker Debra Campbell, who is considering membership.

President Bob called the meeting to order at 12:20. He shared a thought on behalf of David Birkenstein that every day we wake up is a gift, and we ought to dedicate a portion of each day to helping others. Greeter Wes led us in the Pledge.

Announcements:

Next week we will meet at the Glencoe Community Garden to assist them with year-end cleanup. Wear casual clothes, and sign up for a box lunch with Barb if you’d like to eat!
The following week our Board Meeting will take place during lunch, in lieu of a speaker. All are welcome to attend the meeting. A memorial service for Rodger Morris will be held by his family at the Community House beginning at 2:30. Obituary for Rodger is here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/rodger-morris-obituary?id=53154839
The Moroccan relief fund link is now live on our website. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/morocco-earthquake-relief
The Operation Warm benefit is next Friday! If you cannot attend, bid on silent auction items here: https://event.gives/opwarm23&main=0/items

Birthday: Brooke Peppey

Rotary Anniversaries: Bob Baker, Denise Dubravec. Felicia O’Malley

No Happy Bucks

Dig N Grin: Bob filled in for Barb with some “This Day in History” facts.

David Grant introduced our speaker, Siim Soot, a Winnetka resident who is Honorary Vice Consul of Estonia. He shared his personal history as a native Estonian and many interesting facts about Estonia, past and present.

The meeting adjourned with reciting the 4-Way Test at 1:30.

Morocco Earthquake Relief

Around 11 pm on Friday September 8th, the strongest earthquake in more than a century struck Morocco. Moha Bouacha grew up in Timoulilt, a small village at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Moha says that while his village suffered some damage, villages higher and deeper in the mountains were devastated. Over 3,000 people died and 5,500 injured. Some villages were reduced to rubble and 80% of their population perished. According to a UN report, 50,000 homes were destroyed and 300,000 people were affected in the three regions close to the epicenter, including the historical cities of Marrakech and Taroudant.

While Moha was President of the Belvidere, IL Rotary Club, he began a relationship between the club and Timoulilt Association for Development (ATD), an NGO in Timoulilt, Morocco. ATD is focused on the socio-economic development of Timoulilt and its region. They have partnered on projects with The Rotary Foundation on a Global Grant administered by the Rotary Clubs of Casablanca and Belvidere; USAID and the European Union and many other International aid organizations.

Here is a video recapping early earthquake relief efforts conducted by ATD shortly after the quake.

Donations to support long term recovery efforts organized by ATD can be made here.
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/morocco-earthquake-relief

Operation Warm Benefit Party

Join us at this year's Operation Warm Benefit Party on Friday October 13 at Valley Lo club in Glenview. Entertainment provided by Gerald McLendon, "The Soulkeeper." Proceeds provide new winter coats from Operation Warm to Chicago area children living in need, including at neighborhood library events.
Learn about our impact with Operation Warm.

Buffet Dinner. Cash Bar.
Auction & Raffle

REGISTER HERE OR DONATE

View & Bid on Auction Items Here

Meeting Notes September 21

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker. There were 18 members present along with our guest

speaker Debra Campbell and former Club member Jeanne Beckman. Bob started the meeting with a

tribute to Rodger Morris, long time Rotarian in our Club who passed away Sept. 18 in Hospice.

Rodger was a Past President and Treasurer for our Club and presided over the induction of 16

Paul Harris Fellows including the first woman in Africa to become a PH Fellow—Christine

Kijange who is now Director of the Montessori School in Entebbe Uganda which our Club help

start and helped Ms. Kijange come to the US and receive her Montessori Teacher Training in

Deerfield, Illinois. Rodger was also President of The Winnetka Bank (now the Chase Bank).

His contribution to our Club and community will be long remembered. His memorial service is

pending and will be announced when finalized.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Liz Taylor reported on the success of the Winnetka Farmers’ Market

where she and Barb Tubekis recently attended to our Club’s table and Liz discovered how many

people in the community know Barb (Liz is pretty well known as well!)

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: September is a big month for birthdays—those

celebrating are Heather Higgins, Wes Baumann, Terry Dason, Liz Taylor and Robert

Mardirossian (who celebrates his birthday and wedding anniversary almost on the same day).

Not only did Robert provide chocolate cake to all, but he insisted on everyone singing the HB

song, for which he gave a generous contribution to the Club. Former Club Member Jeanne Beckman

said that she hasn’t been very active in the Club recently but is having a birthday coming up and

her advice for aging is to “be kind and not cruel” and try to do a good deed every day.

DIG N GRIN: Fred pulled some old chestnuts out of his humor file that he has collected over the

years from his old friend Dan who was in Fred’s Crow Island 1940 kindergarten class. Fred’s

examples of such humor were-- the difference between “intellect and stupidity” is that intellect

has its limits; and that often “the good old days” are neither good or old.

SPEAKER DEBRA CAMPBELL, CENTER FOR ENHANCED HEALTH—"Quick tips to

improve your health”. Debra has been a licensed massage therapist for over 30 years with

offices in Winnetka. She used a 10 page power point which contained lots of useful information

on this subject such as—we should sleep 8 hours a night, should engage in daily physical

movement every waking hour for at least 5 minutes, should generate energy with joy and

gratitude, should have 60-80 grams of protein and less than 20 grams of sugar daily, should

reduce multitasking, should learn to meditate, and should choose our food for its value and add

supplements. She also explained the importance of CoQ10 to help convert food into energy, to

improve symptoms of congestive heart failure, to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol

levels, to decrease frequency of headaches, and to help improve your overall physical

performance.

After an active Q and A session, the meeting ended around 1:30 with the reciting of Rotary’s 4-

Way Test.

Meeting Notes August 31

Posted by David Grant

President Bob led today’s meeting with 12 in-person Rotarians, 3 guests, and 1 zoomer.

Visiting Rotarians: Two visiting Rotarians from the North Branch Club: Asssistant Governor Sonia Martin and John Baier. Mark Duart from the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Club has family here in Winnetka and was curious to see our Club in action.

Announcements:

Bob announced that the Buffalo Grove Club duck race is this month, and Glenview Sunrise Club also has a fundraiser event.
Rich sent email invites to all of us for the Operation Warm event on 10/13.

Happy Bucks:

Robert contributed because he likes how Bob starts each meeting with a moment to breath and be present.

Speaker: Fellow Rotarian Moha Bouacha led us through some Sung Tai Chi moves including parting the horses tail, and cobra and crane fighting.

Meeting Notes August 24

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired and started off with two deep breaths led by Chair Bob Baker. There were 14 members present and one on Zoom. Matthew Butler handled Dig N Grin and Wes Baumann gave the “thought” of the day which was “Success comes from Good Decisions--Good Decisions come from Experience—Experience comes from mistakes—and you learn from your mistakes-- Forecasts may tell you a great deal about the forecaster but tell you nothing of the future!"

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Our speaker next week (August 31) will be our own Club Member Moha Bouacha giving us information and a demonstration on Tai Chi. Members will need to bring their own water to our meetings starting next week and the plastic or can containers will be recycled by the member. Our good friend and supporter Ron Bernardi is celebrating his 80th birthday on September 1 with an open house at the Sunset Foods store in Northbrook from 2 to 6 PM with food, music, door prizes, etc. Rich announced an interesting sports related activity hosted this week by the Philadelphia Eagles football team where they are giving away 3 sports bras to each girl in need at a local high school to encourage them to continue to work and excel at the sport of their choice. Rich also announced that NASCAR is a big supporter of Operation Warm and that this next Saturday, the number two driver on the circuit (Denny Hamlin) will be driving a car with a large “Operation Warm” logo on its side. Rich also reminded us of Operation Warm’s Benefit Party at Valley Lo Club on Oct. 13 from 6:00 to 11:00 PM.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP Anniversaries were announced: Brooke Peppey 27 years, Peter Skalski 31 years and Sam Badger 10 years in our Club, but many other years in other area Rotary Clubs.

SPEAKER JASMINE RICHMAN, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FOR HOLIDAY HEROES. Holiday Heroes is a not- for- profit organization that is in its 15th year of providing entertainment in several hospitals throughout the Midwestern states to hospitalized children of all ages and illnesses. Such programs include costume parties, sports and arts activities, musical programs, and providing gifts that are enjoyed by children of all ages. Since it is a not- for- profit organization, it relies heavily on donations and volunteers to do most of the entertaining and party activity, including the bagging of sports items, balloons, baseball cards etc. This is where our Rotarians were asked to use their skills in filling over 200 bags of games, toys, balloons, etc. for Holiday Heroes to pass on to hospitalized children. Although our hand dexterity was a little out of practice at the start, by the end of our half hour bagging toys we all became pretty efficient, which was greatly appreciated by Jasmine.

At 1:30 we were all relieved to end the meeting with the reciting of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Meeting Summary August 10

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

There were 11 Rotarians in person, no one on Zoom. Our guest was Debra Puce from Counseling Center of the North Shore.

President Bob called the meeting to order at 12:20.

Fred offered a Thought, reminding us to take note of the lovely trees in our village.

Announcements:

Our board began discussing the Centennial celebration. We invite any members who is interested in planning for this year of events to join a committee. Patti and Fred are already on the committee.
The foundation will be doing further research on a project in Uganda. We have raised funds to support a project, and will be investigating whether we support this project or another.

Happy Bucks:

Barb shared that they had a hair-raising flight into the Aspen airport. However, their stay in CO was awesome.
Tony shared that he and Carolyn recently celebrated their 62^nd wedding anniversary.

Dig N Grin – Bob shared some “This Day in History” facts on behalf of Heidi.

Program: Sydney Clark and Betsy Arlenbenow provided us with an update on what’s going on at our libraries. There’s a LOT going on at our libraries! They also shared some of their favorite recent reads. Powerpoint available upon request.

We concluded the meeting with the 4-way-test at 1:30.

Meeting Summary July 20

The meeting was chaired by President Bob Baker. There were 18 members present along with the 3 guest speakers. Bob handled the “thought for the day” by referring to a quote given at a 1956 Rotary Convention about the importance of Rotarians using their minds, hearts and spirit in performing their duties as Rotarians.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Amy announced that the next “Thirsty Thursday” in the WCH garden will be August 3rd from 5 to 8 PM with the Replay Band performing.There will be a cash bar and “pizza truck” available to add to the fun.
Bill Leske announced that our Rotary Club will have a tent at the July 26th“Market and Music” event at Clarkson Park in Northfield from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at which we have a chance to display Rotary materials and to greet the many guests of all ages that are showing up at these Market and Music events every Thursday night during the summer — volunteers should contact Bill to participate.

HAPPY BUCKS: Barb and Patti reported on their role in recently hosting a Rotarian from the United Kingdom. Barb mentioned that her visitor from the UK had been here all week. He is Director of a Volunteer Center in England.

Barb and Patti hosted a newly-formed group of volunteers at Little Honeycomb last Wednesday. The purpose of this group will be to do service projects in our communities, in the name of our Club. The intent is to raise awareness of Rotary in our Centennial year and to enhance our motto of Service Above Self. This is not initially intended to be a Satellite Club, but may evolve into one.

DIG N GRIN: Bill Leske handled this part of the program by giving us dates on which special world events occurred.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: Amy’s birthday was July 10 and Mary Lou Bilder-

Gold’s was July 14; Julie Tye celebrated 7 years and Patti 16 years as Rotarians.

GUEST SPEAKERS: We are privileged to have three outstanding members from the Gleview Sunrise Rotary Club speak to us today. Their home club meets weekly at 7:00am to do good things for Rotary.

MARCIA CEBULA started by explaining some of the projects undertaken by the Sunrise Club such as attending a Rotary International Convention on “peace and mental illness”. Other topics covered there were eradicating diseases in addition to polio, providing needy communities with low cost medicine, clean drinking water, quality medical care and education to the children. Marcia also reported on the service trip that 10 members of the Glenview “Sunrise” group took last February to Uganda with some other Rotary Clubs participating. Their main project was to help repair and construct a local school attended by preschool to 7th graders and to buy needed school supplies and sports/recreational equipment since the local government there only pays the salaries of the teachers but does not pay for any other expenses of operation. Marcia also summarizied what Rotary is doing in Uganda to improve the health of expectant mothers and newborns.

DEE SANTUCCI then explained her experience on this Uganda trip which included a safari in a

National Park where they were introduced to gorillas of all ages and sizes, but all were very

friendly as long as they had green trees/bushes to consume! She also attended several days on

their school project as well as attending a local Rotary meeting (where the attendees seemed to

be more serious than their American counterparts!)

CECILIA HAGIST (a Northfield resident and local school teacher who grew up in Mexico City and whose grandfather was a longtime Rotarian there) then talked about the importance of engaging our “youth” in Rotarian activities and how much her 16 year old daughter, Anna, benefited so much by going on the Uganda trip described above. She also mentioned that the Interact program at New Trier High School was discontinued when the assigned New Trier teacher/advisor retired and has not been replaced. She suggested that our Club may want to review and take action to reinstate this program at New Trier. She then explained what she and her daughter, Anna, are doing to try to establish an Interact program at the Skokie Jr. High School in Northfield. Through the efforts of the Hagist family and the Sunrise Glenview Club there may be many of the 40-50 students in the7th and 8th grades at this Junior High School who would be interested in this extracurricular school activity if there is a teacher who is willing to serve as the advisor, which Cecilia is working on. Rotary requires a minimum of 5 members to start the Interact program.

After a short Q and A period, the meeting ended around 1:30 with the recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Test.

Meeting Summary June 29

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by our tremendous outgoing duo of Patti and Barb. All members have voiced their appreciation to both for the great job they have done for our Club!!

There were 15 members present at the meeting and 2 attended via Zoom. David Birkenstein handled the “thought of the day” by referring to both Eric Hoffer (American Philosopher and West Coast Longshoreman) and Steve Jobs who both thought it was better to do your own “thinking” and not waste time on letting others do it for you. Guest for the day was Linda Monty, Wellness Director of Limitless Health and Wellness, who was quickly asked to be a future speaker for us since she knows lots about healing the body naturally with “stem cells healing.”

There were no birthdays or anniversaries, but Patti did mention that the undersigned has just past his 10^th year as one of the Club’s regular scribes. She and David Grant have also been doing such Club scribe duty for a considerable time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti mentioned that one of our Club members reported that former Club member Rodger Morris still lives in his house but has recently lost a couple of his favorite pets. She then passed around a greeting card which was signed for presentation to Rodger.

Amy mentioned that her Thirsty Thursday event will be held again on the south side of the Community House on July 6 from 5 to 8 PM complete with band, and your favorite beverages and goodies. There is no admission charge for this event.

Rich announcd that our Club has donated over $2000 to the Rotary Club International Foundation so far this year. He also awarded Liz Taylor her Paul Harris fellowship pin “plus One” for her contributions.

Rich announced that on July 13^th the Wilmette and Evanston Rotary Clubs are sponsoring a noon reception at which Gordon McInally, President of Rotary International, will be the main speaker—the lunch will be catered at a $20 price.

HAPPY BUCKS: Bill Leske gave HB for the great jobs Patti and Barb did as our leaders over the last year; Liz Taylor gave HB because of the very successful and interesting installation dinner that the Club recently had at the Happ Inn in Northfield; Patti gave HB for her daughter being very close to having a baby, which would be Patti’s 4^th grandchild; and Moha gave in celebration of his Muslim holiday.

SPEAKER TERRY DASON, DIRECTOR OF WNG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Terry (with the assistance of some long time Winnetka residents with good memories) gave a very important presentation on what is happening with several North Shore businesses. Terry volunteered to document this information for distribution to Club members so it can be shared with those who are interested in doing their shopping with the local merchants/establishments. This report will be distributed to all Club members in the near future.

After a lively discussion about local events and merchants, the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 with the recitation of Rotary’s 4 Way Test.

Meeting Summary June 8

Posted by Keith Reed

Co-Chair Barb conducted the meeting starting at 12:15. Thought of the day was given by Bob Sanfilippo who gave us some philosophical sayings including one from Adam Smith. There were 15 members present but no one on Zoom. Heidi was the Greeter and reported that there were no guests present. There were no birthdays celebrated but Club anniversaries recognized were Pat O’Day (44 yrs.), Keith Reed (10 yrs.), Wes Baumann (38 yrs.) and Kelly Tess (1 yr.).

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Members were reminded of the Installation dinner for our new officers, especially for Bob Baker, our new President, a position he has held several times in the past. We will also be honoring outgoing Co-chairs Patti and Barb for a job “well done”.

Installation will be the Happ Inn in Northfield at 6:00 to about 8:30 PM but you need to call in your reservation register online by end of day, June 15 from the email invitation or details and registration can be done on our Club website or from the email sent June 8th.
It is also important to note that our next Club meeting on June 15th will be at the North Shore Senior Center, 161Northfield Road in Northfield, in the Jacoby Room at our usual time 12:15. The Honeycomb Restaurant will be catering lunch and the NSSC will be providing speakers about the NSSC’s many programs and on their “memory care” programs and taking our members on a tour of their premises.

HAPPY BUCKS: Moha gave some HB due to a very nice trip he recently took to an oceanside resort with plenty of warm weather and enjoyable ocean activities. David Grant gave a HB but only to warn members of the problem his 31 year daughter had a few days ago while walking downtown Chicago near the Sears Tower during lunchtime when she was accosted by a man who demanded her cellphone—when she resisted, a gentleman close by stepped in to stop the activity and to push away the attacker at which time the attacker knocked the gentleman down on the sidewalk and ran away before the police could arrive to administer aid to the injured gentleman. David’s daughter wasn’t hurt in this confrontation and managed to keep control of her cellphone, but David thought it important to report this type of activity to our members who frequent downtown Chicago.

DIG N GRIN: Fred was in charge with a list of Zen comments that he had received 7 years ago from an old friend he has known for over 80 years.

GUEST SPEAKER EMILY MYSEL: SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER OF FAMILY SERVICE of GLENCOE SPEAKING ON THE BASICS OF DEMENTIA: Emily was originally from the Glencoe area but spent much of her youth in Central Illinois and then graduated from Miami of Ohio. She has spent 21 of her 40 years working in the “family service area, primarily on the North Shore in developing and administering Glencoe’s very successful “Dementia Friendly Program”. She defined dementia as a loss of cognitive functioning in thinking, remembering, keeping track of personal items, missing appointments, wandering away from home, or even fading visual perception. The different kinds of dementia are Alzheimer’s, Vascular, Lewy Body and Frontotemporal. Alzheimer’s has no current cure, but work is being done on research to treat and prevent it from developing. It is the 6th leading cause of deaths in the U.S. with close to 6 million Americans having some form of it. Illinois is considered a very “friendly dementia state” with several community-based services and many corporations developing programs to study and treat those suffering from the disease. For example: Glencoe trains its employees and safety personnel how to handle people who seem to be suffering from dementia—the Village encourages residents to fill out a health form to be kept in an accessible place in the home (like a freezer) to list the medications and any other dementia signs of the resident so that safety or police officers know how to handle a dementia problem if called to that home. Glencoe offers dementia “consultation” services to those residents suffering from the condition. The state of Illinois is not only considered to be “dementia friendly” but it has as many as 26 Illinois communities with extensive programs to recognize those persons with the condition and helping them get proper attention and treatment. Emily told of her Father’s experience with dementia and Alzheimer’s before he died at age 69. She suggested that we can all help those with this dreaded condition by educating ourselves on the disease and symptoms/treatments therefore; check in with those you know who are suffering from the disease or have family members affected; and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you or a loved one show signs of the disease. Emily had a very informative power point which she is willing to email to you upon request. She can be reached at 847-461-1668 or by email at emily@familyserviceofglencoe.org. Our regular meeting ended at about 1:30 with the reciting of Rotary’s 4-way test.

Meeting Minutes May 18

Posted by Keith Reed

The meeting was chaired by Bob Baker with the assistance of Patti and Barb. The installation dinner for the new officers is scheduled for June 20 @ 5 to 8 pm at the WCH—with one important change in the evening plans. In the past, the Club paid for the dinner and drinks—this year the Club is asking the members to bring their own alcoholic drinks and keep them at their tables.

There were 13 members present at the meeting and 2 hooked in by Zoom. Guests were Don Crost from the Bonita Naples Rotary Club; John Bair from the North Chicago Club; and Tim Keefe (hosted by Bill Leske).

BIRTHDAYS: May birthdays already recognized were Bob Baker, Joe Fell, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave, Sylwia Pacyk and David Grant. But the birthday that was on May 18 was Fred Schwimmer. Thus, Fred insisted that he have the birthday song sung for him and in exchange therefore he generously donated one piece of U.S. paper currency!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb and Patti announced that on June 21 we are going to have a different sort of Rotary meeting in the evening around dinner time (TBA) to be held at a local restaurant (probably The Honeycomb). This idea came out of the recent Club meeting where we discussed new ideas for meetings, meeting times, and new community service projects. The June 21 meeting will be open not only to Club members but also to others who may have suggestions for future “community service projects”.

Rich announced that Don Crost’s truck trip from Naples to Evanston raised over $1200 from our Club for the Rotary Foundation. Rich also reminded regular Club members that they are expected to donate at least $100 a year to the Rotary Foundation for it to provide its many programs.

Patti, Barb, and Rich reported on their attendance at Rotary’s recent District Conference and especially the reports describing the many good things that women Rotarians are doing under the Rotary banner—they were unanimous in saying that “the future of Rotary is in good hands.”

HAPPY BUCKS: Wes gave some HB in honor of Barb’s recently announced retirement from the Volunteer Center after many years of valuable and dedicated service. Don Crost donated due to all the support he received for his “truck from Naples to Evanston” trip. And Robert donated in honor of all the great service Rich has given our Club for all these many years.

DIG AND GRIN: Tony handled this part of the meeting by passing out a memo which he had prepared many “Mother’s Days ago” in honor of his mother. It listed 25 things that his mother “taught him over the years and why he loved her”.

SPEAKER: ERIC KLEIN, CERTIFIED SENIOR ADVISOR AND OWNER OF NORTHSHORE CAREPATROL, officed in Park Ridge, discussing “The Complexities of Aging and Understanding Your Care Options”.

As one of the highly recognized Senior Care Solutions Organizations in the country, CarePatrol helps families and individuals find the right care options for their loved ones based on their needs, budget, and location. These solutions may include: Assisted Living, Independent Living, Memory Care, Respite Care, In-Home Care, Nursing Homes, and Retirement Homes. Advisors from CarePatrol review the history of each care provider, generate a recommended list of care options based on individual needs and financial resources of the patient and help with the transition process. Advisors are available to accompany those people seeking medical assistance on their personalized tours with potential care providers to make sure they ask all the right questions. CarePatrol advisors can also refer other services to the family seeking senior care such as referrals to elder law attorneys, financial planners, and house call physicians.

CarePatrol mentions in its materials that their services are at very reasonable costs and sometimes these services are provided “at no cost to the senior or their family”. There wasn’t enough time in the Rotary meeting to engage in a conversation about who pays for these services, but the internet seems to mention that CarePatrol gets most of its revenues from referral payments made to them from the care providers that provide the services to the patients - such as a nursing/retirement home, a memory care facility or nurse staffing agency.

The presentation was very informative and timely for most of our members. The take-away is that your family will most likely experience someone having an aging problem; that hospitals basically get you well enough to be discharged, but don’t provide much post-discharge care; that there is a shortage of skilled employees providing these necessary services; that the cost of these aging services are going to continue to increase; and that most people wait too long to become knowledgeable about the “complexities of aging and their care options”. The speaker left his following contact information: eklein@carepatrol.com/ phone 847-653-1212

After reciting the 4-way Rotary pledge, the meeting was adjourned around 1:30.

Meeting Minutes April 27

Posted by David Grant

Barb led today’s meeting. She reminded us of the Volunteer Center Recognition event on 5/10 – tickets are available on their website.

Two visiting Rotarians attended:

Ken Drummond is a Mews neighbor and guest of David Birkenstein. He is a past Rotary President of the Lichfield, Il Club.
Deborah from the Wilmette Rotary Club shared the plans for the ‘Rotary Hope Walk for the Homeless.’

Significant Upcoming Rotary Dates:

Thursday, 5/4 Rotary lunch is the Pollinator Garden Service Project during our regularly scheduled meeting.Heidi Siebert and Martin Landscaping will be hosting this hands-on project where we help plant a garden at the WCH.Our Club received a District Grant which pays for ½ of this project.Heidi says: “Bring your planting gloves and wear your grubbies to the meeting and be prepared to hear about the birds and the bees!”
Saturday, 5/6 our Club is participating in the ‘Walk for the Homeless’ organized by the Rotary Club of Wilmette. It will be held in Gillson Park, beginning at 10AM.
Thursday, 5/11 is a social meeting at Avli restaurant in the Laundry Mall in lieu of our regular meeting location of the WCH that Thursday for lunch.No speaker – so come to enjoy the company of fellow Rotarians.
Saturday, 5/13 is the District Conference in Schaumberg.

Speaker: Elisha Gray brought the beauty of the Green Bay Trail into the WCH with a presentation about the ‘Friends of the Green Bay Trail.’ The FGBT is a non-profit organization founded 13 years ago to improve and advocate for the trail. Two Board members from the FGBT also joined Elisha – Ann Reilly & Craig Witty. We learned about cutting Buckthorn, collecting 15 million seeds from 53 different species of plants on the trail, and about educational programs given by the FGBT. Learn more about the trail and the organization at:

Green Bay Trail | (gbtrail.org)

Support for ShelterBox

At a recent club meeting, Donna Gulley gave us a great update on ShelterBox's disaster relief work in Turkey and Syria after the recent devastating earthquake.

Our club's Past President Don Crost (currently a member of the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs) also told us of his upcoming fundraising drive in support of ShelterBox. Don will be driving his 1953 Chevy truck from Naples Florida to Rotary Headquarters in Naples, stopping to speak at Rotary Clubs along the way and generating news coverage and new supporters for ShelterBox.

Here's his first news story from the Southwest Florida NBC tv station:
https://nbc-2.com/news/story2share/2023/03/24/in-his-1953-chevy-truck-naples-rotarian-traveling-cross-country-for-worthy-cause/

At our recent meeting, we pledged to renew our support of ShelterBox. You may contribute to this critical disaster relief work by donating here:
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/shelterbox-drive-for-hope

Thank you for all you do through Rotary to make the world a better place.

Meeting Minutes March 9

Posted by David Grant

Barb led today’s meeting.

Donation Opportunities:

Through our Winnetka-Northfield Charitable Foundation you can donate to these Rotary Humanitarian Disaster Relief projects:

Don Crost’s Little Blue Truck trip from Florida to Evanston, which will support Shelterbox relief going to Turkey
Operation Warm is sending clothing to Turkey/Syria.

Announcements: Once again, and thanks to the generous donations of visitors to the WCH, the donation collection box in the lobby of the WCH is full, so several Rotarians took the donated food items to the New Trier Food Pantry. The box will continue to collect items thru the end of March.

Speaker: Today Jim Balcer joined us via zoom to talk about his experiences as a Chicago City Alderman in the 11^th Ward for 4 terms from 1997 – 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party, a proud resident of Bridgeport, and was appointed by Mayor Richard Daley in 1997. During the Vietnam War Jim was awarded a bronze star as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. After the war he worked in Veteran’s Affairs, and advocated for Veterans’ rights in Chicago.

Community Service

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

The Community House is collecting non-perishable foods and household goods for the New Trier Township Food Pantry. Club members and visitors to the Community House are encouraged to bring items on Thursday or whenever you are visiting the Community House. A large bin for drop offs is located at the front desk. Club members are asked to monitor the bin and take items to the Food Pantry when full.

This new service project collaboration will be ongoing, with a new recipient identified quarterly.

Meeting Minutes February 23

Posted by Keith Reed

Co-chairs Patti and Barb presided. There were 15 members present and 3 on Zoom. One year old Selah and 3 year old Lissette also attended with their parents, Natalie and James Crockett, the speakers for the program.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: Pat O’Day birthday on Feb. 12; Jeanne Beckman birthday on Feb. 23; and Felicia O’Malley birthday on Feb. 24. Tom Nash 9 years in Club as of Feb. 13; Rick Boerjesson 5 years in Club as of Feb. 22.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Everyone was reminded of our Kids Against Hunger project set for this coming Saturday in Matz Hall and that we still need volunteers for set up on Friday and clean up on Saturday. This year our donation will go to Syria as opposed to Nicaragua, as in past years.

DIG N GRIN: Heidi Sibert did a great job in conducting a Q & A session with prizes given for correct responses. Liz , Moha and John Zeddies were some of the lucky winners! Some of the information reported was that the front page of the Club’s newsletter states that we are a “people of passion”: and Rich noted that 118 years ago today, the Rotary Club held its first membership meeting in the office of Chicago attorney Paul Harris.

SPEAKERS NATALIE AND JAMES CROCKETT FROM C24/7 Father’s Arms Ministries (located at 1543 Howard Street, Unit 1, Chicago, Illinois 60626.) Website is c247fam.org.

James started by explaining that he grew up on Chicago’s southside in a fairly typical Black family. He had several siblings (at least 3 of them died young), the Father was not at home much, his Mother was a strong person of faith who provided for her family on a very modest income and was very supportive of her children in an effort to keep them from using drugs and at the same time encouraging them to be active in the Church. Notwithstanding the good efforts of his Mother, James did fall off the rail during his teenage years, got involved in gang activity and ended up spending 7 ½ years in prison. It was at that time he realized that he wanted to turn his life around to correct some of the problems he was observing in families in his community. Such problems as men searching for hope; children running the streets without direction; women needing support to raise their children; families going without food; and neighbors living in fear of violence and gang activity.

James then dedicated his life to being the “arms of a father to his community”. His organization C24/7 (Fathers Arms Ministries) was formed to learn about the needs of the community, to bring hope, care, safety, and purpose to those neighbors in need. This was done through “three pillars”—after school programs for high risk students to learn and grow spiritually, educationally and emotionally; a job development program providing job readiness skills and support to those seeking employment; and providing weekly men’s and women’s Bible studies, communal open gym time, counseling sessions and street ministry to help their neighbors cope with gang violence, teen drug use and to realize that these kids and young adults are loved and embraced by the ”arms of a loving father.”

Currently, C24/7 operates in a 500 square foot building at 1543 Howard Street; it has over 30 after school students using its programs and facility; it also provides a mental health program for the students as well as a well attended art program. It recently has teamed up with about 50 New Trier High School students who every Saturday morning collect food and other donations at Grand Foods (Winnetka) to be sent to the C24/7 operation. Currently, it gets about 60% of its funding from individual donors, 20% from area churches and the rest from foundations.

Meeting Minutes February 16

Posted by David Grant

Barb led today’s meeting. We had 14 members present in person, and 6 on zoom. Our Assistant Governor, Sonja Martinez, was the only guest.

Donation Opportunities:

There are 3 ways you can donate to Rotary Humanitarian Disaster Relief projects:

Our Kids Against Hunger event this Saturday 2/25 will be packing meals going to Syria this year, instead of Nicaragua as in years past.
Don Crost’s Little Blue Truck trip from Florida to Evanston, which will support Shelterbox relief going to Turkey
Operation Warm is sending clothing to Turkey/Syria.

Announcements:

Heidi is happy that almost all of the Kids Against Hunger spots are filled for Saturday. She still needs volunteers to help set up on Friday, and to tear-down on Saturday around 4:00pm.
Bob is back from Florida.He put on his Foundation Chair hat to tell us that this year the Foundation will match gifts to the same charities the Foundation is funding:any individual will be matched up to $250, and the matching will be capped at $1,000.

Happy Bucks:

Amy is happy that the donation collection box in the lobby of the WCH is full, so several Rotarians volunteered to help get the goods to the New Trier Food Pantry.The box will continue to collect items thru the end of March.
Fred has a donation in honor of Joyce Bishop, the mother of last week’s Rotary speaker.Fred knew her as the “Queen of Winnetka” when she was the facility manager of the WCH.
Heidi called our attention to a Lester Holt news report featuring Heidi’s home town of Chilicothe, which just donated a fire engine to the Ukraine.
Tony is happy he was one of the founding members of NSSRA.

Dig N Grin: Sylwia entertained us with a few questions like: What does a house wear? (a dress)

Speaker: NSSRA is the Norther Suburban Special Recreation Association. They are an extension of ten park districts, two cities, and one village in the northern suburbs of Chicago. They enrich the lives of people with disabilities and have been creating an environment of belonging through play since 1970, and have the distinction as the first Special Recreation Association in the country. We heard from Jessica Olaga, who works in HR. They employ 22 full-time staff and more than 400 seasonal employees in the summer.

Share Your Bounty 2022

Posted by Barb Tubekis on Nov 03, 2022

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco and club members will bag the groceries at our November 17th meeting.

Please consider a donation to help us provide post-holiday groceries to these families in need. You can bring a check or cash to our November 14 meeting, make a pledge by emailing your pledge to info@wnrotary.org, or donate online by clicking here: DONATE NOW. We hope to provide over 100 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $2,000. This will be easy if everyone contributes.

We will also need volunteers to pick up the groceries on Thanksgiving morning and deliver them to Good News Partners. We will meet at 9:15 at Skokie school, load up our cars, and drive to Good News Partners. You'll be back home before 11.

Local Citizens Joining Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield with Benefit Party to Support Operation Warm- Coats for Kids in Need in Chicagoland

A team of local citizens is throwing a benefit party to support the Operation Warm program of the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield. This will be the fourth time in five years for this fun event that brings warmth, confidence and hope to Chicago area children living in need with the gift of a brand new winter coat.

The party will be held at Valley Lo Club in Glenview on Friday October 14 and features the soulful music of Gerald McClendon- “The Soulkeeper.” A buffet dinner will be served with a cash bar. A silent and live auction will enable attendees to acquire great items while supporting this important cause.

“Our club has partnered with Operation Warm since 2009 to bring new coats to thousands of Chicago area children,” said Barb Tubekis, Co-President of the club. “We are so grateful for the support of the community, especially the team of volunteers who plan this annual party that allows us to serve more children.”

Every Rotarian, Every Year- Contribute to The Rotary Foundation

As the 2021-22 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 SHARE Fund.

Year to date, we are 57% of the way to Presidents Bill and Greg's goal of $12,000 for the 2021-22 Rotary year.

Please thank these 20 Rotarians (plus our good friend Donna Goodman) for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Wes Baumann, Connie Berman, David Birkenstein*⁺, Eric Birkenstein, Moha Bouacha, Donna Goodman, David Grant*, Tony Kambich*, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley*^{+^}, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Lee Padgitt, Bob Sanfilippo, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Todd Stephens, Liz Taylor, Barb Tubekis, and Patti Van Cleave.
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year) ^Bequest Society

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 seven areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development, protecting our environment, 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 Operation Warm Soles, support for ShelterBox, last year's COVID-19 Response efforts, 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 $3,671, and next year we will can receive $4,876. But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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.

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.

Ukraine Relief Update

Our club has contributed to several significant Ukrainian relief efforts:

We provided nearly one quarter of the $40,000 sent to the Rotary Club of Kyiv International to support their extensive relief activity. The Rotary Club of River Cities has a sister club relationship with Kyiv International, and has been raising funds and transferring them to Ukraine. This support has allowed for the purchasing and distribution of tons of food, medicines and medical supplies and setting up of temporary refugee shelters. Here's a 45 minute video update from Ukraine of their remarkable efforts.

https://youtu.be/e2hDdJ8tf3E

We have contributed $3,000 and our Rotary Foundation District Designated Funds of over $2,200 to a Global Grant project in Lithuania that will provide mental health training to teachers and school psychologists in Lithuania to improve the ability to work with Ukrainian refugee children. We will have a detailed update on this project at our May 5 meeting.
The Rotary Foundation Disaster Relief Fund is providing grants to clubs and districts that are deploying humanitarian relief in and around Ukraine, and some of our members have contributed to that fund as well.
We participated on Saturday April 30 in a 50,000 meal food packing with Outreach Feed6 in Rolling Meadows.

Help for Chicago's Homeless

Our club has an opportunity again this holiday season to help Chicago's homeless. The Rotary Club of Wilmette is again working with the Sisters from Fraternite Notre Dame to provide needed items to 80 homeless people. Last year we provided sleeping bags. This year a long list of clothing and cold weather gear has been requested. Our club, along with the Rotary Club of Wilmette Harbor are joining together again for this meaningful year end project.

Most of the requested items have already been secured! At this writing, only a few dozen flashlights, portable propane heaters, and cooler bags are needed. You can help buy purchasing an item for less than $20.

There are 3 simple ways to contribute:

1- follow the link below to purchase one or several of the remaining items needed on this Amazon list

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/U2QT3Z5GDD3E?ref_=wl_share

Items will ship directly to the sisters. Very easy indeed!

2- Make a donation to the Rotary Club of Wilmette's fundraising page, and they will handle purchasing what's needed.

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/wilmette-rotary-club-foundation/2nd-annual-holiday-drive-for-homeless-in-chicago

3- Send you pledge to Rich Lalley and then bring a check made payable to WNRCF to an upcoming club meeting. Rich will pass your donation on to the Wilmette club.

Thank you for continuing to show your Rotary compassion and willingness to help those in need.

Every Rotarian, Every Year- Contribute to The Rotary Foundation

As the 2020-21 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 SHARE Fund.

Please thank these 21 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, David Birkenstein*⁺, Laura Cunningham, Joe Fell, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich, Rich Lalley*⁺, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Chuck Norton, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Fred Schwimmer*⁺, Peter Skalski, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave, and 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 COVID-19 Response efforts, 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 $3,600, and next year we will can receive $3,672. But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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 send a check to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club, c/o Bob Baker at Killian Plumbing at 933 Green Bay Rd, Winnetka 60093; 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.

Warm Soles Program Featured in Tribune

Our Warm Soles cooperative District Grant program was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune.

Suburban Rotary clubs team up to collect new shoes for children in need

Rotarians from Cook and Lake counties partnered with Operation Warm this month to provide 1,530 pairs of new shoes to area children.

The shoes were delivered to local nonprofit organizations and schools for distribution to families. The 11 participating Rotary clubs gathered Saturday morning at a Northbrook warehouse to pick and pack shoes for Operation Warm’s new Warm Soles program.

“It’s all about the kids, it’s all about taking care of the kids in the area,” said Bill Kolb of Zion, who delivered shoes to northeastern Lake County recipients.

Rotarian Gary Moriello of Northbrook helped deliver shoes to Waukegan.

“We have so much ourselves,” Moriello added, “and then to have a chance to give to somebody else who doesn’t have (new shoes) is a great idea.”

The program was funded from contributions from each participating club and a matching grant by Rotary District 6440 and The Rotary Foundation.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Send an Encouraging Note to Children Receiving New Shoes!

You can participate in our Warm Soles project that is giving new shoes to over 1,500 children in Rotary District 6440. Stop by the Community House (wearing a mask) and visit the front desk to pick up some of our Warm Thoughts greetings, find a seat and table, and write an encouraging note. Each child receiving a pair of new shoes will also receive one of our Warm Thoughts greetings, and would be great if they all had a personalized message.

Deadline for completing this is Thursday April 8.

Also, we will be “picking and packing” shoes at a warehouse in Northbrook on Saturday morning April 10. Let Rich know if you would like to participate.

Warm Soles- New Shoes for Kids Living in Need

Our club will be providing brand new shoes to children living in need as part of the Rotary District 6440 Warm Soles project. Each pair of shoes requires $6.50 when match by a Rotary District Grant. Our goal is to raise $1,000 to provide new shoes to 150 children. Shoes will go to NICASA North Chicago, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and Cool Learning Experience in Waukegan.

Nearly one in five children live in need. For their families, paying for food, housing, heat and healthcare takes priority. Many children may have to go without the cold weather essentials they need to stay healthy and active. Replacing quickly out-grown shoes can be extremely difficult for low-income and below poverty families.

Make you donation today.

Grants Committee Makes Annual Community Grants Awards

The board of the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation has awarded grants to the following organizations:

Blues Kids Foundation

Career Resource Center

Counseling Center of the North Shore

Good News Partners

Jhoole

North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic

The Volunteer Center

SamaraCare Counseling

Special Gifts Theater

Winnetka Youth Organization

The committee has set aside $700 to match additional donations by our members. If you would like to make a donation and have it matched, email Rich Lalley with the amount of your donation and which organization you are supporting. The foundation match will be awarded on a first come, first served basis, and is capped at $200 per member and $700 total. Contact Rich if you have any questions.

Meeting Recordings

One of the nice features of meeting virtually is that our meetings can be recorded. This of course depends on your meeting host (me) remembering to start the recording (sometimes I'm a bit late in starting it).

Here are links to view our recent meetings:

Meeting Notes January 28

Posted by Keith Reed

Chair Norton called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm with 19 members present. Fred Schwimmer gave the “thought of the day” which was an airplane pilot’s announcement to the passengers on “flight 2021” that they should remain in their seats during the flight, should be positive, grateful with no feelings of pity or anger, and at times a little prayer will help “flight 2021” be a better “flight” than was 2020.

We had one guest who has become a member of the Club. Liz Taylor introduced Sylwia Pacyk who is the Branch Manager of the new Wintrust Bank on Willow in Northfield. She has been with the Bank for four years, lives in Mundelein, and reported that the new Northfield branch is twice the size of the old location next to Stormy’s with 5 employees, a vaulted ceiling (no second floor) and a coin counting machine.

Bob Sanfilippo is celebrating a birthday and Chuck Norton has been a member of the Club for 23 years.

Announcements: Rich described a new “shoes for kids” program that the Club will be participating in—each Club will be expected to raise enough money to buy 1500 pairs of shoes for needy kids in the area. A question was raised about availability of Covid vaccine on the North Shore with the response being that things seem to be disorganized and vaccine appointments hard to obtain. Someone mentioned that the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce and Fire Department may be sources of information.

Happy Bucks: Robert Mardirossian contributed for having married a female Marine who was well trained in snow shoveling techniques!

Dig N Grin: Tom Evans gave a number of unintended results of the Covid restrictions including—it’s now the young kids who are yelling at their parents to stay home-- and Covid has done a couple of things that housewives have not been able to do, i.e. keep their husbands from continually watching football games and giving them more time to do chores around the house!!

Election of Officers and Directors: Those members present unanimously voted in favor of the following slates: Bill Leske/Greg Nelson for Co-Presidents as of 7/1/21; Rich Lalley for Treasurer/Secretary as of 7/1/21; Rick Boerjesson, Laura Cunningham, Heidi Sibert and Barb Tubekis for two-year terms on the Board of Directors effective 7/1/21—6/30/23. Under our Bylaws, Chuck Norton will continue to be a member of the Board as immediate Past President; and David Birkenstein, Eric Birkenstein, David Grant, Robert Mardirossian and John Thomas will continue as Board members for year 2021-2022.

Group discussions among members: Since we did not schedule a speaker for the meeting, those in attendance divided into two groups for the purpose of discussing possible speakers and topics for future meetings. The reports included the following suggestions for new speakers:

Speaker from U. of Chicago on financial status of Illinois, Cook County and Chicago (possibly Mike Belshie).
Speaker from Hoffman organization on North Shore real estate conditions (Terry Dason contacts and possibly Linda Martin and Steve Hudson).
Speaker from Chicago Architectural Foundation, Botanic Gardens, Holocaust Museum on tours and programs available to the public.
School administrator, teacher representative and possibly student to discuss what’s currently happening in our schools (Kate Donagan at Sears was suggested speaker)
Speaker from a performing arts programs to discuss how Covid restrictions have affected them.
Possible speaker from John Marshall Law School on what tax law changes to expect in 2021.
Author giving a review of his/her recently published book—e.g. Daughters of Yalta.
Having another dinner meeting with a speaker like book review actress Barbara Rinella.
Operation Greylord prosecutor and speaker Terry Hake.
Lawyer reporting on how Covid has affected operations of our court systems.
Tom Gump presentation on establishing satellite clubs as he has done in Minnesota.
Tik Tok presentation.

Other suggestions were to update the Club’s brochure and other marketing materials (may be International Rotary funds available); try to get list of new families moving to North Shore and contacting them re Rotary; consider going to a hybrid meeting (in person/Zoom) to get more members involved in meetings, as well as using Zoom to attract speakers; and maybe share the cost of hybrid meetings with the WCH based Women’s Exchange which is also considering more hybrid meetings.

After the reports from the discussion groups, Chair Norton ended the meeting with his recitation of the Rotary’s 4 way test.

Share Your Bounty- A Success!

We did it again! Thanks to all our members and friends of Rotary who contributed over $2,700 to our annual Share Your Bounty campaign! 100 bags full of groceries are going to Good News Partners, along with a financial donation to support their food pantry.

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco on November 23, so please donate by November 22.

We hope to provide over 100 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $2,000. This will be easy if everyone contributes.

This campaign has closed. If you missed out on supporting it, please consider a donation to our sleeping bags for the homeless campaign. You can donate here.

Bringing Warmth to the Homeless in Chicago

We are partnering with the Rotary Club of Wilmette to provide new sleeping bags to homeless people in Chicago. Your donations will support new sleeping bags which will be sent to the nuns of Fraternite Notre Dame, who will provide them to homeless men and women at Christmas time.

Your donation of $30 will provide a sleeping bag to another person in need. Donate today at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/sleeping-bags-for-the-homeless-in-chicago or send a check to WNRCF with notation "sleeping bag" to the club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka.

Community Grant Application Now Available

Posted by David Grant

The Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation annually provides monetary grants to organizations that further Rotary’s mission to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace.

Applications are accepted each year from October through December. Grant awards are announced in March by our board. Grants range in size from $500 to $5,000, averaging between $1,000 and $2,000. Recipients are eligible for only two awards within a three year period.

Areas of Focus: Our Board is open to reviewing grant applications from any 501(c)(3) organization that has a club member sponsor. Preference will be given to organizations that meet one or more of the following criteria:

· Support people living in need in Chicagoland

· Have operating budgets under $1 million

· Request funding for programs, not general operating expenses

While these areas of focus will guide the board’s decision making, the board may award grants to organizations that meet none of this criteria but have a strong club sponsor and compelling case for support.

Agencies interested in applying should fill out an application on-line. Pleas access the application from our website, or through this link: https://wnrotary.org/sitepage/wnr-charitable-foundation/wnrcf-2021-grant-application

Time to Support Our Operation Warm Project

Over the last two years, our community's generosity made it possible for over 2,300 children living in need to receive a new winter coat from our club. Member contributions and our Operation Warm Benefit Concert gave Chicago area children brand new coats. Here is a list of the organizations that received these coats, because of you.

Several Chicago Library Branches
Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook Holiday Gift Program
Open Arms Mission food pantry in Antioch
Holy Family Ministries school in Homan Square
Asian Youth Services in Albany Park
Hope Community Church Head Start in Austin
Stand Down Day Chicago supporting homeless veterans and their families
Grandparents and Kins Raising Children- Lake County
Learner Charter School in North Chicago

The public health crisis prevents us from holding a live benefit concert this year. It also has resulted in the COVID recession and more families in need. Our program matters now more than ever.

We're asking members and friends of the club to make tax-deductible donations to support our club’s Operation Warm program. We’ve already committed to sponsoring one Chicago library program this year, and hope to support two. And the nonprofits listed above rely on our support for the children they serve.

Make your contribution now at www.operationwarm.org/wnrotary. Checks should be made payable to WNRCF and mailed to Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, IL 60093.

Thank you for your past support and for caring about children and families living in need. Your contribution means more kids receive the warmth, confidence and hope that comes with a new winter coat!

Meeting Notes for July 30

Posted by Keith Reed

Chuck Norton called the meeting to order at 12:15. There were 13 members present including Wes, Tony, Marie, Rich, Bill Leske, Rob, Greg, Chuck, Keith, Fred, John Thomas and Patti. Bill gave the thoughts of the day: Paul Harris said “it’s a changing world and we need to change with it” and Walt Disney said “if you can dream it, you can do it”.

There were no visiting guests other than our speakers from Northern Trust and no birthdays, announcements or Happy Bucks. Patti Van Cleave is celebrating her 13^th year of Rotary membership.

Dig and grin was handled by Robert who told us how, after 16 years of marriage and several months of being confined with his wife in their home, he discovered that he and his wife have different body parts! Due to privacy concerns, you’ll have to check with Robert for the details!

Personal bio given by Fred Schwimmer: and Greg Nelson. Fred has spent 95% of his 85 years living in Winnetka. He was in the first 1st grade class at Crow Island School in 1940 and not only graduated from that grade but also from the University of Michigan! But his greatest achievement was meeting and marrying his wife Ellie July 30, 1961 (yes, today was his 59^th anniversary). After finishing Michigan he worked for a short time for Westclox and then with his Dad at Bear Stearns where Fred was a stockbroker for 47 years. Fred’s brother Mike has long been in the antique piano business, primarily handling piano rolls. When Fred retired as a stockbroker he joined Mike’s business in collecting and trading various antiques. He closed by thanking David Birkenstein for introducing him to Rotary.

Personal bio given by Greg Nelson: Greg grew up in the Hobart, Indiana area, has two adult sons, and spent several years as a commercial banker with the Continental, LaSalle and BMO banks before starting his own payroll business, which he sold last year. He then joined another company which provides employers with services in areas such as payroll, worker’s comp, risk management, regulation compliance, and health insurance. He has been in Rotary for about 3 years and has enjoyed the experience a great deal.

SPEAKERS FROM NORTHERN TRUST—Julie Mokdessi (Public Relations), Susan Currie (Winnetka office manager) and Ryan Boyle (Senior Economist and main presenter).

Ryan started by saying that it was important to have Dodd Frank in place before the Covid pandemic occurred. Other points he made were that Covid has taken our minds off of other very important national issues such as tariff and trade problems, failing alliances among countries (e.g. Brexit), and climate change issues; we were initially too optimistic that the virus problem would be solved within a couple of months; it has blown up the current U.S. budget; states have been hurt by a drastic decrease in sales tax revenue; our Gross National Product dropped 9.2 % in the second quarter of this year which puts our economy in a hole more than twice as deep as it was following the financial crisis; and 30 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. A few positive things have occurred such as the Federal Reserve was able to dust off its 2008 playbook used during the housing crisis to provide assistance; we know more about the Covid problem than we did in March; the 3 pay protection programs enacted the first of the year helped minimize the loss of jobs and provided substantial unemployment benefits; the unemployment rate of 14.7% is lower than the 20% during the depression; and even though our Country is printing lots of money, future inflation may be minimized by people reducing their spending habits—consumer spending in the second quarter fell 10.1% led by a near collapse in spending on restaurants, recreational activities and some health care activities like elective procedures.

Ryan said that our recovery may be more in the shape of a W, rather than an U or V—i.e., we may now be on the 2^nd downturn with an anticipated upward surge to the finish line. We have to find a way of opening businesses to provide available jobs. When asked about what would be a good investment strategy at this time, Ryan said that is today’s unanswerable question because things are so uncertain.

Crowing About Queen Marie

A big thanks to Bill Leske's son Matt for producing this tribute video to the rein of Queen Marie as club President.

Every Rotarian Every Year- Support The Rotary Foundation- Club Update 2020

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jun 27, 2020

As the 2019-20 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 SHARE Fund.

To date, our club members have donated a total of $9,951 in the 2019-20 Rotary Year, 99% of our goal of $10,000.

Please thank these 27 Rotarians and friends for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, David Birkenstein*⁺, Laura Cunningham, Donna Goodman, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich, Marie Kuipers⁺, Rich Lalley⁺, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Greg Nelson, Chuck Norton⁺, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Keith Reed, Bob Sanfilippo, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Peter Skalski, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Julie Tye, Patty Van Cleave, and 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 COVID-19 Response efforts, 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 $3,400, and next year we will can receive $3,660. But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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.

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.

People of Action- The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield and The Rotary Foundation Provide Relief to Those Impacted by COVID-19

The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield has met weekly at the Winnetka Community House since 1924. That streak ended in mid-March, when the club suspended its weekly lunch meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, this did not stop the club from continuing to meet and live up to its well-earned reputation as People of Action. Almost immediately, the club began to meet on Zoom every Thursday at its regular 12:15 time, and the club’s board and committees did so as well.

Over the club’s 96 years, it has undertaken many notable service projects. So, it is no surprise the club quickly responded to the needs of those affected by COVID-19. Supported by donations from members and friends of the club, and a grant from The Rotary Foundation, the club took the following actions:

Supported the local food pantry and provided financial assistance to families experiencing severe financial need through a $5,000 donation to the New Trier Township Angel Fund.

Board Meeting Minutes- June 4 2020

Attendees: President Marie, President Elect Chuck Norton, Secretary/Treasurer Rich Lalley, David Birkenstein, Eric Birkenstein, Rik Boerjesson, Laura Cunningham, David Grant, Bill Leske, Brooke Peppey, Peter Skalski, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave

Prepared by: Rich Lalley

The meeting was called to order. As no minutes were prepared for the previous meeting, none were reviewed.

Operation Warm Soles for Homeless Children

During the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, so many families are experiencing unprecedented turmoil. Food insecurity is a well known concern, and thankfully many citizens and organizations- including our club- are responding with generosity and compassion.

Families that cannot afford food can definitely not afford clothing. But children continue to grow- and outgrow their shoes.

Between the ages of 4 to 14, children typically outgrow their shoe size every 4-8 months

Our Rotary Club is partnering with Operation Warm on its Warm Soles pilot program to provide 300 pairs of new children's shoes to La Casa Norte, a Chicago agency that serves families confronting homelessness.

We have $4,500 of the $6,000 needed to fund this program.

Please empower children in need by sparking confidence, self-pride and hope for homeless children with your donation.

Our goal is raise $1,500 by Friday June 12.

Donate here or email info@wnrotary.org with your pledge.

Club Addresses Food Insecurity & Honors Healthcare Heroes

Posted by Rich Lalley

Donation to New Trier Township Food Pantry; Meal Donations to Local Nonprofits and Hospital Workers

With COVID-19 upon us, the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield has once again answered the call of "Service Above Self."

Club members quickly determined that the most urgent need in the community during this pandemic is food insecurity. With this in mind---and thanks to a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation--- the club made a sizeable donation to the New Trier Township Food Pantry.

Donating money directly to the pantry allows them to acquire food at deep discounts through The Greater Chicago Food Depository, where every dollar buys about eight times more food than it would in traditional retail stores. "The New Trier Pantry typically serves 250 families each week. Township staff and volunteers have made big adjustments in how the Pantry operates to meet Covid19 safety requirements. Many families are experiencing higher levels of need due COVID's economic impact. The widespread layoffs and work closures are beginning to lead to more pantry users." said Rotarian and Township Trustee John Thomas.

Zoom Security

Zoom has added new security features. Going forward, passwords will be required for all meetings. We will use the same password for all Thursday lunch and Monday cocktail hour meetings. The meeting link and passwords will be included in emails that go to all members 30 minutes before our meetings. Contact Rich if you need assistance joining meetings.

Queen Marie is Selling Her Eggs for Good!

Our esteemed Rotary Club President, "Queen Marie", is selling her eggs for good!

Not those eggs. Fresh eggs from her chickens.

Proceeds will support the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield's COVID-19 Community Support programs. We will be purchasing meals from local businesses and sending them to health care providers, first responders and/or local nonprofits serving people in need.

Marie will arrange for delivery of 6 fresh, organic eggs for a $20 or more tax deductible donation.

Note, you can make a donation without taking delivery of eggs. Just let Marie know you do not need her eggs.

Make your donation here!

March 27 Board Meeting Minutes

The club's board met via Zoom on Friday March 27 to discuss club operations and activities during the COVID-19 emergency. Click Read more to review the agreements and next steps.

Zoom Meeting April 2

Posted by Marie Kuipers

The Zoom meetings and cocktail hour have been immensely fun and a great comfort to those who've attended. Please join us at 12:15 CST this Thursday.

Details on how to join our meeting:
Here is a link to join the Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/539868880

Or, If you are calling in, use this phone number: (312) 626-6799 US (Chicago)

Or, If you have already downloaded the Zoom App, enter Meeting ID # 539-868-880 (Press pound when asked for your user ID).

Note, it is best if attendees join via a computer or smartphone with the Zoom app and use computer audio, not phone. Call Rich if you need help getting the app on your computer or phone.

I hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy. As always, if you should need anything at all, please feel free to call on me or your fellow Rotarians to help. That's what we're here for. Our weekly meetings are a significant part of our lives, and maintaining that connection is essential for our sanity during this crisis. As we continue to work through some technical glitches and our own human learning curve, I hope you will stick with us.

In the meantime, please enjoy this amazing collaboration by musicians all across the world. Many thanks to Ser Robert the Delusional for sharing it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&feature=youtu.be

See you tomorrow!

Marie

Make Young Leaders Through RYLA- Make a Donation Today!

RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program, provides life changing experiences to high school students. RYLA recognizes young people who have demonstrated leadership skills or show the potential to be leaders, and provides them with an opportunity to explore and further develop these skills with other with similar capabilities.

RYLA recipients and attendees are nominated and sponsored by Rotary Clubs. The cost to Rotary Clubs is $350 per student. This fee includes: coach bus transportation, to and from the conference, (there are eight different bus pick up and drop off locations per weekend) room and meals, speaker fees, staffing, night security, snacks, supplies, RYLA tee shirt. All photos and videos from the weekends will uplinked to a private Facebook page. Students who attend RYLA are expected to speak at the sponsoring Rotary Club sometime within the following few months after their attendance.

Please help our club sponsor future leaders by making a donation today.

Give School Supplies to Peruvian Children

Winnetka-Northfield Rotarian Rik Borjesson and his family will soon be traveling to Peru. While there, he will be visiting Pinchollo, the most remote village in the Peruvian Andes.

Rik plans to bring school supplies to the local school. In such a poor region, the schools have very limited essential supplies for their students.

Please make a difference in a child´s education by donating for their most essential school supplies. Pinchollo is the most remote village in the Peruvian Andes at 11,000 ft above sea level. The main source of income is farming, the median income in Pinchollo per family is estimated to be 2 dollars a day.

With only 10 dollars you can send one student to school with their most essential supplies. You can contribute to this effort here.

• 6 large notebooks

• 1 set of 12 colored pencils

• 1 set of 12 colored markers

• 1 pair of scissors

• 1 bottle of glue and 1 roll of scotch tape

• 2 red and blue pens, 1 ruler

• 4 pencils with eraser and pencil sharpener.

• 1 set of playdoh

• 1 set of watercolors

• 100 sheets of colored paper

• 5 sheets of cardboard

• Pencil case

100% of your donation will be used for school supplies. Please give what you can to support our fellow Rotarian and friend and to support children's education.

Please make a donation.

Share Your Bounty

Posted by Barb Tubekis on Nov 07, 2019

Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco and club members will bag the groceries at our November 21st meeting.

Sponsor a Vet!

Posted by Rich Lalley on Aug 04, 2019

Rotary District 6440 is sponsoring a Rotary Road Trip to see the Chicago Cubs take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 7. Our club is again sponsoring tickets for veterans, and needs members to fund those sponsorships.

Tailgate and Game tickets cost $80, which includes food catered by Saz's, beer and soft drinks, and live music under a large tent. Game tickets are Loge Bleacher seat which provide an excellent view of the field.

Purchase tickets for yourself or veterans by clicking here.

Every Rotarian Every Year- Support The Rotary Foundation- Club Update

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jun 29, 2019

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.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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.

Spring Benefit Details

Posted by Marie Kuipers on Apr 14, 2019

Come Join Us For
Bluegrass Music by Bourbon Aristocracy ,
Great Barbeque, Beer and Wine

PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE
WINNETKA NORTHFIELD ROTARY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION'S
COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM

JUNE 1ST, 6 P.M.
KENILWORTH ASSEMBLY HALL
410 KENILWORTH AVE, KENILWORTH

BOOTS & HATS ENCOURAGED!

TICKETS: ONE TICKET FOR $100, TWO TICKETS @ $80 EACH

BUY TICKET

Kids Against Hunger 2019

Registration Open

Meeting Recap for November 15

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

President Bill called the meeting to order at 12:15. There were 32 in attendance.

Bob Sanfilippo shared a short quote with a “punch”!

After lunch, Bob Baker, filling in as Greeter, announced the following visiting members: Mark Schusteff and Brian Schiller, representing the Winnetka Community House, and Kate Hughes from Winnetka School District 36

No guests or visiting Rotarians.

No anniversaries, but three birthdays coming up:

David Abell, November 24

Greg Nelson, November 26

Alan Ramsay, November 27

An early raffle ticket pull was won by Patti, who drew the 5 of clubs and returned her $5 to the pot.

Announcements:

--There will be no meeting next week. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

-- Speaker on 11/29 will be Louise Kiernan from ProPublica Illinois, speaking on "Fake News, Transparency and the Futre of Investigative Journalism."

--Remember the incentive plan for club members who bring in a new member that stays for a year: 500 Paul Harris points – bringing that member status in the Paul Harris Society.

--We need more scribes! If you’d be willing to take notes once a month or so talk to Keith, John Thomas or Patti.

--Tony reported that the International Committee met, and that the Ecuador project spearheaded by Ned is going well. The Ecuadorian team is very well-organized, the project is moving forward, some funding has been received. Next steps are to take this project out to other clubs, District 6440 and RI to increase participation. Ned reminded us of the purpose of this project: To educate farmers on the values of organic farming, to produce healthier products. Assist these farmers by creating a marketing strategy for their produce as well as providing microcredit opportunities for them.

--Rich reported that 6 of the 12 library coat distribution projects have been held. There was one in Rogers Park last night, another tonight at a library that is at 95^th and Halsted. We have also distributed coats to several organizations suggested by club members, including one in Connecticut that was a connection through one of the event sponsors, a friend of Joe Nash. There is still some opportunity to distribute coats; the foundation will determine other donees.

Happy Bucks:

--Marie was very excited to share with us two happy bucks: She shared that the Operation Warm coat distribution was fun and heartwarming and encouraged all of us to go to one. More importantly, she got her FIRST EGG from one of her chickens!!!

--Patti gave three HB in honor of Rich and Barb for being exemplary Rotarians and bringing wonderful programs to us, and to Dr. Rick for bringing his knowledge to The Winnetka Club tonight.

--Robert gave $10 happy bucks in honor of the two times he had left items behind after lunch, and returned both times to find them turned into the Lost and Found. He shared that while people have asked why he is still involved with Rotary after his retirement, he thinks that “It is nice that Rotary is here for me to be involved with”.

--Ned gave a buck and shared that Ecuador is coming to the area in December. His colleagues will be here in early December, and others at the end of the month. He asked us all to pray for snow, as they want to see snow!

--Tony gave a buck and assured Marie that he is NOT planning to have chicken for dinner (or eggs for breakfast?)

Dig N Grin:

Fred echoed the sentiment that coat distribution events are wonderful and we should do one, then shared a funny story about two Jewish women who encountered each other on the streets of New York in the 1950s and caught up…

Speaker: There was no speaker; we packed 100 food bags for Good News Partners.

Charitable Foundation Grants Guidelines

Posted by Brooke Peppey

The Club Foundation Board has approved new guidelines to apply for grants, and a new 'Grant Request Form' which can be found on our Club Website at https://wnrotary.org Hint: Look in the lower left hand column under the heading 'Download Files' or find the 'Grant Request Form' by link here:

http://portal.clubrunner.ca/2417/Documents/en-us/06f81895-4422-4340-8408-4480f3a0c18a/1/

The deadline to apply for the 2018-2019 grants is November 30, 2018. Recipients are eligible for only two awards within a three-year period. Starting this year, our recipients will also be restricted to organizations that are (1) located in the Metro Chicago area; (2) have an annual expense budget of $1 million or less; and (3) have a specific project or program that is the subject of the request that must fall within the area of funding determined for the year. This year our area of funding will focus on providing services to or for children’s education and/or health; Awards will be made in March, 2019.

Record Giving to The Rotary Foundation!

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jul 02, 2018

Thank you to the 33 members of our club who donated a total of $11,430 to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Program Fund in the 2017-18 Rotary Year, exceeding our goal of $10,000 and setting a record level of giving!

Please thank these Rotarians for making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Wes Baumann, Jean Beckman, Mary Lou Bilder Gold, David Birkenstein*⁺, Laura Cunningham, Joe Fell, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich*, Gerry Keenan, Mark Kotz, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley⁺, Denny Lauer, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Rodger Morris*, Tom Nash, Chuck Norton, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Keith Reed, Randy Reeves, Bob Sanfilippo, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, and Patti Van Cleave, Carl Yudell.
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year)

Every Rotarian Every Year- Support The Rotary Foundation

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jun 09, 2018

As the 2017-18 Rotary Year nears its conclusion, 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.

With three weeks to go, our club members have donated a total of $11,030 in the 2017-18 Rotary Year, reaching our goal of $10,000!

Please thank these 31 Rotarians for making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Wes Baumann, Jean Beckman, Mary Lou Bilder Gold, David Birkenstein*⁺, Laura Cunningham, Joe Fell, David Grant*, Tony Kambich*, Gerry Keenan, Mark Kotz, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley⁺, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Rodger Morris*, Tom Nash, Chuck Norton, Felicia O'Malley, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peepey, Keith Reed, Randy Reeves, Bob Sanfilippo, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, and Patti 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 breadfruit tree project in Haiti, the water and sanitation project we helped fund for school in Guatemala, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received nearly $4,000 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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.

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.

Community Grants completed for 2018

Posted by Patti Van Cleave on Apr 22, 2018

Our Club's foundation board has recently approved all allocations for our annual Community Grants for 2018. Sixteen organizations received grants this year, representing a total of $14,000. Recipients are invited to attend our Annual Benefit Dinner, "Cinco Plus Six" on May 11th to receive their check and meet the foundation board.

Here are our grantees for 2018:

A Just Harvest

Blues Kids Foundation

De La Gente, Inc.

Erika's Lighthouse

Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Jewish Council for Youth Services

Josselyn Center

Literature for All of Us

North Shore University Foundation

Operation North Pole

Right to Be Free

Samaritan Counseling Center

Special Gifts Theater

Volunteer Center

Winnetka Youth Organization

YouthBuild Lake County

Foundation board members:

Bob Baker, Connie Berman, David Birkenstein, Eric Birkenstein, Tony Kambich, Rich Lalley, Rodger Morris, Brooke Peppey, Patti Van Cleave

Happy Birthday Rodger!

Posted by Ned Meisner

Trees that Feed and Sustain Families in Haiti

Posted by Rich Lalley on Feb 18, 2018

A proposed Rotary Foundation Global Grant Project

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.

2017 Operation Warm Project Underway!

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Sep 08, 2017

Fundraising is underway for our 2017 Operation Warm project.

Be a Hero for Children in Need of Warmth

Nearly one in five American children live in poverty. More than 400,000 in the Chicago metro area.

For these families, deciding between food, rent, heat and medicine takes priority. Many children have to go without a coat during the cold Chicago winter.

You can help to bring hope, happiness and warmth to children living in need in Chicagoland with the gift of a brand-new winter coat. Your gift will help to improve a child's self-esteem, school attendance and overall wellness.

Our Goal is to Give 500 Children Brand-New Winter Coats
Give today at www.operationwarm.org/wnrotary
Or send a check payable to WNRCF to
Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield
620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka IL 60093

We partner with schools and non-profits serving disadvantaged children, including Inner City Impact in Cicero, Holy Family Ministries school in Chicago, Hope Community Church in Chicago, Open Arms Mission in Antioch, Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook (holiday gift program), Jewish Council for Youth Services in Highwood and Family Promise Chicago North Shore.

This year, we are also partnering with the Chicago Public Library on an innovative program that gives a new coat at the libratry, bringing children into a library of the first time.

Your donation will go to Operation Warm, our partner since 2009. They provide us with brand-new, high-quality, warm winter coats for our children. Operation Warm is a GuideStar Platinum-rated nonprofit and has helped over 2 million children since 1998.

The video below was sent to us last winter as a gesture of THANKS from Holy Family Ministries.

How many children can you help keep warm this winter?

Meeting Recap August 24

Posted by John Thomas

The meeting was opened at 12:15 by President Tom Nash and followed by a “Thought for the Day” from Fred Schwimmmer. Then the pledge of allegiance was led by Tony Kambich. Lunch was served and the meeting itself started about 12:40. The lunch meeting was in the Winnetka Community House with 25 of our 53 members (54%) in attendance. There were 6 guests present.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Tom told us we have been approved for a $3600 grant for Kids Against Hunger. This is an excellent start to raising the money needed to have yet another very big program.

He also noted there were fliers on the tables about the Fall Fest staged by the WPD in which Rotary will participate. There was also on the tables a sign-up sheet for those who can help man our Rotary booth.

DIG & GRIN: Mark Kotz was again substituting and delivered a low-key list of “Life Observations”. The attendees deemed his offering quite humorous and gave a solid round of applause.

SPEAKER NOTES: John Thomas, who is a Winnetka Park Commissioner and has been on the Board since 2004, introduced the speaker, Matt Johnson. Thomas noted the Winnetka Golf operation is the Park District’s largest revenue generator. They have two excellent courses, an 18 hole and a 9 hole. Unfortunately, it had long been a financial drain as operations management was inadequate..

Matt Johnson was promoted to Facility Manager & Head Golf Professional in 2014 under new senior management. At the same time, the Board invested in a new Driving range and significant upgrades to the facilities. Matt has led restructuring of teaching systems, flexible single-round play fees, an agreement with Golf Now, and aggressive area-wide marketing efforts. The operation has been in the black now for several years. He gave a slide presentation, assisted by the WPD Executive Director, John Muno. The presentation noted that this is the 100^th year anniversary of the Golf course and carried the audience briefly through highlights of its history. Currently it hosts over 30,000 rounds annually on the 18 hole course and 13,000 on the 9 hole course. It is also the home course for the New Trier H.S. golf teams. Matt has led our award-winning Junior Elite programs and he has coached many junior golfers to successful competitive careers. In the Q&A session Matt noted the cost to play is the same for all comers no matter where they reside. There is no longer preferential rates for Winnetka residents vs. others. Pricing is flexible for single rounds depending on several factors with the lowest often being $32 for 18 holes. He also offered that kids are much easier to teach than adults. The Q&A ended at 1:30 and the meeting closed with recital of Rotary’s four-way test.

Tom Nash- Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield President

Posted on Jul 01, 2017

July 1 marks the beginning of a new Rotary Year, and with it new leadership. At a well attended induction dinner on June 29, Rotary District 6440 Assistant Governor Mary Bak installed Tom Nash as the 93rd President of the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield. Our entire club is joined by thousands of Rotarians in District 6440 and around the world in thanking outgoing President Patti Van Cleave for her tremendous leadership over the past year and pledge our support to Tom, District Governor Don Brewer and Rotary International President Ian Riseley.

Also at the dinner, special recognitions were given to our club's 4 Paul Harris Society members- Sam Badger, David Birkenstein, Rich Lalley and Fred Schwimmer. Paul Harris Society members contribute at least $1,000 per year to The Rotary Foundation, one of world's most respected and admired charitable foundations. The Foundation fosters world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. The Rotary Foundation transforms contributions into service projects that change lives close to home and around the world.

Club Meets Goal for Rotary Foundation Giving

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jul 01, 2017

The 2016-17 Rotary Year has come to a close. Please join the millions of beneficiaries of projects funded by The Rotary Foundation in thanking our members who have honored the commitment of Every Rotarian, Every Year, contribute to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund.

Our club members donated a total of $8,230 in the 2017-18 Rotary Year, surpassing our goal of $8,000!

Please thank these 33 Rotarians for making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Wes Baumann, Bob Baker, Mary Lou Bilder, David Birkenstein⁺, John Ford, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Anna Helfman, Tony Kambich*, Mark Kotz, Rich Lalley⁺, Denny Lauer, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Ned Meisner, Rodger Morris*, Tom Nash, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Randy Reeves, Kieth Reid, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Greg Skirving, Mike Shelton, Peter Skalski, John Stone, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Dirk Tussing, Julie Tye, Patti Van Cleave.
* 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 the water well project we helped fund for an orphanage in Kenya and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received nearly $4,000 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
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.

You can get a great start on the new Rotary year by making a contribution now. 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, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.

2017-18 Club President Tom Nash has set an ambitious goal for this year's Every Rotarian Every Year Goal- $10,000. Consider becoming a monthly donor, and for those who can, stepping up to the Paul Harris Society by pledging to give $1,000 each year.

If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.

Meeting Recap 6/1

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 30 members present. Mary Cherveny was the Winnetka Park District representative and Marc Hornstein was there for the Police Department. Greg Nelson handled the “thought for the day”. Announcements were: We need about 13 volunteers to work 2 hours on June 24^th for the Winnetka Music Fest and a sign-up sheet was passed; June 29 at 6:00 pm is our Installation Dinner for our new President Tom Nash; Patti found about 100 artful depictions of Winnetka “points of interests” in the Club’s closest and they are available for sale at $20 each, proceeds to go to local charities; Rich has worked out a program with a Southside Kiwanis Club where we will jointly provide 150 children’s coats and 300 children’s books to three Chicago libraries where local children will visit to get their free coats; Robert Mardirossian offered 3 of his Chicago Cubs tickets for sale for $80 each with proceeds going to the WNRotary Fund.

GUEST SPEAKER: David Birkenstein introduced Annie Aggens of PolarExplorers who spoke of her expeditions to the North Pole (hereafter “NP”) and the impact of global warming on the earth’s icecaps. Annie lives in Wilmette, attended North Shore Country Day School and graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, majoring in environmental studies. Over the years, she and her family have hosted several international exchange students, including Rotary-sponsored students. PolarExplorers is located in Wilmette and is considered the Nation’s premier polar expedition guiding company. It has been taking groups to the NP since 1993 and Annie has been involved in these trips since 2000. Its website is www.polarexplorers.com for further information.

Annie said that the North Pole is still not owned by any country, but instead is considered part of the International Waters. Several countries, including the U.S., Russia and Norway, are making certain ownership claims since it has significant natural resources. Admiral Robert Perry (or perhaps Mr. Cook) first visited the NP in 1909. The exact spot of the NP (90 degrees) is difficult to locate because of the shifting ice and water. There is no permanent marker or any objects on the NP and visiting explorers take all their property and material with them when they leave. The overall ice cap consists of many different sizes of ice floating in water that is close to 14,000 feet deep. The ice pieces continue to move, break up and build up on the ice cap. Her expeditions always go in April which is about the only time a plane can land at the NP base camp. The base camp is owned and operated by the Russian Geographical Society, though the Russian military has used it for training in recent years. Annie said the Russians are still friendly and cooperative. The expedition travels over the ice with skis and often times will have dogs to help with the trip. The group will usually travel 8-10 hours a day and cover 6 to 12 miles. On the NP there is only one sunset (in September) and one sunrise (in March). There sun shines continually during April.

She said that ice on the NP ages with the young ice being smooth and not as thick and the older ice building up ridges of 1-15 feet, although they used to buildup as high as 30 feet. There are water streams and ice cracks (“leads”) amid the frozen ice which continue to change and often times are tough to navigate. The travelers do have some floatable equipment to help cross narrow streams, but because the dogs do not like the cold water, they often have to go out of their way to avoid these streams or leads. When dogs are used, there are usually 1 or 2 dog teams with 6-8 dogs in each team. The dogs are Greenland huskies, are very smart and powerful, but only answer to demands made in the Norwegian language. Sometimes the skiers will pull special sleds which can hold up to 60-80 pounds of equipment and can float in the streams, if necessary. The only animals seen on the NP besides the working dogs and an occasional fox are the polar bears and the ringed seals.

The impact of global warming on the NP over the last 40 years is that the ice cap is diminishing in size; much of the ice melts every summer and is replaced in winter by new ice; the ice is not as thick and there appears to be bigger masses of new ice; there is less snow on the ice so that when pitching tents the explorers now use ice screws rather than snow stakes to anchor their equipment; there have been more severe storms on the NP; these changes could eventually have an adverse impact on many of the earth’s ocean currents; and this could all result in a slowdown or potential halt of the Thermohaline circulation. (More information on this subject can be obtained from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/05converyor1,html.)

Speaker on June 1: Annie Aggens

Annie Aggens will speak about Global Heating and Climate Change as well as Polar Issues, including PolarExplorers, which is the premier polar expedition guiding company. — Celebrating 23 Years!

"One of the top 100 Outfitters on Earth" - National Geographic

"50 Tours of a Lifetime" - National Geographic

"Rough Guide recommended"

"Best Skiing Blog" -Tripbase travel blog awards

www.facebook.com/polarexplorers

www.polarexplorers.com

Meeting Recap 5/25

Posted by John Thomas

The meeting was opened at 12:15 by Club President Patti Van Cleave and followed by the pledge of allegiance. The lunch meeting was held in the Winnetka Community House and there were 23 of our 55 members (44%) in attendance.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Patti noted that June 30 is the deadline for contributions to the Rotary Foundation to be applied to our Club. She urged all of us to make at least a minimum contribution so we may have a 100% participation as has usually been the case in the past. Patti also made note of a variety of member’s birthdays. John Stone said that he saw Luvie Owens earlier in the day and she seems to be feeling well at this time.

HAPPY BUCKS: Ned Meisner had three Happy Bucks items centering around several Bahai events with special notice of a musical program there at 9:30 and again at 12:30 next Saturday.

Patti Van Cleave expresses happiness at having received 22 response so far to the all-member survey and hope more were coming. She also offered hard copies for anyone who couldn’t access it online.

SPEAKER: The speaker for the day was introduced by Barb Tubekis who noted the subject, recycling, should be of great interest to all. The speaker was Liz Kunkle and her talk title was “Effective Recycling”.

Her ongoing theme in the talk was that we all need to be aware of the many opportunities we have for recycling. The Villages hereabout have established extensive recycling protocols and procedures. The ubiquitous plastic bags from the supermarkets and the plastic newspaper wrappers need be taken to the collection boxes at the supermarkets.

For Winnetka, there is a one-page guide detailing what can go where that has been sent to all homes. Copies of that are available online at the Village web site or at Village Hall. Should one have a question about disposing of some unique item of material, calling the Village will get an answer toute de suite.

After reciting the four Rotary pledges, the meeting was closed at 1:25.

Meeting Recap on 5/4

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 30 members at this week’s meeting. Our three guests included Dr. Rick Stern (John Ford) who has opened up a new (reorganized) practice on Oak Street in Winnetka called Dedication Health, Teri Stein (Ned Meisner) a disability consultant and advocate who helps young disabled adults make the transition to a more independent life and Lenna Scott (Robert Mardirossian) who was recently appointed as the successor to Robert at the Counseling Center of the North Shore. Steve Saunders, Winnetka’s Director of Public Works was present representing the village.

The meeting on May 11^th will be held at the Northfield Park District offices at 401 Wagner Road, just north of Willow Road.

Tom Nash reminded the club that our annual benefit will be held on Friday, May 12^th at the Kenilworth Club beginning at 6:00 p.m. Among the great raffle prizes are six (6) tickets on the 50-yard line to the Notre Dame-Navy game next November 18^th. Tom said the weather forecast for that day is 60° and sunny!

John Thomas extended an invitation from the Winnetka Youth Organization to attend their annual benefit to be held on Thursday, May 18^th at Pinstripes on Willow Road at 7:00 p.m.

In the Happy Buck’s portion of the meeting John Stone, who said he was unable to attend the Benefit said he is donating $100 to the Foundation and suggested that all members who were unable to attend do the same thing. Rodger Morris rose to the challenge and matched John’s contribution. We do hope that those who are unable to attend the benefit will make a contribution to the Foundation, as this is our biggest fundraising effort for our Club’s support of local agencies that need our assistance.

Our speaker for the day was Jane Carroll, an immigration attorney. Jane is the co-founder of Intermezzo Business Migration Solutions, a consultancy firm that designs comprehensive global immigration strategies and programs for business. Our club was fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from this national and international speaker.

Jane indicated that the legal area of immigration is extremely complex and few would disagree with her at the end of her presentation. She held up a book that was 3 – 4” thick that was just an outline of immigration law. She spoke about the two types of Visas – for nonimmigrants, (those seeking temporary entry to the U.S.) and the Immigrant Visas for those seeking permanent residency. There are 16 different categories of Nonimmigrant Visas, all with different requirements and lengths of stay permitted. The Immigrant Visas, often called Green Cards, grant the holder all the rights of U.S. citizenship, except voting. A green card holder can be removed or deported from the U.S. for committing a crime of moral turpitude.

As a percent of the total population of a country the United States exceeds only four countries, while 17 countries are more generous in terms of accepting immigrants.

The largest allocation of immigration visas is in the family categories with 226,000 being given per year. In some of the categories there is a long wait while the exception is for immediate relatives: spouses, children under 21 and parents. More distant relatives have longer waits, typically ranging from 6 years to as high as 24 years.

The second largest category of visas is for employment-based immigration. At the top of the preference list is ‘extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts education, business or athletics. Examples are outstanding professors/researchers, multinational executives, then professionals with advanced degrees. While there are no numerical quotas on countries for people seeking visas there are specific numbers of total visas that are granted in various categories. Also, no more than 7% of the visas can be issued for a given country. This creates long waits for persons seeking visas from countries like India, that have many highly educated persons seeking entry into the United States.

Another category is the asylum/refugee group. This process takes two years for the vetting for the refugees. The president sets the number that can be accepted by the United States. In his last year in office Obama had set the number at 110,000, Trump has changed that to 0 (zero)!

Meeting Recap on 4/20

Posted by John Thomas

The meeting was opened at 12:15 by Club President Patti Van Cleave and followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Liz Taylor. There were 30 people at this Thursday lunch in the Community House and the only visitor (sort of) was Winnetka’s Fire Chief, Alan Berkowsky. The speaker was Dr. Ben Duke, LCP.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: At 12:45 Terry Dason, head of the Winnetka/Northfield Chamber of Commerce told the group of an upcoming trip to South Africa and that there were still limited reservations available. Then, Barb Tubekis told of the 2017 Volunteer Center Recognition Event on May 4 at the WCH in the evening. President–elect Tom Nash reminded us of the May 12 Rotary Benefit dinner and added there were special Sox tix in the already excellent Silent Auction line-up.

There will be a membership Committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3 at Liz Taylor’s North Shore Community Bank. Membership Committee Chair David Berkenstein invited any and all interested parties to attend. Plus President Van Cleave noted anyone available can join her after the meeting in an historic cleaning of the WCH Rotary Closet. She opined this to the first such gargantuan effort since the founding of the club. Brooke Peppey then gave a brief recap of our Rotary Foundation.

Patti kicked off the Dig and Grin session with a tribute to Bill Leske and the First Bank and Trust facility. She was followed by Robert Mardirossian and Tony Kambich. It must be noted all was led by John Stone whose comic Dig and Grin anecdote had the crowd falling off their chairs.

SPEAKER: The speaker was Dr. Ben Duke a Chiropractic Physician whose topic for this day was the effect of “screen dependency” on the psyches of our youth today. He began with a brief history of human communications from grunts to smoke signals to telegraph wire to telephones to fax to cell phones to internet.

He noted kids 2-5 years old spend averagely 50% of their time in front of screens of one sort or another. Almost 2/3rds of kids under 10 get only one hour daily of physical activity. This compares to children pre-1995 who were active 4+ hours daily. The net result is a significant lack of development in the cerebral cortex of many kids. It is also extremely distracting when doing more important tasks.

He suggested parents generally need to exert much greater control over their children’s daily activities starting limiting access to TV, iPhones and computers.

He then entertained a lively Q&A led off by Jeanne Beckman followed by David Birkenstein, Heidi Sibert and Robert Mardirossian.

The meeting closed at 1:27 with no lottery winner – as usual.

Speaker on 4/27: Jeff Tideman

Posted by David Birkenstein

Jeff Tideman is the owner of a commercial real estate company founded in 1985. His friendship with David Gotaas inspired him to join Rotary in 2009. Jeff was appointed International Service Director for the Rotary Club of Northbrook and accompanied Gov. Rick Rivkin and a Rotary team on a polio immunization trip to India in 2011. Further inspired by the great work he saw Rotary doing in India, Jeff went on to become president of the Northbrook Club in 2015-16. During that year the Northbrook Club celebrated its 50th year. He and his wife Madonna enjoyed a week of serving at the Ak Tennamit school in Guatemala. Later they attended the Rotary Convention in Sydney Australia. Jeff now serves again as International Service Director and is a member of the Paul Harris Society.

Meeting Recap March 30

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 25 members present, but many guests attended to see the progress on the New Trier school construction. Guests were: Martine Mead, Deb Guy, and Jacquie Linney (all guests of Terry Dason); Ann Smith; Chuck Sprowl (Joe Fell guest); Jim Corboy (Liz Taylor guest); Dave Shannahan (John Thomas guest); Joanne Baker (Bob’s bride); Julia Birkenstein (Eric’s daughter and David’s granddaughter); Katie and Andrew Shook (Patti’s daughter and son-in-law); Nick Mostardo (Winnetka’s assistant Finance Director).

Announcements were: Our next meeting is on Wednesday, April ⁵ at the WCH at 6:00 pm with the other New Trier Rotary Clubs-- Ed Futa, Retired Rotary Int’l General Secretary will be the speaker and you should RSVP to Rich by this coming Sunday. Also tell Patti if you are willing to volunteer to help to sign people in or assist at the bar. There will be no regular Rotary meeting on April 6. Rich Lalley announced that the Cubs tickets for the game in Milwaukee in July need to be ordered through him by Friday to be eligible for the discount. The Chamber Recognition Luncheon is on April 12 at 11:00 and Patti would like to have one or two tables of local Rotarians sit at the Rotary table—tell Patti or contact the Chamber if you can attend. Everyone should try to attend the Club’s annual benefit on May 12^th at the Kenilworth Club—the theme being “Celebrate, Good Times Come On” featuring entertainer Marshall Nelson, former pianist for Kool and the Gang.

New Trier Superintendent Linda Yonke and math teacher Paul Sally (Linda’s successor) gave a very informative and impressive tour of some of the new construction at New Trier high school. It is finishing Phase I and is about 40% completed. The rest is supposed to be done by sometime this Fall—a deadline that is somewhat dubious! We saw the “Student Commons” (formerly called the cafeteria) where there is a wide variety of food (including coffee) for purchase and seating areas conducive to student conversations. The area will accommodate about 1100 students (total student population is about 3000); there is a “gathering” stairs which is part stairs and part tiers of platforms where students can sit and have their lunch. We went up to the new “Library Commons” which is larger than the old library and has a variety of seating areas for students to study and converse. Located there is a duplicate of the 1912 fireplace that was in the old building. From there we saw the skylight area with its 5 story atrium. The classrooms are bigger and more varied with respect to types of tables and chairs used. There are both regular tables and “tall” tables used in the classrooms with some having both styles of tables. There is carpeting in most classrooms rather than wood or tile floors—even though carpeting is tougher to keep clean, its durability is much greater than before, it keeps the room more quiet, and the furniture does not move around as much as on solid floors. The technology in the classrooms is very advanced with the large “white boards” being able to show material from the instructor’s computer as well as the students’ own I- Pads. All students have their own I-Pads with the school subsidizing the cost of same. The classrooms have more windows, more light, better acoustics and most classrooms have a small meeting room attached. The students and teachers were all given the chance to give input on the makeup of these classrooms over the last year or so. Although the Gaffney auditorium was not replaced it will now be air conditioned. The gym will be about the only area not air conditioned in the new building. The part of the north wall of the old building with the art deco has been preserved within a glass wall and has a patio on its top, which is now the teachers’ lounge. There is a “green roof” on the West side of the new building’s top floor with many plantings already in place. The consensus of those touring was that the comparison between the old building and the new space is unbelievable; that many people (including the professionals, workers, teachers and students) did a great job in creating a fantastic learning center for our high school students; and that the tour made most of us want to “go back to school”.

Benefit Dinner: Celebrate Good Times, Come On

Posted by Thomas Nash on Mar 29, 2017

Our Benefit Dinner is coming up! It will be held on Friday, May 12th at the Kenilworth Club. The event will feature a buffet dinner, cash bar and a piano performance for your listening and dancing pleasure from Marshall Nelson formerly of Kool and the Gang. We hope that you can attend this event, which will be lots of fun and benefits our foundation's Community Grants program.

Please RSVP soon! If you cannot attend, please make a tax deductible donation to our Community Grants program by clicking here.

IF YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS FOR OUR SILENT AUCTION OR RAFFLE, PLEASE CONTACT TOM NASH.

You may pay for your ticket with a credit card below. Or by Check made payable to WNRCF.

Thanks for all your support of our foundation's programs!

March 30 Change of Meeting Location: NTHS!!!!!

This week’s meeting will be held at New Trier High School located at 385 Winnetka Avenue. We will meet at our regular time. Since the school is on spring break there are no parking restrictions on the north side of Winnetka Avenue. Parking is also available on Essex Road and the adjacent parking lot. Enter through the main entrance and follow the signs to the new student cafeteria. The program will consist of a few words from retiring superintendent Linda Yonke followed by a tour of the new facilities.

Meeting Recap 1/12

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 37 persons in attendance at this week’s meeting. Representing the village was Alan Berkowsky, Winnetka’s Fire Chief, Terry Dason representing the Chamber of Commerce and Jess Rutstein was filling in for Allie Sarwark of the Winnetka Youth Organization.

David Birkenstein introduced the day’s speaker, Mahja Sulemanjee Bortocek who is the Director of Community Outreach at the Greenhouse Group. He spoke about the recently legalized use of marijuana for medical purposes. Greenhouse operates three medical cannabis dispensaries in the greater metropolitan area of Chicago.

Medical research has confirmed the benefits of cannabis in the treatment of pain. Also research is being conducted on the curative effects of cannabis. Greenhouse’s mission is to help its customers get more out of life. Most parts of the cannabis plant can be used; the dried leaves, the flowers, the stems and the seeds. Legal cannabis is tested for potency, contaminants and pesticides. We were told it is easy to track the cannabis if an issue arises or a particular problem occurs in a given batch as records are kept on the specific type of cannabis each patient receives.

There are 85 active ingredients (cannabinoids) in cannabis that have an affect on the human body. Cannabis can be administered in a number of different ways: smoke or vapor, tincture or sublingual, oils (usual method for cancer patients), edibles, topical (generally used for arthritis), transdermal and via a suppository. Dosage can be controlled in dispensing cannabis. When smoking cannabis one can feel the effects within 30 to 50 seconds and it can last for 2 hours. Cancer patients using cannabis oils experience the effects in 1 – 2 hours and they last for 6 – 8 hours.

Mahja said that a person could not overdose on legal cannabis. Patients are requested to keep a log of the use of cannabis and its effects. This information is used for additional research. Persons interested in cannabis for medical use must be residents of Illinois with a qualifying medical condition. One also needs a signed physicians certificate and they will be fingerprinted.

State requirements include all purchases must be paid in cash and there is only one bank (in Springfield) where the money must be deposited by the cannabis dispensary.

Meeting Recap 1/5

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 28 members present and two guests—Marc Hornstein representing the Winnetka Police Department; and Jessica Rutstein from the WYO.

Patti announced again the ABC’s of Rotary meeting on January 3, 2017—members are encouraged to attend and there is still room available for reservations. She also reminded the group that Kids Against Hunger is having its event on March 11 and is still looking for sponsors. Those interested should go on its website for further information.

SPEAKER EILEEN CONSIDINE BOGGINS: David Birkenstein introduced Ms. Boggins who is the Partner Relations Manager at Journey Care. She explained that this provider started many years ago as Hospice of North Shore. Eight years ago it reorganized into Midwest Palliative in Glenview and 18 months ago was merged into Journey Care along with the Horizons organization. The new organization serves about 1000 patients in 11 counties in the Chicagoland area. Information regarding its palliative, supportive and end-of-life care is available on its website journeycare.org. Hospice is just one part of palliative care which also includes grief support and pediatric services for people of all ages. Eileen gave examples of what to say to friends and family members who are experiencing illness and trauma. Rather than saying to a grieving person “let me know if there is something I can do”, be more proactive in dropping off food or performing functions for the person in need. Handwritten notes of concern are far better than emails. Eileen provided pamphlets as to appropriate things to say to persons grieving. Copies are available on the Journeycare.org website or you can request a copy from keithreed9@yahoo.com. Journey Care has a summer camp program for children from K to 12 grades who are in need of grievance counseling.

Eileen said that hospice care is covered by Medicare if two physicians prescribe it and the person has a life expectancy of less than 6 months. The average length of stay for a hospice patient is 13 days. Life limiting illnesses where the person is still seeking curative treatment and is expected to live longer than 6 months are covered by most health insurance policies if ordered by a physician.

Meeting Recap: December 29

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 18 members present. Our one guest was Beth Padgitt, wife of member Lee. Patti urged all members to attend the ABC’s of Rotary Conference, which will involve 3 Rotary districts and has a limited amount of seating. She will email all members the details of this meeting.

Our speaker was Emily Compton-Dzak from the Winnetka-Northfield Library. She presented interesting information on the Best Books of 2016 and a preview of her recommended books for 2017 (her list is below). She also had a display of popular books available for check-out from the Library and “goodie bags” for members with information about the Library’s upcoming events. Our community is lucky to have such a resource available and that it is staffed and managed by such capable people as Emily and our own member Rebecca Wolf.

Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi

The Girls, by Emma Cline

A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett

Swing Time, by Zadie Smith

Moonglow, by Michael Chabon

Evicted: poverty and profit in the American city, by Matthew Desmond

Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance

American Heiress, by Jeffrey Toobin

City of Dreams, by Tyler Anbinder

Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen

Shrill: notes from a loud woman, by Lindy West

Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah

Underground Airlines, by Ben Winters

Jane Steele: a confession, by Lindsay Faye

Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly

Darktown, by Thomas Mullen

The Trespasser, by Tana French

Blue Laws, by Kevin Young

Lily and the Octopus, by Steven Rowley

All Things Cease to Appear, by Elizabeth Brundage

Callings: the purpose and passion of work, edited by Dave Isay

Coming Soon in 2017:

The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney

The Second Mrs. Hockaday, by Susan Rivers

The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden

Kids Against Hunger 2017

Posted by Heidi Sibert on Jan 01, 2017

Plans are underway for our 8th Annual Kids Against Hunger Food Packing Event. Participant registration is open and solicitation of sponsors is underway. Please help us make this signature event for our club a success by recruiting participants, making a tax deductible donation or being a table sponsor. Huge thanks to those members and businesses that have already stepped up to commit to sponsoring this wonderful community event that supports the hungry.

Eventbrite - Kids Against Hunger Food Packing 2015- 100,000 Meals for the Hungry

December 15 Meeting Recap

Posted by patti Van Cleave

Thirty-six Club members attended the special holiday luncheon featuring the New Trier Swing Choir. Among the several guests in attendance were spouses of John Thomas, Robert Mardirossian, Lee Padgitt, Tony Kambich and Peter Skalski; Bridget Murphy from WCH; Ann Smith and Jackie Linney from the local Chamber of Commerce; Pat Kreis of the Winnetka Police Department; and Julia Espanosa from Private Bank.

President Van Cleave made a special presentation to Rich Lalley honoring his “five times” qualification for the Paul Harris Fellow award, which represents cumulative donations of over $6,000. Rich responded by mentioning that the Rotary Club has been selected by Charity Navigator as the most effective and impactful charitable organization in the country and that it’s a privilege to give to such an outstanding charity.

Wes Baumann introduced the 18 member New Trier Swing Choir and its director Nathan Landes. The Choir has been a holiday treat for the Club for several years and much appreciated by all concerned. This year’s group is made up of juniors and seniors at New Trier. They have been very active this holiday season in singing at several Village events and a couple of articles (with pictures) have appeared in the local papers. They are all talented singers who sing in other musical groups at New Trier and take extra time at the holiday season to prepare their music. They sang 9 songs for the Club including such holiday favorites as Winter Wonderland, Felix Navidad, Got My Love To Keep Me Warm and Let It Snow. Their songs were mostly acappella jazz arrangements with very complicated harmonies, all performed meticulously by the singers. Much thanks to New Trier, Mr. Landis, the singers and Wes Baumann for again arranging for the appearance of this Choir. You may recognize some of the singers’ names: Josh Bretthauer, Jack Callahan, Claire David, Carter George, Madi Hart, Duncan Holzhall, Alex Hopkins, Donna Kang, Adrianna Lauber, Billy Loveman, Katherine Melulis, Liam Oh, Jonathan Organ, Ana Pellar, Lily Piekos, Sarah Shapiro, Michelle Vasiliadis and Timothy Zajdela. Two regular members who were absent were Kristen Doyle and Griffin Weller.

(These minutes are a shorter version of the Club’s regular meetings which the Membership Committee and Club Board have requested for our future meetings, much to the delight of the current scribes!)

December 22nd Meeting Recap

Posted by Keith Reed on Dec 26, 2016

There were 23 members present. Guests were Tom Welch, a visiting Rotarian from Colorado, and Scott Birkenstein (son of Eric and grandson of David). It was announced that Holy Family Ministries, one of our grantees, thanked our Club for the donation of 150 coats that their organization recently distributed to needy kids.

Our speaker was Mark Stec, VP Community Bank Sales Manager at Wintrust Mortgage at North Shore Community Bank & Trust in Winnetka. He described the “mortgage madness” taking place since late 1990’s. Early on, the regulators encouraged banks to loan money for home purchases to the point that almost anyone could get a mortgage. Then in 2013 Dodd Frank changed the rules by demanding that applicants meet certain stringent requirements pertaining to income (attached is list of 8 factors provided by Mark). Assets no longer are important. Self- employed individuals need to prepare for a mortgage application by showing more income on their tax returns for the 2 years before application and less expense write-offs. The documentation required for mortgages is now far more complicated and consumers can now sue lenders for incomplete or incorrect documents. The Credit Bureaus collect more information now and some applicants have discovered that even unpaid parking tickets can adversely affect one’s credit rating and mortgage rate. He said that the bubble burst in the last decade can be blamed 1/3 each on the government, banks and the consumers. The one thing that needs to be changed is more weight given to an applicant’s net worth as opposed to their annual income.

Speaker on February 23: Doug Stuart

Posted by David Birkenstein

Dr. Doug Stuart is a consultant, coach, and speaker on the rising human spirit amidst the challenges of the 21st century. With a PhD from IIT in linguistics and post-graduate studies in transpersonal psychology, Doug has 20+ years teaching at the post-secondary level in 6 countries on 6 continents, 20 years developing corporate intercultural competence, and 30 years’ personal study of human vertical development – the evolution of consciousness from secular and spiritual perspectives. A practitioner of meditation and hatha yoga, Doug is also a writer and performer of songs of the rising human spirit.

Operation Warm Project Underway!

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Nov 27, 2016

Meeting Recap November 17

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 29 club members present at the meeting. The guests were Bridget Murphy from the WCH and Jessie Butler, wife of our speaker. Chuck Norton gave the “thought of the day” about the meaning of the word “Thanksgiving”.

Patti took a survey of those members planning on attending our December 22 and/or 29 meetings because of the holidays. Based on the tally, it was decided to have a regular meeting on both days.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Rich Lalley announced that our Operation Warm project raised over $11,500 which bought over 800 coats for needy youngsters. Among the recipients of these coats were kids associated with the Asian Youth Services, the Glenview-Northbrook Youth Services, and the InterCity Impact program in Cicero. It was announced that the local League of Women Voters is having a State of the Villages Forum from 2:30-5:00 on December 1 at the Kenilworth Union Church, at which the Village Managers and Village Presidents from Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth will discuss the “state” of their respective villages. At this event will be a “holiday collection” to benefit the New Trier and Northfield Food Pantries. Connie Berman announced that the Private Bank facility in Winnetka will have a complimentary paper shredding event on Saturday, November 19.

HAPPY BUCKS; Barb Tubekis contributed in gratitude of all the “ love, friendship and giving” she has experienced from the volunteers working on the Good News Partners post-Thanksgiving food project where over $1240 was collected to buy about 60 bags of food which will be delivered on Thanksgiving. She explained the GNP has rehabbed 11 buildings in Evanston/Rogers Park where it provides families housing and food until they can “get on their feet”. Currently about 165 families are being served. Barb said that part of her gratitude was also for her friends who consoled her during the recent loss of her family dog.

Tom Nash handled “dig n grin” with some pilgrim/turkey riddles.

SPEAKER: PETER BUTLER (former President of Rush University Medical Center and now its Chairman of the Department of Health Systems Management) and Winnetka resident.

David Birkenstein introduced our speaker and his wife, Jessie. Peter said that Obamacare had more parts that worked than failed. He said that there has been greater access to medical services and at a lower cost. Before the program, this country had 16% of our population uninsured and now that is down to 8%. 22 million people were able to obtain insurance coverage with half gaining access to Medicaid and the other half getting insurance on the insurance exchanges. In Illinois, ¼ of our population is on Medicaid. If a household’s income is below $97,000 a year, it will receive subsidies and 80% of those buying insurance from the exchanges are getting subsidized. Recently, the average annual increase in insurance purchased through the exchanges was about 25% and it was considerably higher in individual states—Illinois exchanges experienced a 40% increase. The current annual penalty for someone who does not obtain insurance is $695. Peter said that the exchanges’ financial troubles were because not enough healthy people bought insurance, but paid the penalty instead. Regarding some of the recent changes being suggested for Obamacare—he said the pre-existing condition and the no life time maximums will most likely stay. But he said if the individual mandate is removed that the cost of the overall program will increase substantially. He said that the insurance companies thought Obamacare was going to benefit them greatly, but that hasn’t been the case. To add to the problem, the Department of HHS drafted very restrictive regulations regarding the law that was going to reimburse these companies for losses and much of the anticipated reimbursement did not occur. He thinks that the guaranteed benefit package under the Obamacare plans will be reduced as a cost saving measure. He said that people under employer plans haven’t suffered as much as the self-employed/independent contractors who have experienced huge increases in premiums and deductibles and that most of the major hospitals are no longer participating in these programs which, in Illinois, are only available through Blue Cross. One advantage of going to a single payer system is that the administrative cost of a government-run insurance program would probably be less than the insurance companies charge—he gave as an example Medicare having only a 3-4% administrative charge, versus 5 times that for private carriers. He said the exchanges are in such bad shape that we have to find a way to get people to use them or get rid of them. (There were a few comments from the audience about their experiences with changes in their health insurance coverage and cost.)

Meeting Recap 10/13

Posted by Wes Baumann

This week we had 33 members in attendance; however, we had no visitors or visiting Rotarians to enjoy a wonderful lunch and a great program. Don’t forget to invite friends and prospective members to our lunches, it will help spread the word of all the good that our club is doing.

We celebrated the membership anniversaries of two Rotarians: Bob Baker joined the club in the last millennium in 1987 and Joe Nash joined in 2012. “End Polio Day” is October 24^th this year. President Patti asked for volunteers who would be willing to spend an hour at our local train station to talk to commuters about Rotary’s effort to wipe out polio throughout the world. The Barrington Rotary Club is sponsoring a service trip to Guatemala next February 19^th to the 27^th. If you have any interest go the their club’s website for more information.

Happy Buck$ this week came from Tony Kambich in honor of Sam Badger surviving his military unit’s reunion; Bob Baker for the good job Tom Nash did running the meeting the previous week in the absence of President Patti Van Cleave; John Stone for the Cub’s winning the NL Divisional Series against San Francisco; and Rich Lalley in gratitude for the fine start for Operation Warm. Our club has already raised $5500 for new coats for kids. The hope is to raise about $10,000 by Thanksgiving.

Mark Kotz did an excellent job in getting smiles and laughs for his Dig ‘n Grin.

Patti introduced two young gentlemen from the Lyric Opera to tell us more about this civic organization. Our speakers were Joel Friend, the Group Sales Manager, and Sam Fain a Group Sales Associate. They began with a detailed history of the Lyric that was first started in 1850. The first opera house was destroyed in Chicago Fire. This was at a time when New York was the center of opera in the United States. The current Civic Opera house was opened in May of 1929. Due to the financial crash that occurred later that year it laid dormant for quite a number of years. Again from 1947 until 1953 it was completely dark.

In 1953 the Lyric Opera was formally organized under the leadership of Carol Fox. In 1954 Maria Callas made her first operatic performance in the U.S. Every one of her performances was sold out. Several additional performances were added and after the final performance, when security was reduced for Ms. Callas, she was served a summons in her dressing room for a breach of contract. She never again performed in Chicago. In 1981 Ardis Krainik took over the leadership of the Lyric Opera. She was responsible for major renovations to the facility. She is also known for firing Luciano Pavarotti due to his frequent no-shows. Wes Baumann pointed out that the lead tenor in next January’s performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute is Matthew Polenzani, a 1986 New Trier graduate.

Mr. Friend said that there are eight operas performed each season as well a classical American musical (My Fair Lady in 2017). There are also special events such as performances by Plácido Domingo and Itzhak Perlman. He said Rotarians are eligible for a 20% discount for all tickets to operas. The special code is: ROTARY. Both Friend and Fain indicated that one of their goals is to bring opera to a more diverse audience, including Chicago Public School students.

Speaker on October 13: Sam Fain & Lyric Opera Chicago

Sam Fain, representing the Lyric Opera: "We have a spectacular and magical season ahead with many classics of the operatic canon as well as rarely performed gems, including The Magic Flute, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, and the Lyric Opera premiere of the French Grand Opera Les Troyens. I will speak to your members about opera, the history of the Lyric, the Civic Opera Building, and answer any questions you may have about one of the oldest and most revered non-profit arts organizations in the city of Chicago."

Meeting Recap 10/6

Posted by Wes Baumann

This week we had strong attendance numbers. There were 36 members along with in attendance, plus four guests and several late walk-ins who came to hear our speaker. This week’s formal guests included Greg Nelson, a prospective member and guest of John Thomas. Also our speaker, Dave Abell, had three guests – Elaine McCaffrey, an attorney from Glenview, Toby Nicholson, retired New Trier dance and theater teacher and active producer of shows of community theater from Winnetka, and John Rea, an economist from Evanston. All three are involved with the North Shore Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. Mike D’Onofrio represented the Village of Winnetka staff.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: It was announced, and well received, that Bernie Michna would be our President Nominee and will be set to serve in 2018-19. -- Last week’s food harvesting event for the Glencoe Garden Club was very successful. The products of the harvest were taken to some area food pantries and soup kitchens. -- Please note that next week’s meeting will be held in Room 204 (second floor) of the Community House. -- Rich Lalley announced that Operation Warm would begin its drive to raise funds to supply new winter coats to kids in need. This is one of our club’s annual projects. -- Pat O’Day invited members to attend a fundraiser for the One World Medical Foundation which supports research on PTSD out of the The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. The event will be held in Chicago on Oct. 16 and involves a display of 300 classic cars (the Klairmont Kollection). -- John Thomas sought support from the members to sign his petition to run for one of the Trustee positions for New Trier Township government.

We celebrated the birthdays of Brooke Peppy and John Stone this week.

Happy Buck$ were contributed by Sam Badger in honor of the upcoming reunion for his 1952 “Suicide Charlie” squad from the Korean War. Tony Kambich contributed in honor of Sam’s military service. Ned Meisner and Pat O’Day also indicated they were happy with financial donations.

Our speaker for the day was David Abell, a 38-year member of our club, who is now a Rotarian in Rhode Island where he is currently living in retirement. Dave, who has a significant hearing loss, developed a deep interest for hearing assistive technology (HAT). He has been wearing hearing aids for the past 27 years. Dave reported that 48 million Americans currently have some type of hearing loss and the number is growing. Approximately one-third of Americans have a hearing loss at 65. The percentage rises to 95% among 80 year olds.

There is a wide range of prices for hearing aids. Dave reported that for good hearing aids one could expect to pay $2500 - $3000 per ear. Most of that price is for the follow-up service that is required to finely adjust the devices. Dave went back 15 times for adjustments for his current pair. Hearing problems are a result of hearing consonants. As an example it is difficult for the hard of hearing to distinguish between 15 and 50 as it is 16 and 60.

All hearing aids amplify all sounds. The acoustics of a room definitely affect the ability to hear. With many hard surfaces you get several sound hitting your ear at slightly different times making it difficult to distinguish words. He suggests moving closer to the sound source whether it is a person or a speaker in a sound system

One of the assistive technologies that Dave is promoting are hearing loops. A hearing loop is a wire that encircles a room and is connected to the sound system. The sound is transmitted electromagnetically over the loop. This electromagnetic signal is picked up by a telecoil in the hearing aid. With a hearing loop, unwanted background noise is cut out and there is no need to use a receiver or headset. Any person with a compatible hearing aid can use these systems when available. There are not limits on the number of people who can use such an installed system.

Dave has encouraged the village to install this technology in the council chamber as well as suggesting that the Community House to put in a loop system in Matz Hall. We are grateful to Dave for his excellent presentation on this assistive technology to take off the limitations of the hard-of-hearing.

Speaker on October 6: David Abell

Advocating for Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT) - How I found my passion in retirement

Dave Abell, a member of the Club for 38 years from 1972-2010 and a Past President, retired to Rhode Island in 2009. Dave has developed a passion for hearing assistive technology (HAT) and will be telling us about his experience. He expects to have some guests who can tell us about their experiences with hearing loops on the North Shore. He planted the seeds for hearing loops in Village Hall and the Community House last time he visited, and now he wants to water and fertilize the seeds.

Meeting Recaps: 9/22 & 9/29

Posted by Heather Higgins

Last Thursday the Club gathered for a hands-on service project at the Glencoe Community Garden. We harvested veggies for delivery to local food pantries. Later, we met for a cocktail social hour hosted by Patti at the Winnetka Historical Society.

On September 22 Bob Baker was acting President. There were 27 members and 2 guests present. Bridget Murphy was Tim McCabe’s guest. She is the new Facilities Director at WCH. John Thomas’ guest was Greg Nelson. Peter Skalski had the thought of the day. Dig ‘n Grin was Todd Stevens who told Lawyer jokes. The speaker was Yves Lassese, who spoke about a group bringing clean water to Haitians. A well costs $15,000 to dig and it must be maintained.

Meeting Recap September 15

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 30 out of 57 members present. Allie Sarwark of WYO gave the “thought of the day” which was to look forward to positive things and forget the negative things of the past. Fred Schwimmer was back and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guests were Penny Fields from the Highland Park Rotary, and John Robertson from the Evanston Rotary. Rotating Members in attendance this week were Anna Helfman from Winnetka High School; and Marty Selleis fom the Winnetka Fire Department.

Several Club membership anniversaries were celebrated and those members present were: Tony Kambich (37); Tim McCabe (7); and Fred Schwimmer and Heidi Sibert (4). Robert Mardirossian was celebrating 22 years of membership but he also had a birthday-- and since added together they added up to 85, he wanted us to sing to him as he quoted our recent guest, Van Gilmer (choir director of the Bahai Temple), that to unify a gathering of people “you can sing”. After the singing, Robert “unified” us with his contribution of a $85 check.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb Tubekis reminded us that she needed volunteers for the September 29^th Glencoe Garden Club Harvest which is being sponsored by our Club. It includes lunch and people can participate in the deliveries after the harvest. The produce goes to several area food pantries and soup kitchens. John Robertson reminded us of the Evanston’s Rotary Club 3-part program September 23-25 which includes a Northwestern football game and a visit to the Rotary Friendship Garden in Evanston. Guest Penny Fields told us of the Writing Group at WCH who has scheduled a “standup story telling performance” at the City Winery in Highland Park September 18^th starting with music at 11:00 am. Rich Lalley reminded people of the Operation Warm project with donations hopefully coming in by the end of October (more information is available on our website and bulletins). Patti pointed out the Winnetka Historical Society’s private tour of Crab Tree Farm on a century old estate on Lake Michigan scheduled for September 29.

HAPPY BUCKS: Tony contributed in celebration of Fred Schwimmer’s return to the Club meetings and a positive forecast for his health condition. Heidi contributed to celebrate her company’s successful BBQ for their customers/vendors which raised $5000 in a raffle with the winner giving the money to their favorite charity, an Elgin- based arts organization providing programs for underprivileged children. Barb contributed HB in celebration of her tour of a newly constructed part of New Trier High School and the great job everyone is doing in retaining parts of the old structure and combining it with the new.

DIG N GRIN; Heidi gave us several little known facts about the Fall season, including why leaves lose their green color in cold weather; what happens during the equinox; how evergreen needles fall every 3 years; that 90% of the pumpkins sold during the season are raised within a 100 mile radius of Peoria; and why men really crave eating pumpkin pie!!

SPEAKER: David introduced Joe Flint, Senior Development Officer at The Cradle in Evanston. He presented a very informative power point which is available on the Club’s website. Other interesting facts mentioned were: The Cradle provides more than adoption service with its Child and Family Service programs; it started at Evanston Hospital almost 100 years ago but moved to 2049 Ridge Avenue in Evanston where it is today; it is the only agency in country with its own nursery; up until the 1990’s adoptions were “closed” with the children having no right to find out their origin—now it is an entirely open process for both children and birth parents; The Cradle has about 40% white, 30% Black; and 20% Hispanic babies adopted with about half of the kids of color being adopted by white parents; same sex couples have the same adoption rights as straight couples as long as they are married; there is no minimum age requirement for parents, but the average age of the birth moms is 27; birth moms are usually from Illinois or Indiana and the adoptive parents are usually from Illinois; the birth parents select the parents and location (there is a tendency for the birth parents to prefer suburban to inner city parents); adopting parents usually are foster parents for 6 months before applying to the State for adoption privileges; International adoptions are usually handled by international adoption agencies; some countries like Russia and Guatemala no longer permit adoption by U.S. parents, whereas Ethiopia, Korea, Tanzania and China (2^nd child usually) are still open to such adoptions; The Cradle did not charge a fee for adoption until 15 years ago and today the fee is about $39,000 to adopt a child (there are a few exceptions); it costs the Cradle $55,000 to have one child adopted; 40% of The Cradle’s budget now has to be covered by charitable contributions; and it was a revelation to hear that The Cradle does not receive any government funds.

Help Us Warm the Hearts of Children

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Sep 06, 2016

Please help us reach our goal of providing brand new Operation Warm winter coats to 1,000 children living in need in the Chicago area. We believe a new coat is more than a coat and can tell a child "You're worth it." We believe it can inspire happiness and warmth in a child, while also increasing self-confidence, peer acceptance, school attendance, and outdoor play.

Over the past seven years, the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield has provided a gift of warmth to nearly 4,000 area children. For these children and their families, your gift of a new coat will be a true blessing.

We partner with several area non-profit organizations identified by our club members, including:

Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook
Holy Family Ministries in North Lawndale
Inner City Impact in Cicero | JCYS in Highwood
Open Arms Mission in Antioch | Maryville Crisis Nursery in Oak Park
Hope Community Church in Chicago's Austin Neighborhood
Asian Youth Services

Won't you join us with a tax deductible donation in support of our goal? You can create your own fundraising page- and even dedicate it to one of our beneficiary organizations- and share with friends or family, or donate directly above. $20 provides a new winter coat for a child. How many children will you keep warm next winter?

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY: Another local Rotary Club will match up to $400 in donations! Make a donation today and double your impact!

Make your tax deductible donation at give.operationwarm.org/wnrotary

Meeting Recap September 1

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 33 out of 57 members present. Joe Nash did the “thought for the day” , which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Guests were Jacqueline Boland (guest of Connie Berman); Brian Keys represented the Village and Julie Tye represented Hadley.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti invited everyone to attend a special “end polio now” event on September 6^th from 5:30-8:00 pm at One Rotary Center in Evanston which will highlight our progress in the fight to eradicate polio throughout the world. Patti also announced Rotary day at the football game between Nebraska and Northwestern on September 24^th, at which there is a big book collection initiative for kids under 5 years of age. More information on tickets and book collection will be forthcoming. Heather Higgins celebrated her birthday and she requested that we sing the song (we must be getting better because no one offered any money for us not to sing!)

HAPPY BUCKS: Allie Sarwark , Director of the WYO, contributed. Barb Tubekis contributed because of 5 of our Club members who volunteered to help the Glencoe Garden Club with their “food harvest” on 9/29.

Bernie Michna handled the “dig and grin” telling us about kangaroos complaining about the high cost of drinks in Manhattan and certain Cubs not being able to identify the Lord’s Prayer!

After a short video presenting certain options to increase Rotary membership, David Birkenstein introduced our speaker, Dr. Michael Kennedy, Director of the Science in Society at Northwestern University, which is dedicated to science outreach and public engagement. He said that education researchers have long pointed out the need for inquiry-based teaching approaches to connect students to real scientists and science environments. Northwestern and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago have partnered to form a Science Club where Northwestern scientists mentor middle schoolers at the B & G Clubs in small groups to tackle real-world science problems and help youth emerge as more critical thinkers. The emphasis is on STEM (science, technical, engineering and math) experiences and the target group of students is low-income students in the Chicago schools. Middle grade students spend 80% of their time out of school and the project tries to enrich the participants’ time out of school versus during school. The instructors in the program are NW grad students and expert lay persons in the area. 100 youths participate per quarter; there are 50 mentors; a student stays in the program for 1 ½ years; each student is mentored 1 ½ hours per week after school at one of the B & G Clubs; and the students are evaluated on their oral presentation of their projects. This program has greatly increased the interest of students pursuing a STEM career. The program receives some support from the National Institutes of Health. Further information is available by contacting Dr. Michael Kennedy at m-kennedy@northwestern.edu. If you would like to review his power point presented at our meeting, please contact David Grant or Keith Reed.

September 29th: Double-Header Rotary Day!!!!

Posted by Barb Tubekis

Glencoe Garden at lunch, and then drinks at 5!!

Those interested in a hands-on service project will gather at 12:15 at the Glencoe Community Garden to learn about the garden while eating a yummy boxed lunch, then harvest veggies for delivery to local food pantries. Come dressed to get dirty! RSVP to Barb Tubekis to be sure you get a boxed lunch!

Later, join your fellow Rotarians for a cocktail social hour(s) at 5! Hosted by Patti at the Winnetka Historical Society, 411 Linden Street. Park on Ash or Ridge, enter through front or back door. Appetizers will be plentiful and catered by our own Donna. BYOB if you'd like, beer and wine will be served. Spouses/significant others welcome!

Meeting Recap August 25

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 34 of 57 members present. Guests were Deb Guy from the Women’s Exchange in Glencoe (Patti Van Cleave guest); Shari Burton represented corporate member Hadley Institute and Ann Smith represented the W-N Chamber of Commerce.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Randy Reeves celebrated a birthday. Patti listed the assignments for the next meeting. Mark Kotz reminded everyone that he still has available copies of the directory of all the Rotary Clubs in our District. Barb Tubekis reminded us that although we have no luncheon meeting on September 29, that the Glencoe Community Garden group is having its harvest of fruits and vegetables from 12:15 to 1:30 at its location in Glencoe (next to the railroad tracks). This includes a short lunch and volunteers are needed. They should wear closed- toe shoes and bring gloves. Barb also reminded us that our Club is having a social gathering that evening at 5:00 to approximately 6:30 at the Winnetka Historical Society—drinks and hors doeuvres will be provided. This is one of our newly-initiated social events that we are trying on the 5^th Thursday of a month in lieu of a formal meeting. Rich Lalley asked for names of other organizations that might be able to benefit children by being part of the Club’s Operation Warm program. Donations of coats are given to such organizations who find the children to receive same. A good example is the Open Arms Kitchen in Antioch. These coats are passed out to kids from October through November. Our Club is responsible for getting these coats to more kids than any other Rotary Club in our District.

HAPPY BUCKS: Wes Bauman contributed in memory of 14 years ago when he had a serious health problem at the opening meeting of his last year as Principal of New Trier High School—he is thankful he made it through that last year until his retirement and for the 13 years thereafter—and is looking forward to many more; Barb Tubekis contributed for the great job Robert Mardirossian did in presenting a program on handling aging parents given recently at the Winnetka library; Tony Kambich contributed in honor of Sam Owri of Uganda who is a long distant admirer of our Club and who will become the International Rotary’s President in 2 or 3 years.

Tim McCabe gave the Dig N Grin by reminding us that if a dentist marries a manicurist they may fight “tooth and nail”—or a will (estate plan) is actually a “dead give away”.

SPEAKER CYNTHIA ANDERSON FROM THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN (CBG): David Birkenstein introduced our speaker who is a Master Gardener and educator at the CBG and is now working on her Doctorate in landscape architecture. She said the goal of the CBG is to further education and scientific programs involving plants and flowers. Cook County Forest Preserve owns the CBG property but it is managed by the Chicago Historical Society. Other facts relating to CBG are: it had one million visitors in 2015; it covers 385 acres; has 26 garden areas and 4 natural areas; has one million bulbs, 65,000 shrubs and 100 acres of woods. The five major gardens are the Krasberg Rose Garden (5000 plants); Bonsai Collection Garden; English Walled Garden; Japanese Garden covering 17 acres and 3 islands; and the Evaluation Garden . The Plant Conservation Center is part of the Evaluation Garden where it teaches and researchs plant conservation. Northwestern University and ITT have educational classes at CBG. The Regenstein Learning Center is new, has 10 classrooms and 433 adult education programs. During the summer several hundred children from the area attend educational classes at the facility. The Hadley Institute has at least 3 programs to help sight-impaired people learn about and enjoy plants/flowers. A little known program of the CBG is its Plant Information helpline where people can call in problems with their plants/flowers and get immediate and expert advice from the 5-10 Master Gardeners who are usually on duty to take such calls.

In answer to questions from the audience, Cynthia said, yes, there are fish in the water; that the CBG has plenty of geese on the premises, but no swans at this time; there are 250 bird species that frequent the area; and that the deer population is “controlled and escorted peacefully from the premises”. As Cynthia put it, “we are indeed lucky to have the CBG our backyard.”

(Cynthia’s power point presentation will be passed on to members when it is received.)

Applications being accepted for Community Grants program

Posted by Patti Van Cleave on Jul 25, 2016

Our Club's Charitable Foundation is now accepting Community Grant applications for funding for the 2016-17 funding year. Applications are due by November 30, with grants to be awarded in March, 2017. Our Foundation typically funds about 15 organizations, both local and international. Applicants are required to have a club member as a sponsor of their organization. This person can be a board member, volunteer or donor to the organization. Grants are typically $500-2,000. A list of last year's recipients is below.

Any questions? Email Brooke Peppey, Foundation Chair at bpeppey@aol.com

The application can be found by clicking here.

2016 grants awarded

Allowance for Good

Angles

Blues Kids Foundation

Holy Family Ministries

Jewish Council for Youth Services

Literature for All of Us

Meals at Home

Northeastern Illinois University Scholarship

Right to Be Free

Winnetka Youth Organization

Speaker on July 28: Grace Deetjen

Grace is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, majoring in bioengineering. This summer, she volunteered as a workshop assistant at the Bolivian Prosthetics Foundation, a project our club sponsored as part of a Rotary Global Grant. She will visit our club to provide a first hand account of the life changing work at this clinic.

Meeting Recap July 21

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 31 members present and one guest (Alex Lalley). Barb Tubekis gave the “thought for the day”.

Happy Bucks: Tom Evans (through his designee Liz) gave $10 in celebration of his son (Matt) getting a job with the University of Chicago; Barb contributed in celebration of completion of her advanced learning class; and Patti Van Cleave contributed because Bill Leske has returned to the Club and her contribution was matched by Bill Leske. Patti welcomed back Mark Kotz who was missed greatly by everyone during his absence-- both Patti and Mark contributed HB.

Announcements: John Thomas reminded everyone that the International Rotary has published a very informative pamphlet that can be given by our members to invite guests to our meetings in order to increase membership; Rich stated that the Rotary- supported Cubs-Brewers game this coming Saturday in Milwaukee is sold out and that getting there early is important—he also distributed tickets and directions to Miller Park; Patti announced that our Club received $3750 from our District as a matching grant to be applied to our Kids Against Hunger program and thanked Rich for preparing the grant proposal.

John Thomas handled the Dig and Grin and received a round of applause for his efforts.

Speaker—Michelle Silverthorn: David Birkenstein introduced Michelle who is employed as Diversity & Education Director at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. She grew up in Jamaica, went to Princeton on scholarship and graduated there before going on to law school. She worked for two well-regarded law firms in New York and Chicago before being employed by the Commission. The Commission was formed by the State Supreme Court about 10 years ago to encourage, support and deliver programs that enhance the efforts of the legal profession to be more diverse, open and accessible. This includes helping law firms and law schools develop diversity programs.

Due to a computer malfunction, Michelle was somewhat limited in presenting information on her announced topic which was how our modern workforce is transforming with regard to diversity and what we can do to tackle the “ implicit biases” in our professional and personal circles. She made the following points during her presentation:

--People in the U.S. seem to be very hesitant to talk about the race issue and seem to go out of their way in denying that they make decisions based on race;

--Experiments by Oprah Winfrey and a white Iowa schoolteacher (Jane Elliot) demonstrated that if a class of people is continually told they are inferior and at the same time are not treated equally to other classes of people, that they will eventually believe that they are inferior; Watch a 3-minute summary video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOTxammRTw Here is another video, 8-min reflection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8PicAzrNU0&feature=youtu.be

--Studies have shown that Black (the term used in Jamaica versus African-American) students do better in tests that are described as “problem solving exercises” versus “intelligent tests”;

--Many white people have an “implicit bias” against Blacks because of the “circle of influence” they are exposed to during their childhood and adult lives;

--Many college educators and law firms tend to evaluate women and Blacks on a tougher scale than other groups of students and lawyers;

--The best way to correct this “implicit bias” is for everyone to engage in more dialogue and understanding of the race problem and to increase their reading and study of literature and media sources that present all different points of view regarding the issue.

Michelle ended her presentation by quoting George Washington who said that “civility” of a population is determined by the “respect” people have for each other and that such respect has to start from within each one of us.

Another source of information on bias that Michele suggested we look at is the book titled "Americanah," which you can look at on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307455920/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

or if you want to watch a TED presentation by the author: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

Message from Mary Lou Bilder Gold

Our member Mary Lou sends her regards to the club, and wants us to know that her cousin, Berna Heubner, has produced a film about Alzheimer's that will show on WTTW on Sunday, July 24 at 4:00pm. Titled "I Remember Better When I paint," the film is narrated by Olivia de Havilland. It is about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies on people with Alzheimer's and how these approaches can change the way we look at the disease. For more info: http: http://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/214341/I-Remember-Better-When-I-Paint/

Speaker on July 21: Michelle Silverthorn

Michelle's remarks will focus on how our modern workplace is transforming, particularly with regard to diversity, what inclusion strategies we can use in our workplace, and how we can tackle implicit biases in our professional and personal circles. Michelle Silverthorn is the Diversity & Education Director at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

My remarks will focus on how our workplace is transforming, particularly with regard to diversity, what inclusion strategies we can use in our workplace, and how we can tackle implicit biases in our professional and personal circles. Michelle Silverthorn, Diversity & Education Director Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism - See more at: http://wnrotary.org/Speakers#sthash.JHOqzkRQ.dpuf

Meeting Recap July 14

Posted by Keith Reed

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.

Meeting Recap July 7

Posted by Keith Reed

Guests included the spouses of Marie Kuipers, Robert Mardirossian, Sam Badger, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave and Peter Skalski. Other guests were Jessica Tucker and Creed Tucker (guests of Bob Baker), Kelly Lange (Joe Nash guest), John Zeddies (Peter Skalski guest), Kate Hughes (representing School District 36), Alan Ramson and Mary Bak (Rotary Asst. District Governor).

Bob Baker dedicated the thought of the day to our new President, Patti Van Cleave, which extolled the virtues of “keeping things simple”.

It was announced that Mark Kotz has had some health problems and is hospitalized at Glenbrook Hospital. A card was passed for all to offer their good wishes for a quick recovery.

Outgoing President John Thomas expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to be the Club’s President for the last year. He expressly mentioned the help he received from Mark Kotz, Rodger Morris, Rich Lalley and the 15 Board members serving during his term. He mentioned that he would now be able to “finish his lunch” at our regular meetings rather than starting the meetings promptly at 12:15. Patti Van Cleave presented John with a Rotary plaque and a Past President pin and badge in recognition of all John’s good efforts in leading the group over the last year.

Tony Kambich and Rodger Morris then presented John with a special Paul Harris award in recognition of John becoming a Paul Harris Fellow and for his substantial contribution in furthering Rotary’s goals and programs during his time as President.

Mary Bak, our Assistant District Governor, then complimented our Club on a couple of accomplishments that stood out to her—our Kids Against Hunger program and the fact that our Club’s annual giving to the Rotary Foundation exceeded substantially our annual goal. Mary then proceeded to swear in our new Club President, Patti Van Cleave, as well as the 15-member Board for next year.

Patti gave a short acceptance speech pointing out the long and accomplished history of our Rotary Club which started back in 1911; that the Club’s main function was for fellowship and an opportunity to serve others; that our Club needs more publicity for the good things it does, including such things as its efforts to eradicate polio, Operation Warm, Kids Against Hunger, and the community grants program. Among her goals for next year are to engage current members in “service before self”; tell stories of those people/organizations we serve; and to collaborate with others to make things better for those in need. With both our past President and new President receiving applause for jobs well done, the meeting was adjourned.

Meeting Recap June 30

Posted by Lee Padgitt

Randy Reeves greeted everyone before Mike Shelton gave us the thought for the day. 28 out of 57 members were in attendence. David Birkenstein’ s guest was Todd Bender. Kristen is stepping down as Executive Director of the WYO and her guest was Allie Sarwark, who will take her place. Happy Bucks came from Marie, Keith, Tom, Tony, Allie and Rich. Lee did Dig and Grin.

Our speaker was Jon Ferris of the Writer’s Theatre www.writerstheatre.org who described the features of their new home on Tudor Court in Glencoe and upcoming performances. The exterior elements of glass, plaster and wood were inspired by North Shore architecture and incorporated into a modern tudor design concept. Port Orford cedar was used to make the unique wooden structure reminiscent of tudor style. White oak trees felled to make room for the building were used in the donor wall. The concession stand and bookstore corridor use three different types of elm woods. The roof top terrace is a public space with a fire pit and green roof garden. The Women’s Library Club leases the land to the Writer’s Theatre and uses it as their meeting space. Bricks from their old building were used in the in the main stage walls.

Meeting Recap June 23

Posted by Wes Baumann

This week there were 31 members in attendance, plus three guests and our speaker. Keith Reed, the substitute greeter, introduced visiting Rotarian and past member of our club, Bill Leske. Keith also introduced two guests: David Birkenstein brought his wife Mary, and Kristen Leahy brought her colleague from the WYO, Allie Sarwark.

Rodger Morris made an important announcement that beginning in July, the new fiscal, year he will not have his usual supply of singles ($1). So if you give him $20 you will get 24 raffle tickets. Try to remember to bring exact change especially if you want less than five dollars worth of raffle tickets.

Bob Baker reminded the club that our Installation Dinner would be held on Thursday, July 7^th at 5:30 p.m. at the Community House. There will not be a regular luncheon meeting on that day. It is important that all members who plan to attend sign up and indicate if they plan to bring a ‘significant other.’

Mark Kotz also reminded members that if they are assigned to Sgt-at-Arms duty they should stay a few minutes after to meeting to take the badges and flags back to the closet which is located near the front desk at the Community House.

Rich Lalley proudly presented Barb Tubekis with a Paul Harris Fellowship. He also thanked the club for the number of members who have recently made their contribution to the Rotary International’s “Every Member Every Year” program. Next week’s meeting is the deadline to make a contribution for this fiscal year. The goal is to have 100% participation in this worthy effort for RI’s Foundation.

Happy Buck$ this week were happily supplied by Wes Baumann who gave $3 for the three-win sweep of the Cubs by the Cardinals. Robert “Mr. Cub” Mardirossian came back with $8 for the eight game lead the Cubs had over the Cardinals. Other Happy Buck$ came from Bernie Michna, Tony Kambich, and our guest speaker Father Jim. Rich Lalley threw in $37 for his 37^th wedding anniversary, congratulations to his wife Dyan!

David Birkenstein, introduced our speaker for the day, Father Jim Swarthout. Father Jim was originally ordained as a Catholic priest, but he became an Episcopalian priest after marrying a Catholic nun years ago. He is a member of the Fox Valley Sunset Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Father Jim has spent most of his professional life in the area of addiction and mental health. Father Jim works as a clergy community coordinator at Rosecrance Health Network, a large mental health facility with numerous sites. He and his wife often house bishops and priests struggling with addiction problems.

Rosecrance deals with addiction and mental health problems in all age groups. They have the largest adolescence program in the state. Rosecrance also provides services to policemen and firemen who are suffering from the trauma they have witnessed on their jobs; it is considered a secondary trauma.

Father Jim feels strongly that we need to talk about these serious issues, as ‘apathy is the death of hope.’ For many addicts it is a long, almost never-ending journey consisting of falling and getting up, which is repeated many times over. He said this falling and getting up is common among the human race and is not limited to those dealing with addiction. He said that humans are great at the art of self-criticism, which only make the road back more difficult.

Father Jim said that today pot is 10 to 20 times more powerful than it was 30 years ago. He is against the legalization of marijuana and said that the low cost of heroin is exacerbating the problem of addiction. He stated that he does not always understand the cause of the problem, but he is committed to helping people deal with their issues. The Club really enjoyed his thought-provoking and stimulating presentation.

Every Rotarian Every Year! Give to the Rotary Foundation Before the Rotary Year Ends

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Jun 23, 2016

THANK YOU!!! GOAL ACHIEVED!!!

Through June 30, 30 of 57 members of our club have contributed

$9,187

to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund. We thank these 30 Rotarians for making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Bob Baker, Wes Bauman, Jeanne Beckman, David Birkenstein⁺, Terry Dason, Mary Lou Bilder-Gold, David Grant*, Heather Higgins, Tony Kambich*, Mark Kotz, Rich Lalley⁺, Denny Lauer, Robert Mardirossian, Tim McCabe, Bernie Michna, Rodger Morris*, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Kieth Reed, Fred Schwimmer⁺, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, John Stone, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Dirk Tussing, Patti Van Cleave, Rebecca Wolf and Carl Yudell. Donna Goodman also contributed!
* 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 the water well project we helped fund for an orphanage in Kenya and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received nearly $4,000 for our Kids Against Hunger project! But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 92.45 out of 100.
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.
Check out this video on the good your contributions to the Rotary Foundation do throughout the world:

If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.

Meeting Recap June 16

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 34 members present and one guest, who was Rick Brill, President Elect of the “noon” Rotary Club in Wilmette.

Mark Kotz did the Thought of the Day; Joe Nash led the Pledge of Allegiance; and Bernie Michna did the Dig and Grin.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Thomas clarified the Club’s policy that each member is expected to put $2 on the table (whether or not the Dig and Grin is amusing!), with the money going to the Rotary Foundation. Bob Baker stated that the installation dinner for our new President, Patti Van Cleave, is set for the evening of July 7^th at the WCH. There will not be a noon meeting that day and people should sign up for the dinner for the caterer to get a count. Patti told the group that there were only 18 members who gave to the Foundation during the year ending June 30^th. She encouraged everyone to participate, no matter the amount. Contributions can be done on-line and everyone should know that each Club gets a certain amount of “trickle back” from all contributions to the Foundation—last year our Club received $3700. Our WCH caterer, Donna, announced that she was giving $100, which was appreciated by all.

HAPPY BUCKS: Sam Badger started with a donation in honor of his 65^th class reunion at Miami University. Robert Mardirossian showed the old Cub “wait until next year” spirit by giving a Buck for a rare Cub loss that he hopes doesn’t become the norm again this year. Tony contributed in recognition of the Winnetka Park District leadership (including John Thomas) for the successful planning, developing and opening of the new park facility in Hubbard Woods. Patti contributed in honor of Tom Evans who recently received the Volunteer of the Year award at the Winnetka Congregational Church for various efforts there and for his work in support of a clinic on Chicago’s Southside. Rebecca contributed for the completion of the rehab project at the Winnetka and Northfield libraries in time for their summer programs to begin.

SPEAKERS NED MEISNER AND ROB ENGSTROM FROM CHARLES WM. FOSTER AND ASSOCIATES, LTD: In summarizing the “state of the U.S. economy” Rob said that we have become a debt based economy that is no longer based on savings and investment but one based on ever increasing debt and credit. In a debt based economy debt has to be growing faster than the underlying economy to continue its growth. For there to be increasing debt, there needs to be increasing credit which supports the debt. In order to provide increasing credit, there needs to be collateral that supports the credit. Collateral is property, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. The Fed has an incentive to maintain or increase asset prices so that debt can continue to grow. This is a result of zero interest rate policy, ZIRP, by which lower interest rates result in an increase financial asset prices. The result of ZIRP is investors seeking higher yields from riskier assets, more than what they would have otherwise taken. Investors are seeking the higher returns in the same assets types, namely: stock, bonds and real estate. Since investors are all in the same assets, the price action becomes more correlated to each other. The result of this culminated in the credit bubble burst in 2008. The solution to this problem was to re-inflate the bubble again through the various Quantitative Easing Programs which benefited the banks and their management. The US is able to maintain its debt based growth in the economy because it is able to finance its national debt, which now stands at $19.2 trillion. The US is able to run up its debt, as well as its trade deficit, because the USDollar is the World/s Reserve Currency. China and Russia have a huge financial incentive to break the monopoly the US has on world trade. They are doing this by conducting trade using their own currencies and circumventing the USD. Over the past 8 years significant trading agreements have been signed circumventing the USD, with the sale of Russian energy to China in 2015 being one of the largest. Another significant event has occurred this year that will compete directly with the USD and that is China’s trading of gold in Yuan. This is significant because up until recently gold has always been quoted in USD. Over the past 8 years, China has become a major gold trading center for physical gold delivery, as opposed to a paper based system in the US. China’s gold strategy will eventually lead to its currency being backed by gold, giving it a significant advantage over the USD, which is currently not based on anything but “confidence”. The speakers said that this scenario was depicted in the movie “The Big Short”, and they recommended the movie. More information about these views can be obtained from our Club member Ned Meisner, as well as from Rob Engstrom at roberte@cwfoster.com.

Meeting Recap June 9

Bernie gave us the thought for the day on the 72nd anniversary of D-Day about how war robs the poor. Donna had a special lunch menu in honor of Gina who is leaving our Club and in recognition of her extraordinary service. Our guest was John Ripka of the Winnetka Fire Department. Robert Smith invites everyone to attend the Rededication of Hubbard Woods Park at 5:30 June 15.

Terry Dason of the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce was welcomed as our newest member. David Birkenstein was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow plus three. Rich Lalley was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow plus four. Happy Bucks came from John Stone, Uncle Ned, Patti, Keith and Rich. Robert Mardirossian gave us his favorite quotes for dig and grin.

Recycling Flowers – Delivering Smiles. Our speaker Joanie Bayhack is the Executive Director of the Chicago chapter of Random Acts of Flowers, which recycles and repurposes flowers by engaging volunteers to deliver beautiful bouquets and moments of kindness to individuals in healthcare facilities across the country. These unexpected gifts of fresh cut flowers delivered to inpatients create enormous goodwill for both the recipient and the giver. Over 50 flower partners have provided flowers which are delivered to over 140 locations. Their 36,000^th bouquet was delivered recently. www.randomactsofflowers.org

Speaker on June 16: Ned Meisner & Rob Engstrom

Ned Meisner, member of the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Club, will speak about the future of the U.S. economy. Here is a preview from him:

My colleague, Rob Engstrom, CPA, CFA, and I have over 70 years of financial planning experience between us. We have created a public service message in an attempt to educate people about how to digest the financial information which we hear, from so many sources.

There are caveats which will effect local, national and international financial markets. Our talk is pregnant with information which was born from the forensic work which Rob and I both do. We are not selling any product nor service at the talk. Our talk takes a contrarian view, on our financial future, which is important for all to hear.

Rotary is a perfect match for this critical subject matter.

My credentials include:

Masters of Science in Finance

Chartered Financial Consultant

Registered Employee Benefit Consultant

Certified Retirement Planning Counselor

Matriculated - Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy

Rob is a CPA and Chartered Financial Analyst.

Meeting Recap June 2

Posted by Wes Baumann

Before the actual business portion of the meeting began President Thomas auctioned off 4 $108 field box seats for tomorrow’s Cubs’ game. On this short notice the tickets went to Robert Mardirossian for $200. This money went to the WYO, which is holding their annual benefit this evening.

Thirty-two members were in attendance this week. Our week’s greeter, Marie Kuipers, introduced two visiting Rotarians: John Dyrud from the Wilmette Noon Club and former member Bill Leske, from the Skokie Valley Rotary Club. Bill plans to rejoin our club as his new position of manager of the Winnetka branch of First Bank and Trust has brought him back to our area.

Barb Tubekis, dressed in orange announced that it was to highlight National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Our speaker Rep. Bob Dold was duked out in an orange tie and orange-tinted American flag lapel pin. Patti Van Cleave reminded the club members that the Winnetka Historical Society’s would be held on June 25^th. Tickets are $175 per person for the Cuban themed event.

David Birkenstein introduced our speaker U.S. Congressional Representative from the 10^th District, Bob Dold. Bob grew up in Kenilworth and graduated from New Trier High School. He was first elected to Congress in 2010 when the 10^th District included all of Winnetka and Northfield. He lost his seat in 2012 following redistricting to Democrat Brad Schneider by 3000 votes. Then in 2014 he retook the seat against Schneider in 2014. They will be competing for it for the third time this November.

Bob is one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress. He has frequently championed bipartisan efforts to move the country forward. Unlike most of his fellow Republicans he felt the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court was the wrong verdict. He was one of three Republicans who voted against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act as he felt there as some good things about the law such as not allowing pre-existing to prevent insuring people as well as keeping children on their parents family plan until they are 26. However, he feels the Affordable Care Act needs some major improvements. Bob, differs from most of his Republican colleagues, in that he supports abortion rights, gay rights, stem cell research and funding for Planned Parenthood. He also supports gradually raising the minimum wage; the only question is how high and at what rate. Bob stated that the Senate should hold hearings on President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court as Judge Scalia was a strict constitutionalist and the constitution calls for the President to make a replacement recommendation and it is up to the Senate to advise and consent (or not consent).

Bob is now on the Ways and Means Committee and has expressed concern about the meager fiscal growth rate of the U.S., currently at 1.5% for the past decade, when 3.5% was typical of previous decades. He was proud to report his role in the passage, with overwhelming bipartisan support, of a transportation bill that funnels money from the federal government to the states, especially of the fact that Illinois received the 4^th largest amount of money.

Rep. Dold expressed concern for overregulation, which he says is causing the loss of one bank per week. While he agrees we need some regulation we absolutely need smart regulation. Bob also expressed concern for the major drug problem on the North Shore, especially prevalent in Lake County. He has introduced a bill to create a grant to expand the availability of naloxone, a heroin overdose antidote. The meeting feature lively give and take between Representative Dold and the Rotary Club.

Speaker on June 2: Bob Dold

Robert James "Bob" Dold, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district, having served since 2015. He previously served from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his election, Dold ran his family-owned business, Rose Pest Solutions. In 2010, Dold defeated Democratic Party nominee Dan Seals to replace Republican incumbent Mark Kirk in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dold was narrowly defeated by Democrat Brad Schneider in 2012, but regained the seat in 2014, defeating Schneider in a rematch.

Meeting Recap May 26

Posted by Lee Padgitt

John Ford greeted the 38 out of 58 members in attendance. Tony gave us a heartfelt and poignant thought of the day about Memorial Day. Kristin announced the WYO benefit Thursday June 2, 7:00 p.m. at the Happ Inn. Barb announced the Volunteer Center’s Board Recruitment training seminar to be held June 10 from1:00 to 3:00. David mentioned that Congressman Bob Dold will be our speaker next week - invite guests!

Our speaker was Scott Freres from the Lakota group who spoke about the Winnetka Lakefront Master Plan 2030, which can be found at:

http://www.winpark.org/wp-content/uploads/2030_ww_draft_introduction.pdf.

This plan took two years to complete at a cost of $240,000, of which $119,000 was from a matching grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program. This is a “living document,” not a blue print for development or construction. It envisions a long term preservation and enhancement process viewing the lake front as an asset.

Speaker on May 26: Scott Freres

Scott Freres will discuss plans being prepared with the Winnetka Park District for the Winnetka Lake Front. Scott is with The Lakota Group. The Lakota Group is a team of professionals providing services in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation and Community Relations. The firm’s approach is reflected in its name, which is a Native American word meaning allies. Lakota’s professionals share a strong respect for the land and built environment, a sense of community and a desire to bring people together to work as allies for positive change.

Winnetka Lakefront Master Plan Scott Freres is with The Lakota Group. The Lakota Group is a team of professionals providing services in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation and Community Relations. The firm’s approach is reflected in its name, which is a Native American word meaning allies. Lakota’s professionals share a strong respect for the land and built environment, a sense of community and a desire to bring people together to work as allies for positive change. Scott will discuss plans being prepared with the Winnetka Park District for the Winnetka Lake Front. - See more at: http://wnrotary.org/Speakers#sthash.d9fnHVBl.dpuf

Meeting Recap May 19

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 28 members present. Bob Baker presided over the meeting in John Thomas’ absence. The thought of the day was given by Eric Birkenstein who pointed out that Pakistan has been polio-free for almost a year and Afghanistan should be polio-free within the next year. Rotary has played a large part in achieving these milestones.

Guests were Ishrath Khatoon from Private Bank (Connie Berman guest); Khalil Dana (Ned Meisner guest); and Rachel Schindler and Patti Balsis (David Birkenstein guests and speakers).

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Tim McCabe made the sad announcement that Gina Sich is leaving the WCH for another job opportunity in the sales area. People expressed their shock and dismay at hearing this news, as evidenced by the HB donated later on in Gina’s honor. Bob Baker said that the recent Rotary Benefit netted around $5000 and thanked all those who worked so hard on the event--especially Patti Van Cleave and Barb Tubekis. Rich Lalley mentioned that the Rotary International Convention will be in Atlanta on June 10-14, 2017 and that there is a special registration fee of only $265 if paid between May 8 and June 6 of this year. Rotary will be celebrating its 100^th anniversary then. There will be about 30,000 Rotarians there from all over the world. Patti mentioned that she intended to attend. Roger Morris made a statement about Dave Gotass to supplement those made by Tony at our last meeting: Roger mentioned that David and Tony Kambich, after hearing of young Uganda kids in northern Uganda refugee camps being taken by Sudan rebels for child labor, headed up a small group of our Rotarians who contributed about $500 a piece to “buy” the freedom of 5 kids who were sent to Rotarians in Uganda who provided for their medical, housing and educational needs. Roger also mentioned how David had volunteered many years ago to help our Club develop its computer system that has served us very well over the years.

BIRTHDAYS AND HAPPY BUCKS (HB): Birthdays were celebrated by David Grant, Fred Schwimmer, Patti Van Cleave and Heidi Sibert. Fred gave $100 in HB mostly for his birthday, although he is only about 80% of that age, with the rest for the birthdays of his twin grandchildren. Patti donated $58 in celebration of her 58 years and Heidi applied the same formula for her HB celebrating her 59^th birthday. Barb Tubekis gave HB for all the great work Gina has done for the Club and also for her son being safe on his flight yesterday to Egypt, even though he was not flying Egyptian Airlines. Connie Berman (who just completed her 14^th year as a Rotarian) donated a HB in honor of Gina and also for her son recently getting a very good teaching job at Stevenson High School. Ned gave a HB because he will be visiting his grandchildren in Fresno, California. He also offered to forward an You Tube video to other Rotarians who would be interested in being updated on the religious persecution going on in Iran. Wes Baumann and our speaker, Patti Balsis, gave HB in honor of Gina.

David Birkenstein handled the Dig N Grin assignment and then introduced Rachel Schindler from the American Cancer Society. Rachel said that this organization is one of the largest fund raising organizations in this country –and all of its services are provided free of charge. Examples of some of these services are: It has a National Information Center that is available to any cancer patient; it has a website that provides drivers for cancer patients needing rides to receive medical services; it has a program to provide free housing for patients having to stay out of town for treatments; it provides free make-up services, primarily for women, who develop skin problems after cancer treatment; it has a program where it will assign a “cancer buddy” to help individuals cope with the disease; and it is sponsoring the Relay For Life Event which is a fund raising event in 24 different countries and most of our—such event is being held in the near future at New Trier High School.

SPEAKER: Patti Balsis is a Chicago-based actor and model who grew up in the Chicago area and has been in this business for about 20 years, primarily doing commercials, industrial films, print work, voice overs, and being a working spokesperson for large companies. She admitted that she rarely watches TV or movies, but that she learns a lot from her students and watching people in everyday life and how they genuinely act. She explained how people get into this business and how they have to rely on modeling and talent agencies to get most of their work. Each person has to get a composite of their pictures, head shots, and in some cases voice tapes. But that is the easy part of getting these jobs—auditions usually are very numerous, time consuming, tedious and often unsuccessful. She said it is important to do research before the audition on the company involved, the product and the person they are to portray. She said that modeling is different from acting—modeling is captured on print, whereas acting is live and in motion. . She mentioned some of the stars in the industry with whom she has worked (including Morgan Freeman and Keena Reeves) and some of the local stars from Chicago, such as the Belushi brothers, Chris Farley and John Cusack. Patti was recently on Chicago Med (a Chicago based TV series) where she played Skylar’s mother. She also showed us a recent Sears commercial where she was told by her boss to give the “boot” to a co-worker in an advertisement for outdoor boots. Her 10 year old son David is also in the acting business with recent appearances in the TV series Chicago Fire and a TV commercial for Marie Callender’s Pot Pie. In addition to acting, Patti has her own business consulting and instructing others on such things as how to audition; how to build skills in the use of Ear Prompters; how to study, interpret and present scripts in auditions, etc. She said that the most important advice she could give most people in the business (and perhaps generally) is to get rid of a “frowney face”. As we get older a relaxed face tends naturally to form a frown. But with practice and a little discipline we could all carry a more pleasant look on our faces as we interact with other people.

Patti said that most productions need “extras” who appear in street scenes, large meetings, etc. There usually is not much pay involved but there is a need for people of all ages, sizes, races, etc. If anyone is interested in appearing in a movie or TV as an extra, they can learn more by visiting Patti’s website (www.pattibalsis.com) or www.extraordinarycasting.net.

Meeting Recap May 12

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 42 persons in attendance at our meeting at the Happ Inn. We had 29 members, 2 visiting Rotarians, 11 guests, and our speaker. The visiting Rotarians were Jeff Tideman, president of the Northbrook club and John Howard also from the Northbrook club. The special guests of honor were Sally Gotaas and her daughter Katie Hanson. Other guests included Tony and Jan Eager from Winnetka, guests of Sally Gotaas; Madonna Tideman, guest of David Birkenstein, Jerry Kahn from Northfield and Carolyn Kambich, guests of Tony Kambich, Russ Hoefer of Northbrook guest of Ned Meisner, Jonathan Don of Northfield guest of Keith Reed, and Sydney and Joe Genco, from Columbus, Ohio, guests of Patti Van Cleave.

Wes Baumann gave a plug to the WYO benefit that will be held on June 2 at the Happ Inn. You can contact Kristen Leahy for tickets. Patti Van Cleave gave a last minute reminder of our Club’s benefit to be held on Friday night, May 13, at the Michigan Shores Club.

Happy Buck$ this week were contributed by Pat O’Day, Barb Tubekis, Rich Lalley and Ned Meisner. Carl Yudell got some hardy laughs with his Dig n Grin.

Tony Kambich gave a brief, but stirring and inspirational talk about the life of the late Dave Gotaas. Tony had known Dave for 37 years when Dave joined Rotary, sponsored by his father Rev. David Gotaas, at the time, pastor at the Winnetka Bible Church. While Dave was a youthful 64 years old when he unexpectedly passed away, he had lived a very active and meaningful life. In talking about Dave’s life Tony mentioned that Rotary International played a major role in the formation of the United Nations. He told us that all Rotary clubs were in countries that were members of the United Nations. Dave was interested in forming a club in Kosovo, but since Kosovo was not a member of the U.N. it took a great effort that was facilitated by Dave to get the first club admitted in 2005. There are now nine Rotary Clubs in Kosovo. Dave also helped Tony set up a microloan program in Uganda, Africa. Dave had traveled the world and frequently sent postcards to friends and colleagues. His life exemplified the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.” To honor Dave’s life of service Tony, President Thomas and Rich Lalley presented Dave’s wife Sally with a Paul Harris Fellowship and an Honorary Membership to the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield. Sally was encouraged to attend Rotary meetings as her schedule permitted.

Keith Reed introduced the day’s speaker, Stacy Sigman, the Village Manager of Northfield. Stacy has worked for the Village of Northfield for 18 years in various positions, the last eight years as its Village Manager. Instead of touting the success of the Willow Road widening project she chose to talk about ‘community.’ She said that most of her comments could apply to the many villages of the North Shore. She said that Illinois has the most taxing bodies of all states in the nation, almost 7000, and 2000 more that second place Pennsylvania. Taxing body boundaries are very confusing and often do not match municipal boundaries. For example, little Northfield (3.3 sq. miles) is served by three different elementary districts and two different high school districts. There are two townships and two different park districts that serve the village. 50% of their streets and roads are under the jurisdiction of the state or county and 25% are private. Northfield shares a zip code and a library district.

Problems arise when the state and county impose regulations that are not supported by funding from those bodies. Financial problems for communities are exacerbated by the state’s horrific financial condition and the lack of a state budget for almost a year. The state makes all of the decisions on municipal pensions but does not pay any of the costs. The village has made all of their payments to the local pension funds unlike the state that has taken state pension payment ‘holidays.’

Recently the state has mandated consolidation of 911 centers. There have been extra costs due to consolidation and no staff efficiencies. While state cuts have left many social service agencies without sufficient funds there are detrimental impacts to local communities. Stacy mentioned that one of the ideas being floated in Springfield is a freeze on property taxes. The specific proposal would prevent local government units from raising taxes even if the residents approved the increase.

Stacy did mention the Willow Road project as an example of cooperation between the state (IDOT) and four villages. She felt that Willow Road is a much safer road today. Stacy also spent time explaining different ways that local communities have worked together to save money and provide better services. Over thirty municipalities now save significant dollars with joint bidding. Joint operations with consortiums of police and fire departments provide greater safety for all the communities. She expressed her confidence that the residents of the North Shore were well served by their village management teams.

Meeting Recap May 5

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 37 members and 2 guests present, all enjoying the Cinco de Mayo decorations and menu. This holiday is celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in commemoration of the 1862 defeat of French troops at the Puebla Battle in east-central Mexico. The guests were: Cathy Carmody from Between Friends (David Birkenstein guest) and Bob Porter, tax accountant from Wilmette (Mark Kotz guest). John Thomas led the Pledge of Allegiance; Patti gave a list of things we all should do everyday for our mental and physical well-being; and Dirk Tussing gave the Dig N Grin. Cathy Carmody presented her “time to shine” by explaining that her Between Friends organization is a nonprofit agency dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence and abuse. It has been in existence for about 30 years and provides a crisis line, counseling/ support services, court advocacy, prevention and education. It is located in Rogers Park and has been a past recipient of the Rotary charitable grant program. There is presently a strong effort to curb harassment and abuse of young women starting in junior high, with 1 in 4 of such persons reporting being victimized by these actions. More information about this organization can be obtained at 773-274-5232.

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

John announced that the next meeting will be at the Happ Inn in Northfield with Stacy Sigman, Northfield Village Manager, being the guest speaker. Tony mentioned that there will be a special tribute to David Gotaas at this meeting. Patti reminded everyone of the Rotary Benefit on May 13 at Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette. On command, Liz Taylor and Connie Berman joined Patti in a very cute little skit emphasizing the importance of the Benefit and all the fun things planned for that evening, including silent auction and live entertainment.

Birthdays announced were Dirk Tussing, Bob Baker and Barb Tubekis.

Rich Lalley contributed Happy Bucks because he was recently able to raise $600 from Rotarians in a very short period of time (5 minutes) to buy books to give to Rotary;s District Conference for distribution to people in Pakistan.

GUEST SPEAKER.

Our speaker was Dr. Chadwick Prodromos who has offices in Glenview and Chicago. He is an Assistant Professor at Rush University, specializing in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. In addition to being a 1971 graduate of New Trier, his other education credentials include such universities as Harvard, Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins and Princeton.. His presentation dealt with new treatments for arthritis and sports injuries using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Stem Cell injections. His basic point was that 80% of eligible arthritis/sports injury patients are successfully treated with PRP injections instead of joint replacement or other surgery. Traditional orthopaedic doctors are not involved in this trend because many are now employed by healthcare networks whose revenues are enhanced greatly by joint replacement operations. Such operations have increased 50% in the last 7 years. The problem with joint replacement is that the new joint will last only about 15 years, at best, and the second operation, especially for older people, is usually not as easy or successful as the first one.

The usual treatment for arthritis is to mask the symptoms with medications and other treatments until the symptoms become so severe that the only alternative is joint replacement. The new treatment is in 3 parts: Stop pain medications and reduce activities that cause pain so that the body can heal itself. Then improve joint flexibility through physical therapy. Then treat with PRP and/or stem cells to decrease inflammation and stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities.

PRP are solid particles in our blood that contain natural growth factors which enhance healing and decreases inflammation. PRP is the patient’s own plasma in which the platelets have been concentrated. 40cc of blood are drawn in the Doctor’s office (slightly more than a normal blood test) and the blood is centrifuged and processed there until he gets 4 cc of plasma with the platelet count being quintupled. This PRP is painlessly injected in his office with the entire process taking about 1 hour.

Mesenchymal stem cells are found in bone marrow and fat and are the building blocks of cartilage, bone, ligaments, tendons and muscle. These cells are collected via a painless bone marrow aspiration in the Doctor’s office. No sedation is needed and the process takes about 10 minutes. A small amount of fat is taken via a mini liposuction. Then PRP is also prepared and is injected along with the bone marrow aspirate and fat into the affected area. This procedure takes about 90 minutes without sedation. Again, about 80% of patients are able to avoid joint replacement with PRP injections lasting 1 to 2 years and those injections involving Stem cells lasting even longer.

Doctor Prodromos has performed over 1600 injections. He has had especially good success with Patellar, Achilles, rotator cuff, biceps tendinitis and elbow tendinitis. Such patients are usually pain free after 1 to 3 initial injections and generally do not need subsequent treatment. Sports professionals undergo these procedures on a regular basis. The FDA has not been negative about these procedures, but it has not officially approved them yet because they usually require placebo studies and the Doctor questions the ethics of this requirement. These procedures are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, but the Doctor said that a normal PRP treatment in his office is half of what the medical centers would charge. He mentioned that rheumatoid arthritis has not responded as well to these treatments as regular arthritis, but that his organization is working on this and seeing better results. He mentioned that his wife, Dr. Marilyn Prodromos, is a dental surgeon and is using these injections for the treatment of TMJ (jaw occlusion problems). Plastic surgeons are starting to use these injections for face lifts rather than plastic surgery. Anyone with questions about this information can go on the Doctor’s website at www.ISMOC.net.

After his presentation, several Rotarians were able to limp up to the podium to get free medical advice! Dr. Prodromos’ website is at www.ismoc.net

Meeting Recap April 28

Posted by Wes Baumann

This week 32 members were in attendance, along with four guests. Chad Fitzloff, a financial adviser from Evanston was the guest of Bernie Michna. Two corporate membership guests were Richard Greenswag representing the WN Chamber of Commerce and Tim Sloth, Village of Winnetka Finance Director, representing the Village. David Birkenstein’s guest was Bob Leopold, a retiree who plays in Keith Reed’s band and has become an accomplished artist in retirement. He explained the nature of his art – he does impressionistic paintings of nature, using acrylic paint. Bob has a studio/gallery on Waukegan Road in Glenview.

Kristen Leahy announced that the Winnetka Youth Organization’s annual benefit would be held on June 2^nd at the Happ Inn at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $90 or $160 per couple. She invited all Rotarians to come to support the WYO. Patti Van Cleave also announced our Club’s benefit, “A Night at the Cabaret,” would be held on May 13^th at the Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette. Since the benefit is just around the corner it is important to RSVP and get your tickets. Tickets are $175 per couple and $90 for singles. If members are unable to attend a generous contribution to the Club’s Charitable Foundation would be in order. The Benefit is the main funding source for the grants annually given out to various agencies in our area. Patti also announced that the annual installation dinner would take place on July 7. There will be no lunch meeting that day. John Thomas will be thanked for his year of service and he will hand the gavel over to the new president, Patti Van Cleave.

Happy Buck$ yielded over $170 as Fred Schwimmer was grateful for his 79 years of living in Winnetka; Bob Baker donated a dollar for each mile his son completed in the Boston Marathon-all 26.2 miles (the proud father mentioned that his son had the best time of 50 North Shore participants); Patti Van Cleave for the fact that she sold her tickets to a Cubs game and missed a rainout; Randy Reeves in celebration for his one-month sabbatical he earned for his twenty years at Charles Schwab; and Ned Meisner was happy to be invited to the Bahá'í International Convention.

Randy Reeves introduced the day’s speaker, Spencer Logan, from Windhaven Investment Management. Mr. Logan has been involved in financial research for many years. His job is to provide up-to-date research and analytical support for Charles Schwab’s representatives and their clients. Three areas that he considers are diversity, dynamic asset allocation and downside risk management. He presented a chart that showed how various asset classes ranked in performance for a period of 15 years. As each class was color-coded it was easy to see that some classes that were top performers in some years where at the bottom in other years. He told how he analyzes that information to make predictions about the future and manage risk for an investor. He also talked about how the U.S. Fed strategy is diverging from the central banks of Europe, Japan and China as the U.S. will likely continue to tighten monetary policy as the other major economies will continue to implement reflationary policies. Mr. Logan believes that the near-term U.S. economic outlook is solid. The Europeans and Asians are moving toward negative interest rates and he believes that is stifling their economies. Usually all major economies have in the past tended toward more synchronization in the approach to their tight or loose handling of their currencies. He is convinced that banks need to be encouraged to get more of their money out in the form of loans, which stimulates spending, which in turn stimulates the economy. We will see more economic growth when we see more or at least some wage inflation.

Mr. Logan expressed some cautious optimism for the future and stated that our economy is not as bad as some people would like us to believe.

Meeting Recap April 21

Posted by Lee Padgitt

Mike Shelton greeted the 31 out of our 59 members that attended with a smile. Robert gave us an eloquent thought of the day. Rich announced that Rotarians from Pakistan will be visiting May 5 on a fellowship exchange, and volunteers are needed for the day to meet them and show them around town after our meeting. He also let us know that our Board met and committed $300 from our Club to support www.firstbook.org at the District conference (April 28 to May 1.) First Book provides new books to children in need aged 4 to 10. Rich sought $50 donations. $300 buys 550 books, and so many Rotarians stepped up we exceeded that amount.

President John cited a recent Rotarian Magazine article on membership as a good source of ideas to boost our membership. Our goal this year is 62 members and all members need to help recruit. Happy Bucks came from Uncle Ned for his new car. Barb invited everyone to Celebrate the Volunteer Center 2016 Honorees recognition event on Cinco de Mayo at the WCH. www.volunteercenterhelps.org/ David invites everyone to the membership committee meeting 11:00 a.m. Thursday, April 28 at the WCH.

Patti asked everyone to please RSVP to our Club’s annual benefit - May 13, 2016 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Michigan Shores Club. This is the primary fundraiser for our Community Grants program. Dinner, cash bar, silent and live auctions and a performance by "Acts of Kindness Cabaret" www.aokcabaret.org/ Buy tickets, and if you cannot attend please donate, at www.wnrotary.org/event/spring-benefit-dinner Heidi had to leave early and left a happy buck because Wes did Dig and Grin for her, for which he received a rousing round of applause.

Our District Governor Rodney Adams spoke about his recent Rotary fellowship exchange trip to Pakistan. Donning authentic local garb, he started off by pointing out how the media portrays Pakistan in a poor light. While it appears on a top ten list of worst places to live in the world, the reality is far different. Pakistanis were very friendly and hospitable despite the occasional bombings here and there that get all of the attention. It is a mountainous country of 190,000,000 with poor infrastructure. Polio retains a toehold in the very difficult to access rural areas away from the main cities of Lahore and Islamabad.

Rodney and his cohorts first arrived at Lahore via the world-class international airport. They first stayed at Bahria Town Lahore, a friendly and low crime area. English is commonly spoken as one of two official languages (Urdu being the other.) Islam is a welcoming religion as it is practiced by most adherents. He enjoyed one of the daily shows that take place at the border with India. Peace and Literacy are now promoted, a far cry from the 1997 war between the two countries.

Rodney attended the District 3272 conference at the five-star Pearl Continental in Lahore. Unlike our district conference, the emphasis there was to highlight local acts done with assistance. Rotaract is very popular, and money is raised through corporate sponsorships. “Peace through Literacy” is a major theme, as 40% of the population is illiterate.

Meeting Recap April 14

Posted by John Thomas

Thirty-two members attended this week’s meeting and the total crowd was over 55 as many recipient of grants (see below) were present. President John Thomas opened the meeting at 12:15 and kicked off with the pledge of allegiance to our flag. That was followed by Rich Lalley’s “Thought for the Day”. Lunch was then served.

While lunch was being enjoyed, at 12:30 Thomas read a note form Mike Wurzburg expressing his appreciation for having been a Rotary Club member for years. However, he said going forward he will be in Winnetka very little and, as a result, is resigning from the Club.

Thomas then asked for announcements. Barb Tubekis told the group that Governor’s Awards were presented earlier this week in Springfield at the Old State Capitol. Grants to 15 were acknowledged and recipients made brief comments. Although out of normal sequence, Dig and Grin was ably handled by Keith Reed.

Following that, Anna Helfman was introduced. She is a NTHS teacher and sponsor of the NTHS Interact Club. At each lunch table was an impressive list of 2016 Interact activities. With Ms Helfman were three Interact students who had all attended a recent RYLA weekend. They briefly shared their experiences with us.

Thomas then turned the meeting over to President-Elect Patti Van Cleave who is also the outgoing President of the W/N Rotary Foundation. She presented to leaders of 11 non-profits with grant checks as follows:

- Allowance for Good – educates and engages youth ages 13-18 in topics such as philanthropy, community involvement, leadership development and social entrepreneurship.

- Angles – formerly LINKS, providing health and sexual identity education and support to teens and young adults in the metro area.

- Blues Kids Foundation – preserve, perform and promote the Blues among America's youth. We support an annual Blues camp for student musicians ages 12 to 18.

- Holy Family Ministries – K-8 school in East Lawndale providing after school and summer programs, providing a safe environment.

- Jewish Council for Youth Services - we support Champ Camp, providing a traditional summer camp experience to low-income, Latino children entering first through sixth grade.

- Literature for All of Us – works primarily with urban adolescents living in underserved neighborhoods in Chicago and nearby Evanston.

- Meals at Home – provides home delivery of medically prescribed and regular meals to frail, elderly and mentally ill clients in the area.

- Northeastern Illinois Scholarship – Scholarship for a new program offering MSW. Supported also by Dirk Tussing who is a new Board member at NEIU.

- Right to be Free – Rescues and rehabilitates children who are victims of human trafficking in Ghana.

- Winnetka Youth Organization – provides a safe, supportive, and fun environment for teens outside of the home and school. Sponsored by John Thomas

The meeting was closed at 1:30 with reciting the Four Way Test

Meeting Recap April 7

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 30 Rotary members present. The one guest was Rhonda Miller’s Aunt Helen Assimos, who has lived in Wilmette for 55 years. The W-N Chamber of Commerce representative was Ann Smith.

Lee Padgitt lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Chuck Norton gave the Thought of the Day. Tom Nash gave the Dig N’ Grin, which consisted of several famous pranks that have been “pulled” on April Fool’s Day, including an announcement that Taco Bell had purchased the naming rights to the Liberty Bell!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Tom and Joe Nash celebrated their birthdays. Ann Smith mentioned the honor President Thomas had recently received as the Chamber’s Man of the Year and she expressed appreciation for all the Rotarians who attended John’s Recognition Lunch at the WCH and actually behaved themselves! Liz Taylor and Gina Sich were again congratulated for being named 2016 Connecting Communities Award Recipients by the Women’s Exchange, to be honored at the Women’s Exchange Spring Luncheon Benefit April 16^th. Patti Van Cleve mentioned the Club’s Spring Benefit on May 13^th at the Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette, featuring silent/live auctions, dinner/cash bar, performance by the AOK Cabaret group and tickets are $90 single, $175 couple. Patti also mentioned that next week’s Rotary program will have the representatives from the Club’s 10 Community Grants Recipients for 2016 and that our Rotary Foundation (for a few more days) will still make a 50% (up to $250) match of members’ gifts to any of these organizations. Tim McCabe reminded everyone of the WCH annual benefit to be held on April 9 featuring the Second City Improv All-Stars with admission being $75 per person.

SPEAKER MARIA KURT: Maria owns and runs the French Institute of the North Shore (for adults up to age 80) and in 2003 started the French School of Winnetka for pre-school children ages 3-6. Both of these are located at 562 Green Bay Road in downtown Winnetka. The purpose of both schools is to help those who want to learn French and learn about the French culture, as well as other cultures around the world. She pointed out that foreign languages are “acquired” by children up to age six, but those individuals older than age six “learn” the language—thus, there is a distinct advantage in learning foreign languages at an early age when all languages are equally easy to learn.

Her school for children has three levels: Petite Section - age 3, Moyenne Section – age 4 and Grande Section – age 5, with up to 16 children in each class. The children attend the school five days a week, half a day for the younger children and half or full day for the older ones. The native French teachers only speak in French and as the children progress, they too eventually speak in French all day. Maria used a power point to show how the teachers introduce the children to the cultures of other countries by taking them on 4-6 week imaginary trips around the world. This year the children are visiting France, Morocco, Sweden, Italy, China and Brazil. The children engage in such activities as obtaining Passports, making transportation plans, pretending to ride on airplanes and ships, making various country flags, cooking, playing games/musical instruments, selling products, making art projects, and celebrating the holidays of the countries they “visit”.

Maria mentioned that about 50% of her children are from Winnetka and the rest from other North Shore communities; that 20% of the children have one French parent, 20% have one parent who has studied French, 20% have International parents (non-French), and 40% have American parents with little or no French background. A child usually starts at age three and progresses through all three levels. She said that her “graduates” integrate into regular kindergarten and 1^st grade without a problem, although some children are surprised to find out that all their classes are conducted in English. Maria and her institutions do a great job in making the North Shore a little more international, especially when you see the students in their red, white and blue school uniforms walking through downtown Winnetka singing French songs.

To illustrate Maria’s efficiency in teaching French, Robert Mardirossian had his ticket drawn in the Rotary Raffle and he was able to say the number “941” in French, with a little coaching!

Meeting Recap March 31

Posted by Wes Baumann

Twenty-seven Rotarians were in attendance at this week’s meeting along with two guests. Rhonda Miller brought her friend, Creed Tucker, a Winnetka attorney, and our speaker Robyn Gabel brought her chief-of-staff, Karen McCormick from Northfield.

Patti Van Cleave, the chair of our Charitable Foundation, reminded the club that our annual grants would be presented to ten agencies on April 14^th. Any member who would like to add to the amount given to any of these agencies can give a check to Rich Lalley by April 7^th. The club will match an individual’s gift at a rate of 50₵ on the dollar up to $250. Patti put a list of the ten agencies on the tables.

Robert Mardirossian made a paid announcement inviting members to attend the annual benefit of the Counseling Center of the North Shore (formerly Family Service) on April 15^th. Tickets to the event at the Michigan Shores Club cost $150 per person.

David Grant also put in a plug for the Winnetka Community House’s annual benefit to be held on April 9^th. Tickets for this affair cost $75, which will feature The Second City Improv All-Stars.

Rich Lalley announced the date, July 23^rd, for our Rotary District’s annual Cubs-Brewers baseball game and tailgate party. The tailgate party will begin at 3:10 p.m. and the game has a 6:10 p.m start. Tickets for this event will be $55 during the month of April; then go up to $65 in May. There may be a charter bus available for an additional amount, more on that later. Rich also announced that a special award was being presented posthumously to David Gotaas for his work in Kosovo. Dave started the first Rotary Club in Kosovo and was instrumental in the Kosovo American Education Fund, which provides graduate fellowships to promising young Kowovars for top-level training at select U.S. universities.

Happy Buck$ were provided this week by Patti Van Cleave, Robert Mardirossian, Rodger Morris and Barb Tubekis. Bernie Michna provided laughter with his Dig ‘n Grin.

The speaker for the day was Robyn Gabel, the State Representative from the 18^th District, which includes Winnetka and Northfield. She is in her 6^th year in office. Previously she was the Executive Director of the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition from 1998 to 2010. She said that about 1/3 of the state’s revenue comes from Individual Income tax and another 1/3 comes from the state sales tax. Approximately 8-10 % comes from corporate taxes and the rest from an assortment of fees and fines. On the expenditure side of the ledger about 50% is fixed – going to state pensions, debt service and health insurance. The other half is spent on health care and human services, education and public safety. In 2011 Illinois temporarily (for three years) raised the individual income tax rate from 3% to 5% and the corporate tax rate from 4.8% to 7%. The legislature did not renew the increase in 2014. Thus, in the past two years the state’s fiscal problems have increase exponentially. Governor Rauner has not wanted to reinstitute the increase until his turnaround agenda was passed, which included what unions could negotiate, changes in health care, changes in the legislative maps and the institution of term limits.

Ms. Gabel said that both liberal and conservative think tanks have similar solutions to the state’s financial problems. She said the state needs to return to a 5% tax rate on incomes, expand the tax base by taxing services, as is the case in most states and tax retirement income above $50,000. She said that Illinois is one of a few states that uses a flat tax rate for revenue, most have a graduated state income tax. Gabel thinks that a bipartisan group working on the state’s finances is making progress toward a solution.

Much of the budget expenditures are required by law. It is getting very difficult for many of the state colleges, many of which are facing major reductions and possible shutdowns. Climate change is facing all of us and Ms. Gabel has indicated that wind and solar have become far less expensive in recent years. Wind and solar have worked best in Germany where they are selling excess electricity supply to other nearby countries. She has hope for our state, but she admits it will be a tough slog.

Community Grant Recipients Eligible for Club Match until 4/10

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Our Community Grant awards will be distributed on April 14th. As in the past, our club's foundation is providing a match for additional donations made by club members. This year we will match 50 cents on your dollar, up to a $250 donation.

If you would like to make an additional donation, write your check to WNRCF or donate online to OUR FOUNDATION, noting the name of the organization that you would like to support.

The deadline for these donations is April 10.

Please respond to me if you intend to make a matching donation so that we can track them, and bring your check to lunch this week or next. Here are the organizations we are supporting:

Community Grants Recipients 2016

Allowance for Good – educates and engages youth ages 13-18 in topics such as philanthropy, community involvement, leadership development and social entrepreneurship.

Angles – formerly LINKS, providing health and sexual identity education and support to teens and young adults in the metro area.

Blues Kids Foundation – preserve, perform and promote the Blues among America's youth. We support an annual Bluescamp for student musicians ages 12 to 18.

Holy Family Ministries – K-8 school in East Lawndale providing after school and summer programs, providing a safe environment.

Jewish Council for Youth Services – we support Champ Camp, providing a traditional summer camp experience to primarily low-income, Latino children entering first through sixth grade.

Literature for All of Us – works primarily with urban adolescents living in underserved neighborhoods in Chicago and nearby Evanston.

Meals at Home – provides home delivery of medically prescribed and regular meals to frail, elderly and mentally ill clients in the area.

Northeastern Illinois Scholarship – Scholarship for a new program offering MSW. Supported also by Dirk Tussing.

Right to be Free – Rescue and rehabilitate children who are victims of human trafficking in Ghana.

Winnetka Youth Organization – provides a safe, supportive, and fun environment for teens outside of the home and school.

Meeting Recap March 17

Posted by Mike Malloy

Members in the News: John Thomas congratulated Bob & Joanne Baker for being 3^rd generation business owners and the recipients of a Winnetka Historical Society honor. Gina Sich and Liz Taylor are also applauded for a Connecting Communities Award. John Stone was recognized for being named one of the top dentists in America. In 3 weeks John Thomas will be crowned Winnetka Man of the Year at the Chamber of Commerce Recognition Lunch on April 6 – sign up to sit at a Rotary tabld to honor John!

Guests: Keith Claunch is the guest of Denny Lauer

Announcements: Rich Lally invited us to purchase tickets for a Cubs game in Milwaukee in July - $50 total price includes a ticket, tailgate party and round-trip bus ticket.

Speaker: Lon B Hodge spoke to us about service dogs. Thanks to dog training programs, many dogs are rescued from animal shelters. They are trained to be companions, and can do more than 200 specific tasks for their masters like monitoring heart conditions. Service dogs are accepted everywhere by law. Don’t try to foist your pet off as a service dog.

Meeting Recap March 10

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 34 Rotarians in attendance this week. Rocky Flinterman was present, representing our newest corporate member, the Winnetka-Northfield Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, we had seven guests: Louise Holland’s were Jan Bawden, Penny Lanphier and Anne Wilder. Tim McCabe’s guest was Connie Yonan; Lee Padgitt brought Bob Kyle, while Patti Van Cleave‘s guests were Gloria Gaschler and Dania Leemputte.

Patti Van Cleave encouraged members to attend the Chamber of Commerce Recognition Lunch on April 6^th where our president, John Thomas, will be honored as “Man of the Year.” The Winnetka Youth Organization nominated John for his many volunteer activities, both community non-profits and civic.

Heidi Sibert who heads up our Kids Against Hunger program reminded everyone that on Saturday, March 12^th we will be packing 100,000 meals. It will cost $30,000 for the supplies and shipping to get these meals to the children in Nicaragua. We are very close to having raised the needed finances, but it is not too late to contribute. Heidi also thanked her committee for their invaluable contributions – Rich Lalley, Kristen Leahy, Mark Kotz, Barb Tubekis, Patti Van Cleave and Gina Sich.

Eric Birkenstein provided some laughs with his contribution in Dig ‘n Grin.

The day’s program was a presentation by a five-person team from One Winnetka, the group that is proposing the development of the former Fell properties on Lincoln and Elm in downtown Winnetka. Kate Wolf gave the general overall picture of the development. She indicated that the company wants to work with the village and its residents to achieve the most desirable project possible. They will be going before the Village Council, which must give the final approval before they can start. They are hoping to begin work this fall. The development, which began as a larger building, seven stories high has been significantly reduced in both height and density.

Kate turned the presentation over to Geoff Bird, the young lead designer who grew up in Kenilworth. He explained the details and history of the project indicating that the building proposed for Lincoln Avenue (west side) started out as 7 stories, 83 feet high, and now is down to 5 stories, 63 feet high, with a penthouse in the middle that extends the height another 7 feet.

The building on the east side of the property, originally scheduled to be six stories, has been reduced to 4 stories. Thus the height has been reduced by 25%. The density has been reduced by 41% by going from a proposed 120 residential units to 71 units. The floor area is over 23,000 square feet below that allowable by current zoning. The building includes a central motor court and a second floor roof top terrace.

It was pointed out that the developers were not requesting the establishment of a TIF district or any tax deferrals. In fact, they will contribute over $7 million dollars toward public improvements, such as parking and streetscape planning and development.

One of the goals of the Village was to provide better parking for commuters as well as shoppers. There will be over 300 underground parking spaces provided divided in three areas – residents, public and commuter. The commuter area will allow direct access to the inbound Metra train platform. The project would also include the development of a plaza on Lincoln Avenue; however, there would still be two-way traffic on the street.

Water distribution system upgrades and storm water management have been addressed in the project. Currently Conney’s Pharmacy is not included in the project, like a missing front tooth, but the developers are very optimistic that they will reach an agreement by helping Conney’s relocate.

The last part of the presentation was under the direction of the lead architect, Lucien Lagrange. He has been responsible for designing some of the significant building in downtown Chicago. Lucien presented renderings of the project from several different perspectives. For more information and details members were invited to drop by the project office at 515 Lincoln Avenue.

Meeting Recap February 25

Posted by Lee Padgitt

34 out of 58 attended; 56.62%

Thought for the Day – Eric volunteered “snow thanks”, for the lack of the predicted snowmageddon

Guest: Debbie Gillard, guest of membership recruiting machine David Birkenstein

Announcements:

Patti – Please bring donations to support veterans to the meeting next week.

Barb – Rotarians raised $619 for Kids Against Hunger last week at the meeting and at Little Ricky’s

Gina – Selling raffle tickets for KAH - $20 each, or 6 for $100

Mark – Seeks 400 items from all KAH sponsors for the WYO to place in goody bags to be given away

Dirk – Seeks donations to the Northern Illinois Rotary/NEIU Social Work Scholarship Challenge – the first $10,000 will be matched dollar for dollar Click here for a one-page flyer with more details

Happy Bucks:

Rich – The 111^th anniversary of Rotary International

Bernie – (remarks unintentionally omitted)

Wes – (lack of) snow thanks

Robert – 3^rd anniversary

Dig and Grin:

Rodger volunteered a joke

Speaker: C. Murray Ardies, PhD, Professor Emeritus; Exercise & Health Sciences

Murray was invited by Dirk, as both are associated with Northeastern Illinois University. Murray gave a good presentation despite being heavily medicated due to complications from a hip transplant last week. Murray has spent years studying the relationships between diet, exercise and chronic disease. His newly published book investigates the biological basis of prevention of chronic disease, mainly heart disease and diabetes. Chronic disease in the USA comprised 70% of the deaths, and 75% of the health care costs in the USA from 2010 to 2012.

The reason boils down to the fact that Americans eat too many calories and exercise too little. Since the 1960’s, our sedentary lifestyles and eating habits have caused us as a group to become more overweight and obese than past generations. Minimum exercise recommendations by major health organizations are woefully inadequate. Gaining weight, and not sugar or calorie intake alone, causes diabetes. Lack of exercise cause inflammation and heart disease. Exercise is a learned habit. We should all increase activity levels throughout the day to prevent chronic disease.

Current adult exercise recommendations from the CDC are here: www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/older_adults/index.htm

This Thursday Speaker Bio: Dr. Murray Ardies

Dr. Ardies earned a Bachelor of Physical Education from The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada in 1975 following which he worked for the Government of Manitoba as an exercise-specialist and then as Co-Director of Operation ReNu, a public health education program that emphasized proper diet and physical activity as preventive medicine. In 1978 he earned a Master’s degree with a Major in Health Education and a Major in Physical Education along with a minor in Nutrition from Northern Michigan University, Marquette MI and then a multi-disciplinary PhD at UT-Austin in 1985 with majors in Pharmacology, Nutrition, and Exercise Physiology where we demonstrated that exercise can prevent alcohol-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in liver. He then worked at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in NYC on developing new methodologies for CYP and CYP reductase purification with Dr. Jerome M. Lasker (CYP450-GP). Next, at Stanford University Medical School he worked on projects to purify and characterize steroid-binding proteins from yeast with Dr. Peter Molloy and then at the Department of Anesthesia with Dr. James Trudell where he helped characterize molecular mechanisms of alcohol and halothane toxicity involving direct immune attack on liver cells. In 1989 he joined NEIU where he was first to demonstrate that exercise could prevent alcoholic fatty liver; the first to show that exercise alters CYP enzyme activity in liver; and the first to show that exercise enhances antioxidant, Phase II, and redox-control enzyme functions in liver and lung. Along with Dr. C.S. Yang (Rutgers) he demonstrated that exercise enhances the metabolism of carcinogens by CYPs. he also was among the first to show that exercise-benefits were tied to a generalized stress-response mediated in part by the activation of the AP-1 response element and its transfer into nuclear DNA. With Dr. Craig Dees (Provectus Pharmaceuticals) he demonstrated that Red Dye #3 was both estrogenic and a DNA damaging agent in breast cells, resulting in the removal of Red #3 from most foods. In addition to research, he was editor and author of the first reference book on the molecular etiology of chronic diseases and their prevention by dietary components and exercise (CRC Press, 2014) and Coordinator of the graduate degree program in Exercise Science at NEIU during this time. He retired from NEIU in 2015 and was subsequently awarded Emertus status in recognition of my research and administrative contributions to NEIU.

District Service Project

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

Thank you to the members who brought items last week. We will continue to collect this week, so please bring items this Thursday. This district-wide service project launches the coming year's Rotary International theme: "ROTARY SERVING HUMANITY," by participating in a project that serves those who have served U.S. Veterans and their families in need of assistance. There are two partner organizations who request the following items:

ILLINOIS AMVETS Requests gently used adult & children’s clothing, backpacks, & purses, old cell phones &
laptops.

VETERANS OUTREACH OF WISCONSIN Requests food basics like canned tuna, ketchup, mustard, jello, pasta & pasta sauce, cereal,
canned ravioli & spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, and pancake mix; Toiletries…..Razors. shaving cream, men’s and women’s deodorant, shampoo,
feminine products & soap.

Thanks again!

Meeting Recap February 11

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 33 members in attendance at this week’s meeting, the second Village of Winnetka Trustees candidates’ forum held by our club. We had one visiting Rotarian, former member Bill Leske, currently from the Skokie Valley club. There were 17 luncheon guests: John Thomas brought his wife Ellen, Wally Greenough (Wally is currently the chair of the Caucus) Mary and Dan Garrison, Anne Wilder and Dan Streiff; Louise Holland was responsible for Vicki Apatoff, Penny Lanphier, Jan Bawden; John Ford brought his wife Mary; Glenn Weaver and Terry Dason were the guests of Liz Taylor; additional guests were Elise Covey (Rhonda Miller), Lee Gaines (Kristen Leahy), Nan Greenough (Tim McCabe), Bob Kyle (Lee Padgitt) and Leslie Farmer (Barb Tubekis). There were more unaccounted visitors entered after lunch was completed.

Happy Buck$ came from Tony Kambich for his recent successful eye surgery. Heidi Sibert announced that our Kids Against Hunger project would be held on March 12^th. She reminded that everyone should at least sign up for a shift on that day. This project cost almost $30,000, which is not covered by the participation fee. One of the fun and fund-raising events will be held on Thursday, February 18^th at Little Ricky’s where Gina Sich and Rich Lalley will serve as guest bartenders. All of their tips will go toward Kids Against Hunger. Please come to Little Ricky’s between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. – Drink moderately but Tip heavily!!!

With the large number of guests membership chair David Birkenstein encouraged our guests to consider joining our Rotary club.

The purpose of this week’s meeting was to hear from the three non-caucus candidates after hearing from the three caucus candidates last week. Each of the candidates was given time to introduce themselves. Marilyn Prodromos is currently completing her first term as a village trustee and is running for re-election. Marilyn is a 21-year resident of Winnetka whose two daughters went through all of our public schools. She is a dentist by training and has served on a variety of area boards and committees. On the Council she serves as liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Community Development Commission and the Economic Development Committee. Carol Fessler is the second independent candidate who is completing her first term on the Council and is running for re-election. She remembers the warm welcome she and her family received when they moved to Winnetka 16 years ago. She has worked in strategic planning and finance in the telecom and oil industries. Carol has been a regular contributor to the Winnetka Current, most recently writing a series of articles on the history of Winnetka. She has served on numerous area and local boards. Carol has served on the Winnetka Caucus. As a Council member she serves on the Plan Commission and the office of Outreach and Engagement, which she help create. Kristin Ziv is also a 21-year resident of Winnetka whose children have attended all public schools in Winnetka. She is a former public relations professional who also served as PR supervisor with the Winnetka Park District. Like Carol she has served on the Winnetka Caucus.

The same four questions were posed to these candidates as were posed last week to the caucus- backed candidates:

Caucus - Why did you not seek Caucus slating?

Some expressed concern about the politics that have enveloped the caucus in recent years, though two of the candidates had the previous experience of participating in the village caucus. It was mentioned that Winnetka is one of a very few towns in our state that still uses the caucus system. The candidates felt that our citizens have gradually become less engaged in the affairs of the village. They feel contested elections are one way to draw more people in the debate.

Stormwater – What are your thoughts regarding financing stormwater solutions?

The group feels that the current system of the special storm water fees is the fairest. They felt it was very important for the village to keep is high bond rating. It was also proclaimed that much work has been accomplished so far, but with more to be done. They are waiting to hear from the new consultants on how best to move the storm water westward.

Post Office Site – What would be a good use for this parcel of land?

The difference in this site and the One Winnetka property is that the village owns the post office site and Winnetka must make the most of the financial possibilities this land provides for our village. They supported a mixed-use approach to the post office site.

“One Winnetka” – What are your thoughts on “One Winnetka?”

The common response was that we need to progress and progress does not happen without change, which means we must remain flexible. The example was if you live in a 1920s home and the house next door is sold to a developer you could not expect the new home to look like a 1920s vintage home. They are looking forward to receiving an independent analysis to determine if this project is going to be a financial gain for the community. The group expressed concern that if this project is rejected that other developers will be wary of coming to Winnetka.

Some of the questions that came from the audience included. “Why is Winnetka having trouble keeping businesses?” It was mentioned that some of the larger stores that have left, i.e., the Gap, Panera and Talbots due to corporate decisions. It was pointed out the some major stores have also left Highland Park’s often touted downtown area. Some business owners also questioned how One Winnetka would not exacerbate the parking situation on the East Elm shopping district? The meeting generated a spirited discussion about the issues facing the village.

Meeting Recap February 4

Posted by Keith Reed

We had 35 members and approximately 25 guests attend the meeting. Some of the guests were: Ellen Thomas, Mary and Dan Garrison, Chris and Markie Gekas, Keil Wilson, Tom Eilers, Anne Wilder, Bill Krucks, Carol Fessler, Brian Cox (Trib), Lee Jones (Trib), Terry Dayson and Elaine Fandell.
Gina did the Thought of the Day.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb reminded everyone of the Kids Against Hunger event on March 12, 2006; she also announced that the Pizza for a Great Cause was scheduled for Feb. 4th from 2-8:00 where 15% of the purchases is given back to the Volunteer Center; Patti referred to the list of 10 Community Grants Recipients for 2016 which was distributed to the attendees.
HAPPY BUCKS: Robert Mardirossian contributed in recognition of a successful open house for his newly named Counseling Center of the North Shore; Rich Lalley contributed in honor of all the guests attending today’s Rotary meeting; Rhonda Miller contributed in honor of Louise Holland, a candidate for the Village Board who presented as part of the program; Dr. John Stone contributed in honor of Bob Baker’s good efforts to make an emergency repair on a broken furnace in his office; Karen Fell gave in honor of the League of Women Voters’ scheduled debate among the Village Trustee candidates scheduled 2/21 at the Winnetka Congregational Church; and Ned Meisner gave in honoring Presidential candidate Sanders for actually admitting he “liked” another candidate!

CAUCUS CANDIDATES FOR WINNETKA VILLAGE TRUSTEES: CHRIS RINTZ, LOUISE HOLLAND; AND PENNY LANPHIER.

When asked about the Winnetka Caucus system and why they agreed to be the Caucus’ candidate Chris said that he has lived in the Village for 24 years and raised his children here. His list of Village activities includes-- Village Council (2 terms), Building Review Committee, Plan Commission, Ad Hoc Post Office Commission, and 10 years as a Soccer Coach for youngsters. He interviewed in 2013 for the Village President position, was not chosen as the Caucus candidate and narrowly lost the election running as an independent. He was invited this time by the Caucus to interview for a Village Trustee position and was slated. He felt he still could make a contribution to help run the Village. He is supportive of the Caucus system as a fact finding process and believes it is better than any alternative. He has been through the Caucus process three times and has not found that it had any agenda other than finding qualified candidates for very important offices.
Louise has lived in Winnetka for 45 years and mentioned that she has served two terms as a Village Trustee, two terms as Village President, chaired the Landmark Preservation Commission and been on the Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission. She stated that during her experience with the Caucus system she has never felt that it had its own agenda and that it was a very effective vetting process. She reminded the audience that on the ballot, all 6 candidates will be listed as independent candidates.
Penny started by saying that she was a Rotarian in the past before a hectic family and community schedule took up most of her time. She has served two terms as a Village Trustee; Chaired the Ad Hoc Zoning Ordinance Review Committee; was on the Plan Commission; worked on the Winnetka 2020 Comprehensive Plan; and served 8 years on the District 36 school board, serving the last 2 years as President. She has a background in public policy and served two terms on the Village Caucus Council. She believes the Caucus serves an important advisory role to the 4 boards under its jurisdiction. It does a good job in prioritizing the issues and in communicating issues to the Village residents.

STORMWATER QUESTION: Chris said that there should not have been a 16 million dollar bond issue without an approved project to execute. . The “storm water fee” is not fair, as it subjects the residents to pay a debt on a project that was not yet approved by the permitting agencies. Rather than a big comprehensive water project, the flooding problems should be approached on a local basis and undertaken on an incremental basis. There could be more consideration given to regional projects, which could be knitted together to form a comprehensive strategy. The Village needs to be very careful how it would use the remaining funds from the bond issue, as well as any reserves. There are many projects that need to move forward, including revitalization and power grid enhancements, so the Council needs to be judicious in its use of available reserves.
Louise said that there should have been more than two meetings to discuss the bond referendum and that the Village ignored the non-advisory vote of the community. Based on her past experience in negotiating with the Union Pacific she knew this company would not want a 9’ tunnel under its tracks. The localized approach to flooding is the best way to proceed at this time.
Penny pointed out that the Village’s not-for-profit organizations need to pay the storm water fee, whereas they would not have to pay if it were part of the tax bill. She said that big restructuring projects need to be carefully planned, have the support of the community and that they are very costly.

POST OFFICE SITE: Chris was on the Ad Hoc Post Office Task Force in 2007 and was very satisfied with its work and recommendations that the site be a mixed-use development and keep a retail post office service. Things have changed since then, especially with the downward spiral of real estate in 2008. Fortunately a very good rental deal was negotiated with the Post Office and that property now is income producing for the Village. The Village should finalize the One Winnetka project before spending much time on the post office to better understand the market conditions and the probable success of any improvement on the site. For now it seems prudent to clean up and re-landscape the existing property to enhance west Elm until there is a clear understanding of the community desires for the site.
Louise was also involved with the Ad Hoc Post Office Task Force in 2007 and she agreed with Chris to proceed slowly on that property. She said retail is now very “fragile” and it would be tough to rent 13,000 square feet of retail space today in the Village. She would like the Village to somehow put a walkway from the post office parking lot on to the north side of Dwyer Park.
Penny agreed with Chris and Louise on this issue, and commented that the 2007 Post Office Task Force did a “remarkable” job in studying the post office situation and coming up with its suggestions.

ONE WINNETKA: President John Thomas introduced this subject by commenting that although the Plan Commission approved the proposed project by a 8-2 vote, it was subject to 9 conditions and 3 modifications, which haven’t been met yet. The Plan Commission will be meeting on the project one more time before the issue goes to the Village Board.

Chris said that he was in the business of developing projects like this in established business districts and that the developers always ask for variations to the local zoning rules in order to build higher buildings with more units. He is very supportive of getting a deal done and hopes the developer will negotiate in good faith to bring forth needed improvements in the East Elm District. He pointed out that the proposal from New Trier Partners in 2010 made several variance requests but they had offered to provide improvements to the area which would provide about 2.1 million dollars worth of benefit to the Village. In contrast to this, the current developers (some of whom were also involved in the New Trier Partners project) are asking for deviations and the purchase of 8000 square feet of Village property. The developer is asking the Village and its residents to contribute upwards of 6 million dollars to enhance the parking component, but it is unclear what the actual financial benefit might be at this point. There are many questions to be answered before the Council should commit financial resources to a private development.
Louise also had several questions about the project and explained that she disagreed with the Plan Commission’s contingent vote because she didn’t want to vote for something that needed significant changes made to it. She is concerned that the developer is treating this like a “urban project” as opposed to modifying an area that is part of an established village. She also commented that she wasn’t impressed with the developers’ suggestion of a green roof garden since the height of the building wouldn’t permit anyone to see it except airline pilots!!
Penny said that there needs to be more work on this project and make sure it is consistent with the Winnetka 2020 Comprehensive Plan which is to guide residential and business land use decisions by the Village.

QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE: In response to a question about the advisability of retaining another consultant (Teska) to come up with another Village revitalization program, Chris and Louise mentioned their concerns that the consultant recently retained by Council to advise on the financial aspects of One Winnetka may be slanted towards shopping center development versus “in filling” an established business area. Some of the questions and information presented thus far by Teska seem to be a rehash of past studies, and not much new was presented in the recent visioning statements.. But all candidates agreed that the Village needs to continually study, but move forward with revitalization implementation in order to keep the Village attractive and a good place to do business. There was a short discussion about improving parking around the 3 train stations in the Village. This, too, is a far more complicated issue than most people imagine and the Village will be taking a closer look at this possibility after reviewing a report that is due this coming summer.

Meeting Recap January 28

Posted by Lee Padgitt

30 out of 58 Rotarians attended; 51.72%

Guests and their respective web presences:

John Zeddies – www.winnetkacurrent.com guest of Tim

Lynn Sanders – www.differencemakersmedia.com guest of Liz

Karen Kikos – www.kmklux.com guest of David B.

Happy Bucks:

Robert – His new business name: Counseling Center of the North Shore

Ned – His new State i.d. card and its useful functionality

Sam – His 4^th anniversary of wedded bliss (after 54 years in marriage #1!)

Announcements:

Patti – Annual Club Benefit to support community grants to be at Michigan Shores Club May 13, 2016

Heidi – Kids Against Hunger takes place March 12, 2016 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM – Rotarians please sign up!

NEXT TWO WEEKS – OUR MEETINGS START AT 12:00 with Village Trustee candidates

Speaker: Brad Schneider

Former U.S. Congressman for the 10th District of Illinois (2013 to 2015), and current Democratic candidate for the same office. In 2014, he lost his bid for re-election in a rematch against former Republican congressman Bob Dold. His parents fled a pogrom in Poland and followed the American Dream to Denver, where he was raised. He received a B.A. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern in 1983, an M.B.A. from Northwestern in 1988, and went into consulting for small and medium size businesses. He moved to Deerfield in 1991 and raised two sons with his wife who works for Mesirow. Brad values family and community. He wants to address education and climate change in office. He acknowledged that money in politics and re-districting were both threats to democracy. He deplores the congressional work schedule of Monday through Thursday, which contributes to congressional gridlock. He is concerned that 1/3 of people over his age (54) have zero saved for retirement. He wants to have a broad debate on deficit spending, acknowledging the need to tighten belts and make hard decisions. Gun control is a very personal matter to Brad, and he is proud of his “F” rating from the NRA.

Meeting Recap January 21

Posted by Mike Malloy

John Thomas got the meeting started at 12:15, with 34 of 58 members in attendance. The first subject was Kids Against Hunger. We must raise $10000.00 as our share of a $30000.00 donation to this very deserving cause. After successfully leading this event for many years, Heidi is looking for a replacement to chair this in the future.

Barb Tubekis thanks us for our support with the Volunteer Center's MLK day last Monday. What a great thing she is doing helping people to link up or volunteer for one of many services and organizations that could use their help!

Karen Lawrence told us a little about her rug business, Village Carpets, in Hubbard Woods, at 924 Green Bay Road.

Our speaker was Nancy Rotering, who has been endorsed by Dick Durbin, the fire fighters Union, The National Woman's Caucus and many more.

She has a fascinating bio. She is Mayor of Highland Park and she is a go-getter of the best order. And is running for Congress. My write up is not doing her justice.

Keep your sunny side up! --Mike

Meeting Recap January 14

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 32 members in attendance at this week’s meeting. Our only guest was Mary Bak, the Assistant Governor for our Rotary District and member of the Glenview Sunrise Club. At the beginning of the meeting Rich Lalley announced that our speaker last week, Walter Reed, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor had passed away due to a heart attack on Tuesday, January 12. He was fortunate to have finished his book on his life as a survivor and we had the good fortune of being the last group to hear him deliver his personal message.

In a new feature for our meetings, David Birkenstein invited a relatively new business owner to our meeting to tell us about her business in a few minutes. Jeanne Montana is the owner of “Your Loss Your Gain” located at 554 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka. She briefly explained how her program works on a protein-based diet. She provided the members with a treat – a gluten free protein bar.

Kristen Leahy announced that she was looking for business owners who were willing to hang posters for our “Kids Against Hunger” project that will be held on March 12 at the Community House. Barb Tubekis put in a plug for the Volunteer Center’s “Day of Service” program that is being held on MLK Day at the Community House. There will be 11 projects that volunteers can participate in that will benefit 20 organizations. Liz Taylor reported that Arlynn Presser, former President of our club, is having a play she has written, “Remembrance,” performed at the Piven Theater in the Noyes Cultural Center in Evanston on January 29, 30 and 31. All are encouraged to take in this dramatic piece offered in our backyard.

Patti Van Cleave announced that the club’s Foundation committee would be holding a meeting at the Private Bank at the corner of Green Bay and Scott Avenue on January 27 at 9:00 a.m. She said that she had received many wonderful thank you notes from the recipients of last year’s grants. She passed around some of the thank you notes from children. Robert Mardirossian announced to the club that Family Service of Winnetka-Northfield has changed its name to Counseling Center of the North Shore as of January 1. The name change was made to better portray the services offered by the agency.

Happy Buck$ were provided by Jeanne Beckmann and Mark Kotz this week.

Rich Lalley introduced the meeting’s speaker, Sean Nelson, who heads the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program for our district. The program is an opportunity for high school students, nominated by the clubs of the district, to attend one of two conferences held each spring. The 3-day weekend conference offers leadership training. A sponsoring Rotary Club picks up the student’s expenses. Sean is a former YMCA director who has been the driving force for RYLA in our district for almost 15 years. Our district has the largest RYLA program in the country. Many of the high school students describe the weekend as a ‘life-changing experience.’ During the weekend the students learn about the skills it takes to be a good leader. They also learn about conflict resolution as well as public speaking. In recent years the conference has been held at Edwards YMCA Camp and Conference Center in East Troy, Wisconsin. Each year Sean brings in a number of inspirational speakers. The students evaluate all of the speakers to help him decide if they relate well enough to be invited the following year. Other activities include a low ropes course, outdoor problem solving, campfires, a dance, team building activities and appearances by Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. In the past our club has sponsored a number of RYLA attendees. We are hoping that Anna Helfand, the sponsor of New Trier’s Interact club and corporate representative of NT to our club, will be able to get several students interested in applying to attend one of the sessions to represent our club. It is a great opportunity for students to meet and interact with other future leaders.

Rotarians are welcome to come up to the camp to observe and hear the speakers. This year the two RYLA conferences will be held on March 10 - 13 and April 7 -10.

Meeting Recap January 7

Posted by Keith Reed

There were three guests at the January 7 meeting: Mary Cherveny (Winnetka Park District); Rick Rivkin (Rotary District Governor Elect); and Patti Long (model and nutritionist).

ANNOUCEMENTS: After Mark Kotz gave the thought of the day, President Thomas mentioned that we will be having a joint meeting with the Wilmette Rotary in early March; and that our February 4th and 11th meetings will be a forum for the candidates for the Winnetka Village Board to speak and present their views (three will appear at each meeting); Dirk Tussing and Jean Wright have been Rotary members for 10 and 28 years, respectively. Heidi Sibert reminded the group of the March 12th “ Pack Food for Hungry Children” project at the Community House and that the New Trier student Interact Club is teaming up with Bake 425 (544 Lincoln Ave.) on January 12th from 2-8 P.M. to permit pizza lovers to order pizza from Bake 425 with 15% of the purchase price go to the Interact Club, which is a good charitable cause.

Barb Tubekis requested a minute of silence in honor of the four former New Trier students involved in the recent tragic canoe accident (Christopher McQuillen, Lanny Patrick Sack, Mori Weinstein and Patrick Wetzel).

SPEAKER WALTER W. REED: The speaker was introduced by David Birkenstein. Walter (originally Werner Rindsberg) grew up in a Bavarian village near Wurzburg and experienced Nazi persecution including his arrest as a 14 year old on Kristallnacht and the loss of his parents and two brothers. He came to the U.S. in 1941, served in the U.S. army from 1943-46, and was an interrogator of German prisoners in Patton’s Third Army. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and pursued a 40 year in public relations. He has been a long time member of the Wilmette Rotary Club, was the Rotary District Foundation Chair and has spoken extensively before Rotary Clubs, and many other organizations, about his WWII experiences. He has spent 10 years reviewing records and files from many sources, including his own recollections, in writing his recent book entitled “The Children of La Hille (Eluding Nazi Capture during World War II)”. He said that it is now available on Amazon. He passed out a very good one page summary of the book and it appears to be a very important and informative book for all ages to read.

Mr. Reed pointed out in his presentation that out of the six million people exterminated during the Holocaust, one million were children. His book tells about the escapes of some 100 Jewish children from Germany and Austria—first to Belguim in 1938, then to southern France when the German Wehrmacht invaded the western countries in May 1940. He mentioned the many heros involved in saving all but 11 of these 100-plus La Hille children—Max Gothschalk and his daughter Pat; the Swiss Children’s Corps; Marguerite Goldschmidt who convinced the Swiss Children’s Corps to take on the responsibility of saving the Children of La Hille; Lilly Feldegen, who was responsible for getting Mr. Reed to the U.S.; Marshall Field of Chicago who got about 100 children out of the European war zone and transported to the U.S., including 17 of the La Hille children; and most important of all the parents who turned their children over to others knowing that they would probably not see them again.

Mr. Reed put his childhood experiences behind him for about 50 years until he realized the historical importance of telling this story about the effect of war on children. He not only researched and told this story, but he has visited Europe many times to talk to the survivors of the Children of La Hille and their families. There were 30-40 survivors still living when they met for a reunion in 2000. The French government attended this reunion and erected a special monument in honor of the Children of La Hille.

Mr. Reed will be making a presentation on this and other parts of his life’s story at the Holocaust Museum in Skokie on January 17th at 1:30 P.M. Everyone should have the experience of listening to Mr. Reed speak and reading his book. We were honored to have him speak at our Rotary meeting.

Meeting Recap December 17

Posted by Keith Reed

We had 68% of members present: 39 out of 59. We also had many guests present, most of whom were anticipating the performance of the New Trier Swing Choir (which did not disappoint anyone). Guests present were: Scott Meyers (John Thomas guest), Terry Dason, Ann Smith, James Bernahl, Judy Meikle (Dirk Tussing guest), Bill Krucks (Thomas guest), Nan Greenough (Louise Holland guest), Carol Fessler, Marilyn Prodromos, Kristin Ziv; and the spouses of Joe Fell, David Birkenstein; Eric Birkenstein; John Thomas, Tony Kambich, Robert Mardirossian and Sam Badger.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb Tubekis reminded everyone of their opportunity to make year-end gifts to the Kids Against Hunger charity. John Thomas announced that Happy Bucks would be received even though we did not have time for the explanations therefor. The food serving staff was recognized for all their good work during the year. An arrangement of poinsettias contributed by the Community House was auctioned off to the highest bidder, who was David Birkenstein.

PERFORMANCE BY THE NEW TRIER SWING CHOIR

Wes Baumann introduced the Swing Choir (all decked out in long black dresses and black tuxedos) and its director Nate Landes, who has been at New Trier for 11 years. Nate said that the 17 singers (9 girls and 8 boys) were all juniors or seniors and most of them also participate in other music groups at New Trier. They have had a busy holiday season with rehearsals and other performances, including an appearance at the Goodman Theater. (They also had to spend some time on their “ finals week”, which was expedited this year due to the school’s construction project). The singers were: Elisse Albian, Emma Alter, Sacha Appel, Josh Bretthauer, Owen Cahill, Carter George, Madi Hart, Duncan Holzhall, Alex Hopkins, Phebe Kinzelman, Tori McCausland, Bea McManus, Michael Olszowka, Jonathan Organ, Jennesse Pono, Alyson Weber and Timothy Zajdela. Songs performed were: Jingle Bell Rock, Christmas Time is Here, Carol of the Bells, Smile, Feliz Navidad, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Silver Bells, Winter Wonderland, Holly Jolly Christmas, and I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. Needless to say, the performance was very well received and a great way to start the Holiday Season.

Meeting Recap December 10

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 36 members in attendance at this week’s meeting. Andrew Hambleton, a mortgage banker, was the guest of Tom Nash. Rob Bahan brought two guests, Mike D’Onofrio, the village’s Director of Community Development and Megan Pierce, Assistant to the Village Manager. Winnetkan Meg Benson, the Executive Director at Chicago Volunteer Legal Service and active community member, was a guest of Wes Baumann. Several other guests came in after the introductions were made.

The club was reminded that next week our club would be holding its annual holiday luncheon with New Trier’s Swing Choir performing. If you plan to bring a guest you should send an email to John Thomas as we will be served a special lunch.

President Thomas presented David Birkenstein with a “Paul Harris +2 Pin.” Congratulations David, you are setting a great example!

Heidi Sibert announced that she is beginning her campaign to get every club member involved in this year’s Kids Against Hunger project. This annual project involves the largest number of participants of any n our club sponsors and the results of the project impact more people that anything else we do. The date for our food packing is March 12^th, SAVE THE DATE!

Patti Van Cleave announced that a Foundation appeal letter has gone out to several hundred ‘Friends of Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Club.’

Happy Buck$ this week came from Tony Kambich, Robert Mardirossian, Ned Meisner and Barb Tubekis.

Rob Bahan introduced the day’s program – the status of the Village’s Downtown Master Planning process. Rob turned most of the time over to Mike Blue, a village planner from Teska Associates, who is the project manager for the work in Winnetka. Mike has had a 30-year career in urban planning including eleven years at City Planner for Highland Park; he has been a consultant for Teska for the past three years. The village has a website so residents can follow the progress of the process – www.winnetkadowntownplan.com. The first task that Teska has taken on is to assess the current conditions in Winnetka’s three business districts – Hubbard Woods, Downtown Elms street (both East and West sides) and Indian Hill. Mike pointed out that the village’s first plan was created in the 1020s and that this type of planning is always an ongoing process.

There are a variety of land uses in the downtown area including Commercial, Retail and Residential. Village planning is a case of managing change. Change is a given for any area and the question is do we manage and plan for it or do we let it happen more haphazardly. The median age of the village residents is 44 years old, which is about 10 years older than we find in the city of Chicago. Generally as we age change becomes more difficult, this may pose a challenge for our village. The process involves land use and zoning which can be can be controversial, as we have witnessed with the Winnetka One project that may occupy the former Fell property on Lincoln and Elm. It was mentioned that the Winnetka One proposal is not part of Teska’s considerations. One of the challenges that has existed for a number of years is how the downtown Post Office land should be developed.

Another consideration in the planning process is the impact of transportation and parking. A lot of variety in parking regulations leads to confusion and deters people from coming to the area. Currently there are nine different parking regulations in the main downtown area.

A third area of consideration is safety due to moving vehicles and available parking. How far people will walk after parking their cars is a question that developers need to factor into their decisions. It seems that shoppers will walk a lot further at a place like Old Orchard than in local towns shopping areas.

While there are a few committees that are assigned to the task of working with the village and Teska, there are a number of ways for residents and businesses to follow and contribute ideas to the process. Simply go to the website mentioned above for more details and stay tuned-in.

Speakers on 12/10

Speaking about the Winnetka Downtown Master Plan will be:

Michael D’Onofrio, Director of Community Development
Megan Pierce, Assistant to the Village Manager
Michael Blue, Project Manager for Winnetka Downtown Master Plan (Principal @ Teska Associates)

Meeting Recap December 3

Posted by Wes Baumann

This week we had 38 members in attendance. The only guest was a visiting Rotarian, Cindy Kasperson, a past-president of the Northbrook Club. This week John Muno was representing the Park District and Anna Helfman was representing New Trier High School. John is the Superintendent of Facilities at the Park District. Ana is the Interact sponsor at New Trier.

This week we celebrated Rodger Morris’ 43^rd anniversary as an active member of our club. Rodger has had near perfect attendance over the years and he serves his club weekly by keeping track of attendance, collecting lunch fees and selling raffle ticket and frequently sets up the room for our meetings. He is also keeper of the cash!

Kristen Leahy announced that the WYO and New Trier’s Interact Club raised $400 for Operation Warm. That amount will supply 16 winter coats to children in need.

This is a reminder that at our special Christmas luncheon on December 17, New Trier’s Swing Choir will be performing and there will be a special meal. It is important that everyone let the club know if they will be bringing guests for this special occasion. At list will be available at our meeting on December 10. If you are unable to attend that meeting, but will be present on the 17^th please drop a note to John Thomas at enjthomas@aol.com. John also told the club that we would be holding our meetings in the Garden Room for the remainder of December.

Barb Tubekis proudly and gratefully announced that through the efforts of our club, the Volunteer Center, WYO and Skokie School 250 bags of food were delivered to Good News Partners on Chicago’s north side. It was the most successful food drive coordinated by the Volunteer Center. Barb read two letters of gratitude, one by a GNP recipient and one from the Jan Harper, an administrator at Good News Partners.

David Birkenstein announced that we have a speaker opening for January 28^thand all the dates from February 18^th and on. The club is looking for a person with expertise in climatology

Happy Buck$ this week came from generous members Kristen Leahy, Patti Van Cleave, Fred Schwimmer, Robert Mardirossian, Randy Reeves and Tony Kambich.

The day’s speaker was Harvey Mysel, the president and founder of Living Kidney Donors Network. His organization promotes education and support for living kidney donations. The need for kidneys is very great. When we sign up for organ donation through the DMV when renewing our driver’s license we believe we are making a difference, but the sad fact is that only 1% of the volunteers will be able to successfully donate organs. Basically you must be in a hospital, usually on life support, so that the kidney or most other organs can be harvested and used for transplantation in a timely fashion. If a person dies at home or in some accident the vital organs will not remain viable for more than a few minutes within the deceased.

There are over 100,000 people on the waiting list desperately in need of a kidney. The wait for a deceased kidney donor is generally 5 – 10 years and over 4,500 persons will die each year while waiting. Virtually everyone can live with a single kidney with no ill effects. There is a growing movement to use kidneys from a living person, generally a relative of the person in need. There is a trend of people who elect to donate a kidney without directly knowing the person in need. This is what John is promoting. These donors are referred to as non-directed donors. There is a multiplying effect via this donation. If a person in need of a kidney has a willing relative but their kidney is not compatible to the recipient, a kidney from a non-directed donor can be used and the willing relatives kidney can save someone else’s life. Setting up chains like this means that a willing, non-directed donor can, on average impact five other lives. Another big advantage of living donor kidneys is that they last on average 17 years whereas kidneys from deceased donors last 5 – 8 years. There is no significant difference in life expectancy whether a person has one or two kidneys.

Kidney transplants, over time, are much less expensive than remaining on dialysis for several years so economics is another reason to encourage more living donors. Also the recovery time from the surgery has decreased since the surgery is now less invasive. So if you are wondering how you can make a real difference in several people’s lives consider donating a kidney.

Meeting Recap November 19

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 27 Club members in attendance. Guests included Steve Agouridis (Skokie School math and science teacher); Penny Fields; Helen Assimos (Rhonda Miller’s aunt); and Jan Hubbard (Good News Partners). The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Rebecca Wolf and Patti Van Cleave gave the Thought of the Day concerning the recent events in Paris.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barb Tubekis announced that Steve Agouridis challenged his Skokie school students to furnish food items for our Thanksgiving project and that he would match the number of bags that they were able to collect and donate. To his surprise, they came up with 40 bags of groceries which Steve generously matched as “advertised”. Special thanks to Steve. Patti’s solicitation letter for the Foundation will be going out next week, so members were encouraged to get her names of people who should receive these invitations to donate to the Rotary. John Thomas announced that the three Caucus selected nominees for Winnetka Village trustees were Louise Holland (a Rotarian), Penny Lanphier and Christopher Rintz. They will be appearing at our Rotary meeting on February 4. On February 11 we will be visited by the three independent candidates Carol Fessler, Marilyn Prodromos and Kristin Ziv. President Thomas announced that effective the start of the new year, Wes Bauman would be retiring “with honors” from being our official reporter of meeting minutes. Four other Rotarians quickly volunteered to help with the minutes for next year. There were no birthdays or anniversaries announced. Tim McCabe announced several events taking place this holiday season at the Community House, including the Children’s Theatre production of Mary Poppins; the adult version of A Christmas Carol; Breakfast with Santa on December 5; and the opportunity to see the Chagall for Children exhibit loaned the Community House by the Kohl Children’s Museum for practically free admission. Ned Meisner reminded everyone of some glitches with enrollment for new health insurances plans, which has to be done by December 15, and that he and Eric Birkenstein could help anyone with this enrollment problem. Rich Lalley reported that he attended a Groupon Corp. party which was given to support 50 of Chicago’s poorest families. For every dollar donated as a result of this party, Groupon will give a 20% discount on goods and services purchased from Groupon. It also gave each child and family 3 gifts for the holidays. Rich also announced that New Trier has named a new faculty member to be its representative at our Rotary meetings—her name is Anna Helpin.

HAPPY BUCKS: Heidi Sibert reported that she bought $100 worth of raffle tickets at a recent event sponsored by her employer, Martin Associates, and that she was the lucky winner of $900, which she donated to the Rotary’s Operation Warm charity. Rodg Morris donated in recognition of Rich Lalley’s favorite NFL team losing 3 straight games! Kristen Leahy was happy that her WHO organization was able to get a $400 donation to our Operation Warm project. Patti gave a donation in honor of Gina Di Sandro for her efforts in helping the Winnetka Congregational Church organize and donate 20,000 meals for use by the needy during the Thanksgiving week. Wes Bauman was happy about Rich Lalley’s successful operation and that his friends in France were safe after the Paris attacks. Sam Badger recognized the 240th anniversary of the Marine Corps, which was established November 10,1775. Rhonda Miller contributed just to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Dig and Grin was done (again, at the last moment due to cancellation) by Rodg Morris who warned against “ admitting to false accusations and committing perjury.”

SPEAKER JAN HUBBARD: Jan is the Director of Development at Good News Partners, which is located on the Evanston-Chicago border. It receives grants from Rotary and has been a grateful recipient of our Operation Warm project. 147 families are given food baskets supported in part by our Rotary. The organization was started in 1976 by several faith organizations to help the homeless in that area. Jan mentioned that food and clothing is fairly available to the poor in Chicago, but affordable housing is a big problem. GNP is an Asset Based Community Development model organization (ABCD). Its housing options include: New Life Interim Housing, a 36 bed shelter for homeless women and children; a large single room occupancy building called the Jonquil Hotel that accommodates 58 families; 44 units of GNP affordable rental housing; and 43 units of cooperative housing for low income families. Since its beginning, GNP has partnered with 165 families as they moved through the housing spectrum to home ownership. GNP provides employment and supportive services such as property management and rehab training; children’s activities and support groups; adult enrichment programs; chaplaincy; personal and family support; educational support; violence prevention; and workforce development. Its Good News Partners Christmas Market is held in December at the Gale Academy Public School where gifts can be purchased at discounted prices; Christmas treats are shared; and there is complementary gift wrapping. The purpose is to give families a chance to be part of the gift-giving process, not just the receiving. Drugs are prevalent in the community served by GNP. Thus, it is offering bible study groups and work force development programs to motivate the young adults to find gainful employment. GNP works with a construction company that trains and finds job for these people in rehab projects.

After the presentation, Wes Bauman was the lucky winner of our “almost unwinnable” raffle. He donated half of his winnings to the GNP and half to our Operation Warm project.( Rumor is that due to his apparent change in luck, he is now reconsidering his earlier resignation as Rotary’s official scribe.)

Meeting Recap November 12

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 29 members in attendance at this week’s meeting. Our guests were the wives of two members, Betty Skalski and Ellie Schwimmer.

Patti Van Cleave is composing a Foundation appeal letter that will go out to the 200 names who receive our weekly Club Runner letter. She will be asking the club members to submit additional names to add to this mailing. A letter like this has garnered some additional financial support for our Foundation in previous holiday seasons. Start thinking of friends and associates who might be potential donors to our Foundation.

Barb Tubekis said that at our next meeting, November 19, the Club would be putting together the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinners as we did last year. These dinners will be delivered to Good News Partners for families they serve. We will also hear from Jan Hubbard, the Director Development for GNP.

Gina Sich informed the membership that during the month of December we would be holding our meetings in the Garden Room (our summer meeting room). The Community House will be hosting a special Chagall exhibit for children. It is on loan from the Kohl’s Children’s Museum that incorporates high quality reproductions of Chagall’s works with multi-sensory activities designed for school children.

Fred Schwimmer introduced the speaker, his niece Rusty Schwimmer. Rusty, a Hollywood character actor, spent her childhood in Winnetka and Glencoe since she was 2 years old. She told us that acting was inborn. Her parents frequently gave her books about character actors. Rusty mentioned numerous memories from her home town – movies at the Community House, the Sweet Shop and her participation in the summer camp program called TWIGS which brought up minority children and had integrated activities, which opened her eyes to the value of diversity. Her family took many driving vacations and Rusty frequently imitated the people they came in contact with.

She participated in a variety of activities during her years at New Trier, but it was the theater department where she thrived. She had roles in Bye-Bye Birdie, South Pacific, the King and I and the annual student production called Lagniappe. After leaving New Trier she said she realized the outstanding preparation she received and the fantastic opportunities she was offered at the school.

Rusty only spent one year in college before she realized she had to follow her passion – acting. She had lots of waitressing jobs including in Los Angeles while seeking acting opportunities. While in Chicago she became a “Refrigerette,” a cheerleader for the Bears William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry. She went to L.A. when Rich Melman opened an Ed Debevics in the Hollywood area. Henry Winkler (the ‘Fonz’) liked her and gave her a role and paid for her SAG card.

Perseverance was named as a most important trait in aspiring actors. Rusty said she has been able to make a living with her career in acting since 1990. She said acting is a very insecure business, but then there are very few secure businesses today. Rusty also said that Hollywood is like one big high school and going to a premiere is like going to the prom. Her feeling is that if she could survive New Trier she could survive Hollywood. Her favorite role was in the 1995 film, The Little Princess, which stared Liesel Pritzker who would later attend and graduate from New Trier. Four and a half years ago Rusty moved back to the Chicago area where she is coaching and mentoring young aspiring actors.

Meeting Recap November 5

The week’s meeting was held at Avli Restaurant. John Thomas brought our lone guest, fellow Winnetkan Dave Shanahan. Also in attendance was Brian Keys, Director of Water and Electric, representing the Village of Winnetka.

President Thomas presented Rich Lally with a sponsor’s pin, the new magnetic style. Kristen Leahy thanked the club for supporting the Veteran’s project. She also mentioned that the New Trier principal asked her if she could find a veteran to represent our club at a Veteran’s Day program at the school. Kristen announced that Sam Badger agreed to the assignment. Fred Schwimmer warned the club to be prepared to be entertained next week, as his niece, Rusty Schwimmer, will talk about her experiences in Hollywood as an actress. Tony Kambich gave the president a check in honor of his and Carolyn’s 54^th wedding anniversary. Additional Happy Buck$ were given by Eric Birkenstein.

Barb Tubekis announced that the Volunteer Center is once again going to provide the ingredients for Thanksgiving meals for the less fortunate at Good News Partners located on the far North side of Chicago. She is collecting money and a few people will go shopping at Costco to get the products to make a complete dinner for these families. You can either give money or checks to Barb directly or make out a check to the Winnetka- Northfield Rotary Foundation with a notation in the memo section “Thanksgiving Dinner Project.” She is looking for a few volunteers to drive the food to GNP on Thanksgiving morning.

The day’s speaker was our own Rebecca Wolf, the Director of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library. She handed out preview copies of the Library’s publication “The Source.” She told us that many popular magazines can be read online at no cost by using the Winnetka library card and website as the way into the Zinio.com website. The list of 99 magazines include The Economist, Forbes, Macworld, PC World, Golf Digest, Newsweek, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Wine Spectator and The New Yorker. Rebecca said that many of the library’s books can be read online also.

Next Rebecca featured the new and exciting Studio. A whole new set of services was described that ten years ago would not have been associated with a public library. Barb Tubekis gave strong testimony for the Studio by mentioning a number of projects she did in the Studio for both the Volunteer Center and personally using the 3-D printer in the new facility. Barb engraved Volunteer Center monograms on crystal glasses that were presented to her board members. Rebecca had put key rings that were in the shape of the Rotary wheel and engraved with Rotary International on one side and our club’s name on the other side. She said that the project to make them took an hour and a half and $10 worth of plastic.

In addition to talking about the Studio, she told us about many of the classes and groups that have been established at the Library. There are many classes in technology such as: Computer, Smartphone and Tablet Security, Using Skype, Texting, An Overview of Social Media as well as courses specific to the Mac and PC platforms. There are also classes on food and drink including a Holiday Wine Tasting on December 13^th and a Wine Tasting class in January. There are also classes on music, health, money, crafts (sewing, knitting and embroidering) and parenting. Not surprisingly, there are also a number of book clubs. There are numerous programs designed for youths of all ages. It should also be noted that while the Studio is located at the Winnetka there are many programs at both Winnetka and Northfield branches. If you were not able to attend the meeting it is suggested that you keep your eyes open for the Winter edition of The Source to discover the many offerings of our community’s library. Rebecca warned her audience that many of the classes fill up quickly.

At the end of her presentation Mark Kotz complimented Rebecca on her leadership in bringing the Library into the 21^st century. She works with a staff of 51, 17 who are full time with the rest working part-time.

Speaker Rusty Schwimmer on 11/12

Rusty Schwimmer was raised in Chicago, where she grew up a fan of the theater, music and the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and Chicago Bulls. In her formative years, she endeavored to be a singer but quickly found her way to acting and was soon drawn from the world of theater in Chicago to the land of opportunity in Los Angeles.

Rusty quickly found work in film and television. Some of her favorite films are A Little Princess (1995), Twister (1996), Edtv (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Runaway Jury(2003) and North Country (2005). She also enjoyed roles in the television film, The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996), for HBO and the series, The Guardian (2001), Gilmore Girls (2000), Picket Fences (1992), Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times(1993), as well as a guest starring role on Six Feet Under (2001).

Schwimmer will next be seen in the feature, The Hawk Is Dying (2006), opposite Paul Giamatti, and recently appeared in the television mini-series, Broken Trail (2006), opposite Robert Duvall.

November Service Project

Posted by Barb Tubekis

This November Rotary will participate again in supporting Good News Partners on Thanksgiving morning by providing canvas shopping bags with basic non-perishable food for the low income and subsidized housing residents of Good News Partners in Rogers Park, one of our Rotary's Foundation Grant recipients. During this month, Rotarians can either contribute canned goods or $ to support the program, and with the funds received, we will purchase the items for the corresponding # of bags. Our Rotary club will do a Service Project to collate them on November 19th. Here is a list of the items that are needed for each bag, if Rotarians would like to bring in some or actually take a bag on his or her own:

Family sized cans/boxes:

canned chicken

tuna

a fruit and a vegetable

a soup

peanut butter

microwaveable rice and/or pasta

pasta sauce

cereal (one large box or an assortment pack)

Optional: A special treat like coffee, cookies or chocolates

Meeting Recap October 29

Thirty-two members were in attendance at this week’s meeting. We had one guest, visiting Rotarian, Bryan Anderson from the Waconda Rotary Club. We also had Costa Kutulas, representing the Park District. Gina Sich mentioned that Costa was the one who organized the Park District employees who helped with the set-up and take-down of our Kids Against Hunger project the past several years.

Eric Birkenstein was given his ‘Moment to Shine.’ Eric is in the life insurance business and he chose to speak about “1035 Exchanges” This is the ability to exchange an old life insurance policy for a new policy without any tax implications. He works with clients to take advantage of new policies that offer free long term care policy as an added advantage, lower premiums, higher death benefits and more guarantees.

We were reminded that next week, November 5, we will be meeting at Avli Restaruant in the Laundry (at the corner of Spruce and Chestnut). The cost of the lunch for guests and those who pay by the week will be $20 instead of $15.

Eric Birkenstein reported on the membership committee. He mentioned that great programs and speakers are lined up through the end of the year. He said it behooves the members to be on the lookout for guests and potential members to bring to our meetings. He also mentioned that the committee was looking for a contact to Kerry Wood as they would love to get him to be a speaker in 2016. This fall he purchased a home in Winnetka.

The club celebrated Sam Badger’s birthday. Happy Buck$ were contributed this week by Bob Baker, Keith Reed, David Birkenstein Tom Nash, Rhonda Miller and Mark Kotz.

Barb Tubekis thanked Rotarians for their participation in last Saturday’s “Make a Difference Day.’ She said that it is likely that over 23,000 items were donated to the 14 organizations participating this year.

Patti Van Cleave for their contributions of items and cash to support local veterans in recovery from traumatic brain injuries who are being served at the Lovell Health Car Center. We were supporting a project initiated by a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Our speaker for the week was Irwin Weil a professor of Russia and Russian Literature at Northwestern University. He spoke about his recently publish book “From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds.” When he was a young boy growing up in Cincinnati his father was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. At an early age he became more interested in Russia and the Soviet Union than in baseball and passed up the chance to see the Reds in the World Series to go to a Russian film.

Weil went to the University of Chicago and after reading Crime and Punishment by Dostroevsky in English he became determined to read the book in Russian. The following year he began his studies of the Russian language. In 1958 after President Eisenhower signed a cultural agreement with the Soviet Union he went to Russia to further his studies. He has visited Moscow more than 100 times and was invited to set up a Russian–American studies program in Moscow in the 1990s.

Professor Weil shared his insights on the Russian people whom he found to be wonderful and very hospitable. He knows that both Russia and the U.S. put out lots of propaganda which demonizes the other country. In the past many of the everyday Russians did not believe all of the propaganda that their government was putting out because they lied to their people about so many other things that they had difficulty believing the politburo of the Communist Soviet Union.

!!! LOCATION CHANGE !!! NEW MEETING SITE NOVEMBER 5

The Greek restaurant Avli will host our meeting on November 5. Avli is located at the back of the Laundry Mall at the corner of Spruce and Chestnut in Winnetka (behind Starbucks). Due to the special location, lunch will cost $20 for any guests and for those who pay weekly.

Meeting Recap October 22

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were thirty-seven members is attendance this week, definitely above our weekly average. Ned Meisner brought our lone guest, Khalil Dana, an electrical engineer. Representing the Park District this week was Mary Cherveny, who is the Marketing Manager and in charge of communications.

President Thomas announced that a very good club visioning meeting was conducted the previous Monday. Over 20 members were in attendance and they produced many excellent ideas. We will be hearing more in the near future. Barb Tubekis encouraged the membership to participate in this Saturday’s (Oct. 24) “Make a Difference Day.” Last year over 19,000 items were contributed to 14 organizations. David Grant announced that an adult production of “A Christmas Carol,” under the direction of Toby Nicholson would take place at the Community House on December 5th and 6^th. Purchase your tickets before November 1 and get a $5 discount per ticket. John Thomas announced that Kristen Leahy would assume the Public Relations chair.

President John also announced that due to the Antiques and Modernism Show our club would be holding our meeting on November 5^th at the Greek restaurant Avli in the Laundry at the corner of Spruce and Chestnut in Winnetka. Due to the special menu, lunch will cost $20 for those who pay weekly and any guests.

Happy Buck$ were contributed by Ned Meisner, Liz Taylor, Tony Kambich, Patti Van Cleave, Barb Tubekis, John Stone, Wes Baumann, Kristen Leahy and John Thomas. Brooke Peppey capably handled this week’s Dig ‘n Grin.

Fred Schwimmer was given “Time to Shine.” Fred is a proud 72-year resident of Winnetka. After retiring from the daily commute to downtown Chicago Fred now enjoys collecting and reselling antiques and memorabilia. He said that people don’t often realize that among their ‘junk’ there may be some hidden valuable items.

The day’s speaker was Ed Gogol whose topic was “Aid in Dying, the Ultimate Right.” Ed is the president of Final Options Illinois. The organization is part of the Death with Dignity movement that is gaining momentum in the U.S. The majority of doctors today support a change that would permit the medical profession to assist patients in dying. Final Options Illinois was founded in 1984 as an independent voice working to establish the right to aid-in-dying for all mentally competent adults who are suffering intolerably and irremediably. They believe that even with the best palliative care, suffering can be very intense at the end of one’s life. Aggressive medical treatment can also be very painful. They also believe that the person in that situation should have the choice to end their own life and should be able to employ the assistance of a doctor. Thus the goal of the movement is to legalize Death with Dignity, in each state. It is currently legal in five states – Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and California. A number of other states are getting close to passing the needed legislation. Currently in Illinois doctors are not legally allowed to assist a person who wishes to end their suffering without fear of the law. Though it is widely believed that some physicians will assist by increasing the dosage of painkillers, such as morphine. Where it is legal two doctors must agree that the patient is mentally competent and the condition is terminal, generally with six months to live and the patient must self-administer the lethal drugs. In many cases drug that the doctors has prescribed is not used but the patient feels more control having possession of such drugs. In those states where the law permits doctors to assist a patient there has not been a significant rise in the number of assisted suicides.

Mr. Gogol suggested that if we have concerns about how we want to be treated in our last days, we should check with our attorneys about various documents such as Advanced Medical Directives, Durable Power of Attorney and Palliative Care Options. Final Options believes that it must become a fundamental right to die in peace with dignity.

Meeting Recap October 15

Posted by Wes Baumann

There were 27 members in attendance at this week’s meeting. Our lone guest was regular visitor Penny Fields from the Highland Park club. John Thomas began the meeting by inducting a new member, Rhonda Miller, a third generation Winnetkan. John also announced that Patti Van Cleave’s Visioning Committee would be meeting on Monday, October 19^th from 5 – 9 p.m. at the Community House. All Club members have been encouraged to attend this meeting and contribute to the forward thinking for our Club. A representative from Rotary International will moderate the session.

Operation Warm has three weeks remaining in its current drive to raise funds for coats for those in need of warm winter coats. Please consider a generous gift to this Rotary project under the leadership of Rich Lalley. Currently we are trying to provide coats for 6 – 12 month olds being served by the Crisis Nursery at Maryville Academy.

President Thomas announced that he plans to have the two groups of candidates for three openings on the Village of Winnetka Council come to Club meeting in January to present their case. There are three persons proposed by the Caucus and three persons running as independents. They will be invited to separate meetings, but given the same set of questions to respond to. John is looking for volunteers to prepare the questions. At this week’s meeting Tony Kambich, Keith Reed and Rhonda Miller agreed to be added to the committee.

This week’s speaker was Robert Beezat, a former city manager and city management consultant who recently wrote a book “Knowing and Loving: The Keys to Real Happiness.” While not a Rotarian, he has spoken to over 75 Rotary Clubs. He effectively used Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self’ and “The Four Way Test” in illustrating his ideas expressed in his book. He emphasized that he always tries to learn from people and that one of the very influential persons in his life was his Polish grandmother. She had a tough life but always had a good outlook on life. He remembers her telling him that the only difference between a Polish wedding and a Polish funeral is that there is one less person dancing at the Polish funeral.

Robert began by using the first question of the Four Way Test – Is it the Truth? He said this is one of the most important questions in life. How we answer this question will say a lot about how we approach problems and problem solving in life. In order to solve the many problems we face in business or our personal lives we have to gain an understanding of the real underlying causes of the issue. Our speaker said that the closer we can come to the truth the better our chances of making good decisions and choices for our families, our communities and ourselves.

Meeting Recap October 1

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 32 members present and 6 guests: Marilyn Prodromos and Carol Fessler (Grant guests and Winnetka Village trustees); Robert Adam (Kotz guest); Anita Maiworm (VanCleeve guest); Todd Roth (T. Nash guest); Carolyn Kambich (guest of “several”); and Mary Birkenstein (stopped in for the speaker).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Denny Lauer

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Thomas announced that our Rotary Club will join the local Chamber of Commerce; Mark Kotz and Ned Meisner have done a great job on getting speakers, but with their assignment ending, the job has been shifted to the Membership Committee, David Birkenstein- current Chair;that the October 19th four hour “Visioning Session” with Patti Van Cleve is very important to develop our Club’s forward plan and everyone should participate; that the “Time to Shine” segment of our regular weekly program will be continued with the speaker spending 4-5 minutes talking about their business/interest; and that the Community House will be asking for volunteers to help with the children’s Halloween party.

Anita Maiworm, Kaskaskia DAR, gave a short presentation on what a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is doing for our military personnel. Cleaning services and supplies are not covered by Food Stamps so her organization is taking donations of money and items to pass on to those military personnel and veterans in need. Rotarians were urged to bring to our October meetings such things as laundry detergent, garbage bags, shampoo, paper cleaning products, brooms, cooking utensils-- as well as games, puzzles, movie theater tickets and restaurant gift cards. Anita also explained the DAR “domicile” program which provides apartments for homeless vets. Most of these apartments house up to 16 men/women and are located close to the Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chigago. The DAR collects used furniture for these domicile apartments. If you can support this very important DAR program, Anita should be contacted at beachhouse7@icloud.com

HAPPY BUCKS: Rob Mardirossian gave $100 for the use of Bob Baker’s Cubs’ tickets and John Stone’s generosity in picking up a drink tab at the Park—also the general support given by many Rotarians to his Family Services organization; Ned Meisner recognized his Mother’s birthday; John Thomas was happy with a visit from his sister and her husband; and Tony Kambich recognized the fact that his wife (in attendance as guest) had received a special DAR award when she was in grade school.

DIG N GRIN: Rich Lalley started by listing the 5 organizations that depend on Rotarians’ donations to provide coats for children and that donations can be made via PayPal or by check to Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation. He then told a couple stories about problems with Catholic politicians’ confessions and senior citizens reading road signs.

SPEAKER DAVID STROSBERG RE NORTHSHORE 770 DEVELOPMENT: (Refer to last week’s announcement of this meeting for details regarding David’s background.) David, and his Marketing Manager Alison Solway, presented information regarding this recent Mariano’s-anchored shopping center and 347-unit apartment building located at the corner of Dundee and Skokie Boulevard in Northbrook. Mariano’s new store is 72,000 square foot versus its 50,000 square foot store in Northfield—which they intend to keep in business. David founded Morningside Group in 1993 as a real estate firm focused on mixed-use and multi-family development. Its offices are in Chicago and Ann Arbor. The Northbrook project has 100% occupancy in the shopping center and the apartment building started leasing last August with first occupancy set for next January. The rental apartments vary from 700 to 1500 square feet; will be under leases for up to 2 year; have a doorman, rooftop pool, golf simulator, putting green, 10’ ceilings in penthouses (9’ elsewhere), granite counter tops, inside heated parking and a cinema room with a 135” TV set for use by residents. The location has been for sale since the 1990’s and changed hands a couple of times, but developers were having trouble finalizing their plans, especially the financing of such a large project. A Texas bank ended up with the property in 2010 and Morningside was able to buy it from them. David said that his company went to the Village representatives and door-to-door with the residents to get their support. For the most part, local businesses supported the project, with the exception of a couple of local super markets. It is a great location for retail since daily there are 40,000 cars passing the site on Skokie Blvd.; 20,000 cars passing on Dundee; and 120,000 cars passing the adjacent Edens interchange. His company had to buy the Zengler property and relocate them on the new facility; it had to spend considerable money improving the adjacent roads and traffic signals; and it had to pay the local park district and schools “impact” fees. Ninety-five million was the final cost of the project and several banks handled the financing. David’s power point showed the exterior of the buildings and the interior of the apartments. It is obvious that Morningside put a lot of “extras” into the project to make it look very attractive to consumers, residents, and the local community.

October Community Service Project for Veterans

Posted by Kristen Leahy

This October, the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Club is working with the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to help veterans at the Lovell Federal Health Care Center. Each of these veterans has been honorably discharged, but due to a variety of circumstances they are in need of our help. These men and women recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries or are in the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program and are dealing with lives that are hard for us to fathom. They receive support with housing and food, but cleaning supplies and other household items are not able to be purchased with their food cards.

The following items are of great need to these veterans:

Laundry detergent

Garbage bags

Garbage cans

Laundry basket

Shampoo

Toilet paper

Paper towels

Cleaning products

Brooms/dust pans

Cooking pans and utensils

Games

Puzzles

Movie theater tickets

Restaurant gift cards

Items can be brought to our Thursday meetings or dropped off at the Winnetka Youth Organization (lower level of the Community House) during their open hours. Cash donations are also accepted.

Please contact Kristen Leahy at kristen@winnetkayo.org for more information.

Help Us Bring Happiness & Warmth to Children in Need

Posted by Rich Lalley on Sep 04, 2015

Your contribution will help us provide new winter coats to needy children in Chicago and on the North Shore.

Again this year, we ill be bringing the happiness and warmth of new Operation Warm winter coats to children living in need in the Chicago metro area. In 2014, our club provided new coats to over 600 children. This year, our plans are to provide coats to children served by several local organizations:

Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook for their holiday gift program.
Jewish Council for Youth Services for children in their Highwood after-school program.
Open Arms Mission, an Antioch area food pantry.
Holy Family Ministries who serves children in Chicago's lowest income neighborhoods.
Maryville Crisis Nursery, provides short-term care for children of families who are experiencing a severe disruptive crisis.
Family Promise Chicago North Shore who help homeless families get back on their feet.
Inner City Impact who serve youth from low income families in Cicero and Chicago.

When children have a new coat, their self-esteem gets a boost and they are empowered to attend school and partake in outdoor play on cold winter days. This simple and inexpensive gift does so much for a child.

Only through the generosity of our members and their network can we accomplish our goal for providing new coats to 700 or more area children. Please donate generously; each $20 gift allows another child to receive the gift of warmth.

You may donate online via PayPal or by check made payable to Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation (WNRCF) sent to 620 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka IL 60093.

Meeting Recap 9/3

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 26 attendees and four guests. Guests were Donna Lee Gulley, meeting speaker and member of Northbrook Rotary; Karen and Darrel Malcom, from Kids Against Hunger and Carol Stream Rotary; and Ken Novak from Northbrook, guest of David Birkenstein. Sam Badger cited John Steinbeck in his Thought for the Day. Carl Yudall handled the Dig N Grin presentation listing several new and different “activities” by heavy stock investors during a down market!

Greg Skirving did the “Time to Shine” presentation. After retiring in 2012 from real estate related positions, he joined his wife in the realty business at Coldwell Banker, where his wife had been for about 15 years. Greg said he wasn’t “very good at retirement”. About 80-90% of their business is in the New Trier area. There have been lots of changes in the use of technology in the business. Properties appear on-line for buyer viewing even before the realtor gets involved; people are far more informed about the market; there is a greater demand for new and rehabbed properties; there are more new properties on the market; and sellers have to be willing to invest in updating their houses before placing them on the market.

Happy Bucks were contributed by Patty Van Cleave for Darrel Malcom being willing to partner with the Winnetka Congregational Church on his packing project. Darrell has been responsible for overseeing the packing of half a million meals for needy people throughout the world, especially in Nicaragua.

Guest speaker was Donna Lee Gulley from the Northbrook Rotary Club who has been a very busy volunteer for Rotary over the last 13 years. She has made two trips to Guatemala, done polio immunizations in India and Nigeria and attended the International Rotary Convention in Brazil this year. She currently serves as the District Global Grant Committee Secretary and has spent 8 years volunteering for the ShelterBox project. Before her volunteer activities, she had a 35 year career in teaching school and counseling, concluding in the Evanston schools.

She described the shelter boxes and the Shelterbox organization which has established itself at the forefront of international disaster relief, providing aid to more than a million survivors around the world. It is the premiere international aid organization that provides shelter and life-saving equipment for survival in an easily transportable box (roughly 2 ½’x3’x2 1/2’). It provides a 10 person tent designed to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall. Each tent has privacy partitions that allow recipients to divide the space as they see fit. The kit also has warmth and protection equipment such as blankets, water purification kits, children’s books, crayons, pens, etc.; a basic tool kit; mosquito screens and groundsheets; and a wood burning or multi-fuel stove.

ShelterBox instantly responds to man-made and natural disasters by providing this essential equipment quickly to the disaster area where a ShelterBox Response Team determines the need and distributes the aid. There is a large stock of equipment warehoused in the United Kingdom and other strategic locations across the globe. Often, ShelterBox is the first outside aid agency to appear on disaster scenes. The program was started in the U.K. in 2000—in fact, the U.K. supplied 800 shelter boxes for our Katrina disaster, plus only 300 from the U.S., where the program was newer. It is an International Project with a partnership with Rotary International.. The $1000 cost for each box has remained the same for the last 10 years.

Visit the organization’s website at shelterboxusa.org and click on “deployments” to see where these boxes have been used over the years. Over $300,000 was raised by Rotary for the boxes during the year of the Haiti disaster. Donna said that Rotary would like to see each Rotary Club give $1000 each year to the project. There is a matching amount from the District available for these donations through District Grants. There is a training program for Rotarians to become members of the ShelterBox teams who help distribute the supplies. 96% of the money given to ShelterBox is used to pay for the boxes.

Speaker Bio for Karen Kaplan on 9/10

Karen Kaplan, was born and raised in West Rogers Park, a Jewish neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. She is an engaging international speaker and continues to share her compelling life story and the message of forgiveness. Karen received her B.A. from the University of Illinois in Nutrition and Medical Dietetics and trained at The Claret Center of Hyde Park, IL. as a spiritual director. She maintained a private practice and lectured for many years throughout the Chicago metropolitan area on health and wellness.

After her father died, she began journaling memories (both bitter and sweet) that turned into a memoir of conquering the deep-seated fear and all consuming hatred she felt towards him. Articles, excerpts and news stories of her memoir were featured on WGN-TV Chicago morning news, the Chicago Jewish News, the Chicago JUF News, The Patch, an online Chicago and suburban newspaper, the Deerfield Review and the Highland Park Highlander.

Raising her three chidren has been the most rewarding and joyous part of her life. Karen is married to Bobby Weiss and they live in Highland Park, Illinois.

Below is a link to a WGN -TV feature story which aired over Thanksgiving last year.

Holocaust Survivor’s Daughter, Karen Kaplan, Learns How To Forgive. Letting Go Anger Fear Paranoia

Here is the link to Karen's book:

http://www.amazon.com/Descendants-Rajgr%C3%B3d-Learning-Karen-Kaplan/dp/0692207619

DESCENDANTS OF RAJGROD - Learning To Forgive

Raising her three chidren has been the most rewarding and joyous part of her life. Karen is married to Bobby Weiss and they live in Highland Park, Illinois.

Below is a link to a WGN -TV feature story which aired over Thanksgiving last year.

Holocaust Survivor’s Daughter, Karen Kaplan, Learns How To Forgive. Letting Go Anger Fear Paranoia

Here is the link to Karen's book:

http://www.amazon.com/Descendants-Rajgr%C3%B3d-Learning-Karen-Kaplan/dp/0692207619

- See more at: http://wnrotary.org/Speakers#sthash.rlzr44pc.dpuf

Meeting Recap August 20

Posted by Wes Baumann

Twenty-eight members were in attendance. There were two guests, visiting Rotarian Tom Trapp from Northbrook and, Akkara Srauy an Administrative Fellow at Rush Hospital who accompanied our speaker Peter Butler.

David Birkenstein announced that there would be a meeting of the membership committee on Thursday, August 30 at 11:00 a.m. in the conference room on the second floor of the Community House. All members are invited to attend and contribute their ideas on how to increase our membership.

Heidi Sibert told the club members to mark March 12th on their calendars as the day our club will be packing food for the Kids Against Hunger program. More announcements will be forthcoming, as she and her committee will be soliciting sponsors and workers for this annual event.

Our club celebrated the birthdays of David Birkenstein and Randy Reeves as well as the Rotary anniversaries of Sam Badger and Kristen Leahy who celebrated their 2nd year as members of our club.

John Stone brought back an old tradition of a quiz for Dig ‘n Grin. He gave clubs to the team name for all of the NFL teams. There were only a couple of teams that gave the members some pause.

The speaker for the day was Peter Butler who spent his youth in Winnetka. He is the current President and CEO for the Rush University Medical Center. He has been at Rush for over 10 years and he has spent over 30 years in hospital administration and is a nationally recognized health care administrator. He has served on a presidential advisory committee dealing with the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

Peter showed several charts that traced health care costs. He pointed out that these costs were 7% of the nation’s GDP in 1972 and they rose to 17% in 2012. We were told that health care costs have plateaued and may have slightly declined in recent years. Peter pointed out that in 1970 it took 4.5 workers to support each recipient of Medicare and that number will likely drop to 2.5 workers per Medicare recipient by 2050.

The Affordable Care Act has reduced the pool of uninsured Americans by one-third as 17 million more persons have insurance today. Approximately half of the newly insured are due to the newly establish health exchanges and half are due to Medicaid expansion. Employer-based insurance programs cover about one-third of the insured. In Illinois Medicaid covers one-fourth of the population.

Peter said that the system is working reasonably well as hospitals cannot charge as much as they did previously but that loss is made up by the fact that more hospital patients are covered by insurance so the hospital have fewer non-paying patients. He also said that there is a system of penalties and bonuses based on the hospitals performance. More readmissions result in penalties, reduction in payments. Overall Peter feels that most hospitals are agreeable to the new system. He also said that it is highly unlikely that any future congress will be able to repeal the ACA.

Meeting Recap August 13

Posted by Keith Reed

We had 28 members in attendance along with 3 guests. The guests were former member Clyde Willian, who now resides in Florida; John Howard from the Northbrook Club; and 6 year old Scott Birkenstein, aspiring future Rotarian and Club President from Glencoe! Greg Skirving’s Thought of the Day dealt with “hustle being more important than talent”, (thus, the Bears have a chance this season!)

Announcements: The North Shore Chamber of Commerce is having a benefit September 21 at Evanston Golf Club for the Northfield Township Food Pantry. There is a 7 mile run/3 mile walk in Glencoe on September 19 sponsored by the Korean Rotary Club to support the Rotary’s polio project. Rich Lalley announced that his “Operation Warm” project is gearing up for the winter season. In the meantime he needs volunteers to work the Rotary tent at the Conway Farms golf tournament on September 18 and 19, which will benefit Rotary fund raising efforts.

Happy Bucks: Marie Kuipers contributed in celebration of her upcoming marriage to Dr. Alan Zablocki, which is scheduled in two weeks. Eric Birkenstein contributed because his son Scott can now tie his own shoes (can you imagine how happy Eric will be when Scott gets his first job!!). Patty Van Cleave showed a picture of a Rotary dinner in the 1940’s when Matz Hall was filled with Rotarians, which should inspire all of us to concentrate on building our current membership.

Dig ‘N Grin: Peter Skalski demonstrated his acting abilities by telling stories about “dumb blond guys”, baloney sandwiches and prostitutes.

Speaker of the day: John Butler-Ludwig, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations from Northeastern Illinois University, introduced our speaker, Ms. Jade Stanley, Chair and Professor of NEIU’s Social Work Program. NEIU is a state school located at 5500 North Saint Louis Avenue in Chicago. It is primarily a commuting school with about 10,000 students, most of whom perform jobs while attending school. Our Rotary Club recently donated $2500 to help Dirk Tussing and Tony Kambich raise a total of $20,000 for student scholarships at NEIU. This year’s recipient was Jasmine Ramirez.

NEIU has had a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work since 1985, one of only 3 public BASW programs in Illinois. This program has, and will continue to have, accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The program has a very diverse student body (bilingual, ethnicity, age, etc.) and actually has more males than most BASW programs in the State. In the past, 75% of NEIU’s BASW grads have gone into other MSW programs such as Loyola (Clinical), UIC (School social work and community), Dominican (International) and University of Chicago (Administration and policy). NEIU will now have its own MSW program starting with 15 full time and 10 part time students and growing to as many as 60 students by 2018. Its MSW program will have special emphasis on Child Welfare and Urban leadership type activities. Most MSW programs are charging around $40,000 a year in tuition, whereas NEIU will be roughly half of this cost. Undergraduate programs at NEIU cost around $11,500 a year since it is part of the State educational system.

The group discussed the different type of jobs available to those with Bachelor and Master degrees in social work. The bottom line is that most jobs are requiring a Master’s degree. NEIU is confident that graduates of its Master’s program will have success in securing meaningful work in the profession.

Meeting Recap August 6

Posted by John Thomas

There were 31 members present at the August 6 meeting. Rotarian guests included District Governor Rodney Adams and Assistant Governor Mary Bak. Also, as a guest Dirk Tussing brought next weeks' speaker Dr. Jade Stanley from Northeastern Illinois University. The Thought for the Day was provided by Fred Schwimmer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: John Thomas noted both Peter Skalski and Luvie Owens joined Rotary August 1. Peter did so 23 years ago and Luvie joined 22 years ago.

Alex Michel from The Hadley School for the Blind told us of a forthcoming special fundraising event, It is "The Jewel of the North Shore" and will be a light luncheon and auction. It takes place on Friday, Sept. 18 from 12:30-4:30. There will be reserved times and anyone interested should contact Alex at alexandra@hadley.edu or at 847-784-2767.

The Dig & Grin anecdote was presented by Gina Sich and was received with great gusto and applause by members.

GUEST SPEAKER GOVERNOR RODNEY ADAMS: Before the lunch meeting, the Board met from 10:30-12:00 with Governor Rodney and AG Mary covering a wide range of topics from international Rotary initiatives to local efforts. A discussion of our strengths and weaknesses was part of that program.

At the lunch meting Governor Rodney shared a good deal of his background both prior to becoming a Rotarian and since. He noted he was initially refused membership as he did not own a business!

Governor Rodney told us of the many experiences he has had here and abroad with other Rotarians. He also stressed serving youth is a key target of Rotary both here and abroad.

He left us with the clear message that he, the District, RI and the AG are all most ready to help our club in any way they can.

Meeting Recap July 30

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 31 members present at the meeting on July 30. There were no guests. Winnetka Chief of Police, Pat Kreis, was present representing the Village of Winnetka, which is now a corporate member of Rotary. Brooke Peppey gave the Thought for the Day.

ANNOUCEMENTS: Heidi Sibert said that two tickets to the Chicago White Sox-- Rotary night baseball game on August 4th became available and she was auctioning them off with the proceeds to go to Rotary. Although the face value of the tickets was only $22, a spirited auction resulted in our guest speaker, Georgia Koch, “winning” them for only $70. She said her son was a big Sox fan and that she has always appreciated all of Rotary’s charitable work, especially its program to eradicate polio.

John Thomas announced that the One Winnetka project to build a large apartment building East of the tracks in Winnetka is in the process of completing the public comment portion of the project and those who wanted to share their views and information should do so soon. He said that a decision on the project has not been made.

It was announced that Morine ___ recently left the employment of the North Shore Senior Center to take a position at Rotary’s International headquarters in Evanston. We will attempt to get her active in the W-N Club.

HAPPY BUCKS: Fred Schwimmer started off with a donation of $54, one dollar for every year of marriage to his “trophy wife” of 54 years. (He didn’t mention her name, but we assume he was referring to Ellie, although she doesn’t seem to be old enough to be married that long!) Ned Meisner contributed because his son was featured in the Wall Street Journal recently as being an understudy in a current Broadway show. Rich Lalley contributed in celebration of Nigeria being polio-free for one year and if this continues for 3 years, the country will be considered “polio free”. That means that the only two major countries now having a problem with polio are Pakistan and Afghanistan. Patti Van Cleave contributed in honor of her parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. David Birkenstein contributed in celebrating the New York Times’ announcement that the obesity problem in this Country is diminishing. Luvie Owens honored her cousins from New Zealand who have been house guests in her home. They have been marveling at the number of squirrels we have in this Country, since they have none in New Zealand. (Someone asked if New Zealand dogs have an obesity problem without having any squirrels to chase!)

Lee Padgitt handled Dig and Grin starting off with his best line about the guy who invented the door knocker for which he won the “Nobel” Peace Prize!

GUEST SPEAKER GEORGIA KOCH: Georgia is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Career Vision, a not for profit in Glen Ellyn, and the service and consulting arm of the Ball Foundation, a not-for-profit career and aptitude research organization founded in 1975. Basically she discussed the difference aptitude testing makes in choosing colleges or careers and the information available from Career Vision. Aptitude testing has been around since World War I, but has been used mostly by employers to screen and test new hires. In recent years this testing has been expanded significantly, especially in the area of advising people on their career paths. The two major goals of CV are to assist parents and students, as well as adult career changers, in making the best college major and career choices and to promote wise and effective career planning, maximizing return on educational investment and career fulfillment. Students, especially, need to “plan now and save later”: 65% of today’s college students are undeclared majors; 30% leave college after their freshman year; only 32% graduate by the end of 6 years; the annual cost of college today ranges anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000; and the average college grad today owes over $30,000 in unpaid student loans. Career planning is important because a degree is no longer a magic ticket to a job and the hiring process has changed at great deal. Few companies take or read resumes anymore—resumes are sent to the company websites and computers screen them. Colleges now offer so many majors (sometimes as many as 150) that a student has to ask “what am I going to use my education for” and “is it really worth the investment?” Many times CV will recommend against attending college.

Career Vision has professional consultants who work with each individual student; each student completes a minimum of 12 aptitude tests, and interests and values surveys; each student meets individually with a CV consultant who integrates resulting information to create a list of career recommendations and explains results during a feedback session. Students do information interviews and job shadowing of people in jobs that the student is considering and they are encouraged to ask those incumbents such question as how did they got into this career; what do they like and dislike about the job; what kind of education or training did they need; etc.

Career Vision does not test students on what they learned in school like most of the standard achievement tests. In addition to students (starting at age 16), CV tests adults who are thinking about changing careers. The cost of the CV test runs from $550 to $850 per individual.

In answer to questions, Georgia said that high school guidance counselors do a pretty fair job in helping students get into the colleges of their choice, but they have to work with too many students to do any aptitude assessment. The CV tests can be taken anywhere and are followed up by individual meetings with CV consultants either in person or via computer. Scholarships and installment payment plans are available based on need. Further information about CV is available at 630-469-6270 or on its website at www.careervision.org.

HELP NEEDED!

Wes Baumann and Keith Reed are looking for one or two more members to share with the writing of the weekly Meeting Recaps. With three or four persons handling this responsibility the task becomes far less onerous. If you are willing to become a scribe for our Rotary Club please contact Wes Baumann at wab445@comcast.net or Keith Reed at keithreed9@yahoo.com.

Meeting Recap July 23

Posted by Wes Baumann

We had only 20 members present for the July 23 meeting! The lowest total in a long time and the third time in the past five weeks we have had fewer than 25 members in attendance. Please remember that an important part of Rotary is showing up at our regular luncheons. Visitors at our meeting included the District Assistant Governor, Mary Bak, from the Glenview Sunrise Club and Mike Noonan, from Costco Marketing.

Happy Buck$ came from Kristen Leahy who reported her gratitude for the members of the club who supported the WYO’s service trip to work for Habitat for Humanity in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Tom Nash aptly handled dig n Grin.

The speaker for the day was Paula Jablonski, a holistic health care coach and former nurse who has spent her entire adult life in the health care field. Now she wants to spend her time helping people prevent disease. Her presentation was entitled “Sugar Blues.” Paula spent time explaining how the sugar sucrose, a very common ingredient in our food supply, is composed of two molecules, glucose and fructose. Glucose supplies much of the energy for the body, as 80% of sugar is normally converted to energy and 20% is turned into fat. It is the fructose in our food that is the real culprit. Fructose is metabolized by the liver and is converted into fat. She said that when food processors began removing the fat from their products the bland taste led to adding sweeteners, most often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is extremely cheap. The consumption of too much fructose leads us to feel hungry when we our appetite should be suppressed. It can frequently lead to hypertension, elevated triglycerides, decreased HDL (the good cholesterol), an increased waist circumference and high blood sugar.

Paula said that the sugar requirements for men are 9 teaspoons of sugar, and 6 teaspoons for women. Since more food packages express that sugar contents in grams she said that 4 grams of equals one teaspoon of sugar. She encouraged her audience to make sure they are getting protein and fiber in their diets at every meal as these will assist in weight loss. Fiber helps slow down the rate absorption of sugar.

All of these problems are reversible, so be sweet but don’t eat sweets!

Meeting Recap 7/16

There were 30 members of our club in attendance this week. There were no visiting Rotarians or guests. Past-President Baker presided over the meeting in the absence of John Thomas. He presented Joe Nash with a ‘recruiter pin’ and Rich Lalley with a ‘Paul Harris +3 pin.’

August 4 is Rotary Night with the Chicago White Sox. Rotarians from across the state will be at the Cell to enjoy a night of fellowship and baseball. Tickets are $22 each with a portion of the proceeds going to Rotary’s End Polio Fund. Notify Rich if you want to be part of this fun evening.

Eric Birkenstein made an appeal to the club to bring more guests to our Rotary Luncheons, as there have been very few in recent weeks. We need to introduce more members of the community to Rotary.

Tony Kambich said that the club was considering reinstating the Holiday Craft Fair that was quite successful under the leadership of former member Kristen Jasinski. Our funds for next spring’s community grants are very low at this time and we need some additional revenue. If anyone is interested in chairing the Fair please contact Tony.

There were a lot of happy Rotarians this week as Happy Buck$ came from Bob Baker, Rodger Morris, Rich Lalley, Ned Meisner, Wes Baumann, John Stone, Robert Mardirossian and Tony Kambich.

The speaker for the week was our own Tom Nash who is the Senior Mortgage Originator for PPH Home Loans. He has 30 years experience in the business. Tom’s topic was the new regulations that apply to the closing procedures for home loans. The new regulations, which will take effect on October 1st this year, are called the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID). (Explanation: TILA is the Truth in Lending Act and RESPA is Real Estate Settlement Protection Act.) The regulation mostly affects real estate agents and loan officers but it was also designed to provide better protection for homebuyers. Some of the goals are to provide earlier receipt of loan information and easier to use mortgage disclosure forms for the consumer. The form should help homebuyers shop around for the best mortgage and prevent surprises at the closing.

Tom provided a sample copy of the new form and walked his audience through the form. The form provides a summary of the key loan terms being offered by a lending institution, including estimates of the loan and closing costs in a new format. This initial loan estimate must be delivered within 3 business days of receipt of the application and at least 7 business days before the loan is consummated. It cannot be delivered on the same day or after the Closing Disclosure has been sent. This form will replace the previous Good Faith Estimate form and will be is provided in a more timely manner. Real estate agents must make sure the client is ready 7 days prior to closing and avoid last minute changes, as changes to the agreement resets the clock and will cause a delay in the closing. Tom did a nice job in explaining some technical issues around mortgages so that the laymen in the audience could understand the new set of rules.

Meeting Recap July 9

Posted by Keith Reed

There were 29 members in attendance and one guest. Bob Baker handled the Thought of the Day. Rich Lalley did the Dig N Grin. John Thomas presented Bob Baker with his Paul Harris (plus 4) award and Robert Mardirossian with his Paul Harris (plus 5) award. Happy Bucks were given by Rob Mardirossian in celebration of his 15 years of perfect attendance at Rotary meetings; by Tony Kambich in celebration of Rob’s 15 years of attendance; and by Dr. Stone for having tickets for tomorrow’s Cub’s game with the Sox (which they lost).

The guest speaker was Patrick Sinclair Gazley, a 2004 graduate of New Trier. Patrick told about his career in the engineering field and then his eventual decision to spend considerable time working for and raising funds for the RIPPLEAfrica organization. RA is a London based charity (and also a 501C3 charity in the U.S.). It has about 20 volunteers in the U.S. who fund raise money and actually spend time in the African country of Malawi to support its mission. Malawi is the smallest country in Africa with about 40 million population. Since 2003, RA has built medical facilities (dispensaries), 8 pre-schools, 5 primary schools and employs 15 trainee teachers to work at these facilities. RA also provides scholarships to the better students to attend local and government-run secondary schools, as well as to attend universities and colleges in Malawi. In addition to helping with education and healthcare services, it has established environmental programs to help with tree planting, forest and fish conservation projects and developing fuel efficient cooking devices.

Patrick provided several pictures of the RA facilities and the scenery in this very beautiful country which sets on a huge lake, much like Lake Michigan. It is a clear water lake which is excellent for swimming, especially since it is free of crocodiles, unlike other lakes in the area.. There is little industry close to the lake but the country is trying to restore its fishing industry. Malawi was once part of the British Empire, but the Brits were pushed out in the middle of the last century before they could invest much money in the country. The country is basically Christian with some Muslims. Villages are set up so that a local tribesman is the “chief”. Patrick has spent considerable time in an area that is about an 8 hour drive from a major city. It is a relatively safe country. Women seem to do most of the farming, cooking, raising the families, etc. and the children seem to be very happy even though they live a very basic type of life. When asked about the men, Patrick indicated that there is quite an alcoholism problem among the men. Patrick said that more information was available on Malawi and RA’s activities on the RA website, which is RIPPLEafrica.org.

Speaker bio for Tom Nash on 7/16

Tom Nash has been a Mortgage Loan Officer for the past 31 years, and he is currently with PHH Home Loans for the past 2 years. He enjoys working with first time home buyers with the purchase of their first home, and also working with clients on refinances of their current mortgages and introducing strategies of lowering their interest rate and improving their cash flow. He grew up in Wilmette and currently resides in Kenilworth. Tom attended Loyola Academy followed by Miami University (class of 1983) with a degree in finance. He is a licensed loan officer in the state of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

"I am Active parishioner at Saints Faith Hope and Charity in Winnetka Illinois. I enjoy walking (can’t run anymore) and watching the White Sox. My wife Sherry is from Merrillville Indiana and is a teacher’s aide at Sears School in Kenilworth. My three children are Michael, senior business major at Miami University and a member of the swimming and diving team; Ryan, freshman business major at Miami University and member of the swimming and diving team; and Katie, a junior at Loyola Academy."

The Thursday Rotary Luncheon discussion will be on: the creation of the “integrated disclosure" combining requirements of the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, commonly known as TRID, which takes in effect on October 1st 2015.

Meeting Recap June 25

There were 24 members of our club in attendance on June 25. We had one visiting Rotarian, Dan Barnett, a community college retired administrator from Bonita Springs. Additionally we had one potential new member as a guest of David Birkenstein, Thys Wallace, who is with the North Shore Youth Rugby Club. Bridgette Ferraro, from West Lafayette, Indiana and Michelle Michelson from Elgin, who both work for C2 Education, which is a test prep organization.

Rich Lalley announced that there were only a few more days left to the Rotary Year. He said that we exceeded our goal of $6000 for the “Every Rotarian-Every Year campaign by $2000, but sadly only 40% of the membership had contributed. John Thomas announced that the day’s Dig ’n Grin money would be donated to the WYO’s service trip to Sheboygan, Wisconsin where the youth will work for Habitat for Humanity.

Happy Buck$ this week came from Chuck Young and Heather Higgins. Wes Baumann celebrated his 30^th year in Rotary.

Mark Kotz introduced the speaker David Whitlock who spoke about his firm The Happiness Catalyst. David works with young adults, aged 15 to 25, to help them understand themselves better to make better choices in their lives. David has discovered that there are many motivated young people but who have little direction in their lives. His goal is for the client to discover their calling. He wants them to discover who they are and to find out what makes them happy and satisfied. Then he wants them to imagine what the world will need in the future. By matching their skills with what makes them happy and satisfied he hopes they can discover their calling in life. Too many young people go through school without any thought of what they want to do in their adult lives. By focusing on realistic goals their educational path and even good part-time jobs will give them more direction. Hopefully their passion can be tied into how they spend most of the time in their adult lives.

Meeting Recap June 18

There were 29 members of our club in attendance on June 18. There were no guests other than the three persons who presented the day’s program.

President John Thomas presided over his first meeting. The announcements this week included a plug from Kristen Leahy for the WYO’s annual service trip. They will be volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Kristen is seeking contributions to defray some of the expenses for the trip. President John said one of the primary goals for the upcoming Rotary Year would be to expand the membership. He indicated that he is expecting Village Manager Rob Bahan to join our club soon. To that end David Birkenstein announced that there would be a membership meeting at 11:00 a.m. on June 25^th. All are welcome to attend this meeting in the conference room on the 2^nd floor with their ideas. Everyone is encouraged to bring guests (potential members) to our meetings. Our treasurer, Mark Kotz, thanked all the members who made an annual contribution to Rotary International’s “Every Rotarian-Every Year” campaign. There are a few more days to make a donation to our parent organization.

Happy Buck$ this week were courtesy of Patti Van Cleave, Heidi Sibert, Chuck Young and John Thomas.

Program Co-Chair Mark Kotz introduced the day’s speakers: Jill Young and Emily Raming, job coaches and David Wolf, the Executive Director of “TotalLink2 Community” (TL2C). David said TL2C is a 501c3 that is dedicated to creating customized jobs for people with developmental disabilities. The concept of this not for profit organization was developed by a group of Northbrook mothers who had children with developmental disabilities who were trying to figure a way to provide more meaning for the lives of their children when they entered adulthood. TL2C employees a number of ‘job coaches’ who seek companies who are willing to employ these adults. Then they look for ways to create part-time jobs in these companies that provide valid service to the company and an employment opportunity for their clients – adults with development disabilities. These job coaches work with young adults, age 18 and above to determine the skills they have to offer and the type of work they would like to do. Then the coaches work with their clients to prepare them for an interview and the job skills they will need.

The work is very personalized for both the clients and the employers. The jobs that are created from existing company needs are customized to the client’s personal skills and abilities so that the client is making a real contribution to the company. Most jobs start out as two to four hours per week. TL2C is always looking for new companies that are willing to consider hiring their clients. Their clients normally display the traits employers are looking for – reliability, loyalty, likability, focus, enthusiasm, and trustworthiness. TL2C has a 97% placement success rate and once their clients are employed the job coaches continue to follow up and provide support and coaching were needed. Their clients, once employed, become more self-confident, develop more friendships, expand their skills and abilities and have a sense of belonging that enriches their lives.

More information about this organization can be found on its website: www.TotalLink2.org

Meeting Recap June 11

The highlight of the June 11 meeting was the installation speech from our incoming President, John Thomas. Here are his comments:

I have some arthritis problems and my rheumatologist suggested a new physical therapy routine. For those of us getting along in years, here is a little secret for building your arm and shoulder muscles. Three times a week works well.

You begin by standing straight, with a 5-LB. potato sack in each hand. Extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can - try to reach a full minute.

After a few weeks, move up to 10-LB. potato sacks, and then 20-LB. potato sacks, and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 40-LB. potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight out for a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, start putting a couple of potatoes in each of the sacks, but be careful not to overdo it...

More seriously, thank you, Bob and to all of you for giving me the honor of being the President of this excellent club. Having joined in spring 2013, I’ve been a Rotarian for only 2 years. I joined Rotary as it seemed another way to be of community service.

When Bob and Eric asked me last Fall if I would consider serving as the 2015-16 President, my experience in another volunteer group told me to say, “Oh Sure”. I had observed Eric and then Bob leading the meetings and felt that was a responsibility I could deal with. Plus, I knew there were a goodly number of experienced Rotarians happy to help when needed.

And, I had also been told of a PETS meeting needful of attendance in Itasca but other little duties that went unmentioned. For example, in January I heard “What are your the Annual Benefit plans?” “Who, me?” said I. Well that was one where my past experiences were germane. Getting lots of ideas and then help for the nice affair we had last month was the key..

For the year we are starting July 1, I see three useful and doable targets:

First, it’s in all our best interest to push hard to gain new members.Davidid Birkenstein has agreed to stay on the Board and continue to head our Membership Committee. My personal target is to have two new members by Labor Day! If only each Rotarians here tonight can snare a friend, relative or work associate, we’ll be the wonder of the Midwest!

Close behind is to set a realistic target for every member, not just a cadre of 15-20, to give to the Rotary Foundation. We have a Club goal of just over $6,000. That means $100 from each Member gets us there. This years’ Rotary International slogan is “Be a Gift to the World”. To honor that motto, a gift to our local foundation is a good start.

Third, my own non-Rotary interests include the Park District and Village affairs through the Plan Commission. Bob Smith and I are always ready to chat about those and hear any ideas you all have.

And, I’m also very involved with the Winnetka Youth Organization. This Rotary Club has long been a supporter and money is always needed. But the current huge need is for new Board members to join Wes Baumann and I in directing their affairs. Kristen Leahy is our Executive Director. She, I and Wes may tag team some of you to say your service itch could be well scratched by joining that group.

In closing I want to thank especially those of you who will be helping me and others to keep this chapter of Rotary alive and thriving. The Birkensteins, all the the old and new Board members, past Presidents like Bob, Eric and Liz, our next President-Elect Patti Van Cleave, door-keepers Roger and Mark, and President-Nominee Tom Nash - are all key players in getting things done. And, oh yes, Rich Lalley. While not here this evening, I am tempted to say no Rich, no Rotary Winnetka/Northfield!

Thank you

Meeting Recap June 4

Posted by Wes Baumann

Twenty-nine members were present at this week’s meeting, our first outdoor meeting this year in the Garden at the Community House. Guests this week included landscape designer, DaShan Williams, as assistant to Heidi Sibert, Enza Fragassi a guest of Ned Meisner and former member Pat O’Day.

The first announcement was from Pat O’Day who plugged the 2015 Rotary Humanitarian Patriot Award benefit that is being sponsor by the Rotary Club of North Chicago to benefit on June 12th. The event will be held at Rosalind Franklin University. The awards are given to those who have set an example of extraordinary commitment to support for the US Armed Forces Veterans and Returning Warriors.

President Baker reminded the Club that the June 11th meeting would be the Annual Installation Dinner where he will turn over the gavel to President-Elect John Thomas. If you want to bring a spouse or ‘significant other’ please be sure to sign up on the Club’s website or call Bob Baker so we have an accurate count. The cost of for guests is only $15. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social half hour where beer and wine will be served. Catered by Design will provide the buffet dinner.

Wes Baumann announced that he is looking for a replacement for writing the weekly Meeting Recap. He said he is willing to share the duties with a volunteer

Member Kristen Leahy, the Executive Director of the Winnetka Youth Organization, asked for financial help for the “YOs” annual service trip to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.

Mark Kotz reminded the Club that there are only a few more weeks left in the Rotary fiscal year and the Club would like to have every member contribute to RI’s EREY (Every Rotarian-Every Year) to support the numerous projects of Rotary. Much of the money goes back to local clubs to help with their projects. Make out your check to Rotary International and put EREY on the memo line.

During Happy Buck$ Heidi Sibert announced that she had a check for $500 from her employer, the landscaping company James Martin Associates, that was being given to our Rotary club to be split between Operation Warm and RightStart4Kids. Ned Meisner auctioned off a ride on his motorcycle – Mike Malloy was the winner and our Foundation is $25 richer.

This week’s speaker was Carlton Marcyan, a divorce attorney and member of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary Club. The main thrust of Carl’s presentation was when a couple decides to spit up they should try to use other methods than resorting to legal litigation, as he has been a leader in collaborative law. He spoke of ways to resolve disputes without involving the courts. Litigation is very stressful, costly and the end result is unpredictable. The jury system and the courts are imperfect; too often technicalities over-rule the facts or the truth. Litigation often does not result in justice.

Arbitration is often a viable alternative. In binding arbitration the arbitrator often acts like a judge and renders a decision. Mediation is another method of conflict resolution. It is not binding, as the mediator does not make decisions but attempts to lead the parties to a reasonable resolution. They tend to assist the party with less power. Carl said in Illinois you are not required to have a license to be a mediator, and he also said you do not have to use a retired judge as they are usually more expen

Baked chicken filled with spinach and parmesan cheese

Grilled Salmon with Lobster Sauce

Vegetable Lasagna