We had an extremely productive August! The articles in this Newsletter capture our August activities including the excellent August 3 luncheon presentation by Adam Gurski on Artificial Intelligence (AI). I was happy to present Adam with his Rotary tile and mug (image on left). At our August 10 club meeting, we inducted new member Jon Burnet and awarded Bill Sturm a new Paul Harris Fellow Pin with assistance from District 6460 Governor Musonda Kapatamoyo. Musonda was our featured speaker and gave an inciteful overview of his perceptions of our club and his goals for the current Rotary Year (image below). Club members brought their donations of school supplies for our adopted school, Ridgely Elementary, to this meeting (lead image). On August 24, Kate McKenzie, the CEO for Local Journalism Matters (the publisher of the Illinois Times) gave an exciting presentation to our club on her plans for the Illinois Times. On August 31, we had a presentations by Jill Friday, the Community Interact Club Leader, and three of the high school students that our club sponsored for the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Assembly. We finished this meeting with a Club Assembly examining where we are in recruiting new members and a discussion of the District Governor's characterization of our club during his presentation. Check out the articles in this Newsletter for more information on these August events.
September Opportunities
I am excited to share the Rotary experiences happening in September, and I hope you and a guest will join us. The lineup for September features the following presenters and opportunities:
September 7-Labor Day-no meeting. Please remember that crews will pick up flags for our Flag Service Project following the commemoration of September 11 and will return them to the warehouse..
September 14-Join us for an all Club Event with Former Rotary International President Mark Maloney (image below). The social begins at 5:00 p.m. with dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. This one of the few International Presidents to visit our club.
It is a distinct honor for the combined Rotary Clubs in Springfield to welcome our esteemed guest, Mark Maloney to our dinner meeting at Maldaner’s Restaurant. He will be our featured speaker for this event.
Mark has been a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama since 1980, Mark served as the President of Rotary International for the 2019–20 year, guiding the global network with his inspiring theme, 'Rotary Connects the World.' Beyond his monumental international service, he has provided invaluable leadership with The Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary meetings are not only for club members but also open to the public. The cost for the meal for visitors is the same for members at $15 per person. We are asking for anyone eating a meal to kindly RSVP on the link by September 10 to ensure the staff at Maldaner’s Restaurant can prepare adequately.
Please join us in welcoming and being inspired by a past international president!
September 21-5:00 p.m. is our Social Night at Golden Corral. Socials are a night of fun out on the town with members and everyone else who wants to enjoy a night out.
September 28-Trish Ratliff is a patient experience coordinator for HSHS Home Care and Hospice. We are honored to have her share her role in making a difference for patients.
September will be another busy month! There are several sign-up link opportunities I wanted to share with you now to provide you with additional time to register for some or all of the offerings.
To reserve your meal at Maldaners, I am trying a different format this year instead of the Air Table. For each meal, I will send out a separate link for you to use to sign-up. While I know the chef is wonderful to make additional food in case some people forget to sign up, I would like to try has hard as possible for everyone to sign up if they plan to attend a meeting. When I talked to them for the upcoming year, I was told they truly prefer a six day advance notice to make sure adequate accommodations are provided to us.
You can also sign up to stock the Micropantry at Ridgely School:
The Micropanty schedule has been updated with two week volunteer slots. There are openings until November 29. If you or a partner would consider signing up for a two week slot to keep the pantry stocked, you would be doing those families a huge service.
Adam is an educator and consultant who creates websites and other products. He shared some of his vast knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can help your work. He gave a live AI presentation showing how these tools are used in everyday life--from research and writing to organizing information and automating repetitive work. His approach was practical and nontechnical and was focused on useful examples.
He created a great image of Randy Erford and his cat that had us all laughing.
As Rotarians we take our service responsibilities seriously, but we also believe in partaking in fellowship opportunities, supporting our community, and having some fun while doing so!
To this end, on Saturday, August 8, a group of our members headed to Robin Roberts Stadium to enjoy some exciting baseball between the San Francisco Firebells and the Los Angeles Queens in the inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL).
It was quite a fun night of baseball! The Firebells defeated the Queens 10-3 in front of an enthusiastic Springfield crowd.
This league is making history in Springfield as the first major professional women’s baseball league in the United States since the All American Girls Professional Baseball League ended in 1954.
Come out, bring your friends, enjoy some baseball while supporting these incredible athletes, and help us cheer them on as they make history right here in Springfield!
We inducted Jon Burnet as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois on August 10!
Jon was introduced to Rotary through his longtime friend and former member of our club Gay Davidson, now living in The Villages, Florida. During a recent visit, Jon joined Gay and her Rotary club for a food pantry service project. During this project, Jon experienced firsthand the difference Rotarians can make in their community.
Recently retired after a distinguished career with the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, Jon is looking for meaningful ways to stay active and serve his community.
We’re thrilled he found his way to Springfield Rotary, and we look forward to serving alongside him!
At our August 10 meeting, we were proud to recognize Bill Sturm for his continued commitment to the Rotary Foundation and his extraordinary generosity as a Paul Harris Fellow Plus 7 (three rubies).
Club International Rotary Foundation Chair Harry Mitchell moderated the recognition, with Rotary District 6460 Governor Musonda Kapatamoyo placing the pin on Bill’s shirt.
Paul Harris Fellow recognition honors individuals who have contributed, or have had contributions made in their name, of $1,000 or more to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or approved Rotary grants. Additional “Plus” levels mark each subsequent $1,000 in giving and are symbolized by sapphire and ruby pins. When a donor reaches $10,000, they become a major donor with a new recognition process.
Bill’s giving is about more than a pin or a recognition level, it’s about impact. Through the Rotary Foundation, his generosity helps support projects that fight disease, provide clean water, promote peace, strengthen communities, and make a difference both locally and around the world.
Thank you Bill for exemplifying Rotary’s spirit of Service Above Self and for setting such a meaningful example for all of us.
Our club was pleased to welcome Musonda Kapatamoyo, Rotary District 6460 Governor for 2026–2027 to August 10 Club Meeting.
District Governor Kapatamoyo shared his Rotary journey with us, which encompassed being born in Zambia and serving as a Youth Exchange Officer for 10 years to becoming President of the Edwardsville Rotary Club, District International Service Chair, and now District Governor.
He also shared his vision for District 6460 under his personal theme, “Belonging Through Purpose”. His message was clear: “ People are not in the periphery. They are the purpose.” District Governor Kapatamoyo challenged us and all Rotarians to build strong, engaged clubs; develop knowledgeable leaders; provide meaningful service; strengthen Rotary’s public image; embrace innovation; expand global partnerships; and create lasting impact.
Aligning with his call for meaningful, sustainable service, he also shared a message from Rotary International (RI) President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, who reminds Rotarians that “change is only the beginning. impact is what endures.” To this end, RI President Babalola proposes joining other Rotary districts in spreading human trafficking awareness. District Governor Kapatamoyo endorsed this focus on human trafficking awareness for our Rotary district.
District Governor Kapatamoyo also highlighted for us these important Rotary dates:
• October 24: World Polio Day
• November 14: District 6460 Conference & Foundation Dinner in Springfield
•March of 2027: Presidents-Elect Training
During his visit, District Governor Kapatamoyo also joined us for a special Paul Harris Recognition ceremony honoring Bill Sturm for his continued commitment to giving through the Rotary Foundation.
District Governor Kapatamoyo also recognized our Club’s legacy, noting that our club has spent more than a century developing Rotary leaders, creating new Rotary clubs, investing in young people, strengthening our community, and demonstrating what happens when people belong to something larger than themselves.
We appreciate Governor Kapatamoyo’s visit, his recognition of our Club’s legacy, and his challenge to continue building a stronger Rotary through belonging, purpose and meaningful service.
For many years, our Club has provided school supplies for elementary students at Ridgely Elementary School.
This year, Club members once again printed out the list of needed school supplies for Ridgely Elementary School and purchased supplies from the list and brought them to our August 10 club meeting (image above). After the meeting, Rotarians loaded the supplies into Brandy Zanger's car (image on left). Brandy and Sheila Mack (on left in image below) delivered the supplies to Ridgely School and turned them over to School Secretary Wende Stern and School Principal Jennifer Butcher (on right in image below) for distribution to students in need.
We’re proud to continue this tradition of supporting students and families as they start the school year ready to learn!
We were thrilled to have Kate McKenzie, the new CEO for Local Journalism Matters, the nonprofit that operates the Illinois Times, as our featured speaker for our August 24 club meeting. She gave an excellent overview of the status and future plans of this non-profit, weekly newspaper that features local news. She thanked Fletcher Farrar, the previous editor for making the newspaper a nonprofit, and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln for the three year $500,000 grant to Local Journalism Matters and the Citizens Club of Springfield to further the goals for the Illinois Times and keep the local news reporting strong. We had a great dialog with Kate after her presentation with many members expressing their pleasure about the strength of the reporting and stories in Illinois Times and optimism for the future..
At our August 31, Club meeting , we heard from three of our Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) scholarship recipients, who shared their experiences at the April 2026 RYLA “Unite for Good” program.
They spoke about the fun, friendships and leadership skills they gained and how RYLA helped strengthen their confidence and ability to lead. As members of the Springfield Community Interact Club, they are putting those leadership skills into action.
We’re proud to support area youth and invest youth opportunities that RYLA provides that inspire leadership, service and positive change.
Thank you Caleb, Alivia, and Anu for sharing your stories with us.
We’re honored to have earned the 2025-2026 Rotary Club Excellence Award, recognizing our commitment to achieving our goals, serving our community and strengthening Rotary’s future.
This award reflects the collective effort, service and dedication of our entire Club.
Thank you, Rotarians, for making 2025-2026 such a rewarding and successful Rotary year!
As reported by Rod Buffington at our last several club meetings, he has put together two new designs (image above) for Rotary shirts for club members. The designs are embroidered on white polo shirts. If you are interested in ordering and paying for a shirt, contact Rod Buffington via email as soon as possible at rotaryrod@comcast.net. He will need to know your size and which design you would like to have. Women may request a 3/4-sleeve shirt if so desired. The first batch of shirts have been delivered to Rod, and there will be a delay before any additional shirts can be embroidered.
This fundraiser is part of Rotary' International's most ambitious project to reach their goal to eradicate Polio. Our world is so close to wiping this terrible disease from the face of the Earth. To do that, more financial support is needed.
Our Rotary Club is partnering with the amazing people at Springfield Beer Company for a kick-off social on Tuesday, October 6 at 5:00 p.m.. Mark your calendar now and invite your friends to participate The best news is anyone in the community can also participate in this drive between October 6-24 by purchasing a pint of Golden 95 Lager while visiting Springfield Beer Company's Springfield Taproom on 3788 Wabash Ave. Springfield Beer Company will donate $1 from every pint of Golden 95 lager purchased during this time interval. The funds raised through this project will be donated to Rotary International's Polio Plus fund. This project is being done in conjunction with the commemoration of World Polio Day on October 24.
We offer special thanks to President Elect Ashley Dillingham for curating this special event and fundraiser.
Posted by John Loftus and Roger Randolph on Sep. 01, 2026
We thank all the club members, family members, and friends who helped us deploy flags for our 2026 Flag Service Project. On Wednesday May 13 we initiated the 2026 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The process was completed by Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day on May 25!
The task involved being part of two person teams that delivered the flags from our warehouse to our customers. We used routing software to create routes of approximately 25 homes. The flags were dropped into plastic conduits in the customers lawns that have been previously installed by other volunteers. They were topped with a bright red plastic cap. Our hearts burst with joy when, after several minutes crawling on the ground, we spotted that red cap and were able to deploy a flag. We also installed a solar powered light for each flag. Then we moved on to the next address.
One member of the team had to have a vehicle capable of carrying ten foot flags. A route took as much as 4-5 hours to complete.
The flags will remain out until after the September 11 holiday. They will need to be picked up and returned to the warehouse in the week starting Monday September 14. If you did not help with the deployment this year, then please consider helping with flag removal or with another task or helping next year. You should have received a route map for the flag pick up from Roger Randolph. Your route may have changed because a little because of the addition of new flag rentals over the summer,
If you can return as a volunteer or want to be a new participant, please let us know. It can be a lot of fun and we raise about $30,000 a year for our community grants program and other projects from the effort.
John Loftus. Rotary Flag Project Manager, and Roger Randolph, Route Manager
This will be a high-level email to be sure you have the upcoming service opportunities on your calendar. More details will be sent soon for each opportunity.
Please mark your calendar for the following dates:
Saturday, September 12: Sleep in Heavenly Peace (bed building) - Lowe's on North Dirksen (9am-1pm)
Friday, September 18: The Outlet (building bookshelves and supply organization) - 1pm-4pm
Wednesday, September 23: Compass For Kids (provide and prepare meal for after school program) - 5:20pm-6pm (timeframe will likely be longer; awaiting more details)
Friday, October 2: United Way Day of Caring (project TBD) - 1pm-4pm
Friday, October 9: RISE Professional Clothing Drive at Salvation Army (donations requested, not workers) - 10am-6pm (I can gather the donations and deliver them)
I will get more information to you on each of these projects, but know you are not expected to participate in every single event that is sent out. Having a little variety lets you choose what works best for your schedule, your budget and your interests.
If you have ideas for service projects, I am always happy to further discuss.
Respectfully,
Brandy Zanger 2026-2027 Community Service Director 217-971-1146 (cell)
You can sign up to volunteer to fill the Ridgely Micropantry by using the Signup Genius App. Just download the app and sign up for a one week or two week timeframe that works best for you or you and a friend. What a great way to make a difference. Thank you!
Ridgely Micro-Pantry: Fall Dates Added to SignUp Genius
Please consider signing up for a two-week commitment to stock the pantry or partner with a friend. The link provided takes you to the sign-up sheet located online using the SignUp Genius program. The Signup Genius link is listed below to sign up and allows you to reserve those dates and to also shows which timeframes are unfilled. The app will also send you a reminder closer to your volunteer date.
It's open season for volunteering by yourself, with your family or by partnering with another Rotarian. Also, if you have friends or acquaintances who would like to volunteer, please share the sign-up link and we will give them lots of praise for making a difference.
You can sign up to stock the Ridgely Micropantry using the new Sign-Up Genius online system featured in the above article by Ken Gilmore.
Please sign up. There are numerous empty slots.
I appreciate your help!
Thank you for signing up for a micropantry volunteer shift. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by the community we serve.
Members who have supported this program realize the price of food and other products stocked in the pantry have become more expensive. Under a new program, a member may be reimbursed up to $100 when a purchase is made for the food pantry. Funding for this reimbursement was made possible by donations in the amount $1,739, which were received at the Rotary Open House in December 2024 that I hosted at my home
Below are the details including the location of the pantry, and suggestions on items to collect and distribute. If you are unable to complete your shift, please reach out and we'll work on a better period of time to meet your needs. If you have suggestions for future volunteers, please let me know and we'll adapt the program along the way.
.
Ridgely Elementary School
2040 North 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62702
Main entrance to the school (look for the yellow and purple pantry by the front doors).
The image below shows the location of the pantry at the entrance to the school.
These suggestions came from people who use food pantries to help feed their families.
1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter, which is difficult to get from regular food banks. 2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal, which they also get a lot of. 3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles. 4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.* 5. Oil is a luxury and needed for Rice a-Roni, which they also get a lot of. 6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Holiday gift. 7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care. 8. Sugar and flour are treats. 9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores. 10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some. 11. They rarely get fresh meat. 12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch. 13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef. 14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread. 15. Butter or margarine is nice too. 16. Eggs are a real commodity. 17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake. 18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated. 19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that. 20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.
The image below shows a fully stocked pantry.
The image below shows the empty micropantry before I stocked it in January 2026. This is why you need to sign up! The pantry is almost always empty when we show up to stock it. The need for nutritious food is great in the community surrounding our micropantry. .
Feel free to contact me.
Micro Pantry Coordinator: Allie Montney with assistance from John Webb
Phone 217-494-6901 (for the quickest response, please text)
Things I've noticed that may be helpful: During the school year, stocking the pantry on a weekend or after 4:00PM during the weekdays means fewer people and it's easier to get a parking spot. Ask friends and family to donate unused household items for the pantry that you can collect. If purchasing bags of fresh fruit or veggies, stock them individually so that more in need can take what they need. ALDI grocery stores have prices that cannot be beat. Be sure to stock appropriately for the season so that fresh foods do not spoil.
Please remember that we are including some noon meetings at Maldaners and social night meetings at locations other than Maldaners. Please pay attention to the meeting schedule listed in the Newsletter, on our website home page (www.spirotary.org), and on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for the dates and locations of the meetings.
September 7, 2026 No Club Meeting
September 14, 2026Rotary All Club Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m. Dinner and Meeting
Former International President Mark Maloney is our special guest and speaker
September 21, 5:00 p.m. Rotary Off-Site Social Night
Golden Corral Buffet and Grill
1038 Lejune Drive, Springfield, IL 62703
September 28, 2026 4:00 p.m. Club Board Meeting
5:30 Club Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs Trisha Ratliff, Patient Experience Coordinator: Making a Difference for Patients
HSHS Home Care and Hospice
October 5, 2026 No Rotary Club Meeting
October 6, 2026 5:00 p.m. Off-site Social Night and Polio Plus Fundraiser
Springfield Beer Company, Springfield Tap Room
3788 Wabash Ave., Springfield, IL (see article in this Newsletter)
October 12, 2026 No Rotary
October 19, 2026 4:00 Rotary Board Meeting
5:30 p.m. Club Meeting and Dinner
Maldaners Upstairs
October 26, 2026 5:30 p.m. Rotary Club Assembly
Maldaners Upstairs
November 2, 2026 11:50 a.m. Rotary Club Lunch Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs
November 9, 2026 4:00 p.m. Rotary Board Meeting
5:30 p.m. Rotary Club Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs
November 14, 2026 10:30 a.m-4:00 p.m. Rotary District Conference
University of Illinois Springfield
Student Union (free registration)
Optional 5:00-7:00 p.m. Foundation Dinner
There is a charge
Registration is now open. See District 6460 Website or Ken Gilmore's Rotary News for the registration link.
November 16, 2026 5:00 p.m. Rotary Off-Site Social Night
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? The Rotarians in this image are helping pack essential items for the Illinois Police Department to give to homeless individuals in our community. As a Rotarian, you adhere to the principles of the 4-way Test., which are:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you find value in these ideals and want to be part of a great organization, right click on the attached link to open our online Membership Applicationin a new window. You can also click on this link to download an electronic copy of the Membership Application from our Club's website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) in the Download Files section. You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at hmitchell11@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. You will be able to enter your hours and correctly assign them to the correct Rotary Calendar year. Just follow this link:
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at bonstyles@yahoo.com. It's easy to take pictures if you have a smartphone, but even an old style camera works just fine. Send me an email (bonstyles@yahoo.com) to let me know when you will be volunteering for a service project, and I will come out and take some images.
Be sure to turn in your hours for any volunteering that you do on behalf of Rotary.
Please sign up to help stock the pantry, it is vitally important in the community surrounding the school. A fully stocked pantry is depleted of food in about two days.
If you want to help stock our Little Libraries, please let Allie Montney know (onedirtymartini@gmail.com) know.
We had an extremely productive August! The articles in this Newsletter capture our August activities including the excellent August 3 luncheon presentation by Adam Gurski on Artificial Intelligence (AI). I was happy to present Adam with his Rotary tile and mug (image on left). At our August 10 club meeting, we inducted new member Jon Burnet and awarded Bill Sturm a new Paul Harris Fellow Pin with assistance from District 6460 Governor Musonda Kapatamoyo. Musonda was our featured speaker and gave an inciteful overview of his perceptions of our club and his goals for the current Rotary Year (image below). Club members brought their donations of school supplies for our adopted school, Ridgely Elementary, to this meeting (lead image). On August 24, Kate McKenzie, the CEO for Local Journalism Matters (the publisher of the Illinois Times) gave an exciting presentation to our club on her plans for the Illinois Times. On August 31, we had a presentations by Jill Friday, the Community Interact Club Leader, and three of the high school students that our club sponsored for the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Assembly. We finished this meeting with a Club Assembly examining where we are in recruiting new members and a discussion of the District Governor's characterization of our club during his presentation. Check out the articles in this Newsletter for more information on these August events.
To reserve your meal at Maldaners, I am trying a different format this year instead of the Air Table. For each meal, I will send out a separate link for you to use to sign-up. While I know the chef is wonderful to make additional food in case some people forget to sign up, I would like to try has hard as possible for everyone to sign up if they plan to attend a meeting. When I talked to them for the upcoming year, I was told they truly prefer a six day advance notice to make sure adequate accommodations are provided to us.
As Rotarians we take our service responsibilities seriously, but we also believe in partaking in fellowship opportunities, supporting our community, and having some fun while doing so!
To this end, on Saturday, August 8, a group of our members headed to Robin Roberts Stadium to enjoy some exciting baseball between the San Francisco Firebells and the Los Angeles Queens in the inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL).
This year, Club members once again printed out the list of needed school supplies for Ridgely Elementary School and purchased supplies from the list and brought them to our August 10 club meeting (image above). After the meeting, Rotarians loaded the supplies into Brandy Zanger's car (image on left). Brandy and Sheila Mack (on left in image below) delivered the supplies to Ridgely School and turned them over to School Secretary Wende Stern and School Principal Jennifer Butcher (on right in image below) for distribution to students in need. 
At our August 31, Club meeting , we heard from three of our Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) scholarship recipients, who shared their experiences at the April 2026 RYLA “Unite for Good” program.
As reported by Rod Buffington at our last several club meetings, he has put together two new designs (image above) for Rotary shirts for club members. The designs are embroidered on white polo shirts. If you are interested in ordering and paying for a shirt, contact Rod Buffington via email as soon as possible at rotaryrod@comcast.net. He will need to know your size and which design you would like to have. Women may request a 3/4-sleeve shirt if so desired. The first batch of shirts have been delivered to Rod, and there will be a delay before any additional shirts can be embroidered. 
We thank all the club members, family members, and friends who helped us deploy flags for our 2026 Flag Service Project. On Wednesday May 13 we initiated the 2026 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The process was completed by Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day on May 25! 
