Our March Madness fundraiser for PolioPlus is in full swing! Even our March 29 speaker, Lynette Strode, got into the action (lead image). We had a great Social Night on March 18 at the Creek Pub and Grill in Chatham. We will not meet on April 1, but join us at Maldaners on April 8 for a presentation by our own Rod Buffington. See Upcoming Programs and Events for more information.
Off-site Social Night at Creek Pub and Grill on March 18
We had an engaging off-site Social Night club meeting on March 18 at the Creek Pub and Grill (image below) in Chatham. The meeting was well attended and the conversations were good. Bill Smith and Bill Sturm spoke briefly about the March Madness Fundraiser for PolioPlus, and members present at the event paid for a team or teams and drew their teams. He had also emailed all club members to give them an opportunity to participate in this fundraiser, and teams were drawn for them as well.
March 25 Club Meeting Featured the Illinois Assistive Technology Program
Lynnete Strode, program manager for the Illinois Assistive Technology Program, gave an excellent presentation on their services. For more information see the article by John Webb in this Newsletter.
2024 Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA)
RYLA will be held on April 12-14 at Lake Williamson in Carlinville. This program is for high school sophomores and emphasizes leadership and citizenship. Students are sponsored by Rotary Clubs and participate free of charge. Our club regularly sponsors students to participate in this program. The sponsorship cost this year is $250 per student. Students must be registered by April 1 to receive a t-shirt.
Mark Your Calendar for the All Club Fundraiser Event
The All-Club Chicken Dinner fundraiser for Polio Plus will be included in a Trivia Night on Saturday, April 13 (6:00-10:00 p.m.) at Ace Sign Company. The event will include a 50-50 Raffle and a cash bar. A gold level table sponsor purchases 10 tickets at $75 each. We hope that we can at least sponsor a table at this level. Let me know if you are interested in participating in this event and purchasing a ticket for $75. We need more Rotarians to sign up so we can sponsor a table.
No Club Meeting on April 1
We will not have a club meeting at Maldaners or off-site on April 1.
April 8 Club Meeting Features Rod Buffington
Please join us to learn more about the career and accomplishments of Rod Buffington as a distinguished artist and Rotarian. He will be our featured speaker at this club meeting. For more information see Upcoming Programs and Events.
info@spirotary.org changed the Webex meeting information.
Occurs on Mondays effective Monday, July 10, 2023 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM, (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada) 5:30 PM | (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada) | 1 hr 30 mins
When we meet at Maldaner's, please submit your reservations for dinner! Click on the link embedded below and enter the date, your name, dine in/carry out and number of meals being consumed in the restaurant and/or carried out prior to each meeting. Preferably, everyone will fill out the form by noon on the Friday before the upcoming meeting. I have given Jesse at Maldaner's access to the view, so it will help him with planning. As always, we will direct him to have a few additional servings available for members who forget or last minute guests.
The same link will work for the entire Rotary year and will be shared within each Newsletter, so do not delete the Newsletter until you have submitted your dinner information. Please remember that the three most recent Newsletters can also be accessed from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) so you can also access the link for reservations from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org).
The Illinois Assistive Technology Program - IATP is a statewide, nonprofit agency that promotes the availability of Assistive Technology (AT) devices and services to people with disabilities and other health conditions. IATP leverages federal, state and other funding sources to make these devices and services available to its users.
IATP’s Program Manager, Lynette Strode (lead image and image above, spoke to our Club on Monday, March 25, about these programs and services and how they enhance the independence and participation in all aspects of life for people with disabilities and other health conditions.
This access to societal independence is realized within everyday community living, education, and employment situations.
AT service directly assists an individual with a disability in selecting, acquiring, and using an AT device. AT categories include vision, hearing, speech communication, daily living, mobility, seating and positioning, learning, cognition and development, sports and leisure, environmental adaptation and computers.
Best of all, the AT devices and services provided by IATP come at little to no cost to the consumer of the service and device.
Our Club is appreciative to Lynette and IATP for both better informing us about these transformative programs and services and for their availability within our community and communities statewide.
I am posting this story on behalf of our club President Travis Magoulias, who will be our Youth Exchange Officer once his current term as president expires.
Our club has committed to sponsor a foreign exchange student during the 2024-2025 school year. We cannot be assigned a student until we have a host family with which to place the student during the first semester.
We are running out of time to find a host family, and I am asking for your help to find one. Preferably, the student will be attending Springfield High School, so must reside in that school's boundaries. However, if you know of someone in another District 186 school that might be interested, that could also work. I have attached a document with answers to the most frequently asked questions.
IMPORTANT CHANGE TO ATTACHED DOCUMENT: Host families no longer are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Please share my contact information with any such family with interest. My email address is bkemp1100@hotmail.com, and my phone number is 217-494-7467. I appreciate any assistance you can provide.
At our March 25 Club meeting, President Travis Magulias presented John Webb with his blue badge. It replaced his red badge, which signified a new member of our club. John has become a very active member of our Club. He has done an excellent job lining up great speakers as Director of Club Services, is active in club service projects, and regularly participates in club events.
He is a valued member of the Public Relations Committee. In that capacity, he posts to Facebook and other social media sites, and provides stories, notes, and numerous photographs for the club Newsletter. We are thrilled to have him as a member of our club and look forward to working with him long into the future.
On March 26, I sent out a ClubRunner email to all members, and we thought it would be good to also share this update in the Newsletter. To see the attached documented noted below, please refer to the original email. Suffice it to say here that the Sweet 16 teams are Alabama, Arizona, Clemson, Connecticut, Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa State, Marquette, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Purdue, San Diego State, and Tennessee
Thanks to those who have participated in our NCAA Basketball Tournament fundraiser for PolioPlus. We started out with 68 teams in the tournament. Now, there are only 16 teams. Attached a document is a summary of teams in the tournament and the Rotarian assigned to each team. The summary includes teams remaining from the first round where 68 teams participated. For the Sweet Sixteen drawing, we did a double listing, so there are two persons for each team.
The prize for first place in the field of 68 is $75.00 and second place gets $40.00. The prize for first place in the Sweet Sixteen drawing is $50.00. There will be two winners for the Sweet Sixteen drawing.
Before our March 25 club meeting, Vicki Megginson, Ross Hodel, Bill Kempiners, and Marty Michelson each agreed to raise a $100 entrance fee from fellow Rotarians for a Rotary Team for the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. At the March 25 club meeting, four numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) were placed in a hat (image to left; the editors are certain no bias was intended by the use of an Illinois hat). The numbers were drawn by the four Rotary Team leaders, with Lynette Strode standing in for Marty (lead image for Newsletter and image below). The person who drew the number “1” will get the first pick for the drawing for the four remaining basketball teams. The numbers 2, 3 and 4 determine the order for the other three picks. Ross Hodel drew Number 1 and will have first pick for a final four team name. Bill Kempiners drew the Number 2, Vicki drew the Number 3, and Lynnette drew the Number 4 for Marty. Marty will have the last pick for a team name.
Normally, we would have this drawing on April 1, but we are not having a club meeting on that night. Once we know which four teams are still in the tournament, I will call each team leader in accordance with the number they drew and will draw a team for them. It all comes down to the luck of the draw.
Thanks to these Rotary Team leaders and to all the club members who have participate in this project and GOOD LUCK!
PETS and Spring Training at UIS on March 16 and 17
President Elects Training (PETS) and Spring Training for all Rotarians took place at the UIS Student Union building again this year. District Governor-Elect Dan O'Brien (image above) was the master of ceremonies for these events. Megan Reynolds (shown with District Governor Neal Miller in image on left), our Club's President-Elect, participated in and was fired up by the PETS training on March 16. Club member Harry Mitchell (first image below) served as a trainer and Rod Buffington (second image below) spoke about the Family Day at the Ball Park fundraiser for Literacy at the PETS dinner.
Bonnie Styles, Judith Pensoneau-Furer, Megan Reynold (image to left), and Roger Randolph attended the Spring Training sessions on March 17. Our Inbound Exchange Student Nicholas Putra Sedijotomo (also known as PS) also attended Spring Training. Beth Bellatti Allen, District Youth Exchange Chair, introduced all of the exchange students (image below). Each student presented a poem about peace and participated in the Youth Exchange session. Our club members and the exchange student attended many excellent sessions, including those on Fundraising Ideas, Youth Exchange, Growing Membership & Expanding our Reach, Scholarships and Peace Initiatives, Engaging Members, Communication & Club Management, Community Service and Idea Exchange, and How to Describe Rotary to Others.
Club members Bonnie Styles and and Roger Randolph presented at the March 17 Spring Training session, As District Scholarship Chair, Bonnie presented training related to the District 6460 and Menghini International Scholarships The new online submission process allows students to complete their applications and submit them from the District 6460 Website (see stories by Bonnie Styles in this Newsletter). As District Treasurer, Roger presented Treasurers Report (image below).
The keynote speaker was M.J. Rogers, a professional archery coach (image below). M.J. has coached archers on every continent, including Paralympics in London, Rio, and Japan. He illustrated how the Paralympic Events accommodated and encouraged "differently abled" athletes.
Our District will award four $3000 District Scholarships to college students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The new online application process is easy to complete and submit on the District 6460 Website. This link will take you to scholarship page that provides access to the online application: https://www.rotarydistrict6460.org/foundation/districtscholars/. The application deadline is May 31.
All eligibility criteria and requirements are included in the online application. Eligible applicants must have lived in, graduated from high school in, or currently go to a college, university, or vocational/trade school in Rotary District 6460. They must have already completed one year of college instruction with a minimum of 24 credit hours. The scholarship may be used for tuition, books, and college fees at a college, university, or vocational/trade school in or outside District 6460 in Illinois and in other States. Applicants must not be Rotarians or relatives of Rotarians, but former Interact and current Rotaract members are eligible to apply.
Encourage college-age students that you know to apply and let the colleges, universities, and vocational/trade schools in your area know about this opportunity. The Scholarship Committee will send a press release and electronic flyers to colleges, universities, vocational/trade schools across the District. If you have an educational institution that you would like to receive these materials, please email the name and address to Bonnie Styles, Chair, District 6460 Scholarship Committee (bonstyles@yahoo.com).
Our District will award one $18,000 Menghini International Scholarship to an undergraduate or graduate student that will support one full year of residential academic study at an International University or College. The selected student will have 20 months after the scholarship has been awarded to finalize arrangements with the International university or college and begin coursework and one year to complete the coursework after it is initiated. The scholarship may be used to support the selected student’s chosen course of study but preference is given to students pursuing a degree relevant to one or more of the seven Areas of Focus for Rotary International. The new online application process is easy to complete and submit on the District 6460 website: (https://www.rotarydistrict6460.org/foundation/global-scholars/). The application deadline is May 31.
All eligibility criteria and requirements are included in the online application. Eligible applicants must have lived in, graduated from high school in, or currently go to a college, university, or vocational/trade school in Rotary District 6460. They must have already completed two years of college instruction with a minimum of 48 credit hours. The funds are payable to the International University or college and may be used for tuition, other college fees, books, other educational supplies, and other expenses including room and board and roundtrip travel to and from the International university or college. Applicants must not be Rotarians or relatives of Rotarians, but former Interact and Rotaract members are eligible to apply.
Encourage undergraduate and graduate students that you know to apply and let the colleges, universities, and vocational/trade schools in your area know about this opportunity. The Scholarship Committee is distributing a press release and sending electronic flyers to colleges, universities, vocational/trade schools across the District. If you have an educational institution that you would like to receive these materials, please email the name and address to Bonnie Styles, Chair, District 6460 Scholarship Committee (bonstyles@yahoo.com).
At the 2024 Spring Training, we picked up flyers for an event that that the Rotary Club of Galva and the Kewanee Life Skill Re-Entry Center Community Corps announced. All Rotarians are invited to participate in this event. President Elect Megan Reynolds suggested that we put a group from our club to participate in the event. Those of you who participated in the 2023 Spring Training, heard several presentations on this innovative facility.
Save the date: Saturday, May 18, 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Kewanee Life Skills Re-entry Center is located at 2021 Kentville Road, Kewanee, IL 61443-1768. At this event, you will learn about the only Rotary Community Corps located inside a correctional facility.
You will have the opportunity to:
Meet Rotary Community Corps members and other individuals in custody.
Meet corrections professionals, including the warden.
Tour the facility.
Hear a presentation about the Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center
Attend a Rotary Community Corps membership meeting.
Bring others or refer others to attend. Background checks will be required for everyone.
Promote your organization with handouts and/or display tables. (optional)
Mark your calendar now. Rod Buffington has proclaimed that July 13, 2024 is Rotary Family Day at the Ball Park. The Cardinals will be playing the Cubs at 1:15 p.m. District Rotary Clubs need to sell 2000 tickets. The tickets are greatly discounted at $60 each. Rod is arranging for two buses to go from Springfield to Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He is looking for volunteers to handle logistics for the buses and serve as bus captains. He reminded members that you can sell tickets to non-Rotarians including family, friends, and colleagues. Proceeds from the game support District Literacy Grants. The form to buy tickets for this game is available on our vlub's web site (click on formhere to download it) and also on the Rotary District 6460 Website.
Please remember that we are trying our new schedule with some social night meetings at locations other than Maldaners. Please pay attention to the meeting schedule listed 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. I am in the process of scheduling speakers now and will provide more details as soon as they are available.
April 1, 2024 No Rotary Club Meeting
April 8, 2024 Rotary Board Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 4:30 p.m.
April 8, 2024 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
Rod Buffington, Rotary Club of Springfield: Art and My 50 Years in Rotary
The image on the left shows a print of an original quilt painting of the 2023 Rotary International theme logo that Rod presented to Randy Erford when he was installed as our Club President. Rod has created numerous quilt paintings of the annual Rotary theme logos and presented them to the Rotary International Presidents. Rod has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in art prior to and during his 50 distinguished years as a Rotarian. Learn more about his art and how he has integrated it with Rotary.
April 15, 2024 No Rotary Club Meeting
April 22, Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
Dave Fuchs, Public Works Director: Springfield Department of Public Works Services and Programs
April 29, Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
Jim Applegate: Climate Extremes: Antarctica and the Amazon
Jim is the Chair of our Club's Peace Committee, and a Consultant and former Visiting Professor for the Center of Education Policy at Illinois State University. Jim will speak about his recent trips to Antarctica (image on left and 1st image below) and the Amazon (2nd and 3rd images below). He will present slides and music. Don't miss this opportunity to vicariously travel with Jim and learn about life in two areas of extreme climate.
May 6, 2024 Rotary Off-site Social Night, 5:30 p.m.
Location to be announced.
May 13, 2024 Rotary Board Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 4:30 p.m.
May 13, 2024 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
May 20, 2024 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
May 27, 2024 No Rotary Club Meeting
June 3, 2024 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
Distribution of Community Grants from the Springfield Rotary Foundation
June 10, 2024 Rotary Board Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 4:30 p.m.
June 10, 2024 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30 p.m.
June 17, 2024 Rotary Off-site Social Night, 5:30 p.m.
Location to be announced.
June 24, 2024 Rotary Club Installation of Officers Picnic
Recognition of Club Members and 2023-2024 Officers and Installation of 2024-2025 Officers and Board
Here's your chance to be a pantry superhero! Join us in stocking the Ridgely Elementary School micro pantry for two weeks. Your commitment will ensure that families and children have access to essential items when they need them most. Whether it's a can of soup, a box of cereal, or toiletries, your contribution will brighten someone's day. Reach out to Allie Montney at onedirtymartini@gmail.com or call 217-494-6901 to become a beacon of hope for those in need. Every item you place on those shelves is a small gesture that collectively makes a huge impact!
Thank you for signing up for a micro pantry volunteer shift. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by the community we serve. Below are the details including your two week shift, 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.
Time Commitment: Two consecutive weeks (1-2 restocking visits per week)
Volunteer Schedule for Winter 2023 - Spring 2024
Thanks to Bonnie Styles for stocking the pantry for the December 17-31 shift during the holiday season. Bonnie provided the image on the left that shows the special items she stocked in the pantry for Christmas Eve and Christmas. She restocked the pantry on December 27 and December 30 (image below) to be certain that it was ready for New Years Eve. Each time she checked the pantry, there were only a few canned goods left, including some green beans and chickpeas. This pantry continues to be heavily used during the winter months.
Thanks to Bill Sturm for stocking the pantry from January 1-14, which has included some extremely cold weather! Special thanks to Rod and Rosemary who took the next shift (January 25-28) and also encountered severely cold weather. Thanks to Jim Applegate for stocking the pantry from Jan. 29- Feb. 11, to Harry Mitchell for stocking from Feb. 12-25, to Sheila Mack for stocking from Feb. 26-March 10, and to Ross Hodel for stocking from March 11-24.
Upcoming Schedule:
March 25 - April 7: Randy Erford
April 8 - April 21: Jason Huddleston
April 22 - May 5: Bill Kempiners
Micro Pantry Coordinator: Allie Montney
Phone 217-494-6901 (for the quickest response, please text)
Things I've noticed that may be helpful: Stocking the pantry on a weekend or after 4:00PM during the weekdays means less people and 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. It's going to be freezing outside soon, so consider if the items will no longer be good if frozen. ALDI grocery stores have prices that cannot be beat.
At our January 8 Board and Club meetings, President Travis reported that our 2023-2024 Club's Community Service Director, Madeline Boner had resigned as Community Service Director and from our Club because her job is requiring more work than she had anticipated. We wish her the best in her career and hope that she will be able to come back to us in the future when the duties of life and work are perhaps a little less demanding. We thank all the volunteers who gave and are giving generously of their time on service projects this fall and over the holiday season. Work on our ongoing service projects continues, and we thank all who have stepped up to help coordinate these activities.
New Service Opportunity:
Participate in the United Way Spring Day of Action (Friday April 26, 2024)
President-Elect Megan Reynolds on March 18 sent everyone a club runner email inviting club members to participate in this event. She also promoted participation in the event at our March 25 Club Meeting. Here are the details on this event:
United Way Spring Day of Action
Please join my team once again as we mobilize hundreds of volunteers in the community to complete projects that will have a lasting impact. Projects are still being recruited, so I am not sure what we will be doing, but as past participants can attest, we have such a great time!
*Use Rotary Club of Downtown Springfield as your team name and let me know if you're registering please*
Thank you for your consideration and for all of your work to make our community better!
-Megan Reynolds
Stocking our Little Libraries
Jason Huddleston (jahudd212@gmail.com) and Allison Montney (onedirtymartini@gmail.com) have taken on the important task of coordinating the stocking of our Little Libraries. We previously built a series of Little Libraries with a support from a District Club Grant and secured a large number of books that were donated by a group in St. Louis. The books are stored in the Computer Banc warehouse. We thank new members Jason and Allison (far right in image to right) for taking on this important task.
The image of the Little Library at Ridgely School (to the left) clearly shows that this little library needed to be regularly stocked. Thanks to Jason and Allison for coordinating this project and ensuring that it is well stocked. Let them know if you would like to help.
We also need to help keep our newest Little Library at the old Firehouse well stocked with books (image below)! We thank Kathryn Harris for her work and promotion for this Little Library, which is right across the street from her home! If you would like to help stock this little library and any of the others we have installed in Springfield, please contact Jason and Allison.
Stocking of the Ridgely School Micropantry
We previously installed a Micropantry at Ridgely Elementary School (our adopted school) with support from a District Grant. At our October 23 meeting, Allison Montney volunteered to coordinate the stocking of this micropantry with food, cleaning, and toiletry items. She has implemented a system for volunteers to sign up to stock the pantry for a two week period. If you would like to volunteer to stock this important and regularly used pantry, please let Allison know (onedirtymartini@gmail.com) as soon as possible. More information is provided in Allie's article in this Newsletter.
Flag Service
On September 12-15, Flag Service teams completed the last pick up of flags for 2023 following the commemoration of Patriot's Day (September 11). Teams picked up the flags and returned them to the warehouse. The teams consist primarily of Rotarians, but numerous family members assist Rotarians in this effort. Alec Tobias, son of Barry Tobias, often assists Barry. The image above shows Alec picking up flags in this final round for 2023. The image on the left shows Ross Hodel picking up flags, and the image below shows John Webb and Jim Theis returning flags to the warehouse.
At our September 18 meeting, President Travis extended a special thanks to all the individuals who participated in flag installation and pick in 2023. Please consider volunteering for the Flag Service project. There is much work to be done throughout the year. Bill Sturm relayed that there is a current need for volunteers to help replace faded flags with new ones and help transfer good flags from bent poles to new poles. If you are interested in assisting with this task please contract Bill Sturm (sturmdmd@hotmail.com). We will be placing the conduits that hold the flag poles soon as we gear up for flag installation for Memorial Day 2024. Please contact John Loftus (jlloftus@aol.com) if you would like to help with any aspect of our Flag Service project. It's rewarding and raises lots of money for our community grants program!
Citrus Campaign
As noted by our Warehouse Czar Bill Smith, the 2023 campaign was successful and raised monies for our community grants program. We thank all the Rotarians who ordered and sold citrus, and all those who worked on the planning of the campaign and in the warehouse.
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. Travis Magoulias has added the 2023-2024 Rotary Year to the form. You will be able to enter your hours now 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.
Be sure to record the service you conducted over the holidays. The images below show Rotarians from our Club volunteering on holiday projects.
At our March 25 Club meeting, President Travis Magulias presented John Webb with his blue badge. It replaced his red badge, which signified a new member of our club. John has become a very active member of our Club. He has done an excellent job lining up great speakers as Director of Club Services, is active in club service projects, and regularly participates in club events.
Before our March 25 club meeting, Vicki Megginson, Ross Hodel, Bill Kempiners, and Marty Michelson each agreed to raise a $100 entrance fee from fellow Rotarians for a Rotary Team for the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. At the March 25 club meeting, four numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) were placed in a hat (image to left; the editors are certain no bias was intended by the use of an Illinois hat). The numbers were drawn by the four Rotary Team leaders, with Lynette Strode standing in for Marty (lead image for Newsletter and image below). The person who drew the number “1” will get the first pick for the drawing for the four remaining basketball teams. The numbers 2, 3 and 4 determine the order for the other three picks. Ross Hodel drew Number 1 and will have first pick for a final four team name. Bill Kempiners drew the Number 2, Vicki drew the Number 3, and Lynnette drew the Number 4 for Marty. Marty will have the last pick for a team name. 
President Elects Training (PETS) and Spring Training for all Rotarians took place at the UIS Student Union building again this year. District Governor-Elect Dan O'Brien (image above) was the master of ceremonies for these events. Megan Reynolds (shown with District Governor Neal Miller in image on left), our Club's President-Elect, participated in and was fired up by the PETS training on March 16. Club member Harry Mitchell (first image below) served as a trainer and Rod Buffington (second image below) spoke about the Family Day at the Ball Park fundraiser for Literacy at the PETS dinner. 
Bonnie Styles, Judith Pensoneau-Furer, Megan Reynold (image to left), and Roger Randolph attended the Spring Training sessions on March 17. Our Inbound Exchange Student Nicholas Putra Sedijotomo (also known as PS) also attended Spring Training. Beth Bellatti Allen, District Youth Exchange Chair, introduced all of the exchange students (image below). Each student presented a poem about peace and participated in the Youth Exchange session. Our club members and the exchange student attended many excellent sessions, including those on Fundraising Ideas, Youth Exchange, Growing Membership & Expanding our Reach, Scholarships and Peace Initiatives, Engaging Members, Communication & Club Management, Community Service and Idea Exchange, and How to Describe Rotary to Others. 
The image on the left shows a print of an original quilt painting of the 2023 Rotary International theme logo that Rod presented to Randy Erford when he was installed as our Club President. Rod has created numerous quilt paintings of the annual Rotary theme logos and presented them to the Rotary International Presidents. Rod has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in art prior to and during his 50 distinguished years as a Rotarian. Learn more about his art and how he has integrated it with Rotary.
Jim is the Chair of our Club's Peace Committee, and a Consultant and former Visiting Professor for the Center of Education Policy at Illinois State University. Jim will speak about his recent trips to Antarctica (image on left and 1st image below) and the Amazon (2nd and 3rd images below). He will present slides and music. Don't miss this opportunity to vicariously travel with Jim and learn about life in two areas of extreme climate. 
Jason Huddleston (
On September 12-15, Flag Service teams completed the last pick up of flags for 2023 following the commemoration of Patriot's Day (September 11). Teams picked up the flags and returned them to the warehouse. The teams consist primarily of Rotarians, but numerous family members assist Rotarians in this effort. Alec Tobias, son of Barry Tobias, often assists Barry. The image above shows Alec picking up flags in this final round for 2023. The image on the left shows Ross Hodel picking up flags, and the image below shows John Webb and Jim Theis returning flags to the warehouse.
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