The Light for Aug 25, 2015 (Aug 25, 2015)

President Brad Weiss welcomed members to the meeting. A Thought for the Day was offered by Louis Allred. Louis noted that a decision had been made to no longer sing “America the Beautiful,” in order to avoid mentioning the word “God.” Bothered by this perceived hypersensitivity, Louis provided a very old, but much-appreciated thought: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (This writer’s memory of the explanation for the change was somewhat different. After several members voiced concerns that a group recoitation of the Pledge of Allegiance could potentially be awkward for foreign visitors, the ELRC Board decided to eliminate the Pledge, and to sing America the Beautiful only in celebration of uniquely American holidays, such as the Fourth of July, Memorial & Labor Days, etc.

Announcements

Brad thanked all those who helped with the day’s meeting.

Jennifer Jones, RI VP and Director, explained that she and several other guests were in Evanston for a Peace Centers Fundraising Initiative. Each year, roughly 50 Rotary Peace Fellows are selected to participate in a master’s degree or certificate program at partner universities. Fellows study subjects related to the root causes of conflict and explore innovative solutions that address real-world needs. Our guests are leading the effort to raise funds to endow the Peace Fellows Program and they are “this close” to their $150 million goal. About 13 years old, this program’s best is still to come, as Fellows reach high levels in government, media, international institutions, and non-profit management.

After Harold raised a question about the location of the Peace Fund (it is housed within The Rotary Foundation), Brad noted “Harold has $150 million in his mouth.”

Jennifer also singled out the efforts of past Trustee Stephanie Urchick who is in town for Strategic Planning at RI and is the TRF Centennial Celebration Committee Chair.

Youth Services Chair Marv Edelstein updated the membership on his committee’s activities. In addition to being strong supporters of RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), the committee is working to expand Interact at ETHS and now Beacon Academy. Rotary’s ‘hands on’ projects, one-on-one mentoring, and international affiliations are particularly important to this young service-oriented population. The committee hopes to use our members’ connections to communicate and partner internationally with students abroad: Brazil (Luis, our Inbound Youth Exchange student), Burkina Faso (Dieneba Soma) and Kenya (Kathy Tate-Bradish).

New member Kea Gordon introduced Steve Hagerty (Hagerty Consulting) who is partnering with our club and other area nonprofits on "Late Lunch for Louisiana." Noting that 40,000 Louisiana residents are receiving government aid and 130,000 homes have been damaged, Steve encouraged members to eat at Potbelly Sandwich Shop at 630 Davis St. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Potbelly will donate 25% of the proceeds to Disaster Aid in Louisiana and Hagerty Consulting will match that donation. A week-long (Aug. 31 – Sept. 7) canned food drive is also scheduled with a Master Box for donations in the RI Lobby. Hagerty Consulting will donate one dollar (for every donated can) to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. Collected canned goods will be donated locally to the Salvation Army Community Center.

Supporting that event, Kristin Brown announced that our club will be hosting a RYLA alumni reunion at Potbelly. Past, present and future RYLA and Interact students are invited to visit Potbelly on Wednesday afternoon to enjoy sandwiches and learn more about plans for the year.

Brad thanked the following members for their commitment to Rotary and presented them with Perfect Attendance pins – Harold Bauer, Bruce Baumberger (25 years!), Steve Goranson, Ira Graham (26 years of perfect attendance!), Helen Oloroso, Susan Prout, John & Ann Searles, Joan Borg, Marv Edelstein, and Zbig Skiba. Rotarians are welcome at meetings around the world – and many Rotary events may be attended for “make-up” credit.

A brief, but impactful, “Water is a Gift” video was shown. In rural Ghana, 7 million people are at risk of water borne illness. Partnering leads to the right answers and ideas. Rotary has provided more sources of drinking water in Ghana than any single NGO.

Carol Pandak, Rotary’s Director of PolioPlus and member of our club, sent word of an important upcoming event. The Final Push: Stories from the Field on the Fight to End Polio will be held in the RI Auditorium on Sept. 6, 5:30 p.m. Registration in advance is requested.

Ken Green announced that the next Lighthouse Beach Cleanup will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17. More details will be forthcoming.

Linda Gerber announced our club’s selection as Koi Restaurant’s “Charity of the Month." If you make a reservation (847-869-6969) at Koi, requesting Table 23, you will receive a 10% discount and our club’s Foundation will receive 20% of your remaining bill during the month of September. Flyers explaining the promotion are available. Details are also available on our club’s web site.

Linda boasted the Noon Club (Rotary Club of Evanston) for being participants in the inaugural Fifth Ward Festival. Hosted for all of Evanston by the Fifth Ward, the festival aimed to bring the community together for fun, food, and music, while also addressing the underlying causes of youth gun violence.

Gary Peterson announced that the recent Golf Road clean-up (cancelled due to the threat of rain) has been rescheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 3, 8:30 a.m., at the TJ Maxx parking lot.

Brad thanked Joan Borg and Lesley Peters for cleaning up the Rotary closet at the Hilton Garden Inn. Members were invited to peruse the items and help themselves. (Trail mix, anyone?)

Joan offered Northwestern tickets to the first takers (with donations to the Foundation) – NU vs. Western Michigan – Sept. 3, and NU vs. Illinois State on Sept. 10.

Joe Brownlee from the Noon Club reminded club members of the upcoming inaugural Peace Festival in Evanston. An evening Peace Panel & Cocktails will be held on Friday, Sept. 23, at RI. Rotary Day at Northwestern will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24, with mid-day tours of Rotary and an evening NU football kick-off. Sunday Sept. 25 will feature a Family Peace Festival at the Rotary Friendship Garden (McCormick Blvd. & Bridge Street). Please visit the Rotary Club of Evanston web site for more info.

Roasts & Boasts

None (due to time constraints)

Program

Speaker: Eric Witherspoon, Superintendent, Evanston Township High School

Fran Caan introduced Eric Weatherspoon, superintendent of ETHS since 2006. Dr. Weatherspoon began his presentation with some facts -- one high school for our district, 3000+ students, founded in 1883. Noting that he is 100% biased, Weatherspoon declared ETHS “the finest high school in America”!

Why is ETHS so special? There are many reasons. Last night, civil rights hero, Medal of Freedom recipient, Georgia Congressman John Lewis filled the school’s 1,500-seat auditorium. His presentation was the culmination of a months-long effort to address issues of literacy and the documented loss of learning over the summer among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

At a February retreat sponsored by Evanston’s Cradle to Career Initiative, in an effort to ensure that every young person is proficient in reading, it was suggested that each incoming ETHS freshman receive a book. Presented as a ‘gift’ as they left middle school, the book would encourage reading over the summer and foster discussion in the fall. The book selected for this “One Book” concept was March, Volume 1, a graphic novel by Congressman Lewis.

A trilogy, the March books are a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story and illustrated in ‘comic book’ style, it also reflects on the modern highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Books were distributed to rising freshmen from all ETHS feeder and private schools in the area.

In conjunction with the Family Action Network (FAN), ETHS was able to host Rep. Lewis for last evening’s program. Later today, 900 freshmen at ETHS will be hearing and meeting the civil rights icon.

Committed to equity, racial and social justice, ETHS is a “liberal sounding” institution. Weatherspoon acknowledged that truth with pride, stressing the importance of growing up in a safe, embracing environment as part of the world community. Ten representative ETHS students would reflect the globe. Four of them would be white, three of them would be black, two would be Latino and one would be Asian/Native American/Other.

Every world religion is represented at ETHS. More than 57 different first languages are spoken in the homes of Evanston students. Some students dress conservatively, others sport purple or green hair and black lips and nails. Some may be transitioning (in the gender sense) which they can do openly at ETHS. Almost 1 of 2 students is low income, with 45% eligible for free or reduced cost lunch.

ETHS is a highly diverse school, serving students at both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, and it does it very well! Ranked in the top 1-2% of high schools in the nation by the Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report, ETHS is a “model of what high school in America should be like."

ETHS was recently ranked #10 among high schools in Illinois. Weatherspoon noted that many of its top competitors are private schools, magnet schools, or significantly more homogenous institutions. ETHS does an excellent job of providing a comprehensive, broad-based education to more than 3,000 students.

Weatherspoon joked that his bias was fair. ETHS recently recorded its highest average ACT scores on record, with all students counted/included. It also has the greatest number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes in school history. (And their results on the national exams have stayed the same.) Graduation rates keep inching up and the school has its lowest dropout rate in history.

In response to a question, Weatherspoon spoke of the school’s digital presence. All students have Chromebooks (laptops) that are used as learning tools with options for instantaneous feedback and one-on-one interaction. The school has an Advanced Manufacturing Lab, a state-of-the-art Auto Technology lab, a Culinary program, a renovated Planetarium (comparable to an IMAX Theatre, one of only 50 in U.S. high schools), several STEM labs and a 5-year pre-engineering program. ETHS is a challenging and exciting, learning environment.

When asked about the football program, Weatherspoon boasted the Wildkits’ recent win over Chicago Hubbard. As he proudly announced, “It’s a great day to be a Wildkit!” Fran Caan followed up the presentation with a “shameless plug for the ETHS Educational Foundation.”

Click here to read the coverage of the superintendent's presentation on Evanston Now.

Superintendent Witherspoon and Brad Weiss

Guests and Milestones