Presiding was President-Elect Marv Edelstein who also provided the Thought for the Day, focusing on the Power of One to positively impact each other, our environment and maybe the world.

 

 

 

Marv Edelstein announced the passing of Rotarian Mike Yesner, 2012-13 past District Governor. Funeral services are being held today, January 3, in Skokie. Donations can be made to The Rotary Foundation designated to the Polio elimination program. Marv led the attendees during a moment of silence in honor of Mike Yesner.

 

Bob Teska recognized Marv Edelstein for his enthusiasm in rekindling the Youth Leaders Committee. As a result, Bob informed the club of the committee’s intention of creating a year-long program to sustain the vision and also to expose the students to Rotary International (RI). Bob announced that there will be a Youth Leadership Day at the RI building on Friday, March 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The committee is targeting 50 students from the three local high schools – ETHS, Roycemore & Bacon – for attendance. The program aims to introduce the students to a world of opportunity and service. Bob encouraged members to participate in the program and to encourage students they might know to register for the program. Bob also reminded the members that the next committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 5, at 7:15 a.m. at the RI building in the cafeteria.

 

Ann Searles provided the Sunshine Lady’s report by announcing that John Searles was at home nursing a cold. She asked for anyone with a camera to take the meeting’s pictures. She also mentioned that Ray Green, a former member of the club, passed away recently in St. Augustine, Fla.

 

Ken Green announced that students are returning to Northwestern and Campus Kitchen is back into action. Ken is looking for volunteers for January 15, 22 and February 5. Ken is also looking for someone to take over in his place on February 19 and 26 as he will be out of town.

 

Bruce Baumberger reminded the club of the upcoming session at RI featuring The ABCs of Rotary. There are 127 slots and he encouraged members to sign up, as the club will cover the fee.

 

Linda Berger reminded the club of the upcoming Club Visioning session to be held on Thursday, January 12, at 4:45 p.m. Linda encouraged more members to sign up and thanked the 24 members who have completed the survey.

 

Marissa Naujokas announced that the Holiday Sale was very successful and thanked all committee members for all the excellent work. Marissa also mentioned that there are a few outstanding bills that need to be collected and asked that we do our best to close the books. Marv also reiterated Marissa’s recognition of the excellent performance for the Holiday Sale. This year’s total sales and donations surpassed last year’s.

 

Helen Oloroso announced that the Club Service Committee meeting previously scheduled for Thursday, January 12, will be moved to Tuesday, January 10, as the regular breakfast meeting has been cancelled. The meeting will be held at the RI cafeteria at 7:15 a.m.

 

Elaine Clemens announced that the Vocational Service Committee will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, January 4, from 7- 8:30 p.m. at her home, 1106 Seward St.

 

The next meeting for the International Service Committee is scheduled for Monday, January 16, from 7:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the RI building – lower level dining room next to the cafeteria.

 

Marv announced that the next board meeting will take place on Monday, January 9, from 7:15 to 9:00 p.m. at Brad Weiss’ home.

 

 

Zbig Skiba quizzed the attendees on the single biggest issue scientists will be working on in 2017. Several members accurately replied that it will be dark matter.

 

 

Elaine Clemens introduced Jacob Bachman for today’s vocational presentation on ethics in the professions. Elaine also noted that January is Vocational Service Month.

 

Jacob introduced himself as an Intellectual Property attorney working for a large law firm in Chicago. He has been practicing for 10 years. He noted that in his field the ethical situations arise from the tension created in a typical law firm’s requirements for billable hours, the increasing hourly fees, the quality of the work and the clients’ push for lower costs.

 

His firm’s annual goal for billable hours is 1,950 hours. The lawyers are compensated based on their billable hours. Jacob noted that the way he ethically addresses this tension between all these divergent forces is to constantly and openly communicate with the clients about the hours required for the work, the quality of the work, and the fees all throughout the duration of the work. He mentioned that some attorneys charge up to 2,200 billable hours at the expense of their work-life balance. He also noted that the typical annual increase in fees is about 3 to 5%.

 

 

 

 

Kea began by highlighting her foundational years and how they led to her association with Rotary both as an employee and Rotarian.

 

Born in Edgebrook on the north side of the city of Chicago, she moved to Winnetka and attended New Trier High School where she played sports and was the captain of the softball team. The name Kea is Hawaiian and came from her mother’s best friend in college.

 

During high school, Kea volunteered for community service in Juarez, Mexico, and was appalled by the level of deprivation and poverty she witnessed and especially the differences in standard of living between Juarez and El Paso, TX. Those experiences created a desire in her to study and understand more about why such levels of poverty existed in many parts of the world.

 

Kea attended Cornell from 1994 to 1998 and received a degree in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning and Women’s Studies. She obtained a Master’s degree in Development Economics and International Development from American University in 2001 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Government from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2008. Kea lost her mom to breast cancer in 1997 while she was studying at Cornell and was greatly impacted by the loss.

 

Kea served in the Peace Corps and traveled to many countries – Zimbabwe, Alaska, The Himalayas, and South Africa -  where she became proficient in speaking Swahili, which led to a Fulbright assignment in South Africa. She served in several positions in several countries from professor in DC to Yoga instructor in Bali.

 

In 2014, Kea moved back to the US where she became a consultant for a corporation. Always seeking a way to help others, Kea serves on the board of the Heartland Alliance and personal helps immigrant families in their integration process in the US. Kea is currently the Planned Gift Officer in Fund Development at Rotary International. She keeps a poster of Rotary’s Four Way Test on her office wall.

 

 

Son of a Presbyterian minister, Dave has lived in many parts of the US. He has been a resident of Evanston for three years. Dave received a degree in History, Music and Religious Thought from The College of Wooster and a Master’s degree in History and Library Information Systems from Indiana University.

 

Dave has worked at many libraries and has led many library cooperatives across the country. His passion for and skills in working with computers led to a stint at IBM. In Iowa, he led a six-library cooperative and introduced the internet for widespread use across the system. From 1997 to 2006, Dave also ran his own consultancy advising business leaders on their information technology needs and doing marketing research.

 

For 1-1/2 years starting in 2000, Dave worked for LEGO in Denmark, where he had the opportunity to work with teams comprised of members from all disciplines - from psychology to computers. In 2004, Dave moved back to the US to work for the Children's Memorial Foundation.

 

For the past ten years, Dave has been working for the General Services Administration as a Knowledge Management Officer. He defined the field as the point where business crosses information technology. And in this position, he often serves as the translator to both sides.

 

Dave has been married for three years. He is an avid cyclist and is active in the local Methodist Church where there is an emphasis on service.

 

Dave reflected on why he joined Rotary as a way for him to give meaning and purpose to his life by serving others. He has worked in many private and public enterprises and has ended up burning himself out by the amount of work. He served with the Kiwanis for six years with Al Menard. Being a Rotarian meets his personal goal to serve others.

 

 

 

Larry Marks, guest of Steve Steiber

Bridgette Rutter, prospective member

Jason Orloff, guest of Elaine Clemens

 

 

Dick Moenning, January 10

Yves Lassere, January 13