The Light for July 5, 2016 (Jul 06, 2016)

Presiding was President Brad Weiss and the Thought for the Day, also presented by him as follows: “No matter where you go, you can never go wrong if you bring your smile along" - Frankie Laine.

Announcements

Harold Bauer, in the capacity of previous past president, presented the Rotary clock to Steve Goranson, the immediate past president.

Gary Peterson announced that the Golf Road Cleanup will take place this Saturday, July 9, at 8:30 a.m. Meeting place is in front of TJ Maxx.

Lesley Peters, in her new position as Secretary, reminded all breakfast meeting attendees to sign-in so proper attendance record can be maintained.

Treasurer Don Gwinn reminded the members that the quarterly membership fees are due and that all members should have received an email with their invoice. Don also mentioned that he was prepared to accept fees after the breakfast meeting.

Ann Searles provided updates on two recuperating members. She mentioned that Ken Green is doing very well and acknowledges the fact that he was in attendance. Ann also mentioned that Gerry Baumann still has issues with his legs and would very much appreciate phone calls from club members.

Ann also announced that 11 tickets are available for “HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”
fellowship event scheduled to take place on Friday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ethel M. Barber Theater at Northwestern University. Price is $20 per ticket. Contact Ann Searles for reservations.

Bill Glader announced he will issue a reminder for the collection for StreetWise next week. Bill will also send a list of all the restaurants who participated in this year’s Taste of Evanston so members can express the club’s gratitude as they patronize these facilities.

Marissa Naujokas announced that there will be a Vase Drive on July 19 for Random Act of Flowers the nonprofit organization that delivers flowers to patients in nursing homes and hospitals, who otherwise would not have received any flowers. Members are encouraged to bring their vases. Contact Marissa for all details.

Ken Green announced that Campus Kitchen is back in action and is looking for volunteers for the next three weeks. Contact Ken for more details.

Helen Oloroso informed the attendees of the Club Service Committee meeting scheduled for this Thursday, July 7, at her office, 2133 Sheridan Road at Northwestern University. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Helen’s office is in the Ford Building at the SE corner of Haven and Sheridan.

Bruce Baumberger informed the attendees of the upcoming Rotary Convention in Atlanta next June and the block of 50 hotel rooms reserved at the Hyatt Regency for District 6440. Bruce noted that 18,000 Rotarians have already registered for the convention and it is, therefore, not too early for our members to register. Brad Weiss shared the positive experiences he had in Seoul this year and strongly encourages members to attend, if possible.

Brad Weiss announced that he will continue the previous year’s schedule of holding the board meetings on the second Monday of the month. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 11, at 7 p.m. at his home at 2725 Lincoln St.

Brad Weiss thanked the members who participated in the Fourth of July parade.

Outgoing club presidents Wally Bobkiewicz of the noon club and Steve Goranson of the Lighthouse club lead the Rotary contingent at Evanston's Fourth of July parade.

Kristin Brown announced that she and Ann Searles discussed the need to revive certain rules regarding donations in the basket as related to answering the questions during the Sergeant at Arms section of the meeting and for Roast and Boast. Kristin explained that the money collected during the meeting is contributed to the club foundation and enables the club to sponsor many of the local and international projects.

Roasts and Boasts

Steve Steiber boasted his wife for their wedding anniversary.

Marissa Naujokas boasted her daughter for nursing a third kitten for the animal shelter. Marissa also informed the members that her daughter is also available for pet sitting.

John Searles boasted himself by noting that 57 years ago he started his first engineering job at Bethlehem Steel. He worked with many engineers and retired 37 years after starting that job.

Neil Gambow boasted his granddaughter and noted that she is back in the U.S. from her tour in Paraguay. Neil will bring her to a club meeting in two weeks.

Raissa Eirich boasted her son for meeting his two sisters for the first time in Denmark. Raissa will be joining him soon to meet them also.

Fran Caan boasted her daughter for having participated in her traditional family 5K run during the Fourth of July Holiday, returned home for food and drinks, then drove to O’Hare last night to catch a plane to Cape Town, South Africa, where she will be spending the next semester studying.

Program
Sylvia Alvino – Community Council for International Students (CCIS)

Fran Caan introduced Sylvia Alvino, a retired Chicago Public School Administrator who has lived in Evanston for more than 25 years and is currently serving as the president of CCIS - the Community Council for International Students at Northwestern University. In Chicago, Dr. Alvino was a high school English teacher, coordinator of a state funded community-based career education and demonstration site, and later director of a federally funded technology innovation program which was an early precursor to programs like Facebook.

After Sylvia retired from CPS, she became more involved in several local organizations. Yesterday, she was working as a parade marshal for the July 4th Parade. As a result of her CCIS volunteer work, Sylvia spent two months in Asia attending a wedding in China, visiting a doctor in Shandong Province, and a retired college president in Taiwan.

This morning, Sylvia spoke about volunteer opportunities related to the international graduate students at Northwestern.

Sylvia began by connecting the values of Rotary to the mission of CCIS. During a previous meeting during which she learned about the international nature of many Rotary projects, she realized speaking about CCIS to a Rotary club was a natural place to seek more volunteers.

CCIS is a community volunteer organization dedicated to making Northwestern’s international students and post-doctoral (post-docs) scholars feel welcome at the university, in Evanston, the greater Chicago area and the USA. For more than 40 years, CCIS volunteers have welcomed students and post-doctoral scholars from more than 100 countries by providing a cross-cultural exchange of ideas, information, and friendship.

The community volunteers host NU students and post-docs from both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. Most services are free with the exception of a small fee for expenses related to the cooking classes.

Sylvia noted that the average graduate student is here for about five years and there are instances when a student could be here for one full year and never meet an American. Sylvia indicated that the typical profile of an international graduate student is male, in a technology field and in their 20s. She explained that the international graduate students usually receive scholarship funds to attend NU.

The students are under a lot of pressure studying and adjusting to a new environment and the services provided by CCIS help relieve the stress level. A lot of long-term relationships result from the CCIS programs and these programs help to develop good will on both sides.

Speaker Sylvia Alvino with President Brad Weiss