President Brad Weiss convened the 26^th meeting of the Rotary Year, commenting that it was the half way point of the year.  Thoughts for the Day were presented by both Kate Collinson and Marv Edelstein.

 

 

Brad Weiss announced the slate of officers for 2016-17 as developed by Steve Goranson and the Nominations Committee.  No nominations were offered from the floor and the slate was approved.

 

President:                                     Marv Edelstein

Past President:                              Brad Weiss

President Elect:                            Kristin Brown 

Secretary:                                     Linc Janus

Club Treasurer:                            Susan Prout

Club Foundation Treasurer:         Marisa Naujokas

The Rotary Foundation:               John Osterlund

Membership Chair:                      Jean Saunders

Club Service Chair:                      Helen Oloroso

Youth Service Chair:                    Mike Merdinger          

International Service Chair:          Linda Gerber

Community Service Chair:           Elaine Clemens

Vocational Service Chair:             Kea Gorden

Program Chair:                             Fran Caan

Fundraising Chair:                        Steve Steiber

Public Image:                                Raissa Bailey-Eirich

Sargent-at-Arms:                          Albert Menard

Officer Nomination Chair:             Brad Weiss

 

Brad Weiss reminded members that there would be no meeting next week – Tuesday, Dec. 27.

 

There will also be no meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 10, but that a special meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12, for a “Visioning” process.

 

Helen Oloroso announced that there will be no Club Service Committee meeting during December.  The next meeting will be on January 11 at 7:30 a.m. in the RI cafeteria.

 

Steve Carlson gave an update on the 2016 Holiday Sale. Gross product sales were just over $50,000 and donations to date are just under $11,000.  The current total gross revenue of approximately $61K is $1,800 over the same results from 2015.  After costs are deducted, the sale will probably net close to $34K.  Thanks to all of the club members who worked hard to bring in funds to support our service efforts.  The SIX members who sold more than $2,000 are:

 

 

Zbig Skiba reported on the success of the most recent “Rotary Means Business” event, which had been held at RI on December 13.  The participation nearly doubled to 23 from the first meeting held in July, 2016.  Three more events are planned for the upcoming year.  Contact Zbig for more information.

 

 

Carol Bild boasted Jean Saunders for having stepped up to take over the planning and execution of the Holiday Party in Carol’s absence.

 

Sam Lovering boasted his wife for having successfully endured shoulder replacement surgery and is now on the mend.

 

Dave Simmons boasted and roasted both himself and Harold Bauer for their recent series of miscommunications.

 

Kate Collinson boasted Marcia Kazurinski for her help in the unloading and set up of food products for the Holiday Sale, despite having only recently joined the club.

 

Brad Weiss boasted his dental practice team for their $200 holiday contribution to the Rotary Foundation in Brad’s name.

 

Dale Bradley boasted the members of the club who recently joined the Evanston History Center but declined his offer to have their membership fees reimbursed by Dale.  Instead, Dale will donate the amount of the fees to the Rotary Foundation.

 

 

President Brad Weiss presented Kate Collinson with her Paul Harris Fellows +1 pin, and Ken Green with his pin for achieving Paul Harris +2 status.  He thanked both Ken and Kate for their generosity.

 

 

 

Marcia Kazurinsky was inducted into the club by Brad Weiss and Membership Chair, Kristin Brown.  Marcia’s sponsor is Charlotta Koppanyi.

 

 

 

Steve Goranson gave belated recognition to MaLu Simon as co-winner of 2016 Rotarian of the Year.  MaLu had been unable to attend the meeting when her fellow winner, Bill Glader, received recognition as 2016 Rotarian of the Year.

 

 

Brad Weiss showed a video on polio, showing the dramatic decline of cases worldwide from 350,000 in 1988 to the present 74 cases in total.

 

 

 

 

Before he became known for his barbecue sauce, Hecky Powell was the Executive Director of Neighbors at Work, a community economic development association in Evanston.

But after years in social service, he felt he could do more for the community by giving local kids jobs and teaching them a trade. He bought the small restaurant at the corner of Emerson and Green Bay Roads in 1983, and Hecky’s Barbecue was born.

To continue in this mindset of giving back, the Forrest E. Powell Foundation was founded in 1994, honoring the legacy of work ethic that built Hecky's Barbecue, and continues through annual vocational scholarships.

 

Nancy Baker showed a short video about the Work Ethic (WE) Program and its partnership with Evanston Township High School.  The WE Program is a trades-based program that includes mentoring, work-ready training, and tuition stipends and financial aid.  For its first year, the WE Program has admitted nine juniors at ETHS with a goal of 10 this year and 20 in 2017-18.

 

Once a student is admitted, the program works to identify mentors whose career background matches that of the student.  The next step is to arrange for a paid apprenticeship in the student’s field of interest, with WE providing stipends to help augment wages.

 

A strong partnership for the WE Program is Oakton Community College, which provides tuition-free matriculation for WE graduates.  This year, the WE Program provided a bus to take interested students to Oakton for a tour and a comprehensive introduction to all of its programs.  One goal of the WE Program is to change the culture of ETHS by encouraging community colleges and technical/trade programs to participate along with the 200 colleges that exhibit every year at “college nights.”  Every student at ETHS is supposed to have a post-secondary plan; not every plan could or should include a four year degree.  The WE Program gives students a variety of other alternatives and the means to achieve them. 

 

 

 

Luis Abrev, our exchange student