President Linda Gerber presided and Chip Uchtman presented the Thought for the Day: "It is a person's job to be a good Rotarian..."

Past President Chris Joyce presented the Rotarian of the Year award to Yves Lassere. Chris said that he realized how much Yves had been doing behind the scenes while reviewing grants being developed by the International Service Committee. The Club will make a donation to Reba Place in honor of Yves and all his contributions to the Club. Yves responded with gratitude, noting how much other members also do in service to others.

 

 

Bill Glader provided a Taste of Evanston update. TOE will be held on September 19 from 3-6 p.m. The Club will limit the number of guests to 500. The Club needs 100 volunteers to stage the event. At present, 40 food and beverage purveyors have signed on to participate. Proceeds will benefit, among others, Reba Place and Connections for the Homeless. Bill provided a list of major sponsors who have so far pledged a total of $24,000. Bill urged members to consider underwriting various aspects of the event. So far, underwriting commitments total $3,600.  Gary Peterson asked that members respond today as to whether they will be volunteering at the TOE so that he doesn’t waste time chasing folks down to make a commitment.  Helen Oloroso asked for silent auction items, excluding time shares which have proven problematic to fulfill.

 

Linda announced “Multi Club Bystander Intervention Training,” mentioning a specific focus on benefiting Asians who face discrimination.

 

Ann Weatherhead  provided an update on support for connections for the Homeless. She met with its new communications director who has agreed to share stories with the Club and TOE on how the Club’s support has benefited that organization’s clients.  

 

Augusto Mariane provided a brief update on the Brazil Global Grant and how it is helping to support medical professionals dealing with cleft palate cases.

 

Katherine Peterson announced that the Club Service Committee would meet Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. via Zoom. She also said that the Committee would be holding “flash walks” through the various parks of Evanston in the coming weeks, starting with James Park. To participate in the first "park walk," meet at the doors to the Levy Center at 4 p.m. this Sunday, July 18.

 

Joy Joyce  said that every Tuesday the Natural Habitat project meets at 9:30 a.m. She also referred to the urban agriculture project. Finally, she invited all Club members to attend the ELRC - Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group guided tour opportunity.

 

 

 

Jean Saunders introduced John Hewko to the Club and shared his distinguished background. John focused his presentation on where Rotary International currently stands and where it is headed. He recounted how he had attended a DAVOS meeting during which hypothetical pandemic scenarios were discussed. As a result, when COVID-19 struck, he had already prepared RI to be prepared for such a scenario and consequently RI has weathered the crisis well.

 

He said that RI is as strong financially today as it was before the pandemic, there having been a relatively small drop in membership (each 1% decrease in members equals an $800,000 decrease in annual revenues for RI). He said that RI has extensive financial reserves and that it had pushed forward during the pandemic and held a virtual, annual convention.

 

RI responded to the pandemic with 30 million dollars in disaster grants related to COVID-19. However, RI also had to suspend its polio vaccination campaign; polio persists in small numbers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

As for the future, John said that the U.S. proportion of RI members worldwide has declined. He asked, “How do we make our product more appealing?” to reverse that decline but without compromising RI’s core values reflected in the Four-Way Test. Membership levels in places like the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia have been strong. He contended that the pandemic crisis has given RI an opportunity to innovate and to improve the appeal of the “product.” 

 

In response to questions, he said that RI has done comparatively better than other service club organizations; that extensive resources are available online to help Clubs grow a diverse membership body; that while RI is not overtly political, it does focus on human rights and peace, two objectives that help the governance of any society.

 

 

 

Lyle Staab, immediate past District Governor

 

Augusto Scorza, member of a Brazilian Rotary club.

 

 

Rebeca Mendoza, RI

 

Keith Banks, Reba Place

 

 

Ilana Seligman, July 13

 

Karena Bierman and Albert Menard, July 17

 

 

Jackie Mack – 9 years