The Light for December 12, 2023
By Neil Gambow
President Bryant Wallace called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. on the dot with the ringing of the bell. He also read our land acknowledgment statement: “We acknowledge that Evanston and Rotary International sit on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as the Menominee, Miami, Ho-Chunk, and other tribal nations. It was also a site of trade, travel, gathering and healing for more than a dozen other Native tribes”
Jackie Mack read “Why We Are Rotarians” and gave the thought for the day: "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Announcements
Paul Harris Fellow/Bruce Baumberger - announced the award for Bryant Wallace, our club president, for his contribution to the Rotary Foundation.
Officers for 2024-25/Kathy Tate-Bradish announced the vote for the slate of officers posted two weeks ago and shown here. The vote was held with all club members in the room along with those on Zoom casting their ballots. The slate of officers was approved unanimously by acclamation.
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2024-2025 Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club
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Board slate
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Position
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Club member (*new in that position)
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President-elect
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Jackie Mack* (2025-2026 president)
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Career Service
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Neil Gambow
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Secretary
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Linda Gerber
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Club Treasurer
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Kate Collinson
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Club Foundation Treasurer
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Don Gwinn
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Club Service
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Helen Oloroso
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Community Service
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Brien Johnson
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Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging
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Clarence Weaver
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Environmental Action
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Steve Goranson
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Fundraising
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Don Crost*
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Housing
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Stuart Cleland*
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International Service
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Mark Werwath*
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Membership
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Jackie Mack
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Program
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Dan Coyne
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Public Image
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Allison Plyer*
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The Rotary Foundation
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Kathy Tate-Bradish*
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Technology
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Jeff Snyder
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Young Leaders
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Keith Banks
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Roasts and Boasts
Neil Gambow boasted his granddaughter, Linnie Grace Lamaster, for her engagement to be married to a 7th-generation Austin, Texan. You may remember she was a Rotary Exchange Student and spent her junior high school year in Paraguay.
Gary Peterson - boasted Steve Goranson for his haircut. That was referring to the errant email Steve sent out about a haircut.
Kathy Tate-Bradish roasted herself for signing up for the Bewacon Academy board drive and not realizing she didn’t meet the three-month wait due to travel to Kenya. She missed it by three days but will make it up at another location with Beacon Academy still getting credit.
Susan Prout boasted the 13 club members who came out for Bundled Blessings. They sorted and packed 16,000 diapers!
Program
Topic: Club Assembly
To support the idea of collaboration with organizations outside of Rotary, President Bryant set up the rest of the meeting time to have club members talk about other organizations they support and/or serve in some capacity. Two Zoom rooms were set up for those online and the club members at each table were set up to talk about the organizations among tablemates.
Some of the outside organizations mentioned were:
- Neil Gambow - Turning Point Behavioral Health
- Randy Usen – Evanston Chamber of Commerce
- Catherine Peterson – Joel Hall Dancers, Hosting NU Students
- Steve Goranson – Highland Garden Club of Evanston, Evanston Environmental Justice Group, Carl Yung Institute, Piven Theater, Open Studios Project
- Kathy Tate-Bradish, League of Women Voters
- Aimee Resnick – Be Real, Evanston Made, Clark Street Bird Sanctuary, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Open Studios Project (If anyone is interested in hosting NU students for a dinner or other activity, reach out to her and she will connect)
- Helen Oloroso – Evanston Bicycle Club
- Georgia Vlahos – League of Woman Voters
- Brien Johnson – Habitat for Humanity, Englewood Womens and Children Shelter
- Zbig Skiba – Conscious Capitalism, Evanston Park Cleanup
- Kelly Fidei – Armor Down Girls,
- Barb Miles – Evanston Roundtable
- Albert Menard – Karen Foundation
- Kristin Brown – YMCA, Camp Echo
- Jean Saunders – Evanston Grows, Thresholds (Mental Health)
Bryant encouraged us all to find ways to collaborate and leverage all of our actions to bring Rotary to a broader audience.
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