President Linda Gerber led the club in our statement of purpose, and Steve Steiber gave a (lightly edited) Thought for the Day from Tupac Shakur: “You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened… or you can just leave the pieces of the floor and move on.”

 

 

Linda Gerber – There is an upcoming free “Upstander Training,” sponsored by six Rotary clubs, including ours. It will be online on Thursday evening, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. Please register at https://bit.ly/BBRC_Bystander  An Upstander is a Bystander who stands up! We will learn how to be an Upstander when we see harassment, bullying, or intimidation towards another person. It will be facilitated by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago. It is free to all, including non-Rotarians.

 

Linda also announced that Dr. Alvin B. Tillery, Ph.D., will speak to all three Evanston Rotary clubs on Wednesday, March 16, at noon. Dr. Tillery is a social scientist, DEI evangelist, keynote speaker, and advisor to corporations, governments, and nonprofits. He is the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy and associate professor of political science at Northwestern University. He earned his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 2001. In 1993, he graduated summa cum laude from Morehouse College. His research focuses on leveraging the insights of the social sciences to build and expand the capacity of diverse organizations and social movements.

 

Tillery is also the author of the CREED Curriculum for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and is a frequent commentator in the national media on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. 

 

Linda reminded club members to reserve “Table 23” whenever we eat at Koi Restaurant. Community supporter and owner Sandy Chen donates 23% of the bill to the organization that has been chosen that month. Evanston Lighthouse is one of a number of non-profit organizations that benefit from this donation. Sandy also participates in Taste of Evanston, and in 2021 ran special Mah Jongg events that donated more than $2,000 to our club. Reserve Table 23 for our Community Service grants!

 

Susan Prout - Rotary's Bundled Blessings packing will be rescheduled to March or April, as First United Methodist Church, where the event takes place, has cancelled groups for the time being.

 

Ann Searles – Albert Menard is using a walker and is currently in an immobilizer – a hip-to-ankle brace that he must wear at all times, subsequent to successful surgery.

 

Keith Banks announced that Reba Place Development Corp. and Community Partners for Affordable Housing have a big meeting coming up with the city on Thursday.

 

 

Steve Steiber’s son, Jeff Bishop, has a young adult novel coming out July 2022. The title: A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy.

 

Keith Banks wished everyone a Happy New Year, and says that the best is yet to come!

 

Harold Bauer thanked President Linda, who always gives kudos to others, for doing a great job in the first half of her presidency.

 

Helen Oloroso boasted the Club Service Committee for managing to host a holiday party just before the COVID doors slammed shut; the only holiday party many people attended.

 

Myra Janus boasted her son, Alex, for his new job with United Health Care.

 

Pramugdha Chakraborty boasted Linda Gerber and Kathy Tate-Bradish for helping out during her pregnancy, hosting a baby shower, and continuing to help, since her parents live in India. Linda said that it was such a joy, and that we learned rituals surrounding how babies are welcomed in Kolkata.

 

 

 

 

Evan Girard introduced Mark Miller, a long time Evanston resident. Mark is a journalist who has held top editorial roles in Chicago – including as editor of Crain’s Chicago Business and deputy managing editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as various roles at the Tribune Co. for five years.

 

Mark contributes regularly on the topics of retirement and aging to The New York Times, and writes columns for Reuters, Morningstar.com and WealthManagement.com. He is also the author of two books: Jolt: Stories of Trauma and Transformation (Post Hill Press) and The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security (Wiley). He also publishes RetirementRevised.com, which was named the best retirement planning site on the web by Money magazine

 

One of the architects of the plan to reboot the RoundTable as a nonprofit, prior to serving in a leadership role on the board of the RoundTable, his other nonprofit experience includes service on the boards of the Evanston Community Foundation, Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Housing Opportunity Development Council, and he is a founding co-president of a social justice-focused synagogue, Tzedek Chicago. ( “Seedeck” is Hebrew for justice) led by Evanston’s Rabbi Brant Rosen.

 

Mark and his wife, Anita Weinberg, have lived in Evanston since 1986 and are the proud parents of three graduates of District 65 and ETHS. And he also became a new grandfather recently!

 

Mark gave a brief history of the RoundTable and founders Mary and Larry Gavin, who started the newspaper in 1998, having seen a need for a more authentic source of community news. They were right, and the RoundTable was very successful – free, delivered to your doorstep, and supported by advertisements. In 2019, the bottom fell out of the ad market, and it became impossible to meet the cost of printing and distribution. The RoundTable shifted online, but it was hard to see a sustainable business model.

 

Recognizing the importance of a good local newspaper, Mark got involved in helping with the new business model: 1. Membership – like WBEZ, people are encouraged to become members because it’s a civic good. 2. Major gifts. 3. Foundations. 4. Advertising.

 

Good strides have been made in the reboot of the paper as a non-profit. The editorial staff has been beefed up, the digital news delivery platform has been rebuilt, an important partnership with Northwestern’s journalism school has been developed, and they are funding a journalism fellowship on social justice and race in Evanston. There is a strong commitment to the values of diversity, and the board and staff are diversifying. There is a strong commitment to DEI. The Evanston RoundTable is making its mark editorially, winning lots of awards. Readership is increasing, due to important stories such as the scandal about the alleged harassment of lifeguards, how a TIF District might affect the Fifth Ward, and lead pipes in Evanston.

 

Two club members involved with the RoundTable reboot are Kristin Brown  and Evan Girard.

 

Reach Mark at mark@evanstonroundtable.com

 

 

 

Luis Antonio Guerrero Aguirre, District 4170, Mexico City, guest of Rebeca Mendoza

 

Jose Lopez, Delta-Waverly Rotary Club, Lansing, MI

 

 

Prasanta Chakraborty, Pram Chakraborty’s father, visiting from India

 

 

Willy Steiner, January 6

 

Evan Girard, January 10

 

 

Myra Janus, 3 years

John Osterlund, 26 years