President Linda Gerber called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. on the dot with the ringing of the bell.

 

Chris Joyce read “Why We Are Rotarians,” followed by the thoughts for the day from the "Diary of Ann Frank."

 

 

Kelly Fidei: I would like to announce that this coming Wednesday at 5 p.m. is our first Happy Hour over Zoom. Everyone in the club has both an email with the Zoom link plus a Zoom invite directly from my calendar, which will go into your calendar.

 

Linda Gerber: On Feb. 17, from 7-8 p.m., seven Rotary Clubs, including Evanston Lighthouse, are sponsoring a training to become an upstander. What is an upstander? An upstander is a bystander who stands up against harassment and discrimination against marginalized people and communities. This workshop will teach us how to intervene effectively without compromising your safety.

In this 60-minute interactive training, we'll start by talking about the types of discrimination that Asians and Asian Americans are facing - from microaggressions to violence. We’ll learn what to look for. We'll talk through five strategies for intervention: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct. At the end of our practice, we will leave feeling more confident intervening the next time you see a problem. 

 

Katherine Peterson: She invites all members to a fun outdoor afternoon of camaraderie around a warm fire at Emily Oaks Nature Center, on Sunday, Feb. 6, from 3:30  p.m . to 5:30 p.m., 4650 Brummel St. in Skokie. We will have light refreshments around the fire, and invite you to feel free to bring goodies to share if you wish or just come prepared for the weather, and enjoy.  We are limited to 30 attendees so please register soon at: agingpotential@me.com. 

 

Dan Coyne:  Announced he is running for the vacant 9^th Ward alderman position.

 

Jean Saunders: Reminded us about the new Rotary program, “Rotary Connect,” that is in the pilot stage.

https://connect.rotary.org/home .

 

Chris Joyce: The RYLA program (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) has been approved with the first cohort scheduled for March. 

 

 

Harold Bauer - Boasted Clarence Weaver and his wife for their tireless work delivering food to the food-challenged Evanstonians each Saturday.

 

Barb Miles – Boasted her mother on her 98^th  birthday.  She is still living independently!

 

Sue Bova – Boasted her daughter traveling to Brazil and meeting up with a family friend and spending time with Gui and his family.  Gui sends his love!!  She also roasted her daughter for bringing Covid home – but no one contracted it while the family was quarantining.

 

Keith Banks – Boasted our club for supporting his work to secure Lot 1 for affordable housing.  He met with city officials in the Rotary building and was amazed at what he saw.

 

Clarence Weaver – Thanked the club members who attended the Northwestern Woman’s Basketball game where he and Wendy received the award for community service.

 

Zbig Skiba – Boasted his mother for her 97^th birthday and also living independently.

 

Chris Joyce – Boasted his mother for her 93^rd birthday living independently, too. 

 

 

 

 

In 2021, Eden Pearlman celebrated her 25^th anniversary with the Evanston History Center – beginning as Curator of Collection before assuming the position of Executive Director in 2005.  Prior to joining the Evanston History Center, she held positions in museums and galleries, including the Block Museum of Northwestern University and the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian. 

 

She holds Bachelor's and Masters Degrees in Art History from the University of Illinois, as well as a graduate certificate in museum studies, also from the University of Illinois.  She has been on the faculty of the University of Illinois – Chicago and Roosevelt University, teaching Introduction to Art History.

 

Like many other public spaces, the History Center, located at the Dawes House, has been deeply impacted by Covid.  That and significant roof storm damage in April 2020 have presented many challenges to the Center.  And like many other public spaces, Covid has forced them to pivot to more virtual events.  They have added walking tours highlighting significant residences within the city that focused on women in  politics and stories of black women.  These programs actually allowed them to reach more people and improve relationships around town.

 

The Center is now open for visitors.  Eden announced a new online database search facility which will be going live very soon.  She demonstrated it and showed us how to access documents including many from RI and the local Rotary clubs.  Note that Chris Joyce has volunteered to be our club archivist working with the Center to have our records placed in the archives. 

 

Eden reminded us that we can research things like the history of our houses by coming to the Center on any Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 1-4 p.m. and talk to the archivist, who will help you look up your information.  She wrapped up her talk with a quiz on various Evanston park locations and who they are named after.  We did very well!!