The virtual meeting was called to order by President Chris at 7:30 a.m. on the dot with ringing his bell, followed by reciting Why We Are Rotarians. 

 

The thought for the day was from Mike Merdinger:

 

Linda Gerber – International Service Committee. Three grants were evaluated and approved for funding:

 

 

Bill Glader – Taste of Evanston:

 

The TofE is scheduled for August 15 at the Dawes House.

 

TofE beneficiaries are Connections to the Homeless and Reba Place.  They will split 55% of the proceeds and our Club will receive 45%.

 

Planning is in process and is respectful of all the possible circumstances related to the pandemic protocols that may be in place on the date of the event. 

 

To help restaurants, a sponsorship of $500 is being considered where the restaurant will receive half and our Club will receive half. 

 

The goal is to raise $92,000.  Tickets are $80 for adults, $40 for students, and $10 for kids less than 12 years old.  

 

Mike Merdinger – There will be a virtual Young Leaders Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 24 at 9 a.m.

 

Jean Saunders - The spring season of drive-in movies is in full swing! Evanston Loves Rotary and Downtown Evanston will be screening Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Friday, March 26 at the Autobarn at 2201 Autobarn Pl. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 7 p.m.  And, you can support a local restaurant while enjoying this classic movie. Epic Burger is the featured restaurant this week. Meals are available for order when you purchase your movie tickets.   Evanston Loves Rotary has generously offered to donate proceeds from the moving screenings to the two Evanston Rotary clubs  The organizers are looking for people willing to assist with car parking. Please let Jean Saunders know if you are interested in volunteering.

 

Paul Brown: Chuck Remen Fund.  Chuck Remen was President of ELRC in 1998-99.   He was the consistent top seller in the annual Holiday Sale every year he was in the club.   As I recall, his yearly sales were in the $7K - $8K range.

 

He died unexpectedly in May of 2006.   Our club wanted to do something to honor his memory.   I was appointed chairman of an ad hoc committee to come up with a plan.   Committee included Ann Searles, Karena Bierman and Sara Schastok that I can remember.

 

Chuck was also very involved at the McGaw Y in youth mentoring activities.  We decided to raise money to create an endowment fund that could generate an annual gift to the Y for a “Chuck Remen Event.”   We raised approximately $20,000 and created the Chuck Remen Fund at ECF.   Each year the fund issues a check to the Y for the current year’s investment income.   In recent years it has helped to finance the Chuck Remen Memorial High School Work Weekend at Camp Echo.   The committee also arranged for the placement of a plaque honoring Chuck on one of the public benches outside Rotary International on Sherman.

 

Marv Edelstein: Reminded us to think about helping out with the young man earning his Boy Scout Eagle badge.  See his email from Monday, March 22.

 

Ann Searles: Sunshine Report. Sue Bova’s mother passed away last week. Sam Lovering and his wife, Joan, are doing better and are now able to walk around outside.

 

Linda Gerber: Two or three volunteer drivers are needed to deliver food prepared by Nakorn Restaurant on Fridays starting at 5 p.m.  Please email Linda if you can help.

 

 

 

 

Jerri Garl is currently a member of the Evanston Environment Board and chairs its Climate Change and Resilience Plan Implementation Task Force. She is also a founding member of Environmental Justice Evanston and the Watershed Collective, both working committees of Citizens Greener Evanston. In 2018, she served on the Mayor’s working group to develop Evanston’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan.

 

Jerri retired in 2018 after 34 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she managed programs including pollution prevention, municipal solid waste and recycling, as well as groundwater protection, ecosystem preservation, and innovative regulatory approaches. More recently, she worked on climate change mitigation from a material lifecycle perspective and served on the agency’s climate adaptation committee.

 

Jerri has a degree in geology from Ohio University and completed graduate studies in hydrogeology at Kent State University. She and her husband, Charles Smith, have lived in Evanston for 37 years, where they have raised two children.

 

Materials are recognized as valuable resources that can represent economic opportunity instead of garbage in need of disposal.  Zero waste goals are to maximize recycling, minimize waste, reduce consumption and ensure that products are made to be reused, repaired, or recycled.  Evanston’s 2018 Climate Action and Resilience Plan (2018) sets an ambitious goal for 100 percent zero waste by 2050. 

 

Although waste is usually considered 2% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, when considering the entire life cycle chain of materials, the opportunities to reduce GHG can be managed.  How are we doing?  Currently, we are falling behind.  More than 90% of commercial waste ends up in the landfill and less than 1% is composted.  What must we do to get to the goal?  We must cut our landfill waste nearly in half while simultaneously reducing waste generation by 2 percent each year.    

 

How do we do this?

 

Become an expert recycler and responsible consumer. Keep plastics out of your recycling cart, practice being a resourceful consumer – e.g. choose items that are made with recycled content, be creative with gift wrapping, buy local products, use a handkerchief instead of paper napkins and tissue.

 

Reduce food waste. Compost on your own or use Collective Resources Inc. who is a partner with the City. Donate unwanted fresh food. Participate in the City of Evanston Food and Yard Waste Collection Services.

 

Reconsider our use of plastics (the U.S. produces 286 pounds of plastic per year per person). Bring reusable bags when shopping. For carry-out meals, refuse single-use plastic utensils. Bring your own to-go container to restaurants for leftovers.

 

Support manufacturers who are taking action in Extended Product Responsibility. Learn to be better stewards of the materials we already have. Repair and reuse whenever possible. Donate useful items to second-hand shops and buy from them.

 

Cities across the country are building towards a circular economy: Equity Centered, Resilient, Zero Waste, Innovation and Economic Opportunity.  Are we next?

 

 

 

 

Leslie Peters – March 23