President Marv Edelstein welcomed members to the meeting.  Club members recited the ‘Why We Are Rotarians’ pledge.

 

 

Zbig Skiba reminded members that our club planted 20 trees last fall in response to President Ian Riseley’s challenge. Together with the noon club, we hope to plan 120 more trees this spring, raising the $8,300 cost by ‘selling’ trees. For only $75, you can purchase a tree – for yourself, or as a gift for a friend or family member.  A tree could be the perfect gift (holiday, birthday, anniversary) for that ‘hard to buy for’ individual.  You will receive a certificate describing your gift and an info sheet on the type of trees (elm, redbud, river birch and three varieties of oaks) being planted.  You will also be invited to the actual tree planting in May.  Rotary trees will find homes in five Evanston parks (Eiden, James, Twiggs, Butler and Harbert).  For more info, please contact Zbig at trees@evlrc.org.   All are encouraged to participate in this ongoing effort!

 

On behalf of the Community Service Committee, Elaine Clemens urged members to bring a bag of groceries next week for the vendors of Streetwise.  She recently delivered food collected by another group and was struck by the vendors’ gratitude.  “Whatever we contribute will be used well and appreciated!”   Even an inexpensive trip to the Dollar Store can yield many worthwhile items (rice, peanut butter, tuna, oatmeal).

 

Marisa Naujokas thanked members for their participation in the Holiday Sale.  Floral products are still available through Anton’s. While totals are running behind our goal, it was a great effort.  Please try to submit your payments as soon as possible.

 

Kate Collinson explained that we are still waiting for a last shipment of Salted and Unsalted Pecans.  When they arrive on Wednesday, she will deliver them to those Rotarians still needing pecans.  She also noted that there are a few boxes of available citrus.  Please contact Kate, if interested. 

 

Kea Gorden announced that the next Vocational Service Committee meeting will be Wednesday, Dec. 20, 6 p.m., at a location to be determined.

 

Neil Gambow asked members to consider including our exchange student (“C”) in their plans during the holidays.  More specifically, on Sunday, Dec. 17, C and a friend will need to be picked up in Crystal Lake at 4:20 p.m. from a Rotary District Youth Exchange event. If you are able to help with this transportation request, please contact Neil.

 

Harold Bauer commented on several past and ongoing efforts of our club.  He encouraged members to patronize and thank Taste of Evanston supporters.  He personally experienced Books & Breakfast as a recent volunteer.  Lastly, Vanavevhu (Children of the Soil), a U.S. 501.c.3 that supports child-headed households in Zimbabwe and has received funds from the ELRC, just marked its successful fifth anniversary.

 

President Marv recognized the start of Hanukkah and briefly summarized the story of the oil.  “With enough dedication and commitment, miracles happen.”  Marv extended his personal prayer for health and peace to all members of the club.

 

Kristin Brown posted a slide of the Nominating Slate, on which the Club will formally vote next week.   Nominations are technically open to any members of the club.

 

Helen Oloroso announced that the next Fellowship Dinner will be held on Jan. 25 at a Taste of Evanston restaurant yet to be determined. 

 

 

Several of the morning’s boasts concerned the very enjoyable, well-attended Holiday Party on Sunday evening. 

 

Carol Bild and Helen Oloroso, Party Co-Chairs, boasted each other, their hard-working set-up and clean-up crews, and the membership – for the fantastic food and drink. 

 

Lesley Peters boasted Brad & Tiffany Weiss for their incredible hospitality. 

 

Kathy Tate-Bradish boasted the Dec. 4^th birth of TWO grandsons. Preferring not to have an ultrasound, Kathy’s daughter and son-in-law were shocked (and delighted) to welcome two sons to the family.  Gael Henry Bradish-Gonzalez and Miguel Pablo Bradish-Gonzalez are doing very well.  Congratulations to all the family during this exciting/exhausting time!

 

Ann Searles boasted Nick Powers and the others who offered to help with her Holiday Sale deliveries.  She also boasted John Searles who enters all of her orders.  Ann currently has an impressive 75 customers!  Ann also appreciated the upgraded wine at our Holiday Party!

 

John Osterlund boasted his wife Beth for delivering his hams on Saturday when he was unavailable. 

 

Linc Janus, selected to speak about his experience as a Rotarian, noted that the Four Way Test came into play when he was an attorney with Illinois Bell and its successor companies trying to “seek the truth.”  In response to the question “What don’t people know about you?”, Linc shared a story about a daunting (Outward Bound) weekend in Atlanta as a young man when he was given ten cents and expected to survive for three days on the streets of that large Georgia city.

 

 

 

Marv began the program with previous speaker Tusu Tusubira’s statement:  “As Rotarians, we are more often than not our own greatest admirers, which makes it difficult for us to look critically at the things we do and the way we do them.  We have become entrenched in our culture so much that the world we do good in is leaving us behind.  There is a need to wake up to reality before we are lost in a vacuum of our own creation.”

 

Marv then replayed (with perfect sound) the tongue-in-cheek video about the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast that was first shared last week.

 

Marv displayed a slide showing comments about 40- and 50-year-olds, posing the question “Myth or Fact”:

 

No desire for humanitarian service

 

No time or money for club or association of passion

 

Can bring energy and new perspectives

 

Will threaten value of senior Rotarians (majority)

 

Know all about Rotary and think we are stuffy and rigid

 

Have additional connections to community

 

Important to eat a full meal at every meeting or event

 

Want an opportunity to ask questions about careers

 

No desire to be creative with technology

 

Our club is very grateful for its members in their 40s and 50s!

 

A discussion of membership issues followed.  It was noted that while Rotary membership is lagging in the U.S., it is thriving elsewhere around the world.  Rotaract, Interact, and EarlyAct offer great potential for future Rotary growth. While there are 2,200 Rotarians in District 6440, there are more than 2,500 registered Interactors in the District.  (Several schools boast more than 300+ Interact participants.)

 

It was suggested that we make a greater effort to serve the youth population, sharing the value system that Rotary upholds.  Like groups fostering strong STEM/STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) efforts with young people, we need to start partnering with younger populations. 

 

Rotary membership offers a terrific volunteer experience, effectively training members to be stronger community leaders elsewhere.  While it can be desirable to seek younger members, other groups – such as the League of Women Voters – have wisely focused on those with sudden availability – that is, the newly retired.

 

Evanston is diverse, but our club is not.  Are there African-American groups we could partner with?  Have we asked TOE participants to join our Club?  More diverse membership is an appropriate goal for the Membership Committee.  When Northern Illinois University wanted to diversify, they partnered with African-American churches and congregations and encouraged groups (rather than individuals) to join. A significant segment of Evanston’s population is not represented in our club.  We are missing African-Americans, Hispanics, trades people, and others. 

Last month’s Rotary Youth Leadership Day, only in its second year, was a highly successful, diverse, youth-oriented way to promote Rotary and encourage personal international awareness. One of the keys to increased participation was engaging the adult sponsors of youth activities at the high schools. More feedback from the 42 participating students will be forthcoming.  Including those students in our tree-planting efforts would be a logical follow-up activity.

 

While our club does good work in the community, we get very little press. Improved PR could potentially boost membership. With Rotary clubs no longer attracting one member from each industry/segment, we need other ways to expand. Weekly speakers, RYLA parents, and Holiday Sale customers are potential members of our club.

 

Ann Searles’ personal invitations to a club meeting were responsible for MANY current ELRC members.  We all need to think of friends and acquaintances we could invite to a meeting.  Our club website has also attracted members in the past, but it needs to be current, dynamic, and varied. We need to showcase the good works that we do, the speakers we attract, and the fun that we have. It’s not enough to just post committee meetings!

 

We aren’t making good use of the internet tools (Google maps, Google Adwords, Yelp, etc.) available to us.  Younger visitors and residents seek information in new, tech-oriented ways. We are losing them as a result of our minimal internet presence. Even Taste of Evanston, a huge potential membership draw, doesn’t publicize itself or our club adequately. 

 

We need to ask “Why don’t our own children come to Rotary (in Evanston or elsewhere)?”  Attracting younger members during the years when they are starting families and careers is challenging, but our club’s own “young people” are well-positioned to direct us in this effort.

 

Chair Jean Saunders encouraged all to consider joining the small, but mighty, Membership Committee -- which typically meets on the last Monday of the month.  Because of the upcoming holidays, the next meeting will happen in early January.  

 

We need to take the best of the past and couple it with the best of the future!

 

 

 

Patida Phanithullawat, Youth Exchange student

 

 

Chip Uchtman – Dec. 12

Katherine Adams-Delgado – Dec. 16

Marv Edelstein – Dec. 16

 

 

Don Gwinn – 30 years

 

 

Astrophysics at ETHS: Gion Matthias Schelbert, Evanston Township High School