President Brad Weiss presided at the meeting. Chris Joyce presented the thought for the day in honor of National Library Week, reading from parts of a National Library Week proclamation. Chris urged members to visit the Evanston Public Library.
Announcements
Linda Gerber presented two flags from clubs in the Mexico City area and spoke of the impressive work these clubs do.
Ken Green announced that the Community Service Committee will meet next Monday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Searles’ home. Ken asked that committee members return their tally sheets ranking various grant applications to Neil Gambo by Friday, April 14.
Bob Teska announced that Karena Bierman had received an appointment to the City of Evanston Ethics Board.
Kristin Brown showed a video on the Rotary Club of Richland Township voice drive. According to the description of the video, available for viewing on YouTube, “Using a personal computer at home, you record prompted sentences. After completing all 3,500 sentences your voice can be synthesized with the voice of someone incapable of full speech, such as someone with ALS or Cerebral Palsy.”
Don Gwinn announced that he had placed sign up sheets to order Good Coffee for Good from Guatemala. The coffee is $12 per one-pound bag. Don, who serves as the club treasurer, also reminded members to pay their quarterly dues. Finally, he said that April 28 and 29 are the dates for Rebuilding Together. The Rebuilding home is located at 1127 Sherman.
Marv Edelstein wished everyone a happy Passover and Easter. He said that RYLA had a successful retreat last weekend. Four club members attended part of the retreat: Brad, Bob, Neil Gambow, and Charlotta Koppanyi. Four people from Rotary International also attended.
Zbig Skiba announced that on April 26, a business networking event will be taking place in Rolling Meadows. Please see Zbig for more information.
Helen Oloroso announced an upcoming fellowship dinner on Wednesday, April 26.
Roasts & Boasts
Chuck Bartling boasted himself for having gone on line and edited an article on Evanston Now about Karena Bierman and her Ethics Board appointment to include a reference to her membership in the Club.
John Heimbaugh boasted the Evanston girls soccer team.
Program
Right To Be Free, Lori Dillon
Harold Bauer introduced our speaker, Lori Dillon, the founder and president of Right To Be Free. Lori described the means by which human traffickers in Ghana recruit children through force and threats for the purpose of exploiting them for profit.
She distinguished human trafficking from human smuggling, with the latter involving informed consent when adults are involved. She estimated that human trafficking generates $150 billion in annual profits, takes place in virtually every country in the world, and enslaves an estimated 49 million children and women.
She said that human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, with only drug smuggling exceeding trafficking in terms of financial gain for the perpetrators. Lori showed a video depicting the rescue of children in the Lake Volta region of Ghana and their rehabilitation and gratitude for having been rescued.
Brad thanked Lori and presented a book to the Evanston Public Library in honor of her work, “What Slaveholders Think: How Contemporary Perpetrators Rationalize What They Do,” by Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick.
Lori Dillon and Brad Weiss
Guests and Milestones
Visiting Rotarians
Joe Keffling and Susan Keffling, Kentville, Nova Scotia Canada
Jeri Fujimoto, District 5150
Ron Gin, District 5150, San Francisco
Jayne Hulbert, District 5150, San Francisco
Gene Duffy, District 5150,
San Francisco,
Elva Heyse, Halifax, District 7820
Greg Caldwell, New Minas, District 7820
Carolyn Ferguson, RI staff
Tom McCaughy, District 7820
Mary Bak, Assistant District Governor, Glenview Sunrise
Other Guests
Betsy Hohman, prospective member, guest of Jackie Mack
Holly Halliday, prospective member
Katherine Reesh, guest of Bill Glader; Katherine will be doing publicity for the Taste of Evanston
Lori Dillon, Right to be Free, speaker
Luiz Abreu and Cassie Tingley, exchange students
Anniversary
Bill Vernon, 14 years
Birthday
Ken Green, April 16
Meeting Assignments for April 18
Set-up: Chuck Bartling and Harold Bauer
Greeters: John Heimbaugh and Chris Joyce
Thought for the Day: Horton Kellogg
Scribe: Kate Collinson
Break-down: Sam Lovering and Jackie Mack