President Brad Weiss convened the meeting.  The Thought for the Day was offered by Bill Glader, from Margaret Mead: “Always remember you are absolutely unique.  Just like everyone else.”

 

 

Kristin Brown announced as the Sunshine Lady that Kathy Tate-Bradish will not be attending meetings for a couple of weeks. Kathy’s husband, Bob, will be having pancreatic surgery this week.  He has had metastatic kidney cancer since 2010 and they assume the tumor in his pancreas is another metastasis.  Marv Edelstein said he had spoken to Kathy, who appreciated his call.

 

President Brad Weiss reminded us that the District 6440 Conference will be April 28 to 30.  There will also be a grants seminar at Harper College on February 18 in the morning and membership seminar in the afternoon.

 

John Osterlund spoke on the topic of ethics for Vocational Services Month.  He said that in 1993-1994, then Rotary International President Bob Barth’s theme for the year was “Believe in what you do.  Do what you believe in.”  John indicated he had been able to do that during his 25-year fundraising career at RI.  John explained that as a high school student he had been a member of RYLA, and after college had received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to study in Stockholm, Sweden, for graduate school.  John explained he was now the chief development officer for the Archdiocese of Chicago, with his boss being Cardinal Cupich.  He went from a large shop at RI to a small shop at the Archdiocese.  He has been a catholic for 24 years, having converted prior to his marriage.  He explained his faith is important to him and that he is a member of St. Athanasius.  John said as a development professional the donor is always right, and that Rotary’s 4-Way test guides him.

  

President Brad gave a polio update.  According to Rotary6440.org, there have been no new cases of polio worldwide this year as of 2/1/17. 

 

Brad also announced there will be a board meeting on February 13 at 7:15 p.m. at his home, 2725 Lincoln.  One of the topics to be discussed will be the Rotary Youth Exchange, a subject that came out of the Visioning event.  Finally, Brad announced that RI was looking for former Peace Corps volunteers:  both Kea and Linc were identified.

 

Zbig Skiba announced that there will be a Rotary Means Business meeting at the RI building on February 23.

 

President Brad reminded everyone of the Mayoral Forum on February 22 at the RI building that will take the place of our regular Tuesday meeting that week.

Dale Bradley announced for Chip and Dale, and Randy, that the Taste of Evanston committee was looking for potential corporate sponsors for TOE.  Dale wants members to send him the names and contact information of potential Evanston corporations that the committee will then approach about sponsoring the event.  He explained that there are a number of sponsorship levels:  a $250 level which comes with no TOE tickets; a $500 level which comes with two tickets to TOE; a $1,000 level which comes with four tickets to TOE; as well as sponsorships at the $2,500, $5,000 and higher levels.

 

Dale also announced he was hosting a coffee for Steve Hagerty on February 16 at 9 a.m. at his office,with coffee and treats.

 

Horton Kellogg announced that tickets were selling fast for the Old Man Jazz Band Event on February 26 at 4:30 p.m.  Tickets are $35; see him if you are interested.

 

President Brad asked John Osterlund to talk about the circumstances around the 2007 grant by the Gates Foundation to Rotary.  In June 2007, John participated in a well-planned 38-hour visit with Bill Gates during which the Gates Foundation was asked to provide a grant to Rotary to help end polio.  At the end of that visit while John was walking Bill Gates to his plane, Bill said they would be hearing from his people. RI received the entire $100 million challenge grant in a single wire transfer from the Gates Foundation in November 2007.

 

 

Linda Gerber welcomed back Kate Collinson from Cambodia where she worked with Habitat for Humanity to build a house.

 

Kristin Brown boasted Jackie Mack for hosting the new member gathering at her home. 

 

Ken Green boasted and roasted the League of Women Voters’ candidate forum last Saturday at City Hall which was held in a room holding 100 people despite the fact that City Hall has a room that holds 400. One hundred people were able to attend the event, while 300 people were turned away.

 

Sergeant Zbig Skiba asked questions on Inauguration trivia, which led to a spirited conversation about who was the youngest elected vs. inaugurated president. 

 

 

 

 

Beth Miles, joined by her colleague Susan Guana, spoke on multigenerational travel.  It is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry, as families see travel as a way for families to spend time together.  While parents and grandparents typically pay for the trips, millenials generally pick the destinations. 

 

Beth explained that many people have “bucket lists” for travel and these lists include everything from family trips to national parks to big trips to Africa, a popular multigenerational destination.  Grandparents see these trips as a way to teach the younger generation, allowing them to see new cultures. 

 

Her company plans “once in a while” trips when people want to do something special, and can plan for unique opportunities like an after-hour trip to the Sistene Chapel.  She and her colleagues can also plan deeply personal trips, and has arranged for some family members traveling together to meet with a local soccer team while traveling in Ireland.  Beth mentioned that trips can also be planned that center around rest and relaxation, while other more active trips can be scaled to the various ability levels of the different family members.

 

In planning for a trip, Beth suggested that finances and budget should be discussed with the travel agent planning the trip.  Realistic goals should be set in terms of activities, and suggests travelers should make sure you are working with good tour companies with good ground operators to reduce stress while traveling. 

 

She suggested cruises are easy for a wide range of ages, and can be arranged as a private charter or on large-sized cruise ships.  River cruises are popular, as are trips to Alaska and the Galapagos Islands.  An advantage of cruises is all meals and many group amenities are included.  Beth mentioned there are a wide range of tour companies she and her colleagues can access. 

 

Trips to Africa and Hawaii, as well as to dude ranches with many amenities, and city tours are good ways to vacation with family.  Often travel agents earn their fees by booking hotel rooms, but sometimes if they are planning complicated itineraries, her company charges an additional trip planning fee.  The benefit to using a travel agency is that through its membership in a consortium, it can get hotel benefits including free breakfasts, and can solve problems for travelers. 

 

 

 

Tom Thorfinnson, Eden Prairie, Minn. noon club.

 

 

Cassie Tingley, Outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student travelling to Finland

Luis Abreau, Inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student from Brazil

Martha Damerell, prospective member, guest of Kristin Brown

Joann Holman, RI staff, guest of Kristin Brown

Bill Caan, husband of Fran Caan

 

 

Meeting Set up: Eric Schmelling and Gary Schultz

Greeters: Kristin Brown and Paul Brown

Thought for the Day: Steve Goranson

Scribe: Helen Oloroso

Meeting Break down: Nancy Franzon and Joan Borg