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Upcoming Events
Club Service-RI Cafeteria
Jul 13, 2022
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
 
Club Service Committee - Zoom
Zoom
Jul 13, 2022
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
 
Club Meeting: Mosquito Abatement
Zoom only
Jul 19, 2022 7:30 AM
 
ELRC International Service Meeting
on Zoom
Jul 25, 2022
7:15 AM – 8:30 AM
 
Club Meeting: New Member Intro's
Jul 26, 2022 7:30 AM
 
Club Meeting: Int'l Service Impact Summary
Aug 02, 2022 7:30 AM
 
Club Service Committee - Zoom
Zoom
Aug 10, 2022
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
 
Club Meeting: Philanthropy
Aug 16, 2022 7:30 AM
 
View entire list
The Light for July 12, 2022
The Light for July 12, 2022
 
By Kate Collinson
 
New ELRC President Kathy Tate-Bradish welcomed members to the first official meeting of the 2022-2023 Rotary year.   Myra Janus led the group in our statement of purpose before offering several topical Thoughts for the Day:  “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” – Ben Franklin.   “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” – Martin Luther King.  “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”  -- Desmond Tutu
 
Kathy then offered a land acknowledgement:  Evanston and Rotary International sit on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami, Ho-Chunk, and other tribal nations. It was also a site of trade, travel, gathering and healing for more than a dozen other Native tribes.
 
New Member Induction
 
As one of the first acts of her presidency, Kathy welcomed Jose Lopez into membership in our Club.  Formerly a Delta Waverly (Lansing, MI) Rotarian, Jose has relocated to Evanston and, thanks to Zoom, has participated in club and committee meetings for many months.  He has even successfully proposed a project for our International Service Committee.
 
Both Kathy and Ann Searles noted Jose’s past Rotary involvement in the District, and other activities and encouraged club members to “give him friendship” and make his membership useful and happy.  Jose, in turn, thanked members for the warm welcome he has already received -– and expressed his pleasure at joining a club of doers!
 
Announcements
 
Kathy acknowledged the mass shooting during the July Fourth Parade in Highland Park, a particularly sad and sobering event in our neighboring community.  Several of Rotary’s areas of focus are relevant here -- Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease prevention (epidemiologists believe that gun violence spreads like other diseases) and Maternal/Child Health.  As loosely discussed at the recent Board retreat, there may be a part for Rotary to play in efforts to reduce gun violence.
 
A consequence of the shooting that pales in comparison to lives lost and traumatized, but important nonetheless, is that the Evanston parade was cancelled and the public didn’t get to see the beautiful 100th Anniversary program.  The well-designed brochure includes significant recognition for our own Bruce Baumberger, a Grand Marshall of the parade and Trustee Emeritus with more than 51 years of 4th of July involvement. 
 
Among other contributions, Bruce streamlined the parade assembly process, coordinated a funding model change that made the celebration a more inclusive community event, and played a pivotal role in the virtual celebrations in 2020 and 2021.
 
Equally impressive, Bruce was honored recently with The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service award.  While the award was presented at the District Installation Dinner, it reflects the judgement of the Rotary International Board of Trustees. Since 1991, only 12 Rotarians from District 6440 have been honored in this way.  Bruce has played a pivotal role in so many areas – District Grants, the transition to Future Vision, health-related global grants in Central America, regional (Zone) Rotary Foundation Coordination, ongoing mentorship.  We are very lucky to have Bruce in our Club!
 
DEI Chair Clarence Weaver announced that a DEI meeting would take place today (Tuesday, July 12) at 3 p.m. 
Helen Oloroso thanked Kelly Fidei for her solicitation efforts on behalf of the Taste of Evanston, a major fundraiser that our club sposors. Helen reminded members that they might want to purchase local items to put into the auction (as Kathy Tate-Bradish did last year with an Amish gift basket).  Such purchases would support local businesses, enhance our Silent Auction, and leverage the opportunity to bring in more than their face value. 
 
Ann Searles introduced a visitor to our club, Jeff Snyder (Materials Science and Engineering professor at Northwestern University).  A resident of the neighborhood with kids off to college, Jeff is interested in learning more about Rotary and its service projects.  As he explained, with increased free time, frequent travel, and international connections (including an association with a high school in Ethiopia), he is looking to get involved!   We are happy you found us!
 
Bill Glader announced that the TOE Committee will meet tonight (Tuesday, July 12) at Linda Gerber’s home – 6 p.m. potluck dinner, 7 p.m. meeting.   Hope to see you there! 
 
Kathy announced that Kerstin Alischoewski is exhibiting in the juried Plain Air Festival, happening in Evanston from July 14 – 17 and sponsored by Downtown Evanston and Evanston Made.  For those interested in volunteering on Sunday at Fountain Square, please contact Kathy Tate-Bradish for more information. 
  
Roasts & Boasts
 
Albert Menard boasted Louis Allred, John Osterlund, and Myra Janus for participating in Saturday’s Golf Road Clean-up.  Kathy Tate-Bradish thanked Albert (and his wife Anne) for leading this effort and encouraging some analysis of the project.  It’s a great time to bring ideas forward.  Golf Road Clean-up positively impacts the community, but how do we attract volunteers? Would there be a better location for the project? Further discussion to come.
 
Ann Searles showed a photo from the Watermarks newsletter of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.  A number of Rotarians (Nick Powers, Steve Goranson, Bruce Baumberger, Kathy Tate-Bradish, Hillary Hufford Tucker) are pictured at a recent Adopt-A-Beach clean-up at Lighthouse Beach. 
 
Ann roasted her fellow Rotarians for their pre-meeting rendition of Happy Birthday.   Last, but not least, Ann boasted Kelly Fidei for joining the “old ladies, all in their 80’s” at their Monday-Wednesday-Friday 7:30 a.m. tennis sessions. 
 
Kelly, in turn, boasted Ann and her tennis friends for being so warm and welcoming!  Kelly also boasted Bryant Wallace for reviewing potential silent auction management tools for TOE. 
 
Yves Lassere boasted Kathy Tate-Bradish for hosting a wonderful backyard Board retreat with good food, drink, and discussion.  Yves also boasted the Board for allowing him to ‘manage’ them.
 
Kathy then thanked Yves for his efforts with retreat facilitation and the multi-year HIV prevention project in Kenya.  “Herding cats,” as they say!
 
Bruce Baumberger thanked Kathy Tate-Bradish for the recognition and acknowledged the many members who prepared for the parade.  It will be back next year, better than ever!  On the fundraising front, Bruce reminded members that we’re heading into a busy season with the Taste of Evanston (Sept. 18), closely followed by the Holiday Sale. 
 
Neil Gambow also boasted Fourth of July parade volunteers, including Gary and Katherine Peterson, Marv Edelstein, Kassandre McGovern, and Kathy Tate-Bradish.  It is no small feat to load 176 flags for the event – and then return them unused to their storage locker. 
 
Randy Usen shared the good news that his extended family welcomed a new baby on Sunday, July 10.  Congratulations to Randy and Debra on the birth of their grandson! 
Steve Goranson boasted Bryant Wallace and the Chessmen Club of the North Shore for a successful and fun golf event on Monday.   Steve enjoyed meeting so many members of the community, including some who had known his wife Linda from her teaching days at ETHS.  It’s all about the connections!   Kudos to Bryant for his active role in putting on the event.   The ERLC was happy to be a hole sponsor for this scholarship fundraiser. 
 
Clarence Weaver updated the membership on the Black Business Expo and Tour, scheduled for the coming weekend.  With concern for vendors and participants and out of an abundance of caution, the Consortium Board decided to postpone the event until mid-September.   More details will be forthcoming.  As Clarence noted, “we can’t operate from a base of fear.” 
 
As we think about the Highland Park shooting and its aftermath, we should not forget the many neighborhood shootings that don’t receive attention, GoFundMe campaigns, and federal assistance.  
 
Program: Club Assembly
 
Each member was assigned to a small, randomized breakout room of four people.   Kathy Tate-Bradish then encouraged free discussion, with limited note-taking and brief follow-up reports.
 
Breakout recap:
 
Rather than focus on attracting new club members, some clubs are now inviting community members to participate in ‘hands on’ service projects.  Those new volunteers may eventually transition to membership.
 
Several groups discussed whether our Club (and Rotary) could be meaningfully involved in gun control efforts (limits on assault weapons, etc.).  The escalating violence is out of control.  Rotary has historically been successful in bringing people together.
 
There may be a role our club can play going forward, but balance is important in all things.   it’s important to hear from all sides.  Even within our zone, there are probably widely divergent opinions on gun rights. 
 
There are no wrong ways to get involved. If people are moved by something and want to understand the world better, there will be peaks and valley in their involvement.  There is no wrong way to bring your heart into an endeavor.  Building on that, Kathy noted that “We take our Rotarians as we find them. Rotary is not the only game in town.”
 
There was some consensus that fellowship is lacking with Zoom meetings.  There are still opportunities to meet in person – for small service projects, committee meetings, Fellowship gatherings.   (Thanks to Katherine Peterson for developing so many activities last year!  These need to be continued, especially as the weather gets colder.)
While it may take some training, our club’s OWL technology might be helpful for committees that need to Zoom.  We may want to consider having a Tech liaison on each committee to effectively navigate Zoom.
 
Hybrid meetings have their place (and they allow us to attract amazing speakers from outside our area), but people enjoy physically being with other people. 
The Public Image Committee is successfully using a hybrid schedule – one meeting/ month on Zoom and one ‘in person’ meeting/month (with prior negative COVID test using the honor system). 
 
The International Service Committee, with its Monday 7:15 a.m. meetings, will likely continue with Zoom.

Guests and Milestones

Guest
 
Jeff Snyder, prospective member
 
Birthdays
 
Ann Searles – July 16
 
Karena Bierman – July 17
 
Albert Menard – July 17
 
Club Anniversaries
 
Horton Kellogg – 31 years, July 9
 
Carol Bild – 21 years, July 10
 
Jackie Mack – 10 years, July 18
Read more...