Monthly Lunch Making is on Tuesday, September 3 at St. Joseph Church at 6 pm. This is followed by a club meeting.
Welcome!
January Lunch-packing for the homeless
February Wine Tasting Party
March Kinds Against Hunger Event
April Tour of Wilmette Theater
Building wells for fresh water in Angola
May Hope Walk for the Homeless
May Hope Walk
Memorial Day Parade
June Installation of New President
New President - Mariana Alfar
August Beach Clean-up
September Block Party Wilmette
September Block Party
September Trivia Night
RI President and Mariana Alfar
October End Polio Now
October Happy Hour
November Warm Coat Distribution Evanston
November Coats for Kids Chicago
December New Trier Choir Peforms at Happy Hour
December Holiday Party
Based on discussion at the Club Forum on August 7 regarding ways to unify our club more fully, we have changed the meeting schedule. Our new meeting schedule will take effect in September and continue through December. Both The Spoke and our website wilmetterotary.org , now have the new meeting dates, as well as event dates listed. We will have 4 opportunities to meet each month:
First Tuesday each Month: Lunch packing at St. Joseph's Church at 6 p.m.
First Wednesday each Month: Happy Hour at 6 p.m. at Wilmette Harbor Club in Gillson Park
Second Wednesday each Month: Noon meeting at St. John's Church
Fourth Wednesday each Month: Breakfast meeting at 7:30 a.m. at Wilmette Harbor Club in Gillson Park
Members have a choice of which meetings to attend, but it is hoped that members will go to a a variety of meeting locations.
A different schedule may be arranged for 2025. Any questions, contact Heidi Voorhees or Debora Morris.
Ben Wozney, Executive Director and his daughter, Shale, Jr. Board President, spoke to us about The Driven Foundation, which is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals and families with Special Needs and Disabilities. Their mission is to provide accessible vehicles to families with disabled children that grant independence, inclusion, and mobility in their communities. Our members went outside to view and step inside the accessible van that Ben had driven to the venue. Website: http://drivenfund.org/
Both Rotary meetings on Wednesday, July 24 featured an extremely interesting and thought provoking presentation by Todd Maxman, a Social Studies teacher at New Trier. Todd has done a deep dive into the history of why there are so few black families living in north suburban communities. His presentation included newspaper articles, federal mortgage maps and other historical data (from our communities' historical societies) from the early 1900's that chronicled efforts to force African American families to move from the northern suburbs and discourage black families from moving into these communities.
He presented a number of interesting points including a story about New Trier's famed indoor pool, Built in the 1920's, black students were not allowed to swim in it until the 1950's. Todd indicated that New Trier officials and school board have made inclusion and equity a stronger focus over the ensuing years, and are continuing in this realm.
Connections for the Homeless held a Block Party on July 20. It featured music, food, lots of of information about local non-profits and businesses, face-painting and pony rides. Four Rotarians from our club volunteered to help out. Kurt Zoller kept the long line for ice cream orderly; Frank Candioto, Frank Cheswick and Debora Morris helped with the pony ride attraction. One of the horses was named "Frank", so our two Franks took a photo with him. It was a good turn-out and well-organized.
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David Telisman, owner of David Telisman Communications based in Northbrook, gave an extremely informative and interesting presentation on ChatGPT. He explained the history of ChatGPT, how it works, how it can be helpful and the pitfalls to watch for when using it. It was an interactive discussion with David giving us live demonstrations.
Our midday group enjoyed a presentation from Rodrigo Velarde, Health and Fitness Coach and Head Trainer at the Michigan Shores Club. Rodrigo outlined the basic concepts about how exercise can be beneficial at all stages of life, and especially for seniors. He explained the benefits of cardiovascular and strength training, stretching and choosing an exercise that is enjoyable. He demonstrated some ways to increase balance and use progressions for exercises like push-ups.
Morning Meeting: Dick Farkas is a Professor of Political Science at DePaul University. He has over fifty years of experience teaching about Russia and Ukraine. He spoke to us about cyber-crime and cyberwarfare. He explained that there is no such thing as cyber security, despite what is advertised by companies that sell "security" software. The only security they can provide is from amateur hackers; the more sophisticated hacker can always get into your system. Ransomware has become a very lucrative business as large companies that get hacked usually end up paying the hackers. The best advice he could give was to be as unimportant as possible so you will not become a likely target for hackers.
Midday Meeting: Lexy Gore, Chair of Community Outreach and Holly Stevens, President of Community Animal Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.™) spoke to us about their volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization with a mission to serve the communities of Chicago's North Shore by fostering and supporting healthy, positive relationships between people and companion animals. They provide care to cats and dogs to prepare them for adoption. When some of these animals first come to the shelter, they were abandoned and/or mistreated, so C.A.R.E. staff and volunteers nurture and return them to health before making them available to adopt. They also provide pet food to help owners to maintain healthy pets. for more information visit https://www.
Seven Rotarians marched in this year's Memorial Day Parade in Wilmette; Jim Pockross, Mary White, Kurt Zoller, Mariana Alfar, Debora Morris, Patty Ohle and Brian Bradley. We handed out small American flags and beads with Rotary medallions (created by Patty Ohle) along the route. It is always fun and good exercise to participate in this annual event.
Our Motto: Service Above Self
Wilmette, IL 60091
United States of America