October 6, 2021 -- Special Zoom Meeting on Refugee Support Efforts and Visit to Block Museum
We have two events scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Members of the Club and their guests are invited to participate in either or both events.
Please remember that there will be no morning meeting on October 6.
Supporting Refugees at Camp Atterbury -- Zoom Meeting 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
A Zoom meeting will include a video of Sue Watson describing her experience volunteering to support refugees currently at Camp Atterbury in Southern Indiana (Sue Watson will not be able to participate in person in the Zoom call because of a conflict). Susan Fisher will lead a discussion of how the Club can best support these volunteer efforts to support refugees at Camp Atterbury. In light of the pressing needs to provide assistance, we believed that a special conference call among Club members would be helpful. The Zoom link will be provided to anyone who would like to participate.
Visit to Block Museum to View New Exhibition -- 6:15 pm to 7:00 pm
Meet at the Block Museum on the Northwestern University campus to view the new exhibition "Who Says, Who Shows, What Counts: Thinking About History with The Block's Collection." Admission is free and the Block Museum remains open to the public until 8:00 pm on Wednesday nights.
For more information about location of the Block Museum, parking and the exhibition see
blockmuseum.northwestern.edu
October 13, 2021 Meeting -- Exodus World Service
The October 13, 2021 regular meeting of the Club will be held at 7:30 am at the Harbor Club at Gillson Park and will feature Carissa Zaffiro of Exodus World Service. Carissa will discuss the efforts of her organization to support refugees in this time of pressing needs. Her presentation is intended to be a follow up to our special Zoom meeting scheduled for October 6.
September 29, 2021 -- A "Community Conversation" with Julie Wolf
On September 29, 2021 Julie Wolf, Chair of the Wilmette Environmental Commission, was featured in the fourth "Community Conversation" in our series. Julie offered an enlightening description of the development of the Village of Wilmette's Sustainability Plan.
Please contact Mike Bailey at Mike@mbaileylaw.com if you would like to obtain a copy of Julie's PowerPoint presentation.
Each Community Conversation provides an opportunity for one or more community leaders to discuss important developments the community. The Community Conversations also present an opportunity for those in attendance to ask questions and offer comments. Interested members of the community are invited to join us.
The Club usually will be holding Community Conversations on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30 am at the Harbor Club in Gillson Park, and also usually be available by Zoom in hybrid meeting form.
Regular meetings will continue to be held in hybrid form, so that members and guests can participate either in person and by Zoom. The link to the hybrid meeting will be emailed to members, guests and others within the community who express an interest in attending. Those attending in person are reminded of recent Cook County directives relating to the wearing of masks indoors.
More About the Community Conversation Series
Our first Community Conversation was held on June 30, and featured Steve Wilson, Executive Director of the Wilmette Park District. Our second Community Conversation, held on July 28, 2021, featured Anthony Austin, Director of the Wilmette Public Library. Our third Community Conversation was held on August 25, 2021, and featured John Jacoby with an interesting presentation about his new book Wilmette at 150.
The fifth Community Conversation in our series is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, November 3, 2021, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The event will be a panel discussion furthering the Club's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative: "A Conversation on Race: A Welcoming Community."
September 22, 2021 Meeting -- Karen Tollenaar Demorest, Youth Job Center
The regular meeting of the Club held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 featured a lively and informative presentation by Karen Tollenaar Demorest, Executive Director of the Youth Job Center. YJC’s mission is “Success for young people in the workplace and in life.” YJC is a leading youth workforce development agency in Cook County, founded in Evanston in 1983 and expanding services to Chicago in the last decade. YJC offers comprehensive workforce development services for youth and young adults ages 14-25, including job training and placement, personalized career advising, financial literacy training and coaching, work-based learning programs, career advancement supports for roughly 2,000 youth and young adults each year, the vast majority of whom are low-income Black and Brown youth.
The Club particularly appreciated Karen's interesting discussion about the steps YJC is taking to implement its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. Members of the Club look forward to opportunities to collaborate with YJC in that respect and others.
Other Recent Meetings
At the September 15, 2021 meeting of the Club members of the Rotary Club of Wilmette and the Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse joined us for lively and informative "Conversation Among Rotary Clubs." We shared information about the activities and goals of our clubs, and discussed how our clubs can better collaborate moving forward.
At the September 8, 2021, meeting of the Club Beth DeWall, Secretary of the Club, made a presentation on Pasek Garden, which is located in Gillson Park. Beth's presentation including an interesting discussion of the history of the garden, the various flowers and other plantings in the garden, and Club members who have contributed to its development and upkeep. Beth concluded with a walking tour of Pasek Garden.
Anyone who would like to obtain a copy of Beth's informative PowerPoint presentation on Pasek Garden is encouraged to contact Mike Bailey.
At the September 8, 2021 meeting, Club members also conducted a special election for our Club's President-Elect. The members of the Club present enthusiastically and unanimously voted to elect Brent Hendricks to be President-Elect of the Club, with his term as President starting on July 1, 2022. Brent will bring great enthusiasm, energy and new ideas to the leadership of our Club.
Environmental Committee News:
| Elmwood Dunes Volunteer Opportunity |
The Wilmette lunch club After Dark (RAD) group has a project to help preserve the native plants at Elmwood Dunes Preserve by pulling out the choke weeks that threaten the natural plants in the upper garden. They will be scheduling Saturday 10:30 am volunteer days and will welcome our club's support. Ben Ivory will share details of their next volunteer day. |
| Beach Sweep | ||
Our Club hosted the Springman Middle School students again this year on Saturday morning, September 25th. Chris Simcox coordinated the event with a truly impressive turn out of volunteers. Club members Ben Ivory, John Wertymer, Puran Stevens and Mike Bailey also participated. | ||
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Rotary Benefit Concert Held on Wednesday, September 29
The Rotary Benefit Concert fundraiser to support Our Place was held on Wednesday, September 29 in Wallace Bowl in Gillson Park, Wilmette. It was a lovely evening for "Coltrane under the Cottonwoods" and our Club appreciated the opportunity to participate in this event with other local Rotary Clubs.
Operation Warm Benefit Concert -- October 15
A benefit concert for Operation Warm Benefit will be held on October 15 at Valley Lo Club in Glenview and features Gerald McClendon, “The Soulkeeper”, with great ‘60s and ‘70s Soul and R&B music. Your ticket includes a buffet dinner and provides new winter coats to 3 children. The event also have a silent and live auction.
Learn more and purchase tickets or donate to the cause at http://tinyurl.com/OWBenefit2021.
A headcount is needed for food by October 8. This event is being organized by the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield.