Rotopep for September 10, 2015

Rotopep Vol. 96 No. 9

 

Rotary Club of Evanston

 

September 10, 2015

 

Program:  Professor Irwin Weil: "From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds" 

 

Rotarian of the Week: Guy Riendeau

 

Inspiration: Paul Fischl

 

Sergeant at Arms:  Mark Steele

 

Sribe: Fiona Mensah

 

Greeter: Michael Nabor

 

Greeter: Gary Bowen

 

Notes from the August 27 Club Meeting:

 

Visiting Rotarians:  K.E. Mehta and his, wife Uma, joined us for the meeting.

 

Guests of Rotarians:

* Tina Pingston, a broker at Morgan Stanely - guest of Paul Larson

* Yunxiao He, a statistician with Nielsen and a former member of the Rotary Club of Dougherty Valley/ San Ramon, California – guest of Paul Larson 

* George Mak, collections coordinator, Rotary International – guest of Dave Stumpf

 

New member proposal (first publication):  Tina Pingston, Broker at Morgan Stanley.  Classification: Financial Advisor, Proposed by: Paul Larson.

 

Wally Bobkiewicz opened the meeting by inviting Kat Eiff to give the inspiration.  She shared the Clown’s Prayer – a poem or prayer that comedians of various sorts use.  The author is unknown:  

As I stumble through this life,

Help me to create more laughter than tears,

Dispense more cheer than gloom,

Spread more cheer than despair.

 

Never let me become so indifferent 

That I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,

Or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.

 

Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,

Make them happy and forget, momentarily,

All the unpleasantness in their lives.

 

And in my final moment,

May I hear You whisper: “When you made My people smile,

You made Me smile.”

 

Wally then called up Paul Fischl as the Rotarian of the Week.

 

Born and raised in Evanston, Paul was a suburban league swim champion at Evanston Township High School.  In 1971-72, his team was the state champion.  Paul received his B.A. from the University of Illinois-Urbana and his D.D.S. at the University of Illinois-Chicago where he met his wife, Maria.  Paul was the president of both his undergraduate and dental school fraternities.  

 

Following dental school, Paul joined his father, Richard in the Evanston dental practice and he also taught in the Oral Diagnosis Department at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry for six years.  His wife, Marie, joined the practice a few years later.  

 

Paul has served as President of the North Suburban Branch of the Chicago Dental Society, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, and the Glenbrook South Titan Booster Club.  In October 2009, Chicago Magazine named him one of Chicago’s top 40 dentists.  

 

Marie and Paul have four grown children.  They live in Glenview.  

 

Wally then asked returning member Bob Loweth to come up to the front of the room.  Having moved to San Diego a few years ago, Bob has returned to Evanston and was formally re-instated in the club.  “We’re glad to have you back at the club… Welcome back to Evanston,” Wally said.  Bob accepted his updated name badge and anyone traveling there to visit one the many clubs – including clubs in LaJolla and Carlsbad.  “There’s a lot of choice,” Bob said.  “It’s a very strong district.” 

 

Announcements:

 

Streets Alive!

Stephanie Murray and Ada Kahn shared plans for our club to participate in Streets Alive 2015 festival from 1-6 pm on Sunday, 13 September down a mile of Main Street from Robert Crown Center to Hinman Avenue.  The street will be closed to all motor vehicles to promote walking/ biking and other activities in an area that is usually filled with cars.

 

Our club will have a Rotary tent and will offer face painting while conducting a 50/50 split raffle.  Tickets will be $5 each or 5 for $20 and proceeds will go to international service. Volunteers are needed to set-up the booth, help with face painting and sell raffle tickets.  

 

As Michael Nabors was not able to attend today’s meeting, Wally stepped in as Sergeant at Arms and helped run Orchids and Onions:

 

* Dick Peach read a note from former Evanston Mayor Jay Lytle sharing news of his cancer (carcinoma) diagnosis.  While further biopsy and treatment are needed, including chemotherapy, he ended his note confident that all would be well - and he looked forward to attending a world series. 

 

* Diane Krier Morrow shared that Tom Swigert is doing well and that the Soap for Water project planning was underway.  

 

* Kat Eiff celebrated that a longstanding project had been completed.

 

* Ada Khan was pleased we would be having a Rotarian going to see the Soap for Water project in Kenya.  

 

* Brian King shared that as part of travels back to East Africa, he is planning to climb Mr. Kilimanjaro from 25 September – 2 October.  To inspire his work, he is asking for donations for every 1,000 feet he climbs up to the 19,000 foot summit.  Funds raised will be split equally between polio and the annual fund. 

 

Wally then asked questions related to the 150th birthday celebration of Charles Dawes, Vice-President of the United States from 1925-29, under President Calvin Coolidge, and one of Evanston’s most famous citizens.  

Charles Dawes earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work in post-World War I reconstruction.  Following his tenure as Vice-President, he was the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London.  He is buried in Rosehill cemetery. 

 

Before introducing Brian King, Wally noted there would be no meeting on 3 September.  On 10 September, our speaker will be Irwin Weil, an expert on Russia, who will speak on “From Cincinnati Reds to Moscow Reds.” 

 

Membership Committee Chair Brian King then presented on membership.  Noting that 173,000 people join LinkedIn every day and that more people own a cell phone than a toothbrush, Brian shared that networking is not the only reason for Rotary membership.  Indeed, research shows the friendships made and opportunities to give back to the community are strong reasons why people join and stay in Rotary.  

 

Our club’s membership goal is 50 new members by the end of the 2015-16 Rotary year.  We hope to broaden our members among a diverse cross section of organizations throughout Evanston and target, in particular, executive level members from some of Evanston’s largest employers.  We are searching for diversity in every way.  

 

While Brian listed the names of the membership committee, he noted that membership truly involves everyone in the room. “We are all responsible for bringing more members into the club,” he said.  Dick Peach handed out the committee’s prospective member form for all members to complete.  The committee will also update the new member kit and membership commitment form.  There were a few questions including asking whether there might be a special membership rate for members who lead non-profits.  It was noted that the majority of our membership fees cover the cost of lunch so it would be difficult to lower the cost of membership but could be considered.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1:17 pm.