Past and Upcoming Club Programs

Club Services Director Stacy Kelly has planned for a number of outside speakers and in-house presenters. Please remember that club meetings have returned to our hybrid format and include the opportunity to participate in person at Maldaners or online via Webex.  
 
May 2: More Paul Harris Fellow Recognition and a 50-50 Drawing
We did not have an outside speaker for our May 2 program, but we had an enjoyable evening recognizing the generosity of our members and raising monies  for college scholarships through our 50-50 Drawing.
 
Our International Foundation Chair Harry Mitchell (image to left) presented more Paul Harris Fellow pins to club members that were not distributed at our Annual Foundation Dinner. He presented Barry Tobias and Randy Erford with Paul Harris Fellow  +2 pins. Two additional pin recipients were both participating online. With a little help from "pointers" Randy and Barry, Harry presented Marty Michelson with a Paul Harris Fellow +5 pin and Roger Randolph with a Paul Fellow +3 pin (image below). A Paul Harris Fellow pin is presented when a donor gives $1000, each of the plus numbers indicates the gifting of an additional $1000 that is marked by a precious stone. We thank all of these members for their generosity. 
 
 
Barry Tobias stood in for Vicki "Vanna" Megginson for the 50-50 drawing. Proceeds from the 50-50 drawing help support club scholarships for UIS and Lincoln Land Community College. We have creatively modified the process for the drawing to accommodate our online participants. Participants buy chances to draw a card and are assigned blocks of numbers. A random number generator is used to select the lucky numbers. Three club members had the lucky numbers and had opportunities to try to draw the winning card. John Loftus, Sheila Mack, and Jim Applegate (images below) all failed to draw the winning card, and Sheila had two chances! They followed our long-standing club tradition of being 50-50 losers. The three images capture what a generous Rotarian loser looks like.
 
Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith (image below) keeps track of all the participants and assigns the blocks of numbers in the 50-50 drawing, and is of course happy because every time someone loses, which is most of the time, we make more monies for the scholarship program.
 
 
 
May 16:  Lashonda Fitch, Director of Oak Ridge Cemetery, will present The History of Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Lashonda Fitch is the 20th Director and Certified Cemeterian of Oak Ridge Cemetery. Oak Ridge is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln and one of the most visited cemeteries in the nation. Since inception, Oak Ridge has been owned and operated by the City of Springfield, Il. In addition, Oak Ridge encompasses 180 acres, has over 77,000 interments, and is home to the two public mausoleums in Sangamon County.  

Lashonda an accomplished leader, business professional, and trail blazer. She enjoys meeting new people, learning new skills, and is passionate about haring her knowledge and educating others.

Lashonda understands the importance of serving the community. For three years, she served as the board Secretary for the largest home owners association in Springfield, Twin Lakes. She is a past recipient of the Springfield Business Journal’s 40 under 40, and numerous Springfield Chamber ambassador awards.  In addition, she served on the Local First board, the Illinois Women in Leadership board, and served as a Springfield Chamber ambassador for four years.

Currently, she is studying as a National Academy of Sports Medicine, Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach. She is a member of a League of Our Own, Toastmasters, a licensed real estate professional for the state of Illinois, a Certified Les Mills Body Pump instructor, a member of the Fresh Visions Community Church Health and Wellness committee, and the co-leader of the Fresh Visions Community Church Financial Ministry Committee.

In her spare time, she enjoys time on the deck with her husband, walks in the park, coloring, listening to audio books, and when weather permits, she averages 120 miles on the local bike trails each month. You can learn more about her story on her linked in profile.

If you have suggestions for future speakers, please let Stacy Kelly know.