The Rotary Club of Skokie Valle is holding all meetings, including membership meetings, virtually. Committee meetings may meet via teleconference or video conference. We are following the guidance/directions of Rotary International, and all in-person meetings are cancelled until further notice.
Skokie Valley Club is following COVID 19 directions and guidelines given by Illinois Governor Pritzker and the Center for Desease Control (CDC).
JOIN US THIS COMING TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 FOR OUR WEEKLY VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM. MEETING RUNS FROM 12 NOON UNTIL 1:00 P.M.
AN INVITATION MEETING ID NUMBER & PASSWORD WILL BE SENT TO ALL CLUB MEMBERS VIA EMAIL. VISITING ROTARIANS WHO WANT TO ATTEND THE MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT JOHN JEKOT AT JOHN@GMPD.ORG TO RECEIVE YOUR ZOOM INVITATION LINK.
TO JOIN THE MEETING FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
IF DO NOT ALREADY HAVE ZOOM ON YOUR DEVICE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL IT.
OPEN YOUR MEETING INVITATION EMAIL.
COPY OR JOT DOWN THE PASSWORD.
CLICK ON THE “JOIN ZOOM MEETING” WEB LINK.
PASTE OR WRITE THE PASSWORD, AND CLICK ON "CONTINUE".
CLUB MEMBERS, CHECK BELOW TO VIEW WHEN ITS YOUR TURN TO PROVIDE THE SPEAKER AND FUN & FROLIC
Quintin Marx, Owning Partner of New World Van Lines
Quintin Marx spoke on the Effects of COVID-19 in the Moving Industry. He explained that the family business began in 1919 by his grandfather as Economy Movers. In 1946 Mike Marx fell through a wooden back porch carrying a refrigerator. He was a cripple the last 13 years of his life. At 15 years of age, his son Ed received an exemption to work the business to support the family. After 101 years the business had expanded dramatically under the leadership of his parents since 1951. There are now 18 locations on 3 continents. New World Van Lines specializes in corporate re-locations and works with members of the Fortune 1000.
Quintin is responsible for global operations from making sure that new safety requirements are in place and that his fleet has the necessary equipment and packing supplies for the job. Labor is assigned with the appropriate skills for each move. With the advent of the coronavirus global pandemic in March, NWVL was deemed an “essential” business. They had to change the way they worked in the personal space of a family to assure their safety as well as the safety of their clients. They had to wear masks, maintain distance to safely move their client’s belongings and to smile – hidden behind the mask, but heard in their voices. Often, the movers are the only ones the client knows in a new location.
Families find moving stressful and this pandemic laid on additional anxiety. The movers spend 4-5 days at the start to pack and 1-2 days at the destination home to place items, including a bottle of water on the nightstand, if that is what they noticed upon packing. Last year NWVL won the six major awards in the moving industry and are on track to win these awards again this year.
With their hundreds of employees, they have only had 3 COVID cases. There was no transmission from employee to employee, nor employee to client or vice versa. They have had to quarantine service centers for 14 days and move staff from other areas to help with the scheduled moves. In the headquarters location in Chicago, they had 142 workstations staffed and now there are less than 14 in the building every day. He applauded his IT department that was able to have computers moved to employee homes and to have the phones connected. Surprisingly, he found that his staff are more efficient working from home.
Nearly 100 years ago, Reinhold Neibuhr penned words that ring as true today as they did in the 1930’s – and as helpful in these uncertain times as they were over 90 years ago for those who are troubled, or who want to help make a difference. Neibuhr’s message urged us to “accept what we cannot change…. And to have the courage to change the things we can.” Isn’t that what Rotarians do?
In recent months, change has been thrust upon us – clubs meet virtually, fundraisers go on-line, messaging to large groups of people becomes possible with the click of a mouse – and Zoom meetings actually bring us together, sharing our home spaces with each other. This has been disconcerting for many, who hold tightly to the way we used to do things – and difficult for those who have not been able to jump on the virtual bandwagon. So how do we enable everyone to benefit from this cyber revolution?
We all need to think outside the box – get out of our own comfort zones – try something new and be willing to change to make things better for our neighbors – our neighborhoods and the broader world. Let’s use this opportunity to “reach out and touch someone” virtually, or by phone, connect, and be Rotary agents of change in this changing world
This weekly electronic bulletin is intended to keep club members, friends of Rotary and bulletin subscribers up to date with weekly luncheon meetings and other club activities. Feedback, (positive or negative), is welcome!
