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It seemed like we had a similar crowd ! ... at our new approach for having one casual evening meeting a month. Though somewhat crowded, the outside patio venue at the Peggy Kinanne's had great weather and fellowship. We'll recall that one of the beliefs of Rotary is that through building friendships and acquaintance among us, we become even more productive in giving service to our communities -- relationship, trust and understanding help us work better together. An informal pole of several members said generally they were glad they had come and getting to talk and know other Rotarians better. They also shared some reflections/advice for our board as we move forward. As for this photo, it actually typifies the crowd at the two-day event which followed -- The Mane Event/Taste of Arlington. For a summary of sample comments and the attendance figures (including potential members), Read more...On July 19, 2018 the speaker at our Rotary club lunch meeting with Beth Mosher, the Director of Public Affairs for AAA Auto Club. AAA was founded in 1902 and now consists of 30 affiliated clubs across the US. AAA has 58 million members, which is 25% of all drivers, and is the largest paid membership organization and United States. AAA is involved in insurance, banking, travel planning, discount and rewards programs, driver education, and traffic safety.
The AAA traffic safety foundation focuses on driving and traffic safety for kids, teens, and seniors. The kids program includes a focus on car seat installation and safety, the school safety patrol program, bicycle and helmet safety and the new bike repair program. The foundation’s senior program focuses on keeping seniors on the road as long as safely possible, and the CarFit program that familiarizes seniors with the updated technology and basic equipment of cars.
The foundation’s teen program includes significant research regarding distracted driving, which has revealed several levels of “mental distractions”. Mild distractions include the car radio and audiobooks, and moderate distractions include talking on mobile phones. The most dangerous distractions include the use of voice activated texting systems. The foundation’s research has shown that these voice activated systems create, rather than cure, safety problems primarily because of the cognitive distraction that occurs when using the systems. AAA works with automobile manufacturers to make the systems safer. Teens are the most at risk group, and the foundation’s research shows that the biggest distraction among teens isn’t a teen drivers use of a mobile phone while driving, but rather the presence of other teens in the car.
More information can be found at https://www.aaa.com.
Thursday’s meeting was both informative and topical – our 2018-2019 President, Jon Ridler, gave a summary of club finances and led a discussion about changes the board plans to implement this Rotary fiscal year. Finances are remarkably good compared to years past: we have significant balances in our accounts. These balances have been built up in part through the change in member fining for charity. Other changes were discussed. Our Fine Manager of Happiness welcomed Happy Fines and tested us with summer fragrance of an entertaining quiz. For more of the club changes, discussion and the Quiz, click / "read more”..jpg)
At today’s meeting, outgoing/Immediate Past President, Jim Thomson (right), shared a heartfelt thanks, thoughts and looked to the future, citing the 4_Way Test as a guide. He cited recent club accomplishments of contributing over $18,000 to the Rotary Foundation through happy “fines” and contributions, our partnering with the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club to give $5,000 fight Aids in Africa, and support of the Breadfruit project in Haiti…”day-to-day, making a difference in the world”. Thank you, Jim, for your leadership, service and commitment to Rotary!
Announcements – remember, our second largest fund raiser, the Duffer Golf Outing, has foursome and sponsorship opportunities. The budget for the coming year will be similar to last year’s. The club board voted to pay a club member to be the Race Coordinator for our largest fund raiser, the Santa Run. This month’s “seasonal” Fine Master for charity, Jim Hassenplug gave us a chance (for a voluntary fee) to share personal news which makes us happy, and enjoy his Solstice Quiz. Due to the unexpected absence of today's speaker, Joe Musolino (left) stepped up and entertained us with "ice breakers" questions to get to know fellow club members -- Most awkward thing which happens repeatedly? Dumbest injury? Something about you we'd be surprised to know? Worst bug story? To learn the answers and details, click "Read more"..png)
The speakers at our May 31, 2018 Rotary lunch were Mike Kerley of Road Home, the Care Center for Veterans and their Families at Rush University Medical Center, and Danny C., a veteran and participant in Road Home programs. Mike is the Road Home outreach manager and described how service members have been impacted by the invisible wounds of war. Since 9/11, over 2 million service members have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 850,000 of those deployed have been deployed at least twice; 31% of those deployed suffer from PTSD or a similar war-induced mental health issue. As many as 20 veterans per day commit suicide, and between 2005-2009 an active duty service member committed suicide every 36 hours. The goal of Road Home is to provide the necessary care to service members and their families to heal the invisible wounds of war and reduce these statistics. One of the major programs of Road Home is the intensive outpatient program (IOP), which is a three-week in patient program that includes a holistic approach (including yoga and nutrition), individual therapy, and group therapy. The final week of IOP involves the participation of family members that will have the biggest impact on the participant’s healthy recovery.
Danny C. delivered an emotional message about Road Home that left us all speechless. He spoke of his combat experiences in Afghanistan and how those experiences have resulted in significant post dramatic stress disorder for him. In short, Danny’s life and relationships were destroyed as a result of his experiences in Afghanistan, and he has found that only Road Home allowed him to be able to start to recover. In Danny’s words, Road Home “saved his life.” Especially helpful to Danny was the education he received at Road Home about his symptoms from people who really cared, and even the fact that the Road Home chaplain is ex-special forces. Rotary members can help Road Home by completing IOP participant welcome bags (we stuffed 100 bags after lunch), volunteering for IOP outings, donating funds to host dinners at the IOP guest house, and donating tickets to area sporting and cultural events. For more information, see https://roadhomeprogram.org/
Ernest R. Blomquist III, well-known, well-regarded long-time attorney provided a “Conversation with a Criminal Lawyer”. He reminded and educated us about the constitutional provisions which form the basis of our court and legal proceedings. These provisions affect us as citizens…and help explain some of the legal proceedings and maneuvers we read about in the press, see in movies, TV shows, and including some especially significant events happening Thursday and this week in Washington, D.C. To read more, click “more”. 
lonsky, vice president and foundation chair presented Ron Crawford with a Paul Harris + 8 pin in recognition of his generous support of the Rotary Foundation. In making the presentation, Mary noted the many contributions that Ron has made to Rotary in addition to his financial support. He has served as Club President, been a key volunteer organizer of the Santa Run since its inception, and restored and donated over 1000 bicycles. Along with his wife Diane, Ron has also led and participated in over 10 service trips to Ak’Tenamit, Guatemala. 
wrote, Those who attended Mayor Tom Hayes' Arlington Heights' annual State of the Village address Thursday got a real-world example of what officials describe as a healthy local business climate, wrote Chris Placek of the Daily Herald Our meeting was held as part of a combined gathering with the Chamber of Commerce in the Metropolis ballroom, downtown Arlington. To read the rest of the story, click here.
Sushil Kumar Gupta selected to be 2020-21 Rotary
Since 1993, Rotarians in Chile and the United States have teamed up to provide life-altering reconstructive
A giant artificial reef in the shape of a Rotary wheel restores marine life and protects the livelihood of several fishing villages in the
Former first lady of the United States speaks at
