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Welcome to our Club!
Buffalo Grove

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Thursdays at 12:15 PM
Continental Restaurant
788 S Buffalo Grove Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
United States of America
IN PERSON 1st, 2nd and 3rd Thursdays of each month at Continental Restaurant during COVID-19.
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Upcoming Events
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Speakers
Business Meeting
Oct 06, 2022
John Notzen / CDE Collision
Oct 13, 2022
Recycled Rides
No Meeting - Bowling with Buddies
Oct 20, 2022
District Governor Bill Kmiecik
Nov 03, 2022
District Governor Visit
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Club Executives & Directors
President
Lisa Siwek
President Elect
Shawn Collins
President Nominee
Brian Shepard
Immediate Past President
Brett Robinson
Co-Secretary
Leslie Forman
Co-Secretary
Chad Waynee
Co-Treasurer
Shannon O'Connor
Co-Treasurer
Cathy Splett
Director
Steve Balinski
Director
Miriam Campbell
Director
Danny Moya
Membership Chair
Rob Seitz
Public Image
Melanie Santostefano
Public Image Co-Chair
Jason Davis
Scholarships
Martha Weiss
Outreach
Lisa Siwek
New Generations RYLA
Danny Moya
Web Site Coordinator
Dane Bragg
Bulletin Editor
Martha Weiss
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE Co-CHAIR
Dan Wolf
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE Co-CHAIR
Stephen Legge
Rotary Foundation
Thomas Kloepfer
Grants Chair
Nadine "Deenie" Pomilia
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Home Page Stories
Bowling with Buddies is Back!
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Thursday, October 20, 2022, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Bowlero
350 N. McHenry Road
 
Join BG Rotary and the Rick Kahen Commission for Residents With Disabilities for Bowling with Buddies.  There will be a Halloween theme and costumes are welcome! This fun event for residents with special needs is free to participants with bowling, food and friends!  Advance registration is required by October 6.

 

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Successful BG Day Events
Our Rotary Club had very successful events during BG Days with our Thursday night Bingo, booth sales of duck tickets, pancake breakfast to raise money for Highland Park Strong, and the duck race!  Thanks to so many who really worked hard to make it so great!  See below for the winners of our duck race!
Congratulations to the Duck Race Winners!
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Congratulations to the 2022 Duck Race Winners!
 
1st Place $1,500 - #1751 C. Herrmann
2nd Place $500 - #1906 Brett Robinson
3rd Place $250 - #2933 Jude
 
$100 Winners (10)
1. #3148 Kalie Svarnias
2. #1529 Gregory Lundgren
3. #1585 Brian Hicks
4. #1062 Rich Rosen
5. #0332 Lyle Staab
6. #2134 Doryce McCarthy
7. #0750 Ann Rylko
8. #1842 Harold LeVine
9. #2707 Marc Umans
10. #2411 Ron Costanzo
 
Thank you to everyone who supported the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove and congratulations to our winners!
 
 
A Message from President Lisa Siwek

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove Home Page.  Our club consists of a variety of like-minded community and business leaders.  We devote our time to fundraising and invest these resources in a comprehensive range of projects throughout the community, as well as globally.  It is a team effort of ambitious and caring people who dedicate their time to several causes while enjoying the camaraderie and friendships of club members. 

The project engagement and funding opportunities include:

            - Food Baskets (providing food for those in need at Thanksgiving)

            - Bowling with Buddies (pairing Rotarians with residents with disabilities)

            - Reading with Rotary (reading to young students and donating books)

            - Little Free Library (providing free books to the community)

            - Youth Assembly and RYLA (youth leadership programs)

            - Environmental Projects (local green infrastructure projects)

            - Guatemala Ak’Tenamit (projects to support and build infrastructure at a school)

            - End Polio Now (funding the worldwide effort to eradicate polio)

            - Community Grants (grant applications available April/May to non-profit organizations)

            - Academic / Vocational Scholarships (applications available second semester)

            - Exchange Student programs (opportunities to go abroad and host exchange students)

Our goal for this year is to strengthen our ties with local youth. We offer exciting leadership programs for high school students and can provide opportunities to learn more about their community through collaborative efforts.  

If you have an interest in participating in one of our community projects, don’t hesitate to contact us, or feel welcome to join us for lunch.  Please email info@bgrotary.org for more information or message us through Facebook at Buffalo Grove Rotary.

Lunch every Thursday

Time: 12:15 to 1:30

Location: The Continental Restaurant

788 S. Buffalo Grove Road

Buffalo Grove

Hope to see you there.

Lisa Siwek

President of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove

2022-2023

Successful Golf Outing with Special Leisure Services Foundation  
 
A big thank you to Culver's, WT Group and Mathnasium of Buffalo Grove for being our Business Hole Sponsors and Deenie Pomilia of ReMax Suburban, Chris Altieri of State Farm Insurance, Kloepfer Insurance Services, Inc. Kolbi Piper Marker Co., Schwartz Wolf & Bernstein LLP, Buffalo Grove Police Department, WRB, LLC Management Services, Weed Man / Mosquito Hero, Menconi Terrazo, Vicarious Multimedia, Hanger Clinic, Leslie & Gar Forman, Larry Kushner, The Law Firm of Neil S. Zweiban, Chartered, Appell, Bragg, Bound and Sleigh, Senator Adriane Johnson- 30th District, Lyle Staab - End Polio Now and Larry Reiner for being our Hole Sponsors for our Buffalo Grove Golf Classic on August 10, 2022! We are so glad to have your support.
Our fundraising events for children and adults with disabilities who participate in NWSRA programs would not be as successful without dedicated sponsors by our side!
 Our Club's Environmental Service Project May 21
Thanks to all of the club members and their family members who volunteered at the planting at Willow Stream Park on May 21st.  Our efforts resulted in the planting of 400 seedlings of native plants and 12 native shrubs - all before the rain started and scattered everyone.  Thanks to Jeff Weiss for planning and organizing the event.  Also, we received District 6440's Public Image grant that reimbursed us for one-half the cost of the hats and visors that Martha ordered.  We look official!
        
Award of our club's Firefighter of the Year 
President Brett presented our club's Firefighter of the Year Award to FF/PM Patrick Dinsmore.  During his 26 years with the BGFD, Pat has demonstrated an unwavering positive attitude toward both fellow firefighters and citizens in the community.
 
Pat has been a dedicated member of the department's Technical Rescue Team (TRT) for the past 20 years and has recently transitioned off of the TRT to allow newer members to become involved. He maintained his involvement while passing on his knowledge and experience to train others in various rescue techniques.
 
Recently, Pat has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the pressurized equipment for the fire department, which includes the self-contained breathing apparatus, associated accessories and OSHA mandated annual fit testing for all personnel.
 
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Pat is involved with his local VFW post. Pat was also an original member of the Buffalo Grove Professional Firefighters Local 3177 Honor Guard. Most recently Pat was selected to be a Guardian for the Lake County Honor Flight #18.  In recognition of this award, the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove will contribute $500 in Pat’s name, $250 to the Rotary Foundation, and the remaining $250 to a charity of his choosing,the Honor Flight.  Congratulations to him!  Here is Pat with Fire Chief Mike Baker and President Brett.
Thanksgiving Food Boxes
 
Our club, along with the Wheeling Rotary Club, organized Thanksgiving food boxes to help families celebrate the holiday. 

This giving effort continues to grow its reach by engaging more individuals and organizations.  Each year, the Rotary clubs purchase food boxes to be donated to local families experiencing food insecurity, who are referred by school counselors from Buffalo Grove area school districts and the police department social worker.

This year, the clubs jointly purchased 150 holiday meal boxes from the Northern Illinois Mobile Food Pantry, representing a nearly $5,000 investment in the program. Each food box contains a whole turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, potatoes, white rice, corn, green beans and dry black beans, as well as mixed fruit, cake mix, frosting and hot cocoa.

Board games donated by the Buffalo Grove Rotary Club will also be given to families with school-aged children, in addition to books donated by Wheeling Rotarian Rich Rosen.

The growth of this giving program would not be possible without these community partners:
• Garden Fresh Market, 770 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove: Donated nearly $7,000 in food to be packed into additional food boxes by volunteers and given out alongside food baskets on distribution day. The grocer is also providing $20 Garden Fresh Market gift cards to each recipient family.
• PetSmart, 20771 N. Rand Road, Kildeer: Donated dozens of stuffed animals.
• The Ela Township Women's Knit Club: Donated approximately 100 hand knit baby blankets, 80 hand knit hats and 50 hand knit scarves.
• Hillside Towing, 120 W. University Drive, Arlington Heights: Donated a lift truck to move food pallets on distribution day.
• Route 12 Rental, 1306 E. Rand Road in Arlington Heights: Donated a truck to move food.
Additional community partners and volunteers include: The Continental Restaurant, 788 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove; Kolbi Pipe Marker Company, 416 Campus Drive, Arlington Heights; Buffalo Grove High School; Buffalo Grove Police Department; and the Buffalo Grove Park District.
Dedication of the Ernie Karge Rotary Green Was On July 1st 
We had a great turnout for the dedication of the Ernie Karge Rotary Green on July 1st.  Ernie was a member of our club for nearly 40 years, served as president from 1982-83, and retained perfect attendance for the full term of his membership. For his commitment, he was honored as Rotarian of the Decade for the 1990s.  Ernie also served 24 years on the village’s board of fire and police commission and was the grand marshal of the Buffalo Grove Days Parade in 2005.  Ernie was a great example of living a life of Service Above Self.  We are fortunate to have his wife Joan, who always volunteered with him at so many Rotary events, as an honorary club member.  The renaming of the park is a great tribute to Ernie who gave so much to our community.
Rotary Supports Our Community with Mobile Food Pantry
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Buffalo Grove Rotary proudly hosted a second Mobile Food Pantry this year, in partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, on Saturday, June 5 at Mike Rylko Park. The first Mobile Food Pantry took place January 30 and was funded by the club and served 200 families. The most recent event was made possible by a generous, and anonymous, Buffalo Grove resident. The Rotary club provided 21 volunteers and were humbled to serve nearly 100 individuals in need of food. Cars filed in off of McHenry Road and drove through the parking lot in front of the Spray ‘N Play as Rotarians loaded food and other household items. 
 
Are you interested in making a difference in your community? If so, consider learning more about the Buffalo Grove Rotary Club and how we impact the world locally, and internationally.  Our motto is ‘Service Above Self’. Be our guest for lunch! Email info@bgrotary.org.  
 
Several Members of Our Club Receive Multiple Paul Harris Recognitions 
At our April 29th meeting, several of our club members were awarded multiple Paul Harris recognitions that acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation.  Congratulations to Dane, Ryan and Dan S. who became Paul Harris Fellows for the second time, to Steve K. who became a fellow for the fourth time and to Rob who became a fellow for the eighth and ninth time.  Thank you so much for supporting Rotary's humanitarian and educational programs.
Dedication of Rotary Pier and the Bench for Dennis Gilbert
Thank you to all of the members who attended the June 13 dedication of the fishing pier and the trees that our club provided donations toward, and the bench in honor of Dennis Gilbert in Green Lake Park.  We had great club representation and many of Dennis' family members attended who appreciated the tribute to him.  Dennis was a very active member of our club, a loyal friend to many, and he is missed.
       
You Can Help End Polio
Did you know that your local Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove provides annual support to the End Polio Now initiative?  Through local fundraising efforts, we have increased our contribution to $2,000 annually to eradicate polio on the planet.  To find out more about this global initiative and how you can help, visit the End Polio Now web page!