Last week Martha gave her Member Moment and Eric quizzed us about history of the BG Fire Department during Fun N Frolics. Jeff Weiss told us about the work that OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership does in 550 Interfaith Peacemaker Teams in 14 countries by building relationships across differences in religion, ethniciuty and politics. Through consistent, incremental wins, communities strengthen their collective power, expand their capacity to take on larger challenges, and shift public perception toward peaaceful collaboration. Jeff raised the possibility of our club joining with a club in Monrovia Liberia for a global grant to help subsistence farmers increase productivity of their new community rice farms.
Thanks to boat captains Stephen and Rob for taking our members out on the Chain of Lakes on a beautiful Friday afternoon and to Stephen and Jeannette for hosting a get together afterwards. Fun times!
Thank you to the members who are volunteering their time to attend other Rotary clubs to sell duck race tickets and to the 12 members who volunteered this past weekend to sell in front of Sunset Foods in Long Grove, where $950 was taken in for our fundriaser!
Our club committee of Martha, Juliet and Cass are meeting with members of the Arlington Heights Club (the lead club), and the Palatine and River Cities Clubs to plan our walk on October 24, 2026 at 10 am when Rotarians from Zones 25b & 29 will be participating in the World's Largest Polio Walk. District 6440 is encouraging us to be a part of this event with 22 other districts across 13 states and two countries. This will be a fun comunity walk at Lake Arlington to raise awareness of Rotary's End Polio Now campaign and to fundraise for it.
The Buffalo Grove Fire Department (BGFD) proudly participates in the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance’s “Be Alarmed!” program, offering free smoke detector installations to all residents of the Village of Buffalo Grove. As part of this statewide initiative, BGFD installs 10-year sealed lithium battery smoke alarms, designed to provide long‑term, tamper-resistant protection in the home.
Stephen and Dan are excited to announce the dates for the next Ak’ Tenamit project: The trip will be Saturday, February 20 through Tuesday, March 2, 2027.
Buffalo Grove Rotarians (and family members) will have priority until May 31, 2026. After that, space will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.
BG Rotarians making their first trip to Ak’ Tenamit are eligible for a club subsidy of up to $1500. Please contact Stephen or Dan to reserve your spot!
Community Services and Wellness Fair -Sunday, August 23, 2026, 7:30 am to 12:30 pm, Mike Rylko Community Park, near the Buffalo Grove Farmers Market. We will have a Rotary table there and a lot of our grant recipients will be there. Please consider giving blood that will save lives. Walk-ins welcome.
Green Fair - Sunday, September 20 - Mike Rylko Community Park, near the farmers market, 7:30 am to noon
Martha will be doing signups for shifts for these events. Thank you for helping out!
For your calendar - Bowlero with the Village's Rick Kahen Commission for Residents with Disabilities - October 29, 2026 (Thursday), 6:00 - 8:00
For your calendar - Omni - Hey Nonny - Trivia Night Tuesday November 3rd .
Sign-up lists are now open for our Duck Race site sales and all Buffalo Grove Days volunteer opportunities! Please take a look and sign up for a shift, or two, or three! We need lots of hands to make this a success.
**Duck Race Site Sales (ahead of BG Days)**
Buffalo Grove Farmers Market: Sunday, Aug 23 & Sunday, Aug 30
Every shift helps! Whether it's an hour or a whole day, we appreciate you pitching in. Thanks in advance for supporting the club and making this year's Duck Race and Buffalo Grove Days a great one!
Greeter: Tyler Grace Pledge: Stephen Legge 4-Way Test: Park District Corp. Thought of the Day: Brian Shepard Ricky D. Joke: Shannon O’Connor Member Moment: Dan Schimmel Fun & Frolics: Eric Smith
August 27, 2026
Greeter: Joan Karge Pledge: Jerry Levy 4-Way Test: Deenie Pomilia Thought of the Day: Lisa Siwek Ricky D. Joke: Tara Kelly Member Moment: Rob Seitz Fun & Frolics: Denny Snyder
