Rotopep for March 12, 2015

Posted by Paul W. Larson 
on Mar 12, 2015
 

Rotopep: Vol. 95 No. 37

Rotary Club of Evanston

March 12, 2015

Inspiration: Annie Coakley

Sergeant at Arms: Wally Bobkiewicz

This Week’s Program: ETHS Day with Eric Witherspoon, staff and students

Announcements

Prospective Members Applications Approved

The Club Board of Directors has approved the applications of four new member-candidates. They are:

Adrian Dortch, Owner, Dortch Wellness

Classification: Wellness Service

Sponsor: Paul Giddings

Jane Lawicki, Director, External & Public Relations, Rotary International

Classification: External Relations

Sponsor: Karen Kring

Mark Lowry, Director, Operations & Administration, Rotary International Classification: Non-Profit Administration

Sponsor: Gene Servillo

Elio Romero, Owner of Chef’s Station Restaurant

Classification: Restaurants

Sponsor: Tom Swigert

Other Club News

  • The EVENING Rotary program on Wednesday, March 25, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist John H. White, is sold out! If you haven’t reserved but want to attend, please contact President Paul right away at larsonpw@gmail.com and we will try to find space for you. White’s presentation, on “Peace and the Power of Photography,” will be from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Rotary International auditorium and a short reception will follow the event.

  • On Thursday, March 19, we’ll have our third hands-on volunteer day of the year. This time we will be helping Peer Services, which offers substance-abuse prevention, education and recovery services. On March 19, we will actually visit Peer Services’ offices at 906 Davis Street  to help them process a mass mailing for their Annual Benefit, to be held May 2nd,  that they need to get out...so be ready to help stuff envelopes and provide assistance in organizing this mailing. Again, this volunteer activity will NOT be at RI headquarters! We have limited volunteer slots for this project, so it will be first come-first served. Please let Kat Eiff know if you can make it by no later than Thursday, March 12. You can send an email to Kat at katherine@eobgroup.com. We’ll be on site at Peer Services over the lunch hour -- from noon to 1:15 p.m.

  • President-elect Wally Bobkiewicz represented our club at last weekend’s Rotary Presidents-Elect Training Seminar (PETS), at the Westin Itasca. Wally joined hundreds of incoming presidents from all over the Midwest for leadership training and orientation on Rotary initiatives and priorities. Wally starts his presidential term on July 1.

  • You can read a nice article about our “Building a More Peaceful Evanston” initiative in the Daily Northwestern. Click the link below:

http://dailynorthwestern.com/2015/03/05/city/rotary-club-of-evanston-offers-new-grant-to-address-community-violence/

Thank you, Tracy Tebear, for your work in coordinating grants for the initiative again this year and leading the Charitable Fund!

 

 

March 5 Meeting Summary

Visiting Rotarians

None today.

 

Guests of Rotarians

Brian Brown, guest of Paul Larson; Jane Lawicki, Sara McMurray and Lola Asensio, guests of Karen Kring; Elio Romero, guest of Tom Swigert; Adrian Dortch, guest of Paul Giddings.

 

Announcements 

Prospective Members

President Paul welcomed our new prospective members, Adrian Dortch, Jane Lawicki, Mark Lowry and Elio Romero. Congratulations to all!  

Club Website Has Been Updated

The club was given a tour of our recently updated website, which now offers expanded content about the club’s activities and about Rotary in general.

 

The website, www.evanstonrotary.org, includes links in the upper left corner for basic functions -- such as becoming a member, registering for an upcoming meeting, learning more about Rotary or applying for a grant from the Charitable Fund.  

New tabs at the top of the page include expanded content for all of our club’s activities and projects, ranging from PizzaFest and the Holiday Benefit to our International projects and maintenance of the Friendship Garden.

A very short video “commercial” about Rotary is also now available on the homepage -- for anyone who wants a quick explanation of what Rotary is all about.

Club members are encouraged to send anyone who is contemplating membership to visit the Membership tab at the top of the homepage, where they can download background information about how to become a member, including a downloadable membership application. 

Please visit the site and become familiar with it. We will increasingly be using the website to conduct or club activities and share information with each other. 

Foundation 100% Giving Campaign

Thanks everyone, for helping us achieve 100 percent participation in giving to the Rotary Foundation for 2014-15! Thanks to your generosity, we did it! Our giving levels to the Foundation will be significant this year, and that will help us NEXT year when it comes time for District 6440 and RI to allocate matching-grant funds for clubs. We will have access to more Rotary funding for the projects we support because of your donations. Way to go!

Mark your Calendars for District Conference

The annual District 6440 Conference is coming April 10-12 in Itasca. Our club will have car-pooling available for anyone who wants to go.  Please see President Paul if you are interested in attending. Some club members are planning on attending on Saturday, April 11 if you want to go for just one day.  

New Membership Policies Announced

President Paul summarized two important new policies approved by the Board of Directors this week:

Employer Representation Level

The Board has had recent discussions about the allocation of membership among organizations represented in the club. The goal for the club is to achieve diverse representation among employers, and to avoid having disproportionate membership from any single employer. The Board therefore approved a policy that representation by any single employer should not exceed 20 percent of the club’s total membership.

If an employer is at or exceeds that level in the future, applications from that employer won’t be considered until the employer’s membership percentage falls below 20 percent.   

Our club, which meets at Rotary International headquarters, understandably has a large percentage of RI staff. Under the new policy, RI has reached the 20 percent limit and any new RI applications beyond the two that were recently approved by the Board of Directors won’t be considered until the percentage is reduced. 

The new policy is aimed at and will be applied to all employers as the club continues to grow. The Membership Council will be seeking new members in as many sectors, and from as many employers, as possible.

Reduced Meal-Plan Pilot Project

The Board has also approved a pilot test of an option for new members that would enable them to sign up for a 21-meal membership plan for a total yearly cost of $564. This cost would cover meals AND dues. (The current full-year plan covers 42 meals, along with dues, at a total cost of $780.) This option is available immediately for NEW MEMBERS ONLY and will be tested for one year to evaluate its impact on membership, attendance, food costs, etc.

If at the end of the test period the Board opts to continue with the new 21-meal option, this alternative plan will be made available to all club members. If the Board concludes that the new 21-meal option has negative impacts that outweigh its benefits, it will be discontinued.   

The pilot test has been created as a way of providing increased flexibility for prospective members who seek a lower-cost option for membership or who may want to attend but not always have a meal.

During the pilot test the club will also be analyzing food usage and attendance figures to ensure we have accurate statistics on our food costs for budgeting purposes in the future.

If anyone has any questions about these policies, please contact President Paul. 

ETHS Day on March 12

Club members were encouraged to attend the March 12 ETHS Day celebration, which will highlight our club’s relationship with the high school and celebrate its achievements in the community. The club’s ETHS alumni will also be honored. There will be many guests at this special meeting. 

Save the Date for PizzaFest May 12

Dave Stumpf announced details about PizzaFest on May 12 and encouraged participation among members. As always, corporate sponsorship by club members is appreciated -- please see Dave or Gene Servillo.

Program: Kate and Caryl Drohan - NU Women’s Softball  

Kate and Carly Drohan -- twin sisters and head coaches for Northwestern’s Women’s Softball team -- were our guests on March 5, providing an update on the program at NU and answering our questions.

In their 14th season at Northwestern's helm, head coach Kate Drohan and associate head coach Caryl Drohan have built the program into one of the nation's best, leading the Wildcats to a pair of Big Ten Championships and back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinal appearances. In the five-year stretch from 2005-09, NU compiled a combined record of 215-77, reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament four times and became the first private school in NCAA history to advance to the WCWS semifinals in consecutive years (2006-07).  

The Drohans emphasized that the women’s softball program at NU emphasize leadership and life skills heavily, along with academics. Class attendance is a priority and the team’s grade point average last year was 3.4. Values such as integrity, teamwork and personal responsibility are stressed.

Parents and families are welcomed as team supporters and Kate humorously recalled the time early in her coaching career when her own mother came on the field and forced her to provide a big daughterly hug!    

The NU women’s softball team, and the Drohans, have been great supporters of our community programs in the past, including PizzaFest, and we thank them!

March 19 program -- Hands on Service Project at Peer Services  

Instead of our regular meeting on March 19, club members are invited to help as volunteers at Peer Services,  906 Davis Street from noon to 1:15 p.m. Please let Kat Eiff know in advance if you plan to help out at katherine@eobgroup.com. We will NOT meeting in our regular space and time on March 19.