President Pinsel opened the meeting, Patricia Bleck gave the pledge, and Greeter Bill Taranowski led us in prayer. No song until Spring!
BRAGS:
-John McDonald bragged that Tom Gore set up the Zoom meeting.
-Scott Hezner is a new grandpa of twins. Too many Hezners?
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-Diana Servos has been a Rotarian for 10 years!
-Howard Jaffe reminded us that the fundraiser is 2 weeks away. 438 tickets have been sold!
-Texts will be going out to ticket purchasers about the after party. The back of your ticket gets you into the after party.
-Tickets will be available at our meetings for pick up and also at Mickey Finns from 4 to 7 on Fridays. Will call will be available at LHS starting at noon on the day of the show. Interact members will be working the will call.
-The silent auction will be previewed on 2/28 and will be turned on 3/4.
-The 50/50 raffle winner will be announced at the after party.
-We will be promoting the event in the Daily Herald and contacting friends lists. We are also doing Meta ads.
FUN & FROLICS:
Mary Cole did presidential trivia with very tough questions!
PROGRAM:
Today’s program was Megan Hill McQueeny Director of Brave Hearts, the largest healing horse program in the country. The center is a 501(c)3 and is PATH certified. They have 2 farms in Harvard and Poplar Grove. They are also the largest group serving veterans with horse therapy. Brave Hearts started in 2002 working with children. In 2007 they began working with veterans. No one is required to pay if they can’t. Veterans are their largest population, but they also work with Special Olympics and provide physical and speech therapy.
Brave Hearts has over 450 volunteers and that number is growing. They are adding new programs. They mentor veterans to be instructors and get them certified in PATH. They have 9 mustang horses trained. Horses help like nothing else. They reduce anxiety and allow vets to leave home and socialize. Horses look for leaders to form a relationship. “One year in horse therapy is better than 10 years in other therapies”. Every day we lose 20 vets to suicide.
In 2022 they served 870 vets. They have a total of 50 horses and serve 2 new vets each day. There are 9 full time staff and 30 part time. Each session costs $100 and is funded with dollars from Illinois and the VA. They interact with Gold Star families and have made a connection with Honor Flight Chicago. Therapy sessions were over 24,000 in 2022. They currently have 486 volunteers and if someone is interested, they can reach out.
RAFFLE:
-Daily: $22 was won by Rob Likus.
-Progressive: $75 (52 cards). Rick Mittelman drew 5 spades. ROLLOVER!
NEXT WEEK:
-Greeter & Prayer: Diana Servos.
-Fun & Frolics: Dave Ritland.
-Program: Carol Collier from Bernie’s Book Bank
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says: I’m possible. – Audrey Hepburn
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