BULLETIN – February 4, 2026

By Tim Dempsey

 

Standing in for President Gore, Steve Risley rang the bell, John Mc Donald gave the Pledge, and Greeter Michael Schachner led us in prayer. There was no song!

 

-Carol August bragged about her friend Robin O’Connor who was named volunteer of the year by Main Street. 

 

-Ellen Young has a birthday on February 14^th   

 -Rotary anniversaries: Yours truly – 34 years, Elliot Pinsel – 19 years, Diana Servos – 13 years, Kin Smith – 3 years.

 

-Howard Jaffe gave us a fundraiser update. We have sold a third of the tickets, 460 to go. He suggested that we find 7 friends to buy tickets. We are working on the Wine about Winter event. The lanyards for our badges will have a Rotary logo on them. We have a great cast this year from Second City. It is all about promotion. We need silent auction items. We have 46 items toward our goal of 138. Bring a bottle of wine for the wine pull and we have 17 bottles of bourbon for the baskets. Tickets will be distributed at Mickey Finns on Fridays. Buy your tickets early to get the best seats.

 

Jim Laverdiere gave us a Polio Plus quiz. There is only one country in the world where wild polio remains endemic!

 

Today’s program was Pastor John Kuhfuhl from the Chapel Care Center. They show the love and generosity of Jesus by supporting families in need. Their ministry aligns with the Rotary motto of: "Service above Self”. The Center is open Wednesdays, Saturdays and the day before holidays. They do not limit the times to visit. They are the largest food pantry in Lake County. They carry canned goods, meat, vegetables, dairy and bread.

The Care center started in 2009. Their clients are 60% Hispanic, and they started a Spanish language bible study. Their partners include: the Northern Illinois Food Bank, local grocery stores, Catholic Charities, Love Inc., and Ellis elementary school. They also have a clothing closet and do joint housewares events with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Their goal is to keep families covered.

They serve 160 zip codes and 30 counties in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Their top 3 communities are: Waukegan, Round Lake Beach, and Mundelein. In 2025 they were open for 103 days and served 30,000 households. They distributed 1.5 million pounds of food. They use the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s software to track their efforts. For more information contact Pastor Kuhfuhl at: jkuhfuhl@chapel.org.

 

-Daily: $33 won by Carol August who donated her winnings to the Food Bank.

-Progressive: $788 (30 cards). Tom Miller drew the 7 of clubs. ROLLOVER!

 

-Greeter and Prayer: John Mc Donald.

-Fun & Frolics: Scott Hezner.

-Program: Brett Weiss from the Weiss Scholarship Fund.

 

 We collected $272 for the Food Pantry.

 

-Howard Jaffe led us in the Four Way Test.

 

“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son” -Dean Vernon Wormer from Animal House.