Bulletin – December 11,2024
By Tim Dempsey
President Jon Robb rang the bell and called on Pete Govorchin to give the pledge, Rick Mittelman led us in prayer, and Doug Fendon, standing in for Dennis Kratohwil, included a history of the song Jingle Bells complete with the words.
BRAGS:
-Patricia Bleck is a grandma for the second time. Son Brian and his wife had a healthy baby girl.
-Steve Risley will be missing for 6 weeks starting next Wednesday. He is having minor open-heart surgery. Sounds like an oxymoron! We wish Steve a speedy recovery. Our prayers are with you!
-Elliot’s gift drive netted 611 gifts! He was in Florida last week and saw Larry David.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-Jim Curtis told us about an upcoming Christmas concert of the Lake County Symphony on December 14th at CLC.
-Membership Chair Doug Fendon has a goal of adding 3 new members by the end of June. Invite someone to a meeting!
-Howard Jaffe gave us a fundraiser update. We are still looking for sponsors. We are still working on the website. It should be up next week. The event is March 8, 2025. 3 former cast members are now on the main stage at Second City. Last year we had 71 items at the silent auction. We were down $23k from last year. We are looking for 3 items from each member worth $500. The drop-off will be at the Centre Club. Our goal is 110 items. We are running ads on Facebook, Instagram and Google.
MONTHLY EVENTS:
-Polly Grover’s birthday is December 16th.
-Anniversaries: Rich Babjak 34 years, Ron Lapins 15 years, Rob Likus 5 years.
FUN & FROLICS:
Patricia Bleck entertained us with a quiz about St. Nicholas.
PROGRAM:
Today’s program was Ryna Lee from Heart of the City which is a soccer club for underprivileged kids. They promote positive youth development through soccer in Lake County. They break the generational poverty by building life skills. Every child has an opportunity to participate. They provide safe spaces and teach respect for opponents. 77% of kids in low-income families don’t play sports. We have a system of pay for play sports in the US. Sports is a luxury for most kids.
Heart of the City has 3 tiers in their program. First, expose kids to their events. Second, get 5- to 12-year-olds in their soccer academy. Third, get older kids in their travel program where they can compete against others in their age group. In 2023 they had 1157 students ages 5 – 19 in their program. This year’s enrollment is expected to be 1500 students. They are based in Waukegan and travel is a barrier. They have satellites in North Chicago, Highwood, Vernon Hills and Round Lake Beach.
They attempt to engage the whole family and emphasize wellness and mental health. They conduct parental workshops. They expose students to college. 93% who applied were accepted. They also help students get athletic scholarships. The average scholarship is $9k. Their funding comes from donations and grants. They will host a gala on August 9, 2025, at Highland Park Country Club to raise funds.
RAFFLE:
-Daily: $29 won by Rich Babjak.
-Progressive: $246 (46 cards). Howard Jaffe drew the king of clubs. ROLLOVER!
NEXT WEEK:
-Greeter and Prayer: Tom Miller.
-Fun & Frolics: Mary Cole.
-Program: Engineers in Action – Ecuadorian water project.
WHEEL:
-Robin O’Connor spun the wheel for a phone infraction.
ROTARY MINUTE:
Rotary Direct is Rotary’s recurring gift program. Giving is safe and secure and can be done monthly, quarterly or annually.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Do not lay things too much to heart. No one is really beaten unless he is discouraged.” Lord Avebury
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