Written by Patrick Hart

 

Our immediate past president, Tom Zengeler, presided over this week’s meeting, and we opened with a pledge and a prayer. We also had our district governor, Kevin Stevens joining us by Zoom.  

 

John McDonald had a double brag.  He is celebrating his 54^th wedding anniversary, and he just returned from England to visit his son.

 

 

David Potts recently took a wonderful vacation in South Carolina.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Our club spring highway cleanup has been rescheduled for May 14, when we will meet at 7:00 a.m. to tidy up Highway 137 between Butterfield and Milwaukee.  Contact Pat Hart if you can volunteer.

 

On Saturday morning April 30 the club will be collecting electronics for recycling from 10:00 to 1:00 in front of Sunset Foods.  The used electronics will also benefit Blue Star in their efforts to help the disabled. 

 

 

The Rotary district conference will be held from May 20 to May 22 this year at Lake Geneva.

 

Bill Rickert is still accepting nominations for the club’s Service Above Self Award.

 

Dave Potts filled our heads this week with some facts about South Carolina.  The founders of South Carolina were initially trying to establish a place to grow sugar, but that crop did not fit so well into the local climate, so they switched to cultivating rice and indigo using large amounts of slave labor.  South Carolina is also famous for being the site of Fort Sumter which was the scene of the first battle of the American Civil War.

 

Our speaker this week was Donna Lee Gulley, a member of the Northbrook Rotary Club and the District Ambassador to the Shelter Box Program.

 

Shelter Box was founded in England 21 years ago and is now supported by 19 countries.  In 2012 Rotary formed a partnership with the organization to help them carry out their mission.

 

Shelter box provides emergency shelter and supplies to victims of large disasters around the globe.  When the organization goes into an area that has recently been struck, they send in trained volunteers to interview those in need of help to determine what type of assistance the local population is in need of.  They also attempt to make their purchases in the same area they are providing assistance to.

 

The founders of Shelter Box initially expected to focus on aiding victims of natural disasters.  However, of the ten troubled areas they are currently helping, eight of them are suffering from politically caused tragedies.  The situation they are working with that is making the news the most is the war in Ukraine.  The war in Ukraine has displaced about ten million people to date, about one third of whom have fled the country. Shelter Box currently is operating in Poland, Moldova and the Ukraine in its attempt to bring relief to these people.  Their greatest efforts are going toward providing water purification kits, thermal blankets, mattresses, and everyday household items such as diapers and duct tape. 

 

Shelter Box is also very active in Yemen, which is enduring an extended civil war, and where Ms. Gulley believes the situation is even worse than in the Ukraine, although the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is receiving less coverage in the American news media.

 

   

This week we had a whopping $28.00 in our weekly drawing, and $369.00 in our progressive pot with 42 cards left.  Steve Risley took home the $28.00, while Howard Jaffe generously let someone else go for the big money by pulling the two of clubs.

 

Greeter and Prayer:  Diana Servos

 

Fun and Frolics:  Steve Risley in place of Bill Rickert

 

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”― Margaret Mead