By Tim Dempsey

 

President Rich Schoeneman opened the meeting with Patricia Bleck giving the Pledge, Bill Rickert leading us in prayer and Song Meister Dennis Kratohwil conducting a rendition of “Zipadee Doo Dah”.

BRAGS:
-Steve Risley went on his first Honor Flight in 2 years last week.

-Pat Schwartz moved out of his house in Libertyville after 16 years. No more Illinois real estate taxes!

-Polly Grover’s daughter got married recently after a 10-year courtship.

 

-Larry Neal’s oldest moved out Sunday. He is now officially an empty nester.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-Tom Gore has been a Rotarian for one year and John McDonald has been a member for 5 years.

 

-The District Conference for 2022 will be held at the Grand Geneva. The District needs volunteers for the planning committee.

 

-Next week we will pass the hat for the Food Bank.

 

-There will be no meeting on the last Wednesday of September. We will have a packing event in the evening at Feed my Starving Children followed by a social gathering.

 

-The Northshore Wine Tasting will take place on 10/2 and 10/9 at Main Street Social. Each event will be limited to 125 attendees. Cost is $200 per couple with a $75 credit for wine purchased. There will be a 50/50 raffle. 58 tickets sold so far.

 

FUN & FROLICS:
-Tom Stanczyk quizzed us about the rivalry between Milwaukee and Chicago.

 

PROGRAM:
Today’s program was the final distribution of checks to the charities we support. We helped 31 organizations this year.

The first group was the Art Impact Project represented by Vickie Marasco and Beth McKenna. The Project designs and facilitates art projects for those with emotional difficulties as well as a prison inmate program.

 

Next was Maria Siever and Joshua Fulcher from Beacon Place. Beacon Place operates a community center in Waukegan that helps immigrants. They offer a summer school to 90 kids.

 

Elise Mastrodonato and Joe Biogni from Gigi’s Playhouse told us about their program for individuals with down syndrome formed in 2019. They offer free education programs, one on one tutoring and virtual programming. They are a second home for social gatherings and child acceptance.

 

Scott Mitchell told us about Samaracare. They are a 50 year program addressing psycho therapy and mental health issues. Their programs are accessible to all, even those who can’t afford it. They recently merged with Samaratan Place in Naperville. They will serve 650 clients this year.

 

Next was Elise Stefle from Special Gifts Theatre. They conduct an arts program for the intellectually disabled. They emphasize ability not disability. They have 17 students using the theatre in the Copeland Manor School. They do short movies vs a live performance.

 

Tom Daly represented Great Lakes Adaptive Sports. GLASA provides competitive recreational programs for students with disabilities. They have 3 people in Tokyo competing in the Special Olympics. They serve 1500 athletes in Libertyville. Cost is $20 per month with 60% of students on scholarships. They can always use volunteers.

 

Doug Meffley joined us representing Honor Flight Chicago. They fly WW2, Korean War and Vietnam veterans to Washington D.C. to visit their Memorials. They were formed in the mid 2000’s to thank veterans for their service. They resumed flights last week following the pandemic. They have flown over 8800 veterans and tape interviews of veterans to be played in schools as a living history for students.

 

The David Adler Center was represented by Amy Williams who told us Adler is a cultural arts center providing music and arts programs. They also work to restore woods with the idea that nature is art.

 

RAFFLE:
-Daily: $32 won by Larry Neal.

 

-Progressive: $919 with 23 cards. Steve Risley drew the 9 of diamonds. Rollover!

 

NEXT WEEK:
Greeter & Prayer: Dave Potts.

 

Fun & Frolics: Bill Taranowski.

 

Program: A mystery Rotarian highlight.

 

Scott Hezner led the Four Way Test.

 

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“ Get busy living or get busy dying” Stephan Kin