BULLETIN – March 4, 2026
By Tim Dempsey
Subbing for the absent Tom Gore, Scott Hezner rang the bell. John McDonald gave the Pledge, Greeter Rich Schoeneman led us in prayer, and no one volunteered to lead us in song. Boo Hoo!
BRAGS:
-Dave Westlake’s daughter has committed to a division 1 school for hockey. She is also playing in a USA hockey district game in Buffalo. If the team wins, they will play in the National game.
-Tom Miller’s uncle is 102 today. He served in World War 2 and helped liberate Pilsen. They are celebrating today in Madison, Wisconsin.
ANNIVERSARIES:
-Rotary Anniversaries: Jeff Harger – 35 years, Michael Schachner – 2 years.
-Anniversaries: Rich and Jenna Schoeneman – 37 years, Doug and Nancy Fendon – 16 years, John and Letty Blair – 14 years.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Howard Jaffe said we have sold 578 tickets to the fundraiser with 93 to go for a sellout. We are actively promoting the raffle and silent auction. The silent auction is now open, and we have $12k in bids. We have 136 items in the auction, 40 bottles of wine, and 20 bottles of bourbon bottles in baskets. We also have 39 consignment items. We have sold $4200 in raffle tickets, and the drawing will be at Mickey Finns after the show. We need one volunteer, each for will call at LHS from 12:30 to 3 and 3 to 6, and one at 6 to usher. Sell more tickets!
-We need candidates for the upcoming RYLA conference.
FUN & FROLICS: Michael Schachner quizzed us about upcoming trips and how many fundraiser tickets we have sold.
PROGRAM:
Today’s speaker needed to reschedule at the last minute. New member Tyler Stokesbary stepped up and gave an impromptu classification talk. Tyler is a major gift officer for the Rotary Foundation. He started in nonprofit fundraising right out of college. He found an opening in Evanston that led to an opening at the Foundation. He travels a lot and speaks to clubs monthly. His territory is Indiana, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and parts of Canada.
He discussed Rotary’s goal to eradicate polio worldwide. Polio wild virus is still found in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Taliban is relaxing their restrictions on vaccinations. Rotary has worked from mosque to mosque convincing the people to vaccinate. The CIA used the program to find Bin Laden. Trust was lost. 30 vaccinators have been murdered. Most new cases are “vaccine derived”. The vaccine works but the virus survives in fecal matter due to poor sanitation. Congress is considering funding part of the effort. We are spending $150 million each year on the effort. $50 million from the Foundation and $100 million from the Gates Foundation. There were 44 cases reported last year. It will take $ 4 billion to totally eradicate. If there are no cases for 2 years, polio will be considered eradicated. The newest technology is Pharma jet which is needleless.
Tyler asks potential major donors: “What is your passion?” Rotary has seven avenues of interest. Every $100 donated stays in the foundation fund for 3 years. $47.50 goes to domestic causes, $47.50 goes to the World Fund. The remaining 5% goes to operating expenses. Polio gets some of the dollars if they are short. The Foundation gets a score of 88 to 93 in charitable ratings. Rotary operates 7 peace centers.
RAFFLE:
-Daily: $43 won by Jeff Harger. He donated the $ to the Food Pantry.
-Progressive: $946 (26 cards). Jim Curtis drew the 8 of spades. ROLLOVER!
NEXT WEEK:
-Greeter & Prayer: Glenn Garlick.
- Fun & Frolics: Scott Hezner.
-Program: Elisa Furkus from the Dunn Museum of the Lake County Forest Preserves.
FOOD PANTRY:
-We collected $330.00 for the Food Pantry including Jeff Harger’s raffle winnings.
FOUR WAY TEST:
-Rich Schoeneman led us in the Four Way Test.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Sell tickets!
