Last week we had a great meeting that included speaker Ryan Ballow, a Diplomat at U.S. Department of State, Washington, District of Columbia, United States. First, he thanked Rotarians for the work they do especially the Polio eradication. In his work as a diplomat, Ryan is Rotarian-like in the mission he is on from our government.

 

Ballow who is fluent in Spanish, Arabic, French, gave an overview of his work. He grew up in Alaska where there were many military people but encouraged folks to consider work in the diplomatic corps.  His recent travels include Bagdad, West Africa, Jordan and other areas in the Middle East where he stated, “the Secretary of State is the voice for good.”

 

He mentioned The Abraham Accords which according to Wikipedia: was a joint statement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, reached on August 13, 2020.^[1] It was subsequently also used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (the Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement) and Bahrain, respectively (the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement).

 

 

The embassy’s economic counselor, Ryan Ballow, handed over a lot of equipment and property donated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Eco Guards of the Fazao-Malfakasaa National Park in Sokodé on Feb. 2. Tossou Datè K. Akpédjé, the Director of the Ministry of Environment based in Sokodé received the donation, which included over 800 items of clothing and a variety of cameras, binoculars, and spotting scopes.

 

The donated goods and equipment will help park rangers in their efforts to protect and conserve the wildlife living in the park. Fazao National Park is the largest of Togo’s national park and is home to a variety of species. The population of elephants, after being decimated by hunting and poaching in the 1990s, is at a very early stage of revival which requires close observation and protection from park rangers.

 

The donation was made possible through the efforts of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official Thomas Leuteritz, who was based in Lome in 2017 as an Embassy Science Fellow.

Twelve rural Togolese communities received financing for development projects thanks to the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund of the U.S. Embassy. Mr. Ryan Ballow, the charge d’affaires, handed over checks to representatives from each community during a ceremony at the Embassy. The funds will be used to spur community based development in the areas of agriculture, animal husbandry, income-generation, education, and health.

 

For over 50 years the special self-help fund has supported small-scale, community-based development projects. The guiding principles of the initiative are:

– To improve the socio-economic conditions of the population,

– To impact as many people as possible, and

– To harness the initiative and aspirations of the community to promote continuity and self-sufficiency well after the Self Help funding has concluded.

For more information about how to apply, please follow this link: https://tg.usembassy.gov/fr/embassy-fr/posssibilites-de-financement/programmes-daide-au-developpement/

 

As the Rotary Club of Northbrook continues to celebrate our Year of the Woman campaign here are more notable Rotarians, we want you to meet!  We are fortunate to have an amazing group of people who make up our club. And as diverse as our people all are, with different backgrounds and talents they have one thing in common that is  notable – their belief and actions that are Rotary through and through. Here are three women in the club you may get to know a bit more!  

 

Kate Hall is the Executive Director of the Northbrook Public Library after serving as Director at the New Lenox Public Library and in various Youth Services positions in the Chicagoland area for the past 20 years.  In her decade as a library director, Kate has been very active in state and national library groups including the American Library Association, Illinois Library Association, and Reaching Across Illinois Library System.  She is currently chairing Director’s University, an intensive training for new Illinois Public Library Directors that went virtual this year.  She is the co-author of The Public Library Director’s Toolkit published by ALA Editions and the devoted servant of two demanding cats.   

 

Kate led the July 4^th Pancake breakfast team for Rotary for many years. Additionally – she has served on the auction committees. Her leadership, and gift for planning, developing processes that led to successful outcomes, are unmatched!

 

“I have been a Rotarian since June 25, 2016, my official join date.  However I participated in numerous activities and service projects before that.  Prior to my official "join date", I had traveled twice with Northbrook Rotary to Guatemala.  Additionally, along with other Rotarians, I participated in two NIDs (Polio National Immunization Days)-one in India, the other in Nigeria. 

 

There are two ideas that resonate with me as being a Rotarian.  The first is part of the Four Way Test--Is it fair to all concerned?   Secondly, because Rotary is a worldwide organization with links to many Rotarians internationally and locally, I have come to think of Rotarians as "Fixers".  We are problem solvers.  We have the ability to make a difference!”

 

Sandra (Sandy) Frum is President of the Village of Northbrook.  First elected in 2009, she is currently serving her third term.  A resident of the town for over 40 years, she previously served as a Village Trustee for 22 years.  Sandy is the former President of the Northwest Municipal Conference, a council of 42 municipalities and 1 township, comprised of communities in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry Counties.  She currently serves on its Executive Board as well as the Legislative Committee.  In addition, she serves as Chair of the Steering Committee formed to implement the Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan and is a member of the Cook County Long Range Transportation Plan, which serves as a road map for the design and implementation of a fully integrated, multi-jurisdictional transportation system.

 

Sandy is married to Carlos Frum, President of the Northbrook Library Board, and has 3 children and 8 grandchildren.  She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Northbrook and the Northbrook Civic Foundation.  She previously served on the Board of Trustees of Knox College and as President of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

 

Sandy joined Rotary 20 years ago, after attending an International Convention in Buenos Aires.  So impressed with the plethora of projects on display, she felt an immediate need to be become part of the organization.  She has held positions at the Club, District, and Zone levels.  She loves being part of such a diverse organization and meeting people from all over the world.  Rotary provides her with an immediate connection, and an ability to build relationships and memories. 

 

Sandy’s favorite quote comes from Frozen II: “Do the next right thing.”  Rotary is always working towards and striving for that goal.