Home Stretch... Preparing for July 4th Rotary Style!!
The Northbrook Fourth of July festivities are fast approaching, and we've created a sign-up page here for parade walkers, plus set-up help and participants for the family activities we're putting on before the fireworks.
Opportunities include (but aren't limited to):
At the parade (Starting around 3:30 on the 4th)
Parade walkers (the more the merrier!)
Riders, and someone (or someones) to drive cars in the parade
At the Velodrome/NBJH Sports Fields (Starting around 6:00 and ending at dark when the fireworks start)
Folks to provide supplies like candy, water, sunscreen and prizes for the kids in attendance
Overseeing a temporary tattoo station
Helping to run and supervise field games like beanbags, paper airplane competitions, etc.
People to share information about Rotary with interested parents
A big thanks to the Gates Foundation for renewing its #Endpolio partnership with #Rotary.
Over the next 3 years the #GatesFoundation will match 2 to 1 on donations up to $450 million to Rotary Polio-plus, this will triple the impact of every donation.
It was wonderful to hear Bill Gates announcing this at the recent #rotaryinternational convention in Calgary.
Final day of 2025 Rotary International Convention highlighted current and future Rotary Leaders
By Etelka Lehockzy
The 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada, concluded in a spirit of fellowship and rejuvenation. Addressing the event’s closing general session, Rotary International President Stephanie A. Urchick urged members to recognize the power of their relationships.
“Rotary’s most powerful asset has always been you, our members. But we are only as strong as the people who stand beside us,” she said. “We talk a lot about goals and strategy. But without friendship, without encouragement, none of it takes hold. Rotary works because we belong here. … This is our community, and it matters.”
The session also featured Rotary’s future leaders. President-elect Francesco Arezzo described his commitment to the 2025-26 presidential message, Unite for Good.
“[It] means involving all members, but not only members, in our service. It means involving [partner] organizations … local administrations, other voluntary associations. In short, it means ‘expand our reach,’” said Arezzo, who was selected earlier this month as the next president. “Let us create one great shared dream that unites us, that excites us, that changes the world and changes our lives, too.”
Francesco Arezzo, who will become the 2025-26 Rotary International president on 1 July, speaks at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada, on 25 June. Arezzo said in the past he did not want to accept roles as club president and district governor because he had a stutter, but overwhelming support from Rotary members persuaded him and he went on to serve as an RI director and now president-elect. “I am confident that you will give me all the support and affection I have always found in Rotary,” he said.
Attendees spent the morning exploring various ways to maximize their impact. One breakout session, The Amazing Peace Race, explored how clubs can incorporate the eight Pillars of Positive Peace into their projects. The session Literacy Alive focused on the success of an initiative to build early reading skills in children in Belize.
A particularly crowded session was hosted by the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, which fights human trafficking around the world. Earlier in the week, the action group had unveiled a permanent peace pole in downtown Calgary. The breakout session featured Cheryl Perera, founder and president of the Canadian nonprofit OneChild and a nominee for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She told how she — seeking a way to fight child trafficking while still a teenager — served as a decoy for a government sting operation in Sri Lanka.
“I wanted to get an insider’s look into the child sex trade,” she said. “I contacted [someone in] the government branch that was tasked with protecting children and asked if there was any way I could watch an undercover operation happen. He said, ‘Yes, actually, you can play the decoy.’”
Perera aided in the capture and arrest of a perpetrator. The experience cemented her commitment to the issue and was part of what led her to found OneChild, which mobilizes children and teens to raise awareness about child trafficking.
In the House of Friendship exhibition hall, it was impossible to miss a 20-foot-tall tipi sponsored by Rotary District 5360 (parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada). The tipi was equipped with numerous learning tools to inform visitors about the concerns of Indigenous peoples.
“We’re very proud as a district to sponsor this exhibit, but we also don’t want it to be the last,” said Rotary member Cam Stewart, a 2023 Rotary People of Action honoree. “We [want] to help Rotarians around the world do more work with their Indigenous populations.”
As the convention’s final day drew to a close, Bryn Styles, chair of the 2025 Calgary Convention Committee, reflected on the success of the event.
“Everybody has told me how much they like the venue,” Styles said. “This building is just beautiful — warm and welcoming. And people love Calgary. I’ve just gotten rave reviews.”
Many attendees were already looking forward to upcoming gatherings. The chair of the 2026 Taipei Convention Committee, Andreas von Möller, enthusiastically invited attendees to the 2026 Rotary International Convention in Taipei, Taiwan.
“The 34,000 Rotary members of Taiwan invite you to explore and truly experience the culture, impressive countryside, National Theater, and beautiful temples throughout the city,” he said. “The 2026 convention will provide an experience that will remain with you for the rest of your life.”
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