This is information from my friend and fellow Rotarian Joanna Prisiajniouk, President of Medicare Insurance Group, who is City Clerk of Prospect Heights and a good human! Prior to the invasion Joanna and I would chat about what we thought would happen as she still has family in Ukraine. When I called her the morning after the invasion to reach out, she had been up all night with her cousin on FB messenger experiencing this humanitarian devastation firsthand. Her Rotary Club – River Cities – is one of the Rotary ways to support outreach to Ukraine.
Joanna took the time last night to write as much as she could recall to give us a lot of details of what it was like this past 10 days. … I am grateful she took the time to share with us – here is her “report.”
“My cousin lives close to the Polish border in Lyviv, Ukraine and also felt the immediate threat of war even though Kyiv is much further from her.
The first night of the invasion was met with sheer terror as we both heard the air raid sirens, missiles that fell in the outskirts of Kyiv miles away but were still heard by both of us as we were talking via Facebook messenger… [live] she wanted to let me know that it was true, the invasion occurred.
The panic in her voice and calling to her son to get the bags/documents they have prepared should Russia’s presumed attack occur was now hopelessly real. Her life suddenly went upside down as she cried hustling around her condo on the third floor getting ready to leave south to her brother’s house further away from the city.
She needed me to be on the phone. We were ever so close by voice as I talked her through to stay levelheaded and at the same time she needed someone to listen to her wails and tears of disbelief.
It was soon realized that leaving was impossible as traffic blocked the roads to a standstill. She was stuck. She opened all the windows just a crack as was advised so the glass could withstand breakage from missiles shaking the ground. We were on the phone for hours getting through that first night.
Over the last 10 days of the war she has bounced out of her condo repeatedly day and night to their designated bomb shelter and or basement with each air raid siren warning.
I waited on baited breathe to hear back from her when she needed to leave our call to run out. I was on the phone helping to keep her up also days and sometimes nights while she and other people in her 9th floor building took turns to alert residents for new air sirens sleeping only 2-3 hours or less.
The feeling of terror decreased just a bit when the air sirens were silent a couple of days allowing much needed sleep until the nuclear plant was targeted. This terror and panic was back in indescribable hopelessness reminding all of Chernobyl.
Mass plans for evacuation were underway that night until reports were confirmed that no serious damage occurred. Sleep was restored again. This is horrible stress and despite that, her community is fiercely united and that is true across the entire nation where it’s possible to offer help and support.
Their resistance to the enemy is strong. In the waking hours my cousin joined several humanitarian efforts right away as a daily volunteer along with her son. This force is very organized as they are alerted where aid is required and organize to reach these locations safely by military escort. No one is at work, the kids are not in school. Humanitarian efforts include packing food packages onto trucks, preparing warm meals for the soldiers and refugees that grow by the numbers daily, to sewing camouflage material for the army’s tanks while sitting in bomb shelters. This is a typical day for her where the crisis is semi dire so far but constantly cautious.
Everyone moves quickly not wasting time to avert and slow the enemy. My cousin Marta is 62 years old and as manager of her condo building she was tasked to get to the top of the roof to erase target missile red “X” markings that were painted by pro Russian provocateurs (called titushkys) that are constant treasonous operators along with the Russian Spetsnaz that had infiltrated the country before the invasion.
Her legs she described to me were shaking as her and her son climbed the metal thin staircase steps leading to roof and back down again. She clearly was not in the best shape for this calling but no one makes excuses. Other fluorescent missile target markings were removed off buildings, trees and sidewalks that were found just before and after the invasion started. Ukrainian soldiers look for these provocateurs and the special Russian (Spetsnaz) during the curfew hours and arrest them or kill him. Marshall law was instituted on the first day of invasion with curfew hour staring at 8 PM …no alcohol is sold at this time.
Additional:
Other parts of the country far east (Kharkiv) and south of Lyviv near the Azov and Black seas are having a much bigger humanitarian crisis to include Kyiv. No major cities were captured and the smaller cities that were temporarily taken were restored back to Ukraine’s control by fierce creative resistance. A Ukrainian fighter jet pilot already nicknamed, “Ghost of Kyiv” downed 21 Russian fighter jets.
Thanks much,
Joanna
WAYS TO HELP PER GOV. KEVIN:
Joanna is in the River Cities Rotary Club. They have a well established relationship with the Rotary Club of Kyiv International and are directly supporting their efforts on the ground providing food, blankets, hygiene and baby needs. Checks can be made payable to Rotary Club of River Cities and delivered to club treasurer Alex Todd at Prospect Heights Library, 12 Elm Street in Prospect Heights, 60070. The club goal is $5,000
Additionally - The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield is supporting this effort with the opportunity to expedite your charitable donation using this secure link or texting Aid4Ukraine to 44321.
Women are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary around the world. But that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until 1989 that women could join Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation voted to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide which remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary. This was 84 years after Rotary started in 1905.
Today women in Rotary membership surpassed 277,000 (July 2020) and are about 23% of membership. In October 2020, Jennifer E. Jones became president-nominee, the first women to be nominated to be Rotary International President. Her term as president will begin 1 July 2022.
The Women who did not wait for Rotary to recognize them
1910 – At the first Rotary Convention in Chicago, some delegates make the first attempt at official sanction of “women’s auxiliaries.” It is rejected overwhelmingly.
1912 –Despite the rejection of women as members and the ratification of women only rotary clubs, the Minneapolis Women's Rotary was incorporated in 1912 as a stand-alone, women-only, rotary club that continues to this date.
May 24, 1921 – Mrs. Alwilda Harvey, wife of Chicago Club President, brings fifty-nine Rotary wives together at a luncheon. She becomes the founder and president of a new organization called Women of Rotary. Said Mrs. Harvey, “Women through the ages have always practiced “Service Above Self;” now we have the opportunity to put the slogan into practice in serving our community.”
July 1, 1987 –Sylvia Whitlock begins her term as the first official woman President of a Rotary Club.
July 1, 1995 – Eight women take office as District Governors.
COMING UP: On March 8 our club hosts speaker Melissa Isaacson who was a longtime sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune, where she was the first woman to be the principal beat writer on the Bulls and Bears, as well as the first woman general columnist.
Please read HERstory below. INVITE PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS to this important celebration day! This is a great meeting to invite women who might be interested in joining.
"A Reporter's Journey: How I learned to tell a good story and how Title IX made it possible"
Join us on MARCH 8th for this incredible story!
Bio: Melissa Isaacson has been a fixture on the Chicago sports media landscape for more than 30 years. An award-winning sports writer and author currently on the faculty of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, her most recent book "State: A Team, a Triumph, a Transformation," was featured in the New York Times and L.A. Times Best-of-2019 Holiday Gift Guides, in "Sports Illustrated" and on NBC's "Today Show."
Isaacson was the Chicago Tribune’s first woman general sports columnist and the first woman principal beat writer to cover the Bulls and Bears, most notably the Michael Jordan–led Bulls over their six NBA titles.
Read her full bio in lasts weeks' bulletin. Better yet - come meet her Tuesday!
In keeping with our theme [women, firsts, Ukraine] here is something of interest
Ukraine is not just the cradle of Eastern-Slavic culture; its painters, sculptors and photographers have made important contributions to every modern and contemporary art movement. While the fate of the nation lies in the balance, its place within the art world remains assured. Today – celebrating these women artists from Ukraine.
Born Leah Berliawsky near Kyiv in 1899, Louise Nevelson’s family emigrated to the United States in 1905. Nevelson was inspired to study art a few years later, aged nine, when she came across a sculpture of Joan of Arc at the public library in Rockland, Maine.
Her best-known works are monumental, monochromatic sculptures made from wood, aluminium and steel, much of which was scavenged from the street, which seemed to reference her complicated past and her uncertain future.
However, Nevelson (one of the few women acknowledged as being associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement), also worked in other mediums.
This beautiful aquatint and etching in colors with collage on C. M. Fabriano paper dates from 1973, and certainly possesses some of her signature, fragmented style.
Sonia Delaunay was born Sophia Stern in 1885 in Ukraine, raised in St Petersburg and studied in both Germany and France, before marrying the French artist Robert Delaunay.
Husband and wife were both pioneers of modernist painting, though Sonia also branched out into fabric, interiors and clothing design, as well as ballet costumes.
This abstract work, dating from 1969, is a fine example of Delaunay’s oeuvre – sometimes known as Orphism – as it combines distinct colors and geometric shapes to produce an image with a sense of rhythm and movement.
For a taste of contemporary Ukrainian art, take a look at this young Kharkiv artist.
Yuliya Golovina was born in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell, and seems to have something in common with contemporary American artists such as Katherine Bernhardt.
She studied psychology as an undergraduate, and also makes a little EDM on the side, though we really singled her out for her expressive, bright, acrylic on fiberboard works.
The Rotary Club of Northbrook 2022 Spring Raffle is up and running.
All we need now is YOU! Each spring, our major fundraising drive of the year is dependent upon your participation for its success – and without you, we wouldn’t be able to monetarily support our community, our friends, and our neighbors. The Raffle is the way to raise money to help:
Without you, we can’t be successful. Without you, we can’t help the needy. Without you, we aren’t Rotary. We need YOU!
Raffle tickets are available. Contact Gary or direct your friends, your family, your contacts to:
UKRAINE AID ROTARY STYLE - ДОПОМОГА УКРАЇНІ В РОТАРІЙНОМУ СТИЛЬІ
SHELTER BOX
Rotary International partner Shelter Box is fully engaged and on the ground in Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation on Ukraine.
According to the UN, more than 1 million people have reportedly already fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. Others are sheltering where they can, in places like metro stations. The situation is developing rapidly, and the death toll is rising.
This latest escalation in military action comes after eight years of ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
ShelterBox is responding to the Ukraine crisis and sending a team to eastern Europe. We will be sending aid, and are working to understand the type of emergency shelter people need.
The Rotary Midwest President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) is one of the largest multi-district PETS in the United States. It was formed in 2012 with a view to becoming a premier training event with the atmosphere of a mini Rotary International Convention by leveraging the expertise and buying power of seven Rotary Districts from Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, Districts 6220, 6250, 6270, 6420, 6440, 6450, 6460.
With the ability to host exceptional speakers, informative workshops, detailed district training sessions, fellowship and networking, the basic purpose of our PETS is to motivate our 500+ attendees including club presidents-elect, presidents-elect nominee and assistant governors to ensure they are extremely well prepared for their year of service.
Rotarians and future club presidents Mitch Portugal and Sandy Frum attended this weekend! We look forward to their report on Tuesday!
UKRAINE AID ROTARY STYLE - ДОПОМОГА УКРАЇНІ В РОТАРІЙНОМУ СТИЛЬІ
From Gov. Kevin this week:
Many members of District 6440 are inquiring how we might best support efforts in this crisis.
We have evaluated several ongoing activities and communicated with Rotary leadership seeking guidance how you as individuals and/or clubs may take action.
In that spirit I am writing this email to inform you of several ways that you and your Rotary club can provide aid. This is certainly not all inclusive, and we encourage you to support any legitimate humanitarian efforts as you may desire.
For those who would like to donate through the District 6440 Charitable Fund we have activated an online Ukraine donation portal. Once we have collected significant funds we will determine where to best contribute for relief efforts. Please select option one at this link to donate through District 6440: https://form.jotform.com/62386028569971
Rotarian Rick Rivkin, and his company Saf-T-Gard is being honored at the Northbrook Chamber Annual Meeting & Awards on March 7 as Corporate Citizen of the Year. We know Rick as the guy who makes it happen at Rotary - hybrid meetings being his latest gift to our club.
But find out more about him, his family business and why his "service above self" is more than a talking point.
Shown here with his son Loren, read about Saf-T-Gard and why they are truly Corporate Citizens!
When: Live performances are on Saturday & Sunday March 12 & 13 at 2pm. The virtual editions of the performances will be released on March 17 (Tuesday Cast) and March 24 (Wednesday Cast) and available for viewing for one month.
Where: The live performances will be presented at The Skokie School: 520 Glendale Ave, Winnetka. The virtual edition is viewableon any device (Smart TV, computer, lap top, tablet) with internet access!
How: SGT is offering complimentary tickets to our supporters and potential students, and peer mentors. Tickets can be reserved at:
Thank you for all of your support of Special Gifts Theatre as we continue to provide valuable programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Northbrook! If you have any questions, please let me know!
Our club is planning on at least one bike rack in the Village. We are working with Kathryn Ciesla, Village President; Kelly Hamill, Director of Public Works, and Cara Pavlicek, Village Manager to support the club in this effort.
Our club goal is to provide Rotary branding and awareness to the families, employees and customers in Northbrook about Rotary.
This bike rack (design being determined) will be not only a safe place to lock up a bike, but a fun selfie photo stop - that will share the Rotary logo across social media. It might help build club, RYLA and Rotaract memberships.
Sandy, Kathi, Debbie & Mitch are working on this project-feel free to reach out if you have questions. Stay tuned for updates!
APR 23: Save-The-Date: Ak ‘Tenamit trip, April 23-May 2, 2022 -- Join Rotarians from District 6440 and 6450 in Guatemala this Spring. Sixteen people have signed up, six spots remaining. Contact Dr. Bob Steinberg, rotarydrbob@comcast.net or 847-650-3668.
Save the date for our District 6440 Conference May 20-22, 2022 at Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva. More details to come!
Join Zoom meeting on the good old-fashioned telephone!
+1 312 626 6799 Meeting ID: 295 416 335 Password: 726580 for telephone only
Please note - Meetings are no longer recorded. If you do not attend on zoom or in person you will miss the fun! Meeting dates and times, or virtual access may change, always check our website for updates. In-person meetings are held at Hilton, 2855 Milwaukee Rd., Northbrook or other locations as announced, and the club Covid protocol must be followed.
We have hybrid-meetings. Join us! Contact RotaryNorthbrook@gmail.com to join us.
NOTE: The 3/22 meeting with Brad Schneider will be in the evening, location TBD.
The 3/29 meeting will be at the North Shore Senior Center
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