Welcome to Our Club

TOGETHER WE CAN END RACISM

The Rotary Club of Wilmette offers help and support to all communities locally and internationally wherever and whenever there is need in the human family.

The Rotary Club of Wilmette was chartered in 1924 with 21 members. Today there are over 48 active members who gather to do good for others while enjoying good fellowship.

Our Club members enthusiastically live the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” both locally and internationally. Recent projects include water well installation at schools in Angola, the collection and delivery of over 20,000 books annually to inner city schools in Chicago, supplying ultrasound equipment and related training to people in Uganda, resettlement assistance to legal refugees in the Chicago area, providing disaster relief supplies to hurricane, typhoon, and other natural disaster survivors, food packing for people in Guatemala and Central America, and supporting local food pantries and literacy efforts.

NOTICE: Because of coronvirus concerns, we are now meeting virtually via Zoom. When things return to normal, we'll resume our regular in-person meetings as listed below.

We meet Wednesdays at 12:15 PM at the Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Drive, Wilmette, IL 60091.

We’d love to have you join us!

Join us as we support our neighbors!

Welcome!

Our Motto:
Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Wednesdays

Wilmette Golf Club

3900 Fairway Drive
Wilmette, IL 60091
United States of America

Because of Corona virus safety concerns, we are now conducting Virtual Meetings. Please join us when we are able to have live meetings at our usual location.

District Site

Bulletins

Venue Map

Rotary Meeting Update

ALL Club lunch and other face-to-face committee meetings are cancelled for an indefinite period. Our first priority is always safeguarding the health and well-being of our members and their families. Our members are meeting every Wednesday using the technology of Zoom. We have had some amazing virtual presentations from a variety of speakers these past few meetings.

We welcome prospective members and guests to come to our meetings. Please contact Debora at debora@pftl.net if you would like to join us.

September 23 - Bill Plante

The History and Challenges of Reporting the News

Bill Plante, retired CBS News Correspondent and brother of club member John Plante, spoke to club members about his experiences as a reporter covering U.S. presidents. Using the quote often attributed to Mark Twain - "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes" - he reviewed some of the relationships between U.S. presidents and the press and noted that publishing false information or attempting to go around or stifle the press are not new or unknown in our past. He noted the more challenging difficulties of determining fact from fiction in the current environment of 24/7 cable networks and social media. Especially troubling are modern technologies that allow people to alter film and recordings to alter the appearance of an actual event. He believes that all of this puts a greater responsibility on the consumer to evaluate any information more carefully as to its sources and reliability. Following his talk there was a lively Q&A session.

September 16 - Club Fundraising Committee

2020 Walk-A-Thon Fundraiser for COVID 19 Relief

Club members Debora Morris, Joe Goldstein, and Martha Sheridan spoke to meeting attendees about why the Club has chosen to undertake a walk-a-thon as a fundraiser this year and how to participate. The Club has already provided several of our community partners with assistance during the pandemic crisis and we hope to do more! It's easy to participate. You can walk with the support of friends and family, you can encourage others to join us, or you can donate. Those walking will record their distances during the first 10 days of October. Go to our webpage to get started: www.wilmetterotary.org. Click here to see a news release with more information.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Rotary Club of Wilmette Receives Rotary Citation Award

The Wilmette Rotary Club has been recognized by Rotary International for its achievements in club performance objectives as established by Rotary during the 2019-2020 club year. The Citation was awarded with distinction at the platinum level. Congratulations to all club members for their participation and devotion to the club. A special congratulations goes past president John Held for his leadership during the year.

September 9 - Marina Bershadsky

Food Preparation Skills Equip Children For Better Health

Successful Business Operations and Management consultant Marina Bershadsky, launched her organization Pineapple Way (https://pineappleway.org/) fifteen years ago. Her mission: to fight childhood obesity and malnutrition.

Being a small not-for-profit organization, they can work with smaller groups and communities and achieve a significant result. By interacting more closely with families, volunteers get to know them and their food preferences, resources available to the neighborhood, and family's monthly food budget. With this information, Pineapple Way can teach and guide them on incorporating better nutrition into their family meals to help them achieve healthier lifestyles and nutritional goals.

Pineapple Way is always looking for donations of food, kitchen supplies, and equipment to support their cooking classes that give children the food preparation skills they need to help build a healthier future for themelves and their families.

September 2 - Jill Mecklenburger

Advances in Hearing Technologies

Jill Mecklenburger is a Principal Audiologist in the Global Audiology Group at GN ReSound, a Danish organization established in 1869. Her presentation reviewed how modern hearing aid technology helps individuals with hearing loss overcome common problems including tinnitus and difficulty hearing in challenging situations. Testing is a critical first step; including your “speech reception threshold”, word recognition and your ability to hear in a noisy environment. Once thresholds have been plotted on the audiogram, the degree of hearing loss can be determined. Today the hearing aid user can be successful in more environments than ever before thanks in large part to developments with algorithms and connectivity. The devices “read” the surrounding environment, as in separating a conversation in a noisy room. Test data – along with comfort and appearance considerations – will help you zero in on the specific design best for you.

August 19 - John Kilner

Bioethics and End of Life Decisions

Club Member, John Kilner, is a well-know expert in the field of bioethics. He has contributed to many news programs and publications. He is recently retired as Forman Chair of Christian Ethics & Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and was Senior Fellow for The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity based in Deerfield, IL. John spoke to attendees at the August 19 Zoom meeting of the club about the fast changing world of bioethics from the point of conception to the end of life. Following a brief overview, John focused on the many areas that should be considered when planning for end-of-life decisions, especially when creating formal documents. John will be conducting a follow-up workshop for those interested in putting an advance directive in place on September 2 at noon. Those interested will need to provide John with contact information to be able to participate. Watch the Spoke or email communications for further information.

August 5 Program - Donna Lee Gulley

Shelter Box Continues to Provide Disaster Response

Donna Lee Gulley returned to update club members on the ongoing activities of Shelter Box, a global organization that believes that shelter is a human right. Ms. Gulley thanked the club for its past support of Shelter Box and presented information on current activities throughout the world. Club members expressed special interest in any actions that might be undertaken following the recent explosion in Beirut. Ms. Gulley promised to keep members informed in that area. For further in formation about Shelter Box or to donate, go to https://www.shelterboxusa.org/. Be sure to include Rotary district information (District 6440) and Donna Lee Gulley's name when donating directly to Shelter Box. (There is space available for this information on the online form.)

July 15 Program - Abby Wilson, The Borgen Project

Abby Wilson is a student volunteer for the Borgen Project. The Borgen Project is an international, humanitarian non-profit focusing on working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy. Currently 1/10th of the world's population lives in extreme poverty, living on less than $1 per day. COVID has made poverty even more wide-spread.

The people associated with the Borgen Project are trying to operate on the political level by contacting government officials in the US. The aim is for the US government to grant more time and money to addressing world issues, like starvation, sanitation, global health, which contribute to a humanitarian crisis worldwide. Studies have shown that reducing malnutrition can contribute to a more secure economy. Abby reported that 7-10 calls or emails to a congressional leader will get their attention. She is personally trying to raise money for this cause at https://borgenproject.org/abigail-wilson/

July 8 Program - John Hoeppner

Responsible Investing

John Hoeppner, is Head of US Stewardship and Sustainable Investments at Legal & General. which is a major global investor, with total assets under management of $1.4trn. John outlined what Responsible Investing (also called Sustainable Investing and Environmental Governance) means and how this investing strategy is evolving and rapidly growing in the world's market place.

The basic principles, John explained, are Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). These are the factors used to evaluate companies and countries on how far advanced they are with sustainability. This market is driven by public pressure to incorporate ESG in investment strategies. Public policy is responding and momentum is building.

Financial analysis has shown that high-sustainability firms tended to have a higher degree of long-term planning. High-sustainability companies tend to perform better and so, in theory, those who invest in them can expect to receive higher financial returns. Financial advisors are embracing this model as well. Companies can be influenced to become more sustainable due to the large holdings of certain investors, like Legal and General.

Donate Here for Our Foundation

WALK- A-THON SIGN-UP

Donate for

COVID Relief

Service Projects - Local

About Our Club

EREY For Club Members Only

Links

Email for QUESTIONS and MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Subscribe to our eBulletin and stay up to date on the latest news and events.

Click here to sign up!

Walk for COVID Relief
Oct 01, 2020 – Oct 10, 2020

Emily Schnell

Sep 30, 2020

Warming House in Wilmettte

Emily Schnell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Bachelor's degree from St. Norbert College and a Master's Degree from Loyola University Chicago.

The Warming House Youth Center is a non-profit organization located in Wilmette that welcomes all junior high and high school students. The Center provides participants with a supportive environment and teen-focused programming. Staff members are dedicated to helping youth build healthy relationships and a strong sense of community.

Mark Carman

Oct 07, 2020

WGN Sports

Judge Abbey Romanek

Oct 14, 2020

Judging During A Pandemic

Member John Plante

Oct 21, 2020

Bio

Dan Rahill

Oct 28, 2020

Post Election Tax Planning