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AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY ISSUE JULY 5, 2025
VOL. 6 NO. 1
PASSING OF THE GAVEL
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
A hearty thank you to BillP for serving as our club prez, and chief cat herder, this past Rotary year. Well done!
On Thursday we heard from the Amare NFP Executive Director Carson Conn. Amare is located within the Riverbend Family Ministries building and provides substance abuse recovery services for adults. They also have satellite locations at Anderson Hospital, Swansea, SIUE and East St. Louis. The services are free and supported by community donations, grants and fund raising (Rocking for Recovery is slated for September 20th.) Among the additional services that Amare offers to its clients are employment coaching, financial literacy and court advocacy.
Prez Mark welcomed back past president LindseyH as an active member. It's great having her back!
Prez Mark opened his first noon confab with a strong clang of the Rotary bell.
Last month the Riverbender.com did an interview with Troy Green (Kyndra's hubby) about their Gumbo 2 Geaux business. Here's a link if you would like to give it a listen or read the transcript https://rb.gy/4o8xfd
Golf tournament update- On July 19th, that's in 2 weeks! If you know golfers and/or potential sponsors get their contact info to Joe ASAP and he will solicit them directly. He also had high praise for KristenB and LindseyH for being the first two members to sign up to help at our golf tournament. The sign-up sheet is now making the rounds. Next spring our foundation will sponsor our first big project.
JoeS announced that our successful foundation fund raisers may allow us to make a yearly large donations rather than every other year. That's sweet!
BillP reports that TommieM is now an active resident of Asbury Village.
Early birders included-AllenH, MarkA and Prez Mark.
There are still tickets available for the Cards vs Cubs game on August 9th, benefitting the district literacy program. Use this link https://rd6460.org to navigate to the district web page and find the baseball article for all the details.
The slide-right-inners were represented by PaulH, ChrisH, MarkV and DaveA.
Late arrivals included CoryG, DaveA, GeorgeM and MarkV.
Prez Mark distributed a calendar that listed our proposed activities for his term and reminded everyone that the District Governor will be visiting on August 14th.
SAA Rick recruited ChrisH as the lugmeister. We answered two of the four travel Q's correctly and celebrated GeorgeM's and AllenH's recent birthdays.
We had 19 members in the house dining on mostaccioli, tortellini Alfredo, Rotary g-beans, garlic bread, salad and an ice cream bar.
MarkA and BradP failed to locate the joker, LoriP did find the scratch-off.
Opening duties were covered by KristenB, GlennB and MarkA.
53% of Eastender News subscribers opened the last newsletter.
UNITED FOR GOOD ROTARY YEAR
INSTALLATION DINNER RECAP
About 40 members and guests were on hand at the Rustic Roots Rally Room (by the way, a really neat space) last month to celebrate all things Rotary.
Prez Bill open his last meeting and directed everyone to the buffet line. After a wonderful dinner, catered by the fine folks at Food A Fare, GlennB brought us up to speed on our Eswatini dental project. Things are moving along, albeit slowly.
JoeS presented service awards to MarkA, LoriP, ScottL and AllenH (the BIG 50!)
MarkSm announced that Cleary's Shoes and Boots has been selected as our Business of the Year.
AllenH introduced Debbie Angleton and Denny Weber, whom he had selected as Paul Harris Fellows. Deb and Denny are both very involved in the community.
After the official passing of the gavel from Bill to Mark, and the introduction of the new club officers, Prez Mark shared his vision for the year ahead. His emphasis will be on unity and moving forward by doing more for our community. Let's get started!
PAUL HARRIS GANG
PRE-DINNER FELLOWSHIP
SERVICE AWARDS
PLAY BALL!
On Thursday July 31st we will gather at Llyod Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park to watch the Alton River Dragons baseball team win a game vs Cape Catfish. We have reserved the 1st Base Party Deck for our social night. Tickets are $15 per and include a burger or a dog and a soft drink. Pleaes sign-up using the email invitation you were sent on June 16th. Take me out...
SELLING ROTARY
ALL THINGS TRIVIAL
Restored by a passionate preservationist, an iconic home called Fountainhead is on the market in Jackson, Mississippi. Who designed it?
A-Howard Roark
B-Walter Chatham
C-Philip Johnson
D-Frank Lloyd Wright
(The answer is found near the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Apple Turnover Day
What is the world's longest river?
Danube River
Yangtze River
Nile River
Mississippi River
The Nile River takes the crown for the world’s longest river, flowing 4,132 miles through 11 countries in northeastern Africa. But this designation is not without dispute — river length can vary according to a variety of factors, and since the Amazon isn’t far behind at 4,000 miles, the Brazilian government has claimed it to be the longest. However, international consensus agrees on the Nile.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Eastender News, Make-Up and Banner newsletters
July 2018
The EA club heard a presentation about the Belize Children's Rotary Project.
PaulG turned over the gavel to new prez JohnP. 2018-19 WR officers included DaveA and GeorgeM.
BillP and SherryT tried cooking up some sort of make-up scheme that included a minister and a notary.
Congrats went out to the newest Paul Harris Fellow MikeK.
RickH distributed Program of the Year ballots.
WR scholarship checks were presented to six students.
TommieM made-up at the EA meeting.
PaulH picked a huge heirloom mater from "Farmer Bill's" veggie box.
The WR club welcomed their newest Rotarian, PatrickA.
MarkA, MarkSp, AllenH and RodC were the first to arrive.
Help was needed for the Back 2 School Bash.
JeanK failed to find the Queen of Hearts and claim the $208 jackpot.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
DATELINE:ROTARY
Why We Stopped the Presses
In the news business, time is of the essence. But every now and then, last-minute developments force us to sacrifice deadlines to bring you the most timely information. Our July print issue, which will arrive in your mailboxes in mid-July, is a case in point.
As Rotary magazine was about to go to press in early June, we received news that Mário César Martins de Camargo had resigned and would not serve as Rotary’s 2025-26 president so he could focus on personal and business matters at home in Brazil. Given that the July issue is dedicated to Rotary’s new class of leaders, including articles that chronicle the life and work of the new RI president, we stopped the presses to update our pages while waiting to learn what would come next.
Within a week, President Stephanie Urchick (2024-25) convened a special session of the RI Board of Directors to address the unexpected leadership gap. Guided by RI’s Code of Policies, they selected Francesco Arezzo of Italy to lead our organization in the coming Rotary year.
Because we delayed print publication, we’re able to introduce RI President Arezzo, albeit rather briefly, in this handbook issue. A more in-depth feature will come in September once we meet up with President Arezzo and his family and dive deep into his Rotary journey. Until then, please check Rotary magazine or the Rotary Voices podcast for updates.
We join the rest of the Rotary world in congratulating President Arezzo. As he inspires clubs with the message Unite for Good, we’ll bring you comprehensive coverage … in a timely fashion.
Wen Huang
Editor in chief, Rotary magazine
AND I QUOTE
“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are god."-Christopher Hitchens
"The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished."-Kevin Kelly
"If you don’t win, you’re going to be fired. If you do win, you’ve only put off the day you’re going to be fired.”-Leo Durocher, baseball manager
"He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing."-Epicurus
SMILE
UNAVOIDABLE LAWS
Law of probability-The probability ob 'being watched' is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
Law of the result-When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.
Law of biomechanics-The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
Theater rule-At any event, the people whose seat are furthest from the aisle arrive last.
Murphy's law of lockers-If there are two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.
Law of logical argument-Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
Wilson's law-As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.
BY THE NUMBERS
Between 2023 and 2024 sales at fast-casual chicken chains—think Raising Cane’s, Wingstop and Dave’s Hot Chicken—increased by 24%.
As of last year, bottled ranch sales were at $1.3 billion per year in the US, outstripping sales of bottled barbecue sauce ($969.9 million) and ketchup ($1.26 billion)
According to a 2024 study by WhistleOut, Americans pay for more data than they need by an average of $1,500 per year, mostly due to unlimited data plans
Cable penetration of America’s TV households has dropped to 51% from 86% over the past decade-Nielsen
The average minimum-order threshold for retailers to offer free shipping rose to $103 this year from $82 in 2023-Narvar
81% of new single-family homes sold in 2023 are in an HOA (home owners association), compared with 73% a decade earlier-U.S. Census Bureau
(Trivia answer-D)
ROTARY'S AREAS OF FOCUS
These have been identified to help build international relationships, improve lives and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever
