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GO I-L-L-I-N-I ISSUE APRIL 4, 2026
VOL. 6 NO. 24
READY FOR TAKEOFF
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
As the USA space crew circled the earth before heading to the moon, we heard an interesting presentation from Randy and Jan McKee, representing the Regional Airport based Experimental Aircraft Association. The local group is one of 900 nationwide. The organization sponsors the week long national fly-in in Oshkosh, WI that includes 10,000 planes and almost 700K visitors. The group has a focus on trying to create enthusiasm for flying among our youth. They sponsor several programs that help to engage young folks, including the wings portion of the Wings and Wheels event held at the airport. During the past 25 years they have provided a free airplane ride to 8,500 young folks. The local chapter is sponsoring a pancake breakfast on June 20th that will help support the 49th annual Air Race Classic, a women only air race that will start @ Regional on June 23rd.
LoriP is looking for someone to pick up our four RYLA students in Carlinville at noon on Sunday April 12th. Can you help (please)? Let her know ASAP.
Our Pork Jambalaya Dinner is scheduled for Saturday April 25th @ the Keasler Center. Everyone is asked to sell at least five tix @ $10 per. You can sign up using the link LoriP emailed you on Thursday or via the event link on our web page. We will need donations of soda and water. Proceeds will benefit the EA-WR High School Special Ed program. See flyer below for more details.
Opening duties were covered by PaulH, MattK and GlennB.
April 30th will find us at our Belk Park pavilion for the annual cleanup day. Details to follow.
Birthday wishes go out to PaulG on the 10th.
We now know the secret to getting ChrisH to arrive early, put him in charge of the program.
PattiA sez we need sponsors for our Color Run.
Put it on your calendar-Our Pints for Polio event will take place on August 13th.
Our golf tournament is on Saturday July 18th @ Belk. JoeS will soon email a flyer to every member that you can print and distribute to interested golfers. The event needs sponsors. He promises a sunny day with a high temp of 75 degrees.
JoeS announced that our foundation will donate $2,000 toward exchange student Lilly's expenses (her fixed expenses will be about $8,500). Any member who wants to help Lilly financially can cut a check to our foundation and that will be added to the $2K amount.
Our club's 100th anniversary is coming up in 2029. How will we recognize and celebrate?
After all these decades, WendellR still has mixed feelings about the value in buying a motor home to visit NOLA for Mardi Gras.
Early-birders included Prez Mark, PaulH, LoriP and ChrisH.
Slide-right-inners-PattiA, GlennB and CoryG.
Congrats to RickH on his 35 years of club service.
Last to arrive included GeorgeM, GlennB and CoryG.
There were 14 members (everybody on spring break?) dining on tortellini,seasoned taters, Rotary g-beans, rolls, salad and cookies.
SAA RickH recruited LindseyH to serve as the finemeister.Happy Fines were paid by Prez Mark, PaulH (in GlennB's honor) and JoeS. We answered three out of four trivia Q's correctly, and found out that bumblebee queens can breath underwater. We also correctly identified all 9 baseball players who have hit 600 or more home runs.
Prez Mark and GlennB passed on their opportunity to claim the 50-50. CoryG won the scratch-off.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
NO JOKER FOR GLENN
SHARIN' THE KNOWLEDGE
ALL THINGS TRIVIAL
The Bank of England said that, instead of such heroes as Churchill, a new set of new banknotes will feature what?
A-Harry Potter figures
B-Famous English socialists
C-Renowned cricket stars
D-British wildlife
(Find the answer near the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Handmade Day
What is the official name of Big Ben's tower?
Great British Clock Tower
Elizabeth Tower
Shakespeare Tower
Greenwich Mean Time Clock
Completed in 1859, the Elizabeth Tower was originally called the Clock Tower. The entire tower is commonly known by the nickname “Big Ben,” but many visitors don’t realize that the nickname refers specifically to the great bell inside the tower. The tower was renamed to honor Queen Elizabeth II on her 2012 Diamond Jubilee.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Eastender News, Make-Up and Banner newsletters
April 2018
The WR club heard a presentation about the Fire Department statue while the EA club learned about the Illinois school funding formula from Virgil Moore.
EA-WR HS Junior Rotarians Rachel Staten and Justin Englar lunched with the WR members.
PaulG and PattiA were handling the arrangements for the Club Social event at the Pump House.
MarkSp and MarkA returned from Florida with lower gold handicaps.
WR member Dale Alcorn visited the EA club and made an announcement.
Happy Fines were paid by CherylM, GeorgeT, MikeK, DonnaK and PaulG.
LoriP was passing out Baseball Mani tix.
Prez Bill announced that it must be spring becasue we had received our $400 check from the Grandpa Gang for our work at the Christmas Wonderland event.
JohnP proposed a moratorium on fines. Not wearing shorts @ the EA meeting? pay a $.
Proceeds from the June 3rd Color Run would help support the proposed upgrades to Emerick Park.
ChrisH loves ice fishing for trout.
JeanK announced that each club received more than $4700 from the recent Disco Bingo event. She thanked Rhonda Breslin for co-chairing the event.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
DATELINE:ROTARY
Indian developer donates $50 million to The Rotary Foundation
Declaring that “giving is a duty,” longtime Rotary member Ravishankar Dakoju pledged that he and his wife and fellow club member, Paola Dakoju, would donate approximately $50 million (4.5 billion Indian rupees) to The Rotary Foundation. Dakoju announced the gift at Rotary’s International Assembly in Orlando, Florida in January.
“Years ago, Paola and I shared a dream: that one day, when we had enough to live with dignity, we would return 85% of our wealth back to society,” said Dakoju, a member of the Rotary Club of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. “My friends, that day has arrived.”
Dakoju, who serves as The Rotary Foundation Arch Klumph Society ambassador for Asia, spoke about his belief that philanthropy is a personal responsibility and explained his and Paola’s determination to give away their surplus wealth.
“What we keep may serve only our family, nothing beyond that. What we give The Rotary Foundation will serve humanity,” he said. To continue reading, link herehttps://rb.gy/7ahtb7
AND I QUOTE
“I cannot express how important it is to believe that taking one tiny — and possibly very uncomfortable — step at a time can ultimately add up to a great distance."-Tig Notaro
“An appreciative listener is always stimulating."-Agatha Christie
"The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic."-Kevin Kelly
"Every generation is defined by a great struggle or tragedy. And it’s wild that our kids will never know there was a period of time, in this country, where you had to make a choice between being online or being on the phone."-Hasan Minhaj
SMILE
A couple of days ago i saw a guy in Wal Mart with his March Madness teeth...the final four.
Why is Peter Pan always flying? Because he Neverlands.
I was walking in the jungle and saw a lizard on his hind legs telling jokes. I tuned to a local and remarked, "That lizard's really funny!" The local replied, "That's not a lizard...He's a stand up chameleon.
I saw two huge black birds in my garden this morning and they were stuck together. Turns out they were Velcrows.
I love board games, especially the ones where you arrange cheese, meat, crackers and grapes and then eat it. I'm good at that one.
Running into stationary objects can be painful, according to a recent pole.
THE NUMBERS
Retailers shipped 87% of domestic e-commerce packages on a five-or-more-days delivery schedule in January, compared with 60% two years ago-Shipium
Shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 bought 62% of their total general merchandise purchases in stores last year. Shoppers ages 25 and older, by contrast, made 52% of their purchases in person-Circana
Nationally there were 532,319 new-business applications in January, 36.8% more than a year earlier-Census Bureau
In 2019, more than 90% of US males said they never wear makeup. In 2024, that number dropped to 75%-Statista
In the third quarter of 2025, Americans carried $1.66 trillion in auto loans, up $300 billion compared with five years earlier-New York Federal Reserve
There are 21.2 million workers at small businesses (2-99 employees) with access to 401(k)-style plans, up by nearly six million since 2019-Gusto
(Trivia answer-D)
Rotarian Code of Conduct
The following code of conduct has been adopted for the use of Rotarians:
As a Rotarian, I will
1-Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life
2-Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect
3-Use my professional skills throughRotary to: mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people's quality of life in my community and in the world
4-Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians
5-Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities
