Rotary Club of Sycamore, Illinois

We meet Wednesdays at 11:45 AM
Blumen Gardens
403 Edward Street
Sycamore, IL 60178
United States of America
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President
Patrick Shafer
President Elect
Michael DeVito
Immediate Past President
Ray Dembinski
Treasurer
Michele Jurkovic
Secretary
Sally Bruch
Rotary Foundation
Paul Stromborg
Membership Chair
Sally Bruch
Director
Paulette Renault
Director
Tim Neubert
Public Image Chair
Eric Jones
Bulletin Editor
Eric Jones
Youth Service Chair
Julie Sgarlata
Service Projects
Michael DeVito
Youth Exchange Officer
James Houdek
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Sycamore Rotary News
Rotary Club of Sycamore Meetings to Resume via Zoom
Posted by Tim Neubert on May 22, 2020
The Board of Directors for the Rotary Club of Sycamore has decided to resume weekly meetings at our regular time (12:00 on Wednesdays) using the video conferencing platform Zoom. Please keep your eye out for an email from Club President Pat Shafer with details about how to join the online calls. We hope to see you on Wednesday, May 27!
Sycamore Rotary Club Anniversary
Posted by Paul Callighan on May 22, 2020
As Rotarian Jim Buck pointed out in a note to the “Spoke”, it was one year ago on May 15 that our club was celebrating the 75th Anniversary of our charter.  We enter our 76th year with a lot of unknowns as we cope with the Covid-19 virus, but the same was true when 21 members were officially made part of the Rotary Club of Sycamore in 1944 as World War II continued to rage in Europe and the Pacific.  The club’s official charter is dated May 12, but due to war time restrictions, it was not until June 20 that a dinner and ceremony to recognize the charter could be held.  The charter night festivities brought out 210 guests to the Fargo Hotel.  Club President Earl Wetzel of Wetzel Brothers Jewelry presided. 
 
Current Club President Pat Shafer will soon be passing along the club’s Rotary bell and gavel to incoming President Michael DeVito.  While specifics on meetings and activities for the coming year are still being sorted out, the preamble to the official “Object of Rotary” remains a guiding principle:  “…to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.”  In other words, being a member of the Rotary Club of Sycamore is all about “Service Above Self.”       
Club Awards $8,000 in Scholarships to Sycamore High School Seniors
Posted by Tim Neubert on May 22, 2020
After several Zoom calls to review and discuss applications received, members of the club's Scholarship Committee made the decision to award a total of $8,000 in scholarships to ten (10) Sycamore High School students graduating this year. Recipients were notified of the following scholarships during SHS Senior Awards Night on Thursday, May 21):
  • $1,250 (Dr. John Ovitz Scholarship) to Matthew Cleveland (planning to attend University of North Dakota to major in Commercial Aviation and Unmanned Aircraft Systems)
  • $1, 000 (John Bauer Scholarship) to Tessa Harbecke (planning to attend Baylor University to major in Accounting)
  • $1,000 (Walter Hauswald Scholarship) to Ashley Parks (planning to attend Loyola University; major undecided)
  • $750 to Jared Grubbs (planning to attend Purdue University to major in Aerospace Engineering)
  • $750 to Genesis Miranda (planning to attend Northern Illinois University to major in Special Education)
  • $750 to Iain Purdom (planning to attend Elmhurst College to major in Business)
  • $625 to Josh Burns (planning to attend University of Missouri to major in Engineering)
  • $625 to Emily Davis (planning to attend University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign to major in Medical Research Science)
  • $625 to Lauren Harris (planning to attend Illinois State University to major in Physical Therapy)
  • $625 to Micah Kurtzman (planning to attend University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point to major in High School Counseling)
This Week in History
Posted by Paul Callighan on May 22, 2020
May 17, 1875 – The first Kentucky Derby horse race is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
 
May 17, 1954 – In Brown v. Board of Education, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously rules the segregation of public schools “solely on the basis of race” denies black children equal education opportunity.  The case against segregation was argued by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
 
May 19, 1980 – The Mt. St. Helens volcano erupts in Washington State, its first major eruption since 1857, sending steam and ash eleven miles into the sky.
 
May 20, 1927 – 25-year old Charles Lindberg takes off in the “Spirit of Saint Louis” and becomes the first person to complete a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  On this same date in 1932 Amelia Earhart would become the first woman to complete a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
Famous Birthdays
Posted by Paul Callighan on May 22, 2020
May 18, 1897 – Hollywood director Frank Capra known for “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, and “It Happened One Night”.
 
May 22, 1813 – Operatic composer Richard Wagner.
 
May 22, 1859 – Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
 
May 22, 1907 – Four-time Academy Award recipient and five-time Emmy Award recipient Sir Lawrence Olivier.