Sycamore Rotarians were among the many volunteers who helped support riders in the annual MS Tour de Farms bike-a-thon on Saturday, June 10th.
Rotarians manned a checkpoint and relief station at North School in Sycamore, providing riders with food, water and other assistance during the course of the day. The Sycamore, Kishwaukee Sunrise and DeKalb Rotary Clubs came together to provide the manpower necessary for the checkpoint.
Riders came to the NIU Convocation Center on both Saturday and Sunday to begin their rides; they covered courses of varying lengths, most of which ran through the rural areas of DeKalb County. Proceeds will go towards research and care for those with multiple sclerosis.
Musician Andy Grammer will be the headline performer at the inaugural Answers4SUDC fundraising concert, to be held on Saturday, September 9th at RiverEdge Park in Aurora.
This is the continuation of "Answers for Emmett" launched by Rotarian Jeff Frank in honor of his son; tickets to this concert are now available, and Rotarians can take advantage of a special rate between now and June 20th.
Follow the enclosed contact information for details:
Paul Stromborg lived a bit of an adventurer's life, both during his time with the U.S. Air Force...and beforehand, when he sailed the Indian Ocean.
After graduating from NIU in 1964 with a degree in marine biology, Paul signed up for a research cruise; the sailing ship Te Vega (which was originally owned by Hermann Goering) took him to locations around the Indian Ocean from Africa to Singapore -- where he learned far more about history than the Euro-Western dates and developments he learned back in school.
He served in the Air Force during the late 1960's with the Strategic Air Command; after mustering out, he went to medical school at the University of Chicago and set up a practice in Sycamore with his father-in-law.
DeKalb and Sycamore each had their own hospitals then -- and the rivalry between the staff doctors at each was so intense, that they wouldn't even walk on the same side of the street with each other.
Paul re-enlisted in the late 1980's as a flight surgeon, and also became jet-qualified...learning the hard way about the physical effects of an 8-G barrel roll on the human body. He returned to the Sycamore area after his service was up, and worked at Kishwaukee Medical Associates until his retirement in 2014.
Jane Ovitz, the wife of late Sycamore Rotarian Dr. John Ovitz, dropped in prior to the June 7th meeting with a donation of $1,000 for Shelter Box USA.
Doc Ovitz was always a generous supporter of Shelter Box, and traditionally provided a donation at least once a year; the $1,000 provided will be enough to provide a fully-stocked Box for use at a disaster location somewhere in the world.
Shelter Box provides emergency shelter and supplies to survivors of disasters around the world; this Rotary-affiliated organization has responded to major disaster scenes for over 20 years. Rotarian Brian Adams serves as our Club Liason to Shelter Box; we will be having a presentation on the program coming up at our June 21st meeting.
Incoming Sycamore Rotary Club President Eric Jones plans to hit the ground running, as his term will begin with two events designed to get Rotarians focused on club goals for the coming year.
The first meeting of the 2017-2018 Rotary year on July 5th will be the annual Club Assembly; Rotary International requires all clubs to hold such an assembly each year, and this time will be used to go over objectives and strategies for the next twelve months.
Assemblies will be scheduled on a quarterly basis, and are intended to be interactive -- giving Rotarians the chance to discuss Club goals.
Then on July 12th, Rotarians will break into their individual committees and begin planning for upcoming projects and campaigns. Eric plans to make time available during general Rotary Club meetings for committee planning sessions; this will enable Rotarians to conduct necessary committee business, without having to remain after a general meeting or convene at another time.
The Board of Directors will itself act as the July Program Committee, dealing with guest speakers and meeting planning; assignments for the remaining monthly committees, as well as other committees, are expected to be made in the coming weeks.
Sycamore Rotary meetings and events will be easier to find, thanks to a new sign obtained by the Club on June 7th.
The 3' x 2' sign designed by Banner Up Signs of Sycamore will be posted at the entrance to Blumen Gardens' parking lot on meeting days; the building can be a bit hard to find for visitors unfamiliar with the area...and the presence of this sign will not only help guide visitors to our meeting site, but remind the public that Rotary is here, and ready to serve.
The sign will also be available for use at all Sycamore Rotary-related events, helping to draw attention to our Club and the projects we do.
Electronic ballots have been sent out, for selection of this year's recipient of the John W. Ovitz, Jr. Rotarian of the Year Award.
Rotarians received ballots by e-mail, and paper ballots will be made available at the June 14th Rotary Club meeting; voting formally closes at 1:00 p.m. on the 14th. This year's winner will be announced at the Installation Brunch for DG Steve Kuhn (at Faranda's on Sunday, June 25th).
Due to a recent rule change, previous recipients are eligible again after five years.
Ballots will be tabulated by current President Sue Emberson, President-Elect Eric Jones and 2016 Ovitz Award winner Julie Sgarlata. Contact Sue if you have any questions about the selection procedure.
Please join us for brunch on Sunday, June 25, 2017 for the installation of our new District Governor, Steve Kuhn. The event will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Faranda's, 302 Grove Street in DeKalb.
The event will also feature the installation of Eric Jones as President of the Sycamore Rotary Club, and the announcement of this year's recipient of the John W. Ovitz, Jr. Rotarian of the Year Award.
Cost is $30.00 per person; the deadline to register is Monday, June 19th. Reservations must be made in advance; no payments will be accepted at the door.
The Sycamore Rotary Club's annual Golf Outing will be held on Wednesday, June 28th at the Sycamore Golf Course; it will be preceded by a make-up session at 12:00 p.m. at the clubhouse. Four-man scramble play begins at 1:00; the round will be followed by dinner at the clubhouse.
Each event that day counts as a separate make-up, so if you spend the whole day at the course you'll receive three make-ups -- and that may be useful, if you are close to making perfect attendance for 2016-17.
Rotarians not playing must sign up separately for the pre- and post-golf events; golfers will automatically be included for the 12:00 make-up session, but must indicate on the sign-up sheet if they will be staying for dinner afterwards.
Since the traditional Installation of Officers will be held the previous Sunday during DG Steve Kuhn's Installation Brunch, the post-golf event will be strictly a dinner.
If you have questions, please contact Dan Gibble for details.
Attendance Report -- June 14, 2017
Attendance: 42.03%
Visiting Rotarians:Keith and Moulie Graham (Antigua Sundown)
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