Rotary President Tim Neubert proudly shows off one of two new signs to be posted inside the Saint Mary Parish Activity Center in Sycamore promoting Rotary’s weekly meetings at the site. The Center is located at 312 Waterman Street.
The sport of Dragon Boat Racing was explained to members of Rotary this week by local club leader Gary Scott. Scott took up the sport at age 71 after retiring from the postal service.
Club Speaker Gary Scott leads the “Flying Ears” Dragon Boat Racing Team, a name in recognition of the local area’s ties to agriculture. Team members range in age from 15 to 80 with both men and womenmaking up the 20-member boat racing team.
You might find an unusual site while visiting Shabbona Lake State Park as 80-year-old Gary Scott and his teammates take their 42-foot-long, 20-person paddler boat with its dragon head out for practice. They are members of the “Flying Ears” Dragon Boat Racing team, a sport with a rich history and a unique blend of teamwork and physical prowess. Scott has been part of the sport since he turned 71 and had recently retired from the postal service. He now leads the team which is a multi-award-winning group made up of both men and women ranging in age from 15 to 80. Speaking at this week’s Rotary meeting, Scott said their races range in distance from 200 to 2,000 meters. He also made big point of saying the racing crew paddles, they don’t row, to propel their boat. Even though the boat is made out of fiberglass and carbon-fiber, it still weights about 600 pounds.
The sport of dragon boat racing dates back over 2,000 years to ancient China. It has its origins in religious and folk ritual observances. Traditional boats include a drummer and someone to steer, in addition to the paddlers. Scott said the sport had a resurgence of interest in the 1970’s and then took on even greater prominence after Dr. Don McKenzie of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, determined the rigorous paddling of dragon boat racing was beneficial in the recovery of women who underwent breast cancer surgery. This led to dragon boat racing raising awareness of breast cancer and becoming an inspirational step in the recovery process.
Scott said local interest in dragon boat racing came from Marybeth McGill who was aquatics director for the Kishwaukee YMCA and was a swimming coach for the DeKalb schools. Although McGill succumbed to cancer in 2012, Scott said she laid a foundation for continued interest in the sport. The Covid pandemic disrupted competitions but Scott says racing events are gradually returning to pre-Covid levels. He said the hope is for the local team to eventually be able to take part in a world championship. For him personally, Scott says dragon boar racing gives him the important physical tool to stay in shape even though calendar years progress.
Posted by Laura Kann, District Governor on Oct 13, 2022
Hello District 6420 Rotarians! Have you registered yet for our 2022-2023 Rotary District Conference? If not, the time has come to do so. Just go to the District website at https://rotary6420.org/ and then look under Upcoming Events for the 2022-2023 District 6420 Conference. The Conference is being held November 4-5 at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.
Early bird registration ends one week from today (Thursday, October 20) and you don't want to miss the chance to register for just $90. The $90 covers dinner on Friday evening (our District's Annual Foundation Dinner), plus lunch, dinner, and snacks on Saturday. The Hampton Inn - just over a mile down the road - has rooms available for $109 (before tax). If you cannot come both days, then please plan on attending whatever day works best for you. We would so love to see you there! Please note: There will be no walk-up registrations allowed.
The theme of the conference is ethical leadership and we will be approaching that topic from a variety of angles – sports and sport management, local government, volunteer, corporate, military, and academic. We have a great group of speakers specially selected for you. You can learn more about them (and all things District Conference!) by clicking on this link that will take you right to the District Conference edition of our District Newsletter - https://rotary6420.org/bulletin/View/837a0c79-a039-4be3-843c-3cee51d9e918. We will also be doing a service project to help the kids from Ukraine and raising money to help eradicate polio. Wow!
We hope this District Conference builds new leadership skills, motivates you to take your Rotary service to a whole new level, and provides great opportunities for fellowship.
Please register now – I can’t wait to see you November 4-5. Just IMAGINE the fun we are going to have!
Posted by Tim Neubert & Heidi Wright on Oct 05, 2022
The Rotary Club of Sycamore will host a Chicken Salad Taste Test Event during our regular meeting on Wednesday, October 26 at 12:00 Noon. The Suter Company will give the club $10 for each tasting form that is collected, and 4 tubs of chicken salad will be to be auctioned off. All proceeds will benefit Polio Plus (Rotary's effort to end polio)!
This event checks all the boxes for Rotary: no cost to Rotarians, no tickets to sell, no volunteer time outside the meeting, and you get to taste chicken salad! Doesn’t get much better than that!
Tell your family! Tell your friends! Bring them all!
Our goal is at least 60 people. Here are the 44 people we have signed up so far (alphabetically by last name):
As with Happy Dollars and fines, 50/50 raffle proceeds have long been earmarked for the scholarship fund for Sycamore High School seniors. In an effort to "spread the wealth" and support more causes, the members of your Rotary Board have determined that 50/50 raffle proceeds collected each month will benefit a different cause.
For the month of April, 50/50 raffle proceeds will help support Tails Humane Society to build a compassionate community through the care of companion animals. The Board has committed that the total amount given to this cause will be no less than $250.
Thank you for your support of this important cause...and best of luck with the raffle!
Posted by Kim McIver, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County on Oct 04, 2022
My name is Kim McIver, and I am the new Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County. With this being the 2nd week on the job, I am humbled to be joining such an incredible affiliate!
Since 1998, this affiliate has built 15 homes and we are going strong on our 16th build in Malta. Having come from a different Habitat for Humanity affiliate, I know just how critical our volunteer base is. I know that every single Habitat home is built with love, and that love is what gives our Partner Families the Foundation to start their future. That every volunteer hour that is spent building a home is a memory that a partner family treasures as they start a new phase in their lives.
You are all a part of that, and with that feeling of building memories for our families, I would like to invite you to join us on Saturdays in Malta at 8am.
Please RSVP to me at kmciver.hfhdc@gmail.com, so we can plan accordingly. And I look forward to meeting you in person on our build site soon. I truly don’t think there are enough words to express our thanks for all that you do.
October 10, 1900 – Helen Hayes, nicknamed the “First Lady of the American Theater,” is born in Washington, D.C.
October 11, 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt is born in New York City. She marries her fifth cousin, Franklin, and famously carries out the duties of First Lady when he becomes President in 1933. Following Franklin’s death in office, Eleanor remains active in political and social causes, including serving as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and being affectionately called “First Lady of the World.”
October 14, 1890 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, who becomes 34th President of the United States and serves as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, is born in Denison, Texas.
October 15, 1924 – Corporate folk hero and automobile executive Lee Iacocca is born in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
October 12, 1492 – Christopher Columbus successfully navigates across the Atlantic by ship landing in the Bahamas and leading to the opening of colonization and trade from Europe.
October 12, 1960 – During a debate over colonialism in the United Nations, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev takes off his shoe and pounds his desk repeatedly.
October 13, 1884 – Greenwich was established as the universal time from which standard times throughout the world are calculated.
October 14, 1947 – U. S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier flying in a rocket-powered research aircraft.
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