Club members are asked and encouraged to bring the following items to the May 7th or May 14th meeting to donate to Hope Haven! Please see needed items in the News/Updates section below.
Northern Illinois University (NIU) head baseball coach Ryan Copeland is seeing his team set records and beat big-time opponents during his second year at the helm. This past Tuesday the Huskies surpassed a 22 year old yearly home run record reaching 73 despite a loss to Milwaukee and they have more games to play. Copeland told Rotarians this week that the season also includes defeating Big Ten schools Northwestern and Purdue.
The NIU Huskies baseball team is setting records and defeating big-name opponents, making second year head coach Ryan Copeland proud. Copeland was guest speaker at this week’s Rotary meeting and talked about the team’s new record for home runs in a single season and their wins over Big-Ten schools Northwestern University and Purdue. The season- high home run record is now 73, with more games still to be played. The old mark of 70 had stood since 2003.
Copeland came to NIU from the University of Illinois-Springfield where he directed them to conference and NCAA Division II regional and national tournament appearances. Copeland was a college baseball pitcher at Illinois State University and later was a pitching coach for them.
Copeland said there are challenges to building a team with recent rulings about size of teams, college player subsidies and payments, and the transfer portal rules. He says it sometimes feels like you are being a brand new coach every year. For example, Copeland said he lost 24 players from last year’s squad prompting significant rebuilding. Copeland says this year’s team is stronger on offense and says getting a more balanced squad will be something to look at for the future. Copeland encouraged Rotarians to take in one of the few remaining home games of the season as NIU plays Illinois State May 6th, then plays a three game series against Toledo May 9-11. Their season ends with a three game series at Bowling Green.
April 28, 1789 – Three weeks into a journey from Tahiti to the West Indies, the HMS Bounty is seized in a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian. Captain William Bligh and 18 loyal supporters were set adrift in a small boat. Christian and other mutineers eventually establish a settlement on Pitcairn Island. Bligh survived and resumed his shipping trade.
April 29, 2004 – President George W. Bush dedicates the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.D. It consists of 56 pillars, representing U. S. states and territories, and a pair of small triumphal arches for the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of the war and sits on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.
May 1, 1960 – American U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over central Russia.
May 2, 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man is killed by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2024-2025
President – Steve Wilder
President Elect – Jonelle Bailey
Director (President Nominee) – Becky Springer
Director (President Designee) - Matt Nelson
Past President – Brandon Diviak
Treasurer – Dr. Michele Jurkovic
Secretary – Pat Shafer
Sergeant at Arms – Paulette Renault
Monthly Committees
July: Board of Directors
August: Brandon Diviak, Jeff Keicher, Pat Shafer
September: Dave Hamilton, Jeff Jacobson, Jim Stoddard
October: Paul Callighan, Matt Nelson, Paul Stromborg
November: Sue Emberson, Jeff Frank, Phil Meyer
December: Larry Berke, Ray Dembinski, Riley Oncken
Fellowship: Paulette Renault, Larry Berke, Sue Emberson, Dave Hamilton, Pat Shafer
Foundations:Paul Stromborg, Jim Buck, Sue Emberson, Matt Nelson, Jim Stoddard
Membership: Jonelle Bailey, Ray Dembinski, Brandon Diviak, Bob Hammon, Jeff Jacobson, Steve Kuhn, Phil Meyer, Matt Nelson, Riley Oncken, Jeff Petersen, Bob Wildendradt
New Generations: Chip Houdek, Julie Sgarlata, Becky Springer, Steve Wilder
Public Image: Bob Brown, Paul Callighan, Jeff Keicher, Joyce Klein, Tasha Sims
Scholarships:Tim Neubert, Don Clayberg, Ray Dembinski, Michele Jurkovic, Steve Kuhn, Julie Sgarlata
Service: Brandon Diviak, Alicia Cosky, Jeff Frank, Michele Jurkovic, Rob Mondi, Tim Neubert, Brendan Wilson
