Doug Johnson has served as DeKalb County Clerk since 2013, and prior to that operated family businesses in his native Sandwich; but his career could have been very different, due to his stint in the U.S. Army.
Doug joined the Army after graduation, and first trained as a combat engineer; but he eventually changed career tracks, first becoming parachute-qualified with the Airborne...then joining Special Forces as a Green Beret...and then becoming an Army Ranger. He eventually was assigned to an Army Green Light team, where he trained to deploy Special Atomic Demolition Munitions (SADM) -- a backpack-carried nuclear weapon.
But after just three years in the service, he gave up this highly-specialized training to return to Sandwich; his father provided him with 300 acres, enough to get him started with his own farm during the 1980's. He eventually moved into tax lien investments, operating that company until his appointment as County Clerk; he gave up his direct interest in the company, which his daughter Megan now controls.
He was elected to a full term as County Clerk in 2014, and plans to run again next year.
After a hiatus of several years, the Sycamore Rotary Club is bringing back the Steak Fry.
It will be held on Thursday, October 19th at Becker Park, located at 12710 Base Line Road in Kingston; there will be an evening of games, food and fun for all Sycamore Rotarians and their families.
If you plan to attend, please contact Don Clayberg at donsyc@aol.com
Tickets are now on sale for the annual Sycamore Rotary Pancake Breakfast, to be held on Saturday, October 27th during the Pumpkin Festival.
We will be serving pancakes and sausage from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Federated Church, located at 612 W. State Street in Sycamore.
Tickets are $5.00 each; you can purchase one in advance from any Sycamore Rotarian, or at the door. All proceeds will go towards the club's Scholarship Fund for Sycamore High School.
Volunteers are needed to serve that day, or to help set up on Friday afternoon; you can sign up at the upcoming Rotary Club meeting.
Judging for the annual Pumpkin Baking Contest will be held on Thursday, October 26th; it will take place at Sycamore Middle School, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
Sycamore Rotarians will again judge entries in the Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Baked Goods categories; the winners will be invited to a Rotary Club meeting in November, with samples of their winning entries for Rotarians to taste. Each winning student will receive a cash prize.
We are once again projecting the End Polio Now logo on the front of the DeKalb County Courthouse the weekend prior to Pumpkin Festival, in observance of this worldwide campaign.
The projected EPN logo will be visible from 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20th through Wednesday, October 25th; this will include Tuesday, October 24th, which is World Polio Day.
This has become an annual tradition for the Rotary Club of Sycamore; the projection is made possible with the assistance of DeKalb County Facilities Director Jim Scheffers, and Upstaging, Inc.
A new round of Paul Harris Fellowship awards will be presented at the October 25th meeting of the Rotary Club of Sycamore.
All current Paul Harris recipients are reminded to wear their medallions and/or pins to mark the occasion, as we salute those who have earned their new or latest PHF awards by contributing to The Rotary Foundation.
District 6420 will hold its annual Foundation Dinner at Brandywine Banquets in Dixon on Saturday, November 4th. It will run from 4:45 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
The Foundation Dinner is a celebration and recognition of District 6420 Rotary members and their support for The Rotary Foundation. The dinner is open to all district members who want to learn about The Rotary Foundation. For more information go to this link
The Sycamore Rotary Club will be manning collection kettles on behalf of the Salvation Army for DeKalb County on Saturday, December 2nd; we will be at the Jewel-Osco on Peace Road from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
At least two Rotarians will be needed for each shift; we will be signing up volunteers at an upcoming Rotary Club meeting. See Dave Andrews for more information.
Wednesday, November 22nd -- Make-Up Session at Blumen Gardens: In lieu of the regular meeting, we will have a make-up session at the usual time; attendance is optional, and those on hand will receive make-up credit.
Wednesday, November 29th -- Toys for Tots Collection: Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Rotary meeting for donation to Toys for Tots.
Saturday, December 2nd -- Salvation Army Kettle Collection: Rotarians will again spend a day manning one of the iconic Salvation Army red kettles to take in contributions for support of the needy during the holiday season. Times and location will be announced shortly.
Wednesday, December 20th -- Sycamore Rotary Holiday Party: Our annual holiday celebration during the regular meeting; please watch for further details.
Sunday, December 24th -- Goodfellows Gift Distribution: Rotarians are invited to join other members of the public in bringing goodwill to those in need on Christmas Eve. You are invited to come to Blumen Gardens at 8:00 a.m. that day to help deliver gifts on behalf of the Goodfellows.
Wednesday, December 27th -- Meeting cancelled: Please enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones.
All other meetings will take place at the usual time and location.
Make a Difference DKC is again preparing for its annual food packing event on behalf of Feed My Starving Children...and Rotarians are being asked to help, by supporting their annual raffle or buying specially designed T-shirts.
Tickets are now being sold for $20 each, with $8 going back to the organization which sells the ticket; the grand prize is $10,000, to be drawn on November 12th at the conclusion of this year's food packing event.
If you would like to buy or sell raffle tickets, tickets are available now and at upcoming Rotary meetings; sales will continue through November 9th.
T-shirts for this year's Make a Difference DKC are also on sale; these shirts are designed by a local student, and cost $22 each. That will be enough to provide 100 meals for starving children (at $.22 per meal).
Shirts are available in adult S/M/LG/XL/XXL and youth M/L.
Volunteers will be needed for the food packing itself, to be held from Thursday, November 9th through Sunday, November 12th at The Suter Company in Sycamore. Our Rotary Club will again be sponsoring the event, and providing volunteers to help pack food for distribution to needy children in areas around the world.
Please contact Heidi Wright for more information at (815) 895-9186, or at Hwright@suterco.com
Attendance Report -- October 18, 2017
Attendance: 68.12%
Guests of Members: Libby Swedberg (Ben Swedberg)
Other Guests: Luca-Sophie Giese (exchange student)
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