On June 16 of this year, Congress voted to create Juneteenth as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.
June 16 Drive-Thru Rib Dinner Was a Great Success: 641 Dinners Distributed
Sycamore Rotarians prep 641 rib dinners! Pictured left to right: Sue Emberson, Kathy Countryman, Pat Shafer, Ray Dembinski, Bob Hammon, Paul Stromborg, Paulette Berg, Mark Spiegelhoff.
President-Elect Paulette Renault delivers our tasty meals to grateful supporters.
Putting our best foot forward, these Rotarians welcome hungry guests. Pictured left to right: Sally Bruch, Paul Callighan, and Steve Kuhn.
Club Members Julie Sgarlata and Pat Shafer take a break from delivering rib dinners.
Rotary District Governor-Nominee Laura Kann promotes Foundation support and world service while speaking to Sycamore Rotarians at noon meeting on June 16.
Club Foundation Chair Paul Stromborg says Polio eradication is almost accomplished.
Princeton Rotarian Laura Kann, current District Governor-Nominee, spoke this week about her early ties to Rotary and how the organization helped her reach her goal of helping others after she entered the working world. Kann was born and raised in Princeton where her father was a long-time Rotarian. After receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Indiana University, she started a 30-year career as a scientist with the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. This led to her travelling to 54 countries, many facing challenges to provide basic living essentials for their populations. To satisfy her desire to give back to those less fortunate than her, she joined the Dunwoody, Georgia Rotary Club in 1984 and became immersed in Rotary world service.
Kann says the Dunwoody Rotary Club is known for its impressive record of service for projects promoted by the Rotary Foundation. She served as President of the Dunwoody Club in 2011-2012. She and her husband came back to Princeton in 2017 in order to provide care for her parents and she proceeded to join the same Rotary Club of which her father previously was a member. She now hopes to bring her passion for service to the District level in Northwestern Illinois. She told Sycamore Rotarians, “I look forward to serving alongside you.”
Paul Stromborg told Rotarians this week that it was on a trip to New Delhi, India where he was hosted by a local Rotarian when he was moved to realize how lucky he is to live where he does. He said he saw first-hand how challenging living conditions can be in other parts of the world. Stromborg said Gifts to the Rotary Foundation are all about doing good to bring about meaningful changes to help others. The Foundation has a sustaining donation model where gifts are held for three years allowing interest to fund operating expenses and then 50% of the funds go back to districts for projects and the other 50% is available for world fund projects. Stromborg explained the Foundation has designated funds for polio eradication (where now only a few isolated cases remain), special projects, and an endowment. Stromborg said the “Every Rotarian Every Year” campaign (where Rotarians give a minimum of $100 a year to the foundation) will be highlighted with a baseball-themed promotion at the District level for 2021-2022. Stay tuned for details to learn what Team Sycamore will need to do for a championship.
Below is a list of art fairs in the northern Illinois area that I found for the next few months. There are probably more, but this is a start. If you are looking for a good time, art fairs are usually a lot of fun. If you go, please collect business cards from vendors and any literature about the event. Get them to me and we can create a data base of vendors for our future event. Remember, no database, no event. Let's all get behind this and have some fun. Pick a fair and a couple of other Rotarians and make a fun day of it.
Posted by Kevin Freking, Associated Press on Jun 17, 2021
The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk, and he is expected to sign it into law.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. That was also about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states.
It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.
“Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. “I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaking next to a large poster of a Black man whose back bore massive scarring from being whipped, said she would be in Galveston this Saturday to celebrate along with Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
“Can you imagine?” said the rather short Jackson Lee. “I will be standing maybe taller than Sen. Cornyn, forgive me for that, because it will be such an elevation of joy.”
The Senate passed the bill a day earlier under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation. It takes just one senator’s objection to block such agreements.
June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth Day) – In Galveston, Texas, Union General Gordan Granger enters the city and reads General Order #3 transmitting the news of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to 256,000 enslaved Texans (two years after the proclamation was originally issued).
June 14, 1922 – Warren G. Harding becomes the first U. S. President to broadcast a message over the radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.
June 15, 1215 – King John set his seal to the Magna Carta guaranteeing certain rights of liberty. It becomes the foundation of modern democracies around the world.
June 18, 1815 – On the fields of Waterloo in central Belgium, 72,000 French troops led by Napoleon suffer a crushing military defeat from a combined army of 113,000 British, Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian troops.
June 13, 1903 – “The Galloping Ghost”, Harold “Red” Grange, is born in Forksville, Pennsylvania. The University of Illinois star earned his nickname after a memorable game against Michigan where he returned the opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown, scored three more touchdowns in the first 12 minutes, scored a fifth touchdown in the second half, threw a touchdown pass, and had two interceptions while playing defense. After college he played professionally for the Chicago Bears helping legitimize the National Football League.
June 14, 1906 – Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White was born in New York City. She becomes one of four original staff photographers of LIFE Magazine in 1936 and later the first woman to be an accredited war correspondent during World War II.
June 16, 1890 – Film comedian Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame is born in Ulverston, England.
June 19, 1902 – Baseball’s “Iron Horse”, Lou Gehrig, is born in New York City. He played in 2,130 consecutive games and seven World Series for the Yankees only to die at age 37 from the degenerative muscle disease that bears his name.
