Our Student of the Month for January is Miranda "Lilly" Baker. Lilly is a very active and successful senior at Sycamore High School, and plans to attend St. Olaf College (Minnesota) or North Central College (Illinois) next year. She intends to major in biology and participate in cross country.
Lilly is a volunteer and advocate of TAILS Humane Society in DeKalb, and dedicated most of her time at the podium (and the $100 check from our Rotary Club) to them. Did you know TAILS is an acronym for Taking Animals Into Loving Shelters?
The TAILS mission is to build a compassionate community through the care of companion animals. They have three main goals:
Rescue and Adoption: TAILS provides a safe haven for local animals who are strays or have owners who can no longer care for them. They also work with open admission shelters to rescue animals who are at risk of euthanasia.
Programs: Through community outreach they strive to be an advocate for animals in our region by supporting pets in the home. These programs cover a broad range of assistance and make a notable difference in many lives.
Services: Their dog training and low-cost spay/neuter services not only help support their mission, these services help ensure successful adoptions and long-term pet-owner happiness.
TAILS Humane Society is 100% service and donor funded.
Dr. Laurie Borowicz has served as President of Kishwaukee College for 6 years. She came to KC with 16 years of higher education experience, preceded by 6 years as a high school guidance counselor. These years were spent in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Dr. Borowicz now lives in Sycamore with her husband and son, who is a junior at Sycamore High School. Following her son's graduation in Spring 2023, she and her spouse will be empty-nesters.
The Kishwaukee College presidency has not been entirely what Dr. Borowicz expected (especially given the impact of COVID during the last two years), but she said it's been a good experience overall. She has seen lots of love in the community/area and describes KC's board of trustees (including our own Bob Hammon) as "fabulous".
Kishwaukee College services approximately 4,000 students per year. The number of students has declined over the years due to fewer college-age people and lower unemployment. Under Dr. Borowicz's leadership, the focus has been on providing the best experience possible to the students they DO serve.
Most students attending Kishwaukee College are seeking an associates degree followed by a transfer to another institution. As fifty percent of those students who plan to transfer intend to go to Northern Illinois University, KC strives to maintain a strong partnership with the university. KC also has a strong partnership with area high schools (including Sycamore High School), providing lots of dual credit programs which involve zero tuition fees for students.
Kishwaukee College is focused on diversity and equity, and 45% of their students are racially-diverse. In fact, their Hispanic student population of 24% is just 1% below official classification as a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).
Dr. Borowicz and her team at Kishwaukee College continue to assess the needs of people to provide an efficient education that gets them working and moving forward.
As a preventative measure, all Library programs are canceled or postponed. Additionally, all meeting room reservations made by outside groups are canceled. Current info will be reflected here.
View all our online and virtual programming on our Facebook and YouTube channel.
Posted by David Bills, Governor Rotary District 6420 on Dec 20, 2021
Some of our clubs have inquired about providing assistance to areas that were hit hard by the terrible tornados of a few days ago. If your club is interested, here are two great options for safe giving to the storm ravaged areas:
Significant damage occurred in Edwardsville, IL. Edwardsville is located in District 6460 which is the district directly south of our district. District 6460 is also part of our PETS training group. Most of the coverage of the storms in Edwardsville has focused on the Amazon facility where six lives were lost and many more were injured. There was also extreme damage to residential areas impacting many homes. Brent Garner, President of the Rotary Club of Edwardsville, and Art Risavy, Edwardsville mayor and fellow Rotarian, advise the best organization to donate to in order to support storm victims in the Edwardsville area is the Relief Fund of the Edwardsville Community Foundation. The link to give to the ECF Relief Fund is:
The State of Kentucky was hit especially hard. Western Kentucky, where the most lives were lost and the most damage done, is served by Rotary District 6710. District Governor Gail Story has let us know that their district has established a fund for the victims in that area. Donations can be mailed to the following address:
Rotary District 6710 Relief Fund c/o Sheila Stoke 7906 Westover Dr. Prospect, KY 40059
Of course, donations can always be made through the Salvation Army and Red Cross. Specify the area where your donations are intended. As we celebrate this holiday season with our family and friends, let us not forget those who will not be celebrating this year. To you and your family I wish a Happy Holidays and may 2022 be our best year yet.
Donations are currently being requested for the Sycamore Food Pantry. Bring a bottle of laundry detergent...or $10 for Julie Sgarlata to purchase one. Money is easier to handle.
Personal hygiene items (bar soap, shampoo, etc.) are also being sought.
January 4, 1809 – Louis Braille is born in France. Blinded as a boy, he invents a reading system for the blind using punch marks in paper.
January 6, 1412 – Joan of Arc is born in France. After a series of mystic visions, she inspires French troops to break the British siege at Orleans and win several important battles during the Hundred Years War.
January 7, 1800 – Millard Fillmore, the 13 th U. S. President, is born in a log cabin in Cayuga County, New York.
January 8, 1935 – Singer, musician, and actor Elvis “The King” Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Posted by Paul Callighan & Tim Neubert on Jan 07, 2022
January 3, 1959 – Alaska was admitted to the Union as the 49 the U. S. State.
January 5, 1925 – Nellie Taylor Ross of Wyoming becomes the first woman governor inaugurated in the U.S.
January 6, 2021 - Vice President Mike Pence was to preside over the official process for counting the electoral college votes and certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election during a joint session of Congress. This peaceful transfer of presidential authority, the mainstay of the American democracy since 1800, was interrupted as thousands of people violently broke through police security and entered the Capitol. This was the first time that the Capitol had been breached on a large scale since the War of 1812 when British troops attacked the city.
January 7, 1714 – A patent was issued for the first typewriter designed by British inventor Henry Mull.