Barn on Baseline board member Jane Whitaker shares stories about the animal shelter and adoption center with Sycamore Rotarians. Opened in 1975, the non-profit is a critical shelter for hundreds of dogs and cats. The Barn on Baseline is one of the recipients of charitable dollars raised through the weekly meeting raffle.
Abandoned, lost, surrendered, or abused/neglected dogs and cats can find refuge in rural Genoa at The Barn on Baseline according to board member Jane Whitaker. Whitaker was guest speaker at this week’s Rotary meeting. Whitaker, a volunteer since the founding of the shelter and adoption center in the mid 1970’s, says many times the organization takes in animals facing major costs for surgery beyond the means of their owners. For example, a cat facing teeth extractions needed $1,100 worth of surgery while a dog needing a cancerous growth removed faced a $600 charge.
Whitaker said over the past year, The Barn took in 153 dogs, 66 puppies, 161 cats and 169 kittens. They adopted out 189 dogs, 60 puppies, 191 cats, and 169 kittens. There were also several hundred cats and dogs vaccinated and another several hundred given locating chips.
Whitaker thanked Rotarians for making the Barn one of the groups receiving donations from the club’s weekly raffle. She urged Rotarians to get involved by volunteering and suggested starting simply by being a dog walker, cat petter, and after awhile moving into a board member role. More information is available on their website at www.TheBarnonBaseline.org; their phone number is (815) 784-5824.
July 18, 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and politician who led the country out of apartheid as first President of South Africa is born in Mvezo.
July 19, 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, who with his brother and others co-founded the famed Mayo Clinic, is born in Rochester, Minnesota.
July 20, 1919 – Explorer Edmund Hillary (the first person to climb Mt. Everest) is born in Auckland, New Zealand.
July 21, 1899 – Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway is born in Oak Park, Illinois.
July 17, 1955 – Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California.
July 18, 1947 – President Harry Truman signs an Executive Order formally determining the line of succession for the Presidency beyond that of Vice-President (i.e., Speaker of the House, Senate President, etc.) and includes how to handle cases of disability. This later becomes the basis of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution which is ratified in 1967.
July 20, 1969 – Watched by a worldwide audience, the U. S. Apollo 11 crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in “The Sea of Tranquility.” Astronaut Neil Armstrong took his first step onto the moon six and a half hours later.
July 21, 1853 – Central Park in New York is created when the New York State Legislature puts aside more than 750 acres of land on Manhattan Island. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and is considered a masterpiece of landscape architecture.
Birthdays & Club Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Patrick Shafer
January 12
Jeff Frank
January 19
Join Date
Paul Callighan
January 1, 1989
35 years
David Hamilton
January 2, 1989
35 years
Paul Stromborg
January 3, 1978
46 years
Jim Stoddard
January 4, 1987
37 years
James Buck
January 11, 1979
45 years
Robert Wildenradt
January 11, 1963
61 years
Heidi Wright
January 12, 2004
20 years
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2023-2024
President – Brandon Diviak
President Elect – Steve Wilder
Director (President Nominee) – Jonelle Bailey
Director (President Designee) - Becky Springer
Past President – Tim Neubert
Treasurer – Dr. Michele Jurkovic
Secretary – Sally Bruch
Sergeant at Arms – Paulette Renault
Monthly Committees
July: Board of Directors
August: Jeff Keicher, Brandon Diviak, Pat Shafer
September: Dave Hamilton, Jeff Jacobson, Jim Stoddard
October: Paul Callighan, Matt Nelson, Paul Stromborg
November: Sue Emberson, Jeff Frank, Heidi Wright
December: Paul Barnaby, Larry Berke, Riley Oncken
January: Ray Dembinski, Joyce Klein, Rob Mondi, Tim Neubert
Membership: Jonelle Bailey, Ray Dembinski, Bob Hammon, Steve Kuhn, Jeff Petersen, Bob Wildendradt, Jeff Jacobson, Brandon Diviak, Matt Nelson, Riley Oncken
Public Image: Bob Brown, Paul Callighan, Jeff Keicher, Joyce Klein, Tasha Sims
Fellowship: Paulette Renault, Pat Shafer, Sally Bruch, Sue Emberson, Dave Hamilton, Paul Barnaby, Larry Berke
Service: Brandon Diviak, Jeff Frank, Michele Jurkovic, Rob Mondi, Brendan Wilson, Heidi Wright, Alicia Cosky, Tim Neubert
Foundations: Jim Buck, Sue Emberson, Matt Nelson, Jim Stoddard, Paul Stromborg
New Generations: Chip Houdek, Julie Sgarlata, Becky Springer, Steve Wilder
Scholarships: Tim Neubert, Julie Sgarlata, Ray Dembinski, Steve Kuhn, Michele Jurkovic, Don Clayberg
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