Club President Paulette Renault presents a $2,500 check to Spartan Food Pantry representative Courtney Waltz to help with purchase of a much-needed freezer.
Sycamore High School Head Football Coach Joe Ryan shares the latest with club members.
Sycamore High School football coach Joe Ryan told Sycamore Rotarians he is eager to return to fall football for the new school year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced a spring schedule last year. However, their first regular season practice of Monday last week was anything but normal when the team was forced inside to follow tornado protocols and then was forced to manage practice the following day with a 110-degree heat index.
The Spartans will open their season with a matchup against rival DeKalb on August 27. They will then have a non-conference game with at Oak Forest (a schedule match-up where it was difficult to find an opponent) before beginning Interstate 8 Conference play at home against Kaneland. Although the Spartans went 6-0 in last year’s Covid-impacted season and many of the key players from that team are returning, he said the team is missing seven utility players from last year which may impact their play.
Fine Master Jeff Jacobson worked in some facts and highlights about coach Ryan during his questions to raise funds for scholarships. Rotarians learned that Ryan has been coaching for 34 years, that he began his career in Eureka, that he has 163 career wins as head coach, and that he considers his signature career win a victory over Sterling in 2016. However, most importantly, coach Ryan won the gratitude of Rotarians when he began his talk by saying, “Sycamore is the greatest place I’ve ever been.”
Thanks to a Rotary District matching grant, Club President Paulette Renault (in photo above) presented a check for $2,500 to Spartan Food Pantry representative Courtney Waltz to help with purchase of a much-needed freezer. The district portion of the grant included five hundred special bonus dollars. Waltz explained that the freezer will expand the pantry’s ability to offer fruits and vegetables to clients. The Spartan Food Pantry is open to families of school district children every other Wednesday from 4:30-6:00 PM at the school district warehouse (520 N. Maple Avenue).
As a reminder, the club begins delivering the Sycamore West route for Meals On Wheels starting Monday, August 23.
10:45 AM pick up at Volunteer Action Center complex, 1606 Bethany Road in Sycamore. Masks are appreciated, but not required.
The members delivering August 23-27: Jim Stoddard, Ray Dembinski, Pat Shafer, Eric Jones, Jonelle Bailey, Michelle Jurkovic, Sue Emberson, Curt Lang, and Karen Lang.
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.
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.
August 15, 1969 - Woodstock began in a field near Yasgur's Farm at Bethel, New York. The three-day concert featured 24 rock bands and drew a crowd of more than 300,000 young people. The event came to symbolize the counter-culture movement of the 1960's.
August 17, 1978 – The first transatlantic balloon trip was completed. Americans Max Anderson, Ben Abruzzo, and Larry Newman had departed from Maine 137 hours earlier in “Double Eagle II” and landed about 60 miles west of Paris.
August 19, 1920 – The 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is ratified giving women the right to vote.
August 21, 1959 – President Dwight Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th State of the Union.
August 17, 1786 – Frontiersman and politician Davey Crockett is born in Hawkins County, Tennessee. He would die at age 49 during the defense of the Alamo in Texas.
August 18, 1774 – American explorer Meriwether Lewis is born near Charlottesville, Virginia. He would explore the American West as part of the famous expedition with William Clark that reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805.
August 19, 1871 – Aviation pioneer Orville Wright is born in Dayton, Ohio.
August 19, 1946 – 42nd U. S. President Bill Clinton is born in Hope, Arkansas.
August 20, 1833 – 23rd U. S. President Benjamin Harrison is born in North Bend, Ohio (he is the grandson of the 9th President, William Henry Harrison).
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