Success didn't come easy for Dennis Barsema; he took a low-paying job out of college, carefully planned out a "road map" for his future, and -- in spite of several challenges along the way -- became a successful tech CEO.
Barsema says sticking to the plan he mapped out for himself was essential, especially after going through a divorce and a period where he was flat broke. He says having these goals in writing, and keeping them in mind even at his lowest, helped him to stay on course -- leading his company to one of the largest initial public offerings (IPO) of stock in American history.
He has since donated two buildings to the Northern Illinois Campus, and taught in one of them on a regular basis; he founded a course in social entrepreneurship -- using business methods to deal with social concerns -- and NIU is now one of the few colleges in the country which offers this as a major.
Earlier this year, he was appointed to the NIU Board of Trustees; that meant giving up his teaching position, but he still sneaks back in to give the occasional lecture...to inspire tomorrow's entrepreneurs to follow their own road map.
Many families of children in the Sycamore School District can’t afford coats for the upcoming winter; but Rotary plans to help them out – and needs the public’s help.
The Rotary Club of Sycamore and B-95 Radio are sponsoring Operation Warm, a fundraising drive to provide children with winter coats. Rather than collect used or leftover coats, Operation Warm provides brand-new, specially-made coats for children of all ages.
Rotary’s goal is to raise at least $1,200, enough to buy 60 coats for children in District 427; these will be distributed to the recipient children at an event later this fall.
Rotarians will be out collecting for Operation Warm on Saturday, September 30th; we will be at the intersection of Elm and Somonauk Streets from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. to collect donations from passing motorists.
You can contribute to our fundraising webpage atoperationwarm.org, or by sending your donation to:
Operation Warm
PO Box 822431 Philadelphia, PA 19182-2431
(Please be sure to note that your contribution is for the Rotary Club of Sycamore, IL)
On Saturday, September 9, 2017, Andy Grammer will be headlining a concert at River's Edge in Aurora to help raise awareness for SUDC.
Joining Grammer will be musicians Ali Morgan and Marty Casey; gates open at 6 p.m. with the show beginning at 7 p.m.
Answers4SUDC is an innovative charitable effort to honor the memory of Emmett Frank while raising awareness and funds toward research and family support for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.
By hosting Answers4SUDC, his parents Jeff and Kristy Frank hope to someday prevent the tragedy of Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) so that no other family might have to endure this loss. Proceeds benefit the SUDC Foundation.
Houston and southeastern Texas are now recovering from massive flooding, as a result of Hurricane Harvey -- some of the worst flooding the state, and the United States, has ever seen.
District 6420 PDG Kent Mallquist now lives in Texas, and he has put out the call for Rotarians to donate towards Harvey recovery efforts; you can go to this link for more information.
Shelter Box USA has also dispatched a team to coordinate relief efforts on the ground, and created a fund specifically to assist those affected by Harvey; you can find more information about how to donate at this link
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.
As the home club of District 6420 Governor Steve Kuhn, the Sycamore Rotary Club will be the hosts for next spring's District Conference -- and people are needed to help plan the event.
The event will be held at Faranda's in downtown DeKalb on Friday, April 27th and Saturday, April 28th; Friday will mostly involve meetings by the District Strategic Planning Committee, with a buffet dinner for the Rotary Foundation that evening. Saturday will see the bulk of the events during the Conference, with guest speakers and presentations during the day...and a gala awards dinner that evening.
Right now, the club's Planning Committee needs more help; we are in search of a treasurer and/or registrar, to manage the money and registrations for the event. Persons with connections to the Chamber of Commerce, the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau and other such entities are also welcome. Rotarians will also be needed to work on the day of the event; they will be sought as we get closer to the event.
If you have any questions, please contact Steve for more information.
Attendance Report -- September 6, 2017
Attendance: 56.72%
Visiting Rotarians: Bob Pritchard (Kishwaukee Sunrise)
Guests of Members: Luca-Sophie Giese (exchange student); Mike DeVito (Fred Peltz); Dan Escatel (Eric Jones)
Other Guests: Bruce Griffiths and 11 students from the Leadership Academy
Prospective Members: Denise Keating; Jordan Gladden; Mike DeVito (application filed)
