The annual Green Raffle fundraiser is now underway! Tickets cost $25 each or 4 for $100, and winners will be announced at our Mardi Gras event on April 25. Funds raised will support the club’s programs.
Party with a Purpose! Join us for a fun-filled evening of trivia, Cajun-inspired bites, music, and prizes — all supporting Rotary’s community service initiatives. Trivia | Food | Raffle. April 25, 2026 7 - 10 pm. St. Mary’s PAC, 312 Waterman Street Sycamore IL 60178. Scan the QR Code to purchase tickets and more information about the event. For sponsorship information, contact Brandon at BDiviak@ResourceBank.com
Party with a Purpose! Join community leaders, businesses, and friends for a festive evening of trivia, Cajun-inspired bites, music, and celebration — all in support of Rotary’s service initiatives. Let the good times roll — for a great cause. An Evening of Fun and Community Impact The Rotary Club of Sycamore invites you to partner with us for Mardi Gras Mind Games, a lively trivia night celebrating community while supporting Rotary’s mission of Service Above Self. Guests will enjoy: • Three rounds of lively trivia • Cajun-inspired appetizers and desserts • Green Raffle with prizes up to $1000 • Bottle pulls • Networking with community leaders This exciting event will bring together local businesses, community partners, and residents for an unforgettable evening while raising funds for programs that strengthen our community. The Impact of Your Sponsorship Your sponsorship helps support: • Youth leadership and scholarship programs • Local service projects and community initiatives • Rotary’s international humanitarian efforts • Global polio eradication efforts • Volunteer programs serving our region When you sponsor Mardi Gras Mind Games, you are investing in programs that create meaningful and lasting impact. Scan the QR Code to purchase tickets and more information about the event. For sponsorship information, contact Brandon at BDiviak@ResourceBank.com
The club met offsite this week, visiting Sycamore's new Fire Station 1! Deputy Chief Ward (22+ years of service to SFD), Battalion Chief Penn (30+ years of service to SFD), and their team of fire fighters were extremely kind in providing us a tour and answer our many questions and curiosities about their their critical work and beautiful, functional new facility.
In a short ceremony, the bell in the front lobby is rung at the beginning of each shift.
This imposing structure is used to train fire fighters to breach doors. It's set to be MUCH harder than most residential (or even commercial) doors, so the firefighters can be prepared for anything in the field.
The extensive, in-house Exercise Room helps Sycamore firefighters stay in top physical condition.
A comfortable space supports camaraderie and relaxation between calls. Note the brass fire pole and alarm bell on the back wall, historical pieces brought over from the old firehouse.
Fire Station 1 can sleep 10 firefighters in separate rooms. (By comparison, Station 2 can sleep 8 firefighters.) The firefighting team includes both men and women.
The exit doors in the garage open (fold out) horizontally. While more expensive than rolling overhead doors require less maintenance. Perhaps more importantly, drivers of paramedic and firefighting vehicles will be certain to know when the doors are open or closed, which is not always the case with rolling overhead doors.
Firefighters grab uniforms and other gear out of the paramedic vehicle as they prepare to depart in the ladder truck for a call.
While 80% of the Sycamore Fire Department's calls involve Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the call-out we witnessed involved a possible fire. Thankfully, the crew returned in less than 15 minutes, having found only some burned food was involved.
Flags are proudly displayed at Sycamore Fire Station 1.
Thank you, SFD, for hosting us...and for keeping the residents of Sycamore safe!
March 22, 1948 – Composer and theatrical producer Andrew Lloyd Webber is born in Kensington, London, England. The composer of such musicals as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Webber has been called the most commercially successful composer in history.
March 23, 1912 – German-American rocket scientist (and Disney space consultant), Wernher von Braun, is born in Wirsitz (now Wyrzysk) Poland
March 24, 1874 – Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini is born in Budapest, Hungary.
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March 26, 1911 – American playwright Tennessee Williams (author of such works as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) is born in Columbus, Mississippi.
March 23, 1775 – Patrick Henry helps ignite the American Revolution with a speech in Richmond, Virginia. He delivers these now famous words to those assembled, “…I know not what course others will take; but for me, give me liberty or give me death.”
March 24, 1989 – One of the largest oil spills in U.S. history occurs when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound off the coast of Alaska. More than 11 million gallons of oil leak into the water stretching along 45 miles of shoreline.
March 25, 1911 – A raging fire erupted inside the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City leading to the deaths of 123 women and 23 men. The tragedy spurred national attention to labor working conditions and resulted in legislation improving factory fire safety rules.
March 28, 1979 – At 4 AM, one of the worst accidents in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry began when a pressure valve in the Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania failed to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings and the unit’s fuel core began to overheat. Fears of a core meltdown that could release radiation and sicken area residents led to more than 100,000 people fleeing nearby towns. Slowly the reactor core cooled and no one outside the plant had exposure to adverse levels of radiation, but the incident greatly eroded the public’s faith in nuclear power.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2025-2026
President – Jonelle Bailey
President Elect – Becky Springer
Director (President Nominee) – Matt Nelson
Director (President Designee) -
Past President – Brandon Diviak
Treasurer – Dr. Michele Jurkovic
Secretary – Pat Shafer
Sergeant at Arms – Paulette Renault
Monthly Committees
July: Board of Directors
August: Brandon Diviak, Jeff Keicher, Pat Shafer
September: Dave Hamilton, Jeff Jacobson, Jim Stoddard
October: Paul Callighan, Matt Nelson, Paul Stromborg
November: Sue Emberson, Jeff Frank, Phil Meyer
December: Larry Berke, Ray Dembinski, Riley Oncken
Fellowship: Paulette Renault, Larry Berke, Sue Emberson, Dave Hamilton, Pat Shafer
Foundations:Paul Stromborg, Jim Buck, Sue Emberson, Matt Nelson, Jim Stoddard
Membership: Jonelle Bailey, Ray Dembinski, Brandon Diviak, Bob Hammon, Jeff Jacobson, Steve Kuhn, Phil Meyer, Matt Nelson, Riley Oncken, Jeff Petersen, Bob Wildendradt
New Generations: Chip Houdek, Julie Sgarlata, Becky Springer
Public Image: Bob Brown, Paul Callighan, Jeff Keicher, Joyce Klein, Tasha Sims
Scholarships:Tim Neubert, Don Clayberg, Ray Dembinski, Michele Jurkovic, Steve Kuhn, Julie Sgarlata
Service: Brandon Diviak, Alicia Cosky, Jeff Frank, Michele Jurkovic, Rob Mondi, Tim Neubert, Brendan Wilson
