After several meetings with potential Rotarians, the Rotary Satellite Club of Sycamore/Oak Crest Area is officially forming.
Residents of Oak Crest and the surrounding environs have been invited to join, and over a dozen have committed to the formation of this satellite club; it will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at Oak Crest.
An orientation meeting for the new members will convene this Thursday, March 15th at noon at Oak Crest; these new Rotarians will be considered members of our own Rotary Club, and the organization itself will be treated as a committee of the main Rotary Club. It already has its own newsletter, the Acorn, symbolizing the connection to Oak Crest and the growth of something small...into something big.
Barry Schrader will act as the chairman for the satellite Rotary Club; it will be eligible to have a representative on our own Rotary Club Board of Directors.
Rotarians are invited to attend these meetings, to help out and/or get a makeup.
Grant Minnihan says he likes to plan out his schedule as far in advance as he can, but something he didn't plan for led him to his intended career.
The Sycamore High School senior took part in two church missions to Haiti; one involved his group going up a mountain, and they were supposed to use three donkeys -- but only one was provided, and it ran away. That forced the group to make a long climb up to their destination, and some had to turn back; but Grant made it, and saw up close the difficult conditions so many of the locals have to deal with -- including the children, many of home were in this location because they were essentially sold into slavery by their parents.
Seeing the poor hygiene and lack of fresh water in this area compelled him to seek out a career as a humanitarian engineer; on graduation, he hopes to attend either the Colorado School of Mines, or Michigan Tech, to learn how to bring modern conveniences to these underdeveloped areas.
As the Rotary Club's Student of the Month, Grant received $100 for donation to the charity of his choice; he has selected Neighbor's House, which provides homework help and literacy assistance to children from low-income families.
The image often invoked when studying music in college is mentioned, is that of talented youths on traditional instruments such as the violin, piano or other concert instruments studying in a traditional conservatory. But NIU Music Department Chair Janet Hathaway says they are not simply studying the classics of old...but seeking to innovate, and keep music fresh.
Hathaway says the school looks to mix traditional music with innovative compositions and high-tech instrumentation; she says music can't evolve if students are confined to studying the past -- which is why the school urges them to push the proverbial envelope. This effort is especially clear with their steel pan courses; NIU is one of the few institutions which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the use of steel drums, and their annual performances involve many genres of music beyond the instrument's traditional roots.
She notes that they offer several performances throughout the year, ranging from holiday concerts to the spring opera to the annual jazz festival; the latter is especially freewheeling -- they simply open the doors to the concert hall, and let the listeners stay inside or outside...dancing to the music if they like, and enjoying the feeling that the music gives them.
Paulette Renault has been nominated to serve on the Sycamore Rotary Club Board of Directors; if elected, she would join the Board beginning in July. She would serve as Club President in 2021-22.
Also nominated for new terms were Club Secretary Sally Bruch, and Club Treasurer Michele Jurkovic.
The election will be held during the March 28th Rotary meeting.
We will be needing Sycamore Rotarians to help out with our two major spring projects -- Rotarians at Work Days, and the District Conference.
Rotarians at Work will now be spread out over several weeks, in order to give our members the opportunity to chose one or more projects which fit their schedule. Work sites will include the Old North School on Brickville Road, Rotary Park at Sycamore Lake, the Pay it Forward House, Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association at Hopkins Park, and the Youth Service Bureau's bicycle auction.
We'll also need volunteer staff for the District Conference, to be held Saturday, April 28th at Faranda's in downtown DeKalb; Sergeants at Arms and registrars will be needed throughout the day.
Sign-up sheets will be made available over the next few weeks; for more information, please contact Jeff Petersen about the District Conference and Brian Adams concerning Rotarians at Work Days.
The Sycamore Rotary Club plans on having a booth at this year's DeKalb-Sycamore Chamber Expo; it will be held on Thursday, March 29th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the DeKalb High School Fieldhouse.
This event is open to participation by all DeKalb and Sycamore Chamber of Commerce members; the B2B portion runs from 3:00 to 4:00, and the event is then open to the general public from 4:00 to 7:00.
This will be a prime opportunity for our Rotary Club to show the public who we are and what we do, and perhaps convince some of our friends and neighbors to consider membership in Rotary.
The Sycamore Rotary Club's annual Hula-for-Loota draw-down raffle will be held on Thursday, April 19th; it will be from 6:30 to 9:00 at Chapel in the Pines, located at 15165 Quigley Road.
This annual evening of fun and furious negotiating will include dinner, cash bar, raffles, prizes and our featured drawing; there will be plenty of giveaways throughout the evening, so even if you're eliminated...you can still win!
Tickets are now on sale; all proceeds will go to the Rotary Club's scholarship fund. Raffle prizes are also needed; contact Paul Michel for more information.
We are entering the second semester of the school year for South Prairie Elementary, which has hosted Rotarians each week as part of our Rotary Readers project.
Each Thursday, Rotarians come to the school with two book selections; one is read to the students, and both are donated to the library. Each Rotarian also comes prepared to discuss his or her occupation, and what reading has meant to them in their lives. Each visit runs from about 9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
For those signed up to read during this second half of the school year, here is the remaining schedule:
March 22 Jim Buck
April 5 Sally Bruch
April 12 Chip Houdek
Apirl 19 MJ Schwartz
Apirl 26 Lavarre Uhlken
May 3 Sally Bruch
May 10 Sue Emberson
May 17 Michelle Jurkovic
Rotary Reader Tips:
Be sure to arrive early enough to have time to pick out your two books and rehearse the one book that you will read to the third graders.
Engage the children by asking questions of them during the time you are reading. Add your own personal comments to what is being read about the story or happening to the characters.
