Mike Cullen returned to speak to his old Rotary Club, about his old bank...and the changes it will be facing, after being acquired by a regional banking company.

 

Cullen has worked for decades at the National Bank and Trust Company of Sycamore; NB&T has been acquired by First Midwest Bank, and will soon be rebranding its various branches in the DeKalb/Sycamore area.  He says the bank's management and Board of Directors sought out a major chain to join forces with, because of a number of economic realities facing the banking industry.

 

Mike says local banks are facing increasing pressure from state and federal examiners during annual audits; the requirements are often stringent, and it was felt NB&T needed a larger infrastructure to deal with these examinations.  He also notes that local banks are facing outside competition from a new type of lender -- on-line loan companies, which direct potential customers to out-of-state locations or websites which provide a large marketplace of credit card sources for consumers.

 

He says this kind of pressure is happening throughout the industry, which is what has been forcing local banks to merge into larger chains just to survive.

 

 

Alyssa Feuerback says she wanted to make a point of being a participant when she got to high school; and she's lived up to her vow -- becoming involved in a wide variety of academic, athletic and community service activities during her time at Sycamore High School.

 

In addition to being in the top 25 of her class, Alyssa has been on the volleyball, basketball and track and field teams; she has served as class president, a member of the Student Council and as co-president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. 

 

She has also reached out to the community and beyond; she has worked with a kids sports camp for volleyball and basketball, as well as serving as a tutor for the NHS.  She has also been on mission trips with Sycamore United Methodist Church.

 

Melissa would like to attend either Carthage or Iowa State, to study business.  In recognition of her efforts, the Sycamore Rotary Club will donate $100 to the charity of her choice; she ahs selected Give Kids the World Village, a children's storybook-themed resort in Florida especially for kids facing life-threatening diseases.

 

 

DG Jim Nelson appeared at the January 6th meeting, to recognize the Sycamore Rotary Club for two main contributions to Rotary's charitable efforts.

 

Sycamore was one of the top nine contributors in the District to Polio Plus during the 2014-2015 Rotary year; all told, the Club donated $2,600.00 towards Rotary's campaign to wipe out the disease.

 

Also, the Sycamore Rotary Club was third in District 6420 in per capita donations to The Rotary Foundation; the Club gave an average donation of $158.40 during 2014-2015.

 

Past President Riley Oncken, who served as President during this time, was formally presented with the awards on behalf of our Rotary Club.

 

 

Preparations will begin soon for our annual Rotarians at Work Day, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 7th.  Last year was our most successful effort to date, and we hope to be able to do even more this year.

 

As part of an international Rotary project, each year we offer our services to not-for-profit organizations around the community; we provide anything from light office work to gardening to assistance with projects.  Organizations we've helped out in the past include Opportunity House, the Pay it Forward House, the DeKalb Park District and the Sycamore Park District.

 

Over the coming weeks, we'll be contacting the various Rotary affiliated clubs in our area -- DeKalb and Kishwaukee Sunrise, Interact and Rotaract, and our own EarlyAct clubs -- inviting them to contribute personnel and suggest projects we can help out with.

 

If you want to participate in planning this year's event, or have an organization or project you'd like to suggest, contact Brian Adams at brianadams62@hotmail.com