Sycamore High School senior Norah Chami is the November Student of the Month. Chami told Rotarians how she is passionate about uplifting one another to bring out the best in people. She explained that she’s had the chance to see people grow and make big changes and she wants to be part of the support process to make that happen. Chami began her educational journey at North Elementary School. She was part of the high school volleyball squad that won their state regional title this year before losing in sectional play. Chami said she began playing volleyball in the eighth grade but was not that interested in the sport until she realized the special way team group dynamics make you value and support your fellow players. Chami is also on the high school basketball squad. She is Class President, President of the Spartan Senate, Vice-President of the Big Sis, Little Sis senior-freshman mentor program, leader of the Pep Club, a member of the National Honor Society, and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chami’s volunteer activities include coaching volleyball and basketball summer camps, help at domestic violence and homeless shelters, and participation with the “Feed My Starving Children” food packing event. She plans to go on to college and study Psychology at possibly Marquette, DePaul, or Drake. Chami said she will be donating her $100 Rotary check to the CASA child court support organization.
“Feed My Starving Children” volunteer Emilia Waugh shared the sobering statistic that one child dies from starvation every 15 seconds while speaking at this week’s Rotary meeting, but she noted change can happen just one child at a time. As an example, she referenced the approximately5,000 people who will be at the Suter Company between November 13 -16 for the “Make a Difference DKC” event.
The local “Make a Difference DKC” event will be held November 13-16 at the Suter Company and volunteer Emelia Waugh gave Rotarians an overview of how filling food packets for “Feed My Starving Children” will help those in need worldwide. Waugh’s day job is as an accountant at Suter and she told how every 15 seconds a child dies from starvation somewhere around the world. But rather than be overwhelmed by the staggering statistic, Waugh says the local “Make a Difference” event seeks to bring hope by recognizing the way to end hunger is feeding “one child at a time.” Waugh noted that more than 5,000 volunteers will be filling meal packets with a goal of more than one million produced.
To put the impact of the event in perspective, Waugh related a story about a person on vacation who was walking on a tropical beach. The person observed a local man running down the beach grabbing starfish washed ashore when the tide came in and throwing them back in the water. Curious, the person asked what was going on. The man explained that if left abandoned on the beach, the starfish would die because they need to be in water and can’t return on their own. The person observing pointed out the overwhelming number of starfish being washed ashore along the entire beachfront and that this seemed like an impossible task to make any difference. The man responded by grabbing a starfish, holding it up, and saying “…it makes a difference to this one.” Waugh said the seemingly hopeless situation can change when one finds ways to make a difference one step at a time.
“Make a Difference DKC” has been the local organizer of the “Feed My Starving Children” mobile packing event for the past 15 years. It originally started with support from the Sauber Manufacturing Company and got a major boost when the Suter Company became involved in 2012. Volunteering and donation information is available on their website at www.makeadifferencedkc.org.
November 3, 1908 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American college and pro-football hall of fame fullback who played for the Chicago Bears, is born in Rainy River, Ontario.
November 4, 1916 – United Press International wire service correspondent and later CBS-TV news anchor Walter Cronkite is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. During his lifetime, he is widely ranked as America’s most trusted journalist.
November 6, 1861 – James Naismith, the inventor of the sport of basketball, is born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. He wrote the basketball rulebook in 1891, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic sport in 1936 and creation of the NCAA tournament in 1939.
November 7, 1867 – Marie Curie, the scientist who discovered radium and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, is born in Warsaw, Poland.
November 3, 1948 – “Dewey Defeats Truman” is the banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Printed before polls closed, their polling projections were infamously wrong because Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election.
November 4, 1922 – King Tut’s tomb is discovered at Luxor, Egypt by British archeologist Howard Carter.
November 8, 1895 – X-rays are discovered by William Roentgen at the University of Würzburg in Germany.
November 9, 1965 – At 5:16 PM, the Great Blackout of the Northeast began due to a circuit breaker malfunction at a power plant on the Niagara River. The blackout affects more than 30-million people living along the East Coast and Canada.
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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
