Young businesspeople who have enrolled in the Sycamore Chamber's Business Leadership Academy in the past, have been known to take their newly-learned skills out of town; many who have done so, cited an inability to make friends or connections within the community.
But Rotary's history -- an organization founded in part for precisely that purpose -- makes it the ideal place for many of these aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their careers, and establish roots in our town.
Over a dozen past and present enrollees from the Academy came to the March 14th Rotary Club meeting, to learn up close what Rotary does in terms of community service, building connections and promoting interest in each Club's home town.
Participants heard about Rotary's history, how members who have joined have benefited, how projects have grown to fruition and how Rotarians have made friends and established ongoing relationships owing to their participation.
Each member left with information on how to join, what Rotary can do for them, and what they can do as part of Rotary. It's our hope that more than a few of them will choose to join our ranks...and help our Rotary Club grow even stronger.
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.
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.
Jenny Ruff, wife of former Rotarian Phil Ruff and now Host Family Coordinator at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at NIU, shared with the Rotary Club about an opportunity to participate in and support the Youth Leadership Program run by NIU and sponsored by the US State Department.
The program is seeking families willing to host 2 students for one week (April 13-20). The Ruffs are great supporters of exchange programs and have hosted several of our exchange students in the past.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about Southeast Asian cultures with students who have been vetted by the government. Obligations would include transportation to/from NIU during the week (morning drop off and evening pickup).
They are also looking for local high schoolers who would be interested in being a part of the program to participate alongside the Asian students.
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.
