Rotarians at Work Days concluded with two projects on Saturday, May 19th; one saw Rotarians Brandon Diviak and Tatum Glas help the Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association plant its interactive garden, and clean out the Hopkins Park shelter, in anticipation of summer camp.
The staff at KSRA says they are excited for camp to open for the year; they have only one spot available out of 70, and are anticipating another busy but fun summer. KSRA thanks the Rotary Club for its assistance each year.
We were also on hand at the Youth Service Bureau's bicycle auction at DeKalb High School; Rotarians helped wheel out bikes from storage crates to the field house floor, and helped put the bikes on display for bidders to see.
Balloting for this year’s John W. Ovitz, Jr. Rotarian of the Year Award will begin on Wednesday, June 6th; electronic ballots will be sent out via e-mail that day, and members of the Sycamore Rotary Club will be asked to select the one Rotarian they believe has contributed the most to our Club, and to upholding the ideals of Rotary, during the past year.
All members in good standing with the Rotary Club of Sycamore are eligible to vote, and all members are eligible for consideration – save for the incumbent President, the President-Elect and the five most recent recipients. Previous winners are eligible for consideration after five years.
Since the Rotary Satellite Club of Sycamore-Oak Crest Area is still in its formative stages, its members will not be participating.
Ballots are due by the close of the Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday, June 13th; for those who have not cast a vote via e-mail, paper ballots will be made available that day.
The Tabulation Committee, consisting of Club President Eric Jones, President-Elect Ray Dembinski and 2017 Ovitz Award recipient Brian Adams, will total up the ballots; the recipient will be announced at the Installation Dinner, to be held at the Sycamore Golf Course Clubhouse on Wednesday, June 27th.
The June 13th meeting of the Sycamore Rotary Club will be held at the brand-new Sycamore Park District Community Center, located on Airport Road.
Rotarians will be gathering there at the usual time; the afternoon will include lunch, and a tour of the new facilities...including the gymnasium, fitness center, exercise rooms and other locations.
Further information will be provided in the coming weeks.
The annual Sycamore Rotary Club Golf Outing is set for Wednesday, June 27th; it will be at the Sycamore Golf Club, as the featured event of three being held that day.
The afternoon and evening at the course will feature:
-- A make-up session at 12:00 p.m. in lieu of our regular meeting; attendance is optional, and lunch will be provided for everyone on hand
-- The Golf Outing, a four-player scramble team competition, beginning at 1 o'clock
-- The annual Installation Dinner at 5:30, immediately following golf; Ray Dembinski will be formally sworn in as Club President for 2018-19, and we will also announce the recipient of the John W. Ovitz, Jr. Rotarian of the Year Award
For those on the borderline with their attendance, this is also our annual "triple-witching" day; each of these events counts as a separate Rotary Club function...so those on hand for the entire day can earn up to three attendance credits.
Sign-up information will be made available in the coming weeks.
The month of July marks the start of the new Rotary year, and the Sycamore Rotary Club will take advantage of a reduced schedule to plan out our objectives for the coming months.
We will begin on July 11th with a presentation by future President Ray Dembinski on the club's goals for 2018-19; this marks the 75th anniversary year for the Sycamore Rotary Club, and Pat Shafer will head up the planning for our observance of that occasion in the spring. We will also go over our other upcoming projects, and give committees time to get organized.
Then on July 18th, District Governor Kathy Kiwat-Hess will be making her official visit to the Sycamore Rotary Club; we will be one of the first stops on her journey around District 6420, and our Rotary Club will be among the first to hear her plans for the coming year.
Finally on July 25th, we will convene our formal Club Assembly; this annual meeting will be used to solidify our plans for the months to come, as the months of September through December are traditionally the busiest of the year for us.
All Rotarians are encouraged to attend these meetings, as we prepare to Be the Inspiration for our community...and the world.
Volunteers will be needed to help man a Rotary booth to be set up in downtown Sycamore, during the annual Fizz Ehrler Memorial Turning Back Time Car Show. It will be in operation on Sunday, July 29th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Rotary Club will have a display about its upcoming and ongoing projects, and give the public an opportunity to find out more about what our Club does...and how they can join.
Rotarians will be needed to watch over the booth and interact with the public, answering any questions they may have. In addition, any Rotarian with a home or business located near downtown is asked to let the Club know if they'll have parking available that day, for volunteers to use.
Sign-up sheets will go around starting in mid-June; please contact Brian Adams for further details.
Due to various factors, The Spoke will not be published for the rest of May after Thursday, May 24th.
The May 23rd meeting has been switched to a make-up session; in addition, many Rotarians (including the editor of The Spoke) will be on vacation the week of Memorial Day. So there will be no new publication of our electronic newsletter at that time; regular production will resume on Tuesday, June 5th.
Your family can have an amazing international experience this coming year without a passport, airfare, or stuffing a suitcase. The international experience comes to you, when you decide to be a host family for an exchange student.
Exchange students are here to experience life in Sycamore, meet and make friends with Sycamore High School students, work on improving their English, and share their culture with the community. Host families need to live in the Sycamore School District.
All you need is a spare bed at your house and a willingness to share your normal family life with a high school age student for about 14 weeks. (Your family will be one of three families to share this unique experience.)
For school year 2018-2019 the Sycamore Rotary Club will sponsor a young man from Venezuela. He is a swimmer, loves books, and is looking forward to the personal growth this exchange year will provide.
For more details, call or text Bert Gray, Sycamore Rotary Club Exchange Coordinator, at (217) 521-0968 or e-mail rkgray1@sbcglobal.net
