The Club raised over $2,000 to purchase coats for Sycamore children AND won the People's Choice Award for the 2020 Sycamore Park District Community Tree Contest!
Rotary hearts were large this year! Although the Club had a goal of purchasing 25 coats for Sycamore children, members successfully raised over $2,000 in their annual "Coats for Kids" project. The Sycamore Rotary Club together with its young professional adult Rotaract Club and its high school Interact Club not only were able to purchase 57 coats for local children, but also designed handmade Christmas tree ornaments in the shape of a coat recognizing each of the donors whose $30 donation bought a coat for a child in Sycamore.
This all-Rotary holiday effort focused the generosity of its members and the decorating talents of its Interactors and Rotaractors. The ornaments were then used as decorations on the Club's Decorated Tree entry into the Sycamore Park District communitywide competition. The Park District received a whopping 770 online votes in the competition and the Rotary tree garnered first place with 339 votes. Sycamore Park District Superintendent of Recreation Theresa Tevsh presented the Rotary Club leadership with a recognition plaque thanking the Club for its strong participation in this inaugural competition.
"Service Above Self" is the Rotary Club's motto that all members try to live up to...whether it's delivering "Meals on Wheels", our annual grammar school "Coats for Kids" drive, or financially supporting the two area Food Pantries, the Sycamore Rotary is an active club that is comprised of community members who are dedicated to helping make our town a better place to live, work, and raise our families.
The Rotary Club of Sycamore is one of over 34,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide of the world's largest international service organization. Our local club is very active, helping international, regional, and local efforts focused on our motto of "Service Above Self".
New Sycamore Rotarian Captain Stephen Hansen of the Salvation Army gave his classification speech this week providing insight into his career and experiences. Hansen and his wife, Angie, are the Corps officers for the DeKalb center. Hansen underwent a two-year training in Chicago and has done additional training since then. He was commissioned and ordained into the faith organization in 2009. Since then, he has served at posts in Nebraska and Michigan, and this is his third tour in Illinois. He has been an active Rotarian, even serving as club president while in Michigan.
Hansen’s service includes mission trips and special programs and fundraisers. Two of his mission trips were to Ecuador in 2017 and 2018. He wore a turkey costume to promote a Thanksgiving meal fundraiser in partnership with WLBK radio helping collect 700 turkeys for distribution. He also announced the local Salvation Army plans to open a hot-meal food program in late January or early February using a mobile kitchen van thanks to funding help from DeKalb Township government.
On the personal side, Hansen said one of his major achievements was addressing a diagnosis of diabetes when he weighed 300 pounds, losing 110 pounds over the last year-and-a-half. He got married in October. Earlier, he and Angie took a trip to Israel just before the onset of COVID-19 travel restrictions. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and geocaching (an outdoor activity where participants use GPS technology to find containers with logbooks where they register they found it). Hansen also noted how much he enjoys brewing gourmet coffee.
Welcome to Sycamore Rotary Captain Stephen Hansen!
Our speaker this week will be Justine Whitehouse from RAMP with update on the organization's activities.
Following is our schedule of upcoming speakers/presentations:
Wednesday, June 2 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens and online via Zoom): RAMP (Justine Whitehouse)
Wednesday, June 9 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens and online via Zoom): Interact (Madeline DeVito) & Rotary Foundation (Paul Stromborg)
Wednesday, June 16 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens and online via Zoom): District Governor Nominee (Laura Kann) & Springfield Update (Jeff Keicher)
Wednesday, June 23 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens and online via Zoom): Year in Review (Michael DeVito)
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Sycamore High School assistant principal Steve Balster introduced student of the month Vani Subramony via a video presentation. Subramony ranks first in her senior class and is involved in multiple extra-curricular activities. Subramony told Rotarians she loves music, especially singing. She also said she is passionate about tutoring. She said she plans to donate her check from Rotary to DeKalb County Community Gardens.
January 6, 1412 – Joan of Arc is born in France. After a series of mystic visions, she inspires French troops to break the British siege at Orleans and win several important battles during the Hundred Years War.
January 7, 1800 – Millard Fillmore, the 13th r. S. President, is born in a log cabin in Cayuga County, New York.
January 4, 1809 – Louis Braille is born in France. Blinded as a boy, he invents a reading system for the bind using punch marks in paper.
January 8, 1935 – Singer, musician, and actor Elvis “The King” Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
January 7, 1714 – A patent was issued for the first typewriter designed by British inventor Henry Mull.
January 3, 1924 – British Egyptologist Howard Carter found the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Velley of the Kings near Luxor after several years of searching.
January 5, 1925 – Nellie Taylor Ross of Wyoming becomes the first woman governor inaugurated in the U.S.
January 3, 1959 – Alaska was admitted to the Union as the 49th U. S. State.
