Interested in participating in this year's Scholarship Selection Committee as we review applications from deserving Sycamore High School seniors?
Contact Tim Neubert at timneubert90@gmail.com.
__________________________
Rotarian Don Clayberg is a winner! Clayberg drew the Ace of Diamonds in the weekly 50-50 raffle and will be splitting his share of the $100 ticket sales with his tablemates. The Ace of Spades is still in the deck, and the overall 50-50 total is over $2,000.
Rotary’s Student of the Month for March is Teagan Hagemeyer, a committed volunteer who has completed over 400 service hours while in high school. She has volunteered with Goodfellows, Rooted for Good mobile food pantry, Salvation Army, Opportunity House, Feed My Starving Children, Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, the Sycamore library, and St. Mary’s Church. Hagemeyer has taken AP classes in language and calculus, earned a Seal of Biliteracy Commendation for proficiency in both English and Spanish, and she is vice president of the National Honor Society, a member of the Rotary Interact club, and Key Club. At the high school she works in the after-school OSCAR program. She plays the viola for which she has won state recognition, and plays with the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. She also gives private tennis lessons. Hagemeyer says she has a passion for working with children and since one in 12 children experience some type of speech disorder, she wants to pursue a career in Speech Pathology. She plans to attend St. Louis University in the fall which has a specialty speech program. Hagemeyer is donating her Rotary check to the “Neighbors House” which assists underprivileged youth.
Rotarian Jim Buck regales members with word and phrase origins at this week’s meeting. His presentation builds on past appearances giving insight into linguistic history and word etiquette.
Rotarians were sometimes laughing and sometimes awe-struck as Rotarian Jim Buck recounted origins of common words and phrases at this week’s meeting. Here is a sampling of what he shared:
Acid Test – This dates back to the Gold Rush days when acid was used to verify rocks were really gold since the acid would not harm them.
Baby Boom – First used to describe the influx of babies after World War II in a 1953 report to President Harry Truman.
Big Wig – This was popularized during the reign of French King Louis XIV who wore a large decorative wig and was imitated by scores of others trying to show their importance.
Earmark – Dating from the 16tth Century, this word refers to the custom of farmers clipping the ears of their sheep in a certain manner as a means of identification.
Read the Riot Act – The required reading of the English Riot Act Law of 1714 before authorities could take steps to break up an unruly crowd.
Red Herring – The practice of 17th Century criminals to smear a herring across their tracks while fleeing in order to confuse the scent of dogs tracking them.
Zig Zag – The World War II tactic by submarines to avoid detection which later came to describe any back-and-forth movement that deviates from the straightest route between two points.
Thank you, Jim, for enlightening us with your scholarly overview of the English language.
March 2, 1793 – American born first President of the Republic of Texas, who then helped bring Texas into the United States, Sam Houston, is born in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
March 3, 1847 – Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell is born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell’s invention borrowed techniques from his vocation of teaching deaf people to speak.
March 4, 1888 – American football legend Knute Rockne is born in Voss, Norway. He coached Notre Dame football for 13 seasons, amassing a record of 105 wins, 12 losses, and five ties.
March 6, 1475 – Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo (famous for such works as a statue of David and the paintings adorning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) is born in Caprese, Tuscany.
March 4, 1789 – The first meeting of the new Congress under the U. S. Constitution took place in New York City.
March 5, 1946 – Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, popularizes this post World War II phrase and draws world attention to the division of Europe by the Soviet Union.
March 7, 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his revolutionary new device, the telephone. Sound waves were transferred magnetically through a wire connected from one device to another device causing a diaphragm in the other device to vibrate producing sound in the receiver.
March 7, 1965 – a 600-person civil rights demonstration in Selma, Alabama, ends in violence when marchers are attacked and beaten by white state troopers and sheriff’s deputies. The day’s events became known as “Bloody Sunday” and spurred President Lyndon Johnson to sign into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
________________________________________
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
