January is Rotary Awareness Month, and Sycamore's own District Governor Steve Kuhn took time to remind us about Rotary's connection to its roots -- something that is passed along to all Rotarians from the beginning of their membership, as a reminder of what this organization is all about.
DG Steve has been taking the Club's copy of the official portrait of Rotary International founder Paul Harris with him to various Rotary events in District 6420. Harris is an icon to those in Rotary, not just because he originally conceived of the club...but because he infused it with his own desire to help his community, and to build friendship and goodwill among others.
Impressed by the informality of close-knit business colleagues away from the workplace, he envisioned a club where members would treat each other as equals, and use their combined skills to benefit the public. Joining three others at the founding meeting on February 23, 1905 in Chicago, they set out to bring together other members from different professions...rotating their weekly meetings among their various offices (inspiring the name Rotary).
From this humble beginning, Rotary has grown to encompass the globe; it has over 1.2 million members in Rotary Clubs around the world, each devoted to providing service to their fellow man in thousands of different ways -- living up to the tenents of the Four-Way Test, and the Rotary motto "Service Above Self."
The Sycamore Rotary Club was chartered in April of 1944, and throughout the years has brought together local icons from a variety of professions -- from law, finance and insurance, to education, technology and the arts. While Sycamore is one of the larger clubs in District 6420, Rotarians consistently prove that it's not the size of a club which matters, but the drive behind it; the tiny Rotary Club of Harvard recently made it into the pages of The Rotarian, with its local garden project.
DG Steve reminded the Rotarians on hand that they have the skills necessary, and the will behind it, to do so much to benefit Sycamore and DeKalb County -- the best way to uphold the legacy of Paul Harris, and of Rotary itself.
Michael DeVito has been appointed by the Rotary Club's Board of Directors to fill a current vacancy on the Board.
DeVito works at MyInsuranceGuy.com in Sycamore; he takes the place of David Miller, who had to resign due to a new business opportunity out of town. Under the Rotary Club's bylaws, the Board has the authority to make such an appointment if a Board member departs in mid-term.
For DeVito, this is the latest chapter in a whirlwind membership; he joined the Rotary Club last fall, immediately making an impact with contributions to several Rotary projects...including Operation Warm and Adopt-a-Family. On top of that, he got engaged during the holiday break to his longtime girlfriend, Madeline Kuhn.
He will serve as Rotary Club President in 2020-2021.
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.
We will be needing Rotarians to man this booth throughout the afternoon and early evening; volunteers will be sought, beginning with the Club Committee Meeting Day on January 31st.
As Executive Director of the Sycamore Park District, Dan vowed to shave his head if the district's Leaf a Legacy fundraising campaign hit the $1 million mark.
That goal has been reached; so you're invited to see him lose it all this Thursday at 5 p.m. at Dusty's Barbershop, at 112 California Street in Sycamore.
If you're in attendance, be sure to get before and after shots....
The next Club Committee Meeting Day will be held on Wednesday, January 31st, 2018; in lieu of a regular meeting, all committees with projects coming up during the next quarter of the Rotary year will have the opportunity to meet and work on details of their events -- putting club time to use, instead of having to meet via e-mail or after a regular meeting.
Upcoming projects would include the February and March program committees, Rural-Urban Day, the District Conference on April 27-28 at Faranda's, Hula-for-Loota and Rotarians at Work Day. Others may be added, as required.
Attendance Report -- January 10, 2018
Attendance: 66.18%
Visiting Rotarians: Jim MacMurdo (Kishwaukee Sunrise)
