Announcements

This month’s bucket money goes to the Champaign Park District summer Camp scholarship program.

Program

Our speaker, Sam Banks, Chief Executive Officer of the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club for the past three years, has dedicated his life to serving youth at risk and minorities.  The former CEO of Cunningham Children’s Home and the Glenwood School for Boys and Girls in Chicago, was also well known as a Big 10 College basketball official.

To achieve its motto “Great Futures Start Here” the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club sponsors programs for character and leadership, education and career development, the arts, and sports and fitness.  Among these is a youth of the year program and a smart girls program.  Throughout the year the club provides snacks and in the summertime meals so that all children are ready to participate.  The club is all about putting smiles on the faces of young people, uplifting their lives, and connecting them to the community to know that others care and want to help them realize their potential.

Since 1968 the focus has been on promoting academics and day to day healthy lifestyles.  During the school year members come from 2:30 to 6:00pm for tutoring and activities.  The club is open on the weekend with structured and supervised activities from 7:30am to 9pm.  Sports programs are offered on weekends and in the summer as well as field trips, academics like the Summer Brain Game sponsored the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Teen Nights.

Over 500 kids have been members but the club has touched an additional 300 with special activities.  70% of the members are in the 1^st through 8^th grades; 30% are teens.  55% are boys: 80% are African American.  Most are from single parent homes; many have at-risk challenges in their lives.

Eight staff members and numerous volunteers, including university students, provide services for the members.  There is a modest $10 membership fee for participants during the year.  The summer camp fee is $200.  The yearly budget of $1,000,000 is funded by community organizations and agencies such as the United Way and the East Central Illinois Community Foundation, as well as generous businesses and individuals.  Three fundraisers help support the club: Dancing with the Stars, the annual Golf Outing (on June 19 this year), and the Steak and Burger Dinner.  An ongoing funding challenge is providing a replacement for the present facility which is outdated.

In terms of outcomes and results, the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club turns lives around.  Many alumni become mentors, university graduates, and business people in our community.  For more information see www.ambgc-cu.org

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 28th – Antonia Rivera, Rotary Youth Exchange

June 4th – Maria Bohri, Learning in Community (LINC), Engineering Education projects, UIUC

June 11th – Kathie Spegal, Coordinator, Illinois Radio Reader, and former CU Sunrise Rotarian

June 18th – Andy Leipold will discuss grand juries and Ferguson, MO

June 25 – TBD

July 2 – Chief Anthony Cobb, Champaign Police Department

July 9 – TBD

July 16 – Jen Shelby will discuss the Cannes Film Festival

July 23rd – Phil Hoggatt, Harbor Light Hospice

July 30th – TBD

August 6th – TBD

August 13th – TBD

August 20th – TBD

August 27th – Barry Pittendrigh, Department of Entomology, UIUC

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

Kris Young has accepted the position of President of the SUNY campus at Middleton, NY.   Kris formerly served on the Program Committee.   If you would be interested in joining the committee, please contact Mary Hodson at maryfhodson@aol.com.   If you have just one or two speaker ideas, please let her know about those as well.

PROGRAM

Bob introduced  George Vargas, Senior Assistant Public Defender of Champaign County.   George was born in Costa Rica and moved to the U.S. to attend a military academy.   He joined the U.S Army at the age of 17.   He then attended the University of Illinois with a double major in Sociology and Political Science.

After college, George worked one year as a patrolman for the Champaign Police Department.   He used the GI Bill to attend the Michigan State College of Law, and in 2004 was hired to work with the Champaign Public Defender’s Office.

George was called to active duty in 2005 and served in Kuwait.  Upon his return from active duty, he attended the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Couse and was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.    He returned to the Public Defender’s Office in 2007.

In 2010, he volunteered for a one year mobilization with the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.   He returned to civilian life in 2012 and is currently a captain in the National Guard.

George said his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan really made him appreciate our legal system.   He described Iraq as having a poor system of justice and Afghanistan as having no system.   He was involved in one court martial of an American soldier who had assaulted another soldier.    Afterwards, the Iraqi officers who observed commented that in Iraq, there would be no jury.   A judge would have convicted the defendant and he would have been hung the same day.

In his current position, George handles a full felony caseload of about 60 cases.   In addition, he is assigned all Spanish speaking clients.

Sometimes indigent defendants say the “want a real lawyer”.   George finds that amusing as he and his fellow Public Defenders have much more criminal trial experience than other lawyers.   However, he sometimes does not see his client in advance of the court date.   He does a lot of his work over the phone with the clients.  Nevertheless, he feels the quality of representation is as good or better than with a private attorney.

George was asked about the recent shootings in Champaign.   He responded that he does not believe them to be gang related.    He said that young men with access to guns get mad and seek revenge after someone they know gets shot.   The violence escalates from there.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 21st – Sam Banks, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club

May 28th – Antonia Rivera, Rotary Youth Exchange

June 4th – Maria Bohri, Learning in Community (LINC), Engineering Education projects, UIUC

June 11th – Kathie Spegal, Coordinator, Illinois Radio Reader, and former CU Sunrise Rotarian

June 18th – Andy Leipold will discuss grand juries and Ferguson, MO

June 25 – TBD

July 2 – TBD

July 9 – TBD

July 16 – Jen Shelby will discuss the Cannes Film Festival

July 23rd – Phil Hoggatt, Harbor Light Hospice

July 30th – TBD

August 6th – TBD

August 13th – TBD

August 20th – TBD

August 27th – Barry Pittendrigh, Department of Entomology, UIUC

 ANNOUNCEMENTS

(Notes provided by Allan Penwell).

Ata was the recipient of the Rotary Minute Question, What is your most memorable summer vacation?  Because his mother and father are from Turkey it was clear that vacationing in his parents’ home country was his favorite, including going back with his wife and daughter.

Tom Hodson announced a collection for Shelter Box for the Nepal earthquake.  The bucket was passed, and we gave generously.

PROGRAM

Winnie Crowder, executive director of The Reading Group. was our speaker.  Winnie is also a former club member and now a member of the Champaign Rotary Club.

The Reading Group is a not-for-profit corporation and was founded in 1972.  It was formerly in Lincoln Square but for several years now has been at the Village Crossing.  The Reading Group exists to help anyone from kindergartners to adults improve their reading.  The students are first assessed for their reading level and comprehension.  Students may have trouble with letters, sounds, spelling, and rhyming.  Twenty percent of our population has some form of dyslexia or ADHD so there is a need for special training by The Reading Group.  Some of the students are also learning English as a second language.

The Reading Group teachers have over 100 years of combined  experience and are all certified.  They work with different age groups in one on one individual instruction and lesson plans.  Meeting times are flexible and are grouped in a 10-week schedule.  There is a scholarship program for families with financial needs.  The summer program is especially popular.  For further information, you may review the website at readinggroup.org.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 14th – George Vargas, Champaign County Public Defender’s Office

May 21st – Sam Banks, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club

May 28th – Antonia Rivera, Rotary Youth Exchange

June 4th – Maria Bohri, Learning in Community (LINC), Engineering Education projects, UIUC

June 11th – Kathie Spegal, Coordinator, Illinois Radio Reader, and former CU Sunrise Rotarian

June 18th – Andy Leipold will discuss grand juries and Ferguson, MO

June 25 – TBD

July 2 – TBD

July 9 – TBD

July 16 – Jen Shelby will discuss the Cannes Film Festival

July 23rd – Phil Hoggatt, Harbor Light Hospice

July 30th – TBD

August 6th – TBD

August 13th – TBD

August 20th – TBD

August 27th – Barry Pittendrigh, Department of Entomology, UIUC

 Announcements

(notes provided by the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut, Eddie Murphy Perry)

Dave introduced the club to Carlos Jaurez and Jennifer Stroud. Carlos is this year’s recipient of CU Sunrise’s Rotary Scholarship Award. Carlos is currently a Central High School Student who will be attending Parkland College full-time this fall in auto mechanics.  He will receive a $1,500.00 scholarship from our club. Carlos will graduate from Central this year, and while he is taking classes at Central High School he also is taking credit hours at Parkland and working part time at Illini Nissan. Jennifer Stroud is Central High School’s College & Career Counselor who worked with Dave to help make the scholarship selection.

Jen introduced Billy Stull as our newest club member. Billy is a certified public accountant and the president of Stephens & Stull Accounting firm located in downtown Champaign. He has experience in corporate tax, partnerships, estate, not-for-profit and individual taxation. He also provides estate planning, IRS representation, and other tax services. In his free time he enjoys music, travel, and volunteering for various groups.

Program

With April being designated as National Volunteer Recognition Month, Tod had the honor to introduce John Doll as the CU Sunrise Club Outstanding Citizen Award 2014 winner.  John received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and spent more than 30 years as a Soil Scientist for the Natural Resources Conservation District. John’s volunteering award is based on his work with Empty Tomb and the Appalachian Service Projects over the last 18 years.

John gave a brief description of his volunteer service with the faith-based Empty Tomb’s Home Maintenance Program and the Appalachian Service Project. With the Home Maintenance Project program, John has volunteered 12 to 15 hours a week to repair homes for low income people and has helped repair over 100 homes in the Champaign-Urbana area.  With the Appalachian Service Project, John again has donated his time and skills for home repair and mentoring with mission trips in Appalachia through the local First Methodist Church. He has also helped with mission trips in Bolivia.

John noted several reasons why he volunteers. The feeling and satisfaction he receives from helping so many lives, and letting people know that someone cares far outweighs his time and efforts. John noted that volunteering is about the lasting relationships he has formed.

Cecil Billingsley, Empty Tomb’s home maintenance coordinator, also spoke about Empty Tomb’s mission and what John has done to help and inspire the Christian-based organization.  Empty Tomb provides its services at no cost to those in need.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 7th – Winnie Crowder, Executive Director of the Reading Group, and former CU Sunrise Rotarian

May 14th – George Vargas, Champaign County Public Defender’s Office

May 21st – Sam Banks, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club

May 28th – Antonia Rivera, Rotary Youth Exchange

June 4th – Maria Bohri, Learning in Community (LINC), Engineering Education projects, UIUC

June 11th – Kathie Spegal, Coordinator, Illinois Radio Reader, and former CU Sunrise Rotarian

June 18th – Andy Leipold will discuss grand juries and Ferguson, MO

June 25 – TBD

July 2 – TBD

July 9 – TBD

July 16 – Jen Shelby will discuss the Cannes Film Festival

July 23rd – TBD

July 30th – TBD

August 6th – TBD

August 13th – TBD

August 20th – TBD

August 27th – Barry Pittendrigh, Department of Entomology, UIUC