“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – Dr. Seuss – 1904-1991 – Author-Political Cartoonist-Illustrator-Poet-Animator-Filmmaker

“So much of our time is spent in preparation, so much in routine and so much in retrospect, that the amount of each person’s genius is confined to a very few hours.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson – 1803-1882 – Lecturer-Poet-Essayist

“We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something.” – Marie Curie – 1867-1934 – French-Polish Physicist

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Immediately following our regular morning meeting on Thursday, 11/4, there will be Neil Chamberlain’s tree planting ceremony at Mattis Park near the Don Decker memorial garden. The Champaign Park District will be doing the tree planting.

On Veterans Day, 11/11, our regular morning meeting has been canceled with an evening dinner taking its place. Members, spouses and friends are invited for a buffet dinner at Lodgic with veterans from the U of I Chez Veterans Center as our speakers. The price is $35 per person, and there will be a cash bar. The gathering begins at 5:30pm, dinner at 6:30 and the program begins at 7pm. Darrell will hand out a signup sheet  at this week’s meeting. Please let Darrell know by Nov. 8th if you plan to attend. 

Robb noted that our annual Fruit sale is at the starting line with fruit orders needing to be in by 11/19. The expected delivery is 12/12. Flyers and order forms will be distributed in the next few days. All orders should be turned in to Lou. 

Michelle thanked everyone for signing up to volunteer with the Champaign Central High School Interact Club’s annual 5K run on November 20th in Crystal Lake Park in Urbana.

Phyllis noted that the Hygiene Kit assembly grant has come through and that Central High School’s Interact club will do the assembly around the first part of December.

This year’s Holiday bell Ringing for the Salvation Army will take place Saturday, 12/11. We will once again be at the Champaign Walmart on North Prospect.  A signup sheet will be distributed as we get closer to the date.

PROGRAM

Tom Hodson, our Rotary district’s ShelterBox USA representative, presented an update on ShelterBox with a focus on ShelterBox’s current activities in Haiti. ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that hand-delivers emergency shelters, supplies and tools directly to families impacted by natural disasters and conflict.

ShelterBox is a 20 year old organization and has served over 2 million people throughout the world. While working with many international relief organizations, ShelterBox sends in teams to evaluate the conditions, coordinate the deployment of their supplies and then a team to evaluate the operations.  

Current conditions in Haiti create a variety of challenges making the deployment of goods very difficult. With the recent natural disasters that have taken place getting the supplies to those in need is very difficult., Haiti has approximately 500,000 people in need with over 130,00 homes destroyed. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and with the current political unrest and rise in crime the challenges are many. 

Over the years our Rotary club has donated thousands of dollars to ShelterBox. For more information on how to donate individually or as a club go to www.ShelterBoxUSA.org. 

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

November 4th – Club Assembly.  Tree planting in honor of Neil Chamberlain.

November 11th – No morning meeting.  Dinner social instead.

November 18th – Derek Peterson, Director, Allerton Park & Retreat Center (Joe)

November 25th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 2nd – Club Assembly

December 9th – Ellen Miller, Rotary Youth Exchange and Ambassadorial Scholar (Mary)

December 16th – TBD

December 23rd – No morning meeting

December 30th – No morning meeting.  Evening Zoom social instead.

January 6th – TBD

January 13th – TBD (Tom)

January 20th – Jeremy Greer will discuss his epic 212 mile hike of the John Muir Trail (Ondine)

January 27th – TBD (Bob)

February 3rd – TBD 

February 10th – TBD (Cary)

February 17th – TBD (Charlie)

February 24th – TBD (Joe)

March 3rd – TBD 

March 10th – TBD (Mary)

March 17th – TBD (Ondine)

March 24th – TBD (Tom)

March 31st – TBD

April 7th – TBD

April 14th – TBD (Bob)

April 21st – TBD (Cary)

April 28th – TBD (Charlie)

May 5th – TBD

May 12th – TBD (Joe)

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong – Novelist-Satirist-Poet

“You can’t knock on opportunity’s door and not be ready.” – Bruno Mars – Singer-Songwriter-Record Producer-Musician-Dancer

“Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you’re doing. If you’re not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it.” – Aretha Franklin – 1942-2018 – Singer-Songwriter-Pianist

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

November 4 – We will plant a tree in Neil Chamberlain’s memory following our regular meeting.

November 11 – No morning meeting.   Instead, we will have a dinner at LODGIC that evening.  Invite your friends and family.

December 23 – No meeting.

December 30 – No morning meeting.  Instead, we will have a Zoom evening social.

PROGRAM

Tom introduced Charles Forbes Gammie, Professor of Astrophysics, the University of Illinois.   Professor Gammie received his undergraduate degree in Math from Yale and his PhD in Astrophysics from Princeton.   His research involves black holes and planet formation.

Gammie said that scientists can precisely date the age of the sun, planets and moon.   The Big Bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago.  Our solar system formed 4,576 billion years ago.   

The Apollo Moon missions changed scientists thinking about how the earth’s moon was formed.   Geologist and former US Senator Harrison Schmidt went to the moon and collected moon rocks.    Geologists found that the rocks from the moon have a similar isotopic fingerprint as those on the earth, but the moon doesn’t have the iron found on earth.

The current leading theory about the formation of the moon is that 4.5 billion years ago, the earth was struck by another planet.   Professor Gammie showed a computer simulation of this event.  Within a few hours, the other planet would have been destroyed, leaving a ring of vaporized rock around ours.   Eventually, the ring would have cooled, condensed and solidified into our moon.  The moon would have been about 3 earth radii from the earth.  The earth’s tides have pushed it further out by 3.8 centimeters per year.  It is now 60 earth radii from our planet.

Professor Gammie also talked about mile long lava tubes found on the moon.  The moon has no atmosphere but the lave tubes might one day provide a habitable shelter for humans

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

October 21st – Normal Rotarian Drake Zimmerman, co-founder and chair of the Rotary Action Group Against Malaria, will speak about Global Grants of Scale (Mary)

October 28th – Tom Hodson will give an update on Shelter Box and Haiti

November 4th – Club Assembly.  Tree planting in honor of Neil Chamberlain.

November 11th – No morning meeting.  Dinner social instead.

November 18th – Derek Peterson, Director, Allerton Park & Retreat Center (Joe)

November 25th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 2nd – Club Assembly

December 9th – TBD (Ondine)

December 16th – TBD

December 23rd – No morning meeting

December 30th – No morning meeting.  Evening Zoom social instead.

January 6th – TBD

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” – John Cage – 1912-1992 – Composer-Music Theorist-Artist-Philosopher

“I was smart enough to go through any door that opened.” – Joan Rivers – 1933-2014 – Comedian-Actress-Writer-Producer

“It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.” – Louise Bourgeois – 1911-2010 – Painter-Printmaker-Known for Large-Scale Sculpture and Installation Artwork

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Shout out to Todd and Beth for their donation of an art installation at Mattis Park!

Todd announced that there will be lots of interesting items at the PACA West garage sale, 10-2 on October 16.    That is also the date for our service activity for the Humane Society.

Books2Prisoners also needs help with set up between October 12-15 with set up for their book sale.   Please see their web site to sign up. The book sale will be held on October 16-17 at the Illinois Media Center in Urbana.

The installation of the tree and plaque in memory of Neil Chamberlain will be at 8:15 AM on October 21.

CLUB ASSEMBLY

President Darrell said that the Charter banquet has been cancelled.  However, he suggested that rather than a morning meeting, we hold an evening dinner at LODGIC on November 11.   Please invite friends and family.

Michelle reminded us to sign up to help with the Central Interact 5K on November 20.  

Phyllis announced that we have applied for a District Grant for hygiene kits, and she will be scheduling a date for packing them.

There was much discussion about the fruit sale.   The consensus is to continue but to also look for other fundraising opportunities.   The members decided to donate fruit sale proceeds to Sola Gratia Farm.  

November bucket money will go toward the Chez Center.   They have requested additional funding to purchase ceremonial flags.  The members voted to use club reserves to bring the amount up to $500.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

October 14th – Dr. Charles Gammie, professor of astrophysics, UIUC, will speak about black holes (Tom)

October 21st – Normal Rotarian Drake Zimmerman, co-founder and chair of the Rotary Action Group Against Malaria, will speak about Global Grants of Scale (Mary)

October 28th – Tom Hodson will give an update on Shelter Box and Haiti

November 4th – Club Assembly

November 11th – Veteran’s One to One (tentative)

November 18th – Derek Peterson, Director, Allerton Park & Retreat Center (Joe)

November 25th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 2nd – Club Assembly

December 9th – TBD (Ondine)

December 16th – TBD

December 23rd – TBD

December 30th – TBD

“Shine brightly. See beauty. Speak kindly. Love truly. Give freely. Create joyfully. Live thankfully.” – Mary Davis – Chief Executive Officer of the Special Olympics

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi – 1869-1948 – Lawyer-Nationalist

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde – 1854-1900 – Irish Poet

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The club did not have a regular morning meeting last week.  Instead, C-U Sunrise Rotarians gathered for fellowship and fellow-sip at Pour Bros in downtown Champaign.  Thanks to all those that were able to make it!

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

October 7th – Club Assembly

October 14th – Dr. Charles Gammie, professor of astrophysics, UIUC, will speak about black holes (Tom)

October 21st – Normal Rotarian Drake Zimmerman, co-founder and chair of the Rotary Action Group Against Malaria, will speak about Global Grants of Scale (Mary)

October 28th – Tom Hodson will give an update on Shelter Box and Haiti

November 4th – Club Assembly

November 11th – Veteran’s One to One (tentative)

November 18th – Derek Peterson, Director, Allerton Park & Retreat Center (Joe)

November 25th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 2nd – Club Assembly

December 9th – TBD (Ondine)

December 16th – TBD

December 23rd – TBD

December 30th – TBD