“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho – Author

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” – Maurice Setter – 1936-2020 – English Football Player & Manager

“I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday.” – Misty Copeland – Ballet Dancer

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING SCHEDULE

(notes presented by the disgruntled gentleman from Connecticut, Edward Perry)

Phyllis presented our club’s special recognition to Diana Dummit. Diana joined our club in 2008 and served as club president in 2010/2011.  She continued as chair on various club committees and was responsible for our club’s greeting cards for many years. Diana thanked everyone and stated how our club and the members were very special to her and she was proud of all the great things the club had done.

Phyllis thanked all for helping with Feed Our Kids on Saturday.

April 27, 7:30 to 10:30am – Marathon water station at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

May 4, 10 to Noon – Rotary District Assembly at The Carle Forum

May 4, 1pm to 4pm – Champaign County Humane Society folding newspaper at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

May 18 – Rotary Leadership Institute at Richmond Community College in Decatur.

May 30 – Club social at Mary Kay and Charlie’s house – 1607 Sandpiper Ct, Champaign

June 27 – Pass the gavel day (end of the reign of Charlie the Wise)

Program

Tom Ulen introduced our speaker, Al Nudo. Al is a well-known local business man and developer who has served on many civic and community organizations. His program this morning focused on the history and future of Willard Airport. His review of the airport’s history included:

1946 The airport opened

1954 First commercial Flights

1968 Willard was the second busiest airport in Illinois

1987 New terminal was built

Al presented a chart with information comparing population, the number of enplanements, airlines and number of destinations for four of the Central Illinois airports, including Willard Airport/Champaign; Central Il. Regional/Bloomington; Peoria Airport/Peoria; Abe Lincoln Airport/Springfield.

While Champaign county has the largest population of these four, it has the lowest number of enplanements. Eight out of 10 people in Champaign county fly out of someplace other than Willard. One reason for this 80% leakage is that Willard has only one major Airline and does not have a low-cost Airline service. According to Al, we need our airport to have more flights at a competitive cost.

The recent history of the number of flights at Willard by year has significantly declined:

2005  132,000

2013   85,000

2022   65,000

Much work and money is needed to attract more flights in and out of Willard. While the U of I, the Cities of Champaign and Urbana, Champaign County and the MTD have stated they will contribute initial dollars to help, Al stated that long term sources of continued funding are needed along with better Airport management. 

The current thinking by the U of I is that the Airport is not a priority.  According to Al, that thinking must change for Willard to be successful and beneficial to the community. 

More flights in and out of our airport can bring economic growth, a better image of our University, and a  better quality of life for our entire community.

—

—

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

April 18^th – Mary Kay Smith will discuss the FriendShop

April 25^th – Jenette Jurczyk of The Family Room (Lisa)

May 2^nd – Cat Purcell, Career Librarian, Champaign Public Library, will discuss researching your home

May 9^th – TBD

May 16^th – TBD

May 23 – Cooper, the Child Advocacy Center Comfort Dog (Joe)

May 30^th – TBD
June 6^th – TBD

June 13^th – TBD

June 20^th – TBD

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

April 3 – Mary Hodson

April 24 – Mary Kay Smith

“We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.” – Audre Lorde – 1934-1992 – Writer-Librarian-Civil Rights Activist

“Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan – 1882-1927 – Professor

“As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.” – Muhammad Ali – 1942-2016 – Professional Boxer

ANNOUNCEMENTS & CALENDAR

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

May 4 – 10-Noon – District Assembly at the Carle Forum

1-4 PM – Fold newspapers for the Humane Society at Good Shepard Lutheran Church

May 13 – 24 – U of I Intensive Language Instruction.   Instruction in 13 languages is offered.  There is no required attendance, minimal homework and no grades.  For more information, go to go.illinois.edu/ilip.

May 18 – Rotary Leadership Institute – the Club will pay the fee for those who wish to attend.

May 30 – Club Social at 1607 Sandpiper Ct., Champaign – No AM meeting

June 27 – Pass the Gavel

PROGRAM

Joe Rank introduced Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, the Executive Director of Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Living.    Chabad is the largest Jewish organization in the world.  It was started in Ukraine in the 1700’s to provide social services and education to Jewish families.  

Rabbi Dovid is originally from Brooklyn, NY. Three of his great grandfathers were killed for being Jewish.  One was killed by the Cossacks, one by the Nazis and one by the KGB.  He lost 22 family members in the Holocaust.   From childhood, he wanted to be a rabbi.

Rabbi Dovid’s wife Goldie is from Chicago. They have six children. They believed that they should not go where they wanted to go, but where they were  needed to go. So in 2003, when they were asked to move from Brooklyn to start Chabad in CU, they came.  Rabbi Dovid said there is a long history of Jewish life in Champaign, beginning with Joseph Kuhn.

The first building Chabad owned was at the corner of 4th and Green Street.  Later, a fraternity lost its charter and they were able to buy the fraternity house at 4th and Armory.  The aim of the Jewish center is to give meaning, share joy and add spirituality to the every day. Their dream is to teach those values in a warm and nurturing environment where people can grow together, enjoying life and Judaism simultaneously.

Rabbi Dovid became the liaison for religious life on campus. After ten years, the University made it an official position. He wants to bring people together rather than to divide them.  He believes that people will always care about each other; you just have to bring them together.

—

—

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

April 11^th –Al Nudo who will speak about Willard Airport (Tom)

April 18^th – Retired American Airlines Captain John Carey will speak by Zoom about his experience investigating U.S. Airlines flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River in 2009 (Mary)

April 25^th – Jenette Jurczyk of The Family Room (Lisa)

May 2^nd – TBD

May 9^th – TBD

May 16^th – TBD

May 23 – Cooper, the Child Advocacy Center Comfort Dog (Joe)

May 30^th – TBD

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

April 3 – Mary Hodson

April 24 – Mary Kay Smith

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – 1928-1968 – Minister and Civil Rights Activist

UPCOMING EVENTS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

April 3 (7am) – Club Board Meeting

April 6 – Feeding our Kids (sign-up sheet passed around)

April 19-21 – Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) at Allerton
May 4 (9-noon) – District Assembly
May 4 (9-noon) – Newspaper folding @GSLC – save your newspapers
May 18 (9-3:30pm) – Rotary Leadership Institute @ Richland Community College in Decatur (the club will pay your registration fee)

SPEAKER

Our speaker last week was Professor Kent Redfield.  Dr. Redfield is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois – Springfield where his research focused on teaching and public service on campaign finance issues and Illinois politics. He served as the program coordinator for the Illinois Legislative Staff intern program for 20 years. Before joining UIS he worked as legislative analyst for the Illinois Legislature.

Dr. Redfield has authored a number of books, chapters in books and articles on Illinois politics, campaign finance and political corruption. He is currently working with two co-authors on a new edition of Illinois Politics: A Citizen’s Guide which will be published by the U of I press in July 2024.

Dr. Redfield covered a number of different topics: shifting demographics; downstate versus Chicago; billionaires and bribery. Even veteran observers need a roadmap to track Illinois’ ever-changing political landscape. Dr. Redfield discussed recent events like the 2015-2017 budget disaster, the response to COVID-19, and the fall of longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Much of his presentation centered on corruption, social policies, and the political rules of the game.  Dr. Redfield provided perspectives on the nuts-and-bolts of campaign funding and the ways political actors acquire power or influence.

Dr. Redfield made it clear that it is okay to contact him regarding questions about Illinois Politics. Cell: 217-971-8691 or kredfl@uis.edu

—

—

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

April 4th – Rabbi David Tiechtel (Joe)

April 11^th –Al Nudo who will speak about Willard Airport (Tom)

April 18^th – Retired American Airlines Captain John Carey will speak by Zoom about his experience investigating U.S. Airlines flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River in 2009 (Mary)

April 25^th – Jenette Jurczyk of The Family Room (Lisa)

May 2^nd – TBD

May 9^th – TBD

May 16^th – TBD

May 23 – Cooper, the Child Advocacy Center Comfort Dog (Joe)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

April 3 – Mary Hodson

April 24 – Mary Kay Smith