“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”― J. K. Rowling 

 

“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” ― Mary Tyler Moore 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the crafty and courageous Barb Lintner)

 

There will be no meeting in the morning on February 2.  Instead we will meet that Thursday at 5:30pm at Riggs Brewery in Urbana.  This is a great time to bring a guest.

April 26 is the date for the All Rotary meeting at the Round Barn Center at 11:30am.  We will cancel our meeting that week (4/27) so please plan on attending the All Rotary meeting.

Our volunteer project this month will be the Eastern Illinois Food bank’s Pop up Food Pantry at the County Market on Kirby on February 22 from 3 to 6 pm.  Todd will send out more information this week.

Michelle announced that Read Across America will be on March 4 at Lincoln Square in Urbana.  We will need six readers for 30 minutes each to cover the reading times from 10 am to 1 pm. 

BJ announced the Rotary District 6490 Literacy Committee Writing Contest.  Watch for more information.

 

SPEAKER

Josh Whitman, Athletic Director at the University of Illinois, was our speaker this morning.  He is from Indiana but came to the U of I as an undergraduate in finance and played football here.  He returned after a professional career in athletics to complete a graduate degree in law.  One of his professors and a CU Sunrise Rotarian, Tom Ulen, who is currently serving as the Chair of the U of I Athletic Board, introduced our speaker today. 

Josh Whitman characterized his past year as Athletic Director as a rewarding opportunity to work with remarkable students, blending academia and athletics.  We are fortunate to have outstanding young people representing themselves, the University and the broader community.  His experience here in Champaign as a student changed the course of his life and he wants that kind of experience for the athletes to prepare them to become leaders of the future.  He has enjoyed watching them grow. 

He emphasized the importance of having a community of people surrounding the athletes.  The University has to compete with bigger and better known schools that have more resources.  He cited Michigan’s $165 million budget compared to our $100 million as an example.  The challenge is how to close that gap, change the game, and develop a sense of who we are.   We have to “out people” the others and show them that a smaller program has advantages such as a family-type feel at a great world-class University in a smaller, more close-knit community.  Josh is proud to be a part of the University of Illinois. 

A question and answer session followed:

When asked about the Horseshoe, Josh said plans were to renovate the south and east part of Memorial Stadium by 2018.  Josh answered a question about the NCAA and mega conferences by saying that there is a broad divide between the haves and have nots, so that of all the 1100 schools in the NCAA the 65 Division One schools help the other divisions who don’t generate as much money.  The autonomy recently granted in the rule making process has made it less likely that the Division One schools would step aside from the NCAA. He did not think beer sales inside the stadium would be allowed in the near future, since there is a beer tent and alcohol is allowed in the premium seats. There are new scoreboards in the State Farm Center which is 99.5% complete.  There are things like banners and some graphics which will soon be in place.

The biggest challenge in the next 5 to 10 years is to consolidate facilities so that there can be larger weight rooms, sports medicine, and dining rooms where athletes can train and experience college life together in a hub for all.  When asked if The Big Ten will expand beyond 14 schools Josh said he thinks the Big Twelve is most at risk with more changes possible into the 2020’s.  He stated that recruiting is the life blood of athletics.  Social media has changed everything because everyone knows what is being discussed, -coaches, students, and fans.

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  Jan 26th Feb 2nd Feb 9th Feb 16th
Introductions Tod Satterthwaite Jen Shelby Lou Simpson Billy Stull
Invocation Robin Ferguson Mary Hodson Darrell Hoemann Larry Johnson
Greeters Tod Satterthwaite Jen Shelby Lou Simpson Billy Stull
Adam Wright Angie Schoonover Angie Schoonover Angie Schoonover
Song Leader Billy Stull Jeff Van Buren Cary Woolard Adam Wright
Notetaker Lintner Conforti Perry Penwell

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

February 2nd – AM meeting canceled; Instead, meet at 5:30PM at Riggs Brewery in Urbana (Laura)

February 9th – Pam Dempsey, Executive Director, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting (Mary)

February 16th- Garrett Anderson, Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education, UIUC (Phyllis)

February 23rd – Dr. King Li, Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, will speak about the new Carle Illinois College of Medicine (Tod)

March 2nd – Miranda Ming, Ambassadorial Scholar (Mary)

March 9th – TBD (Bob)

Marcy 16th – TBD (Laura)

March 23rd – TBD (Mary)

March 30th – No am meeting; CUSR Social

April 6th – TBD (Phyllis)

April 13th – TBD

April 20th – TBD (Tom)

April 27th – TBD (Bob)

May 4th – TBD (Laura)

May 11th – TBD (Mary)

May 18th – TBD (Phyllis)

May 25th – TBD

June 1st – TBD (Tom)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)