ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

 

Robb reminded members to turn their fruit sale money into Jennifer.

 

Book Mentors, please see Mary Hodson for your books and instructions for the Spring Book Mentor visits.

 

Contact Harold before he contacts you regarding unpaid gambling debts from the Rotary Foundation Bowl.   Half of the proceeds will go to the Foundation.

 

The club welcomed Andrew back from his honeymoon in Italy, Croatia and Germany.

 

 

ROTARY MINUTE

 

Jennifer Shelby gave the Rotary Minute.  She was born Jennifer Keller and came from a long line of Rotarians.   Her grandfather Bob Eisner was a District Governor.    She has a brother Rob who has a son Leo and a sister Kate who has a daughter Maggie.   Jennifer is very close to her niece and nephew.

 

Jennifer published a paper in college and was encouraged to go into research.   She studied this in college and realized it wasn’t for her.   Her first job out of college was at Bloomingdales in Delray Beach, Florida.   She moved back to Champaign and ended up as a salesperson for Shelby Motors.    She married the owner, Mike Shelby.

 

After Mike’s sudden death in 2008, Jennifer bought the company.   She sold it in 2013 and started looking for other things to do.  She is a trustee for Blackburn College, is involved with the Kendall Gill Golf Outing (started by her husband), and U of I Women’s Basket Ball supporters.   She rehabbed a house, is a part owner of an independent film company and runs a blog called “Gym Bytch”.   She is currently negotiating the purchase of two car dealerships in Hoopeston.

 

 

PROGRAM

 

Mary introduced Cloydia Larimore from Cunningham Children’s Home (CCH).   In addition to Jennifer’s involvement with the Kendall Gill Golf Outing, CU Sunrise has other connections to CCH.    Mary formerly served on their Board and now, Justin Lytle, who is a great-nephew of Judge Cunningham, serves on the Board.

 

Cloydia related how she received a FB message from someone who had found the journals of Judge Joseph O. Cunningham in Texas.   The first journal began in 1853, when Joseph Cunningham moved from Ohio to Urbana.   The second was from the 1890’s, when Judge Cunningham and his wife donated their home to the women of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the purpose of founding a children’s home.

 

Cloydia introduced former Board member Reverend Richard McGuire who came in character as Judge Joseph O. Cunningham, and read from his journals.   The Judge felt that the Methodist Church should be doing more to minister to the sick and to children.   In 1894, he submitted his proposal to donate his home to be used as a home for homeless and friendless children.   The deed was executed 120 years ago on January 1, 1895.   Reverend McGuire said that Judge Cunningham laid the groundwork for programs at Cunningham, the Baby Fold in Normal, The Sunset Home in Quincy, Even Glow Lodge in Dwight, the Methodist Hospital and Illinois Wesleyan College.

 

Since its founding, Cunningham Children’s Home has helped over 10,000 children to heal from trauma.   Today, CCH has group homes, foster care and independent living programs as well as an educational component.    They currently run three schools.  Gerber is on the Cunningham grounds, a public school under Urbana Unit #116.  Circle Academy Day Treatment School serves Champaign and Ford County kids who can’t attend public school because of their behavior.  Recently, Cunningham opened a school in Rossville to serve kids from Vermillion County.

 

CCH receives funding from the Dept. of Children and Family Services, the Dept. of Human Services and the Dept. of Corrections.   But this reimbursement from the State covers only about 80% of the costs.   The remainder comes from charitable support.

 

There are nine buildings on the CCH campus on North Cunningham St.   Currently, students on the Cunningham campus must walk from one building to another during their school day.  This is a challenge for kids with emotional and behavior problems.  The goal of Cunningham and its Board is to raise funds for a new educational building with a dining hall that would allow the students to remain in one building during the school day.

 

 

 

Jan 15th Jan 22nd Jan 29th Feb 5th
Introductions Jen Shelby Lou Simpson Jeff Van Buren Cary Woolard
Invocation Neal Chamberlain Reuben Chambers Paul Conforti Molly Delaney
Greeters Jen Shelby Lou Simpson Jeff Van Buren Cary Woolard
Keith Brandau Alan Chalifoux Neal Chamberlain Reuben Chambers
Song Leader Curt Anderson Laura Auteberry Oktay Baran Keith Brandau
Notetaker Lintner Conforti Chamberlain Perry
Rotary Minute Lou Simpson Kris Young

 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

January 15th – Karen Pickard will speak about The Daily Bread Soup Kitchen

January 22nd – Antonia River, Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) student from Chile

January 29th – Dr. Mosbah Kushad from the College of ACES, UIUC, will discuss his home country of Libya

February 5th – Nathan Montgomery, Executive Director, Salt & Light Ministries

February 12th – Barbara Gillespie-Washington, found and leader of Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO)

February 19th – Dr. James Leonard, CEO of Carle Hospital, will discuss the challenges with health care in the future

February 26ty – Sam Banks, CEO, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club

April 9th – Denise Martin will discuss Cradles to Careers