“It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.” – Paulo Coelho – Author

 

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”  – Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1882-1945 – Former President of the United States

 

“Courage of the heart is very rare. Let it guide you.” – Sarah J. Maas – Author

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

RYE Scholarship: Michelle, our Rotary Youth Exchange Officer, introduced Rabbi (pronounced Robbie) Bassoubouh-Ba-Dimai (Bah-soo-bah Bah-Di-My) and his mom to our club. Rabbi is involved with Central HS Interact. His essay was selected as the winner of our clubs scholarship. Tracy Wahlfeld, Executive Director of the Parkland College Foundation (and a Rotarian) was also on hand for the presentation. An excerpt from Rabbi’s essay: My dream in life is to change the world in which everyone can have opportunities they will dream of. That dream drives me to become an electrical engineer that will help improve technology and make everyday lives easier, not just in the United States, but around the world. I believe technology can make everything possible; it has helped us to find new medical discoveries and even helped us find a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus. This is why I feel like starting at Parkland College will help me bring that dream into reality.  During his senior year Rabbi was accepted into the French Honor Society at Central HS.

July 16, 10am – Newspaper folding for Humane Society at Good Shepard Lutheran Church (enter at the west door)

August 1-6: Rotary Blood Drive

It’s that time of year for the Annual Rotary Blood Drive and the need for blood is greater than ever.  Please go to bloodcenter.org or call 217-367-2202to schedule an appointment to donate.

June/July Bucket money will be donated to the CU Schools Foundation.

 

PROGRAM

Last week’s speaker was Dr Rick Davidson, Tuscola Rotary, who discussed the new District Foundation and Global Grants.

Dr Davidson is a 33-year Rotarian who has worked on and implemented global grants in many countries. Global grants are not easy to do and have become stricter in the past few years as well intentioned projects were affected by corruption in receiving countries.

Today, Rotary requires the issuing club(s) to set up an infrastructure in the recipient country, in person, and then apply for the grant. This is beyond the reach of many clubs. To address this, and to better position clubs to participate in global projects, our District 6490 has set up its own foundation.

Dr Rick issued a matching $250,000 Bequest Challenge to Rotarians and friends in District 6490. Rick is asking others to leave a legacy that can be used by our district in the future. The newly established District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account is able to receive gifts, bequests, and donations of money, securities and property in support of the charitable objects and aims of the District to fund local and larger Rotary projects, to assist with disaster response, and to honor and memorialize friends and family, and to leave a legacy. For assistance with donations of Securities, Life Insurance, Estates/Farmland, Required Minimum Distributions from IRA Charitable Accounts, and Bequests, contact the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation staff at 309-662-4477.

A gift to the District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account is a thoughtful way to honor or memorialize a special person. Once sufficient funds have been received the district committee will review and approve distributions of the District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account. Contributions fill the gap between projects of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and projects that are too costly for clubs to fund on their own. Applications for grants are available on the District Website.

 

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  July 21st July 28th Aug 4th Aug 11th
Introductions Ata Durukan Ray Elliott Lisa Crane Mary Hodson
Reflection Allan Penwell Ed Perry Joe Rank Rod Roberts
Greeters Ata Durukan Ray Elliott Lisa Crane Mary Hodson
Rod Roberts Tod Satterthwaite Jarrod Scheunemann Jen Shelby
Notetaker Perry Hodson Crane Conforti
Decker Weeding Larry Johnson   Ribs Patton  

 

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

 

July 21st – Kathryn Williams, OLLI Director (Bob)

July 28th – Steven Bentz, Director, Virginia Theatre, Champaign Park District (Charlie)

August 4th – Club Assembly

August 11th – Ryan Ross, Curator of the UIUC Richmond Welcome Gallery, “The U of I in the 1950s – Conservatism, Conformity and the Cold War.” (Joe)

August 18th – District Governor Connie Walsh

August 25th – Gil Holder will speak about the evolution of the universe (Tom)

September 8th – TBD (Bob)

September 15th – TBD (Cary)

September 22nd – TBD (Charlie)

September 29th – Club Social

October 6th – TBD

October 13th – TBD (Joe)

October 20th – TBD (Mary)

October 27th – TBD (Lisa)

 

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

 

July 18 – Eddie Bridges

July 28 – Cary Woolard

July 31 – Lou Simpson

 

August 24 – Allan Penwell

August 30 – Darrell Hoemann

August 30 – Ed Perry