Announcements
(Notes provided by Allan Penwell).
Ata presented the club with a plaque from Konak RC and club president, Sureyya Percin. This was a joint project to give the Behcat Uz Children’s Hospital an Innowalk medical device that helps disabled children to walk. The cost was $51,700, and it was a joint project among our Rotary club, the Kassel-Hofgeismar Rotary Club in Germany, and the Konak Rotary Club in Izmir, Turkey. Our club contributed $2,000 along with the other two clubs, along with grants from District 6490 and The Rotary Foundation. This global grant was truly an international effort.
Rod announced that our club is sponsoring the HBO documentary, Journey Into Dyslexia which runs from 6:30-8:00pm on Monday, March 31st at Douglass Library. Barb Lintner was instrumental in obtaining the grant for this showing. Volunteers are requested.
Tod Satterthwaite is back from our district PETS (Presidents-Elect Training Seminar) in Effingham. He’s fired-up to be club president this summer and passed out the new Rotary themed pins, “Light Up Rotary.”
District 6490 Conference is Saturday May 3rd and Sunday May 4th at the Hilton Garden Inn. Save the date.
The RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) is Saturday, April 12 at Allerton, and volunteers are needed to help with interviewing students in the afternoon. Please contact Andrew if you are available.
Program
Jim Dey, opinion editor of the News-Gazette, was our speaker. Jim discussed local, state, and national politics. He noted that many races for local and state offices will be competitive and thus will mean increased political spending. Get ready for more mailings and robocalls!
Jim also discussed the challenges facing the newspaper industry, including the lost revenue due to Craigslist taking away classified customers and no longer having the contract to print the Chicago Tribute for downstate customers. Jim noted that the News-Gazette has undergone numerous cuts in order to stay profitable, but changes continue to be made. Last year the paper started charging for online content, but that part of the business is still developing.
Jim mentioned the importance of the letters to the editor section. Several comments and questions were directed at this subject, and Jim diplomatically addressed the fact that the section is an open community forum and it is healthy to have such dialogue. The anonymous online comments are a completely different matter. Be careful before you jump into chatting with that bunch of hooligans!
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| Mar 27th | Apr 3rd | Apr 10th | Apr 17th | |
| Introductions | Allan Penwell | Ed Perry | Marsha Reardon | Rod Roberts |
| Invocation | Alan Chalifoux | Neal “#1 Cubs Fan” Chamberlain | Reuben Chambers | Paul Conforti |
| Greeters | Allan Penwell | Ed Perry | Marsha Reardon | Rod Roberts |
| Oktay Baran | Eric Batsie | Keith Brandau | Alan Chalifoux | |
| Song Leader | Cary Woolard | Kris Young | Harold Adams | Curt Anderson |
| Notetaker | Chamberlain | Perry | Penwell | Hodson |
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Upcoming Schedule
March 27th – Bruce Hannon, President and Director of the Land Conservation Foundation
April 3rd – Carly McCrory, Communications Director, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, will discuss the 2014 Innovation Celebration Winners
April 10th – Jan Kane will discuss her mission trips to Haiti
April 17th – Varkki George, an urban planner who lived and worked for seven years in Dubai
April 24th – Dr. Stephen Boppart
May 1st – Samual Byndom, Director of Urbana Adult Education
May 8th – TBD
May 15th – Pat Titus, Titus Farms, representing the Illinois Pork Board
