“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”– Coretta Scott King

“Without commitment you cannot have depth in anything whether it’s a relationship, a business, or a hobby.” – Neil Strauss – Author

“The process of spotting fear and refusing to obey it is the source of all true empowerment.” – Martha Beck – Author-Speaker-Life Coach

“Commitment is an act, not a word.” – Jean-Paul Sartre – 1905-1980 – Novelist-Playwright

 

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

President Darrell opened our Zoom meeting with a rousing rendition of America the Beautiful sung by the US Army Chorus.

Eddie’s impromptu reflection quoted a native American proverb: Eh shi du tellana mantro translated as “Open my eyes so I can see.”

Bucket money this month will go support CU@Home.

District Governor Julie Dobski was our special guest in attendance.

 

PROGRAM

Jean Driscoll was introduced by Bob.

Jean Driscoll is an American wheelchair racer. She won the women’s wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon eight times, more than any other female athlete in any division. Her wins in Boston included seven consecutive first-place finishes from 1990 to 1996. Driscoll participated in four Summer Paralympic Games, winning a total of five gold, three silver, and four bronze medals in events ranging from 200 meters to the marathon.

Jean was born with spina bifida. She grew up in Milwaukee. She began using a wheelchair in high school and became involved in a variety of wheelchair sports. She was recruited to play wheelchair basketball at the University of Illinois where she also joined the school’s wheelchair track and field team.

Jean had a legendary racing career, winning major marathons and Olympic medals. However her mastery at the Boston Marathon is amazing, especially given the fact she wasn’t interested in distance racing in the first place and had to be cajoled into doing so by her Illinois coach Marty Morse.

At the 1990 Boston Marathon Jean set a world best time of 1:43:17, beginning a seven-year winning streak in that race. She set a world record at the 1991 race with a time of 1:42:42, and won her fifth Boston and broke the world record a fifth time in 1994.

With her win in 1996, she became the first person to win seven consecutive Boston Marathons. Her streak ended the next year, when the wheel on her racing chair got caught in a trolley track, causing her to crash and the tire to go flat. At the 1998 race, Jean was approaching the finish line in first place when she was caught and lost by half a wheel. Jean finished in second place for a third time in 1999. In 2000, Jean won for the eighth and last time, giving her more wins at Boston than any other person.

Training for marathons, especially Boston, wasn’t easy in central Illinois where the only approximations of Heartbreak Hill are the I-57 and I-74 overpasses. Training included 120-150 miles per week and strength conditioning. Jean was able to bench press 210lbs. Wheelchair sports were not NCAA events back then which allowed Jean to accept racing prize money, including $25,000 for her first Boston Marathon win which paid her way through college at the University of Illinois.

In 2012, Jean was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

In 2001 Jean became involved with Joni and Friends, a non-profit dedicated to helping people with disabilities around the world. Joni and Friends sponsors a program called Wheels for the World in which Jean joined and taught wheelchair track camp in Ghana, West Africa.

Polio was the primary affliction causing disabilities in Africa. Having a disability in Africa isn’t generally considered socially acceptable. It is believed to be a curse from God, and individuals with disabilities are thought to have no use to society.

Through the efforts of Jean and others, perceptions of people with disabilities in Ghana began to change. By 2004 Ghana qualified three representatives for the Paralympic Games in Athens. The national pride of seeing the Ghana flag carried at the opening ceremony was a special and memorable moment for the entire Ghana nation.

Jean, who lives in Champaign, is an inspiration for athletes in any sport and serves as a mentor for many.

In addition to motivational speaking, Jean serves as the Assistant Dean for Advancement in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois.

 

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  May 28th June 4th June 11th June 18th
         
Reflection Paul Conforti Diana Dummitt Ata Durukan Ondine Gross
Notetaker Perry Penwell Hodson Conforti
         
         

 

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

*All meetings via Zoom*

 

May 28th – Nicole Musumeci, Eddie’s daughter (Charlie)

June 4th – Gabe Lewis from the Regional Planning Commission will speak about the Census (Tom)

June 11th – Dean Plumadore, president of the Champaign County Sports Car Club will talk about the group’s activities and how you can participate (Cary)

June 18th – Arielle Gross Samuels (Ondine’s daughter), Head of Global Business Strategy and Engagement at Facebook, will provide an overview of Facebook’s response to the Pandemic and key lessons learned on how to keep people safe, build useful products, and support businesses of all sizes

June 25th – Pass the Gavel ceremony

July 2nd – TBD (Mary)

July 9th – Club Assembly

July 16th – District Governor Mike Step

July 23rd – TBD (Bob)

July 30th – Club Social

August 6th – TBD (Cary)

August 13th – TBD (Charlie)

August 20th – TBD (Ondine)

August 27th – TBD (Tom)

September 3rd – TBD

September 10th – TBD

September 17th – TBD

September 24th – TBD

October 1st – TBD