“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” ― Michelangelo

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(Notes provided by Allan Penwell)

 

We have two new Paul Harris Fellow! Reuben presented Carey Woolard and Paul Conforti with their Paul Harris Awards.  Congratulations to both.  Reuben announced that we are going to be a 100% Paul Harris club with details to follow.  As a reminder, you don’t have to donate $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow to become a Sustainer.  A PHF Sustainer is a Rotarian who donates $100 annually to the Foundation.  So far in this Rotary year, there are only 7 sustainers.

Rob Patton cracked the whip on fruit sales.  All orders should be in by November 18th.

Carey announced the Christmas party will be held at Jen’s house on December 17th in the evening.  Should be fun!  Put it on your calendars.

 

PROGRAM

Guy Fraker, who is an acknowledged Lincoln scholar and publisher, was our speaker at last week’s meeting.  He lives in Bloomington and recently retired after a 52-year career as an attorney.  His interest in Lincoln began in 1948, and he has been a Lincoln speaker on numerous occasions and has taught OLLI classes in Champaign.

Guy discussed his book, Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency, The Eighth Judicial Circuit, which can be purchased on Amazon along with two of his other books.

Each spring and fall, Lincoln traveled to as many as fourteen county seats in the Eighth Judicial Circuit to appear in consecutive court sessions over a ten to twelve-week period in the spring and fall. The Circuit included county seats Bloomington, Lincoln, Springfield, Mt. Pulaski, Urbana, Danville, Monticello, Paris, Shelbyville, Sullivan, Taylorville, and Decatur.  Lincoln was the consummate networker and came to know attorneys, businessmen, and attorneys in all of these towns as he traveled.  Later this was the groundwork for him to become president.

In 1860 at the Chicago Republican Convention, Lincoln was nominated as the party’s choice for president.  At the time, cities in the Eighth Circuit had a great presence as Chicago had yet to achieve its growth.  David Davis from Bloomington organized attorneys and politicians to get Lincoln nominated, and it was Lincoln’s popularity in the Eight Circuit that did the trick.  Lincoln eventually became president and saved the nation.  Guy argues that the Civil War was not over slavery or states’ rights.  Rather, it was simply that the majority should rule, and that the northern states had more votes than southern states when it came to issues that revolved around the Civil War.

 

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Nov 12th Nov 19th Nov 26th Dec 3rd
Introductions Oktay Baran Keith Brandau No Neal Chamberlain
Invocation Robin Ferguson Andrew Kerins Meeting Dave Krchak
Greeters Oktay Baran Keith Brandau on Neal Chamberlain
Bruce Hatfield Darrell Hoemann Turkey Mary Hodson
Song Leader Molly Delaney Ata Durukan Day Diana Dummitt
Notetaker Penwell Hodson Lintner

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

November 19th – Professor Jennifer Robbennolt of the UIUC College of Law will present Behavioral Ethics in the Practice of Law

November 26th – Thanksgiving, no meeting

December 3rd – Danda Beard and David Thiel, WILL

December 10th – TBD

December 17th – TBD

December 24th – Christmas Eve, no meeting

December 31st – New Year’s Eve, no meeting

January 7th – TBD

Feb 5 – Dr. Matthew Winters, Associate Professor of Political Science, UIUC, will present What Works in International Development: The Latest Evidence