“You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.” – Leymah Gbowee – Peace Activist

 

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall – Primatologist-Anthropologist

 

“Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” – John Lennon – 1940-1980 – Singer-Songwriter-Musician-Peace Activist

 

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

 

Fruit orders should be arriving soon. Last year our fruit arrived on 12/8.

Tom Hodson distributed order forms for the Champaign West annual Poinsettia. Email cwrpoinsettia@gmail to place your order.

 

PROGRAM

 

Joe Rank introduced Derek Peterson, Director of the Allerton Park & Retreat Center.  Derek came to Allerton Park in 2006 as a ground’s keeper. He graduated from the UIUC with a degree in horticulture. He rose to the position of Director in 2016. Derek married his wife at Allerton.

Built as a private residence by artist and philanthropist Robert Allerton in 1900, Allerton Park and Retreat Center is a historical treasure that was donated to the University of Illinois in 1946. The property contains 1,500 acres of woodland and prairie areas, a mansion and reflecting pond, a 10-acre meadow, formal sculpture gardens, hiking trails, a café, and several lodging facilities.

In January 2015, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved the Allerton Park Master Plan. In 2016 a café was built into the gift shop. Programming events has been a primary focus in recent years. The first very first music concert drew upwards of 80 people. This past August the park hosted a concert with about 800 people.

The master plan schedule is tied to endowments. The Park is well on its way to its June 2022 fundraising goal of $8 million. A recent upgrade was converting the icehouse into an artist in residence apartment. The Peony Garden Walk was recently completed. Mid to late May are ideal times to visit.

A Decatur family has partnered with the Engineering School at UIUC to fund and build a new road to the mansion and improvements to the Foo Dog garden and tower. Inside the mansion, the dining room, library and solarium upgrades have been completed. A new visitors center is planned to be completed by December 2022.

There will be a Holiday Vendor Fair this weekend, December 3rd through the 5th. Also beginning December 3rd and running into mid-January is Holiday Glow each night from 5pm to 9pm.  Now in its 6th year, Holiday Glow transforms the evening park to a magical and inspirational holiday attraction.

Future projects include a new ¼ mile trail, a new maintenance shed and construction of a stage on the gate house lawn.

 

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  Dec 2nd Dec 9th Dec 16th Dec 23rd
Introductions Mary Kay Smith Cary Woolard Michelle Barbey No
Reflection Ata Durukan Mary Hodson Ed Perry morning
Greeters Mary Kay Smith Cary Woolard Michelle Barbey meeting.
Bob La Charite Phyllis Mischo Scott Paceley Robb Patton
Notetaker Hodson Conforti Perry  

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

 

December 2nd – Club Assembly

December 9th – Ellen Miller, Rotary Youth Exchange and Ambassadorial Scholar (Mary)

December 16th – TBD

December 23rd – No morning meeting

December 30th – No morning meeting.  Evening Zoom social instead.

January 6th – TBD

January 13th – TBD (Tom)

January 20th – Jeremy Greer will discuss his epic 212 mile hike of the John Muir Trail (Ondine)

January 27th – TBD (Bob)

February 3rd – TBD 

February 10th – TBD (Cary)

February 17th – TBD (Charlie)

February 24th – TBD (Joe)

March 3rd – TBD 

March 10th – TBD (Mary)

March 17th – TBD (Ondine)

March 24th – TBD (Tom)

March 31st – TBD

April 7th – TBD

April 14th – TBD (Bob)

April 21st – TBD (Cary)

April 28th – TBD (Charlie)

May 5th – TBD

May 12th – TBD (Joe)