ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

Laura announced that she and Penn will be selling raffle tickets for a Car Raffle to be held at Taste of Champaign.   Tickets are $20 or 3 for $50.   The proceeds will benefit the scholarship programs of the Champaign Park District.

Scott Paceley gave the Rotary Minute.  He graduated from St. Joe-Ogden.   Scott and Cyndi and his wife have been married 28 years.  He came to work at Krannert as a graphic designer 25 years ago and recently retired as a graphic artist for the U of I Department of Public Affairs.   Scott also writes and does photography for several vintage racing publications.

Social chair and Party Extraordinaire Cary Woolard announced that there will be a Rotary Social starting around 5:30 PM, Wednesday, June 4, at Triptych Brewing in Savoy.  Be there or be square.

PROGRAM

Kris introduced Dr. Marva Nelson, Associate Professor of Humanities at Parkland.   Dr. Nelson’s topic was “The bullied, those who bully, where they live, love, work and sleep”.

Marva asked us to think about famous bullies in the news, eg, Lee Iaccoca, Bobby Knight, Donald Trump, Steve Jobs and Lance Armstrong.   Bullies are usually people who have been bullied themselves.   Lance Armstrong’s step-father was in the military and State Police, and beat Lance as a child.  Children observe and emulate what their parents do.

Marva said she herself was bullied as a child.   She was the only student of color taking AP classes in a Southern Illinois high school.  She was bullied by both the whites and the blacks.

What does a bully look like or act?    Marva pointed out that we all possess the potential to bully at some time or another.   Bullies are found both in public and private schools, universities, colleges, churches, sports, hospitals and other workplaces.   Road Rage is another example of bullying.  Cyber bullying has caused people to commit suicide.

There is a perception that one person has power over another.   Often, it is the only place that the bully has power.  Sometimes men bully at work but have power issues at home. Marva also said that, in the workplace, women often bully more than men.

Marva challenged the community of Rotarians to think about what we can do to prevent bullying.   The easiest way to stop bullying is to speak to the bully privately and say, “Don’t do this anymore.”    If you observe bullying, don’t be a bystander.

C-U SUNRISE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

C-U Sunrise Rotary recognized it’s 2014 scholarship recipient, Markeonda Williams, at our most recent meeting.  Ms. Williams, who recently graduated from Champaign Central High School, will enter the CNA program in the Fall at Parkland College.  Pictured from right to left are Ms. Williams, her high school guidance counselor Jennifer Stroud, and Danny DeVito’s long-lost-twin, Dave Krchak. Ms. Williams’s mother, Rhonda, was also in attendance.

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Upcoming Schedule

June 5th – Zack Grant, Manager, Student Sustainable Farm, UIUC

June 12th – Daniel Bronson Lowe, PhD, Senior Infection Specialist at Carle (meeting in the Skyway)

June 19th – Carly McRory, Communications Director, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation

June 26th – Pass the Gavel (Reign of Chuck the Terrible ends)

July 3rd – Susan Warsaw, September 11th volunteer from Champaign

July 10th – Lacey Rains-Lowe, City of Champaign Planner, will discuss the city’s Environmental Sustainability Plan

July 17th – TBD

July 24th – TBD

Announcements

(Notes provided by Allan Penwell).

No announcements.

Program

Our own Tom Ulen was the speaker at our May 22^nd meeting.  Tom chairs the board that oversees the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) at the University of Illinois.   The University provides institutional control of the athletic program so it meets academic standards as well as stays in compliance with NCAA rules.  Tom discussed a brief history of college athletics, including the ongoing influence of money, and related those issues to today’s student-athletes.

In the early 1980’s, big money began to flow into college athletics from television and sponsors which has complicated the trade-off between academics and sport economics.  At the U of I, there are 19 sports which have a budget of $75 million.  This overall budget puts the University of Illinois in 8^th place in the Big Ten in terms of athletic budget.  By comparison, Ohio State has a whopping 37 intercollegiate sports and a budget that is nearly twice that of the U of I.

Of the U of I’s $75 million athletic budget, $5 million comes from the I-Fund, $2.7 million from bowl games, $1 million from logo royalties, $32 million from the Big Ten Network, and the remainder from television, ticket sales, etc.  For a few years, the University will share in a $66 million settlement with Penn State from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.  In the near future, participating universities will share in a $600 million pot from a season-ending football series.  The money keeps growing, and so do the challenges.

One such challenge is working with the Big Ten Network (BTN).  Traditional team scheduling has come under pressure in order to provide more live content to air on the BTN.  For example, the typical Friday-Saturday schedule in volleyball has been adjusted to include some weekday games that can then be aired on the BTN.  This growing pressure is largely about money.  However, such demands can put too much pressure on students-athletes and, with the Big Ten geographically stretching from Nebraska to New Jersey, the time away from class becomes more of a factor just in travel time.  Complicating all of this is the fact that the BTN is governed by the university presidents.

Tom believes the University provides a good balance between sports and academics.  Overall, student-athletes have a higher GPA and a higher graduation rate than the general student body.  DIA staff monitors students to ensure they are on the right academic track and are in compliance with NCAA rules.  Inside the DIA is a compliance staff of 5 employees which is headed by an attorney.

Tom commented that athletic coaches who are new to the University of Illinois are often surprised by the high academic standards on campus.  This has taken some adjustments for some coaches, but ultimately has been beneficial as the preparation in various sports become increasingly complex.  For example, when Ron Zook was hired as football coach, he was amazed at the high standards of the University’s academic programs.  However, he began to see these standards as an asset because it meant that the athletes who played for him would be better equipped to understand the complicated schemes that he and his assistant coaches wanted to utilize.

Tom also discussed the issues of the Northwestern football players’ lawsuit to unionize, proposed subsidies for athletes living expenses, and even the number of meals that can be provided to athletes.

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Upcoming Schedule

May 29th – Dr. Marva Nelson, Associate Professor of English at Parkland College, will discuss bullying

June 5th – Zack Grant, Manager, Student Sustainable Farm, UIUC

June 12th – Daniel Bronson Lowe, PhD, Senior Infection Specialist at Carle (meeting in the Skyway)

June 19th – Carly McRory, Communications Director, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation

June 26th – Pass the Gavel (Reign of Chuck the Terrible ends)

July 3rd – Susan Warsaw, September 11th volunteer from Champaign

July 10th – Lacey Rains-Lowe, City of Champaign Planner, will discuss the city’s Environmental Sustainability Plan

July 17th – TBD

Announcements

(notes provided by the venerable Neal Chamberlain)

The meeting opened with an Invocation by Bruce Hatfield.

Chuck announced the board approved the following CUSR donations:

*Developmental Services Center -$5150 – Software used by staff, parents and teachers.

*May Bucket Money – Assist Haiti Mission trip (Trinity Lutheran Church)

*June Bucket Money – Urbana Adult Education Center

Rotary Minute – Dave Krchak gave a long and obviously embellished report (editor’s note: these were Neal’s words, not mine) of his professional and Rotary experiences and responsibilities. Dave’s professional career includes 35 years as an attorney in Champaign-Urbana.  In addition, Dave’s service career includes 25 years as a member of CUSR, including having served as president.

Program

Mary introduced the program speaker, Pat Titus.  Pat Titus currently is a volunteer for Illinois Pork Producers.  Pat and her husband have operated a pork farm in the Arcola area for several years.  Pat spoke about numerous issues involved in pork production:

*World population will reach 9.5 billion by 2050.

*The persons fed by a U.S. farmer have increased from 25 in 1960 to 155 currently.

*Farm efficiency and production has increased as a result of mechanization (tractors etc.), education (Land Grant Universities), plant breeding and improved distribution (refrigerated freight cars).

*Efficiency of pork production has increased dramatically as a result of selective breeding, improved nutrition and improved animal health.

*Improved environment shelter provides better health and survival of pigs has resulted in larger liters from each sow (10 – 13 pigs).

*PED (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea) is a potentially devastating disease which can cause all young pigs in a farm to die (one farm lost 6000 pigs).  It does not transmit to humans and it does not contaminate human food supply.

*USDA studies show that there has been great improvement in leaner pork.

Pat closed by emphasizing the Illinois Pork Producers care most about safe food, well being of animals and our environment.

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Upcoming Schedule

May 22nd – Tom Ulen will discuss Issues in College Athletics

May 29th – Dr. Marva Nelson, Associate Professor of English at Parkland College, will discuss bullying

June 5th – Zack Grant, Manager, Student Sustainable Farm, UIUC

June 12th – Daniel Bronson Lowe, PhD, Senior Infection Specialist at Carle

June 19th – TBD

June 26th – TBD

July 3rd – TBD

July 10th – TBD

Announcements

(notes provided by the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut, Eddie Perry)

Mary, Rod and Gary reported on this past weekend’s Rotary District Conference activities. Highlights from the conference included the keynote speaker, the youth exchange program and the breakout/work sessions.

Chuck noted that the Illini After Five Rotary Club is having a fundraiser in which they are selling lilies for $10 each. He will send out an email with further details.

Jeff reminded everyone about the Champaign County CASA fundraiser. Tickets are only $5 and with it you get a flapjack breakfast at Applebee’s on May 31st. See Jeff or Rubin for tickets.

The Rotary Club of Mahomet’s 12th annual Golf Outing will be this Thursday, May 15th at Lake of the Woods Golf Coarse. Players are still needed. Please sign up at www.mahometrotary.org. or call Mark Kesler at 649-6508.

Lou thanked Phyllis for all her work on the Decker Gardens. He noted that Phyllis is using her gardening talents with new plantings and arrangements. Lou will be sending out a weed and watering sign up schedule in the near future.

Jen Shelby expressed a preliminary interest in learning more about pickle ball, but after Jack’s explanation to the group (action shot to your left) she did not seem completely sold on the up-and-coming sport.  Recent reports indicate Jen will stick to being the Gym Diva instead.

Program

Joe Murphy, past president and current board member of The Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company, presented information about CUTC.  CUTC was started in 1991 with the mission to be the premier community resource in Central Illinois.

CUTC  has provided nearly 100 shows over the years and have had hundreds of volunteers participate in all phases of a show’s production. The pre-show work, including rehearsals and scenery construction, takes place at the Arrow, 608 N. Cunningham in Urbana.  Performance are currently being held at Parkland College’s Theatre.

The next show will be Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and will take place June 12-15 and 19-22. It will be the 9th Annual Kathy Murphy Production in honor of Joe’s deceased sister. The entire production is put together using area youth, 18 years old and younger. The emphasis is on the young, giving them the opportunity to participate in all of the community theater experience.

For additional information please contact Ella van Wyk, at www.manager@cutc.org.

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Upcoming Schedule

May 15th – Pat Titus, Titus Farms, representing the Illinois Pork Board

May 22nd – Tom Ulen will discuss Issues in College Athletics

May 29th – Dr. Marva Nelson, Associate Professor of English at Parkland College, will discuss bullying

June 5th – Zack Grant, Manager, Student Sustainable Farm, UIUC

June 12th – Daniel Bronson Lowe, PhD, Senior Infection Specialist at Carle

June 19th – TBD

June 26th – TBD

July 3rd – TBD

PROGRAM

(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

Mary Hodson introduced Samuel Byndom, the Director of the Urbana Adult Education Center.  Samuel discussed his experience growing up in a small, southwestern Illinois town.  He attended Millikin University, and then joined the U.S. military and served for nearly a decade.  His time serving in the military cemented Samuel’s interest in and commitment to service.

Samuel recently started his position as the Director of the Urbana Adult Education Center.  The name is a bit of a misnomer because the program serves people from around Champaign County, not just in Urbana.  During the 2011-2012 school year, UAEC served 847 adult learners in its Adult Basic Education and Literacy programs, and 157 students in its Storefront Academy programs.  Of this total, approximately 375 were in the 16-21 year-old age range.

In addition to basic education services, UAEC offers Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Office Skills training, and English as a Second Language programs.The majority of UAEC young adult students (ages 16-21) are working toward either a GED or a high school diploma, although some are also working toward CNA licensure.

Samuel is currently completing a PhD in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois.  Samuel and his wife Maria live in Urbana with their two children.

For more information on the Urbana Adult Education Center, see:
http://urbanaadulteducation.org/  

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Upcoming Schedule

May 8th – Joe Murphy, board member for the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company

May 15th – Pat Titus, Titus Farms, representing the Illinois Pork Board

May 22nd – Tom Ulen will discuss Issues in College Athletics

May 29th – Marva Nelson, Associate Professor of English at Parkland College

June 5th – TBD

June 12th – Daniel Bronson Lowe, PhD, Senior Infection Specialist at Carle

June 19th – TBD

June 26th – TBD