“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” ― Washington Irving 

“Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” ― Dalai Lama 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Club’s Garden Service project at the Champaign County Nursing Home will start at 4pm on Tuesday, May 2nd.

The District Conference will be held on May 6-7.   Sign up at the District 6490 website.

Tod announced that the Sola Gratia Plant Sale will be held from May 6 to May 14.

PROGRAM

There was no meeting last week due to the All Area Rotary meeting.

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

May 4th – Speaker from the Trinity Horsemanship Foundation (Ata)

May 11th – Brian Adams, IL State Archaeological Survey, will discuss the C-U area work of Joseph Royer and his family (Mary)

May 18th – Alicia Schneider, Champaign County Humane Society (Phyllis)

May 25th – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Tod)

June 1st – David Grogan, Associate Director of University Compliance, UIUC (Mary)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)

June 22nd – TBD (Tom)

June 29th – TBD

“Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.”
― Maya Angelou 

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” ― Paulo Coelho 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

The All Area Rotary Meeting will be held at Noon on Wednesday, April 26 at the Round Barn Center.   CU Sunrise will not meet on Thursday, April 27.

The District Conference will be held on May 6-7.   Sign up at the District 6490 website.

New Member orientation will be held at 6:30 PM, Tuesday, April 25, at Allan Penwell’s condo.

Tod announced that the Sola Gratia Plant Sale will be held from May 6 to May 14.

PROGRAM

Mary introduced Cynthia Bruno, Chief Strategy Officer at Agrible.   Cynthia pointed out that 8 of 10 American consumers consider sustainability when making food purchases.  Consumer demand motivates retailers to seek data regarding sustainable agriculture.   

Currently, there is no standard definition of “sustainable”.   Cynthia said the best definition for now is “maximizing output while minimizing the impact on the environment.”   

Agrible creates software for farmers that gives them information they need to be sustainable farmers.  Agrible uses data from NOAA, NASA and from the farmers, themselves.   Currently available applications are:

      1) Morning Farm Report

      2)  Pocket Rain Gauge

      3) Spray Smart

      4) Tractor Time

      5) Drone Technology

Cynthia said that Agrible is currently working with a major equipment manufacturer to put “Spray Smart” technology on sprayers.  “Spray Smart” tells farmers the optimal time to spray each field.  Reports from the “Tractor Time” app is attractive for food processors because they can see how an ingredient was sourced.   “Tractor Time” ensures that only the necessary amount of nitrogen needed is applied.

Agrible currently has users in 48 states.  Several associations such as The Farm Bureau and ADM offer free initial subscriptions to encourage participation.

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

April 27th – Meeting canceled due to All Area Rotary Meeting on April 26th

May 4th – Speaker from the Trinity Horsemanship Foundation (Ata)

May 11th – Brian Adams, IL State Archaeological Survey, will discuss the C-U area work of Joseph Royer and his family (Mary)

May 18th – Alicia Schneider, Champaign County Humane Society (Phyllis)

May 25th – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Tod)

June 1st – David Grogan, Associate Director of University Compliance, UIUC (Mary)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)

June 22nd – TBD (Tom)

“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” ― Alfred North Whitehead 

“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

Welcome to new member Candy Loyd, sponsored by Allan Penwell.  Candy has been in the insurance business for 20 years and currently works for Schneider Insurance.   She has two children and 3 grandchildren.

The Central Interact International Fair will be held in the Central High School gym on April 18 from 6-8 PM.  Come and meet the diverse Central student body while sampling foods from their native countries!

There will be no meeting on April 27.   Members are encouraged to attend the all-area meeting at Noon, April 26 at the Round Barn Center.  Cost is $11 at the door.

District 6490 Conference will be at Hilton Garden Inn on May 6-7.   You can sign up at the District 6490 website.   It is a great way to meet Rotarians from around the District.   

Tod announced that there are just 5-10 Sola Gratia shares left for the upcoming season.

PROGRAM

Tod introduced Morgan Johnston, Director of Sustainability for Facilities and Services at the University of IL.   She has an undergraduate degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois.   

The University signed a commitment to reduce carbon emissions to 0 by 2050 or sooner and to educate students on sustainability. Over the last 10 years, they have already reduced emissions by 28%.

They have established a joint task force of University and city officials.  The first meeting was held on April 7.   There are 6 sustainability working advisory teams: 

     1) Energy Conservation and Building Standards

     2) Energy Generation and Purchases

     3) Transportation

     4) Purchasing, Waste and Recycling

     5) Water and Storm Water

     6) Agriculture, Land Use, Food and Sequestration 

The Illinois Climate Action Plan is an on-line portal that lists all sustainability projects on campus.

The 20.8 acre university solar farm currently generates about 2% of the campus energy needs.

DSC employees work on a recycling line on campus.  They sort out plastic bottles, cardboard, paper and aluminum cans from university garbage cans.

The Red Oak Rain Garden addresses storm water buildup.  It is located by Allan Hall.  It is being maintained by the Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners.

Another project is the Campus Bike Center, located on Pennsylvania Ave between 6th and Lincoln. Between 400-500 bikes are abandoned on campus each year.   If not claimed, these are sent to the the Campus Bike Center, where students and the public can learn how to fix up and maintain bikes.   Then the bikes are sold at the Center for $160 – $250.   Morgan recommended picking out a bike during the winter months before the students get in the mood to do so.

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

April 20th – Cynthia Bruno, Agrible (Tom)

April 27th – Meeting canceled due to All Area Rotary Meeting on April 26th (Bob)

May 4th – Speaker from the Trinity Horsemanship Foundation (Ata)

May 11th – Brian Adams, IL State Archaeological Survey, will discuss the C-U area work of Joseph Royer and his family (Mary)

May 18th – Alicia Schneider, Champaign County Humane Society (Phyllis)

May 25th – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Tod)

June 1st – David Grogan, Associate Director of University Compliance, UIUC (Mary)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)

June 22nd – TBD (Tom)

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”  ― Leonardo da Vinci 

“There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.” ― Maya Angelou 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the crafty and courageous Barb Lintner)

There will be no meeting on April 27th.  The All Rotary meeting will be on April 26th.

The District Conference will be held on May 6 and 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn.  Mary Hodson reminded us that Miranda Ming will speak at the conference that Sunday.

Be sure to Like our club page on Facebook so that we can spread the word about CU Sunrise.

Central Interact will have their International Fair on Tuesday, April 18 from 6 to 8 pm at the school. It is a great opportunity to sample foods from many countries.

SPEAKER

Our speaker, Alexis Tate, has authored a book “An Illini Place; Building the University of Illinois Campus” which will be published in May to help celebrate the University’s 150th year.  She has been involved in public relations and speech writing for 22 ½ years and has taught media and public relations at the university for 13 years.  Her presentation today was on the “Secret Space; the University of Illinois Quad”. 

Her book is the history of the places rather than the intellectual history of the university.  The Quad is one of 20 places that she considers iconic. She credits Edmund Jane James, president from 1904 to 1920 for its creation.  In 1867 the first building had been built on University Avenue.  In 1868 classes had started and 150 more acres were purchased. A crazy idea that did not come to pass was an 1898 proposal to build an artificial lake in what would become the middle of the Quad. 

 By 1904 the university had grown from the north to the south which it still does today.  At this time money for an auditorium had been promised by the state and James wanted an all-encompassing plan for the campus before siting it.  The 1905 plan by Clarence Blackall not only lays out the form of the main quadrangle but includes quadrangles in the north and south.  The 1980’s plan for the engineering campus by Sasaki Associates mimics and reinforces the 1905 plan.

The original provided a central axis with buildings lined up and a mall or vast green space with curvilinear paths.  $250 was provided to commission an expert, John C. Olmsted to approve the plan.  By 1921, 10 buildings had been built along the quad and 13 are there today.  The 1905 plan formed subsequent thinking about the repetition of quadrangles with spines down the center of the campus

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

April 13th – Morgan Johnston, Director of Sustainability, Facilities and Services, UIUC (Tod)

April 20th – Cynthia Bruno, Agrible (Tom)

April 27th – TBD (Bob)

May 4th – Speaker from the Trinity Horsemanship Foundation (Ata)

May 11th – Brian Adams, IL State Archaeological Survey, will discuss the C-U area work of Joseph Royer and his family (Mary)

May 18th – Alicia Schneider, Champaign County Humane Society (Phyllis)

May 25th – TBD

June 1st – David Grogan, Associate Director of University Compliance, UIUC (Mary)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)

June 22nd – TBD (Tom)

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.  Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”  -Helen Keller

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.” ― Henry David Thoreau

Notes

There are no notes from last week as the meeting was canceled in favor of an evening social.

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

April 6th – Lex Tate, adjunct lecturer in journalism and advertising at UIUC, will discuss her book An Illini Place—Building the University of Illinois Campus (Phyllis)

April 13th – Morgan Johnston, Director of Sustainability, Facilities and Services, UIUC

April 20th – Cynthia Bruno, Agrible (Tom)

April 27th – TBD (Bob)

May 4th – Speaker from the Trinity Horsemanship Foundation (Ata)

May 11th – Brian Adams, IL State Archaeological Survey, will discuss the C-U area work of Joseph Royer and his family (Mary)

May 18th – Alicia Schneider, Champaign County Humane Society (Phyllis)

May 25th – TBD

June 1st – TBD (Mary)

June 8th – TBD (Bob)

June 15th – TBD (Laura)

June 22nd – TBD (Tom)