“Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.” – William James

 

“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” – Og Mandino

 

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the distinguished gentleman from Puerto Rico, Ed Perry)

 

Darrell passed out a signup sheet asking for volunteer help for the Rotary Informational Booth during the Taste of Champaign-Urbana in West Side Park the weekend of August 17th. 

 

The Rotary Blood Drive ends this week.  Please consider giving blood all year long at the Community Blood Services, 1408 W. University Avenue, Urbana.

 

 

PROGRAM

 

Mary introduced Joan Dixon, President/CEO of The Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (CFECI). CFECI is a publicly supported 501(c)(3) tax exempt philanthropic organization serving Champaign and surrounding counties.

 

CFECI was created in 1972 to encourage and receive contributions establishing endowments. In its first year, CFECI started with $1,300 and this year it’s assets will be over $27 million. CFECI in one of the over 800 Community Foundations throughout the country. This past year CFECI stewarded more than 140 funds, administered grant dollars with distributions of more than $1 million dollars to non-profit organizations, and provided over 30 scholarships to high school seniors.   

 

Joan described the various methods one can donate to the Community Foundation such as cash, securities, real estate, equipment, collectables, bequests, retirement funds, and life insurance to name a few. Those that donate to the Community Foundations can express how they wish the funds be directed.  Several examples of such directions including being designated or undesignated endowments, field of interest, projects, scholarships, or non-profit organizations.

 

CFECI’s required minimum donation is $5,000. CFECI partners up with local banks and investment companies for investing guidance. Among its various services CFECI also provides start up and organizational information to non-profits. 

 

CFECI publishes a publicly available annual financial statement and report. This and much more information can be found at www.cfeci.org.   

 

—

	Aug 1st	Aug 8th	Aug 15th	Aug 22nd
Introductions	Scott Paceley	Robb Patton	Allan Penwell	Ed Perry
Reflection	Tod Satterthwaite	Angie Schoonover	Jen Shelby	Lou Simpson
Greeters	Scott Paceley	Robb Patton	Allan Penwell	Ed Perry
	Oktay Baran	Michelle Barbey	Keith Brandau	Paul Conforti
Song Leader	Charlie Smith	Mary Kay Smith	Adam Wright	Oktay Baran
Notetaker	Penwell	Hodson	Conforti	Perry
Decker Weeding	Stull	Hoemann	Penwell	Baran

 

—

 

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

August 1st – Bruce Knight,  Director of Community Planning Services, City of Champaign, will discuss The Yards project (Bob)

August 8th – Lauryn Henry will discuss her RYE experience in France (David)

August 15th – Mike Hirschi will discuss the Rotary Foundation (Darrell)

August 22nd – Mitch Marlow from the Virginia Theater will speak to us the Virginia’s upcoming season (Charlie)

August 29th – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

September 5th – TBD (Cary)

September 12th – Club Assembly

September 19th – Michelle Layser, Assistant Professor of Law, UIUC will discuss tax law and social policy (Tom)

September 26th – Meghan Gentry will speak about foster care in Champaign-Urbana (Ondine)

October 3rd – Lisa Wilson, Executive Director, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center (ECIRMAC) (Bob)

October 10th – Club Assembly

October 17th – TBD (Cary)

October 24th – TBD (Charlie)

October 29th – C-U Sunrise Rotary Charter Anniversary banquet at Biaggi’s

October 31st – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

November 7th – TBD (David)

November 14th – District Governor Julie Dobski

November 21st – TBD (Ondine)

November 28th – TBD 

December 5th – TBD

December 12th – Club Assembly

 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

 

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” – Hermann Hesse

 

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” –

William Faulkner

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

 

Nestor Ramirez – Annual Rotary Blood Drive July 22-27, Community Blood Services, University & Wright Streets.  We are in the midst of our annual summertime blood shortage. Supplies are down 20%. Much of the shortage is due to many students not being in town. Blood donations are extremely important to those individuals fighting cancer. 

 

Congratulations to Mary who was awarded her 4th Paul Harris pin!

 

Eddy Bridges was officially welcomed into the club as a new member by virtue of a certificate, rotary pin and name badge.  Congratulations Eddy!

 

 

PROGRAM

 

Tod Satterthwaite recapped his 6-month long Peace Corps volunteer trip to village of Batuan on the island of Bahol, one of over 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines. Tod’s assignment was to consult the local municipality of 12,000 residents on building an ecotourism industry.

 

The #1 tourist attraction on Bahol is the World Heritage designated geographical formation called the Chocolate Hills, 20 square miles of over 1,700 conical shaped hills. This area is extremely scenic as well as unique geologically. While Batuan is perfectly situated to be a high tourist area, other municipalities have taken the lead to develop resorts, welcome centers and infrastructure to develop the tourism trade. Tod’s role was to advise how to develop ecotourism in Batuan. Tod was with a group of 15 fellow Peace Corps volunteers.

 

Tod showed many wonderful slides of the hills, caves, and river rapids from which additional opportunities of tours, hiking, kayaking and tubing could be developed. Tod’s wife Beth assisted in helping develop a Batuan tourism website.

 

—

 

	July 25th	Aug 1st	Aug 8th	Aug 15th
Introductions	Phyllis Mischo	Scott Paceley	Robb Patton	Allan Penwell
Reflection	Rod Roberts	Tod Satterthwaite	Angie Schoonover	Jen Shelby
Greeters	Phyllis Mischo	Scott Paceley	Robb Patton	Allan Penwell
	Adam Wright	Oktay Baran	Michelle Barbey	Keith Brandau
Song Leader	Lou Simpson	Charlie Smith	Mary Kay Smith	Adam Wright
Notetaker	Perry	Penwell	Hodson	Conforti
Decker Weeding	Patton	Stull	Hoemann	Penwell

—

 

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

July 25th – Joan Dixon, President/CEO, the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois

August 1st – Bruce Knight,  Director of Community Planning Services, City of Champaign, will discuss The Yards project (Bob)

August 8th – Lauryn Henry will discuss her RYE experience in France (David)

August 15th – Mike Hirschi will discuss the Rotary Foundation (Darrell)

August 22nd – Mitch Marlow from the Virginia Theater will speak to us the Virginia’s upcoming season (Charlie)

August 29th – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

September 5th – TBD (Cary)

September 12th – Club Assembly

September 19th – Michelle Layser, Assistant Professor of Law, UIUC will discuss tax law and social policy (Tom)

September 26th – TBD (Ondine)

October 3rd – Lisa Wilson, Executive Director, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center (ECIRMAC) (Bob)

October 10th – Club Assembly

October 17th – TBD (Cary)

October 24th – TBD (Charlie)

October 31st – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

November 7th – TBD (David)

November 14th – District Governor Julie Dobski

November 21st – TBD (Ondine)

November 28th – TBD 

December 5th – TBD

December 12th – Club Assembly

 

“He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.” –

Louisa May Alcott

 

“Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” – Kerry Washington

 

“It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.” – Rabindranath Tagore

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

July 11 was “Pass the Gavel Day”.   We honored Past President Cary for his service and welcomed President Darrell and his wife Kathryn.   Darrell spoke enthusiastically about how he “got hooked” on Rotary and about some of his exciting plans for the upcoming year.

 

Lou thanked Ed Perry and gave him an award in recognition for his help restoring the keyboard at the Decker Garden.   They raised $750 for the project.

 

 

AWARDS PROGRAM

 

Oktay thanked Barb Nelson and Cindy and Mike Sommers for attending our meeting in honor of our long-time member, Penn Nelson.  

 

Perfect Attendance awards were given to:

 

Michelle Barbey

Keith Brandau

Mary Hodson

Darrell Hoemann

Bob LaCharite

Scott Paceley

Allan Penwell

Ed Perry

Charlie Smith

Cary Woolard 

Oktay Baran

 

Cary Woolard was honored with the “Alive, Alert, Awake” award in memory of Don Decker

 

Tod Sattherwaite received the “Distinguished Service” award in recognition of his recent service in the Philippines.

 

Oktay thanked Jack Kamerer for 31 years of service to our club and gave him a special “Charter Member Service” award.

 

The “Courage Award” was given to Penn Nelson’s family in honor of his service to Rotary and our community and in recognition of his cheerfulness in the face of challenges.

 

Maarten de Witte was honored as the “New Rotarian of the Year.” 

 

Michelle Barbey was named “Rotarian of the Year”.  Congratulations to all of the winners, and thank you for your continued service!

 

—

 

	July 18th	July 25th	Aug 1st	Aug 8th
Introductions	Ben Mast	John McDaniel	Phyllis Mischo	Scott Paceley
Reflection	Ed Perry	Rod Roberts	Tod Satterthwaite	Angie Schoonover
Greeters	Ben Mast	John McDaniel	Phyllis Mischo	Scott Paceley
	Mary Kay Smith	Adam Wright	Oktay  Baran	Michelle Barbey
Song Leader	Jen Shelby	Lou Simpson	Charlie Smith	Mary Kay Smith
Notetaker	Conforti	Perry	Penwell	Hodson
Decker Weeding	Perry	Patton	Stull	Hoemann
Next Weekend

—

 

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

July 18th – Tod Satterthwaite will discuss his journey abroad

July 25th – Joan Dixon, President/CEO, the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois

August 1st – Bruce Knight,  Director of Community Planning Services, City of Champaign, will discuss The Yards project (Bob)

August 8th – Lauryn Henry will discuss her RYE experience in France (David)

August 15th – Mike Hirschi will discuss the Rotary Foundation (Darrell)

August 22nd – TBD (Charlie)

August 29th – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

September 5th – TBD (Cary)

September 12th – Club Assembly

September 19th – Michelle Layser, Assistant Professor of Law, UIUC will discuss tax law and social policy (Tom)

September 26th – TBD (Ondine)

October 3rd – Lisa Wilson, Executive Director, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center (ECIRMAC) (Bob)

October 10th – Club Assembly

October 17th – TBD (Cary)

October 24th – TBD (Charlie)

October 31st – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

November 7th – TBD (David)

November 14th – Club Assembly

November 21st – TBD (Ondine)

November 28th – TBD 

December 5th – TBD

December 12th – Club Assembly

 

“Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you quit, try.” – William Arthur Ward

 

“Sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do.” – Oprah Winfrey

 

“Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.” – Lao Tzu

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by Allan Penwell)

There is no meeting on Thursday, July 4^th. The meeting on July 11^th is Pass the Gavel Day.

 

June bucket money goes to a Buddy Bench at the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in honor of Penn Nelson.

 

A big thank you to Lou Simpson and Ed Perry for their work in updating the keyboard at the Decker Garden.  See the publicity these two stars received: https://www.news-gazette.com/news/top-of-the-morning-july/article_4b6afe9d-1b39-5a3e-ad1e-bdfd524cb4af.html

 

SPECIAL NOTE

From: Laura Gallagher Watkin <lauragw@agestrong.org>

Hello-

I was not clear from your website who to reach out to so feel free to forward me on to the right person. I work at a non profit aging organization called CRIS Healthy-Aging Center and we are going to be offering a free class in Champaign for people  age 55+ called Aging Mastery. This is a national program and I have attached a flyer I can send you  for our upcoming session which starts on August 6 at 2:00 pm at the Champaign library. We are looking to get the word out about the class and were hoping you could help us.  I thought it might be of interest to some of your older members.  I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the class.

 

PROGRAM

Robb introduced Karl Gnadt, the Managing Director of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (CUMTD). The CUMTD has introduced technology to public transportation and installed one of the first real time bus information systems. The UIUC has the fifth largest body of international students which is one of the reasons the CUMTD had nearly 12 million rides per year with their 111 buses. In comparison, other cities with larger populations do not have similar ridership, including Indianapolis with 9mm, Nashville with 9.5mm and Ann Arbor with 6.9mm.

The CUMTD is an efficient system with $2.50 of operating cost per ride. Indianapolis is $6.86. Nashville is $5.94, and Ann Arbor is $4.52.

There are 19 weekday routes. The MTD offers safe rides at night and will pick anyone up that is not on an operating route. An Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service is provided, and now the MTD is county wide with transportation to Rantoul and St. Joseph.

Sustainability is very important at CUMTD.  While the life of a bus is usually 12 years, there are two articulated buses in the system that are in their 20^th year.  As of now 85% of their diesel buses are hybrids and use 50% less fuel than the old buses. All of these efforts mean a big reduction in emissions, but they are going even further by testing fully electric buses using hydrogen fuel cells. The MTD will produce their own hydrogen on site.

Karl also talked about the MCORE project which will total over $50 million in transportation infrastructure improvements. The cities have contributed $16mm. The MTD has contributed $6mm of their reserves, and federal government funding has provided the balance. The MCORE project is scheduled to extend to downtown Urbana after the next phase is finished.

The Yards is another project in which CUMTD is involved. The MTD is involved because they are out of capacity at the 20-year old Illinois Terminal Building. There is not enough room for buses at peak transfer times. The Illinois Terminal building has always been self-sustaining through rental fees. Funding is in process for this proposal.

 

 

—

 

	July 11th	July 18th	July 25th	Aug 1st
Introductions	C-U Sunrise	Ben Mast	John McDaniel	Phyllis Mischo
Reflection	Rotary	Ed Perry	Rod Roberts	Tod Satterthwaite
Greeters	Annual	Ben Mast	John McDaniel	Phyllis Mischo
	Awards	Mary Kay Smith	Adam Wright	Oktay  Baran
Song Leader	Extravaganza	Jen Shelby	Lou Simpson	Charlie Smith
Notetaker	Hodson	Conforti	Perry	Penwell
Decker Weeding	Penwell & LaCharite	Perry	Patton	Stull
Next Weekend

 

—

 

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

July 11th – Pass the Gavel and annual Club Awards ceremony

July 18th – Tod Satterthwaite will discuss his journey abroad

July 25th – Joan Dixon, President/CEO, the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois

August 1st – TBD (Bob)

August 8th – Lauryn Henry will discuss her RYE experience in France (David)

August 15th – Mike Hirschi will discuss the Rotary Foundation (Darrell)

August 22nd – TBD (Charlie)

August 29th – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

September 5th – TBD (Cary)

September 12th – Club Assembly

September 19th – Michelle Layser, Assistant Professor of Law, UIUC will discuss tax law and social policy (Tom)

September 26th – TBD (Ondine)

October 3rd – Lisa Wilson, Executive Director, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center (ECIRMAC) (Bob)

October 10th – Club Assembly

October 17th – TBD (Cary)

October 24th – TBD (Charlie)

October 31st – No regular meeting (5th Thursday) – 

November 7th – TBD (David)

November 14th – Club Assembly

November 21st – TBD (Ondine)

November 28th – TBD 

December 5th – TBD

December 12th – Club Assembly