“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt – 1884-1962 – American Political Figure – Former First Lady of the United States

“People know you for what you’ve done, not for what you plan to do.” – Unknown

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time….so remember, great achievements take time, there is no overnight success.” – Leo Tolstoy – 1828-1910 – Russian Writer

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

Darrell announced that the club raised $2,850 for CU at Home and EIFB.  The shared Covid-19 response fund proposed by Champaign Rotary was discussed.  The consensus among those present that CU Sunrise members wish to continue pursuing our own fundraising and giving.

Robb announced the loss of Champaign Rotarian Tom Costello.

Please note that the April 30 meeting will begin at 8 AM in order to accommodate our speaker PDG Wade Nomura who will be speaking to us from California.   

Wade is the Rotary International Technical Coordinator of Cadres for Water and Sanitation, and Community and Economic Development in English and Spanish speaking countries.   He produces and hosts the TV show “Rotary, Serving Our Community” that you can see at www.WeAre Rotary.TV.   Wade has been an RI president’s representative at many district conferences and chaired the 2020 Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee.   He is the Mayor of the City of Carpinteria and was a multiple BMX National Champion.  As a Cadre, Wade has been involved with Rotary Global Grant projects in nearly 30 different countries.   On April 30, he will tell us about a recent project in Puerto Rico.

PROGRAM

Jen Shelby showed her short film “The Pooka”.  It was named one of the “2017 Top Shorts” by Film Shortage.

Jen explained that short films are made to showcase directors and actors.   Chris Sullivan from “This is Us” directed and starred in “The Pooka”.

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

*The following meeting dates and speakers are included for reference purposes only.  At this time, it is not clear which, if any, of these speakers will still be available to speak on the listed dates.*

April 23rd – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Bob)

April 30th – No meeting

May 7th – Debbie Hensleigh (Phyllis)

May 14th – Club Assembly

May 21st – TBD (Cary)

May 28th – TBD (Charlie)

June 4th – TBD (David)

June 11th – Champaign Rotarian Craig Rost will speak about the Clinton Lake Sailing Association

June 18th – TBD (Ondine)

June 25th – Pass the Gavel ceremony

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” – George Edward Woodberry – 1855-1930 – American Literary Critic

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” – Simone Weil – 1909-1943 – French Philosopher

“Give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.” – Unknown

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by Allan Penwell)

Our club is supporting Eastern Illinois Food Bank and CU at Home during these very difficult times. We are sending checks to each of these organizations for over $1,000.

Oktay reports that EIFB needs volunteers for repack. He was the only one who showed up last week so folks don’t seem to be getting out as much as in the past. Contact Oktay to help.

Larry and Phyllis are working on a $2,500 grant which is part of the $25,000 Disaster Relief Grant which is being submitted to the Rotary Foundation from the district.

Our grant application for $2,500 is for the food pantry at Promise Healthcare known as the Food As Medicine program at Frances Nelson Health Center. This program provides nutritious food to prenatal and pediatric patients as part of a routine medical visit.  Each bag for patients provides 2-3 days’ worth of nutritious food, along with a sheet containing health information and food resources.  The Food As Medicine concept focuses on the importance of providing nutritious food to clients, as well as educating and providing them with resources to improve their health and well-being

Larry reports that in early March he helped Phyllis sort food items in the pantry at Frances Nelson.  They placed items in their canvas bags, and then placed bags on shelves.  A couple days later, after our Rotary meeting, Ed Perry, Ed Bridges, Phyllis, Larry, Promise Healthcare staff, and other volunteers took items from the food pantry and placed on tables for a food distribution.  There was a steady stream coming through the door. This likely happens during every food distribution there as these are individuals who consistently have food insecurities.

Phyllis and Lou need volunteers for the Decker Garden.

Bucket money for April is for Eastern Illinois Food Bank.

Program

Christine Leeb is the founder and director of Real Life Families. Christine and her husband have three children, and she is a former teacher.

Real Life Families is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free classes, free resources, and parenting support to families from every walk of life. Their goal is to help every family work as a stronger team and build close, positive relationships. Their website is https://reallifefamilies.org/, and they also have a Facebook page.

The organization has a teamwork approach to helping families. Families learn to team with God and spouses team up with each other. Children are brought into the team approach with the goal to build strong family teams and provide a close, positive relationship between parents and the children. Christine also showed us family pictures taken during the C-U Curbside Clicks program.  

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

April 16th – Rotarian Jen Shelby will discuss the short film “The Pooka”

*The following meeting dates and speakers are included for reference purposes only.  At this time, it is not clear which, if any, of these speakers will still be available to speak on the listed dates.*

April 23rd – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Bob)

April 30th – No meeting

May 7th – Debbie Hensleigh (Phyllis)

May 14th – Club Assembly

May 21st – TBD (Cary)

May 28th – TBD (Charlie)

June 4th – TBD (David)

June 11th – Champaign Rotarian Craig Rost will speak about the Clinton Lake Sailing Association

June 18th – TBD (Ondine)

June 25th – Pass the Gavel ceremony

“More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.” – Albert Einstein – 1879-1955 – Theoretical Physicist

“Reset. Readjust. Restart. Refocus. As many times as you need to. Just don’t quit.” – Unknown

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” – Robert Byrne – 1930-2016 – American Author

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Darrell opened and welcomed all to our second week as a Zoom meeting. We had 21+ members taking part in the meeting. Darrell had a special guest (Barbra Streisand) sing “America The Beautiful” and Larry doing the reflection with “Once the Storm is Over.”

Darrell announced our club will be sending Bucket Money with $500 each to Eastern Illinois Food Bank and The Times Center. If members wish to add to that on an individual basis please let Lou know.

Darrell also encouraged members to continue to do individual volunteer projects in these times but in a safe and healthy manner.

PROGRAM

Mary introduced Michael Murphy as our speaker this morning. Michael is an author who is finishing his current book “Voices From Ukraine”. Michael is Jim Hires’s cousin.

He told firsthand, tragic stories about the situation in Crimea. Following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that ousted the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, the Russias militarily invaded Crimea. Russian forces continue to take over and rule the civic and government positions, private businesses and personal property.  

Russia sent in 150,000 soldiers and military equipment to take over Crimea along with special secret units to take over the government, airports, banks, and private property.  This take over was accomplished in two weeks as Russian people and equipment flooded into Crimea. Local citizens now had to become Russian citizens to own property. Resistance faced removal, deportation, jail or prisons or just disappearance. The Russian military put up a fence to wall off Crimea from the rest of Ukraine. This line of demarcation continues to be a war zone with daily bombings and shootings. 

Michael continues to communicate with the local people in Crimea, and has sent his partially completed manuscript to Crimea for review. These partially completed manuscripts have served as a way for large groups of the Crimean people to hear what is happening as almost all news and communications have been cut or censored by the Russian government.

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

April 9th – Meeting via Zoom – Surprise!

*The following meeting dates and speakers are included for reference purposes only.  At this time, it is not clear which, if any, of these speakers will still be available to speak on the listed dates.*

April 16th – Rotarian Greg Gustafson and the U of I Chapter of Engineers without Borders, EWB UI Chichimuch, Guatemala Water Supply Project (Mary)

April 23rd – Diane Marlin, Mayor, City of Urbana (Bob)

April 30th – No meeting

May 7th – Debbie Hensleigh (Phyllis)

May 14th – Club Assembly

May 21st – TBD (Cary)

May 28th – TBD (Charlie)

June 4th – TBD (David)

June 11th – Champaign Rotarian Craig Rost will speak about the Clinton Lake Sailing Association

June 18th – TBD (Ondine)

June 25th – Pass the Gavel ceremony