“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more.” – Oprah Winfrey – Actress – Producer – Talk Show Host – Philanthropist

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore – 1861-1941 – Poet

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” – Robin Williams – 1951-2014 – Actor-Comedian

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the disgruntled gentleman from Connecticut, Edward Perry)

Sign up now for the virtual Rotary District Annual Conference. The conference takes place this Saturday,10/3/20 and runs from 8:30am to 12:30pm. It’s a great opportunity to see what happens at a District Conference and do it with the convenience of being virtually remote. One can pick a breakout session on a topic you like and also see what happened in the district this past year. Our club did some wonderful things last year and the District will be presenting our club with special awards at this meeting.  Be sure to watch Past District Governor Julie Dobski’s award presentations. You must register and it’s easy, go to Mary K’s recent email and click in or go to rotarydistrict6490.0rg.

Our club will meet outdoors this coming Thursday morning, 10/1/20, at 7am in the pavilion at Hessel Park in Champaign. Bring your mask, coffee, donut(s), and enjoy the meeting where we discuss club business and volunteer opportunities. 

PROGRAM

Andrew introduced Sarah Livesay, Executive Director of Grand Prairie Friends. Sarah’s education and background is in environmental education and her past work experience includes environmental conservation with focus on the natural resources throughout the United States and overseas. 

Grand Prairie Friends is a Land Trust formed in 1984. Grand Prairie Friends is a not for profit conservation organization that preserves and restores tall prairie and woodlands in east-central Illinois. Their various land holdings can be found from just south of Kankakee to near Shelbyville.  

Grand Prairie Friends rely on grants, donations and membership and volunteers to help provide the management to maintain proper stewardship of the land. 

Sarah provided information on all the educational activities that they offer, the various ways one can volunteer and highlighted the natural beauty one can visit at their various land holdings.  For much more information please go to their website http://grandprairiefriends.org.  

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

*All meetings via Zoom unless otherwise noted*

October 1st – Meet at Hessel Park Pavilion

October 8th – Dr. Barbara Jones, Chair of the Urbana Rotary Peace Building Committee (Mary)

October 15th – Sebastian Klein, the founder of the Angel Forever Foundation, a local non-profit dedicated to suicide prevention (Ondine)

October 22nd – Dr. Vik Amar, Dean, UIUC College of Law, will talk about “The Flaws of the Electoral College and How to Replace It”  (Tom)

October 29th – TBD 

November 5th – Sam Banks, President/CEO, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club (Bob)

November 12th – TBD (Cary)

November 19th – TBD (Charlie)

November 26th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 3rd – TBD

December 10th – TBD

December 17th – TBD

“Always remember, you have within you the strength, patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world.” – Harriet Tubman – 1822-1913 – American abolitionist, political activist

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie – Author

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche – 1844-1900 – philosopher

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

Bucket Bucks this month will go to Yankee Ridge Reading Specialists.  Please send your Bucket Bucks contributions to: Lou Simpson, 1408 S Hillcrest Dr, Urbana IL 61801

On October 1^st we will have an outdoor meet live and in person at Hessel Park.  See you there at 7am!

The Rotary District 6490 – Annual Conference, ROTARY MAKES MIRACLES HAPPEN!, will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2020 from 8:30am – 12:30pm. To attend the virtual conference register at www.ismyrotaryclub.org/Register/ezLink.cfm?EventID=77498719

PROGRAM

Tom Ulen introduced his colleague and friend Professor Robert (Bob) Lawless

Robert Lawless is the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law. Professor Lawless specializes in bankruptcy, consumer finance, and business law. He is a co-author of the eighth edition of Secured Transactions: A Systems Approach, a textbook on secured transactions.

According to Professor Lawless, 1 in 10 Americans have filed for bankruptcy at some point in their lives. There are more annual individual bankruptcies (1 million) than Federal civil court cases, gun injuries and deaths or Federal criminal defendants.

Bankruptcy is typically not a last-minute decision with 38% arriving at this conclusion over a period of 2-5 years, and 30% considering bankruptcy over 5 years.

The average ages of persons filing bankruptcy:

28% 45-54

24% 65+

22% 55-64

20% 35-44

Bankruptcy filings have declined in 2020. The Cares Act grants have helped reduce household debts. Other government programs have also contributed to slowing the increase.

Bankruptcy does not solve all financial problems, mostly just consumer debt. Tax debt, vehicle loans and housing expenses remain. One third of all bankruptcy filers continue to struggle financially.

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

*All meetings via Zoom unless otherwise noted*

September 24th – Sarah Livesay, Executive Director, Grand Prairie Friends (Andrew)

October 1st – Meet at Hessel Park Pavilion

October 8th – Dr. Barbara Jones, Chair of the Urbana Rotary Peace Building Committee (Mary)

October 15th – TBD (Ondine)

October 22nd – Dr. Vik Amar, Dean, UIUC College of Law, will talk about “The Flaws of the Electoral College and How to Replace It”  (Tom)

October 29th – TBD 

November 5th – TBD (Bob)

November 12th – TBD (Cary)

November 19th – TBD (Charlie)

November 26th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 3rd – TBD

December 10th – TBD

December 17th – TBD

“I choose to focus my attention in whatever direction calls me to create my best day!” – Sherri Bishop – Lecturer in Musical Studies

“Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. – Author

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening, when you rather would have talked.” – Mark Twain – 1835-1910, Writer and Humorist

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by Allan Penwell)

Bucket Bucks for September go to Yankee Ridge Reading Specialists. Funds will be used to purchase books for children that will improve their reading skills beyond those supplied by the school curriculum.

On October 1st we will meet in person at 7:00 am at Hessel Park pavilion. The park district has Wi-Fi at the pavilion so we zoom those who can’t make it. Bring your own coffee.

PROGRAM

Cary introduced Bryant Seraphin who is chief of police of the City of Urbana. He has been with the city since 1994 and was permanently appointed chief in 2019. Bryant commented that Tod Satterthwaite was mayor in 1994 and swore him in to the force. Also, he was sure that Darrell has been the photographer at a few of his crime scenes. Bryant coaches kid’s baseball and enjoys outdoor camping and biking.

The City of Urbana was incorporated in 1855 and organized its police force at the same time. There are three divisions on the force which include patrol, services, and investigations. The patrol division has seven officers on duty 24/7, and the officers work 12-hour shifts. One of the benefits of the long, 12-hour shifts is the officers get a three-day weekend every other week. The investigations division is self-explanatory. The services division handles permits, traffic tickets, and other paperwork.

Bryant used sports as way of describing police work. The police are the referees, and they have to handle citizens in much the same way. When a citizen has an issue, they have to do like a referee sometimes does when they put their arm around a player and walk him over to the sidelines to calm him down. The police have to interpret the rules like referees as the rules are always changing and are sometimes confusing. It is not always easy to make the right call.

Just like in a game, there are now instant replays with body and car cams which show what happened at an event. Sometimes it is hard to interpret exactly who was doing what and what the rules are. Also, Bryant noted that just like referees, the police sometimes get booed.

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

*All meetings via Zoom unless otherwise noted*

September 17th – Robert Lawless, Max L. Rowe Professor of Law, UIUC  (Tom)

September 24th – Sarah Livesay, Executive Director, Grand Prairie Friends (Andrew)

October 1st – Meet at Hessel Park Pavilion

October 8th – Dr. Barbara Jones, Chair of the Urbana Rotary Peace Building Committee (Mary)

October 15th – TBD (Ondine)

October 22nd – Dr. Vik Amar, Dean, UIUC College of Law, will talk about “The Flaws of the Electoral College and How to Replace It”  (Tom)

October 29th – TBD 

November 5th – TBD (Bob)

November 12th – TBD (Cary)

November 19th – TBD (Charlie)

November 26th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 3rd – TBD

December 10th – TBD

December 17th – TBD

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela – 1918-2013 – Anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist

“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.” – Paulo Coelho – Author

“Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. – Author

“Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” – Grace Liechtenstein – Author

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the erudite Mary Hodson)

Andrew welcomed guest Anna Calcagno from the Urbana Park District.

We will continue the fruit sale this year.  Email your suggestions for fundraising recipients to Mary Kay.

The Board approved a donation of $1,000 to Shannon O Rourke Kasali’s Books for Eastern Congo.  Shannon and husband Bakara are expecting a baby in December.

Bucket money for August and September will go to Yankee Ridge Reading Recovery.

We will meet in person at the Hessel Park pavilion at 7 AM on October 1. Bring your own coffee.

The District Conference will be held virtually, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM on October 3.   Rotary President Holger Knaack will speak and Nathan and Julie Gunn will perform.   Sign up no later than October 2 at the District 6490 website.   It’s free!   Please also send Mary Kay your ideas for a basket for the Polio Plus Auction.

Mary Kay asked new member Jerry Payonk to introduce himself.   Jerry belonged to the club until family duties forced him to resign.   He and his twin brother are both engineers.  He is Executive Vice President of  Operations in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin for Clark Dietz.  His office is in the old Robeson building across from the Art Theater.  His wife is Assistant Highway Engineer for Vermillion County.   

PROGRAM

Bob introduced Caleb Miller, Senior Vice President of Surgery, Primary Care and Behavioral Health at Carle Hospital.   Bob asked Caleb to speak about Carle’s response to the Corona Virus Pandemic.

Carle already had a pandemic plan in place.   In January, they established their Covid-19 Command Center after a U of I student returned from Wuhan province in China with symptoms similar to Covid-19.   Carle saw its first confirmed case on March 15.   Caleb said that the Carle VPs rotate on-call duties and he happened to be on call when a lady who had visited Italy presented with Covid symptoms.   

Caleb said an “arms race” to get personal protective equipment (PPE) ensued.  They established a rapid response respiratory treatment center to receive patients presenting with symptoms and Covid-19 Isolation Units within the hospital.   Arrangements were made with the U of I ARC to serve as a backup 700 bed hospital.

Carle Clinic at the Fields quickly closed and employees began working from home.   Some jobs such as sports medicine had to be reassigned.  Employees donated $140,000 to an employee disaster relief fund.   About 100 employees have been diagnosed.  Most caught it from the community, including one who was exposed while playing golf and others who were exposed while boating.

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

*All meetings via Zoom unless otherwise noted*

September 10th – Bryant Seraphin, Chief of Police, City of Urbana  (Cary)

September 17th – Robert Lawless, Max L. Rowe Professor of Law, UIUC  (Tom)

September 24th – Sarah Livesay, Executive Director, Grand Prairie Friends (Andrew)

October 1st – Meet at Hessel Park Pavilion

October 8th – Dr. Barbara Jones, Chair of the Urbana Rotary Peace Building Committee (Mary)

October 15th – TBD (Ondine)

October 22nd – Dr. Vik Amar, Dean, UIUC College of Law, will talk about “The Flaws of the Electoral College and How to Replace It”  (Tom)

October 29th – TBD 

November 5th – TBD (Bob)

November 12th – TBD (Cary)

November 19th – TBD (Charlie)

November 26th – No meeting – Thanksgiving

December 3rd – TBD