“Forever is composed of nows.” – Emily Dickinson – 1830-1886 – American Lyric-Poet

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”  – Victor Hugo – 1802-1885 – French Poet

“You cannot change your future. But you can change your habits. And surely your habits will change your future.” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – 1931-2015 – Former President of India

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by Lisa Crane)

Rotary night at the Ballpark will be August 6. Go Yankees!

DACdb Personal info update Darrel will help before next meeting Come early

The District conference is coming up.  You can sign up for the whole conference or just the luncheons. Stand by for more information.

Habitat for Humanity July 30, 8AM.  Contact Tod if you can help with peeling up carpet tiles.

Blood drive August 1-6 at the Blood Center (University and Wright St in Urbana).  Use the code  01703 so Rotary gets credit for your donation.  Or, just sign in if you don’t remember the code. The Rotary blood drive been going for 22 years. This blood goes locally, and the need for blood has never been greater. They are giving $20 gift cards for giving blood.

Books 2 Prisoners August 20 sign up next week

Feeding our Kids will take place in September.  Stay tuned for more information.

Habitat for Humanity.  More details coming on an upcoming opportunity in September. 

Darrell reminded everyone to bring in donation items for Good Shepard Lutheran Church

1. weeding scheduled this week

Happy Birthday to Cary Woolard!

PROGRAM

Charlie Introduced Steven Bentz who is the Director of the Virginia Theater at theChampaign Park District.  The Virginia Theatre is celebrating their 100 year anniversary. The Virgina was set for demolition in the 1990s, but the community banded together to save and restore it.  Since then, more than $10 million has been spent to renovate and update the theater.

The Virigina Theatre originally opened on December 28, 1921. It took only eight months to build and was named for the original owner’s daughter.  Steven took us through a historical perspective of the building.  Theater was big in the mid to late-1800s.  Theaters in Champaign included the Barret Hall & Champaign Opera House, Eichberg Opera House, Walker Opera House, Orpheum Theater, Theater Belvoir and Rialto Theatre.  

The theater was sold in the 1970s due to tough financial times.  These tough economic times continued through the 1980s and 1990s.  In 1992, they played Father of the Bride.  In 1997, Roger Ebert decided to do birthday party for HAL.  The theater was the birthplace of Ebertfest.  In the early 2000s, the Champaign Park District bought the building and began the process of renovation.

UPCOMING SHOWS

SHREK –  Aug 4-7

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas – Dec 21

Leann Rimes – Sept 9

Melissa Etheridge – Oct 2

Paula Poundstone – Oct 28

Michael W Smith – Oct 29

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

August 4^th – Club Assembly

August 11^th – Ryan Ross, Curator of the UIUC Richmond Welcome Gallery, “The U of I in the 1950s – Conservatism, Conformity and the Cold War.” (Joe)

August 18^th – District Governor Connie Walsh

August 25^th – Gil Holder will speak about the evolution of the universe (Tom)

September 8^th – Donald J. Wuebbles, Emeritus Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UIUC (Bob)

September 15^th – TBD (Cary)

September 22^nd – TBD (Charlie)

September 29^th – Club Social

October 6^th – TBD

October 13^th – TBD (Joe)

October 20^th – TBD (Mary)

October 27^th – TBD (Lisa)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

August 24 – Allan Penwell

August 30 – Darrell Hoemann

August 30 – Ed Perry

“Happiness does not lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.” – David Steindl-Rast – Monk-Author-Lecturer

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.” – James Oppenheim – 1882-1932 – Poet-Novelist-Editor

“Nature has given us all the pieces required to achieve exceptional wellness and health, but has left it to us to put these pieces together.”— Diane McLaren – Nutritionist-Herbalist-Wellness Coach

ANNOUNCEMENTS         

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

Upcoming Club Volunteer and Service projects include:

*Rotary Blood Drive from August 1 to the 6th at Impact Life 1408 W. University, Urbana. Sign up for an appointment at bloodcenter.org or call 217-367-2202.

*Books to Prisoners on August 20th. Larry will hand out a sign up sheet at a future meeting.

*Feeding Our Kids volunteer opportunity will take place in September.

Ed thanked everyone for donating newspapers and for joining in for the sorting and rolling of the newspapers for the Champaign County Humane Society’s use in lining their animal cages. Our work will line their cages for over a month. 

PROGRAM

Bob introduced Kathryn Williams as this morning’s speaker. Kathryn became the Director of our local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in June 2021. Prior to moving to Illinois, she lived in Buffalo, NY, where she was a professor and chair of the Classics Department at Canisius College. 

Kathryn started with a historical background of OLLI and noted that there will be a 15-year celebration this October. OLLI offers classes, study groups, lectures, and other events for those over 50 years of age for the purpose of enriching members’ lives. OLLI requires a yearly membership and is open to anyone who wishes to continue lifelong learning. Registration has begun for this fall’s courses with classes starting September 12. 

There is a wide variety of courses on various topics available. The topics this fall include Film Studies, History, Science and Math, Literature Art and Music, Contemporary Culture, and Wellness. Courses are taught by experts in each of the topics. 

The classes meet in person, or via Osher/Zoom Webinar or a hybrid.

There are many other activities OLLI offers including social group activities, lectures, interest groups, study groups, tours, and other activities and benefits available through an OLLI membership. 

For more information about each class’s topic and all that OLLI has to offer and to register go to olli.illinois.edu! OLLI is located at 301 N. Neil Street, Ste. 201, Champaign, IL. 61801. 217-244-9141.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

July 28^th – Steven Bentz, Director, Virginia Theatre, Champaign Park District (Charlie)

August 4^th – Club Assembly

August 11^th – Ryan Ross, Curator of the UIUC Richmond Welcome Gallery, “The U of I in the 1950s – Conservatism, Conformity and the Cold War.” (Joe)

August 18^th – District Governor Connie Walsh

August 25^th – Gil Holder will speak about the evolution of the universe (Tom)

September 8^th – TBD (Bob)

September 15^th – TBD (Cary)

September 22^nd – TBD (Charlie)

September 29^th – Club Social

October 6^th – TBD

October 13^th – TBD (Joe)

October 20^th – TBD (Mary)

October 27^th – TBD (Lisa)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

July 28 – Cary Woolard

July 31 – Lou Simpson

August 24 – Allan Penwell

August 30 – Darrell Hoemann

August 30 – Ed Perry

“It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.” – Paulo Coelho – Author

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”  – Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1882-1945 – Former President of the United States

“Courage of the heart is very rare. Let it guide you.” – Sarah J. Maas – Author

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

RYE Scholarship: Michelle, our Rotary Youth Exchange Officer, introduced Rabbi (pronounced Robbie) Bassoubouh-Ba-Dimai (Bah-soo-bah Bah-Di-My) and his mom to our club. Rabbi is involved with Central HS Interact. His essay was selected as the winner of our clubs scholarship. Tracy Wahlfeld, Executive Director of the Parkland College Foundation (and a Rotarian) was also on hand for the presentation. An excerpt from Rabbi’s essay: My dream in life is to change the world in which everyone can have opportunities they will dream of. That dream drives me to become an electrical engineer that will help improve technology and make everyday lives easier, not just in the United States, but around the world. I believe technology can make everything possible; it has helped us to find new medical discoveries and even helped us find a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus. This is why I feel like starting at Parkland College will help me bring that dream into reality.  During his senior year Rabbi was accepted into the French Honor Society at Central HS.

July 16, 10am – Newspaper folding for Humane Society at Good Shepard Lutheran Church (enter at the west door)

August 1-6: Rotary Blood Drive

It’s that time of year for the Annual Rotary Blood Drive and the need for blood is greater than ever.  Please go to bloodcenter.org or call 217-367-2202to schedule an appointment to donate.

June/July Bucket money will be donated to the CU Schools Foundation.

PROGRAM

Last week’s speaker was Dr Rick Davidson, Tuscola Rotary, who discussed the new District Foundation and Global Grants.

Dr Davidson is a 33-year Rotarian who has worked on and implemented global grants in many countries. Global grants are not easy to do and have become stricter in the past few years as well intentioned projects were affected by corruption in receiving countries.

Today, Rotary requires the issuing club(s) to set up an infrastructure in the recipient country, in person, and then apply for the grant. This is beyond the reach of many clubs. To address this, and to better position clubs to participate in global projects, our District 6490 has set up its own foundation.

Dr Rick issued a matching $250,000 Bequest Challenge to Rotarians and friends in District 6490. Rick is asking others to leave a legacy that can be used by our district in the future. The newly established District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account is able to receive gifts, bequests, and donations of money, securities and property in support of the charitable objects and aims of the District to fund local and larger Rotary projects, to assist with disaster response, and to honor and memorialize friends and family, and to leave a legacy. For assistance with donations of Securities, Life Insurance, Estates/Farmland, Required Minimum Distributions from IRA Charitable Accounts, and Bequests, contact the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation staff at 309-662-4477.

A gift to the District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account is a thoughtful way to honor or memorialize a special person. Once sufficient funds have been received the district committee will review and approve distributions of the District 6490 Rotary Foundation Account. Contributions fill the gap between projects of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and projects that are too costly for clubs to fund on their own. Applications for grants are available on the District Website.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

July 21^st – Kathryn Williams, OLLI Director (Bob)

July 28^th – Steven Bentz, Director, Virginia Theatre, Champaign Park District (Charlie)

August 4^th – Club Assembly

August 11^th – Ryan Ross, Curator of the UIUC Richmond Welcome Gallery, “The U of I in the 1950s – Conservatism, Conformity and the Cold War.” (Joe)

August 18^th – District Governor Connie Walsh

August 25^th – Gil Holder will speak about the evolution of the universe (Tom)

September 8^th – TBD (Bob)

September 15^th – TBD (Cary)

September 22^nd – TBD (Charlie)

September 29^th – Club Social

October 6^th – TBD

October 13^th – TBD (Joe)

October 20^th – TBD (Mary)

October 27^th – TBD (Lisa)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

July 18 – Eddie Bridges

July 28 – Cary Woolard

July 31 – Lou Simpson

August 24 – Allan Penwell

August 30 – Darrell Hoemann

August 30 – Ed Perry