“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” – Eileen Caddy – 1917-2006 – Author

“The future is always beginning now.” – Mark Strand – Poet

“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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

July Bucket Bucks will go toward Dream and August Bucket Bucks will go toward Luella’s Lodge

August 1 – District Governor Mike Martin will visit 

Sept. 3-8 – Zone 31 Assembly, Huntsville, Alabama

October 4-5 – District 6490 Conference

PROGRAM

Mary introduced Mark Wolters, Associate Teaching Professor of Business Administration in the Gies College of Business, UIUC.  In addition to his academic duties, Mark produces travel videos and blogs.  His YouTube channel, Wolters World Travel, has over 250,000,000 views and 1,000,000 subscribers.   On his Professor Wolters education channel, Mark strives to make marketing and social media education accessible to all people.

Mark’s mom, Kathy Wolters, was one of the first women to join the Quincy Rotary Club.    He was a two-time Rotary Youth Exchange and lived in Lisbon for five years.  He chose B&B’s as his topic for CU Sunrise because travelers use them both domestically and in other countries.

He discussed the reasons that people who live in tourist areas now resent travelers coming to their towns.   Specifically, airbnb’s have driven up the cost of owning or renting properties to the point that locals often can no longer afford to live in their own home towns. 

In general, Mark prefers VRBO to airbnb because with VRBO, you know that you are getting a whole house.   It is important to read all of the comments and study the pictures before booking.   If pictures show the area around the B&B and not the actual rooms inside, beware.   Read between the lines on the descriptions and comments.   Read the rules and the lists of extra charges.  It is important to note what is provided by the owner.   Assume that what isn’t listed will not be provided.  

When traveling, Mark and his family always spend the first and last nights of their stay in hotels because airbnbs don’t allow early check ins or store luggage.

Always use the official websites to book travel or hotels.   If you see a good deal on another site, call the airline or hotel.   They will often match the deal.

Mark thinks England, Ireland, Scandinavia, France, Portugal and Italy are the easiest destinations for first time European travelers.   He personally loves Brazil because he is fluent in Portugese but he doesn’t recommend it for those who don’t speak the language.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

July 18^th – Mary Hodson will discuss the 80^th Anniversary of D Day

July 25^th – Charlie Smith will discuss DacDB

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD (Lisa)

August 15^th – TBD (Mary

August 22^nd – TBD (Michael)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

July 28 – Cary Woolard

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt – 1884-1962 – Former First Lady of the United States

“Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you’re doing. If you’re not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it.” – Aretha Franklin – 1942-2018 – Singer-Songwriter-Pianist

“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.” – Audrey Hepburn – 1929-1993 – British Actress-Humanitarian

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by  Lisa Crane)

Larry noted we are looking for people to fill in the remaining watering/weeding spots after mid-July for the Decker Garden. Please sign up online.

Starting July 11, CU Sunrise will meet each week at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Prospect Ave. 

Lisa will chair the hosting committee. Members will sign up for one month.  July will be Tod’s turn.  He has a list of possible food options and we will try to stay under $8 for the actual cost of meal.  Our weekly fee will now be $10 starting on July 11^th.  Yes can pay ahead for meals for the year.

Bucket bucks in June will go to the Child Advocacy Center.  In July they will go to Dream.

UPCOMING EVENTS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITES

June 27 – Pass the Gavel

June 30 (4:30pm) – District Installation @ iHotel ($40)

July 4 – No meeting

July 11 – First meeting at new location

July 12 – Mahomet Rotary Golf Outing

July 13 – Rotary Day at the Ball park (Cubs vs Cards)

July 20 (9-4pm) – Zone Leadership Seminar in Springfield

October 24 – District 6490 Conference

SPEAKER

Our own Tom Ulen spoke on the topic of the recent NCAA Athletics settlement.  Tom discussed the recent state of College Athletics and the death of the NCAA. Money seems to be driving everything with the NCAA.

Tom noted the NCAA was created on March 31, 1906. The idea was to promote the safety of college athletes. They developed rules governing college sports. It has evolved since then to denote when how much athletes can practice  and when and how students need to be matriculates of the college they play for.  

Tom cited a few law cases which have led to athletes getting compensated for playing:

*Obannon UCLA vs NCAA 2014 – owning rights to your own likeness in a video game which became the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness).

*Olsten vs NCAA which capped benefits of $6,000 per year reimbursed for tutoring.

Tom mentioned other athletes and how they were offered money to play. Which led to the recent NCAA settlement of $2.8 billion which allows schools to directly pay their athletes including any Division 1 graduate back to either 2018 or 2016.  The money pulled to pay for this will likely come from Division 2 &3 schools who may have to give up tv rights

Looking ahead, who will get a piece of the $20 million set aside to pay student athletes? Will lacrosse and cross country get money? Will men and women be paid equally?

The UIUC DIA advisory board discussed how they monitor coaches to win but also with students studying to be good students and humans.  They want to help train student athletes to be first class model citizens.  Tom called the recent developments with the NCAA a “raging dumpster fire.”

Other points discussed included the cost of tickets for games, the costs for different sports, the lost of sportsmanship, and NIL money up for grabs. 

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

July 4^th – No morning meeting

July 11^th – Dr. Mark Wolters, Associate Teaching Professor of Business Administration

July 18^th – TBD (Cary)

July 25^th – TBD (Joe)

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD (Lisa)

August 15^th – TBD (Mary

August 22^nd – TBD (Michael)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

July 6 – Paul Conforti

“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner – American Rabbi-Author

“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” – Brene Brown – Professor-Social Worker-Author-Podcast Host

“Be the curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, and with what makes you happy.” – Leo Babauta – Author

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by  Lisa Crane)

Phyllis would like more members to help with the Decker garden watering. Please sign up online

Thanks to those who attended Books to Prisoners on June 8^th.

Ata updated the club on the relocation planning meeting.  Starting July 11, CU Sunrise will meet each week at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Prospect Ave. 

Lisa will chair the hosting committee. Members will sign up for one month.  July will be Tod’s turn.  He has a list of possible food options and we will try to stay under $8 for the actual cost of meal.  Our weekly fee will now be $10 starting on July 11^th.  Yes can pay ahead for meals for the year.

Bucket bucks in June will go to the Child Advocacy Center.  In July they will go to Dream.

UPCOMING EVENTS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITES

June 27 – Pass the Gavel

June 30 (4:30pm) – District Installation@ iHotel ($40)

July 4 – No meeting

July 11 – First meeting at new location

July 12 – Mahomet Rotary Golf Outing

July 13 – Rotary Day at the Ball park (Cubs vs Cards)

July 20 (9-4pm) – Zone Leadership Seminar in Springfield

October 24 – District 6490 Conference

SPEAKER

Our speaker last week was Sue Grey, President and CEO of United Way of Champaign County.  She is also a member of Champaign Rotary.  Previously she was a leader in the Champaign Park District.  She was also the Green Meadows Girl Scout CEO for 3 years and she served on the Champaign Unit 4 school board. 

Awarded Woman of distinction

Sue started in 2006 as a member of the United Way team in on an allocations panel. Sue discussed the Integrity of the community allocation process.  They look at data and research that help identify the root cause of issues. They review ALICE DATA and use the State Grant tool of United Way to do a community needs assessment. They also look at 211 data to determine what people are calling for assistance the most.

Currently the Community Change Grant Areas include:
*Early Grade Level Success which is supporting our children so they may reach their full potential. Building a strong educational foundation.

*Child Well Being  which involves preventing child maltreatment and building healthier families through mental health and trauma responsive services

Grants are given for specific purposes.  For example: provide mentoring and support to organizations; or help them in different areas like helping to find board members 

Those who receive grants meet their cohorts quarterly in person to provide updates and give mentoring support.  The organizations complete audits of their grant spending

The United Way tries to fund everyone’s requests in some way if they meet criteria. The grant process takes about 4-5 months. The average grant is around $50,000.  For Example: Farmers Feeding Families is renting and farming the 88 acres that Unit 4 bought on Olympian Rd.

Sue was asked, “How does our United Way compare nationally?” We are a Metro 3 level and have been in the Top 10 in nation for the last 7-8 years. The goal is to be in the top 5.  In the state of Illinois, we are number 1 of Metro 3 level United Ways.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

June 20^th – Recent college athletics settlement (Tom)

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

July 4^th – ?

July 11^th – TBD

July 18^th – TBD (Cary)

July 25^th – TBD (Joe)

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD (Lisa)

August 15^th – TBD (Mary

August 22^nd – TBD (Michael)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

June 2 – Oktay Baran

June 7 – Lisa Crane

June 19 – Joe Rank

June 20 – Garrett Colbert

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” – Brene Brown – Professor-Lecturer-Author

“There are many paths but only one journey.” – Naomi Judd – 1946-2022 – Singer-Actress

“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” – Enoch Powell – 1912-1998 – Politician

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Last week we did not have a morning meeting.  Instead, we gathered at the home of Mary Kay and Charlie Smith.  Thank you for hosting!

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

June 6^th – Craig Pessman will present photos from his trip to Death Valley

June 13^th – Sue Grey, President & CEO, United Way of Champaign County (Michael)

June 20^th – Recent college athletics settlement (Tom)

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

July 4^th – ?

July 11^th – TBD

July 18^th – TBD (Cary)

July 25^th – TBD (Joe)

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD (Lisa)

August 15^th – TBD (Mary

August 22^nd – TBD (Michael)

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

June 2 – Oktay Baran

June 7 – Lisa Crane

June 9 – Diana Dummitt

June 14 – Bob LaCharite

June 19 – Joe Rank

June 20 – Garrett Colbert

“The hard days are what make you stronger.” – Aly Raisman – American Gymnast-Model

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”  – George Washington Carver – 1864-1943 – Scientist-Inventor

“The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.” – W. Somerset Maugham – 1874-1965 – Writer

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by  Lisa Crane)

Congratulations to the Paceleys (38 years) and the Pattons (50 years) on their recent wedding anniversaries.

Happy anniversary to Jarrod and his spouse Jessie who are celebrating in Italy!

Robb noted there is a fundraiser on June 1^st at The City Center to support fallen first responders families.

Rotary youth exchange is looking for families to host a student.

Bucket Bucks for May and June will go to the Child Advocacy Center.  In July they will go to Dream.

UPCOMING EVENTS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITES

May 30 – No morning meeting

May 30 – 5:30-7:30pm – Fifth Thursday Social beer and pizza at 1607 Sandpiper Ct (Charlie & Mary Kay Smith’s party house)

June 8 – 9-10:30am – Books to Prisoners

June 27 – Pass the Gavel – end of the reign of Charlie the Charitable

June 30 – 4:30pm –  District Installation at the iHotel ($40)

July 12th – Mahomet Rotary Golf Outing – need a 4th for our team of duffers

July 13 – Rotary Day at the Ball park (Cubs vs Cards)

July 20 – 9-4pm – Zone Leadership Seminar in Springfield

October 24 – District Conference

PROGRAM

This week’s speaker was Cooper the Comfort Dog (in training).  We presented Cooper and his trainers a check and two scarves that say CU SUNRISE ROTARY COOPER.

Cooper is a toy Goldendoodle out of Arthur, IL.  Cooper is in training for approximately two years. His trainers will take him many places to be with people. Training also includes a high intensity training through the Canine Institute.

Cooper is very intelligent and learns quickly. He gets bored easily so his trainers have lots of puzzles and other things for him to do.

Our meeting was very brief so we socialized and caught up with each other.

Ata thanked everyone for completing the survey. More to come.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

May 30^th – No morning meeting – social at Mary Kay and Charlie’s house
June 6^th – Craig Pessman will present photos from his trip to Death Valley

June 13^th – Sue Grey, President & CEO, United Way of Champaign County (Michael)

June 20^th – TBD

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

July 4^th – ?

July 11^th – TBD

July 18^th – TBD

July 25^th – TBD

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD

August 15^th – TBD

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

May 29 – Phyllis Mischo

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait, it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”  – Joyce Meyer – American Author-Speaker

“Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” – Auguste Rodin – 1840-1917 – Sculptor

“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” – Taylor Swift – Songwriter-Singer

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by  Lisa Crane)

Ed thanked everyone who helped to fold newspapers for the Humane Society. We folded six month’s worth of cage liners, and they were very appreciative. Thanks to GSLC for hosting.

Youth exchange is looking for families to host a student.

May and June’s Bucket Bucks will go to the Child Advocacy Center

UPCOMING EVENTS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITES

May 18 (9-3:30pm) – RYLA  Rotary Leadership Institute @ Richland Community College in Decatur (the club will pay your $50 registration fee).

May 18 (9-11am) – Salt & Light

May 30 (5:30-7:30pm) – Fifth Thursday Social beer & pizza at 1607 Sandpiper Ct (Charlie & MaryKay Smith)

June 8 (9-10:30am) – Books to Prisoners

June 27 – Pass the Gavel

July – Mahomet Rotary golf outing.  Is anyone interested in getting a squad of duffers together?

PROGRAM

Last week’s speaker was Jeff Scott, Executive Director, Stephens Family YMCA.  Jeff is also a Champaign Rotarian.  He has been at the YMCA for six years. Prior to that, he was the principal of Unit 4’s Carrie Busey Elementary School.

The YMCA’s vision is to be a ray of hope in our community that inspires people to be better. The YMCS’s mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. He stressed that it is truly for all.

Jeff noted they are more than gym and swim. They have three basic pillars: Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility.  They had over 400,000 facility check ins in FY2022-23 serving 7,351 families.

Jeff discussed the different programs that they have to offer, including: after school care, home school exercise facility, Girls on the Run, a Rock Steady Boxing program for persons with Parkinson’s, and fitness programs for cancer survivors with their Nancy Yanello Cancer program.  They also provide 90 min of free care everyday with their Child Watch program.

They have Larkin’s Place which is a facility for inclusive programming with children with special needs.  Last summer hey provided inclusion care for 22 summer campers.

A new program bringing the YMCA communities that cannot reasonably travel to the Y which is called their Y on the Fly. They rented the old Swann care place and recently decided to expand and rent the entire building. They hope to include a teen program, pantry and  job training activities.

Their number one complaint is that the facility is too crowded.  So they are looking at facility expansion and hope to add another 50k sq ft.  They are also looking to focus on mothers – what do they wand need – as well as expanding their gym and preschool programs.

Other interesting facts:

*They have awarded scholarships to at least 1000 families to help with membership costs. Some people pay only $15%.

*The is YWCA not affiliated with YMCA

*Jeff explained that the YMCA has 340 year round employees.  That number increases to 450 with summer camp staff.

*They have tried in the past to partner with the Park district but it can be hard given the differences in public and private support.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

May 16^th – Dr. Pam Lau, President, Parkland College

May 23 – Cooper, the Child Advocacy Center Comfort Dog (Joe)

May 30^th – No morning meeting
June 6^th – TBD

June 13^th – TBD

June 20^th – TBD

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

July 4^th – ?

July 11^th – TBD

July 18^th – TBD

July 25^th – TBD

August 1^st – TBD

August 8^th – TBD

August 15^th – TBD

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

May 29 – Phyllis Mischo

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho – Author

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” – Maurice Setter – 1936-2020 – English Football Player & Manager

“I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday.” – Misty Copeland – Ballet Dancer

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING SCHEDULE

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

Phyllis presented our club’s special recognition to Diana Dummit. Diana joined our club in 2008 and served as club president in 2010/2011.  She continued as chair on various club committees and was responsible for our club’s greeting cards for many years. Diana thanked everyone and stated how our club and the members were very special to her and she was proud of all the great things the club had done.

Phyllis thanked all for helping with Feed Our Kids on Saturday.

April 27, 7:30 to 10:30am – Marathon water station at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

May 4, 10 to Noon – Rotary District Assembly at The Carle Forum

May 4, 1pm to 4pm – Champaign County Humane Society folding newspaper at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

May 18 – Rotary Leadership Institute at Richmond Community College in Decatur.

May 30 – Club social at Mary Kay and Charlie’s house – 1607 Sandpiper Ct, Champaign

June 27 – Pass the gavel day (end of the reign of Charlie the Wise)

Program

Tom Ulen introduced our speaker, Al Nudo. Al is a well-known local business man and developer who has served on many civic and community organizations. His program this morning focused on the history and future of Willard Airport. His review of the airport’s history included:

1946 The airport opened

1954 First commercial Flights

1968 Willard was the second busiest airport in Illinois

1987 New terminal was built

Al presented a chart with information comparing population, the number of enplanements, airlines and number of destinations for four of the Central Illinois airports, including Willard Airport/Champaign; Central Il. Regional/Bloomington; Peoria Airport/Peoria; Abe Lincoln Airport/Springfield.

While Champaign county has the largest population of these four, it has the lowest number of enplanements. Eight out of 10 people in Champaign county fly out of someplace other than Willard. One reason for this 80% leakage is that Willard has only one major Airline and does not have a low-cost Airline service. According to Al, we need our airport to have more flights at a competitive cost.

The recent history of the number of flights at Willard by year has significantly declined:

2005  132,000

2013   85,000

2022   65,000

Much work and money is needed to attract more flights in and out of Willard. While the U of I, the Cities of Champaign and Urbana, Champaign County and the MTD have stated they will contribute initial dollars to help, Al stated that long term sources of continued funding are needed along with better Airport management. 

The current thinking by the U of I is that the Airport is not a priority.  According to Al, that thinking must change for Willard to be successful and beneficial to the community. 

More flights in and out of our airport can bring economic growth, a better image of our University, and a  better quality of life for our entire community.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

April 18^th – Mary Kay Smith will discuss the FriendShop

April 25^th – Jenette Jurczyk of The Family Room (Lisa)

May 2^nd – Cat Purcell, Career Librarian, Champaign Public Library, will discuss researching your home

May 9^th – TBD

May 16^th – TBD

May 23 – Cooper, the Child Advocacy Center Comfort Dog (Joe)

May 30^th – TBD
June 6^th – TBD

June 13^th – TBD

June 20^th – TBD

June 27^th – Pass the Gavel

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

April 3 – Mary Hodson

April 24 – Mary Kay Smith