“Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is most important.” – Junko Tabei – 1939-2016 – Mountaineer-Author-Teacher

 

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 1756-1791 – Composer of the Classical Period

 

Give without remembering and always receive without forgetting. – Unknown

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by Lisa Crane)

 

Thanks to Mary Kay and Charlie for hosting breakfast in November.

 

We still need members to sign up for breakfast for the month of January. Your expenses will be

reimbursed. If you want more information, please see Lisa Crane.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped make The Veteran’s dinner a huge success! We had at least

13 veterans from CHEZ attend.

 

Sola Gratia is now selling fruit. Tod will send out more information if you would like to

spread the word to help them sell. They are selling grapefruit, mandarins and pears.

 

Football picks we are doing ok with our standings.

 

Our bucket money for November will go to the Rotary Foundation.

 

CUSR HOLIDAY PARTY

 

Our annual CUSR holiday party will take place on Thursday, December 19th during our normal meeting time.  This year will feature, among other things, a white elephant gift exchange as well as a cookie exchange.  For the cookie exchange, please bring four dozen (homemade or store bought) cookies to share.

 

UPCOMING DATES

 

Dec 7th – 8:30-10:30am – Crisis Nursery Children’s Holiday Shop @ the Orpheum Theater

Dec 9th – 3-5pm – Feeding Our Kids – Volunteer Center @ Eastern Illinois Foodbank

Dec. 14th – 10am-6pm – Salvation Army Bell-Ringing – Champaign Walmart on N. Prospect

 

Sign-ups can be done on DACdb.

 

SPEAKER

 

The speaker this week was our very own Garrett Colbert.  Garrett posed the question: Why would Southern California parents consider moving to Champaign for their retirement?? Their only daughter secured a position as a counselor in Savoy, Illinois. They wanted to be close to her, so six weeks later they sold their home, bought a home in Morrissey Park, and moved to Champaign!

 

Garrett noted that shortly after they moved in there was a knock on the door and they were greeted by Scott and Cindy Paisley who had flowers and food in hand. Scott suggested coming to a Rotary meeting. The first Rotarian to reach out during the meeting was Mary Kay. Mary Kay and Paul were influential in his quest for membership. Darrell also made him feel welcome. Garrett felt that the Sunrise club members had similar interests as he is a morning person. Joining Rotary has been a great opportunity to meet people because the only person he knew in Champaign-Urbana was his daughter.

 

Garrett will be starting a 13-week entrepreneur program at the Library.  He will get others to come in and talk to the kids about their work experiences.

 

Garrett was raised in Washington, DC area and has three siblings – two brothers and a sister.  He attended Towson University and earned a degree in social work.  Garrett taught a class in Health Science and worked in a psychiatric hospital, Shepard Pratt, counseling kids 12 and older.  He then moved to Chicago area and worked in the psychiatric facility at Michael Reese Hospital.

 

Garrett needed a change so he took a position with a trucking company, MidAmerican Lines and completed their management training program. He became Vice President of Sales & Marketing. They relocated five times in six years so relocation and vacation was how it worked. He spent 25 yrs in transportation.

 

Garrett also worked for a communications company like Zoom before it became popular, a software company, and he started his own consulting practice for entrepreneurs.  He was involved with Junior Achievement and helped a team win San Diego shark tank and

moved on to Nationals and that same team won Nationals.

 

Garrett was asked how he met his wife, and he noted that Judy was in the Airforce for four years before college. Thus, she was a non-traditional student in his health science class. They were both in a relationship at the time, but four years later she got in touch with him to return a book and then they started dating.

 

—

  Dec 5th Dec 12th Dec 19th
Introductions Ed Perry Mary Hodson Thom Hodson
Reflection Cary Woolard Charlie Smith Mary Kay Smith
Greeters Ed Perry Mary Hodson Thom Hodson
Cary Woolard Charlie Smith Mary Kay Smith
Food Mary Kay and Charlie Lisa Crane Lisa Crane
Notetaker Conforti Perry Hodson

—

 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

 

December 5th – Molly Cornyn, Project Coordinator, Roger Ebert’s Film Festival (Joe)

December 12th – Brendan  McGinty, UIUC, will discuss AI (Cary)

December 19th – CUSR Holiday Party

December 26th – No morning meeting

January 2nd – Amanda Borden, Vice President of Development, Eastern Illinois Foodbank (Les)

January 9th – TBD (Lisa)

January 16th – Dr. Pavlo Dziuba, Visiting Professor, Economics, UIUC   (Mary)

January 23rd – Lynne Barnes, Advocates for Aging Care (Michael)

January 30th – TBD

February 6th – TBD

February 13th – TBD

February 20th – TBD

February 27th – TBD

 

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

 

December 1 – Larry Johnson

December 29 – Jerry Payonk