Tanner Elliott will be sharing his thoughts on Rotary's motto, Service Above Self and the role service has played throughout his life.  He'll reflect on some of the experiences and people that have shaped my commitment to serving others - from my time in Scouting and student leadership to my work in philanthropy and community engagement.  More importantly, he hopes to share why service matters, the impact it can have on others, and how each of us has the opportunity toi make a difference in our communities.

     Tanner attended Harlem High School and as his Eagle Scout Project, Tanner noticed that there were kids in wheelchairs who couldn't see the football games at the Harlem stadium and came up with a plan to build a wheelchair accessible ramp onto the bleachers.  With the help of the Harlem School District, he raised $35,000 to complete the project. 

     Tanner graduated from Rockford University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice/police science in 2021 and earned his MBA in Organizational Leadership in 2023.  He worked during college as a Sales Vendor for Hayes Beer Distributing Company and then while he was working on his MBA, he worked as a Residence Hall Director at RU and also was the Assistant Esports Coordinator.  After he got his MBA, he worked full time at RU as the Esports Director and then as the Senior Advancement Officer.  He joined Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity as the Development Manager in October of 2025.  He joined Rockford Rotary in February of 2026 and will join the Board as a Director on July 1, 2026.

      When interviewed for his Eagle Scout project Tanner said, "I've just always enjoyed helping people and if that's something I think I can do for a living, I think I's enjoy that".

     This will be an interesting program and one that you will want to bring a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.  Elise Cadigan will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary host.

 

     The Board voted to make some small changes to the club's dues and invoices have been mailed out.  Please pay your dues prior to June 30, 2026 because our club will be billed by Rotary International and District 6420 based on the number of members we have on July 1, 2026.

     If anyone has any questions about the dues they can email President Paul at pvondriska@bergstrominc.com .

 

 

     Rockford Rotary hosted a New Member Reception for all new members that joined the club in the last two years.  The University Club served their usual excellent hor'dourves.  In addition to honoring the new members, we also had a birthday cake for President Paul and serenaded him with a very off-key rendition of Happy Birthday.  As you can see from the pictures below, a good time was had by all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     The Rock River Valley Food Pantry is conducting their Annual Peanut Butter and Jelly drive through the end of June.

     There will be a collection barrel at the west end of Memorial Hall and Rockford Rotary will be taking donations through June 25th.  Peanut butter in plastic containers is preferred but there doesn't seem to be Grape Jelly in plastic containers so glass will have to do.  Just be careful when putting the jars in the barrel.

     Let's see how many barrels we can fill in the coming weeks.

     Our 2025-26 goal for the Rotary International Foundation Annual Fund is $13,000.  So far, members have contributed $10,555.  In addition, members have contributed an additional $4,788 to the other six funds including Polio Plus.

     Our other goal is to have 100% participation.  To date, 35 members have contributed to the Foundation out of our total membership of 85 which is 41%.

     Congratulations to Suzanne Shelain who is the latest member to contribute to the Rotary Foundation and thank you to the following members who have previously contributed to this year's campaign.

 

 

 

Rotary Lunches 

 

     We will continue to serve lunches for $12 each week.  We currently are having food from the Sandwich Shop.  Monica will be more than happy to take your money for lunch. 

 

Jim Coffey, Secretary