Ashay Patel was born and raised in Rockford Illinois. After graduating from Guilford High School, he attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he received a degree in Sociology. He then attended Rosalind Franklin University and received his Doctorate in Pharmacy. After completing his education, Ashay returned to Rockford to help run his family’s Downtown Discount Drugs Pharmacy and O'Brien & Dobbins Pharmacy with his father, Rajesh Patel.
Both Ashay and Rajesh have their Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD) and together they have expanded Downtown Discount Drugs and created the City Center Market on the corner of West State & Church St. which now includes a grocery store, coffee bar & UPS station to serve the needs of those living and working in downtown Rockford.
This will be an interesting and informative program about the elimination of a food desert in downtown Rockford where so many people live and work. This will be an opportunity 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.
Conor Brown is the CEO of NorthWest Illinois Alliance of REALTORS®, a 1,000+ Realtor and affiliate member regional association whose mission is “To be a Proactive Force for Real Estate.
He was hired in October of 2018 and immediately set out to accomplish many strategic initiatives set by the Board of Directors. Recently, he successfully completed a merger between the Belvidere Board of REALTORS® and six months later with the REALTORS® Association of Northwestern Illinois.
Conor has almost 20 years’ experience in association management and government affairs. He was recently elected Treasurer of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce, and he serves on Growth Dimensions Board of Directors.
Conor moved to Rockford in 1995 and graduated from Boylan Catholic High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI. Conor resides in Rockford with his family.
Conor will discuss the current real estate market in the Rockford area and what he thinks the future will hold.s
This will be an interesting and informative meeting and one to bring a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.
Terri Watts will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary host.
APRIL 16, High School Recognition/Scholarship Event!
Area high schools have nominated their service-oriented seniors for this special event. And two seniors will win the coveted Burdette Anderson Scholarship of $4,000 each. Please attend and help honor students for their service to our community.
$25 Donations Appreciated for Students’ Lunches
We will enjoy a delicious lunch buffet catered by the University Club of Rockford.Many Rotarians like to donate $25 or more so that the students, parents, and principals can be our guests. Thank you very much.
You may give your donations to Treasurer Monica Glenny, President Paul VonDriska, Lunch Committee Pete and Becky Rundquist or Scholarship Chair Helen Hill. If you write a check, please make it to the Rockford Rotary Charitable Association.
Sit at Any Table
Please feel free to sit at any table and get to know these impressive students. See you there!
Our 2025-26 goal for the Rotary International Foundation Annual Fund is $13,000. So far, members have contributed $8,355. In addition, members have contributed an additional $3,976 to the other six funds including Polio Plus.
Our other goal is to have 100% participation. To date, 31 members have contributed to the Foundation out of our total membership of 84 which is 36.9%.
Congratulations to Patti Bigger who is our newest contributor to the Foundation. We also want to thankJim Nelson who transferred to us from Bristol, Tennessee because we are now getting credit for his contributions to the Foundation. Congratulations and thank you to the following members who have contributed to this year's campaign.
Suzanne Berger Dave Byrnes
Elise Cadigan Bob Canfield
Jim Coffey Maureen Crowe
Mike Foreman Monica Glenny
Warren Heinke Helen Hill
Wray Howard Russ Johansson
Linda Johnson Don Kinney
Kathy Kwiat-Hess Dick Leighton
Paul Logli Brian Martin
Mary Maxted Eric Moe
Lynn Momberger Jim Nelson
Linda Niemiec MaryAnn Norwood
Bob Presman Becky Rundquist
Pete Rundquist Jeff Smith
Beth Thacker Paul Von Driska
The information is from Rotary International as of March 14, 2026. If you have any questions, contact Jim Coffey (jimc6659@aol.com or 815-222-9168).
The Academy kids’ visit to RU. The visit includes an introduction to what students should consider when selecting a college/university, what RU has to offer in college culture, academics, class size and student resources, and extracurricular activities. Then students tour the campus stopping to go into a variety of buildings while hearing about class size, what a weekly schedule might look like, and the importance of time management/organization, and creating relationships with other students. The visit concludes in the cafeteria where students can eat whatever they choose from a wide variety of food offerings.
The purpose of the visit is to allow students to see another Rockford educational offering while comparing it to Rock Valley College where they visited in February. It also introduces them to Rockford Promise and the importance of doing well in their high school classes. It’s important for 8th graders to begin to think about and create post middle school goals which will help guide them in their high school decisions.
Thank you to the Rotary Liaisons who attended the tours and engaged with the students.
We will continue to serve lunches for $12 each week. We currently are having food from the Sandwich Shop, but we will alternate each month between Beef-A-Roo and the Sandwich Shop. Monica will be more than happy to take your money for lunch.
