Ted Berger is the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS). Ted joined IEMA-OHS in May of 2025 following a distinguished career in public policy and public safety leadership across multiple levels of government. Most recently, he served as Executive Director for the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS), overseeing emergency management and homeland security programs within the nation’s second-largest county.
Previously, Ted held senior roles in Cook County Government, including with the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Board President, and as Chief Deputy Director for EMRS. His earlier public service includes leadership positions with the City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, as well as several state agencies, among them the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Illinois Tollway, and the Illinois Department of Transportation. He began his public service career as a James H. Dunn Memorial Fellow in the Office of the Governor.
Beyond his professional roles, Ted served in the volunteer fire service as Deputy Chief of Training, EMS, and Safety for the North Park Fire Protection District in Machesney Park, and as a volunteer Associate Staff Member for the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance. He holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bradley University
Ted previously presented to us when he was working for the City of Chicago. This time his presentation will center around the whole state of Illinois and what the state is doing to prepare for various emergencies which may arise in the future. This will be an interesting program and one you will want to invite a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.
Suzanne Berger, who just happens to be Ted's mother, will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary host.
Rockford Rotary Club is offering a buffet lunch before each Thursday meeting at 11:30 AM.
Here is the lunch for our 9/24/26 Meeting.
"Soup and Salad"
Vegetable soup and "Gourmet Grilled Chicken Salad.
To reserve the above lunch, test Elise by Monday at 3:00 PM at (815) 985-8300. Price is $15 each. If you have a guest, reserve a meal, but the guest meal is free.
Gemini Solar is a proposed utility-scale solar project designed to deliver affordable, reliable, clean energy to Winnebago County. More than a clean energy project, Gemini Solar represents a long-term investment in the community’s economy, prosperity, and sustainability.
As Director of Development, Adam Czamanske leads projects across Illinois with 10 years of large-scale renewable energy experience. A Northern Illinois University graduate and longtime Chicagoland resident, he is proud to help advance sustainable growth close to home. Anne-Marie Williams leads external affairs and community engagement, bringing experience in public outreach, local partnerships, and community impact. A Kelley School of Business graduate, proud Hoosier, and mother of five, she is focused on helping communities feel informed, heard, and supported. Together, Adam and Anne-Marie combine development know-how with a community-first mindset, making sure projects are not just built but truly welcomed.
Adan and Anne-Marie will talk about the Gemini Solar project which will begin construction next year and be operational in 2029. This will be timely program and one to invite a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.
Lynn Momberger will introduce our presenters and act as Rotary Host.
Bruce Hasher is the newest member of the Wesley Willows Satellite Club, havingbeen inducted this month by Lois Seijo, chair of the Satellite Club. Here is some information about Bruce.
In 2025 I moved to Wesley Willows in Rockford from Elmhurst, making the difficult decision to leave a house and neighborhood and church congregation that had been my family home since 1951. But I have several relatives and friends in Rockford and really like living here.
I have been retired for 17 years. My career had a big change soon after it started. In high school I was very good at math and physics. It was the Sputnik era and there was a huge focus on science education. I got a physics scholarship to Northwestern (class of 1964) and stayed there for graduate school. But by the time I was in line for a Ph.D. there were so many physics grad students and so few jobs for them that I made a big change.
I had been very active in church work and youth group leadership and my pastor steered me to a job with Lutheran Child and Family Services working in residential care with junior high age boys with serious emotional disturbances. In my off hours I got a more relevant degree in Counseling Psychology from George Williams College.
But I had decided that I was more cut out for social service administration than direct client work so I got a degree in Management and became the Human Services Administrator for Downers Grove Township where I developed and coordinated youth and family and senior citizen services for the Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Westmont, Darien, and Burr Ridge area for over 30 years until my retirement. I was also very involved in several county and state-wide human service networks and organizations and my church.
Now that I'm at Wesley Willows I want to find some opportunities to be involved in things and help where I can, like at the satellite Rotary group. But after my busy career and community involvement, I am more than ready to slow down to a much more relaxed pace for this stage of my life.
There will be a meeting of the Program/Meeting Committee on Thursday, September 24th at 10:30 AM at Memorial Hall upstairs.
This Strategic Planning committee has 2 responsibilities:
1) Engaging weekly meetings with great speakers with more timely programs which consider 4 primary areas of focus: business, education, culture, and community building.
2) Deciding whether to change or add meeting times (i.e.. have breakfast meetings and only meet 2 times a month).
If you are interested in being part of planning for the future meetings, please join us this Thursday at 10:30 AM.
Now that school is back in session it is the time of year when we are looking for volunteers to read with 2nd and 3rd grade students in RPS 205. How exciting that we are now in our 25th year of Rockford Reads! This year we are going bilingual, so we are in need of bilingual volunteers as well. If you have not participated in Rockford Reads before, please consider it now. It is a very rewarding experience to help influence the lives of these students. Volunteers do not need to be Rotarians. If you know of someone who might be interested, let them know about this program.
If you are interested or know of someone, please reach out to Kathy Kwiat-Hess at kathykwiathess@gmail.com.
