The second in our "Rockford Rocks Sports" series will feature JJ Lilly of the Chicago White Sox.

     JJ is currently the Chicago White Sox Scouting Crosschecker and has been with the White Sox since May of 1999. JJ and the Sox are building a solid core of young players through scouting and development that will bring an exciting brand of baseball to the southside for many years to come.

     JJ looks forward to meeting everyone and talking about the future stars making their way up to the Chicago White Sox.

     He will also answer any questions you might have about the Major League or Minor League Prospects!

     This will be an interesting and informative program and one that you will want to invite a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.

     Steve Malliet will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary Host.

 

     Dave Costello is the Marketing Manager of the Rockford IceHogs.

     Dave has been with the IceHogs since October of 2021 and has been a part of an organization that has taken the level of success of the IceHogs to new heights.

     Prior to his IceHogs position Dave served at Rock Valley College's Executive Director of Marketing for 14 years.

     Dave will discuss this past season, the playoffs and also look forward to the 2025 season!

     This will be an interesting program about one of Rockford's most successful professional sports teams.  It will be a chance to invite a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.

     Steve Malliet will continue his duties this month of introducing our presenter and acting as Rotary Host.

 

     At our May 2nd meeting, President Pete inducted Maureen Lawson as the newest member of Rockford Rotary.  Maureen was sponsored by (who else but) Elise Cadigan.

     Maureen is an Attorney with the Lawson Law Office.  She focuses on Family Law, especially, Child Support, Custody and Orders of Divorce.

     We would encourage all of our members to meet Maureen and welcome her to Rockford Rotary.

 

President Pete is without words of wisdom this week.  He is saving them up for next week.

 

     Pete Rundquist

     President 

     815-985-3976 

 

        

 

     Our April 25th meeting was our annual High School Recognition program.  This year we featured 7 schools including Hononegah High School for the first time in the long history of this event.  Just from memory, there were 3 furure Doctors, 2 teachers, 2 lawyers, a music teacher, a child psychologist, and a computer scientist among others. 

     The highlight each is the awarding of the two Burdette Anderson Memorial Scholarships worth $2,000 each.  In order to qualify for these scholarships, each of the recognized students is required to write an essay.  The essays are judged by the committee and Burdette Anderson's daughters, Linda Oshita and Susan Vetrono.

     After each school's male and female students are recognized the scholarship winners are announced.  Sue Vetrono announced that Conner Magnuson from Rockford Christian High School was the winner of the first scholarship.  Linda Oshita then presented Sofia Korasick from Guilford High School with the second scholarship.  Sofia also won the informal "smile of the group" award for a great smile.

     Congratulations to all of our honorees who give us hope that we have some great leaders for the future.

 

We had a great turnout for this special event.

 

President Pete welcomes everyone to our meeting.

 

Helen Hill is the Master of Ceremonies and announced the precedures which will be followed to keep the meeting running smoothly.

 

Boylan students Ryan Starck and Simona Caruana with Rotarian Roger Maggio,

 

Rotarian Paul Von Driska and East students Benjamin Gibbons and Isabella Galvan.

 

Rotarian Jeff Fahrenwald and Guilford students Kassandra Carpenter and Blake Falcione.

 

Harlem students Zachary Nelson and Alyssa Fulton with Rotarian Mary Ann Norwood (in the middle).

 

Rotarian Nellie Miller with Hononegah students Sofia Korasick and Gabriel Kohl.

 

Rockford Lutheran students Emma James and Brenden Nelson with Rotarian Becky Rundquist.

 

Rotarian Deb Johns with Rockford Christian students Connor Magnuson and Jor'ae Beaver.

 

Burdette Anderson's daughters Linda Oshita and Sue Vetrono with the scholarship winners, Sofia Korasick and Connor Magnuson.

 

 

05-06-24 - Rotary Academy Final Celebration

                  6:00 PM  Embassy Suites

 

05-09-24 - "Rockford Rocks Sports"

                  JJ Lilly - Chicago White Sox

                  Host - Steve Malliet

 

05-16-24 - "Rockford Rocks Sports"

                  Meet the Ice Hogs

                  Dave Costello Marketing Manager

                  Host - Steve Malliet

 

05-23-24 - "Rockford Rocks Sports'

                  Meet the Rivets

                  Will Oberg, Field Manager

                  Host - Steve Malliet

 

05-30-24 - No Meeting

                  5:00 - Social

 

06-06-24 - "Rockford Rotary Welcomes Our Youth Exchange"

                  Ciara Staly

                  Host - TBD

 

06-13-24 - "The Norwegian - Starting a New Business in Rockford"

                  Emly Hurd

                  Host - TBD

 

06-20-24 - "Calm, Intelligent Helpers"

                  Bruce Erickson, 17th Judicial Circuit Therapy Dogs

                  Host - Jim Coffey

 

06-27-24 - "Order of the Shelf"

                  "Vetting, Selecting, Electing Our President"

                  Host - Eric Moe

                                 

 

 

     Starting with our September 7th meeting, we will be having lunches at our noon meetings.  We will be starting with a package from Beef-A-Roo.  It will consist of a Wrap, salad, chips, cookie, and a soda or water.  There will bea variety of meats in the wraps.  This is a work in progress and things may change.  Lunches will start on September 7, 2023 and will be available at 11:45 AM the day of the meeting.

     PLEASE.  If you plan to bring a guest, PLEASE let us know 3 days in advance so we can make arrangements for food.  It will be your responsibility to cover the cost at $12.50 per meal.

 

     Thanks

     Pete Rundquist - runky907@comcast.net

     President, Rockford Rotary