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Meeting Responsibilities
October 17, 2024
Greeter - Jim Coffey
Invocator - Russ Johansson
 
October 24, 2024
Greeter - Brian DeBenedetto
Invocator - Liz Dickinson
 
October 31, 2024
Greeter - Warren Heinke
Invocator - Mike Donnelly
 
November 7, 2024
Greeter - Earl Dotson
Invocator - Cynthia Drollinger
 
November 14, 2024
Greeter - Laura Eakman
Invocator - Jeff Fahrenwald
 
November 21, 2024
Greeter - Taylor Carlin
Invocator - Pete Rundquist
 
December 5, 2024
Greeter - John Fridh
Invocator - Helen Hill
 
December 12, 2024
Greeter - Jennifer Furst
Invocator - Monica Glenny
 
December 19, 2024
Greeter - John Goddard
Invocator - Lori Gummow
September 19th Meeting
Committee Meetings
 
     The September 19th meeting is set aside for committee meetings.  Committee chairs will contact their members to remind them of the meeting.  If you are not assigned to a specific committee, feel free to join us for lunch and sit in on a committee meeting.  
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September 26th Meeting
"God is on Our Side"
Religion in the Civil War
 
     Bob Presman is retired after having two careers as News and Sports Director at WROK radio in Rockford and as a financial consultant.  Bob is the immediate past President of the Rock River Valley Civil War Roundtable and has given presentations on various Civil War topics at several Civil War Roundtables in northern Illinois and Tucson, Arizona.  Bob has been a member of Rockford Rotary since 1995. He co-founded Rotary’s Rockford Reads Program and led the program for seventeen years.  He still reads with second-graders at Spring Creek School.  Bob is a member of the district’s recently-formed End Polio Now Committee.  He is a recipient of Rotary’s Service Above Self Award and was a finalist for the Rockford Register Star’s Excalibur Award.   
     Bob is a graduate of Knox College where he received a B.A. majoring in economics.  After graduation he was a VISTA volunteer in the government program Volunteers in Service to America where he worked in Pawnee, Oklahoma. 
     Bob lives in Rockford with his wife, the acclaimed short story writer Mary Ann Presman.  They have two children.  Their daughter Roberta Leaf lives in Rockford with her husband Tim.  Their son Harry Presman lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Ashley and Bob’s two beautiful grandchildren Finn and Sawyer.
     Bob's topic is "God is on Our Side: Religion in the Civil War".  He will talk about how religion was handled by both sides and the effect religion had on the war its self.
     This will be an interesting and informative program and one to invite a guest or prospective member to join us at Memorial Hall.     
     Elise Cadigan will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary host. 
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September 12th Recap
 
 
     Our September 12th meeting featured Brian Reinbold talking about "Mission and Purpose" and why we should be shooting for the moon instead of doing something halfway.
     Paul Von Driska introduced us to our inbound Exchange Student, Timeo Paolo Gimbals from Belgium.  Timeo is attending Harlem High School where he is a senior.  He is on the cross-country team and is interested in trying put for the basketball team.  His host family's daughter is the District Outbound student to Italy and he is staying in her bedroom.  Timeo will be making is presentation to our club on November 7th.
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Two Service Project Collections
 
 
 
    - Cereal collection - please bring cereal for the Rock River Food Pantry. The barrel will be in the west entry through the month of October. THANK YOU!
 
    - Candy Collection - River Bluff indicated that they have children Trick or Treat there. The residents need about 10 buckets to hold candy. Also, we volunteered to provide some candy, so pick up an extra bag if you see one. Please be sure it is individually wrapped. Thanks again!
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President's Message
 
President's Message
 
Hello Rockford Rotarians,
 
     Thank you for all the hard work and dedication of Rockford Rotarians. We are accomplishing some great things.
 
     Don’t forgot to sign up for the District 6420 conference right in our back yard.
 
     Please support and promote our polio plus campaign.
 
     Together we are making the world a better place.
 
Thank you
 
Mike Forman
President - 2024-2025
Mike.Forman@outlook.com 
 
        
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Rockford Rotary Needs &
and Volunteer Opportunities
Club Needs & Volunteer Opportunities
 
     Our Club has a number of volunteer opportunities, but some very specific needs that have been identified are listed below, along with the contact information for the person leading the effort.  Please let them know if you would be willing to help in any of these areas.
 
Other Service Projects Coordination
 
Basic Responsibilities – Serve as project organizer/coordinator for other club service projects such as the following:  providing a meal for guests at Carpenters Place or the Veterans Drop In Center, including determining date(s) to provide a meal, buying the food, publicizing the volunteer opportunity and getting club members to sign up to help with serving the food.
 
Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful in conjunction with the Environmental and Sustainability committee - coordinate and get volunteers for a collection event (could be done on a continuing basis).  
 
Rockford Family Peace Center flower planting.
 
Other Events such as July 4th, City Market, etc. as they come up.  
 
CONTACT for more info or to take on coordination of one of these projects – Becky Rundquist, becky.rundquist@gmail.com
 
The Service Above Self Awards – Program Date, March 13, 2025
 
There are a number of parts of the whole.  This may involve a few meetings to be determined by those who want to be involved. 
 
     First, we need a good pool of candidates. According to program rules, candidates must be nominated by a member of the Club. Only a few may be Rotarians themselves. The rest must be from the Rockford community. If you want to help, please talk to the nonprofit organizations with which you are familiar. Who are the outstanding volunteers in their organizations? Let’s see how wide we can cast this net. Try to include both large organizations along with smaller ones.
     When we have compiled a good number of applications, there needs to be a committee to review the applications and select the winners. For those who nominate a successful candidate, they will do the introduction at the awards ceremony.
     The applications for both individual candidates and the Mary Stuart Carruthers award are available on our website. Look under the Membership tool bar near the top of the home page.
 
     Second, we need to involve the media, not only in covering the event, but also in announcing that the awards are available.
 
     Third, we need volunteers to plan and run the lunch and program on March 13, 2025 which includes many individual elements such as:
 
     Determining & Executing Program Elements.  Like last year for the ceremony, Mayor McNamara was invited to attend, say a few words, and hand out the awards.
 
     Getting flowers for each of the award recipients.
 
     Order, proof, and ensure plaques for each recipient are on site the day of the event.
 
     Track of reservations so we have enough food.
 
     Ordering Food and arranging pick up or deliver on March 13, 2025.
 
     Clean-up at the end of the program on March 13, 2025
 
     CONTACT for more info or to take on one of these pieces of this event – Dave Byrnes,   david.byrnes941@gmail.com
 
PRESIDENT ELECT 
 
     Yes, this volunteer position is in preparation for becoming Club President next year.  There ia a conference you would attend to train for the President’s position, learning about Rotary International and Rotary Districts and how our Club works within that structure. 
     If you’ve ever even thought about this as a possibility please talk to Mike Foreman, Pete Rundquist, Eric Moe, Linda Johnson, or any of our other previous Club Presidents and they can give you insight into what would be involved.       This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to serve the community and further your leadership skills at the same time. 
 
     CONTACT – Mike Foreman Mike.Foreman@outlook.com
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Rotary After Hours Invitation
Rockford Rotary After Hours Event
 
     The Rockford Rotary Membership Committee is planning an After-Hours event in conjunction with the River District on Thursday, October 3rd, 5-7pm, at FurstStaffing.
     The purpose of the event is to recruit new Rotary members from the downtown area. We encourage all Rotarians to help plan the event. At this time we are in need of event sponsors-$50, $100, $150 and above to help defray costs.
     Also needed are items for door prizes for gift baskets i.e. wine, coffee, items made in Rockford. We also encourage each Rotarian to invite a guest to introduce them to our club. Thanks to FurstStaffing wine, beer and water have been donated. Hors d’oeuvres will be served.
     Your help in any way will greatly enhance our efforts to enhance our membership. Thanks in advance!
 
     The Rockford Rotary Membership Committe
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Future Programs
Future Programs
           
10-17-24 - Club Committee Chair Reports -
                  Goals for 24-25
 
10-24-24 - "World Polio Day - Keeping Our Promise
                    to the Children of the World"
                    PDG Laura Kahn, Polio Chair Zone29
                    Host: TBD
 
10-31-24 - DG John Hurley Official Visit
                  Host - President Mike Foreman
 
10-31-24 - 5:30PM - After Hours Social
                  Prairie Street Brewery
 
 
                  
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Weekly RI Foundation Message
 
Each week we will be publishing a message from the Rotary International Foundation.  This week's message is:
 
WHAT IS POLIOPLUS?
 
Ending polio is Rotary’s main humanitarian goal, and PolioPlus is the program that supports these efforts.
 
It was launched in 1985 with help from Dr. Albert Sabin, the developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the paralyzing consequences of polio. Rotary later became a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
 
Since then, the incidence of wild polio cases has decreased by 99.9% and the wild poliovirus remains endemic in just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
 
The processes Rotary helped build to fight polio have also been used to protect communities from COVID-19 and other diseases. This illustrates the Plus in PolioPlus.
 
But polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere. Only global eradication will ensure that no child suffers its devastating effects ever again.
 
Learn more about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate this disease at endpolio.org.
 
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Rotary Links
Rotary International
RI President Home
Rotary Global Rewards
Joining Rotary
Rotary History
Rotary Foundation
For New Members
Speakers
Oct 24, 2024
"World Polio Day" - Keeping Our Promise to the Children of the World
Oct 31, 2024
DG Official Visit
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Board Meetings
Nov. 19, 2024
 
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Lynn Momberger
October 14
 
John Anderson
October 17
 
Jim Powers
October 18
 
John Torrence
October 18
 
Brian Martin
October 23
 
Daniel Ross
October 30
 
Bob Presman
October 31
 
Join Date
Alex Stagnaro-Green
October 9, 2014
10 years
 
Dick Lunde
October 16, 1975
49 years
 
Cynthia Drollinger
October 25, 1991
33 years
 
Jeff Smith
October 27, 2016
8 years
 
Tyler Smith
October 27, 2016
8 years
 
Darlene Furst
October 28, 1994
30 years
 
Karl Jacobs
October 28, 1971
53 years
 
Meeting Responsibilities
Meeting Greeters
 
September 5, 2024
Rundquist, Becky
 
September 12, 2024
Braffett, Jay
 
September 19, 2024
Buchmann, Frank
 
September 26, 2024
Cadigan, Elise
 
October 3, 2024
Capriotti-Angileri, Lisa
 
October 10, 2024
Carlson, Larry
 
October 17, 2024
Coffey, Jim
 
October 24, 2024
De Benedetto, Brian
 
October 31, 2024
Heinke, Warren
 
November 7, 2024
Dotson, Jr., Earl
 
November 14, 2024
Eakman, Laura
 
November 21, 2024
Carlin, Taylor
 
December 5, 2024
Fridh, John
 
December 12, 2024
Furst, Jennifer
 
December 19, 2024
Goddard, John
 
Meeting Invocators
 
September 5, 2024
Berger, Suzanne
 
September 12, 2024
Brynteson, Mark
 
September 19, 2024
Byrnes, Dave
 
September 26, 2024
Coffey, Jim
 
October 3, 2024
Foreman, Michael
 
October 10, 2024
Carlson, Larry
 
October 17, 2024
Johansson, Russ
 
October 24, 2024
Dickinson, Elizabeth
 
October 31, 2024
Donnelly, Mike
 
November 7, 2024
Drollinger, Cynthia
 
November 14, 2024
Fahrenwald, Jeff
 
November 21, 2024
Rundquist, Pete
 
December 5, 2024
Hill, Helen
 
December 12, 2024
Glenny, Monica
 
December 19, 2024
Gummow, Lori
 
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