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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
October 10th Meeting
 
Rockford Reads
 
     The "Rockford Reads" program was started by Rockford Rotary and is now in its 23rd year.  The program offers volunteers in the Rockford area a chance to read to second graders in the Rockford School District.  Rockford Rotary coordinates the volunteers and gets them set up with schools.  We also partner with the Rockford Public Schools and the Rockford Public Library in offering the program.  
     Kathy Kwiat-Hess has been a member of Rockford Rotary since 1998.  She served as club President in 2009/10.  She also served as Membership Chair and Youth Exchange Officer.  She currently serves as Literacy Chair and liaison for Rockford Reads.  At the district level, Kathy has served as Youth Protection Officer and District Trainer.  In 2018/19 she served as District Governor.  By accident I also found out that she is President of the Board of Directors of the Paul Harris 711 Club.
     Kathy Is a retired Clinical Social Worker having had a private practice for many years.  She is married to Bob and has two stepsons and 5 awesome grandchildren. 
     Kathy will talk about the history of the Rockford Reads program and we will hear from some Rockford Reads volunteer readers about the joy they get from just reading to 2nd graders.
    This will be an interesting and informative program especially for some of our newer members and also a refresher course for our members who have been around for a long time.  You will also want to bring a guest or prospective member so they can see one of our important community projects. 
     Bob Presman who was one of the founders of Rockford Reads will introduce Kathy and might share his experiences reading to the children.  
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October 17th Program
Club Roundtables: Goals for 2024-25
 
     Instead of Committee Meetings this week, we will instead have the committee chairs give a report on what their committee does and what the committee goals are for the 2024-25 Rotary year.
     Members will also have a chance to fill out "Committee Choice" forms to obviously indicate which committee(s) they would like to serve on.
     This will be a chance to get more involved in making Rockford Rotary a better club.
     It will also be an excellent opportunity to bring a guest or prospective member to show them how Rockford Rotary works and learn about our different programs and activities.
     Remember that you can join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom (836 8113 5120 - no password required). 
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Downtown at Dusk Recap
 
     On October 3rd, Rockford Rotary and the River District Association hosted a casual evening of art, conversation, and community at FurstStaffing offices at 120 W. State St.  The purpose of this function was to introduce Rockford Rotary to members of the River District Association which includes the area surrounding Memorial Hall.
     As you can see from the pictures below that it was a terrific success.  Thanks to Jennifer Furst, Suzanne Shelain, Linda Niemiec, Doug Mark, and Frank Buchmann for their hard work on this project.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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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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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
 
 
                  
Read more...
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.
 
Read more...
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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Rockford Rotary - Our 109th Year - www.rockfordrotary.org