Rockford Rotary is sponsoring a Benefit for the Children of Brovary, Ukraine. Miles Neilsen will be performing on Wednesday, September 21st from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at Veterans Memorial Hall at 211 S. Main St. Tickets are $20. The link to register is below. You will need a barcode scanner app to read the link. Pass this information along to your family, friends, co-workers and aquiantances.
At our September 15th meeting, President Eric welcomed 4 new members to Rockford. They are all employees of Furst Staffing and come in with a Corporate Membership. The new members are Jennifer Furst, Caitlyn Steiner, Courtney Joy, and Suzanne Shelain.
They hold various leadership positions within Furst Staffing and were all sponsored by Darlene Furst who is CEO of Furst Staffing and a Past President of Rockford Rotary.
We would encourage our members to make an effort to meet our new members and welcome them to Rockford Rotary. We will be publishing more information about our new members in future issues of the COG.
Rockford Rotary has several opportunities to serve our local area and people around the world!
Please join us as our motto is SERVICE ABOVE SELF.
Kids Around the World Million Meal food packing event, Saturday September 24 and Sunday September 25. We will be working with fellow community members and Kiwanis Clubs are planning to volunteer, also. There are 5 different slots to volunteer: Sat. 9-11, 12-2, 3-5 or Sun. 1-3, 4-6. We have reserved 20 slots on Saturday from 9-11 and Sunday from 1-3. Please bring family and friends – this is an event for the whole family! Sign up at the next Rotary meeting or email runkymom@comcast.net.
Rotary Environmental Committee will help repurpose an old playground near Welsh School into a flower garden. More information to follow.
Northern Illinois Food Bank: Watch the announcements for more opportunities to help our neighbors in need. We plan to schedule at least one time per month.
RPS 205 Academy Expo is Wednesday, October 19 at the Indoor Sports Center. RPS 205 freshmen participate in the expo each year to learn from industry experts and see where each College and Career pathway can lead. Volunteers are needed to guide students through the areas. Signups will be available as the event approaches.
Here is the information on the "Delightful Daffodil" project sponsored by the Rotary Sustainability Committee, chaired by Russ Johansson.
DELIGHTFUL DAFFODILS
• Buy high-quality daffodil bulbs from Rockford Rotary and donate half for Memorial Hall’s new daffodil garden! Keep the other half for your garden, or give them all to Rotary, or give to family and friends.
• 100 bulbs from Holland are just $50 (in bags of 50). Large, firm bulbs are selected by Rotarian Tyler Smith, Certified Nurseryman and past president of Illinois Landscape Contractors Association.
• Daffodils are a sure sign of early spring, a welcome sight after a long winter. Plus, they are deer-resistant, hardy and easy to care for.
• Please order by Sept. 30 for early October delivery.
• Write your check to “Rockford Rotary Club” and mail to P.O. 1323, Rockford IL 61105
or bring the check to a Rotary meeting.
• Bulb pickup at Memorial Hall on Oct. 15. Perhaps some could stay and help us plant?
• You can help plant bulbs on Saturday, Oct. 15, 9 a.m. Rain date Oct. 22. Bring a shovel and dress appropriately.
• Delightful Daffodil is a project of Rockford Rotary’s Sustainability Committee.
Any questions, contact Russ Johansson - warrior44russ@gmail.com
Thank you for your help to beautify Memorial Hall and the Rockford Region!
District 6420 Governor Laura Kann will make her annual visit to Rockford Rotary on September 22, 2022. DG Laura is scheduled to meet with the Officers and Board of Directors prior to her presentation at our regular meeting. She will discuss RI President Jennifer Jones' goals for the 2022-23 Rotary Year and also her goals for District 6420 for this year. Laura will also tell us what she expects from Rockford Rotary during her year.
Laura Kann, past president and honorary member of the Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Georgia, has been selected to serve as Governor of Rotary International District 6420 in 2022-23.
Laura began her Rotary journey when she joined the Rotary Club of Dunwoody on September 24, 2004, having been proposed and sponsored by Marion Bunch. She resigned from the Club on June 30, 2018. The Rotary Club of Dunwoody elected Laura to honorary membership in 2018. Highlights from Laura’s tenure as a Dunwoody Rotarian will be published in an upcoming newsletter as an “Honorary Member Spotlight.”
Laura is now a very active member of the Rotary Club of Princeton, Illinois which she joined July 1, 2018. The Princeton Club is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2020. Laura serves on the Board of Directors and is also chair of the annual Rotary Auction for the club’s centennial year in 2020. In addition, she serves on the 100th Anniversary Committee, the Community Service Committee, and the Rotary Foundation Committee.
At the District level, Laura serves District 6420 as the District Grant Subcommittee Chair. In that role she is conducting three annual District Grant Management Training Seminars for Club Officers throughout the District. She also was a speaker at the 2019 District 6420 Conference and the 2019 District 6420 Foundation Dinner and speaks to Clubs about a wide range of Rotary Foundation topics.
Both Laura and her husband Charles (Wick) Warren worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Upon Wick’s retirement in December 2014, they moved from Decatur, Georgia to Princeton, Illinois to be near Laura’s mother and father. Soon after moving to Princeton in November 2014, Laura’s father, Douglas Kann, passed away in March of 2015.Douglas was a member of the Rotary Club of Princeton for over 40 years. Her mother, Lucille Kann, is now 88 years young.
Living in Princeton, Laura continued her service responsibilities for the Dunwoody Club and Rotary District 6900. She also continued working for the CDC, making monthly trips to Atlanta, until her retirement in August 2017.
We would encourage all of our members to show their support for the District Governor and attend this meeting either in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom. This will also be an excellent opportunity to bring a guest or prospective member so that they can learn about Rotary. Past District Governor Kathy Kwiat-Hess will introduce our Governor and act as Rotary Host.
Past President Linda Johnson will be conducting interactive activities which will allow us to get to know each other better. In accordance with the 5th Part of the Four Way Test, "This Will Be Fun!!!".
Linda is not giving out any further details, so you will have to show up and get ready to have some fun.
Honoring businesses with outstanding reputations based on:
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Nominations Open Until Sept 22
Nominate a company or your business for the highest honor the BBB can award a company. This powerful brand building award is open to all businesses in Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, JoDavies, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago.
The Social Committee would like to invite our Rotary members and guests to join us at the Women's Suffrage Plaza on Tuesday, September 27 at 5:00. Barbara Simon from the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee will be there to share the process and historical account of the sculpture. The location is the Riverfront of the YMCA at 200 Y Boulevard (just south of the Y Lodge) with parking along the river west of the YMCA. There are no seats, so people can either stand, sit on the retaining wall or bring a folding chair.
In a nutshell: August 18, 2020, marked 100 years to the day that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, recognizing women’s right to vote. The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Sculpture, Rockford’s first public art installation honoring women’s leadership and celebrating that momentous achievement, was dedicated on October 31, 2020.
After the presentation by Barbara Simon, we invite the members and guests to join us as we walk down the bike path to the Nicholas Conservatory Truck Night for dinner.
This event is weather permitting and any rescheduling due to inclement weather will be announced as necessary.
Food Truck Information: Alcohol must be purchased onsite. Alcohol consumption is limited to the circle drive area, pavilion, and terrace. No alcohol is allowed on the rec path and/ or riverbank We encourage cashless transactions to minimize cash handling.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call/text me at 815-222-0663 or email kmolson257@gmail.com
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