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Good afternoon again, Rotary baseball fans. We’ve completed two innings of play and the competition is heating up! The standings by division follow.

Northeast Division – The Kishwaukee Sunrise club has grown its lead slightly during inning #2, with another Single on top of the Home Run it scored in the first. Pecatonica, Rockford Cherry-Valley East, and Sycamore clubs are right behind with a Triple for Pecatonica and a Double for each RCVE and Sycamore. Loves Park and DeKalb are on the board with a Single each. Milder weather doesn’t seem to have cooled off any of the clubs in this division, they’re still red hot!

Mid-Central Division – Rochelle and Twin Cities continue to duke it out, with Rochelle maintaining its lead with a Homer over TC’s Triple. Byron, Dixon, Rock Falls, Sterling, and Walnut are well on their way to their first Singles. Keep an eye on this division, folks; it looks to be an exciting year for each of their clubs.

South-Central Division – The Ottawa Sunrise and Peru clubs are leading this division with a Single each. Closing the gap are Putnam County, Illinois Valley, LaSalle, Marseilles, Ottawa, and Sandwich. As fundraising efforts start to kick in for all 9 clubs in this division, who knows where each will end up by the first of year. Stay tuned!

West-Central Division – The River Cities club is growing its lead at the end of two, closing in on a Triple. Henry’s not far behind with a Single, with Geneseo and Morrison closing in on their first Singles. If past fundraising history is any indicator, all 7 clubs in this division will be in the thick of it by the middle innings.

Western Division – In the second inning, the Western division has really turned up the burning with Quad Cities having scored a Single on top of the Home Run it scored in the first. Hot on their heels is the Savanna club also with a Homer. Rock Island is very close behind with a Triple, and East Moline and Freeport with a Single each. But watch out, Twin Rivers is close to being on the board, so it’s still just about anybody’s game at this point. The next seven innings look to be exciting in the Western Division!

As Fall weather brings the Foundation teams indoors, watch for even more exciting fundraising projects. Stay tuned; don’t miss a minute of the action!

Rock Falls Fundraiser

The 2021 Greenery Sales for Rock Falls Rotary is live! You can order through the website at sherwoodfundraiser.com/RockFallsRotary through October 31 or you can submit a paper order with checks made out to Rock Falls Rotary and given to a club member by October 25. All prices include the cost of delivery to recipients within the lower 48 states ONLY. What a great gift to send to those far away! Any questions, contact Betty Clementz, Rock Falls Rotary, at tbclementz@gmail.com.

Clubs Work Together For Literacy

Three Local Rotary Clubs Support LIFE Literacy Program in Whiteside County.

Three Rotary Club Presidents and Grant Chairs presented a check for $8,000.00 to the L.I.F.E. literacy program of Whiteside County which distributes a book/month to children aged birth through age 5 through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

District Goals Established for 2021-2022

RYLA Goes VYRAL!! (UPDATE)

UPDATE!!!! The story below appeared on our website back in March, 2021. Since then, the August 6 session has been canceled and will be combined with the November 6 session. Please continue to help get the word out about this fun leadership webinar for our regional high school students. We plan to bring RYLA back LIVE in May of 2022!

When you think of some traditions of spring, I'm sure our annual RYLA event comes straight to mind. Each May, District 6420 normally hosts a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) weekend camp at Camp Lorado Taft in Oregon, IL, where over 100 regional high school student leaders band together to learn a little bit about themselves, leadership and have some fun. While COVID-19 resulted in a RYLA's cancellation in 2020, District 6420 is approaching this important event from a different angle in 2021. This year we'll be hosting a virtual leadership series titled "VYRAL".

VYRAL will include three separate virtual events highlight keynote speakers and leadership-oriented activities for our high school leaders. Students can attend one, two or all three events, which will occur on May 7, August 6 and November 6, 2021. Registration is still handled through local Rotary clubs, so we'll be relying on club presidents and members to help get the word out about VYRAL and get students signed up for the event. Our committee chair, Dave Diamond, provided a letter to club presidents about the event and their role (see it under "File Downloads" on the left hand side navigation bar.) Let's make this year's "special edition" of RYLA a success!

Playground Renovation in Belvidere

On October 14^th, 2020 the Belvidere Rotary Club and the Belvidere Park District held a dedication of the newly renovated playground at Bloom Playground in Belvidere Park. The new playground has a new soft rubber base especially beneficial to the participants of the Districts Northlands Association for Special Recreation (NASR).

The NASR program is a cooperative partnership between the Belvidere, Freeport, and Rockford Park Districts. Through the Belvidere Special Recreation Department of the Belvidere Park District, services are provided for high quality recreation programs and services to individuals, ages 3 through adulthood, with various mental and physical disabilities who reside within Belvidere and Boone County, Illinois. Included in the Bloom Playground is a Rotary International marble plaque in the ground by a tree and a bench by the zip line, also donated by the Belvidere Club.

The Belvidere Club contributed $19,530 toward the purchase of the new playground equipment, which included $2,300 from their District Grant.