The holidays are upon us and the year end is fast approaching. January brings the beginning of the Rotary training cycle. In an organization that replaces its leadership on a yearly basis (President of Rotary International, District Governors and Club Presidents) it is necessary to complete training on an annual basis. Yes even if you have been president more than once!
I attended International Assembly last January and Tom Brooks will be attending this year. Honestly the training for District Governor is a 3 year process accomplished at Zone Institute for the 2 years prior to beginning our term and culminating at the International Assembly where the District Governors from all over the world finish the training process. Plenaries and Sessions are conducted in 7 languages and attendance is mandatory!
Two students from East Coloma-Nelson were in costume for a photo op at US Bank in Rock Falls during the Hometown Holiday celebration: Elizabeth Lombardo as Thing I and Elyse Stevens as Thing 2. Back row are the Rotarians who were on site to hand out stickers and literacy tips: to more than 160 participants: ( left to righ) Pam Erby, Dave Chavira, President, Cheryl Faber, Gail Wright, Darla Ewing, and Betty Clementz.
We are quickly approaching the halfway point in our Rotary year. If you haven’t already made your annual contribution to The Rotary Foundation, this would be a great time to do so. Giving Tuesday is on December 3. Consider encouraging family and friends to make this their charity of choice to contribute to on that day. We have encouraged clubs with Facebook pages to put the word out for contributions on that day. Charity Navigator has give TRF a four-star rating for the 12th year in a row, something that has happened to only 1% of charities they evaluate.
We are pleased to announce that the Northern Winnebago County Rotary Club has changed its name to the Rockton-Roscoe Rotary club. Our club received its charter in 1959 and has been serving the communities of Rockton, Roscoe, Shirland, South Beloit, and the surrounding area since that time. We will continue to serve these communities and are looking forward to expanding our service locally and globally.
This is the first step in our re-branding initiative after completing the Rotary health check. If you haven’t conducted a Rotary health check, we recommend it. It’s a great exercise to step back and take a moment to honor the past and establish the areas of focus for the future. If you are interested in learning more about the Rotary health check, our re-branding initiative, or want to join us for breakfast, please contact Melissa McCormick, President, at 815-289-5823 or mccormick.m.melissa@gmail.com. We meet at Sofia’s in Roscoe at 7:00 a.m. on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.
Walking tacos, cinnamon rolls, and apple cobbler were the popular items at the recent Roscoe PTO sponsored Happy Holidays Craft & Vendor Fair on November 9, 2019. This was a great opportunity to collaborate and provide service to a local school PTO. The Rockton-Roscoe Rotary club served over 300 walking tacos to vendors, crafters, and shoppers. If you’re looking for a product that will fly off the shelves and help increase your fundraising dollars, sell Doritos walking tacos from Frito Lay. #walkingtacosrock #rocktonroscoerotary #rotaryfundraising
Rock Falls Rotarian Cheryl Faber is sharing with third grade students of Mrs. Anderson of Merrill School how to use a dictionary and sharing the wealth of information beyond vocabulary found in this version of an age-appropriate dictionary. Dictionaries were distributed to students of East Coloma-Nelson, Merrill, Montmorency, Thome, and St. Andrew schools
as a part of the American Education Week literacy effort by Rock Falls Rotary.
Illinois Valley Community College Rotaract Club received its Rotary Charter in a celebration held at the college campus in Oglesby on November 18. College Administrators, our District Governor line, and many area Rotarians and Interact members were also in attendance to launch our District’s newest Club.
Even the ceremonies demonstrated the importance of Rotary leadership! Opening remarks were made by College President Jerry Corcoran (LaSalle Rotarian), College Board of Trustees President Jane Goetz (Ottawa Sunrise Rotarian and Assistant Governor), District Governor Bobbi Burke (Rochelle Rotarian), Faculty Advisors Mark Grzybowski and Chris Jauch (Peru Rotarians), and PDG Scott Shore Putnam County Rotarian and District Youth Services Co-Chair).
The first efforts to found IVCC Rotaract began with PC Rotarian Adriane Shore’s early contacts with Past Rotarian Fran Brolley, IVCC Director of Community Relations and Development.
PDG Scott Shore, as District Youth Services Co-Chair, and DG Bobbi Burke, present Rotary’s official charter to IVCC Rotaract President Grace McCormick.
For the past three years, the Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary has funded a $10,000 community grant focused on children, youth and families of DeKalb County. One 2019 recipient, Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), recently provided some feedback on the impact of the grant. CASA provides advocates for abused and neglected children who are involved in some type of legal process. Being an advocate requires a good deal of specialized training and CASA's grant submission requested funding to increase their capacity for training additional, much needed, volunteers to meet the needs of the children and youth of DeKalb County.
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