At our 2026 Installation Picnic on June 29, 2026, I completed my tenure as Club President and passed the torch to our new President Ken Gilmore (Lead image for Newsletter). At the beginning of our meeting, I summarized some our Club accomplishments during the 2025-2026 Rotary Year.
Evolution as a Club/New Things:
Implemented Monthly Lunchtime Meetings
Implemented New Member Orientation Committee
Participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade after building a Rotary Float (image below)
Convened an All Club Holiday Party
Implemented New Type of Poles for our Flag Service Program
Media: Updated Instagram, Did stories on Facebook and Instagram, Did our First Reel
Membership:
Had 7 Club Assemblies on Membership
Recognized 6 New Paul Harris Fellows through our Circles (image below)
Inducted 5 New Members
Implemented a New Member Orientation Committee
Fundraising (excluding $2,682.10 in new grant funding):
We raised $39,500 for projects, scholarships, and grants through our John Montgomery Citrus Campaign and our Rotary Flag Service Project.
17 not-for-profit organizations and the Honor Flight received grants (2026 recipients shown below)
Scholarships were awarded to college students at Lincoln Land Community College and University of Illinois Springfield.
Communication (excludes special communications): 49 Rotary Weekly Bulletins/12 Monthly Newsletters
Social Media: 243 Posts: 154 Facebook Posts and 89 Instagram Posts
Facebook Post Categories: Speakers (36), Social Nights/Fun (22), Community Service (20), Youth Services (12), Membership/Members (12), Club Presentation (7), Other, i.e. - District Meeting (7), St. Patrick’s Day Float (5), Foundation Night (5), Flag Service (4), Family Day at the Ballpark (4), Baby Layette District Grant (4), Little Libraries (4), Word Up of Central Illinois/Parents As Teachers Board Book Literacy Grant (2), Dhakalthok Drinking Water Project Grant (2), Citrus Fundraiser (2), Grants Night (2), Scholarships (2), Polio (2), Peace Builder Project (1), Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce Events (1)
Speakers: 24 Speakers
Erin Shue – Safe Families for Children; Kevin Seals & Sarah Jimenez – Springfield Rail Project and Bike Path; Barbara Rochelle, Renee Scott, Lillian Beams – Fishes and Loaves; Amy Rasing – Springfield Director of Economic Development; Bill Knake – District 6460 Governor; Amy Voils – MERCY Communities; Miranda Smith – Emerald Gardens; Andrea Aggerti – Architect of the Capitol (image below); Chris Richmond – Pillsbury Project; Taichi Fukumura, Trevor Orthman – Illinois Symphony Orchestra; Larry Golden – Illinois Innocence Project; Bob Stuart – Rotarian; Sharon Brown – Kumler Outreach Ministries; Adam Dater – Journalist; John Stremsterfer – CFLL; Linda Johnson – Word Up of Central Illinois; Elisa Fox – Kidzeum; Ashley Dillingham – Prairie Education and Research Cooperative; Sarah Dillingham – R & R Bindery
Guests: 62 Guests (excludes Speakers) – 5 became members
Social Nights: 10 Social Nights
Scheduled Night (7): Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, Brickhouse Grill & Pub, Westwoods Lodge Pub & Grill (image above), Papa Frank’s, Engrained Brewing Co., Saputo’s, and Gabatoni’s Italian Restaurant.
Special Night (3): Holiday Party (image below) , Illinois Symphony Orchestra, LRS Automobile and Motorcycle Collection (see article in this Newsletter)
Community Service (excluding grants): 10 Community Service Events Benefiting a Community Entity & their Service Population
Ridgely Elementary School Micro-Pantry (first image below) and Little Library, other Little Libraries, United Way Days of Action (second image below), Outlet Peace Quilt (third image) and Clothing Organization Projects, Build a Bed (fourth image below), MLK Breakfast, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Rotary Community Blood Drive, Iles Community Garden, RISE Professional Clothing Drive, Rutledge Youth Foundation Angel Tree
Grants: 3 Grant Projects Completed During the Year - Dhakalthok Drinking Water Project (Global Grant) (first image below); Baby Layette/Kumler (District Grant) (second image below); Board Books/Word Up of Central & Parents As Teachers (Literacy Grant) (third image below),
July is bursting in like a firecracker! There are several sign-up link opportunities I wanted to share with you now to provide you with additional time to register for some or all of the offerings.
To reserve your meal at Maldaners, I am trying a different format this year instead of the Air Table. For each meal, I will send out a separate link for you to use to sign-up. While I know the chef is wonderful to make additional food in case some people forget to sign up, I would like to try has hard as possible for everyone to sign up if they plan to attend a meeting. When I talked to them for the upcoming year, I was told they truly prefer a six day advance notice to make sure adequate accommodations are provided to us.
Here are the two sign-ups for July
Meal RSVP Form for Monday, July 6, 2026 at 11:50 a.m.
Consider wearing red, white or blue or all three colors to dinner!
The Summer Leadership Conference is also in July and will be held in Springfield. The deadline to register is now July 3 so there is still time to join us at the Crowne Plaza on July 11.
Summer Leadership Seminar in Springfield on July 11
The Micro Pantry schedule has been updated with two week volunteer slots. We have volunteers until July 12 but after that there are openings until November 29. If you or a partner would consider signing up for a two week slot to keep the pantry stocked, you would be doing those families a huge service.
The summer installation picnic is always a highlight for our Rotary Club because we celebrate the accomplishments of the current president and board and welcome and install our new Leadership Team. With the heat index of 102 degrees, we also celebrated our picnic, catered by Maldaners, inside at the cool and comfortable Stone Creek Club House. The first part of our meeting was dedicated to the accomplishments of the 2025-2026 Rotary Year.
John welcomed the members and guests (image above) to the meeting and asked Rod Buffington to give the motivational moment. Rod (image) got us off to great start by praising John's leadership as president and highlighting some of his many accomplishments.
John wrapped up his successful year by sharing the highlights of the year (see the President's comments in this Newsletter) and also by showcasing the efforts of so many members who served in leadership roles this year,
He thanked Rotary Assistant Governor Mark Hilliard (image below) for participating in so many of our meetings and the installation picnic and for providing guidance and sheepishly presented him with a gift card to the Brick House Restaurant where he regularly attends the meetings of his Rotary Club.
He acknowledged Jim Applegate for his stellar work chairing the Peace Committee and in honor of his successful weight loss program, he presented him with a gift card to Dairy Queen.
He presented Certificates of Appreciation to Board Members and other club members who provided exemplary service:
He thanked Rod Buffington, Sheila Mack, and Brandy Zanger (image below) for their successful work as the committee for the All Club Holiday Party. John also recognized Rosemary Buffington for getting the fee waived for the use of the Christ the King Parrish Hall for the Holiday Party
He thanked Vicki Megginson (image below) for being the instigator and leader of the New Member Orientation Committee.
He recognized Bill Smith for his tireless work for the John Montgomery Citrus Campaign, including management of the warehouse. John presented Bill with a certificate and a special box of chocolate-covered citrus candy.
He praised John Loftus (image below) for his leadership on the Flag Service Committee and his skill in Ringing the Bell's for the Salvation Army with him.
He recognized Ross Hodel for his work as Sargent at Arms, including scheduling the presenters for the motivational moments.
He acknowledged Roger Randolph for his exemplary work on the creation of the first Rotary Float for the Springfield St. Patty's Day Parade (see image in President's comments), and for all his his work establishing the installation routes for our Flag Service Project. Roger was unable to attend but was with us in spirit.
He highlighted contributions of At Large Board members Bonnie Styles, Allie Montney, and Barry Tobias (image below), as well as Loretta Meeks (who was unable to attend meetings but contributed her ideas and talents). He thanked Bonnie for her work as PR Chair and Rotary Newsletter editor; Allie for her work overseeing the stocking of the Ridgely Micropantry and our Little Libraries at multiple facilities; and Barry for his guidance, technological expertise, and work on many fronts.
He acknowledged Bob Stuart (who was unable to attend this meeting) for his expertise and guidance on Rotary International, for chairing the International Service Committee, and for directing our Nepal Water projecr (see image in President's Message).
He praised Marty Michelson for all his work as Club Secretary, staffing the check-in desk at meetings, taking attendance, listing guests, and so much more
He thanked Jim Theis for being an excellent Treasurer and for always tellling him that money was available when needed for Rotary projects.
He gratefully acknowledged Randy Erford for all his work with Club Services, including finding great speakers, and also for being his driving companion for the weekly club meetings.
John also presented special service above self plaques to three members of his Leadership Team:
He acknowledged Travis Magoulias for all his generous work as Youth Services Director for the last 1.5 years, and especially for all his work with our Rotary exchange students and the Community Interact Club.
He recognized the many contributions of Ken Gilmore for his work as Community Services Director, including modernization of volunteer sign up and all his work as President-Elect, as well as his contributions to the PR Committee and social media.
Finally he praised Harry Mitchell for his exemplary work as Membership Chair, including leading numerous club assemblies on the topic, and for serving as an excellent mentor and performing as an all-star on all things Rotary.
We all thank John and his team for making the 2025-2026 Rotary year a time of accomplishments and growth.
The second part of our June 30 Installation Picnic was dedicated to the installation of officers and board members for the 2026-2027 Rotary Year. Vicki Megginson took the lead for the installation ceremony and was joined by Assistant Governor Mark Hillard, and outgoing Club President John Webb. Their first action was to install Ken Gilmore as the new Club President, administer the pledge of office, and present him with his new badge (images below).
Then Jim Theis (image to left) and Marty Michelson (image below) were sworn in for additional terms as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.
Finally all the officer and Board members were asked to stand and take the oath of office (image below).
The following Officers and Board Members pledged to do their jobs:
President Elect: Ashley Dillingham
Past President: John Webb
Treasurer: Jim Theis
Secretary: Marty Michelson
Membership Director/Chair: Harry Mitchell
Community Service Director: Brandy Zanger
Club Service Director: Randy Erford
International Service Director: Bob Stuart (in absentia)
Director at Large and Public Relations Chair: Dr. Bonnie Styles
Director at Large: Sheila Mack
Director at Large: Allison Montney
Driector at Large: Dr. Lorettta Meeks ( in absentia)
Sargent at Arms: Ross Hodel
As his first act of duty, President Ken Gilmore thanked John again for his stellar performance as Club President and presented him with his president's plaque (image to left) and a Rotary tile (image below).
Ken called up Barry Tobias to present some additional gifts to John. Barry presented John with two gifts acknowledging his passion for tennis--a mug (image to left) and a t-shirt (two images below).
Ken (image below) concluded the meeting by reviewing some of his plans for the new Rotary Year, including an audacious goal to increase our membership by 20. He exclaimed that we will dream big and show off our events and activities, and people will want to be a part of it. We look forward to his tenure as president.
Please remember that we are including some noon meetings at Maldaners and social night meetings at locations other than Maldaners. Please pay attention to the meeting schedule listed in the Newsletter, on our website home page (www.spirotary.org), and on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for the dates and locations of the meetings.
July 6, 2026 Rotary Lunch Club Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs, 11:50 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Thien Beaty, Rotary Outbound Exchange Student: A Preview of My Introductory Message to High School Students in the Phillippines
Thien is Springfield Southeast High School Student and a member of the Community Interact Club. The Springfield Sunrise Rotary Club is sponsoring him as an Rotary International Outbound Exchange Student. He will spend his junior year of high school in the Phillippines. He will attend the Southgate Institute in the city of Malyar in the Batangas Province of the Phillippines. He will preview for us his talk that he will give to his student counterparts in the Phillippines. He will cover key aspects of his life as a high school student in Springfield. Thien's interests include all things intercultural such as learning new languages, preparing for the exchange, trying new foods, traveling, and meeting new people. I also enjoys playing basketball and Chess, being with friends and family, and serving in the Interact Club. He looks forward to an exciting year of learning Filipino culture and lauguages while studying and connecting with new friends at the Southgate Institute of Malvar. He also anticipates spending quality time with his Filipino host families and to serving with the Rotary Club of Malvar.
July 13 No Rotary Club Meeting
July 20 Rotary Club Board Meeting
Maldaners Upstairs, 4:00 p.m.
Rotary Club Meeting, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Maldaners Upstairs
Kate McKenzie: the Illinois Times
Join us to meet and hear from Kate McKenzie (image below), the new CEO of the Illinois Times, talk about the plans to sustain this successful, home-grown, non-profit newspaper.
July 27 Rotary Off-Site Social Night
Golden Corral, 5:00 p.m.
The Golden Corral is located on at 1038 Lejune Drive, Springfield, IL 62703. You can't miss it because the grounds are lined by Rotary Flags. Please consider wearing read, white, and blue in honor of all our flags.
Our Club helped sponsor Eva Pan as a Rotary Inbound Exchange student from Taiwan. On June 1, she gave her final presentation to our Club (image below). She departed Illinois on June 27 for trip home to Taiwan.
June 1 was a special day for our Club as she shared with us her experiences, accomplishments, and observations in Springfield and America during the past year. She participated in our 50-50 drawing, and followed our long-standing tradition of drawing the wrong card with a smile (image on left). We celebrated the occasion with cake (first image below) and flag exchanges (second image below).
Eva noted she was away from home a long time, but the time went by fast and her experiences and accomplishments were many. They included finishing two semesters of high school, playing in 6 concerts, performing violin solos, including one at our holiday party (image on left), attending homecoming and Prom (image below), visiting 13 cities, and carving her first pumpkin.
As impressive Eva’s numerous experiences and accomplishments are, what is truly striking is her observations and reflections on what she learned about herself and how she grew during her time in Springfield. She evolved through:
• Developing a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Taiwan as she frequently represented her country and shared its culture with others.
• Discovering how much she valued home, family, and friends through the experience of homesickness.
• Building confidence, trusting herself more, and becoming more willing to speak up, participate, and embrace new opportunities.
• Letting go of unnecessary worries and realizing she does not need to have every detail figured out before taking the next step.
• Strengthening her English skills to the point that she now thinks in English more than she did in Taiwan.
Our Club appreciates its time and interaction with Eva. She wowed us with her expressive artistry on the violin, impressed us with her excellent mastery of English, and we couldn’t help but take notice of personal growth and mature attitudes. Her participation in club meetings and activities made her a welcome presence within our Club.
We are confident that Eva will succeed in cultivating her interest in economics and navigating her questions about society’s future. We wish her the very best! Her time with us went by quickly, and on June 27, we took her to the airport for her return trip home.
Thanks to the success of our fundraisers this Rotary year, we’re proud to share that $39,500 was raised and given back to our community through projects, scholarships, and grants!
This Monday evening at Maldaner’s Upstairs, our Club gathered to celebrate giving back by awarding community grants to 13 incredible local nonprofits (image below). A donation was also provided to the Land of Lincoln Honor Fights. These grants were allocated by our Springfield Rotary Foundation Board of Directors.
Foundation Board President Barry Tobias (image below) had the honor of presenting the grants to the representatives in attendance.
Monday night grant recipients were:
• Beerlahai Roi Women’s Ministries
• Compass for Kids
• Contact Ministries
• Fishes and Loaves
• Helping Hands of Springfield
• Kumler United Methodist Church Outreach Ministries
• Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries (first image below)
• MERCY Communities
• Mini O’ Beirne Crisis Nursery
• Ridgely Elementary School (second image below)
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace
• Wooden It Be Lovely
• WordUp of Central Illinois (third image below)
• Land of Lincoln Honor Flights
Grants have also been given by our Club to the Central Illinois Tennis Association, Frontiers International Springfield, Peace Lutheran Church and the Youth Service Bureau.
Our Club is inspired by each of these organizations and the difference they make in the lives of so many within our community.
On June 15, our members and a few guests (image below) had the opportunity to tour the Levi Automobile and Motorcycle Collection at the Levi, Ray and Shoup (LRS) Hangar at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois.
Guided by LRS Pilot Jeff Bowles (left side of image below), we explored an impressive collection of classic and modern muscle cars ( second image below) and supercars, vintage and modern motorcycles (third image below), including more than 30 Harley-Davidsons.as well as couple of airplanes.
One of the highlights was stepping inside the LRS private jet (image on left) and experiencing the cockpit firsthand. Throughout the tour, we were amazed by pristine condition of the vehicles on display (some of which have never even been driven) and their individual histories (images below).
A special thank you to LRS and Jeff Bowles for their hospitality and for sharing this extraordinary collection with our Club. It was an unforgettable evening and a lot of fun!
We thank all the club members, family members, and friends who helped us deploy flags for our 2026 Flag Service Project. On Wednesday May 13 we initiated the 2026 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The process was completed by Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day on May 25!
The task involved being part of two person teams that delivered the flags from our warehouse to our customers. We used routing software to create routes of approximately 25 homes. The flags were dropped into plastic conduits in the customers lawns that have been previously installed by other volunteers. They were topped with a bright red plastic cap. Our hearts burst with joy when, after several minutes crawling on the ground, we spotted that red cap and were able to deploy a flag. We also installed a solar powered light for each flag. Then we moved on to the next address.
One member of the team had to have a vehicle capable of carrying ten foot flags. A route took as much as 4-5 hours to complete.
The flags will remain out until after the September 11 holiday. They will need to be picked up and returned to the warehouse in the week starting Monday September 14. If you did not help with the deployment this year, then please consider helping with flag removal or with another task or helping next year.
We also need volunteers to install the conduits for new customers. This involves physical exertion. First select a spot on the customers property usually five feet from a sidewalk and five feet from a driveway, Then, using a sledge hammer you must drive a one inch diameter lead pipe 16 inches into the ground. After removing the pipe replace it with a 16 inch tube of PVC conduit. Then place a heavy metal washer around the conduit. (Sometimes it is necessary to use a metal detector to find the conduits.) Then place a bright red plastic cap on the conduit.
If you can return as a volunteer or want to be a new participant, please let me know. It can be a lot of fun and we raise $30,000 for our community grants program and other projects from the effort.
You can sign up to volunteer to fill the Ridgely Micropantry by using the Signup Genius App. Just download the app and sign up for a one week or two week timeframe that works best for you or you and a friend. What a great way to make a difference. Thank you!
Ridgely Micro-Pantry: Fall Dates Added to SignUp Genius
Please consider signing up for a two-week commitment to stock the pantry or partner with a friend. The link provided takes you to the sign-up sheet located online using the SignUp Genius program. The Signup Genius link is listed below to sign up and allows you to reserve those dates and to also shows which timeframes are unfilled. The app will also send you a reminder closer to your volunteer date.
Thanks to Bonnie Styles and Harry Mitchell for stocking the pantry in June, 2026
It's open season for volunteering by yourself, with your family or by partnering with another Rotarian. Also, if you have friends or acquaintances who would like to volunteer, please share the sign-up link and we will give them lots of praise for making a difference.
You can sign up to stock the Ridgely Micropantry using the new Sign-Up Genius online system featured in the above article by Ken Gilmore.
Please sign up. There are numerous empty slots.
I appreciate your help!
Thank you for signing up for a micropantry volunteer shift. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by the community we serve.
Members who have supported this program realize the price of food and other products stocked in the pantry have become more expensive. Under a new program, a member may be reimbursed up to $100 when a purchase is made for the food pantry. Funding for this reimbursement was made possible by donations in the amount $1,739, which were received at the Rotary Open House in December 2024 that I hosted at my home
Below are the details including the location of the pantry, and suggestions on items to collect and distribute. If you are unable to complete your shift, please reach out and we'll work on a better period of time to meet your needs. If you have suggestions for future volunteers, please let me know and we'll adapt the program along the way.
.
Ridgely Elementary School
2040 North 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62702
Main entrance to the school (look for the yellow and purple pantry by the front doors).
The image below shows the location of the pantry at the entrance to the school.
These suggestions came from people who use food pantries to help feed their families.
1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter, which is difficult to get from regular food banks. 2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal, which they also get a lot of. 3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles. 4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.* 5. Oil is a luxury and needed for Rice a-Roni, which they also get a lot of. 6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Holiday gift. 7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care. 8. Sugar and flour are treats. 9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores. 10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some. 11. They rarely get fresh meat. 12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch. 13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef. 14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread. 15. Butter or margarine is nice too. 16. Eggs are a real commodity. 17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake. 18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated. 19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that. 20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.
The image below shows a fully stocked pantry.
The image below shows the empty micropantry before I stocked it in January 2026. This is why you need to sign up! The pantry is almost always empty when we show up to stock it. The need for nutritious food is great in the community surrounding our micropantry. .
Feel free to contact me.
Micro Pantry Coordinator: Allie Montney with assistance from John Webb
Phone 217-494-6901 (for the quickest response, please text)
Things I've noticed that may be helpful: During the school year, stocking the pantry on a weekend or after 4:00PM during the weekdays means fewer people and it's easier to get a parking spot. Ask friends and family to donate unused household items for the pantry that you can collect. If purchasing bags of fresh fruit or veggies, stock them individually so that more in need can take what they need. ALDI grocery stores have prices that cannot be beat. Be sure to stock appropriately for the season so that fresh foods do not spoil.
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? The Rotarians in this image are helping pack essential items for the Illinois Police Department to give to homeless individuals in our community. As a Rotarian, you adhere to the principles of the 4-way Test., which are:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you find value in these ideals and want to be part of a great organization, right click on the attached link to open our online Membership Applicationin a new window. You can also click on this link to download an electronic copy of the Membership Application from our Club's website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) in the Download Files section. You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at hmitchell11@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. You will be able to enter your hours and correctly assign them to the correct Rotary Calendar year. Just follow this link:
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at bonstyles@yahoo.com. It's easy to take pictures if you have a smartphone, but even an old style camera works just fine. Send me an email (bonstyles@yahoo.com) to let me know when you will be volunteering for a service project, and I will come out and take some images.
Be sure to turn in your hours for any volunteering that you do on behalf of Rotary.
We offer special thanks to Bonnie Styles and Harry Mitchell for stocking the food pantry at Ridgely School during June 2026. Bonnie stocked the pantry every two days (image below) during her two week shift and had some help from food donations from the SPI Micropanty Helpers. They purchased food using monies donated to the group and made food available to members of the group on Thursdays during June. Please sign up to help stock the pantry, it is vitally important in the community surrounding the school. A fully stocked pantry is depleted of food n about two days.
Carolyn Chambers from the SPI Micropantry Helpers group also brought boxes of donated books and made them available to members of the group. Bonnie took three boxes of books and used the children's books to stock the Little Library at Ridgely School during the time she was stocking the pantry (image below).
She transferred the books for older children and adults to Allie Montney for use in the other Little Libraries that our Club stocks. If you are interested in helping stock the little libraries, let Allie know.
To reserve your meal at Maldaners, I am trying a different format this year instead of the Air Table. For each meal, I will send out a separate link for you to use to sign-up. While I know the chef is wonderful to make additional food in case some people forget to sign up, I would like to try has hard as possible for everyone to sign up if they plan to attend a meeting. When I talked to them for the upcoming year, I was told they truly prefer a six day advance notice to make sure adequate accommodations are provided to us.
Then Jim Theis (image to left) and Marty Michelson (image below) were sworn in for additional terms as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.
As his first act of duty, President Ken Gilmore thanked John again for his stellar performance as Club President and presented him with his president's plaque (image to left) and a Rotary tile (image below).
Ken called up Barry Tobias to present some additional gifts to John. Barry presented John with two gifts acknowledging his passion for tennis--a mug (image to left) and a t-shirt (two images below).
:
Thien is Springfield Southeast High School Student and a member of the Community Interact Club. The Springfield Sunrise Rotary Club is sponsoring him as an Rotary International Outbound Exchange Student. He will spend his junior year of high school in the Phillippines. He will attend the Southgate Institute in the city of Malyar in the Batangas Province of the Phillippines. He will preview for us his talk that he will give to his student counterparts in the Phillippines. He will cover key aspects of his life as a high school student in Springfield. Thien's interests include all things intercultural such as learning new languages, preparing for the exchange, trying new foods, traveling, and meeting new people. I also enjoys playing basketball and Chess, being with friends and family, and serving in the Interact Club. He looks forward to an exciting year of learning Filipino culture and lauguages while studying and connecting with new friends at the Southgate Institute of Malvar. He also anticipates spending quality time with his Filipino host families and to serving with the Rotary Club of Malvar. 
June 1 was a special day for our Club as she shared with us her experiences, accomplishments, and observations in Springfield and America during the past year. She participated in our 50-50 drawing, and followed our long-standing tradition of drawing the wrong card with a smile (image on left). We celebrated the occasion with cake (first image below) and flag exchanges (second image below).
Eva noted she was away from home a long time, but the time went by fast and her experiences and accomplishments were many. They included finishing two semesters of high school, playing in 6 concerts, performing violin solos, including one at our holiday party (image on left), attending homecoming and Prom (image below), visiting 13 cities, and carving her first pumpkin.
One of the highlights was stepping inside the LRS private jet (image on left) and experiencing the cockpit firsthand. Throughout the tour, we were amazed by pristine condition of the vehicles on display (some of which have never even been driven) and their individual histories (images below).
We thank all the club members, family members, and friends who helped us deploy flags for our 2026 Flag Service Project. On Wednesday May 13 we initiated the 2026 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The process was completed by Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day on May 25! 
