It's rewarding to help our community! We presented checks to two recipients of Springfield Rotary Foundation Grants at our June 7 meeting (See story below), and will be presenting more at coming meetings.
The response has been great for the Installation Picnic for our President-Elect Barry Tobias! Thank you to Tony and Jan Williams for hosting this fun event at their home. And Tony will be grilling burgers and brats in addition to the picnic meal catered by Maldaners, including pulled pork.
Here are a few details. Please bring your own chairs and perhaps a spare or two in case people need a chair. Tables will be provided, as will picnic tableware. Chilled water will be provided, but feel free to bring any other beverages you wish. The driveway will be kept open for dropping people off, but there is plenty of parking on the adjacent street.
Prepare to celebrate a unique year and the promise of an excellent year coming! The image above illustrates the fun we had at last year's installation picnic in Tony and Jan William's yard. Please join us.
Fruits of Our Labors
At our June 7 club meeting, club member and Assistant Governor Harry Mitchell (image to right) told of how our Club raised $40,000 selling citrus when the club was larger. He added that by adding the Flag Rental Program and the John Montgomery Fishing Tournament on top of the Brag a Bucks and 50/50, we are approaching that amount of money to give back to the community again. And the Baseball Literacy tickets sold by our club under Rod Buffington, even in a year without fans at the games, have raised thousands of dollars more. Bill Smith shared that we have exceeded renting out over 500 flags and we are distributing almost $36,000 in grants, scholarships, and support for Land of Lincoln Honor Flights. To read more about the 2021 grants, check out the June 4 Newsletter and the feature story on our club website home page (www.spirotary.com).
Every dollar we give out comes from direct actions of our Club members. Volunteer hours spent planning and implementing the various programs are enormous, and club members selling and persuading people to contribute and sponsor have made a huge difference. And club members have really stepped up with bragging and wagering! The Rotary Club of Springfield has a long and proud history of raising money to give back to the community. Over $1.3 million has been raised since 1975 selling citrus. Much has been raised in the few years we have rented flags and hosted fishermen! Baseball Literacy fundraising through the District has brought in over $500,000 to communities in west central Illinois.
A great strength of this Club is its generosity of time and money. We are so fortunate to have new members who jump in and get involved in things they have never experienced. Thank you all for leading and doing and sharing and trusting and giving. Our community is better for all you do.
An Opportunity to Help with Flag Service
We have the opportunity to rent out even more flags but are being careful not to put too much on the volunteers working on the program. To our new members, we have an opportunity for you to see how it works. After July 4, we take down and store the flags until the week before Labor Day. The routes established for installing the flags will remain the same for flag pick up. We will roll up the flags, gather the solar lights, replace the caps on the conduit in the ground, and return them to storage. This would be an excellent chance to see how it works, and then help the next time around if it feels comfortable for you. We typically pair up to complete a route, and club members are willing to take new members out to pick up flags. Interested? Let John Loftus (jlloftus@aol.com or 217-793-2708) or Marty Michelson (exdirector@rutledgeyouthfoundation.com or 217-415-5449) know, and they’ll pair you up. Share in the fun!
Go The Extra Mile 5K
Mark your calendars! The 5k is confirmed for October 30 at Southwind Park. This will be a morning event. Being a live event rather than virtual, the planning and actual event needs for volunteers will be different. The event logo is ready and the date is being inserted. Public promotion will begin in August but volunteers for planning and doing the pre-race activity will be needed soon. Contact me if you are interested in helping.
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1862556377@webex.com You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. From the Cisco internal network, dial *777* and the 9-digit meeting number. If you are the host, enter your PIN when prompted.
If you are a host, click here to view host information.
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstairs and curbside pickup for the June 14, 2021 meeting is:
Salmon
Pasta
Chef's Choice of Salad and Dessert
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, June 13 at 5:00 p.m. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup by clicking:
Contact Dave Kromphardt at dkromphardt@yahoo.com only if you have a late change.
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food and the meals are delicious.
At our June 7, 2021, Springfield Rotary Foundation President Rod Buffington and Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith presented grant checks to two recipients of 2021 Springfield Rotary Foundation Grants. They presented the first grant check to Shawna Harris for Catholic Charities to support provision of meals by St. John's Breadline (lead image). Shawna (image to left) reported that St. John's breadline provides nutritious meals free to anyone who needs it. Currently about 200-300 meals are served daily. During the pandemic hot meals are being prepared and packed into containers for individuals to pick up. Our grant will help support the cost of the disposable items for the to-go containers too so that more money is available for the purchase of food. Shawna described the need for volunteers to distribute the food. She invited those interested in volunteering to call 217-528-6098 and ask for Shawna or Victoria.
The second check was presented Dave Newton for Compass for Kids (image to right). Dave noted that the mission of Compass for Kids is to provide academic and social-emotional support to empower at-risk children and families. They have innovative school year and summer programs that support at-risk children in Springfield School District 186. Dave talked about the fundamental importance of addressing hunger among these students, especially during the pandemic. Our grant will help support the Backpack Feeding Program. This program provides nutritious food that is sent home to students each week.
At our June 7, 2021 we welcomed new members, Megan Norman and Garrett Kinkelaar, to our club with an induction ceremony. Membership Chair Travis Magoulias, with assistance from President Dave Kromphardt and the mentors for the new members conducted the ceremony. You can see from the images (above and to the left) that the ceremony was celebratory and warm. Stacy Kelly is serving as Megan's mentor and presented her with her Rotary pin. Bob Stuart, mentor for Garrett, presented him with his pin (image on left).
After club members welcomed these new members with a standing ovation, each was invited to speak a bit about themselves and was challenged to reveal their favorite genre of music.
Megan is the Community Relations Coordinator for Familia Dental and joined Rotary to serve the community. She said that music by the Dave Mathews Band is her favorite. Garrett Kinkelaar is an attorney with Brown, Hay &Stephens, LLP and he also joined Rotary to give back to the community. His favorite genre of music is Irish Punk Rock, and he loves the Buccaneers.
Regardless of their tastes in music, we are thrilled to have these two Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Springfield.
At the last several meetings, Stacy Kelly, Club Services Director, updated us on some upcoming programs. Here are some dates to mark on your calendar. Watch for more details on these meetings and programs in upcoming Newsletters. Links to the most recent three Newsletters are posted on our Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org)
June 14: Hybrid Club Meeting at Maldaners and Online. Meet some Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) students and learn about their plans for a summer community service project.
June 21: Hybrid Club Meeting at Maldaners and Online. Return speaker from our New Normal Series Karl Barnhart, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Brandt Co., will join us in person to update us on the New Normal for Agriculture
June 28: Installation of New Rotary Officers. Outdoor Barbecue at Tony & Jan Williams Home!
We thank club and other volunteers for monitoring and stocking the Ridgely micro-pantry (image on left) this spring and summer. Other volunteers are also providing food, and health, paper and cleaning items, and our task is to make sure it continues to be well stocked. Nutritious food items such as fresh produce and protein-rich foods, as well as toilet paper and other toiletries are always in demand. We are looking for volunteers who will monitor for a two week periods this summer. Contact Vicki Megginson at megginson.vicki@gmail.com to sign up for a shift or learn more.
Stocking Books in Little Libraries
If you want to volunteer to stock books in the four Little Libraries that we built with support from our District Literacy Grant, contact Dave Kromphardt at dkromphardt@yahoo.com or 815-488-2787.
Volunteers for Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing
Rotarians are needed to staff an information table to promote Rotary at the Chamber of Commerce Golf Outings on the afternoon of July 22 and 23. Rotarians who did this last year said it was an enjoyable experience and it could attract new members. If you are interested in helping with this event, please let Dave Kromphardt or Vicki Megginson know.
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 Membership Application in a new window. You can also download a 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 illinoisdelta@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
The response has been great for the Installation Picnic for our President-Elect Barry Tobias! Thank you to Tony and Jan Williams for hosting this fun event at their home. And Tony will be grilling burgers and brats in addition to the picnic meal catered by Maldaners, including pulled pork.
At our June 7 club meeting, club member and Assistant Governor Harry Mitchell (image to right) told of how our Club raised $40,000 selling citrus when the club was larger. He added that by adding the Flag Rental Program and the John Montgomery Fishing Tournament on top of the Brag a Bucks and 50/50, we are approaching that amount of money to give back to the community again. And the Baseball Literacy tickets sold by our club under Rod Buffington, even in a year without fans at the games, have raised thousands of dollars more. Bill Smith shared that we have exceeded renting out over 500 flags and we are distributing almost $36,000 in grants, scholarships, and support for Land of Lincoln Honor Flights. To read more about the 2021 grants, check out the June 4 Newsletter and the feature story on our club website home page (
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, June 13 at 5:00 p.m. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup by clicking:
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food and the meals are delicious.
At our June 7, 2021, Springfield Rotary Foundation President Rod Buffington and Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith presented grant checks to two recipients of 2021 Springfield Rotary Foundation Grants. They presented the first grant check to Shawna Harris for Catholic Charities to support provision of meals by St. John's Breadline (lead image). Shawna (image to left) reported that St. John's breadline provides nutritious meals free to anyone who needs it. Currently about 200-300 meals are served daily. During the pandemic hot meals are being prepared and packed into containers for individuals to pick up. Our grant will help support the cost of the disposable items for the to-go containers too so that more money is available for the purchase of food. Shawna described the need for volunteers to distribute the food. She invited those interested in volunteering to call 217-528-6098 and ask for Shawna or Victoria. 
The second check was presented Dave Newton for Compass for Kids (image to right). Dave noted that the mission of Compass for Kids is to provide academic and social-emotional support to empower at-risk children and families. They have innovative school year and summer programs that support at-risk children in Springfield School District 186. Dave talked about the fundamental importance of addressing hunger among these students, especially during the pandemic. Our grant will help support the Backpack Feeding Program. This program provides nutritious food that is sent home to students each week. 
At our June 7, 2021 we welcomed new members, Megan Norman and Garrett Kinkelaar, to our club with an induction ceremony. Membership Chair Travis Magoulias, with assistance from President Dave Kromphardt and the mentors for the new members conducted the ceremony. You can see from the images (above and to the left) that the ceremony was celebratory and warm. Stacy Kelly is serving as Megan's mentor and presented her with her Rotary pin. Bob Stuart, mentor for Garrett, presented him with his pin (image on left). 
Regardless of their tastes in music, we are thrilled to have these two Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Springfield.
Ridgely School Micro-Pantry
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Just follow this link:
