Hybrid Meetings are Back! More ways to meet begins next Monday, January 25! We return to the combined in person and video meetings toward our hopeful next step to safely all meeting in person again. Please give special thanks to Barry Tobias, Stacy Kelly, and Travis Magoulias for their persistence and patience as they have developed and operated our video meetings. They cheerfully use their skills to adjust to make everyone feel in the middle of every meeting. I am so impressed with these three folks, all new to our club, who jumped right in when we needed it.
Meeting in person has always been the strength to encouraging people to check out our club. January is a great month to invite people to be a guest, find out what Rotary is about, and then to consider joining us. Do you have a friend or acquaintance that has a heart for serving others? That’s the essence of what we do. Bring them along and see if Rotary is right for them!
District Conference Friday night and Saturday morning (January 22-23) mark this year’s District Conference. It is virtual this year, but that won’t stop us from hearing great speakers and learning about what is going on in our District. Our own Bob Stuart is one of the featured speakers on Saturday morning. And we find out about our Literacy Grant on Friday night - and lots in between. District Governor Maura Donnelly sent out an invitation and schedule on Sunday to all club members, including a Registration link. The link takes you to the District website which is Dabdc based, so if you need help registering, please contact me or other Club officers to get registered. The speakers and breakouts are worth it!
Working with Youth Our almost-breakout room session ended up with a great discussion on how we can reach out to young people. It started with our speaker Erica Austin last week, and we heard some very great thoughts from our club members. Next step? Sort through them with Club members who work with young people inside and outside of Rotary and see what we can do in the future. Thank you all for your insights.
Service Opportunities More service projects will be unveiled at our Monday meeting, incldung projects that will span several months. We also now have the opportunity to bring books for our mini-library at IMagicNation and food for our new mini-pantry at Ridgely School. Bring them to the meeting, leave them at the Badge Table, and we will get them to the right spots.
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1625867080@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.
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstrairs and curbside pickup for the January 25, 2021 meeting is:
Chicken Cordon Blu
Pesto Pasta
Chef's Choice of Salad and Dessert
Please use the following link by Friday at 2:00 p.m. to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup click RESERVATION. 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.
The Rotary Club of Springfield helped those worried about food for their families during this difficult time. A group of 8 volunteers (lead image for Newsletter) helped pack boxes of food at the Illinois Central Food Bank on January 19 from 10 am until noon. Kathryn Harris, one of the volunteers, noted on her Facebook page that "We packed boxes for distribution and literally made boxes. It was good to work together as there is HUNGER in our community, and the Food Bank addresses that need not only in Springfield, but throughout Sangamon County and beyond."
Don't forget to report your service hours and expenses. The link to the form is provided at the end of this Newsletter
Thank you, Rotarians for continuing to help eradicate hunger.
Our Club has supported the work of Frontiers International for many years, including purchasing multiple tables worth of seats to the annual Martin Luther King Breakfast. The Breakfast was held virtually this year, and club members have asked how they can make donations in lieu of in person tickets. The link below connects to their donation page:
The virtual program was very well done. The speaker, Dr. Rev. Melvin Charles Smith, was a minister in Memphis who marched with Dr. King in 1968 in support of the striking sanitation workers, and heard him preach the night before he was assassinated. His message was very powerful and relevant in our world today.
The Club Board will also discuss a donation as well. In the past the Club has purchased an ad in their breakfast booklet as a way of supporting their programs.
More ways to meet begins next Monday, January 25! We return to the combined in person and video meetings toward our hopeful next step to safely all meeting in person again. Please give special thanks to Barry Tobias, Stacy Kelly, and Travis Magoulias for their persistence and patience as they have developed and operated our video meetings. They cheerfully use their skills to adjust to make everyone feel in the middle of every meeting. I am so impressed with these three folks, all new to our club, who jumped right in when we needed it.
Our almost-breakout room session ended up with a great discussion on how we can reach out to young people. It started with our speaker Erica Austin last week, and we heard some very great thoughts from our club members. Next step? Sort through them with Club members who work with young people inside and outside of Rotary and see what we can do in the future. Thank you all for your insights.
The Rotary Club of Springfield helped those worried about food for their families during this difficult time. A group of 8 volunteers (lead image for Newsletter) helped pack boxes of food at the Illinois Central Food Bank on January 19 from 10 am until noon. Kathryn Harris, one of the volunteers, noted on her Facebook page that "We packed boxes for distribution and literally made boxes. It was good to work together as there is HUNGER in our community, and the Food Bank addresses that need not only in Springfield, but throughout Sangamon County and beyond." 
The virtual program was very well done. The speaker, Dr. Rev. Melvin Charles Smith, was a minister in Memphis who marched with Dr. King in 1968 in support of the striking sanitation workers, and heard him preach the night before he was assassinated. His message was very powerful and relevant in our world today.
