Stove Team International and our International Program Support
The video we saw Monday night has impacted quite a few of us. The volume of death and permanent damage to health caused by indoor wood fires was startling, and for billions in the world there are no other options to prepare food. The solution provided by a fellow Rotarian, which has expanded into several countries in Central America, is great, but has a long way to go to helping the rest of the world and can use help.
I asked for input from club members about supporting this program after the viewing, and have also received requests for the video link to share with others. Here it is:
Rotary is in a unique position worldwide to bring an end to health problems in many parts of the world. Bob Stuart shared information about the water project our Club is supporting in Nepal and another Rotary project in Nepal that built a school in an area devastated by an earthquake. And not only built a school, but provided restroom facilities for girls and disabled children so that education would be available to everyone. He also shared with the Board that Rotary has initiated a $1 million grant to eradicate malaria, another killer disease.
I am proud to be a part of an organization devoted to saving and improving the quality of life around the world.
Going the Extra Mile 5K
The decision was made to delay the 5K until this Fall. With the anticipated opening up of the state, we would be given the opportunity to have a live rather than virtual event, and give the participants the chance to run as a group. No date has been established, but this will also mean we will need more volunteers on the day of the event. Please consider using this chance to serve as a way to honor those who have been in the front line of fighting the COVID 19 virus, and also those who have been impacted by it.
Loose Ends for Wrapping up the Rotary Year
Yes, it’s a month and a half away. But there are things that we typically do to end one year and prepare for the next.
Rotary wants a list of members for their records to start the new year. That’s easy, everyone!
If anyone has dues that need to be paid, please do that as soon as possible so Treasurer Sheila Mack has an easier time closing out the 20-21 year.
Provide Service Chair Vicki Megginson with your records for service hours. Rotary uses this information as a source of worldwide pride and a gauge of local and District involvement. Let’s be as precise as possible, especially since our club is famous for its high level of service. You can use the link at the bottom of this Newsletter to report your service hours.
Make your donations to the Rotary International Foundation by June 30. We receive a portion back to our District for use in 3 years. Donations later than that date will delay the return funding for an additional year.
Anything else? Please share and I will add it to the reminder list.
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1861314588@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.
John Smarge will join us via Webex to describe the HANWASH program that he founded. John has been a proud member of the The Rotary Club of Naples, Florida since 1982. He served as the President of The Rotary Club of Naples in 1992-93 and as District Governor in 1995-96. He was a member of the Rotary International Board of Directors in 2010-12.
Throughout his many years of Rotary involvement, he has been a Member and Chair of multiple RI Committees. He served as the Aide to the 2018-19 Rotary International President. Currently John is a member of the Shaping Rotary's Future Committee and will serve as the Chairman of the 2022 RI Convention Committee (Houston, TX).
John is the founding member of HANWASH, which stand for Haiti National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Strategy, which will be topic of our May 17 program.
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstairs and curbside pickup for the May 17, 2021 meeting is:
Fish
Stuffed Peppers
Chef's Choice of Salad and Dessert
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, May 16 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.
Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to attract new members to our Club. At our May 10, meeting President Dave announced that Megan Norman, Community Relations Coordinator for Familia Dental and Vivid Smiles, had been approved for membership by the Board and members and will be formally inducted soon. Megan (image on left) has been attending our meetings in person, and we are delighted to have her as a member of our club. Be sure to introduce yourself to Megan in person or online.
President Dave announced that the Board had approved Garrett Kinkelaar, an Attorney with Brown, Hay and & Stephens, LLP, for membership at their May 10 Board meeting, and that his two week review period began on May 10. Garrett has been attending meetings in person and also volunteered at the Downtown Springfield cleanup event on May 8 (image on right). If you have not yet met him, please be sure to introduce yourself.
Jasmine Gibson has submitted an application for membership, and plans to attend our May 17 Club meeting. Please take the opportunity to meet her and extend her a warm Rotary welcome.
Thanks to everyone who purchased tickets for our traditional Rotary Day at the Ballpark. All 300 tickets have been sold. Proceeds from ticket sales support our District Literacy Grant Program.
I look forward to enjoying the game with participants. The game is on May 22 at 6:15 p.m. in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It will feature the grand rivalry of the Cardinals vs. the Cubs. We will be occupying excellent seats in the right field loge in Sections 228 – 233. Seating is in pods of 4, pods of 3, and pods of 2. A roundtrip bus has been scheduled and filled and will leave from the White Oaks Mall Parking Lot in Springfield from the upper mall parking lot behind Macy's on the same side as CEFCU. The bus will be available for boarding at 2:00 p.m. and will leave promptly at 2:30 p.m. No food and no drinks (other than water) are allowed on the bus, and riders must wear a mask when boarding and departing from the bus.
If you could not join us this time, don't worry. Another Rotary trip to the Ballpark is being scheduled for October 2.
The Flag Service Committee is gearing up for Spring flag distribution. So far, we have scheduled 490 flags for the Memorial Day distribution and have collected $27,500 in revenue with more coming in daily. The proceeds from this project support our community grants.
Many Hands Make Light Work!
We are recruiting more folks to help with conduit installation for the new customers. We are also in need of more volunteers to help with deployment of flags. Please consider taking a route or teaming up with a spouse/friend/child/fellow Rotarian to take a route. A route usually takes a few hours, goes much more quickly with 2 people per route, and can be a lot of fun. More volunteers means shorter routes!
If you can spare some time to assist with these needs, please call or email John Loftus (jlloftus@aol.com) or Marty Michelson (exdirector@rutledgeyouthfoundation.com).
We thank club and other volunteers for monitoring and stocking the Ridgely micro-pantry (image on left) this spring. We are looking for more monitors to check the pantry once a week for two week periods and stock items when it is low. Other volunteers are also providing food, and health, paper and cleaning items, and our task is to make sure it is well stocked. Contact Vicki Megginson at megginson.vicki@gmail.com to sign up or learn more.
Cleaning Up Downtown Springfield
Thanks to the numerous club members and their families who helped Downtown Springfield, Inc. with their Adopt a Street clean up of 5th and 6th Streets on May 8 (lead image and image on right). Volunteers picked up 11 full trash bags of litter weighing about 80.8 pounds and picked up approximately 1600 cigarette butts.
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.
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 video we saw Monday night has impacted quite a few of us. The volume of death and permanent damage to health caused by indoor wood fires was startling, and for billions in the world there are no other options to prepare food. The solution provided by a fellow Rotarian, which has expanded into several countries in Central America, is great, but has a long way to go to helping the rest of the world and can use help.
The decision was made to delay the 5K until this Fall. With the anticipated opening up of the state, we would be given the opportunity to have a live rather than virtual event, and give the participants the chance to run as a group. No date has been established, but this will also mean we will need more volunteers on the day of the event. Please consider using this chance to serve as a way to honor those who have been in the front line of fighting the COVID 19 virus, and also those who have been impacted by it.
John Smarge will join us via Webex to describe the HANWASH program that he founded. John has been a proud member of the The Rotary Club of Naples, Florida since 1982. He served as the President of The Rotary Club of Naples in 1992-93 and as District Governor in 1995-96. He was a member of the Rotary International Board of Directors in 2010-12. 
John is the founding member of HANWASH, which stand for Haiti National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Strategy, which will be topic of our May 17 program.
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, May 16 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.
Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to attract new members to our Club. At our May 10, meeting President Dave announced that Megan Norman, Community Relations Coordinator for Familia Dental and Vivid Smiles, had been approved for membership by the Board and members and will be formally inducted soon. Megan (image on left) has been attending our meetings in person, and we are delighted to have her as a member of our club. Be sure to introduce yourself to Megan in person or online.
President Dave announced that the Board had approved Garrett Kinkelaar, an Attorney with Brown, Hay and & Stephens, LLP, for membership at their May 10 Board meeting, and that his two week review period began on May 10. Garrett has been attending meetings in person and also volunteered at the Downtown Springfield cleanup event on May 8 (image on right). If you have not yet met him, please be sure to introduce yourself.
Ridgely School Micro-Pantry
Thanks to the numerous club members and their families who helped Downtown Springfield, Inc. with their Adopt a Street clean up of 5th and 6th Streets on May 8 (lead image and image on right). Volunteers picked up 11 full trash bags of litter weighing about 80.8 pounds and picked up approximately 1600 cigarette butts. 
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Just follow this link:
