Our March Madness Fundraiser raised $800 for PolioPlus and will be matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, resulting in a contribution of $2400!
Last year’s RI President Mark Maloney established a relationship between Rotary and Toastmasters International. He felt that the purposes for each organization were complementary, and both would be well served working together. Toastmasters provides opportunities to sharpen public speaking skills, but also to develop leadership skills in corporate and daily life.
Locally, Toastmasters is having an informational virtual meeting on April 21 to share who they are and to find out what Rotary is about. All members are invited to participate. More information will be coming at our upcoming Club Meeting.
New Members and our Hybrid Meetings
This year we have had a lot of interest in joining our Club, and it has accelerated as the pandemic has begun to recede. Our Hybrid meeting program has provided a very positive way for all members to participate within their comfort level and health limits. But it has given us a challenge as we welcome new and prospective members into our Club.
In talking to people around our District, the one word that comes up first when describing us and our meetings is “fun.” The image to the right shows that we have fun at our face-to-face meetings. The depth of leadership and knowledge in our club are also mentioned, but that comes later. So the question to ask is “can we make sure our meetings convey that fun in a way that encourages people to join in the fun?” The next question is “are we making our service opportunities fun in addition to our service?”
Do I have pat answers? No. But these questions should be in the back of every member’s mind as we welcome guests and new members. Can I do something for our new folks as they learn more about our Club and its members? Can I do something for someone looking at joining us, including inviting them to join me in a service project?
So much of what we do revolves around personal relationships, and sometimes this becomes challenging in a virtual environment. Creative is also one of the words to describe our Club, and this is a great time for all of us to be creative. This is a wonderful group of people, and we want to share this with our community and the world.
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstairs and curbside pickup for the April 12, 2021 meeting is:
Pork
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, April 11 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 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.
Marsha Griffin, Community Outreach Liaison of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, will discuss consumer fraud and identity theft in Illinois. Bring bring a friend to hear our guest speaker. Visitors are welcome to join us and may enjoy a fine meal in Maldaners Upstairs or Curbside take out for $15, but must contact us before April 11 to reserve a meal.
Our Club has a history of accomplishing many positive things for Rotary, and our last Rotary year was no different. At our April 1 Club meeting, Past District Governor Mark Roberts joined our hybrid meeting online and presented Past President Vicki Megginson and our Club with two 2019-2020 Awards.
PDG Mark first recognized our Club for having the highest contribution to PolioPlus among the 48 clubs that contributed in District 6460 and presented Vicki with the award for that. He then presented Vicki and our Club (image to left) with a 2019-2020 Rotary Citation at the Silver level. This award recognizes clubs that meet or exceed the goals established for the Rotary year and required for the Citation. PDG Mark noted we were one of only 10 clubs that earned the Rotary Citation in our District during 2019-2020.
Please join us in celebrating this accomplishment and congratulating Past President Vicki for her leadership. Vicki thanked PDG Mark for the awards and highlighted how our club met the challenges of the pandemic and found new ways to continue to meet, serve, and attract new members.
Our Club's Rowdy Roundball Rotarians (the Tripe Rs) Team is extremely happy that Baylor won the NCAA Men's Championship game! The losing club teams can rejoice too because their donations will help eradicate Polio! As noted above, the $800 donation from our March Madness fundraiser will be matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a grand total of $2400! We are all feeling pretty good right now, but the Triple Rs are feeling the best! Way to go, women of the Rotary Club of Springfield!
We offer special thanks to Bill Smith and Bill Sturm for running this fundraiser! #PeopleOfAction
Most of you have seen the original water color quilt paintings that Rod creates of the annual Rotary theme logo. For the last six years, he has presented each new Rotary International President with the painting for their theme. He makes prints to gift to other Rotarians and also sells them and donates the proceeds to Rotary. The image shows Rod's rendition of one one of the Rotary themes.
The current issue of Quiltfolk magazine (Issue 18-8) features Rod's "patchwork paintings" and describes the story behind the development his unique process for creating these artworks. We thought you would enjoy seeing this article and learning more about Rod's artwork and career. Click on this link to see the whole article.
Our Little Libraries are in construction and will soon be ready for primer and paint at Barry’s workshop. Rotary and friendly decals have been ordered. No talent is needed, and laughter is predicted. With a few more folks helping, our libraries will look gorgeous in just a few hours.
Over 1500 books are available and we need all-hands-on-deck to help sort over the 50 cases stored at Computer Banc with David Fowler’s help. Kathryn Harris is coordinating the sorting and distribution effort. Books will need to be sorted by age groups, with some books stored to replenish the little libraries and others for distribution to local organizations that serve literacy needs of our community. Hold Sunday afternoon April 25 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. to help with The Little Library Literacy Labor of Love at Computer Banc, 1545 North 11th Street. We have more books than we need so local organizations will be invited stop by and pick up books for the children they serve.
Ridgely School Micro-Pantry
We are looking for 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, health, paper and cleaning items, and our task is to supplement what may be needed.
United Way Days of Action
Check the United Way of Central Illinois website springfieldunitedway.org for information about Spring 2021 Days of Action (April 30 to May 3). Volunteer remotely and make a difference.
Beautify our Downtown
May 8 we are cleaning up 6th Street and planting wildflowers in the street planters with Downtown Springfield Inc. Wear Rotary clothes and bring a trowel and gloves. Plants and clean up gear will be provided, and fun is assured.
Contact Vicki Megginson at megginson.vicki@gmail.com to sign up or learn more about any of the projects listed above
Go the Extra Mile 5K We have some remote work volunteer slots still open to help with the Virtual 5K. These are spots that don’t require work outdoors or in groups. They are a great opportunity to perform service that honors the Front Line workers that have protected our community. Please contact Dave Kromphardt at dkromphardt@yahoo.com if you are interested in volunteering to help with the Virtual 5K.
Memorial Day is Monday May 31, the start of Springfield Rotary Club’s Flag Project. Volunteers are needed.
When we receive an order for a flag, we notify JULIE, the Joint Underground Locator service. They mark utility and cable lines on the customer’s property. A Rotary volunteer, using a four-foot length of one inch diameter lead pipe and a sledgehammer, installs a 16-inch piece of one inch diameter PVC pipe in the customers front yard and records the location, e.g., 5’ x 5’. That would mean 5 feet from the sidewalk and 5 feet from the drive. We place a red plastic cap on the conduit. We need volunteers for this physically challenging task.
On May 24, one week before Memorial Day, we begin deploying flags. Our goal is to finish the Friday before Memorial Day. That way the flags are out for the weekend.
Two-person volunteer teams retrieve flags and lights from our warehouse and following a computer-generated route and using vehicle or phone GPS systems deploy the flags for all the customers on their list. They locate the red cap on the conduit and install a flag and a small battery powered spotlight. With over 500 customers, we will need at least 20 teams We will accept non-Rotarian volunteers. Several members have drafted their spouses. Not all locations have simple 5 x 5 coordinates. Even if they do, finding the red cap that marks the conduit location can sometimes be difficult, especially in the spring when lawns are thick.
We leave the flags out from Memorial Day until after July 4. Then the same volunteer teams retrieve the flags and return them to our warehouse. On Monday Aug. 30, a week before Labor Day, we deploy the flags again, retrieving them after September 11. We do not deploy for Veteran’s Day.
We charge $60 a year for a flag subscription. This is a big fundraiser that helps support our grants to nonprofits. It provides an excellent volunteer opportunity. The work is interesting. Although searching for the red caps can be a little frustrating, most of us find the job enjoyable. It is time consuming. A route may take at least four hours to complete. However, it is rewarding when you see all those flags flying throughout our community and think about the grants we will fund with the proceeds.
As Manager of the Flag Service Project, I will be contacting all club members soliciting your help. You can reach me at jlloftus@aol.com.
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!
In talking to people around our District, the one word that comes up first when describing us and our meetings is “fun.” The image to the right shows that we have fun at our face-to-face meetings. The depth of leadership and knowledge in our club are also mentioned, but that comes later. So the question to ask is “can we make sure our meetings convey that fun in a way that encourages people to join in the fun?” The next question is “are we making our service opportunities fun in addition to our service?”
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.
Marsha Griffin, Community Outreach Liaison of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, will discuss consumer fraud and identity theft in Illinois. Bring bring a friend to hear our guest speaker. Visitors are welcome to join us and may enjoy a fine meal in Maldaners Upstairs or Curbside take out for $15, but must contact us before April 11 to reserve a meal. 
Our Club has a history of accomplishing many positive things for Rotary, and our last Rotary year was no different. At our April 1 Club meeting, Past District Governor Mark Roberts joined our hybrid meeting online and presented Past President Vicki Megginson and our Club with two 2019-2020 Awards.
Our Club's Rowdy Roundball Rotarians (the Tripe Rs) Team is extremely happy that Baylor won the NCAA Men's Championship game! The losing club teams can rejoice too because their donations will help eradicate Polio! As noted above, the $800 donation from our March Madness fundraiser will be matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a grand total of $2400! We are all feeling pretty good right now, but the Triple Rs are feeling the best! Way to go, women of the Rotary Club of Springfield!
Most of you have seen the original water color quilt paintings that Rod creates of the annual Rotary theme logo. For the last six years, he has presented each new Rotary International President with the painting for their theme. He makes prints to gift to other Rotarians and also sells them and donates the proceeds to Rotary. The image shows Rod's rendition of one one of the Rotary themes.
Little Libraries for District Grant Project
Go the Extra Mile 5K 
Memorial Day is Monday May 31, the start of Springfield Rotary Club’s Flag Project. Volunteers are needed.
