Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Join us for our November 28 club meeting to hear Anne Moseley (image above), Director of the UIS Lincoln Studies Center, speak about the Sangamon Experience and Lincoln Studies. See Upcoming Programs and Events for more information on this presentation.
Kent Redfield (image on left), Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) was our featured speaker this past Monday, November 21. Kent spoke principally about the impact of demographics, campaign finance, and gerrymandering on the recent election cycle in Illinois. He demonstrated the degree to which our political representation in the state legislature and the Supreme Court has been skewed by changes that took hold during the past several decades. Kent has devoted his career to detailed nonpartisan analysis of politics in Illinois and we were pleased to have him join us and share his thoughtful perspective.
November 28 Speaker
On November 28, we will have another speaker from UIS: Anne Moseley (lead image for Newsletter), Director of the Center for Lincoln Studies at UIS. She will speak about Abraham Lincoln, Our Native Son and the Sangamon Experience. People from all parts of the world travel to Springfield each year to learn about and honor Abraham Lincoln, so it is highly appropriate that those of us who live here should take time to reflect upon his legacy. We very much look forward to Anne Moseley’s presentation.
December 5 Speakers
On December 5, our speakers will be Jacobsen Woollen, Assistant Conductor, and Trevor Orthmann, Executive Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. They will speak about events, programs, and business operations of the Symphony. See Upcoming Programs and Events for more information on these speakers.
Changes in Club Meeting Schedule
Please take note of our meetings calendar during the holiday season, which is detailed in the article by Loretta Meeks in this newsletter.
Citrus Sale Results
At our November 21 club meeting, Bill Smith reported that preliminary data indicate that we had an increase in citrus sales this year, and he consequently thanked all the Club members for their effort in achieving this result. When the oranges arrive, Bill will be overseeing work in the citrus warehouse to make the combination boxes of oranges and grapefruits. We will again be donating large quantities of oranges to the Central Illinois Food Bank. We will be distributing this year’s citrus to members and clients on Friday and Saturday, December 9-10 from the Underfanger Warehouse in Springfield.
Musical Entertainment for Holiday Party and Service Opportunities
Megan Reynolds indicated that the Williamsville High School Madrigals have agreed to perform an original production at the Club’s Holiday Party on December 13. She also provided the Club with myriad service opportunities in which to participate as Rotarians during the upcoming holiday season. See articles on the Holiday Party and Service Opportunities below for more information.
Our November 28 club meeting will be hybrid with the opportunity to dine in person at Maldaners Upstairs or dine at home by ordering a meal to pick up behind Maldaners. In either case, make a reservation!
All meals include the main course, sides, salad, and dessert. Take out meals are well packaged, and are hand delivered by Maldaner's staff, sometimes by Chef Michael Higgins!
Please make reservations for dining in or take out so we can estimate our food needs and so Maldaners knows you are coming. The deadline for reserving dinner for the November 28 meeting is Monday, November 28 at noon. Meals are $15 each. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for dining in or pickup by clicking:
For curbside takeout, 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 an the food is delicious!
Our holiday will be at Christ the King Church (1930 Barberry Drive, Springfield) on December 13 at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served at 6:00 p.m.
Our planning committee and Chef Randy Williams have come up with an excellent menu:
Roast Beef Chasseur
Tortellini Alfredo (a vegetarian recipe)
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Seasoned Green Beans
Buttered Peas & Carrots
Italian Tossed Salad (Preset)
Dinner Rolls & Butter
Pear Pie (Request from Mr. President)
Iced Tea and Coffee
The settings will include real linens, Cateringware, and disposable wine glasses
The meal cost per person will be $40 including gratuity and tax.
This year we have the opportunity to provide our own white and/or red wine for the holiday dinner. We are asking for members to donate bottles of red and white wine for the dinner. I am donating one bottle of white and one of red. If you are donating a wine that should be served chilled, you may bring it to my house on Saturday, December 10 or Sunday, December 11, and I will take to the church and put it in their cooler.
Megan Norman has lined up the Williamsville High School Madrigals to provide live musical entertainment for the party.
Please sign up for the dinner for you and your guests through our Secretary, Loretta Meeks (lmeek414@gmail.com). We will have a sign-up sheet at our November 28 and following club meetings. The final reservation count is due by December 7 so be certain to sign up before that.
Rotary clubs in Springfield, including our club, are again participating in a week-long blood drive to assist the Blood Center. Please consider giving blood if you are able to do so. All instructions are provided in the poster shown above. This year's event is on December 11-17 and is done in cooperation with the Brickhouse Grill and Pub. Be sure to mention that you are with the Rotary Club of Springfield!
Many of you have had an opportunity to meet and talk with Mark Sirichote, our club's Inbound Foreign Exchange Student from Thailand. He is respectful, polite, and eager to please.
He currently resides with his first host family, but he needs to have a second host family by the start of the second semester, and I have not yet been able to identify one. I need your help!
Linked is a document outlining the responsibilities for a host family, and I need to find one within the boundaries of Springfield High School. I am asking you to think of friends, neighbors, or family members whom you think might be interested in serving as a host family from January through July, 2023.
If you do identify such a family, please have them contact me at bkemp1100@hotmail.com or (217)494-7467. I appreciate any assistance you are able to provide.
November 28 -- Anne Moseley: Lincoln's Legacy and the Lincoln Studies Center at UIS
Anne Moseley leads the University of Illinois Springfield’s new Sangamon Experience historic exhibition and its Center for Lincoln Studies.
She previously worked as director and curator of the Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois. She has also worked as a project administrator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and at the Illinois Regional Archives Depository.
Sangamon Experience is a new exhibition telling the history of the Sangamon Region of central Illinois. It opened in January, 2020 in the lower level of the Public Affairs Center at UIS.
The Center for Lincoln Studies will provide new opportunities for learning about Lincoln and the impact of his contributions. Moseley plans to engage historians in studying the legacy of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Studies Center.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a master’s degree in public history from the University of Illinois Springfield.
December 5 -- Trevor Orthmann and Jacobsen Woollen: Events, Programs, Plans, and Business Operations of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra
Jacobsen Woollen (image on right) is a conductor, cellist, and tenor from Springfield and serves as Assistant Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Director of the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestra, Director of the Springfield Choral Society, and Director of the UIS Orchestra.
An Indiana native, Jacobsen spent six years in Vienna, Austria, where he completed Post-Graduate work in orchestral conducting. Jacobsen completed a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan under the guidance of former IL Symphony Conductor Kenneth Kiesler. He also holds a Bacholer’ss degree from the University of Michigan.
As a member of the Grammy-winning Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Jacobsen has participated in opera productions at Theater an der Wien, as well as concerts in Europe’s most renowned venues, including Vienna’s Musikverein and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.
Trevor Orthmann (image on left) is the Executive Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Trevor has over 26 years of experience in the business end of symphony orchestras. He has held the position of Executive Director with the Illinois Symphony since 2009. Prior to coming to Springfield, he was the president of the Symphony in C in Camden, New Jersey.
Trevor helped the symphony navigate through the tough years of the covid pandemic.
He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and Southern Methodist University.
Tuesday, December 13 -- Rotary Holiday Party
Mark Your Calendar for the Holiday Party. The holiday party has been scheduled at Christ the King on Tuesday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served at 6:00 p.m. The dinner will again be catered by Chef Randy Williams. For more information, see story above by Rod Buffington.
January 9 -- Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
Program will be announced later.
January 16 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast
Frontiers International is hosting the breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the Wyndham Springfield City Center. We are not having our regular club meeting on that day, and are encouraging members to attend the breakfast. Our club would like to fill two tables at the event. See the story below for more information.
Good day, Rotarians. I am forwarding the changes in meeting dates for the months of December and January. The changes are listed below. If you have any questions, please contact me or Randy Erford for clarification. We look forward to seeing you during the scheduled times.
Mark your calendar now! Frontiers International is again hosting the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast in Springfield. The event will be held on January 16, 2023 in the Wyndham Springfield City Center. I will have tickets that may be purchased for the event. We hope that our Rotary Club will buy enough tickets to fill two tables as we have done in the past. Tickets will be $30. Our Rotary club is planning to also sponsor the event by placing an advertisement in the program. More information on the program and keynote speaker will be shared later.
We need your help, as a Rotary leader, to raise funds and awareness for The Rotary Foundation this Giving Tuesday, 29 November. This global day of generosity is an opportunity for all Rotary members to make a big impact with a gift of any size to our Annual Fund-SHARE. Last year, we raised more than ever before — over US$1 million! We’re asking you to help us surpass that this year, so that we can do even more good together.
The Foundation will again recognize the top three clubs in fundraising, donor participation, and online giving. Find out which clubs made the list last year and set a giving goal for your club this year. Just make sure that the gifts are made on 29 November.
Thank you for your leadership and support. We know that with your help, Giving Tuesday will be a bigger success than ever.
The Rotary Club of Springfield will again be filling an Angel Tree for the youth of Rutledge. These are abused/neglected children who are living in foster care, intact families or independent placements monitored by Rutledge. There are 40 angels available for male and female youth, ages infant – 20, with the child’s name and gift suggestions printed. A gift of $25-50 is suggested.
If you are interested in participating please select an Angel(s) at our club meeting registration desk on November 28 or let us know and we will email them to you. You can return gifts to our Monday evening meetings or drop them off at Rutledge,151 N Bruns Lane by December 14, 2022.
There will be 4 different drop off events. Please bring your unwrapped presents to Rutledge (151 N Bruns Lane) during one of the following days/times.
Drop Off Times: November 28 between 9 am-6 pm, December 5 between 9-6, December 7 between 9-6, December 12 between 9-6, and December 14 between 9-6
If none of these times can work with your schedule, please contact Marcia Knowlton (217-638-4487) either by text or call to arrange a different drop off time. Please leave all gifts unwrapped. If you would like to include wrapping paper, that would be appreciated.
Our Ridgely micro pantry (image above) and little library (image on left) have officially made their way back outside the building for the community to use once again! Thanks to Vicki Megginson for the image above of the well-stocked micro pantry after she added nutritious food during her August shift. Please feel free to drop off any food/toiletries/cleaning supplies as you see fit. With school back in session, families need these things now more than ever! We thank the Rotarians who signed up for a slot in August, September, October, and November. I encourage everyone to look at this list of Community Gardens and fill the pantry with local fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you're able (https://www.growspringfield.org/gardendirectory). You can see from the image on left, also provided by Vicki Megginson, the Little Library needs more books.
Rotary Service Volunteer Corp
We would like to start an email list that will get sent to members of the community who may not have the time or monetary capability to become Rotarians but would like to help those who need it most, and we need your help collecting names and organizations who may be interested in receiving those emails! We will utilize Sign Up Genius to fill slots, and we encourage all ages to join this unique volunteer opportunity. I am working on getting a flyer together, but in the mean time, please send over any leads you have to Megan at mnorman@familiadental.com.
Ringing the Bells for Salvation Army
We will be ringing the bells for Salvation Army on Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3 at Schnuck's at Montvale Plaza. We need two volunteers for each shift. We are scheduling one hour shifts on December 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A sign up sheet was passed around at our October 24 and November 7 meetings. Let me know if you would like to sign up. The image on the right is from last year!
One Stop Shopping Event
There will be opportunities to donate wrapping paper for the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, and Crisis Nursery holiday event. This One Stop Shopping event will be held Friday, December 16 all day at White Oaks Mall in the wing formerly occupied by Bergners. If you want to volunteer you can sign up for a 2 hour and 15 minute shift. Some volunteers will distribute wrapping paper and some will serve as personal shoppers.
Rutledge Foundation Youth Angel Tree
We will again be providing Angel Tree gifts for Rutledge Foundation Youth. For more information for this volunteer opportunity see Marty's story above.
Catholic Charities Gift Distribution
Volunteers are need to help set up for the Gift Distribution Event on December 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to help with gift distribution on December 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Let Megan know if you are interested in volunteering, but she will be at the event and it is okay to show up to help.
We are repeating a list of suggestions of foods and other items to stock in the Ridgely Food Pantry. 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.
* At our November 29 club meeting, Ross Hodel reported that he followed this advice and stocked numerous can openers in the Ridgely Pantry. He noted that they were quickly snapped up.
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 Application in 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 illinoisdelta@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
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 Flag Service Project hours, Central IL Foodbank hours, chicken fundraiser hours (image below), and any other volunteer hours that you have not reported. We thank Alec Tobias for frequently joining his dad Barry on our service projects.
Kent Redfield (image on left), Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) was our featured speaker this past Monday, November 21. Kent spoke principally about the impact of demographics, campaign finance, and gerrymandering on the recent election cycle in Illinois. He demonstrated the degree to which our political representation in the state legislature and the Supreme Court has been skewed by changes that took hold during the past several decades. Kent has devoted his career to detailed nonpartisan analysis of politics in Illinois and we were pleased to have him join us and share his thoughtful perspective. 
At our November 21 club meeting, Bill Smith reported that preliminary data indicate that we had an increase in citrus sales this year, and he consequently thanked all the Club members for their effort in achieving this result. When the oranges arrive, Bill will be overseeing work in the citrus warehouse to make the combination boxes of oranges and grapefruits. We will again be donating large quantities of oranges to the Central Illinois Food Bank. We will be distributing this year’s citrus to members and clients on Friday and Saturday, December 9-10 from the Underfanger Warehouse in Springfield.
For curbside takeout, 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 an the food is delicious!
Jacobsen Woollen (image on right) is a conductor, cellist, and tenor from Springfield and serves as Assistant Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Director of the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestra, Director of the Springfield Choral Society, and Director of the UIS Orchestra.
Trevor Orthmann (image on left) is the Executive Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Trevor has over 26 years of experience in the business end of symphony orchestras. He has held the position of Executive Director with the Illinois Symphony since 2009. Prior to coming to Springfield, he was the president of the Symphony in C in Camden, New Jersey.
The Rotary Club of Springfield will again be filling an Angel Tree for the youth of Rutledge. These are abused/neglected children who are living in foster care, intact families or independent placements monitored by Rutledge. There are 40 angels available for male and female youth, ages infant – 20, with the child’s name and gift suggestions printed. A gift of $25-50 is suggested.
Our Ridgely micro pantry (image above) and little library (image on left) have officially made their way back outside the building for the community to use once again! Thanks to Vicki Megginson for the image above of the well-stocked micro pantry after she added nutritious food during her August shift. Please feel free to drop off any food/toiletries/cleaning supplies as you see fit. With school back in session, families need these things now more than ever! We thank the Rotarians who signed up for a slot in August, September, October, and November. I encourage everyone to look at this list of Community Gardens and fill the pantry with local fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you're able (
We will be ringing the bells for Salvation Army on Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3 at Schnuck's at Montvale Plaza. We need two volunteers for each shift. We are scheduling one hour shifts on December 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A sign up sheet was passed around at our October 24 and November 7 meetings. Let me know if you would like to sign up. The image on the right is from last year!
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