On June 27, we gathered at the home of Tony and Jan Williams to thank Barry Tobias and his leadership team for their outstanding service and install our new Club President Randy Erford and his leadership team. Rod Buffington presented Barry with his quilt print of the 2021-2022 Rotary International theme logo (Serve to Change Lives). See stories below for more information.
There will be no club meeting on July 4, 2022, but we will be back at Maldaners on 11 for a club meeting.
Before the official installation ceremony, Barry Tobias presented Randy Erford with an official Rotary baseball hat (image above). The hat is emblazoned with the new Rotary International Theme logo (Imagine Rotary). The new logo is shown to the left.
We were honored to have the outgoing District Governor Ryan Byers and his wife Amy and the new District Governor Bill Durall at our event (image to right).
The following dignitaries assisted with the installation ceremony: Past RI Director and Past District Governor (PDG) Bob Stuart, PDG Rod Buffington, District Governor-Nominee Neal Miller, Past Assistant District Governor Harry Mitchell, and District Treasurer and our Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith (image below). All spoke during the ceremony. In the image below, Neal Miller is asking if Randy pledges to fulfill the duties of president, lead the club following the highest principles of Rotary, and conduct the service business of the club following the bylaws of the club and Rotary International, and Randy pledged to do so.
Rod presented Randy with his President's pin (image on left), and Bob Stuart presented him with his President's badge (image below)
Then the other officers, who are continuing in their roles, Secretary Loretta Meeks and Treasurer Sheila Mack were officially installed and pledged to perform the duties of their offices (image on right). Finally the the whole Board was called forward to be installed and pledge to fulfill their duties following the highest principles and the Constitution and Bylaws of the Club and Rotary International (image below). From left to right, the new leadership team includes Youth Services Director Dave Fowler, Club Service Director Ross Hodel, Community Service Director Megan Norman, President Randy Erford, International Service Director Bob Stuart, Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith (not on Board), Membership Service Director Tony Williams, and Board Member at large Vicki Megginson. Board members not included in the picture are Board Members at Large Bill Kempiners and Marty Michelson, and Sergeant at Arms Jasmine Gibson.
Finally, Bob Stuart asked Club Members to pledge to support Randy and all the officers and Board members to achieve the goals of the club and Rotary International during the coming year. We enthusiastically responded in the affirmative with a sounding round of applause. Bob announced that the President, Officers, and Directors were officially installed for the 2022-2023 year.
Randy then presented some of his plans for the coming year with major goals to increase membership, enhance support for the Springfield community, and have fun (image above).
Barry then presented Randy with a helmet that will help him fulfill these goals (image on left).
In appreciation of Barry's service, Rod Buffington presented him with a print of his quilt painting of the 2021-2022 Rotary Theme logo: Serve to Change Lives, and then Randy again thanked Barry for his service and accomplishments (lead image for Newsletter and image below). Barry received a Club President's Plaque, a president's Rotary pin, and a past president's badge to recognize the important role that he played.
Special thanks are do to Tony for hosting us at his home. There are many wonderful images from the event, and we will put together a photo gallery for the website.
At the June 27 meeting, Barry Tobias presented Service Above Self Awards to club members who had made extraordinary contributions to the club. He presented each with a certificate, plaque, and Rotary-branded insulated coffee mug/thermos.
He recognized the following club members:
Vicki Megginson for all her mentorship and for her outstanding work arranging for numerous community service projects (centered image above).
Travis Magoulias for his excellent work with membership and assistance with technical issues for the club's hybrid meetings (image on left).
Bonnie Styles for her exemplary work with the Club's online newsletter (image on right)
Sheila Mack for her outstanding work as treasurer and especially for her amazing budgets (first image below).
Loretta Meeks for her excellent work as Secretary and her outstanding efforts for the Club's literacy project (second image below).
Stacy Kelly for her work as Club Services Director and her exemplary work with the Flag Service Project routes (Stacy was unable to attend the event).
At our June 27 meeting, Travis Magoulias, with assistance from Barry Tobias, formally inducted Jacqualine Jarju as a new member of the club, and they presented her with her pin and red badge (image above and to left). Travis will serve as her mentor. Jacqualine has been attending our meetings and has been active in service projects. Please be sure to introduce yourself if don't already know her. She makes a great addition to our club.
Two new members, Chris Atchison and Megan Norman, graduated from the red to blue badges, Travis presented them both with their new badges (Image on right). We are happy to have them as full-fledged members of our club.
We hope you did not miss Rotary Day at the Ball Park on June 26. Rod arranged for a bus and we had fun on the bus and at the game. On top of all that it was an exciting game, with lots of hits, and the Cubs won the rival game with the Cards for the first time in ages in overtime.
The images below are from our trip home, and yes Tony does look a little dazed. The high school students we took with us had a wonderful time, and Passion Hood scored a baseball.
Think about joining us next time and remember the proceeds support our District Literacy grants.
Our New Club Services Director Ross Hodel is working to provide some great programs for us in the new Rotary year. Stay tuned for more details on all of these July programs.
July 4--No Rotary Club meeting
Enjoy the July 4 holiday with family and friends.
July 11--Hybrid Club meeting at Maldaners and online via Webex
Bruce Strom will speak about the Barbershop Quartet that he sings with, and they will perform for us.
July 18--Hybrid Club meeting at Maldaners and online via Webex
This will be our first Social Night, and President Randy has pledged to make them educational and fun! Don't miss it.
July 25--Hybrid Club meeting at Maldaners and online via Webex
New Rotary District 6460 District Governor Bill Durall will join us and speak about plans for the Rotary Year.
Editors Note: I inadvertantly left off the last part of Bill's Story in the June 23 Newsletter, so please read it again!
Sharon and I attended the Rotary International Convention in Houston Texas (June 5-8). After two years of connecting virtually because of COVID-19, 11,000 Rotary members and guests attended in person. The conventions we have attended in the past have generally had 20,000 or more in attendance. Apparently, Covid-19 was a major factor in this lower attendance.
Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta presented the theme of the convention and urged members to Empower girls; End polio; and Embrace new challenges including the environment.
On Sunday, during the opening ceremonies, there was a parade of flags. A flag was presented for each country that has a Rotary Club. The introduction of the Ukraine flag was followed by an extended standing ovation.
On Wednesday, during the closing ceremonies, Jennifer Jones from Windsor Canada, gave her speech as the first woman president in the 117-year history of Rotary. Her term begins on July 1, and her theme is Imagine Rotary. This history-making speech was followed by an extended standing ovation.
This year’s presentations also included:
Dr. Hamid Jafari, director of polio eradication for the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean region, leads the efforts in an area that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only two countries where wild polio remains endemic. This year 8 cases have been reported.
Anbita Nadine Siregar is a founder of Generation Girl, an Indonesian-based organization that introduces young women to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and empowers them to become leaders.
General Charles Duke (USAF Ret.) was the Lunar Module pilot on the fifth moon landing during the Apollo 16 mission. He is one of only 12 humans to ever land on the lunar surface.
Orion Jean is an 11-year-old sixth grader from Texas, who wants to make the world a kinder place. He was named TIME magazine’s Kid of the Year for 2021 for using $500 that he won in the National Kindness Speech Contest to create Race to Kindness. Through that organization, Orion has donated toys and meals for families. He is now collecting books for children.
Kailash Satyarthi is a Nobel Peace Laureate who gave up a career as an electrical engineer to start the “Save the Child Movement.” He has rescued over 100,000 children from slavery and trafficking. He has accomplished this at a price, as slaveholders on several occasions have fought back. He was presented with Rotary’s highest award.
There were also:
Breakout sessions on topics such as growing membership;
World class entertainment;
The House of Friendship with exhibits about projects by various Rotary clubs and groups;
And finally, on Tuesday night we signed up to meet with a local Rotary club. They took us to the Houston Astro’s baseball game.
Attending the Rotary International Convention is inspiring and a great way to meet Rotarians from all over the world.
Flag Service Project We installed 550 flags for our Flag Service Project. Thank you to the volunteers who installed flags and lights. All flags were in place before the Memorial Day (May 30) weekend and will remain in place through Flag Day (June 14) and the Fourth of July holiday. Then our crews will collect and store flags until our next deployment in September for Labor Day (September 5) and Patriots Day (September 11). Then we will collect and store flags until the process begins again in May 2023!
Many hands make light work! We are recruiting for more folks to help with conduit installations (for new customers) and to take or team up with a spouse/friend/child/fellow Rotarian for a distribution route. This is an excellent service opportunity for just a few hours work. Please consider helping out with this.
Contact John Loftus (jlloftus@aol.com) or Marty Michelson (exdirector@rutledgeyouthfoundation.com) if you have any questions and about what you could do to volunteer and sign up for this worthwhile projects. Proceeds from flag program help support our community grants program.
Ridgely School Micropantry
Volunteers are needed to monitor and stock the pantry for two shifts each month (Shift A during the first half of the month and shift B during the second half of the month). The image on the left shows the micropantry at Ridgely School.
Thanks to the Rotarians who helped stock the pantry during May and are helping in June!
We are looking for additional volunteers to carry us through the summer shifts. Please consider signing up for a two week shift, provide food to the individuals stocking the pantry, or drop off items anytime you are in the vicinity of Ridgely School. Use of this pantry has been very heavy during the cold weather. The following article provides good guidelines for the types of items that are needed. Thanks to Vicki Megginson for coordinating schedules over the past Rotary year. Megan Norman is our new Community Services Director, and is the contact for stocking the Ridgely School Micropantry.
Little Libraries
There will also be opportunities to assist with our Little Libraries by sorting and stocking books. The image below shows the Little Library at Ridgely Elementary School. Feel free to add books to the Ridgely School Little Library at anytime. Information on our other Little Libraries will follow soon.
Special thanks are due to Vicki Megginson completed her tenure as Community Services Director at the end of June. Megan Norman (mnorman@familiadental.com) is our new Community Services Director. Let her know if you have suggestions for service projects or would like to volunteer for any of the projects listed above.
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 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!
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 and any other volunteer hours that you have not reported.
Rod presented Randy with his President's pin (image on left), and Bob Stuart presented him with his President's badge (image below)
Then the other officers, who are continuing in their roles, Secretary Loretta Meeks and Treasurer Sheila Mack were officially installed and pledged to perform the duties of their offices (image on right). Finally the the whole Board was called forward to be installed and pledge to fulfill their duties following the highest principles and the Constitution and Bylaws of the Club and Rotary International (image below). From left to right, the new leadership team includes Youth Services Director Dave Fowler, Club Service Director Ross Hodel, Community Service Director Megan Norman, President Randy Erford, International Service Director Bob Stuart, Foundation Treasurer Bill Smith (not on Board), Membership Service Director Tony Williams, and Board Member at large Vicki Megginson. Board members not included in the picture are Board Members at Large Bill Kempiners and Marty Michelson, and Sergeant at Arms Jasmine Gibson.
Barry then presented Randy with a helmet that will help him fulfill these goals (image on left).
At the June 27 meeting, Barry Tobias presented Service Above Self Awards to club members who had made extraordinary contributions to the club. He presented each with a certificate, plaque, and Rotary-branded insulated coffee mug/thermos.
Vicki Megginson for all her mentorship and for her outstanding work arranging for numerous community service projects (centered image above).
At our June 27 meeting, Travis Magoulias, with assistance from Barry Tobias, formally inducted Jacqualine Jarju as a new member of the club, and they presented her with her pin and red badge (image above and to left). Travis will serve as her mentor. Jacqualine has been attending our meetings and has been active in service projects. Please be sure to introduce yourself if don't already know her. She makes a great addition to our club.
Two new members, Chris Atchison and Megan Norman, graduated from the red to blue badges, Travis presented them both with their new badges (Image on right). We are happy to have them as full-fledged members of our club.
We hope you did not miss Rotary Day at the Ball Park on June 26. Rod arranged for a bus and we had fun on the bus and at the game. On top of all that it was an exciting game, with lots of hits, and the Cubs won the rival game with the Cards for the first time in ages in overtime.
We installed 550 flags for our Flag Service Project. Thank you to the volunteers who installed flags and lights. All flags were in place before the Memorial Day (May 30) weekend and will remain in place through Flag Day (June 14) and the Fourth of July holiday. Then our crews will collect and store flags until our next deployment in September for Labor Day (September 5) and Patriots Day (September 11). Then we will collect and store flags until the process begins again in May 2023!
Volunteers are needed to monitor and stock the pantry for two shifts each month (Shift A during the first half of the month and shift B during the second half of the month). The image on the left shows the micropantry at Ridgely School.
