At our August 11 meeting, members brought in school supplies for students at our adopted school, Ridgely Elementary. We completely filled the back of Ken Gilmore's car (lead image) with supplies. Vicki Megginson gave an excellent presentation on the new member orientation process for our Club Assembly on Membership. On August 18, we brought in gently used business clothes for donation to RISE, toasted a new member, and had a great update on the Railroad Relocation Project and the new HUB, and heard about plans for the LINC pathway. Our August 25 Social Night at the Brickhouse included one new member, a member who is transferring to our Club, three prospective members, and and an inbound exchange student, in addition to good food and conversation. We will not meet on September 1 to commemorate Labor Day. On September 8 we will convene in Maldaners Upstairs for a Club Assembly on Membership. Read about these activities and many more in this Newsletter.
Rotary International’s theme for August was Membership and New Club Development. Our Club embraced it fully.
We were thrilled to induct Brandy Zanger (image above) as our newest member, and we welcomed guests Kay Powell, Miranda Smith, Roslyn Russo, and Ryan Bye at our Social Night at Brickhouse Grill & Pub. All of these individuals are interested in membership in our club. Kay is shown in the first image below (center) with our inbound exchange student Eva (on right), Miranda and Roslyn are shown in the second image below (to the left and right of Vicki Megginson, respectively). Ryan Bye is show in the third image below (far right) with James Applegate and Rod Buffington.
We welcome Brandy and all these prospective new members, and are thrilled that they have been attending club meetings, the social night, and meeting with members and our membership chair about our club.
At our August 11 Club Assembly, Vicki Megginson shared how the New Member Orientation Committee will help guide new Rotarians into service and fellowship (image below). Thank you, Vicki and the committee, for this important work.
As illustrated in the articles in this Newsletter, service was also at the forefront in August. We:
Supplied school supplies (lead image for this Newsletter) and stocked the micro pantry at Ridgely Elementary School (first image below).
Donated professional clothing for the RISE “Give & Take” Drive.
Applied for a $2,600 District Club Grant with Kumler Outreach Ministries to provide baby layettes for low-income families.
Supported the creation of the Peace Quilt with squares made by Outlet youth, which is on display at the Illinois State Museum through Sept. 2 (second image below).
Our members also engaged with community progress. On August 18, Kevin Seals and Sara Jimenez updated us on the Rail Relocation Project and the Springfield LINC pathway. These are transformational projects for our city’s future. I was happy to present them with their Rotary mug for taking the time to present to us and for the great work they do for our community (image below). More information on this presentation is included in this Newsletter.
August was filled with special moments too: Bob Stuart’s toast with Italian wine to celebrate Brandy’s induction, Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo’s service, and his Italian heritage (first image below). We also gave a warm welcome for our inbound exchange student, Eva from Taiwan, hosted by local Rotarians. Eva also joined us at Brickhouse. Welcome Eva! She is shown in a previous image with Kay Powell. .
As August closes, we look ahead to September and Rotary’s new theme: Basic Education and Literacy. Let’s continue building on our momentum in service, community, connection, and friendship.
When we meet at Maldaner's, please submit your reservations for dinner! Click on the link embedded below and enter the date, your name, dine in/carry out and number of meals being consumed in the restaurant and/or carried out prior to each meeting. Preferably, everyone will fill out the form by noon on the Friday before the upcoming meeting. We have given staff at Maldaner's access to the view, so it will help them with planning. As always, we will direct him to have a few additional servings available for members who forget or last minute guests.
The same link will work for the entire Rotary year and will be shared within each Newsletter, so do not delete the Newsletter until you have submitted your dinner information. Please remember that the three most recent Newsletters can also be accessed from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) so you can also access the link for reservations from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org).
On Saturday, August 9, Rotary took over Busch Stadium for Family Day at the Ballpark! The game featured the Cardinals vs. the Cubs.
Some 700 Rotarians, friends, and guests were in the stands, cheering on the action (and maybe enjoying a hot dog or two). District Governor Bill Knake got things started by tossing the first pitch! His name was featured on the score board (image above).
The Cubs won the game 9–1, but the real win belonged to us—thanks to everyone who bought or sold tickets or contributed a cash donation. The proceeds will fund literacy grants, making your generosity a true home run!
The images show members of our club and their friends and families enjoying the game.
It’s that time of the year again! The Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois collected and delivered much-needed school supplies for the children of Ridgely Elementary School.
We’re proud to continue this tradition of supporting students and families as they start the school year ready to learn!
We distributed the School Supply List for Ridgely to our members. Some members purchased the items needed for one student. For example, one member purchased all the items needed for a single kindergarten student (image on left) Other members purchased selected supplies needed by most students or shared by students in the classroom, such as pencils, paper towels, wet wipes, and kleenex. Members brought all their purchases to our August 11 Club meeting. They donated enough supplies to literally fill the back of Ken Gilmore's car (lead image). Ken is our Community Service Director and is the former principal of Ridgely School so this project is especially meaningful to him. Ken and our Club President John Web personally transported the school supplies to Ridgely School and delivered them to Jennifer Butcher, the current Principal of Ridgely School (second from left in image below).
Our August 11 meeting was a Club Assembly on Membership. After a brief introduction by Membership Chair Harry Mitchell, Vicki Megginson, the Chair of the New Member Orientation Committee, gave an excellent presentation on the plans that this committee has put in place. She first introduced the committee members and thanked them for their active participation in the committee (image on left, plus John Webb who serves as ex officio in his role as club president).
She then provided an overview of plans for orienting new members. Rather than subjecting members to long and formal training session(s), the orientation process is more fluid and geared to the members interests and needs. Orientation is provided by a mentor or mentors. Three Rotarians have been targeted as mentors thus far: Vicki Megginson, Bonnie Styles, and Harry Mitchell. The committee has developed guidelines and a checklist for mentors as well evaluations of the program to be completed by the mentor and new member to help us continually improve the program. Vicki provided copies of these new tools for each table during her presentation. The committee is also putting together resource packets for new members (image below).
New members are assigned a mentor or mentors early in the process after their membership is approved. Mentors will socialize with and introduce new members to other members, committee chairs, and project leaders. The committee identified numerous topics that the mentors will cover during orientation. Mentors will have at least two meetings with new members. The first meeting will deal with basic information about our club and our traditions, major fundraising and volunteer opportunities, other issues of interest to the member, and will answer questions that they might have. The second meeting will delve more deeply into communication tools such as websites and social media and Rotary at the district and international levels. Vicki characterized the process as helping new members progress along the continuum of engagement with the club and Rotary (image below). She noted that new members will determine how they would like to become more engaged in the club. Mentors will help them engage in the activities that they select. She also noted that all members of the club have roles to play in helping new members engage.
On August 18, our Club was honored to welcome Brandy Zanger as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois!
Brandy grew up in Quincy and moved to Springfield in the mid-1990s. With a background in chemistry, she spent 25 years in healthcare administration, most recently serving as HSHS Director of Operations. However, she has now embraced a new career path she loves—as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.
Brandy is proud mom to two children, a son, Wolfgang, serving in the Air Force in Japan, and a daughter, Ripley, who is a college junior. Brandy also shares her home with Juniper, her beloved 5 year old black lab.
Special thanks to Rotarian Travis Magoulias, who encouraged Brandy to join and proposed her membership.
Welcome, Brandy—we’re so glad to have you in Rotary!
Pictured from left to right: Membership Director Harry Mitchell, Rotarian Brandy Zanger, and Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois President John Webb.
At our August 18 Club Meeting, we heard from Kevin Seals of Hanson Professional Services and Sara Wojcicki Jimenez of KIND Consulting on three major initiatives shaping Springfield’s future: the Rail Relocation Project, the new Transportation Hub, and the proposed Springfield LINC pathway.
Kevin (image above) shared updates on the Rail Project that will ease downtown congestion by moving train traffic from 3rd Street to 10th Street, adding overpasses and underpasses, and creating a new multimodal transportation hub. Several crossings are already complete, with final construction phases leading to full relocation in 2027.
Sara highlighted recent developments for the new Transportation Hub, including new murals (image above). She also reported on how the LINC project builds on the progress made by the Rail Relocation Project by transforming the 3rd Street corridor into a central walking and biking trail, connecting the Illinois State Fairgrounds to the Interurban/Wabash Trail (image below). Engineering work is now underway following the completed feasibility study.
Together, these projects promise to reshape Springfield’s core—making it safer, more connected, and more welcoming for residents and visitors alike.
Our Club was proud to participate in the RISE Springfield Annual Give & Take Clothing Drive at the Salvation Army Community Center in Springfield.
Donation Day was on Friday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Clothing Pick Up Day for those needing to update or build their professional wardrobe was Saturday, August 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This drive gives people in our community the professional attire they need for interviews, career changes, and workplace success.
We turned our August 18 Club meeting into a collection day. Members of our club brought in lightly worn business attire for men and women for donation to RISE. We donated lots of quality men’s & women’s clothing to support the cause (image above). Some of our members transported the clothing to the Salvation Army on Donation Day.
Our Rotary Club enjoyed a wonderful evening Monday at Brickhouse Grill & Pub!
Great food, meaningful conversations, and camaraderie that makes Rotary so exceptional. We were especially glad to welcome guests exploring what Rotary is all about. These new connections make nights like this even better.
Rotary isn't just service. It is community, connection, and friendship.
Bed Build Day-Invitation to Rotary and Community Volunteers
Be a part of Springfield’s Bed Build Day on Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. No construction skills are required to help with the process.
The motto, “no kids sleep on the floor in our town” is from the new Springfield chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. SHP’s mission is to tackle childhood bedlessness, which affects an estimated 3% of the population. Their goal is to provide children who do not have beds or even pillows a bed frame, mattress and bedding to call their own to ensure a night of good sleep.
Rotary volunteers are joining community volunteers to participate in the build. SHP (Sleep in Heavenly Peace Chapter) has raised enough funds to build more beds for children in Springfield. If you can volunteer even for an hour, your support would be greatly appreciated! The link to register to volunteer is below. However, there will be registration and waiver forms for those who show up on Saturday. Students 18 years old and under will need to have a waiver signed by their parent. There are many steps to the process to so if you are not an experienced builder, we can still use your help.
Now you can sign up to volunteer to fill the Ridgely Micropantry by using the Signup Genius App. Just download the app and sign up for a two week timeframe that works best for you or you and a friend. What a great way to make a difference. Thank you!
Background on Peace Builder Club recognition and Committee: Jim Applegate, Chair of our Club's Peace Builder Committee (second from right in image below), spoke about our Peace Builders Committee and the Social Justice Sewing Academy at our July 8 Club Meeting. At that meeting, District Governor Dan O'Brien (second from left) and past District Governor, Bill Durall (far right), presented then President Megan Reynolds and Jim Applegate with a Rotary International Certificate recognizing our Club as a Rotary International Peace Builder Club (image below). We are very proud to be recognized for our peace-building efforts.
Our Club's Peace Builders Committee secured grants from the Healing Racism in Illinois Program (https://fieldfoundation.org/healingillinois) and the Rotary Literacy Grant program to create a partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) (www.sjsacademy.org) and The Outlet (www.theoutletillinois.org) supporting a Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) for young men and boys (as well as some of their parents, grandparents, and young girls) served by The Outlet. The Outlet largely serves youth in families without present fathers.
For three nights about 20-25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be a young male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.
The insights and high level of engagement of participants was amazing to hear and see. One retired veteran teacher/quilter called it “one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.” Everyone involved from SJSA organizers to Outlet staff, to Rotary and quilter volunteers came away in awe of the young men’s work as well as energized and motivated to make sure their message was heard far and wide to spark change.
These squares have been transformed into a beautiful full-sized quilt by SJSA. With support from a second Club Grant from Rotary District 6460, the Peace Builders Committee is organizing community events where the quilt will be displayed, and recordings of the young men talking about their work will be presented to leaders and citizens across Springfield. The goal of these events is to spark community conversations about what Springfield needs to do to address the issues raised by these young men and their quilt and build greater peace in our community.
The quilt is on display in the Juneteenth Noir V: Resilience exhibition at the Illinois State Museum from June 13-Septembers 2. The Peace Committee was thrilled that the two young curators for the Noir V: Resilience exhibition, Austin Wells and Elijah Miller (image below), requested to include the quilt in their exhibition (second image below). Jim Applegate, Bonnie Styles, and Rod and Rosemary Buffington were honored to attend the Noir V: Resilience opening reception at the Illinois State Museum on June 13. The exhibition is open to the public during regular Illinois State Museum hours, and we encourage all our members to check it out and see the quilt. An article by Karen Witter on this project and the exhibition of the quilt was published in the June 12, 2025 issue of the Illinois Times.
The beautiful quilt created through this partnernship will also be loaned for displays at national quilting expositions and museums along with the estimated 45 other community quilts created to date by SJSA to give voice to those who are often not heard by their communities and country.
The Rotary Club of Springfield has agreed to host a Foreign Exchange Student for the school year 2025-2026. We are looking for one more host family to serve one semester of the school year, preferably with Springfield or Southeast High School boundaries.
We now know that the student will be a female from Taiwan. Preferably the host family will have a high-school aged student, but that is not a requirement. Single family hosts are allowed pending approval by both the student and the student's parents. Because the student is a female, I cannot serve as her Youth Exchange Counselor so we are also looking for a female Rotarian to serve in that capacity. Let me know if you are interested.
Please think of family and friends you think may be interested in hosting a Foreign Exchange student, preferable three if you can think of that many. You or they may contact me for additional information. My email is bkemp1100@hotmail.com, or phone 217-494-7467.
Finding host families has become difficult, so I would appreciate any assistance you can provide. I am attaching a list of host family requirements. Please note that COVID inoculations are no longer required.
I sincerely appreciate any assistance you can provide.
Please remember that we are including some social night meetings at locations other than Maldaners. Please pay attention to the meeting schedule listed in the Newsletter, on our website home page (www.spirotary.org), and on our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram pages for the dates and locations of the meetings.
September 1, 2025: No Rotary (Labor Day)
September 8, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting, Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Club Assembly on Membership
September 15, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting, Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Speaker to be announced
September 22, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting, Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Jill Friday: The Springfield Community Interact Club
Learn about this new Community Inrteract Club from the Club's Advisor. Most Rotary Interact Club are based in High Schools so this club is different and offers greater flexibility.
September 29, 2025: Off-Site Social Night
Location to be announced
October 6, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Speaker to be announced
October 13, 2025: No Rotary Club Meeting (Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day)
October 20, 2025 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Club Assembly on Membership
October 27, 2025: Off-Site Social Night
Location to be announced
November 3, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Speaker to be announced
November 10, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Club Assembly on Membership
November 17, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Speaker to be announced
November 24, 2025: Off-Site Social Night
Location to be announced
December 1, 2025: Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Club Assembly on Membership
December 9, 2025 (Tuesday) Rotary Holiday Party
Location to be announced
December 15, 2025 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Speaker to be announced
December 22, 2025 No Rotary Club Meeting (Holiday Season)
December 29, 2025: No Rotary Club Meeting (New Year's holiday)
You can sign up using the new Sign-Up Genius online system featured in the above article by Ken Gilmore. We are now signing up two individuals for each slot.
June 10-23 Ross Hodel (Thanks, Ross!)
June 24-July 7 John Webb (Thanks, John)
July 8-July 21 (Thanks, Allie and Vicki)
July 22- August 4 Harry Mitchell and Allie Montney
August 5- August 18 (Thanks to Harry)
August 19-September 1 (Thanks to Allie)
September 2-September 15 (Allie Montney, 1 slot filled)
September 16-September 29 (John Webb, both slots)
September 30-October 12 (Jim Applegate, one slot filled)
October 13-October 26 OPEN
October 27-November 9 (Allie Montney and one open slot)
November 10-November 23 OPEN
November 24-December 7 Vicki Megginson and one open slot
December 8- December 21 Bonnie Styles, both slots)
I appreciate your help!
Thank you for signing up for a micropantry volunteer shift. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by the community we serve.
Members who have supported this program realize the price of food and other products stocked in the pantry have become more expensive. Under a new program, a member may be reimbursed up to $100 when a purchase is made for the food pantry. Funding for this reimbursement was made possible by donations in the amount $1,739, which were received at the Rotary Open House last December that I hosted at my home
Below are the details including the location of the pantry, and suggestions on items to collect and distribute. If you are unable to complete your shift, please reach out and we'll work on a better period of time to meet your needs. If you have suggestions for future volunteers, please let me know and we'll adapt the program along the way.
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Ridgely Elementary School
2040 North 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62702
Main entrance to the school (look for the yellow and purple pantry by the front doors).
The image below shows the location of the pantry at the entrance to the school.
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.
The image below shows a fully stocked pantry.
The image below shows me stocking an empty micropantry on June 4.
Micro Pantry Coordinator: Allie Montney with assistance from John Webb
Phone 217-494-6901 (for the quickest response, please text)
Things I've noticed that may be helpful: Stocking the pantry on a weekend or after 4:00PM during the weekdays means less people and easier to get a parking spot. Ask friends and family to donate unused household items for the pantry that you can collect. If purchasing bags of fresh fruit or veggies, stock them individually so that more in need can take what they need. It's going to be freezing outside soon, so consider if the items will no longer be good if frozen. ALDI grocery stores have prices that cannot be beat.
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 Applicationin 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 hmitchell11@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. You will be able to enter your hours and correctly assign them to the correct Rotary Calendar year. Just follow this link:
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 hours for any volunteering that you do on behalf of Rotary.
The image below shows Community Services Director Ken Gilmore loading school supplies purchased by our members for students at Ridgely Elementary School.
Some 700 Rotarians, friends, and guests were in the stands, cheering on the action (and maybe enjoying a hot dog or two). District Governor Bill Knake got things started by tossing the first pitch! His name was featured on the score board (image above).
We distributed the School Supply List for Ridgely to our members. Some members purchased the items needed for one student. For example, one member purchased all the items needed for a single kindergarten student (image on left) Other members purchased selected supplies needed by most students or shared by students in the classroom, such as pencils, paper towels, wet wipes, and kleenex. Members brought all their purchases to our August 11 Club meeting. They donated enough supplies to literally fill the back of Ken Gilmore's car (lead image). Ken is our Community Service Director and is the former principal of Ridgely School so this project is especially meaningful to him. Ken and our Club President John Web personally transported the school supplies to Ridgely School and delivered them to Jennifer Butcher, the current Principal of Ridgely School (second from left in image below). 
Our August 11 meeting was a Club Assembly on Membership. After a brief introduction by Membership Chair Harry Mitchell, Vicki Megginson, the Chair of the New Member Orientation Committee, gave an excellent presentation on the plans that this committee has put in place. She first introduced the committee members and thanked them for their active participation in the committee (image on left, plus John Webb who serves as ex officio in his role as club president).
Our Rotary Club enjoyed a wonderful evening Monday at Brickhouse Grill & Pub!
For three nights about 20-25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be a young male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.
