NCAA Tournament for Polio The NCAA March Madness is happening this year, and so is our Fundraiser for Polio! But… the format is different this year and so we will adjust as well. The Tournament is occurring in Indianapolis in a shortened time period, and so we are going to shorten up as well. Bill Smith and Bill Sturm will be presenting our abbreviated plan this week, and everyone is encouraged to get involved, be generous, and have fun!
Rotary Youth Leadership Academy Bill Kempiners has done a great job soliciting for sophomores for RYLA. This, too, is abbreviated this year, and we are limited to three students. Know a sophomore that would be a good match for RYLA? The date is Saturday, April 17 on video from 9:45 to 1:30. For more information check out the next story in this Newsletter.
Virtual 5K Go The Extra Mile will be a new venture for our Club! Are you feeling adventurous? Do you want to help recognize the Front Line Servants in our community? Then talk to Dave and see if helping with this service project is right for you.
For the Love of Reading Our Literacy Grant involves building and maintaining mini libraries in our community. We’ve already had books donated to us. We have immediate needs for designing and constructing libraries that match the mini pantries they will be near. We also have 25 boxes of books to sort, and now that it is warming up we want to have a team of Rotarians sort and share them!
Ridgely School Supplies The children are back in school, and special times call for special gifts. The teachers were asked to identify what they need to duplicate supplies kids have in school and at home. And then the money donated last summer was used to fill those needs. Thanks to Tim and Lib Granzeau for the great idea of gathering money to buy what was needed. Thank you, Tim (image to right) for helping load the supplies for delivery to the school. And thanks to thrifty Barb Kromphardt for stretching the dollars to get everything on the list.
As I announced at our last two Rotary meetings, RYLA 2021 will be held virtually from 9:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. The image shows a Springfield student participating in a past RYLA session.
I have agreed to coordinate outreach for all five Springfield clubs. Each club will be limited to three nominations. If you know of a sophomore high school student who has exhibited leadership capability, I invite you to send his/her/their contact information and a brief description of their activities for the clubs to evaluate in the nominating process. All names and full contact information should be emailed to me by March 19.
Click on RYLA 2021 to download a flyer giving information that will help you to discuss the Academy with any student you think may be interested. DO NOT share the flyer with the student. Once forwarded to me, I will distribute the names to all five clubs' representatives and they will select those whom they wish to nominate. I will then contact both the students selected and those who were not.
Also, if you are aware of any community youth groups that I should be contacting, please send me their information. Thanks to Bob Moore, I have already reached out to Frontiers International of Springfield, and I will be reaching out to Erica Austin.
During my part of the presentation on the Peace Builders Initiative at our February 15, meeting I noted that I had been inspired by a statement made by Holger Knaack (image to left), 2020-2021 Rotary International President, at the RI International Assembly in January of 2020. I thought you would enjoy reading the direct quotation of President Knaack's comment:
In Rotary, we stand for values of equality, tolerance, and peace. Tolerance is a relevant concern in so many parts of the world now. Rotary is not political and it must stay that way. But when things obviously go wrong, we cannot look away. Rotarians must not be speechless. We must stand by our values and our Four-Way Test. We are measured not only by our results, but also by our attitude.
Let’s join in a courageous conversation about building anti-racist organizations. Our club and its Peace Builders Committee is committed to living the ideals of the Four-Way Test in word and deed. To help us better understand systemic racism and its impact, we are encouraging all of our members to register for a two-part webinar on building anti-racist organizations. Be a part of courageous conversations led by trainers from Crossroad Antiracism Organizing and Training. Several dates are available on either Mondays or Saturdays in March from 10 am-noon. You can register at
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1867975211@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.
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstairs and curbside pickup for the March 1, 2021 meeting is:
Meat Lasagna
Beef Stew
Chef's Choice of Salad and Dessert
Maldaners has relaxed the deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner. The deadline for getting your order in is Sunday, February 28 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.
Please note that in cases of inclement weather, we will adjust meeting in person as we previously did when we had the ice and snow storms. We will contact those who said they were planning to attend the in-person meeting and offer a chance to switch to curbside pick-up and will let everyone know if the meeting will be Webex only. People may switch to curbside or cancel entirely if they don’t feel comfortable about driving.
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.
We had a grand celebration of Rotary generosity at our annual Foundation Night on February 22. As Club Foundation Chair for the Rotary International Foundation, I had the honor of serving as the Master of Ceremonies for this special evening (image to left). Our five Rotary Giving Circles each recognized a new Paul Harris Fellow. Each circle member gives $200 a year resulting in a total annual donation of $1000 for each circle. In rotation, one circle member each year recognizes an individual of their choice as a Paul Harris Fellow. The individual selected receives a certificate, medallion, and pin, and we donate $1000 to Rotary International in their name.
Circle 1 (President’s Circle) includes Marty Michelson, Norm Megginson, Roger Randolph, Harry Mitchell, and Jim Theis. Marty Michelson recognized Club member Travis Magoulias (image to right) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his extraordinary contributions as the Chair of the Membership Committee and a member of the Flag Committee as well as for his great attitude and positive energy.
Circle 2 (Friendship Circle) includes Sheila Mack, Vicki Megginson, Bonnie Styles, Bill Smith, and Joe Ludtke. Sheila Mack recognized Loretta Meeks (image to left) as the Circle’s Paul Harris Fellow for being a special person who is an amazing asset to our Club and for generously volunteering for community service projects and for her outstanding service as Club Secretary and a member of the Peace Builders Committee.
Circle 3 (Fellowship Circle) includes Bill Kempiners, David Kromphardt, Chuck Hunt, Neal Miller, and Bill Sturm. Bill Kempiners recognized Club member Stacy Kelly (image to right) for exemplifying the principles of Rotary for her work for the Flag Service Committee (including developing flag routes), as a Youth Exchange Counselor and a member of the Bellatti Kincaid Youth Exchange Fund Implementation Committee, and for her work as Club Service Director.
Circle 4 (Director’s Circle) includes Bruce Strom, Bob Stuart, Rod Buffington, Barry Tobias, and Ross Hodel. Bruce Strom recognized Nate Clemmer (image to left) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his service to his country as an Air Force Officer before he joined Rotary and for his outstanding contributions to the Flag Program and as Sergeant at Arms.
Circle 5 (Chancellor's Circle) includes Naomi Lynn, John Loftus, Dan Milligan, Kathryn Harris, and a needed new member. Naomi Lynn recognized community member Michael Burlingame (image to right) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his outstanding accomplishments as the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Chair of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield, service to numerous community Boards and as President of the Abraham Lincoln Association, for his renowned books and edited works, for attracting outstanding Lincoln scholars and students to our community, and much more.
Rod presented Paul Harris Pins for extending giving to Marty Michelson (+2), Bruce Strom (+5), Sheila Mack (+2), Bill Kempiners (+2), Naomi Lynn (+3), Roger Randolph (+2), and Tony Williams (+6). Tony Williams received a special ruby-studded pin for his generous donations (image to left).
I am retiring from the position of Club Foundation Chair for The Rotary International Foundation after 15 years of service. A total of 129 Paul Harris Fellows were honored over this 15 year time period, with our club providing over $300,000 to The Rotary International Foundation over this same 15 year time period. The club is nearing one million dollars in contributions to the Rotary International Foundation since the Foundation's beginning. Our club was honored as a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club by The Rotary international Foundation during our Centennial year 2012 - 2013. Harry Mitchell will be installed as the next Club Foundation Chair for The Rotary International Foundation on July 1, 2021.
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? Club member Justin Rose joined Rotary to help heal communities. He is a member of our Peace Builders Committee. 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). You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at illinoisdelta@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
The children are back in school, and special times call for special gifts. The teachers were asked to identify what they need to duplicate supplies kids have in school and at home. And then the money donated last summer was used to fill those needs. Thanks to Tim and Lib Granzeau for the great idea of gathering money to buy what was needed. Thank you, Tim (image to right) for helping load the supplies for delivery to the school. And thanks to thrifty Barb Kromphardt for stretching the dollars to get everything on the list.
As I announced at our last two Rotary meetings, RYLA 2021 will be held virtually from 9:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. The image shows a Springfield student participating in a past RYLA session.
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.
Circle 1 (President’s Circle) includes Marty Michelson, Norm Megginson, Roger Randolph, Harry Mitchell, and Jim Theis. Marty Michelson recognized Club member Travis Magoulias (image to right) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his extraordinary contributions as the Chair of the Membership Committee and a member of the Flag Committee as well as for his great attitude and positive energy. 
Circle 2 (Friendship Circle) includes Sheila Mack, Vicki Megginson, Bonnie Styles, Bill Smith, and Joe Ludtke. Sheila Mack recognized Loretta Meeks (image to left) as the Circle’s Paul Harris Fellow for being a special person who is an amazing asset to our Club and for generously volunteering for community service projects and for her outstanding service as Club Secretary and a member of the Peace Builders Committee. 
Circle 4 (Director’s Circle) includes Bruce Strom, Bob Stuart, Rod Buffington, Barry Tobias, and Ross Hodel. Bruce Strom recognized Nate Clemmer (image to left) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his service to his country as an Air Force Officer before he joined Rotary and for his outstanding contributions to the Flag Program and as Sergeant at Arms.
Circle 5 (Chancellor's Circle) includes Naomi Lynn, John Loftus, Dan Milligan, Kathryn Harris, and a needed new member. Naomi Lynn recognized community member Michael Burlingame (image to right) as a Paul Harris Fellow for his outstanding accomplishments as the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Chair of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield, service to numerous community Boards and as President of the Abraham Lincoln Association, for his renowned books and edited works, for attracting outstanding Lincoln scholars and students to our community, and much more.
Rod presented Paul Harris Pins for extending giving to Marty Michelson (+2), Bruce Strom (+5), Sheila Mack (+2), Bill Kempiners (+2), Naomi Lynn (+3), Roger Randolph (+2), and Tony Williams (+6). Tony Williams received a special ruby-studded pin for his generous donations (image to left).
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Just follow this link:
