We had a productive Club Assembly on March 20 with many good suggestions for ways to increase our membership.
Please join us for our club meeting on March 27 at Maldaners Upstairs. Our speaker Andrea Aggertt (image above), Architect of the Capitol, will discuss ongoing renovations to the Capitol Complex.
This past Monday, on February 20, our Rotary Club of Springfield held a Club Assembly to discuss the issue of declining membership. This concern is not unique to Rotary Clubs but to many, if not most, similar service organizations in the United States. The Club Assembly afforded all members an opportunity to comment on the issue in an effort to formulate how best to renew and revitalize the Club in the coming year and thereafter.
Upcoming Programs
Please note that in the next several weeks our Club Service Director, Ross Hodel, has scheduled a sequence of interesting and important speakers:
At our next meeting on Monday, March 27, we will hear from Andrea Aggertt, Illinois State Capitol Architect. She will review renovations currently underway to create a new underground entrance and visitors center for the Capitol. Also modification's to the Stratton Building and the State Armory will be discussed.
In two weeks on Monday, April 3, Mark Hanna, Executive Director of the Springfield (SPI) Airport Authority will discuss recent changes in airline schedules and remodeling at the airport, as well as the current state of air travel.
In three weeks, on Monday, April 10, we will hear from Geoff Isringhausen, Owner Isringhausen Imports. He will provide a brief history of Isringhausen Imports, the nature of their current business, including racing, and the way in which the auto sector has changed during his tenure at Isringhausen.
In early February 2023, a devastating earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, struck Turkey. Rotary clubs in the Midwestern United States responded by partnering with Midwest Mission and North Star Foundation to ship a container of food, donated by Rotary’s partner, Baja Bridges in California, with the approval of the Turkish Consulate.
So far, 25,000 “Chef 5 Minute Meals” (image below) have been sent to Turkey, with 25,000 more to be sent on Friday, March 24 to Ukraine. As the war zone continues to escalate in Ukraine, so does the need for humanitarian aid.
It's common for Rotarians to visit other Rotary clubs when traveling or relocating. It's not so common for such a visit to lead to a complex collaboration impacting people in multiple states and countries. David Fowler, President, of the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Foundation, contacted Midwest Mission to see if they could get a donation of “Chef 5 Minute Meals” to Turkey. These meals were donated to the Rotary Club by Katherine Turner of Baja Bridges out of Clarksburg, California. Rotary was willing to pay the cost to bring them to Springfield, they just needed a partner to get them to Turkey. At that moment, there was no clear route.
About an hour later, Brad Walton, Midwest Mission Operations Manager, called North Star Foundation, one of Midwest Mission’s partners, to coordinate the details of an upcoming Ukraine shipment. While talking, North Star mentioned they had a contact through the Turkish consulate to get supplies into the country. Within an hour, the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Foundation, Midwest Mission, and Baja Bridges went from no way into Turkey to a clear route to get the meals into Turkey.
The first shipment of aid dedicated to disaster relief in Turkey left Midwest Mission on Friday, March 10. This shipment included 25,000 “Chef 5 Minute Meals”. The second shipment of 25,000 meals will be the first of many shipments containing meals and other requested relief items that will be sent to the region.
The shipment for Ukraine will take the same route as Turkey shipment. David Fowler stands with some of the boxes of meals that are headed to Ukraine (image on left). The donated supplies will leave Midwest Mission in a container on a truck to St. Louis on March 24, 2023 (the image below shows boxes being loaded into the container on the truck). They will then head on the railroad up to New York, and from there, will leave on a boat over to Poland. There is a warehouse set up in Poland as a distribution center for disaster relief. From this warehouse, they are able to get supplies to Ukraine, refugees in Poland, Syria, and Turkey. Because of this, future shipments full of aid have the potential of getting needed resources to people in four countries - based on need.
Midwest Mission Executive Director Chantel Corrie says, “Please remember disaster response, especially of this magnitude, is not a sprint but a marathon. If you assume what others need you can clog the transportation and storage of items that are more important or create a disaster within a disaster. That’s why we only work with trusted established partners, so we can be sure to send what is actually needed.”
This will be the first of many shipments of relief that will go to Turkey and Ukraine. The magnitude of the disaster in the region means there will be years of recovery ahead. Midwest Mission is continuing to respond to the effects of the war in Ukraine as well, sending Rice Meals, medical supplies, Personal Dignity Kits, and other requested items.
Monetary donations allow us to quickly buy supplies in bulk and buy what is specifically requested by our partners in Turkey and Ukraine. We never send items that are not specifically requested because we never want to create more chaos in their crisis.
If you’d like to help people impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and the war in Ukraine, the Rotary Club of Springfield, IL makes it easy. The Club’s Foundation partners with Midwest Mission, the North Star Foundation, and Baja Bridges to ship containers of food and needed supplies. The Rotary Club of Springfield works with other Rotary Clubs, Rotary International, and Rotary Clubs in Turkey and Ukraine to help families in need. The image below shows Rotarians from the Springfield Sunrise Club (on left) and the Rotary Club of Springfield (on right) with some of the meals that are now on the way to Ukraine.
Please send contributions to:
Springfield Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 615, Springfield, IL 62702 Memo: Disaster Relief Fund
Midwest Mission, 1001 Mission Drive, Pawnee, IL 62558 Memo: Turkey OR Ukraine
Midwestmission.org / Tel. 217-483-7911
Baja Bridges, P.O. Box 14, Clarksburg, CA 95612
Bajabridges.org / Tel. 916-832-8965
About the Rotary Club of Springfield and their Springfield Rotary Foundation
The members of the Rotary Club of Springfield are an active, diverse group of individuals with a common interest in making the community and the world a better place for everyone.
About Baja Bridges https://www.bajabridges.org/
Baja Bridges is a network of volunteers who provide equipment and supplies for EMTs and firefighters and other assistance for community services in Baja, Mexico. Baja Bridges builds community connections across the border and supplies the necessary tools for these dedicated individuals to perform their jobs with safety and pride.
About Midwest Mission
The mission of the Midwest Mission is to bring the hearts and hands of God’s people together to transform resources into humanitarian aid, so we can show God’s love in a practical way to those in need in their time of crisis.
Around the world and around the corner, people are lacking simple resources that could improve their circumstances. That's why Midwest Mission sends tangible resources to make an intangible difference in their lives through hope and empowerment. In times of crisis internationally and in the United States, Midwest Mission sends Disaster Relief, Health, Education, and Micro Business supplies distributed freely through trusted partner nonprofits.
In 2022, Midwest Mission sent $7.99 million of humanitarian aid in 299 domestic and 48 international shipments.
If you want to learn more about what Midwest Mission does and how you can get involved, visit www.midwestmission.org or visit our Facebook at www.facebook.com/midwestmission.
We hope your teams are still in the game. There have already been many surprises with some top teams doing down in the first round. There will be more opportunities to purchase teams, and remember that proceeds from this fundraiser benefit Polio Plus.
We are exploring the possibility of organizing a Rotary Night at the Hoogland Center for the "Having our Say: the Delany Sisters' First 100 Years" performance. Our own Kathryn Harris and Patricia James Davis are starring in this play. Some of the other Springfield Clubs, including Springfield Sunrise have expressed an interest in joining us. So far, Saturday April 8 has been suggested as a possible date for this event. The play is in the Paul Ryan Theatre on the third floor, and it seats 140.
We are considering having a meet and greet in the theater directly after the performance to discuss the themes of the play, which is a true account of the lives of two African American centenarian sisters. We might arrange for appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages.
Tickets are $18 and a large portion goes towards two charities: The Springfield African American History Museum and The Links Inc.—both are organizations in which Kathryn is an integral member.
We will have more details soon. Please let me know if you would be interested in participating in this event.
At the Land of Lincoln Presidents-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) program on Sunday, March 20, Rod Buffington was invited to present the annual "Rotary Family Day at the Ball Park" to Districts' 6490 and 6510. Pictured with Rod in the image on the left is Rotary International President-Elect Gordon R. Mclnally of Scotland. He will become the Rotary International President in July 2023 and presented during the PETS program.
Mark your calendar. Rod announced that our annual Rotary Family Day at the Ball Park baseball game will be on July 29, 2023 at 6:15 p.m. It will feature the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Order your tickets through rotaryrod@comcast.net. The game will be a sold out game, therefore order your tickets early. Tickets are $60 each and checks should be made payable to the Rotary District 6460 Foundation. Order Forms will be sent to members soon via a ClubRunner email
Reserve your spot now and purchase your ticket by the March 27 deadline! On, March 2, 2023 Barb Malany of the Rotary Club of Springfield Sunrise will receive a prestigious Rotary International Service Above Self Award at a luncheon in Springfield. She will be only the third Rotarian in our District to receive this recognition. Previous Award Recipients were William Rutherford of the Rotary Club of Peoria (2005) and our own Rod Buffington of the Rotary Club of Springfield (2015). Your invitation (shown below) and a reservation form were emailed to you from our Club through ClubRunner on March 13. The Luncheon will be held at Christ the King Parish Hall, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield on March 2 at 1:00 p.m. and will cost $25 per person.
Bonnie Styles will continue to collect checks and reservation forms for our Club through our March 27 meeting. She will bring copies of the invitation and reservation form to the March 27 meeting in case you did not receive the email copies or pick up copies at our March 20 meeting. The reservation deadline is March 27 so get your check and reservation form to Bonnie soon. The reservation form also includes instructions on how to make a donation in Barb's honor to the Richard Morse Youth Exchange Scholarship Fund. Bonnie will also be collecting these checks, which should be made out to the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.
Rod Buffington surprised Barb Malany with the news of the award after he gave a program for the Springfield Sunrise Club on March 8 (image below). Other dignitaries present at the club meeting, including District Governor Bill Durrall and PDG Dick Robinson (pictured below) presumably came to the meeting to hear Rod's presentation about his artwork!
The award recognizes Barb's extraordinary contributions to the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and numerous other programs involving youth. Don't miss this important event.
On Foundation Night on February 27, our club named two community Paul Harris Fellows. The biographies for these two outstanding community leaders are provided below.
Joan Bortolon, President of Lincoln Land Honor Flight
Joan is the president of Lincoln Land Honor Flight. Her father, WWII veteran John Bortolon, was with the 101st airborne, rode gliders in Normandy on D-day, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Joan's father passed in 2004, the year the WWII Memorial opened in Washington D.C. Several years later Joan was contacted by Ray Wiede, who brought the program to Springfield, and she has been the face of the program ever since. For her efforts she has been nominated for the First Citizen Award. Joan has undergraduate and master’s degree in political science from Illinois State university. She worked for the state for 40 years, retiring in 2017.
There have been approximately 64 honor flights, which are free to veterans. Over 500 veterans and over 500 guardians have participated in the flights. Joan works from 35 to 40 hours each week on the Honor Flight Program and goes on each flight. Each veteran is given a colored shirt designating the era of their service. WWII veterans (prior to 1946) wear blue shirts. Korean War veterans (1947-1957) wear yellow shirts, and Vietnam (958-1975) veterans wear red shirts. All of the veteran guardians wear green shirts. There is currently a waiting list of about 500 veterans. Any veteran with a terminal illness is given priority. Bill Sturm presented her with the Paul Harris Fellow recognition, and we thanked her for all her efforts with this exemplary program.
Chris Richmond, Chairman of Moving Pillsbury Forward
Chris Richmond is Springfield’s former Fire Marshall who retired in 2019 and has since spent nearly full-time volunteering as the lead person on a project of major complexity called Moving Pillsbury Forward (MPF). The goal of the project is to redevelop the blighted eyesore Pillsbury Mills 18-acre site in the NE part of Springfield.
Chris is a Springfield native and graduate of Illinois State University. He is an independent consultant who works part-time to provide project design and management services to his clients. He served for 25 years with the Springfield Fire Department in the areas of emergency planning, smoke detector education, risk reduction, and community service outreach for the fire department. Since retirement in 2019, he has devoted almost full-time to Moving Pillsbury Forward, a not-for-profit group whose goal is to demolish and redevelop the Pillsbury Mill site. Chris is the Chairman and Treasurer of the group.
He’s involved members of the neighborhood within one mile of the Pillsbury site to inform them of the MPF’s activities. He has considered historical and preservation information and has reached out to former Pillsbury workers in Springfield. This activity has required working with city, county, state, and federal agencies, and officials. The complexities of the MPF environmental protection aspect and the legal complications encountered in this project are the tip-of-the-iceberg of activities they have completed. Working with a small cast of volunteers he has gotten clear title on ownership of the site, and EPA approvals for the ground and building, so that a clear path of demolish lies ahead.
Chris is active in the American Red Cross, South Central Illinois Chapter. He is also on an advisory board at IL State University where he serves as a resident assistant.
Randy Erford presented Chris with the Paul Harris Fellow recognition and everyone thanked him for his exemplary work on this project.
Our 2022-2023 Literacy Project, funded through the District 6460 Baseball Program, is underway at Black Hawk Elementary School in Springfield. This week, Project Director Loretta Meeks delivered a check to the school representatives (image on left) to pay for books for an expansion of their Reading is Fundamental Program to include K-2 students.
As part of the project Rotarians in our Club will read the books to and with students in these grade levels. The image below shows the school's and the student's commitment to literacy. We are happy to help the Black Hawk Bees by purchasing new books and helping them with their reading.
Mar 27, 2023— Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
Andrea Aggertt: Renovations to the IL State Capitol Building
Andrea Aggertt (image below) is the Architect of the Illinois State Capitol. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is licensed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Andrea grew up on a family farm near Effingham Illinois. She received her Bachelors of Science in Architecture from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Upon graduation she went to work for a Midwest-based Architecture-Engineering firm in Bloomington Illinois, where she led multi-million dollar projects in various sectors throughout the Midwest. In 2019, Andrea accepted the position of Architect of the Illinois State Capitol. She is tasked with developing and executing a long range plan for the complex to oversee repair, rehabilitation, construction, and renovation projects on the complex.
Andrea enjoys playing golf, putting together puzzles, watching her kids play sports and being engaged in the community in her spare time. During her time in Bloomington, she was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce Next Professional group and President of the Professional Women of McLean County. She was a part of the Salvation Army golf outing committee, treasurer for a local Cub Scout pack, and volunteered at her son’s school and their church. In the fall of 2019, Andrea was named one of the top 20 under 40 of Bloomington Normal.
Andrea recently moved to Springfield Illinois with her husband, 11 year old son, and 5 year old daughter. Since relocating to Springfield, Andrea has been active in the local chapter of American Institute of Architects, volunteered with the Dana Thomas House Foundation Committee, and served as treasurer of her subdivision's Home Owners Association and a member of Illinois Women in Leadership.
April 3 ─ Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
Mark Hanna, Executive Director: The Springfield Airport Authority
Mark has over 25 years of airport administration and operations experience and has served as Executive Director of the Springfield Airport Authority since January 2007. The authority is an independent Springfield municipal corporation that owns and operates Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI).
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is complex of over 2,400 acres that is home to the Illinois Air National Guard’s 183rd Wing, Standard Aero, Stellar Aviation, IDOT’s Division of Aeronautics, various FAA offices, University of Illinois Extension Office, Lincoln Land Community College’s LRS Aviation Maintenance Training Center, Air Combat Museum, and numerous other businesses and organizations. Commercial air service is provided by American Airlines, United Airlines, and Allegiant. Tens of millions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure and facility improvements in recent years and more are planned.
Mark has served on the board of directors for the Illinois Public Airport Association for over twenty years and two terms as its board chair. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of f Business Administration degree with majors in Airport Administration and Management, holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Quincy University, and is an FAA licensed private pilot.
He is retired from the Army National Guard and a veteran of the Iraq War. He also serves on the Illinois Advisory Committee for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and on the Board of Governors for the Citizens Club of Springfield.
April 10, 2023 ─ Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
Geoff Isringhausen, Owner of Isringhausen Imports
He will provide a brief history of Isringhausen Imports and will discuss the nature of their current business, including racing, and the way in which the auto sector has changed during his tenure at Isringhausen.
April 17 ─ Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
Social Night
Join us for some fun and a chance to get know our member's better.
Work stocking our Our Ridgely micropantry and little library continues and is especially important during these cold months. As you can see from the image on left, the Little Library needs more books. Please feel free to drop off books for the little library and any food/toiletries/cleaning supplies for the micropantry as you see fit. With this cold weather, families need these things now more than ever!
Vicki Megginson sent the images of the empty pantry she encountered at Ridgely School and the exciting image of the full pantry after she stocked it on March 12, 2023 (images below). We thank the Rotarians who have signed up for shifts stocking the micropantry during the New Year. If you want to sign up, let me know via email (mreynolds@uwcil.org). We need your help!
Central Illinois Foodbank
We hope to schedule more sessions for volunteering at the Central Illinois Foodbank soon.Stay tuned.
Flag Service
The Flag Service Committee is already meeting and volunteers are already at work. Please consider volunteering for this project. There is much work to be done!
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 hours for any volunteering that you do on behalf of Rotary.
Did you know that volunteer work was already underway for our Flag Service Project in January? The image below shows Barry Tobias training his son Alec how to use the drill press to drill a hole in a flag pole in his home workshop. After drilling, the holes have to be filed down. Much thanks to Barry for providing this image.
The shipment for Ukraine will take the same route as Turkey shipment. David Fowler stands with some of the boxes of meals that are headed to Ukraine (image on left). The donated supplies will leave Midwest Mission in a container on a truck to St. Louis on March 24, 2023 (the image below shows boxes being loaded into the container on the truck). They will then head on the railroad up to New York, and from there, will leave on a boat over to Poland. There is a warehouse set up in Poland as a distribution center for disaster relief. From this warehouse, they are able to get supplies to Ukraine, refugees in Poland, Syria, and Turkey. Because of this, future shipments full of aid have the potential of getting needed resources to people in four countries - based on need.
At the Land of Lincoln Presidents-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) program on Sunday, March 20, Rod Buffington was invited to present the annual "Rotary Family Day at the Ball Park" to Districts' 6490 and 6510. Pictured with Rod in the image on the left is Rotary International President-Elect Gordon R. Mclnally of Scotland. He will become the Rotary International President in July 2023 and presented during the PETS program.
Our 2022-2023 Literacy Project, funded through the District 6460 Baseball Program, is underway at Black Hawk Elementary School in Springfield. This week, Project Director Loretta Meeks delivered a check to the school representatives (image on left) to pay for books for an expansion of their Reading is Fundamental Program to include K-2 students.
Mark has over 25 years of airport administration and operations experience and has served as Executive Director of the Springfield Airport Authority since January 2007. The authority is an independent Springfield municipal corporation that owns and operates Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI).
Work stocking our Our Ridgely micropantry and little library continues and is especially important during these cold months. As you can see from the image on left, the Little Library needs more books. Please feel free to drop off books for the little library and any food/toiletries/cleaning supplies for the micropantry as you see fit. With this cold weather, families need these things now more than ever!
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