President's Message
August Successes
We had an extremely productive August! The articles in this Newsletter capture our August activities including the excellent August 3 luncheon presentation by Adam Gurski on Artificial Intelligence (AI). I was happy to present Adam with his Rotary tile and mug (image on left). At our August 10 club meeting, we inducted new member Jon Burnet and awarded Bill Sturm a new Paul Harris Fellow Pin with assistance from District 6460 Governor Musonda Kapatamoyo. Musonda was our featured speaker and gave an inciteful overview of his perceptions of our club and his goals for the current Rotary Year (image below). Club members brought their donations of school supplies for our adopted school, Ridgely Elementary, to this meeting (lead image). On August 24, Kate McKenzie, the CEO for Local Journalism Matters (the publisher of the Illinois Times) gave an exciting presentation to our club on her plans for the Illinois Times. On August 31, we had a presentations by Jill Friday, the Community Interact Club Leader, and three of the high school students that our club sponsored for the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Assembly. We finished this meeting with a Club Assembly examining where we are in recruiting new members and a discussion of the District Governor's characterization of our club during his presentation. Check out the articles in this Newsletter for more information on these August events.
September Opportunities
I am excited to share the Rotary experiences happening in September, and I hope you and a guest will join us. The lineup for September features the following presenters and opportunities:
September 7-Labor Day-no meeting. Please remember that crews will pick up flags for our Flag Service Project following the commemoration of September 11 and will return them to the warehouse..
September 14-Join us for an all Club Event with Former Rotary International President Mark Maloney (image below). The social begins at 5:00 p.m. with dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. This one of the few International Presidents to visit our club.
It is a distinct honor for the combined Rotary Clubs in Springfield to welcome our esteemed guest, Mark Maloney to our dinner meeting at Maldaner’s Restaurant. He will be our featured speaker for this event.
Mark has been a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama since 1980, Mark served as the President of Rotary International for the 2019–20 year, guiding the global network with his inspiring theme, 'Rotary Connects the World.' Beyond his monumental international service, he has provided invaluable leadership with The Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary meetings are not only for club members but also open to the public. The cost for the meal for visitors is the same for members at $15 per person. We are asking for anyone eating a meal to kindly RSVP on the link by September 10 to ensure the staff at Maldaner’s Restaurant can prepare adequately.
RSVP for September 14 Event: https://forms.gle/rrqK22Zzd8ox15DG7
Please join us in welcoming and being inspired by a past international president!
September 21-5:00 p.m. is our Social Night at Golden Corral. Socials are a night of fun out on the town with members and everyone else who wants to enjoy a night out.
September 28-Trish Ratliff is a patient experience coordinator for HSHS Home Care and Hospice. We are honored to have her share her role in making a difference for patients.
Ken Gilmore, President