DECEMBER 1996
ON THE CHUCK WAGON
Jane and I wish to extend our warmest wishes to all for a most
joyous holiday season. The tree is up and decorated in the Engel
household and beginning to collect strange looking packages
underneath. By the time you read this the shopping should be
done. Rotary has been a big part of our lives this year, and we
haven't had a whole lot of time to think of much else, but now is
the time.
Thirty-eight of the fifty-six clubs in the district were
represented at the mid year presidents' meeting held in Sterling
on December 7. I guess that's about par for the course, but it
sure would be nice if all could attend. Some of the closest clubs
were not represented. You know who you are, so I won't mention
names. We had a great meeting, and I wish to thank all who
participated, especially the presenters, District Trainer Ben
Litherland, and Secretary/Treasurer Bob Smith who made all of the
arrangements and acted as registrar.
Speaking of Bob Smith, most of you don't realize the time and
effort Bob puts in for the district. He acts as registrar for our
big district meetings, attends and keeps minutes for all
committee meetings, keeps all district financial records,
prepares financial reports, collects dues, pays our bills, files
with the I.R.S., and sweeps the floor when its all done. For this
he is paid a fabulous salary (you know what I mean). He doesn't
often get much recognition for all of the things he does on the
sidelines. We all owe Bob a debt of gratitude for his dedication
to Rotary.
As we look back on the first half of our Rotary Year, we find
a number of events stand out in our minds, some good and some not
so good. We certainly all celebrated the birth of Belvidere
Bright Horizons which now has 27 members and going strong. The
Fulton Provisional Club is growing slowly but surely and
hopefully will have a charter before the Rotary year is out. We
also celebrated 75 years of service with the great Peru Club and
look forward to doing the same with the Sterling Club sometime in
February. I returned to my own club in Rochelle after a four
month absence and had the pleasure of presenting five Paul Harris
Fellows on November 24.
On the downside, we lost the Genoa-Kingston Club, which turned
in their second charter in November. They were only five years
old and the second club in Genoa to call it quits. We lost
Margaret Omori as our R.I. Service Supervisor, a great loss. So I
guess the old adage, "You win some, and you lose some"
applies.
The G.S.E. team to go to the Philippines is shaping up. We
will share this information with you in the January letter.
GEORGE PARTLO IS NOMINATED FOR
DISTRICT 6420 GOVERNOR IN 1999-2000
BY DISTRICT NOMINATING COMMITTEE
The District 6420 Nominating Committee chaired by Betsy Smith
of Kishwaukee Sunrise met following the mid year presidents'
meeting on December 7. The committee unanimously selected
Rotarian George Partlo of the Harvard Rotary Club to be the
nominee of the district for the office of District Governor for
the Rotary Year 1999-2000. He was unopposed for that nomination.
Many of you know George as the guy with the camera at many
district meetings since he took over from Marv Criqui on the
Public Relations Committee. He also assisted in the establishment
of the Belvidere Bright Horizons Club.
George spent his first 16 years in Houghton, Michigan. He
moved to Rapid City, South Dakota with his family in 1954 where
he finished high school. In 1960, George received his Bachelor of
Science Degree in Psychology from South Dakota State University.
Following college, George entered the military at Pensacola,
Florida in January of 1961 for flight training in the U.S. Navy.
He served in an electronic countermeasures squadron at Quonset
Point, Rhode Island and aboard numerous aircraft carriers
including the Enterprise, Intrepid, and Wasp. He participated in
three Gemini space capsule recoveries aboard the last two
carriers. The summer of 1966 George left the Navy to join
American Airlines where he is still employed as Captain of MD11
aircraft. He plans retirement in 1988.
George married his wife, Jerrilynne, in 1962, and they have
two grown daughters, Karin and Kristin.
Although his contact with Rotary started as a teenager,
attending occasional meetings with his Rotarian father, George
first joined a Rotary club in 1973 in Manchester, Tennessee. He
served as Treasurer, Secretary, and Vice President of the
Manchester Rotary Club before moving to Illinois.
George's first involvement with District 6420 activities began
while he served as President of the Marengo club in 1988. He has
served on numerous committees but specialized in photography.
Presently he serves on the Public Relations, Friendship Exchange,
and Club Extension committees.
George is a Paul Harris Fellow and is currently a member of
the Harvard Rotary Club where he served as President in 1993-94.
He was awarded Rotarian of the Year in 1995 by his club.
George is a life member of both the American Legion and the
V.F.W. He has served as Commander of his V.F.W. Post from
1994-1996. He has served on the Board of Directors of the McHenry
County Historical Society and has been the Treasurer for St.
John's Lutheran Church in Union. Illinois since 1987.
RAYMOND BREDBERG IS NAMED NEW
R.I. SERVICE SUPERVISOR
On December 16 Raymond Bredberg became the new Service
Supervisor for the Rotary Clubs and Districts in the Midwestern
U.S. and Canada replacing Margaret Omori who retired from that
position after many years of service. Ray is experienced in his
job, having previously been the Service Supervisor for the
northeastern U.S. and Canada. Ray's contact numbers at One Rotary
Center will be the same as those listed in the directory for
Margaret Omori.
Born in Chicago, Ray received a B.S. in Social Group Work from
George Williams College, and a B.A. in film making from Columbia
College. He also served in the United States Army from 1968-1970.
Ray joined the staff of Rotary International in 1988 as a
supervisor for the Rotary Foundation recognition section of Donor
Services. In August 1991, he came to the Membership Services
Department as Service Supervisor for the Northeastern North
America section.
Ray is a past chairman of the Services for the Handicapped
Committee of the National Association for Informational Image
Management, and has volunteered as a counselor for the Muscular
Dystrophy resident camp.
Currently a member of the Mount Prospect A.M. Rotary Club, Ray
is married and has one son. Family activities include biking,
canoeing and involvement with his son's sports programs. Welcome
Ray to the service of District 6420 and its 56 Rotary Clubs.
CLUB PRESIDENTS
PLEASE SEE THAT YOUR PRESIDENT-ELECT HAS THE PETS/DISTRICT ASSEMBLY, APRIL 5 ON HIS OR HER
CALENDAR. THIS IS A MUST MEETING.
HELP!!! DO YOU HAVE LOST VIDEOS BELONGING
TO THE DISTRICT AUDIO-VISUAL LIBRARY?
A number of videos were taken, but not checked out, from the
1996 District Conference in Rock Island last spring. They are
numbers 83,91,92,93,94,96,98,and 99. If you have them, please
return them to PDG Roscoe Haas, custodian of the district A/V
library, 1423 Stephenson St., Freeport, IL 61032. Other clubs
would like to use them.
MAKE PLANS NOW FOR THE JANUARY 1997
OBSERVANCE OF THE 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
OF THE DEATH OF OUR FOUNDER, PAUL
HARRIS
January 27, 1997 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death
of the founder of Rotary, Paul P. Harris. It is also the 50th
anniversary of the first of the many great educational, cultural,
and humanitarian programs of the Rotary Foundation, Rotary
Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships. This is an excellent
opportunity for clubs to not only honor Paul Harris but to look
back and measure their own club's achievements and heritage.
R.I. President Luis Giay urges all clubs to plan activities to
remember Rotary's past and to honor its founder. He encourages us
to Build the Future by Honoring our Past. This will
require some preparation and planning, so the time to start is
now.
I am sure that most of you will have sufficient originality and creativity to plan an observance that is both meaningful and best fits your club's membership and the community that you serve. Here are just a few ideas that you may want to consider:
*Initiate a community service project as a memorial to Paul Harris.
*Recognize community leaders who embody his ideals.
*Designate new Paul Harris fellows.
*Seek a candidate for an Ambassadorial Scholarship.
*Plant a memorial tree or grove.
*Research your club's history and have a presentation.
*Increase your support of The Rotary Foundation.
*Provide information about Rotary, its founder, and your club to the media. Sponsor a supplement to the newspaper.
*Re-enact the first Rotary meeting.
*Provide a presentation on the history of Rotary.
*Discuss ways that your club can grow and remain relevant in
the years ahead.
Materials are available from the order desk at R.I., (847) 866-3149 to assist you:
PUBLICATIONS
My Road to Rotary (Paul Harris autobiography)
Historical Review of Rotary
Rotary Basic Library
The World According to Paul Harris
Rotary's First Day and the Years that Followed
Paul P. Harris - the Founder of Rotary
Honoring a Legacy of Service (distributed at PETS 1996)
VIDEOS
Paul Harris Live 1942 (ordinal black and white footage)
Introduction to Rotary
NOW IS THE TIME TO PUBLICIZE THE AVAILABILITY
OF AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLARSHIPS
The Christmas holidays are an excellent time for your club to
make known in your community the availability of Rotary
Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships since many college students
are home for the holidays. The Academic Year scholarships, the
only scholarship form offered in this district, are worth up to
$22,000 for a year of study in a foreign university during the
1998-1999 school year.
Application forms and sample press releases were given out at
the Club Presidents' midyear meeting on December 7 to club
presidents and secretaries. If you do not have these materials
call chairman, Ralph Egeland at (815) 466-1539 or (630) 795-2192,
and he will send them to you.
Every community in the district should have a high school
graduate who would qualify to be a candidate for these great
scholarships. Don't deny them that opportunity.
ADDITIONAL CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE
1996-97 DISTRICT DIRECTORY
PAGE 1 NEW SERVICE SUPERVISOR
Ray Bredberg
Address and contact numbers unchanged
PAGE 16 ADD COMMITTEE MEMBER
Dr. Paul Stromborg Paul
215 Dunkery Marilyn
Sycamore, IL 60178
Res: (815) 895-4601 Bus: (815) 895-9144
PAGE 18 CHANGE ADDRESS/DELETE BUS. PHONE
Cynthia Smith
711 Phelps Avenue
ADD COMMITTEE MEMBER
Dr. Frances B. Karanovich
P.O. Box 709
Granville, IL 61326 Bus: (815) 339-2238
Res: (815) 339-6117 Fax: (815) 339-2230
PAGES 31 & 46 CHANGE MAILING ADDRESS
Richard Roeing
P.O. Box 135
Sterling, IL 61081
PAGE 36 DELETE CLUB
GENOA-KINGSTON (turned in charter citing lack of
membership potential in November 1996)
NOTICE!!!
The June 1996 membership figures shown in the chart at
the left have been corrected to reflect the actual membership
reported by clubs on the July Semiannual Reports to R.I.
Membership gains or drops will be figured from that base for the
remainder of the year, and will be the official figures for the
ENGEL CHALLENGE. The club with the greatest membership gain at
this point is Kishwaukee Sunrise with a net gain of 7. Let's all
make it happen in the second half of the year.
CONGRATULATIONS TO TOP THREE PER CAPITA
ROTARY FOUNDATION GIVERS AS OF OCTOBER
31
MORRISON - $1,833 PER MEMBER
MARENGO-UNION - $54 PER MEMBER
ROCK ISLAND - $42 PER MEMBER
NEW ROTARIANS SINCE LAST NEWSLETTER
WELCOME TO ROTARY
BELVIDERE PECATONICA
Marie Owens Kellie Meyer
EAST MOLINE PRINCETON
Janet Eggleston Janice Heaton
GALENA RIVER CITIES
John Carlson Douglas May
Richard Walsh
ROCHELLE
ILLINOIS VALLEY SUNRISE Carolyn Tobinson
David Ebener
STREATOR
LACON James Dover
James Carter
Don Rood, Jr. SYCAMORE
Fred Snyder
MORRISON Roland Ward
Mark Farrell
WENONA
Richard Steljes