MAY 1997
ON THE CHUCK WAGON
The District Conference is now history, and from most reports, people seemed to enjoy the experience and learned a few things in the process. I know I did. Our International President's Representative, Mike Kutsuris, from Oakland was excellent, and he made us feel good about ourselves and about what Rotary is doing in the world.
Rotary in Siberia was a special presentation in which Mike shared with us his experiences in founding new Rotary clubs in that part of the world. The former Soviet Union is, of course, the fastest growing part of the Rotary world. It would be nice if we could have that kind of club extension in this country.
We certainly lucked out on the entertainment portion of the conference. I almost pushed the panic button when Rev. Dick Anderson called me on Wednesday, two days before the start of the conference, and informed me that his mother had just passed away, and that the funeral was to be Friday morning preventing him from doing our luncheon program on that day. He said he would honor his commitment for Saturday which I wouldn't have expected under those circumstances. The best part of it was that he put me in touch with Jeff Barrett, a singer of Broadway songs, who agreed to be a last minute substitute and turned out to be a real hit. His Tevia from Fiddler on the Roof was one of the best that I had ever heard in that role. Dick Anderson did his usual fine Will Rogers routine on Saturday.
Friday evening we presented the Rotary Foundation's Major Gift Crystal to Morrison's president, Stan Steines and Ward Manchester in recognition of the $300,000 plus gift to the Permanent Fund by deceased Morrison Rotarian, Richard Blass. This great night was topped off by a concert of the great Medicare 7,8,or 9 Dixieland Jazz Band from the University of Illinois. Hospitality suites were really jumping after that performance. There I demonstrated the fine art of DRY Martini making, syringe and all.
Saturday morning 21 people went to Oregon for a Laredo Taft talk by Dale Hoppe, Oregon club president, followed by some unique shopping and a luncheon cruise. The one questionable bit of entertainment appeared late in the afternoon, the host club's Bathroom Band featuring professor Heinrich Bachaus (Heiny for short). We recovered from this unique performance in the evening however with the presentation of special awards and the theme message delivered by Mike Kutsuris, R. I. President, Luis Giay's Official Representative to the conference. It all closed with an inspirational message on Sunday morning.
One of the highlights of the Saturday evening banquet at the recent District Conference was the presentation of the plaque honoring PDG Stu Smith from Loves Park as the 1996-97 District 6420 Rotarian of the Year by District Governor, Chuck Engel. This very special honor is bestowed by the District Governor to a District Rotarian whom the Governor has judged to be the most outstanding embodiment of the spirit of Rotary and Service above Self in the District during that year.
In presenting the plaque to Stu, Governor Chuck cited Stu's untiring efforts in the establishment of the new Belvidere Bright Horizons Rotary Club and the Fulton and Rockford After Hours provisional clubs which we hope to charter soon. Stu puts in many hours every week attending and encouraging the new Rotary clubs in addition to his own Loves Park club. Most weeks he makes the long trip to attend the Fulton Provisional. All of this he does along with his continued involvement as a literacy volunteer.
In addition to the honor of being the district's Rotarian of the Year, Stu was elected by the conference to be the District 6420 delegate to the 1998 Rotary International Council on Legislation which will meet in New Delhi, India next January. Clubs should review the proposed legislation booklets when they receive them this summer and communicate any concerns to Stu for his consideration. The council meets every three years and is the chief governing body of Rotary.
Unfortunately, according to District Rotary Foundation Scholarships Chair, Ralph Egeland, several applications for Vocational Ambassadorial Scholarships became mixed with applications given out to club presidents and secretaries last December. Only Academic Year Ambassadorial Scholarship forms are authorized to be used in this district. No other forms or scholarships are available in District 6420.
If your club is in possession of one or more of the Vocational Scholarship application forms and you have a candidate, please contact Ralph immediately, and he will replace the form(s) with the correct one. If you think you may have already given out one of these forms to a candidate, please contact that candidate immediately to let them know that they have the wrong form.
While the Rotary Foundation offers scholarships in many different forms and time lengths, our district committee has voted to continue offering only the Academic Year Ambassadorial Scholarship. There will be two available this year, and candidates must be able to attend the district interviews to be held on July 26 at the Brandywine Inn in Dixon. Applications are due to the clubs by June 1, and those being passed on to the district are due to Ralph no later than July 1.
MT. CARROLL SENDS FLOOD ASSISTANCE
We recently received a communication from Ralph Kennedy, secretary of the Mt. Carroll club notifying us that that club had made a contribution of $250 to the Grand Forks Rotary Club in District 5580. In his letter Kennedy states: "We would like to encourage all clubs in District 6420 to include this severely devastated area in their outreach contributions. We know that the Grand Forks Rotary Club will be among those providing various kinds of assistance to the flood victims which include businesses, schools, homes, churches, medical service facilities, parks, etc.
Those wishing to contribute may direct those contributions to Kevin Lemke, Secretary, Grand Forks Rotary Club, 76 Sloping Hills Cove, Grand Forks, ND 58104.
NEW ROTARIANS SINCE LAST NEWSLETTER
WELCOME TO ROTARY
BELVIDERE
Lance Jensen David White
EAST MOLINE
Rebecca J. Williams
GRANVILLE ROCHELLE
Tom Simmons Thomas I. Simmons
LOVES PARK SAVANNA
Ingvar Carlson Rebekah Kistler
SANDWICH WALNUT
Roland R. Carlson Robert Foss
TWIN CITIES
Trish Joyce Darrel Proffitt Patricia Twining
Dennis Breene
April Membership, Attendance, Foundation The Top Three
In Foundation Per Capita
Giving
Morrison $1,892
Rockford East/CV $184
Rochelle $128
HELP!!!!!!!
We are still far short of our
$80,000 goal for District
6420 giving for 1996-97.
Clubs are urged to get
their money into the
Rotary Foundation by
early June so it is credited
in this Rotary Year.
Use your remaining un-
designated credits by July
1 for matching funds. You
will lose most of those
credits on that date by
action of the Trustees of
The Rotary Foundation.
Clubs which are unsure of
remaining credits should
contact PDG Fred Houlton
or PDG Ben Litherland.