Guests: We had several guests at our meeting today. The Winners of the Vocational Scholarships were present and two of the girls brought their fathers. The three winners were: Cecilia Diaz, Maria Perez, and Lluvia Perez. The purpose of the vocational scholarship program is to provide educational opportunities for those who are preparing for careers which require less than a four-year degree.
Announcements:
A few dates were discussed for the Golf Outing. Choices included: August 15 (Saturday) or September 8 (Tuesday). Members selected Tuesday, August 8th for the Golf Outing. Sign up forms and sponsor forms are on the Villa Park Rotary website, located under the downloads section on the right hand side of the screen as PDF files.
Happy News: Bill Schewe shared news of his vacation in Europe.
Here is a brief overview of our meeting from Tuesday, July 7:
Announcements:
We need to begin planning the golf outing as well as fall programming.
Happy News:
Al's daughter made the Dean's List at her school. Congratulations!
Kandice shared news of the upcoming Trivia Night sponsored by the Library and hosted by Crazy Pour. This event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21 beginning at 7:30pm. All members are invited.
Earl shared his happiness for being able to walk again. Welcome back Earl!
Speaker:
President Pavelchik introduced our speaker for the afternoon, Joanne Mitrenga, the Executive Director of the Tri-Town YMCA. Tri-Town YMCA serves the communities of Lombard, Villa Park, and Oakbrook Terrace. Joanne thanked our group for the donation we made to her organization. Tri-Town YMCA focuses on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Tri-Town YMCA also works with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to offer a free breakfast to any child under the age of 18. Tri-Town YMCA supports other activities within the communities they serve including: donating refrigeration coolers for Disciples Food Pantry, Outreach House and others; donated via the Village of Villa Park a water fountain that has a dog bowl and water bowl refill dispenser; and sponsors healthy cooking classes & container gardening classes offered at the Villa Park Public Library.
For more details about Tri-Town YMCA, please visit their website at: http://tritownymca.org
Our speaker today was Kate Hagenbuch talking about farming, specifically pig farming. She currently lives and works with her husband on their family farm. She told us about the changes in farming over the past 50 years and the increases in production and improvements in farming that have occurred. For example, in 1960 one farmer could provide food for 25 people while currently one farmer is able to provide enough for 155 people. However, these improvements need to continue since projections indicate that by 2050 there will be a need for double the amount of food than is currently produced even while more acres are being taken out of farming every year.
When talking about the new methods of farming, she mentioned how they are working to reduce the use of water while producing more from the land, and how they are trying to be more environmentally aware as they work the fields. She explained how technology plays a role in their work as they rely on it to help become more effective in their methods. As I said, she spent a lot of time talking about raising pigs, showing pictures of their farm to illustrate her points.
The Library is holding a zombie themed Disaster Preparedness program and WCIU,"The U" will be there. The morning show is coming out and will be doing some stories and live shots.
Both Jan and Jim are going out of town to visit their daughters. Jan is going down to the University of Central Florida, apparently the 2nd largest university in the United States, for a visit. Jim is going to North Carolina and will then be driving down to Savannah.
Earl also paid a Happy Dollar, announcing that he's been harvesting tomatoes from Donna Cain's garden. Dave should have paid the happy dollar (and would have but only had a $20 and would have been fined $1 for Earl having to get change) learning that it's been Earl taking the tomatoes and not a groundhog.
November 1 - ABC's of Rotary, Westin Hotel in Itasca. The ABC's of Rotary is a great opportunity for new, and seasoned, members to learn about Rotary outside our area. You can begin to understand the various programs and opportunities that Rotary provides on a local, national and international level. Having attended many ABC's of Rotary over the years, I highly encourage anyone who has not attended one to do so.
Plans are being finalized for the Shoe and Boot program. The dates will be in early November. More information to come.
December 2 - The Annual Christmas Auction will be held. Start working on gifts for the auction and thinking of people to invite. Remember, the more people in attendance, the more we have to auction, the more successful the auction. Each member is responsible for 2 tickets and to donate items valued no less than $100.
We had 2 birthdays today - Adam and Jim. Not to imply that Jim is getting up there in age, but a lot more money was raised from Jim's birthday than Adam's.
Raffle winners today were: Karen - $2; Rich - $3, Jim - $4; Bill Schewe - $5.
Joining us for lunch on August 26: David Cain, John Correll, Jan Fiola, Adam Hall, Karen Hartman, Sandy Hill,Tom James, Buzz Janis, Earl Johnson, Rich Keehner, Kandice Krettler, Al Reed, Jim Saul, Bill Scavone, and Bill Schewe.
Special Guests: Kate Hagenbuch our speaker and a new follower on Facebook.
Sorry to miss you: Mike Byron (technically Mike was there until Rich rang the bill then he had to leave, so I don't know whether he was there or not), Scott Helton, Tony Palmisano, Ron Parker, Bob Pavelchik, Tom Smith, Jay Tovian, and Doug Wildes.
