President Rick dinged us to order and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Garry offered the prayer.
Club News: Judy announced that January 19 would be the date of the
annual post holiday dinner at Monte’s Riverside Inn. She passed around a
sign-up sheet to confirm who would be attending and what entrée was
desired. (The club pays for the member dinner!) The January 13th meeting
will be the last chance to sign up as reservations will be due a day or two
later. The socializing will commence at 5:30 (or before if you are really
social) with dinner at 6 PM. It is always appropriate to bring that white
elephant gift for the gift exchange. It is a wonderful time to re-gift and the
exchange is a lot of fun. Please plan on attending! Jane is working with
Ottawa Noon on the “Chamber Before Hours” that our clubs will co-host at
ORH on February 21, Meeting Room #1, from 7:30-8:30. This is a new
program for the Chamber to get more Chamber members involved. Tom
G. will host a fund-raiser at JJ’s Wednesday evening from 5-7:00 and he
invited everyone to stop by. Bucks were added to our treasury by Rick—
photo in paper and Keith—thanks to club and members for their incredible
support for his Guatemala trip. Rick and Eldon also noted the grant money
from Rotary had arrived and the check for Campfire will be forwarded.
Mike M. claimed the BIP ($23)! We enjoyed some trivia centering on
famous dates. In some other important club news, the Executive Board
approved the slate of club officers for the 2012-2013 year and presented
that slate to the members for their approval. Bruce Brown will serve as
President with Helio Ruvalcaba serving as the Vice President. Sue
Borgarding will continue as Secretary and PDG Eldon Leemhuis will
continue as Treasurer. At this point in the meeting Nancy Leemhuis
introduced her guests, Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach and Reed Wilson,
Ottawa’s Director of Economic Development. The topic of the day was an
update on the development of the LaSalle County Transportation Project.

 

The transportation picture in LaSalle County,
Ottawa, and the surrounding region consists
of private agencies (hospitals, nursing
homes, etc.) having busses for their clients’
needs. The goal of government, specifically
the Illinois DOT, is to develop and coordinate
a regional transportation system
with regular, dedicated bus routes. Initially it
would also allow for pre-arranged call rides for those with special
needs. Initial studies have been done showing there is a significant need and while the
focus will be service for seniors and the disabled, the service will be available for all.
There will be a need for agencies to administer the system and also one to handle the
dispatching functions. The North Central Area Transportation Project (NCATP) has
anticipated funding with 80% coming from grants with the remainder from fare boxes
and other sources of income (advertising?) There can be special routes planned for
special events (example: bringing Streatorites to Ottawa for River Fest) as well as routes
to the VA clinic in Peru and routes for those going to IVCC here in Ottawa or in Oglesby.
The target date for movement on this project is this coming summer. It was pointed out
that rail service across LaSalle County is still in the works, but the more immediate
availability will come from a system of energy efficient and comfortable busses.

President Rick dinged us to order, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and
Garry led us in the prayer. We greeted our guest and distinguished AG,
Kent Terry. Jim Carlson won the $22 BIP and donated it to Polio Plus!
Thanks Jim! Keith and Gene paid fines for being in the paper. Gene’s was
for an award winning business. Keith was just in the wrong place at the
wrong time. Kent unloaded some major happy bucks—he thinks our Toy
and Book Float is a sensational project. Marseilles Rotary is conducting a
drive to recruit emergency service personnel, his son got married AND he
happened to have boxes of that delicious fruit the Marseilles Rotary Club
sells annually. Julie P. has completed our club’s dictionary distribution and
Kent was excited the three L-P clubs were teaming on a dictionary project.
Eldon reported on more toys and a book have been collected bringing
our total for the year to 483 toys, 218 books and $215 cash. He has turned
the money over to the Salvation Army and reports that their need is great
this year. We were reminded to turn in our quarter Polio Plus quarter boxes
to Nancy NOW. Judy is looking for people to help distribute toys Saturday
morning, December 17 at 7:30 am. She would like to have you report to
the stores by the New China Inn at the
North Ottawa Plaza to pick up the toys.
I am sure she will be delighted to
answer any more specific questions.
Mike Hughes then introduced his
Program guest, Tom Newbury, the Director
of the Ottawa Food Pantry. Their
big annual event, Freezin for a Reason
will be this Friday, December 16, at the
Handy Foods parking lot. They (Karen
Rhodes and Kris Michaels, WCMY radio
Personalities, will be accepting fooddonations from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm. The Food Pantry is across the street from Handy Foods
in the Glassworkers Hall building. They are open for food distributions Tuesdays from 9-11 am
and Thursdays from 3-5 pm. To be qualified for food distribution several income
requirements must be met including being below the federal poverty level guidelines. All
the Food Pantry workers are volunteer and they help box food which is distributed to
families once a month. The amount of food in each box is determined in part by the size of
the family. They are currently serving 653 families and they distribute about 20 tons of food
each month. That turns out to be 60-70 pounds of food for each family. The pantry receives
food donated by Krogers, both north and south branches donate meat and bread, and
food is also given by Wal-Mart and Seattle Sutton’s as well as area churches, service clubs
and individuals. The donations do not meet their needs and they resort to purchasing food
from two “food banks”, one in the Quad Cities area and the other in Bloomington-Normal.
Some of that food is free, other foods must be purchased. There is a federal subsidy that
helps make this food available at reasonable or reduced costs. The Freezin for a Reason
effort has a goal of filling two semi-trailers and that day will result in a 3 or 4 month supply for
the Food Pantry. They accept cash donations as well (used for purchasing food from the
food banks and the costs involved in their operation). The Freezin for a Reason is a good
time to promote a service project or event as you drop off your donation to Karen & Kris.
Entertainment will be happening throughout the day and they are always looking for
volunteers to help sort the food as it comes in. Tom commented that spaghetti and
spaghetti sauce, peanut butter and jelly and pancake mix and pancake syrup are always
needed. He is looking forward to the best Freezin for the Reason event ever and looks
forward to seeing everyone there and collecting record amounts of food. I’m sure John
Harris would want me to remind everyone to tune in to WCMY 1430 during the day and
follow along with this important community project!!!!! Julie Fisher was hinting that there
was a possibility of some Hanukkah goodies this coming Friday. Hanukkah, the Jewish
Festival of Lights, is celebrated from sunset Dec 20 to sunset December 28 this year

Vice President Bruce called the meeting to order, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and
Garry offered the prayer. Nancy won the $20 BIP and we reviewed our movie knowledge
with some famous quotes, both good and bad. We had some members in the local
paper, so fines were levied against Sue, Eldon and Jenny. Keith paid a happy buck for his
up-coming trip to Guatemala and Jane threw in a happy buck that Keith would be going
to Guatemala. Bruce read a cute “thank you” note for the dictionaries from Alyssa, a 3rd
grader at Waltham. Eldon reminded us that the Polio boxes (40 quarters) are due and
need to be sent in at the end of the month. Don‟t forget the bell ringing for the Salvation
Army coming up this Saturday. Tom will be reminding us of when we signed up! Keith will
be e-mailing members with a list of items he may be able to take in a “second” suitcase.
The material will be for the school at Ak „Tenamit. John introduced his guest, David
Damyen who gave us a quick peek at his life with the encouragement to enjoy each day
with all the challenges it presents. Dave was born and raised in Ottawa but has worked as
a design engineer in California, the sports memorabilia world, truck driving, graduate
school, motorcyclist, and now radio. He enjoys the opportunity to use his creativity and imagination in the wonderful world of radio here at our very own WCMY/95.3 SAM. REMEMBER: NO MEETINGS DEC. 23 & 30 as well as JAN. 27! Mike H. has the program Dec. 9 &
we have students Dec. 16. Nancy L. has the program JAN 6 and Linda M. has the program
JAN 13 with students January 20. Judy C. & John H. are the Sergeant at Arms for January!
Hope to see everyone Friday!

VP Bruce dinged us to order and led us in the Pledge. Garry offered the
prayer and our MA student-of-the-month, Gabriella Crivilare won the $20
BIP. (For those of you who have not been following college expenses
closely that $20 will pay for maybe the first chapter of a textbook the
professor wrote and the student will not read!) We were reminded that it
was President Washington who made the first proclamation for celebrating
Thanksgiving Day in 1789 and it was President Lincoln who proclaimed it a
national day of thanksgiving and prayer in 1863 (to be celebrated the last
Thursday in November). School students (and teachers) all over the
country are thankful for the 2 extra days off school. We had “Happy
Bucks” rolling in: Jane—whole family gathering, Kathy—Las Vegas trip with
daughter, Garry—hosting a sleepover for 3-year old granddaughter and
friends, Bruce—son married last weekend and his grandson was able to
wear dry tennis shoes, & Eldon was able to survive a weekend with a large
# of youth with a Veteran’s Day observance. The club news centered on
the Toy & Book Float, which Eldon has assembled and Sandy has flyers
available if anyone needs them for their businesses. Tom Ganiere passed
around a sign-up sheet for 1-hour time slots bell ringing for the Salvation
Army December 10th. Jenny R. and Linda M. then introduced the students
of the month for their presentations.

We welcomed Gabriella Crivilare from
Marquette Academy and her mother, Mary Olson, and Alysha Rae
Eichelkraut from Ottawa High School. Alysha is the daughter of Julie
Eichelkraut and is planning on perusing a career as a Nurse Practitioner. As
a child she was the one who always wanted the doctor’s kit and would
use it to help family members “recover” from their illnesses.Alysha plans to further her education at Elmhurst College and will follow her 4-years there in
an additional 2-year Masters Degree program. There are several medical practitioners in
her family and she plans on adding to the list, becoming the first Nurse Practitioner in her
family. In high school Alysha is involved in the German Club, Rotary INTERACT, as well as
having over 6 years of community service in several organizations: Pirates Displaying
Awareness Team, the Illinois Valley Anti-Drug Coalition, the peer jury program, and she
attended the Illinois Teen Institute. She also has organized an Operation Snowball program
to help local youth live a drug-free lifestyle. Gabriella Crivalare (parents Mary & Gregg
Olson) has been active in the Marquette plays and musicals. Her mother is a director at the
CHAOS in Ottawa and Gabriella spends a lot of time there volunteering. She is active
sending out invitations for the Art of Dessert (their annual fund raiser), assisting during their
busiest times—Halloween, Scarecrow Fest and the Ice Odyssey. She helps with birthday
parties and has performed in some recent plays CHAOS has produced—The Wizard of Oz,
Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Mirror/Mirror. She loves her English classes and will
major in English in college with an emphasis on creative writing. With her passion for
reading and creating her own stories, becoming an author is something she would love
doing. Add enjoyment of movies to her interests and having that grow into becoming a
screenplay adapter becomes another career option. Role models for Gabriella include J.K.
Rowling (Harry Potter) and George Lucas (Star Wars). These are creative people that use
their imagination on a massive scale. The world
needs dreamers and creative geniuses, too.

President Rick called the meeting to order and led us in the Pledge of
Allegiance. Garry offered the prayer. We welcomed guests Quenton
Boyle (Salvation Army) and Daniel and Laurel Fisher. Mike and Keith got to
don the birthday paraphernalia while the club sang birthday wishes with
gusto. Tom won the BIP and promptly donated his winnings to Polio Plus. It
was noted that all our currently employed educators took the school
holiday off, apparently choosing to sleep in! They missed some great
numerology trivia on the date—11/11/11. We also recognized our veterans
in attendance (Quenton). Sandy and Gary have begun the publicity for
the Toy & Book Float with notes to businesses and churches as well as flyers
posted in local businesses. She will be on WCMY and will have the
Chamber send out an e-blast. Sunrise members should plan on meeting at
the parade staging area at the lower lot just east of the old Central school
at 5:45 dressed festively. Rick read a thank you note from the YMCA
thanking us for the donation to their “Partners in Youth” program. Jane
paid a fine for not potting the paper whites in the correct pots, but did
note that the project turned a profit of $637.

 

Keith’s program guests were Natalie and Joe Schmidt, no strangers to Ottawa SunRise Rotary. Their daughter Caroline was
our Short Term Youth Exchange student this past summer. The Schmidt’s had known Eldon and Nancy and they had had many
conversations about the youth exchange program and they knew their daughter would be interested. They completed their
application in the late Fall of 2009 and went through the necessary interviews, background
checks and the mandatory 2-day orientation for all the exchange students.
This was in Rock Island and Joe said it was an an excellent chance to meet other
students, some going and some coming home. A lot of his questions were answered and a
lot of apprehensions about turning their daughter over to “strangers” in Italy were eased.
Ireland, not Italy, was Caroline’s first choice, but being matched with Fabiana and her
family was the best thing that could have happened. Their expectations of the program,
support and experience were exceeded and they were delighted to have participated.
Fabiana got to experience the pace of America, the Chicago skyline (not a lot of real tall
buildings in Italy) and the size of American farm equipment. Caroline got to experience the
old, traditional slower and more structured life in Italy. Facebook and other social networking
sites helped the girls get to know each other before the exchange. The Schmidt’s
described Fabiana as delightful, amazing, fascinating, humble, and polite. They even went
to Italy this past summer with Caroline to meet Fabiana’s family and to see their home and
community. They experienced the same warmth and love that Caroline experienced.
Caroline was the first American to spend any significant amount of time in their village, and
it was a wonderful chance to these Italians to see a “real” American, not the Hollywood
version. It was fascinating for them to learn that their extended family’s dairy herd used
American genetic material for breeding and Joe learned that Italian farmers are as loyal to
their favorite brand of machinery as their counterparts in America. They loved the
international connection they have with Fabiana and her family, they hope to be able to
host them in the future, and cannot imagine a better way to show the world what real
Americans are like, and isn’t that the whole idea of conducting exchanges?

While President Rick was basking in the 85-degree Florida sun it was up to
Vice President Bruce to call the meeting to order, lead us in the Pledge
and call on Garry, who led us in prayer. We were sorry to hear of the very
recent death of Gene’s mother. We welcomed guests Laurel and Daniel
Fisher and Oliver Ruvalcaba. Keith won the $21 BIP and donated that to
Polio Plus. Karen gladly paid a fine for her nonchalant approach to her
Sergeant At Arms duties with the promise that she will be absolutely
dazzling this coming Friday. Nancy handed out the quarter boxes for Polio
Plus. Each box has room for 40 quarters ($10) and should be filled and
returned—probably the quicker the better. Each $10 box will provide 17
vaccines, a neat way to feel connected to this important effort. Imagine,
17 infants will be vaccinated because of your $10 contribution! Jane had
the flowers ready for distribution. We celebrated Bruce’s Birthday (see
picture!). Don’t forget the Festival of Lights Parade November 25 and our
Toy & Book Float!

 

Jane’s guests were Roger Hooper and his wife Judy. The
Hoopers enjoy their 2 “Model A” Fords and Roger is the past president of
the Antique Automobile club.The Hoopers are no strangers to Ottawa Sunrise. Their home was on the very first
Sunrise Garden Walk. Roger explained that the “Model T” is always black with
wooden spokes. This is the one you see being started with the hand crank. The
“Model A” was manufactured for 4 years, 1928-1931. It was the first Ford to come in
a variety of colors, had wire spokes, a 3-speed transmission and an electric start.
Even though it came in colors the fenders and apron was always black. In that 4
year span Ford produced the Model A in 30 different models! The Model A is the
most common car for restoration. (Original restoration means with original parts).
The Hoopers have 2 Model-A’s a 1930 Town Sedan (Think “Driving Miss Daisy”) This
car has white walls, the Flying Quail Hood ornament, radiator guard, trunk and
shades in the back window. Their other car, a Faton, is an open car that has no
windows and a top that goes down. The cars will cruise at 45 MPH with no power
steering and no power brakes making it a bit tough to drive. The Starved Rock
Model A Club was started in 1985 and currently has 24 members. Roger has been
active in the club for the past 8 years. He described this as a fun hobby—driving
through the fall colors in a quiet ride even though there is wood and chicken wire in
the construction! People are always waving and smiling as they drive by, and the
waves are always acknowledged with the famous horn honk– Ah-OOOO-ga!
About 20,000,000 Model A’s were built, costing $900-$2000. Today he estimates his
Faton at $65,000 and he said it would be best to pay the purchase price (for some
models often $25-30,000) which would be cheaper than the cost of buying a rust
bucket and restoring from scratch. He admits to cringing when some young hot
rod enthusiast buys one and turns it into a street rod! These cars had no fuel pump
as the gas tank was in front of the windshield. The fuel was fed into the engine by
gravity and he said there were some horrible explosions in front end crashes. Ford
introduced its first V-8 engine in 1932, one year after production of the Model A
ended. Interesting hobbies abound. The secret is to become active and fine one!

President Rick dinged us to order and led us in the Pledge. Garry led us in prayer. Our guests were early risers Daniel and Laurel Fisher because mom could not sneak out of the house as well as these 2 are going to be able to sneak in past curfew as they get older! Eldon won the $22 BIP which he promptly donated to Polio Plus. Nancy reminded us she will have the boxes for our quarters at the November 4th meeting. These will need to be returned, filled with 40 quarters ($10) for Polio Plus. Jane was fined (again) for being in the paper (again) and we celebrated John and Teresa’s wedding anniversary even if John wasn’t that sure about it. Helio threw in
a happy buck—NO BRACES!! Jane reported that Tuesday night we will plant the bulbs at Goetzes—6PM. The pictures Show the finished product as well as the workers that came to help pot the bulbs and enjoy the fellowship. Jane sent out an e-mail indicating
the status of the bulb sales. Be sure to bring the final sale orders to the meeting Friday!

Tom’s program guest was Mike Jobst, the LaSalle Co. Emergency Management Agency Director.
Mike reviewed the 7 teams of trained volunteers that jump into action when the citizens of LaSalle County need their expert skills &
faithful service to help bring safety to their lives. The 7 volunteer teams that Mike laid out for us include Damage Assessment, Animal Response, Community Emergency Response, Ground Search & Rescue, Medical Reserve Corps, Amateur Radio Operators, and Sky Warn. The Damage Assessment Team consists of 10 township assessors who provide a damage assessment in order to get the IMEA and FEMA information. Flooding and tornados keep them busy. The Animal Response Team consists of 28 Vets, Licensed Vet Technicians & livestock owners. This is the only fully deployable team of its kind in Illinois and one of the few in the entire country! Imagine animals after truck accidents, tornados, floods. The Community Emergency Response Team is the largest of the teams—115 trained to provide assistance to neighbors for up to 72 hours, checking homes, shutting off the gas meters–that type of thing. They are also heavily used for many other disasters—running copy machines, manning the phones, etc. The most active team is the Ground Search & Rescue team. These 27 members will hunt for potential suicide alerts, dementia sufferers, and lost children. They also assist in other counties and are deployed almost once each month. The Medical Reserve Corps has about 20 members, civilians who are active or retired medical personnel. They will assist the medical community or health department when needed. They have not been deployed to date. The Amateur Radio Operators, a team of 43 members, conduct emergency communications and are active in all exercises contacting family members in emergencies. This team has recently been linked into the State Emergency Operations
System. Sky Warn is the weather spotters (currently 20 with room for more!) who are trained ground observers that work from their home and phone in their observations which are then forwarded to the National Weather Service office in Romeoville. Mike encouraged anyone interested to come to their county facility at the Etna Rd. courthouse complex. It is a state of art facility and the county citizens should be proud. He also indicated each team could use more volunteers although some teams are more selective than others (like Animal Control and Medical). Training is mandatory both before joining and once part of a team. Also, all are trained in the Incident Command hierarchy. This is to maintain the highest safety for all, including the unsolicited volunteers who show up to help. Tom pointed out that none of this existed before Mike became the Director and he has built this into a model agency!

Prez Rick called the meeting to order and lead members in the Pledge of
Allegiance. Rotarian Garry offered the opening prayer. Several announcements
were made concerning our projects and calendars. Members are going to plant
the bulbs on Tuesday, October 25th (moved to Tuesday, Nov. 1) at the Goetz
home. Work will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the garage… so dress warm.  ALSO….
Turn in your orders and payment to Jane for the potted bulbs! Checks should be
made out to Ottawa Sunrise Rotary. Rick reminded everyone about the grants
we are involved in this year and there was a handout on each table plus an
email about the grant explanation. Rotarian Keith is applying for the Guatemala
trip probably in early January with several other District 6420 Rotarians including
our Governor Patterson.
Linda had a whole list of Halloween words and trivia questions and of
course few members knew the answers. So Keith (a.k.a.Jane) collected all of the
money! The Buck in the Pot was won by our student of the month = $19.
Linda introduced Nicole Caputo, Marquette Academy Student of the
Month. Nicole is very busy at school as Senior Class President and also President
of Student Council, Key Club, Order of the M, Crazy Crew, and NHS. She has
volunteered for Labor of Love all through high school plus tutored and assisted
with summer sport camps. Family is very important to her with her older brothers
being her role models. She credited her parents with being the spiritual
backbone of the whole family. Nicole plans to major in Molecular Biology and
eventually become a Physician’s Assistant where she can continue to help others.
Kelsey Davis, Ottawa Township High School Student of the Month, was then
introduced by Jenny. Kelsey’s interests in high school include Student Council,
Key Club, Senior Class officer and Girls’ Soccer. Her future goal is to become an
archeologist. The source of her choice of professions stems from seeing the movie
“The Mummy” in 5th grade and loving it! Being part of a winning Lego Robotics
Team earned her an After Hours trip to the Field Museum where she observed
more archeological exhibits. Last summer she won a 2-week scholarship to
attend archeology camp in Campsville. The enthusiasm she showed in relating
her experiences is evidence that she has chosen the right career path.

 

Our October students of the month Nicole Caputo, Marquette Academy (R)
and Kelsey Davis, Ottawa Township High School (not R) There