Stories

On March 7, 2024, our guest speaker was District 7390 District Governor Fred Gellert whose topic was Serving, Learning, and Leading in Rotary. His topic covered serving communities locally and globally, the Rotary Learning Program where one has access to over 100 online courses, the areas of Rotary's focus, and examples of projects locally and in other countries.  Fred's background includes teaching Army officers courses such as Strategic Leadership at the U. S. Army War College in Carlisle after retiring as a Colonel in the U.S. Army.  His teachings were based on his broad military experiences that included being an Army Commander, Chief P7 Police Forces Integration, and US Army Pacific Operations Officer.  Fred is a member of the Carlisle Sunrise Rotary club and served his club as president as well as several positions at the District level prior to being elected as District Governor for 2023-2024. He has his Masters’ Degree from RPI in Astrophysics, a Masters’ Degree from Army War College in Strategic Studies, and a Bachelors’ Degree in Physics from Wayne State University

On April 10 2024 the March students and educators of the Month were recognized and a school administrator shared the special ways in which a recipient's achievements in the school and community truly represented Rotary's motto "Service Above Self". Recipients in the picture left to right are:  Callie Wendell, Educator of the Month for the Middle School, Mia Russell, Student of the Month for the Middle School, and Denise Nassip, Educator of the Month for the Thomas Holtzman Elementary School.  Missing was Inass Moubal, the High School Student of the Month.  Congratulations to all! 

On November 8, 2023 Students and Educators of the month were recognized for their service of above self for the month of October.  The recipients were from left to right Kaitlyn Veronikis - high school educator, Hayden Bowser - high school student, Stephanie Wolfe - Sara Lindemuth Anna Carter Primary School educator, and Shonn Turner - middle school student.  

The September 2023 Students & Educators of the Month were recognized for their service above self achievements.the month of September. 

Rotarian Mira Kapadia shared a breathtaking presentation of her trip to India and Dubai the summer of 2023 with her mother, son and daughter for about one month.  It was the first time her grown children have been to India & they got to meet their grandmother for the very first time who is 105 years old. She explained how everyone ate fresh food, and in the building where she had lived along with other buildings, there would be vendors selling fresh produce (India is largely vegetarian and cows are sacred) near the entry to their building as well as other buildings thus there were no grocery stores.
 
 Mira took us from a map of where she flew to in the emirates and then to Mumbai (aka Bombay) where she spent her childhood until about 9 years old, to a video by her son as they drove showing us many scenic pictures including them riding camels, and she showed us the area of Mumbai where she spent her childhood (also a picture of her when she was a toddler with who we would call a babysitter – the babysitter connected with her on the internet and so she got to have a meal with her while there). 
 
She told us of the differences between Dubais and India and the waters were so pure you could see many feet down to the bottom – beautiful sceneries, beautiful temples both in India and Dubai.  Marble is a big industry in that region.  The temple in this picture is the temple (Jain Temple but full name is Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji) that Mira used to go to as a child and taken there by her grandmother. 

Dr. Tamara Willis attended an educators conference in Germany the summer of 2023 on the topic of Global Sustainability.  In attendance also were high school students from several countries who got to travel and learn about the culture of several countries in the region.  

 

 

For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.

 

After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.

What is it like taking a large team to Africa?  It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.

A highlight for the team was greeting the chief of Sagadugu. The team got excited about buying goats and food for children in the villages where I support eight churches. It was good to see the pastors of most of the eight churches, and I had to explain that we were just passing through on our way to Bolgatanga.