Our April 22, 2020 meeting was online, via Zoom.
Our club members greeted themselves as they joined the Zoom meeting. Rick Morse led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Our moment of Reflection was offered by Linda Flowers. “There is a difference between solitude and isolation. One is connected and isn’t. Solitude replenishes, isolation diminishes.” – Henry Cloud
Rick Morse led us in the song, R O T A R Y, which was great to hear again. We had no guests to introduce today. Thank you to all who assisted with duties this week.
Club news:
Membership: Congrats to new member – Ms. Sierra Allen! Welcome to the Rotary Club of Carbondale.
Donation Request – United Way of Southern IL – gently used luggage, backpacks, zippered totes. The donations are for CASA and Night Shield. – Donations accepted at:
- Sarah Heyer home – front porch – 1442 E Gary Drive – heysar41@yahoo.com
- Hickory Lodge – 1115 West Sycamore – Carbondale park District – on screened in porch
100 Little Things – it was agreed upon to delay collection of items for donation at this time, especially due to COVID-19 concerns. If you can donate funds, food, or medical supplies to local organizations – these are the little things we can do right now that will make a local impact.
Foundation Challenge – Jerry Molumby will be matching Foundation donations for the month of April. Coming months, we have the following Rotarians matching: Jim Grant – May, Gayla – June, Ginger-July, Brooke-August, Brad Austin – September, Sharon Harris Johnson – October, Linda Meredith – November. If you would like to pick up December or a month into 2021, please let me know!
Heartland Catering Update – Provided lunch on Wed 4/22 – at Carbondale Warming Center – Thank You – Rotarians!! Working with Carbondale Warming Center to determine dates. Once I have the dates, I will let everyone know.
Scholarship Update: The 2020 James B. Mowery Scholarship winner is Ms. Mary Cummins. We hope to have her at a future meeting so she can tell us her future plans.
District news:
Governor Visit: Our new District Governor – Mrs. Lorraine Cavataio, is planning a club visit in August. Mark your calendar August 4 – 6PM social at Bandanas – three club social is being planned.
District Grant: Due to COVID-19, the district has extended the deadline to submit a grant request to May 15th. Our project for the 2020-2021 Rotary year will be a same piece of the Kiwanis Park project at Turley Park.
RI Foundation – Contribute to the Annual Fund for Double Points – Fellow Rotarian, Greg Yank, is offering 25,000 Foundation points to match any donations to the RI Annual Fund between $100-$500, from now until June 8th. If you are interested in getting more information on this process, please let me know. Also attached is a description of how Rotarians gain points and can donate points.
Good News to Share:
Jim Grant reminded Rotarians to continue to donate to the foundation by going to our website and hit DONATE or to mail payments to : Rotary Club of Carbondale, PO Box 3975, Carbondale, IL 62902.
Sierra Allen shared that Illini Care will have a Facebook Live event and she recently constructed a trampoline.
Rick Morse shared a story about family walks.
Gayla shared that all of the Foundation grant checks have now been delivered, totally $7950
Gil Kroening told the club his is getting ready to start the journey home to Carbondale.
Shane Hermetz shared that EECA recently donated money to four different area food pantries – $500 to each.
Guest Speaker:
Today’s speaker was President & CEO of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Jennifer Olson. Ms. Olson shared with us how local businesses are handling the COVID-19 pandemic. She discussed how business have adapted, some staying open and some closed. Businesses are now looking to develop responsible re-opening plans. Businesses are trying to determine what will be the new “normal” moving forward. In closing, she reminded us to shop local – brick and mortar businesses need your support. Thank you to Ms. Olson for a great presentation!!!
Next week we will be utilizing ZOOM again: Club Assembly – I will focus on committee activities and would like to cover RI Goals and the District Governor’s trophy.
The meeting ended with Rick Morse led us in the four way test.
Details for next week’s ONLINE meeting will be emailed out by Monday and will also be available on our FACEBOOK and website.
Enjoy the week!
Shane Hermetz – Club President
