Signature Project Camp Rotary Park District Trolley New American Theater Coronado Theater Anderson Gardens Signature Project Since the closing of Camp Rotary in the late 1970's, Rockford Rotary has not had an ongoing project which provides the community exposure and is readily identifiable with the club. In the fall of 2001, a task force was appointed to select a "signature project". The task force decided that a signature project should be "A highly visible project that will have a long term impact in the community that addresses a significant community need, that encourages club participation and that enhances the image of the Rockford Rotary Club in the community". The task force also set the following criteria to be used to select a signature project: It should be long-term and have high impact in the community. It should be open-ended in terms of length of time the Club is directly involved. It should be highly visible in the community and should provide high visibility for the club. It should have a service component and a financial component so that Club members have several ways to get involved. It must address a community need. After reviewing many worthwhile proposals from Rotary members and the community at large, the task force recommended that Rockford Rotary adopt the "Teen Leadership Program" as the club's signature project. As the name implies, this is a program to provide leadership training for teens in the Rockford area. The Teen Leadership Program will be implemented during the 2002-03 school year at two or 3 schools as a pilot program. The details of the project are be worked on by a newly formed signature project committee. The program will concentrate on the Middle Schools in the Rockford School District initially and will then be made available to all public and private middle schools. As the graduates of the program move on to high school, they will be encouraged to participate in the program as mentors and instructors. The Teen Leadership Program will provide a structured program of leadership training that is lacking in our schools. It is also anticipated that this program will not only be a benefit to the community but will also provide Rockford Rotary members with an opportunity to participate as volunteers and as financial supporters. Camp Rotary For more than half a century, Camp Rotary was the crown jewel in Rockford Rotary's outstanding record of public service. The camp was launched in 1921, using borrowed Army tents as sleeping quarters and the muddy Kishwaukee River as a swimming hole. Over the years it grew to a self-contained camp, with barracks, pool, playgrounds, mess hall, kitchen, and all the support services needed to serve generations of boys and girls. Thousands of youngsters escaped from the sweltering city summers to the joys of nature over those years. Hundreds of Rockford men and women from all walks of life still recall their weeks at Camp Rotary among the highlights of their lives. All of this was thanks to the generosity and commitment of Rockford Rotary Club members. They donated their time, their supplies, and their dollars. They enlisted others in the cause. They built the camp, expanded it, modernized it. They financed it. Their dollars paid camping fees (camperships) for the more underprivileged local youngsters. Between 1956 and 1962 alone, Rockford Rotary spent almost $60,000 upgrading the camp. Another $68,000 was spent between 1968 and 1973. All this was in addition to individual contributions for camperships. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested in the camp and its campers by Rotarians. There is no record of the total investment, but it was a massive undertaking and a major success. Even Rotary International was skeptical at the beginning and opposed the Camp Rotary plan, but Rockford Rotarians made it work for more than five decades. Camp Rotary was never a failure, but it eventually did fall victim to major changes in society and to the growth of an often mindless bureaucracy. First came the social changes. Increased family mobility freed Rockford residents and their children for family vacations. No longer were the children trapped in the city during hot summer months. With this change, the demand for the type of camping offered by Camp Rotary fell sharply. At the same time, increasingly stringent county, state, and federal codes led to alarming and hugely costly increases in maintenance and modernization demands. As early as September of 1966, Rockford Rotary President Frank Ellis warned that $30,000 to $40,000 in essential construction and maintenance was needed, thanks to new county and state requirements. Rotarians met this challenge, and several more that came over the next few years. The end of Camp Rotary was in sight, however, in the fall of 1973 when the Rockford Boys' Club Association, which long had managed the camp under contract with Rockford Rotary, demanded a long list of changes, both in camp facilities and in the management agreement. Boys' Club officials said they no longer had enough staff to man the camp. A special Rotary committee headed by Howard Bell sought other arrangements. The Rockford Park District staffed the camp for two years. An agreement was discussed with Northern Illinois University to use the camp for off-campus activities. The Rockford School District, Boy Scouts, and several church groups used the camp for short periods. But there simply was not enough demand to justify the costs. In May of 1977, Howard Bell's committee was reformed, again including Roy Fridh, Ross Robbins, Don Wortmann, and Rusty Gates as members. They were charged with recommending disposition of the camp and with considering alternative areas for the involvement of Rotary. In July of 1978, Rockford Rotary members voted 165-8 to dispose of the camp, but only if the 83 acres of land could be preserved for use by the general public. Seventy-seven club members voted to donate the land; 86 voted to try to sell it. By September of 1978 it was obvious to the committee that none of the possible public bodies could finance purchase of the land. At that point, the committee agreed the property should be donated to the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District, to become a major part of the district's planned Kishwaukee Gorge development. Three covenants were to be included in the donation: the land would revert to Rockford Rotary if the Forest Preserve District ever had to dispose of it; the land would be made available for public use; and the land would always include the Rotary name in its title. In addition, it was understood that the donated land would be used as matching "funds" to obtain $351,620 in federal grants. The federal money would be used to buy 155 acres to expand the nearby Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve. On Nov. 2, 1978, Rockford Rotarians voted "overwhelmingly" to approve this disposition of the camp and its lands. It was estimated that more than 100,000 youngsters used Camp Rotary in its lifetime. And even as it closed it was used to assure that a huge tract of the most beautiful lands along the Kishwaukee River would remain available to the public. That development project is still on-going and eventually could be Winnebago County's most valuable nature preserve. Park District Trolley In 1983, Rockford Rotary donated $50,000 to the Rockford Park District to purchase a trolley to be used to as a tourist attraction. The trolley operates on the railroad tracks along the recreation path on the east side of the Rock River. The trolley runs between the Riverview Ice House on the south end and the Auburn Street bridge on the north end. The 45-minute ride takes visitors through Sinnissippi Gardens and provides a history of this part of Rockford. During the summer months, the trolley operates a regular schedule on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Trolley can be rented at other times for private parties. Rockford Rotary is proud to be able to provide the citizens and visitors of Rockford with this fine attraction. New American Theater Founded in 1972 by J. R. Sullivan, New American Theater, or NAT as it is more commonly known, provides the Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin area with the best of classic, contemporary, and new plays. The Chicago Tribune calls NAT "the crown jewel of Rockford". After operating for many years in cramped and inadequate quarters, NAT launched a capital campaign in 1984 to relocate to its current facility in the 100 block of North Main Street. To assist in this effort, the Rockford Rotary Club conducted a pledge drive to donate $100,000 to fund the theater's Rotary Club Lobby. In 1985, the club presented Jim Sullivan with a check for the full $100,000. Coronado Theater The Coronado Theater opened on October 9, 1927 as an ornate movie palace and vaudeville hall. The total construction cost was $1.5 million. In 1979 the Theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1980 is designated a City landmark and placed on the Illinois State Register of Historic Places. In 1997 the Kerasotes Theatre Company donated the Coronado to the City of Rockford. In December of 1997, the Friends of the Coronado, led by Mary Ann and C. Gordon Smith, is formed to raise money for the renovation of the theater. It promises to raise $7 million, with City, under Mayor Charles Box, matching that amount. In addition to the numerous individual contributions made by its members, Rockford Rotary Club pledged $25,000 to the renovation effort in the form $5,000 a year for five years. Anderson Gardens Anderson Gardens is a 12-acre formal Japanese Garden. The site encompasses the Guest House, Tea House, Azumaya, the Blue Iris Gift Shop and several Sukiya style buildings, as well as the main garden. It also includes the recent addition of The Garden of Reflection, which contains the Event Pavilion, 3 large cast bronze angle sculptures, conversation areas, new viewing dock, and more strolling paths. Anderson Japanese Gardens was rate the #2 Japanese Garden in North America and Europe by the Roth Journal of Japanese Gardening. Contruction of the Anderson Gardens began in 1978. The gardens have been designed and built by Hoichi Kurisu. On June 1, 1998, John and Linda Anderson donated their garden to a newly formed tax-exempt not-for-profit corporation which qualifies as a public charity as a supporting organization of the Rockford Rotary Charitable Association. Anderson Gardens has its own full time staff including an Executive Director, Tour Director, Garden maintenance personnel, together with seasonal employees working as guides, additional Garden maintenance and staffing a Garden Gift Shop. The overwhelming majority of its budget comes from charitable contributions and is expected to include endowment income as it accumulates an endowment fund. Rockford Rotary is proud to be part of this unique attraction in Rockford. Further information about Anderson Gardens is available at the Anderson Gardens website at www.andersongardens.org.