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October 12th Meeting
 
     2023-2024...A Rotary Year of Hope & Peace
 
     District 6420 Governor David Emerick will be making his annual visit to Rockford Rotary on October 12th.  In the past some of our members have chosen to not attend this meeting because they don't want to hear another "rah rah" speech.  We would hope that this will change this year and we will have a large show of support for the District Governor.  It will be a chance to hear about the goals of not only Rotary International but also the goals of District 6420.  We can also expect to hear what DG Emerick expects from Rockford Rotary during the 2023-24 Rotary Year.  Again, put it on your calendar and if you can't make it to Memorial Hall, at least take the time to join us via Zoom.
     David L. (Dave) Emerick, Jr. has been a member of the East Moline/Silvis Rotary Club since 2002.  During this time, Dave has served as a member of the Board of Directors, Program Chair, Membership Chair, Foundation Chair and Club President in 2008-2009 and 2019-2020.  He has served as Assistant Governor, Assistant Governor Coordinator and a member of the Finance Committee of Rotary International District #6420.  Emerick is a member of the Paul Harris Society, Polio Plus Society, a Major Donor and is a Benefactor to the Rotary International Foundation.
     Mr. Emerick is a Vice President with Blackhawk Bank & Trust and has been in the banking industry for over 40 years.  He currently works in the loan department and is involved in all aspects of the lending area including installment, commercial and real estate lending.  His banking background includes deposit operations, product marketing, business development and branch management.
     In May of 1989, he graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science including an emphasis in Public Policy.  Dave has taught American Institute of Banking courses at Black Hawk College and has served on several panels and been a guest speaker on banking and business-related topics.
     Dave is also very active in his community, serving on several boards and commissions.  He is the Treasurer of the Black Hawk College Foundation, Treasurer of School Health LINK, Treasurer of Arrowhead Youth Services.  Emerick also is a member of the Board of Directors for the Genesis Health Services Foundation, Rock Island Housing Authority, Community Housing Partners, Rock Island County Council on Addiction and New Kingdom Trailriders.
     Dave has lived in the Quad Cities his entire life (primarily in Rock Island) and has been happily married to Lori for 30 years.  They have one daughter, Jordan Marie.  They belong to St. Pius X Catholic Church in Rock Island, Illinois.
     During his leisure time, you will find Dave spending time with his family in their travel trailer exploring points of interest and sightseeing.  He also enjoys collecting antiques and trying to get in a round or two of golf.
     
     President Pete Rundquist will introduce the District Governor and act as Rotary Host.
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October 19th Program
 
     Why We Must Keep "Eradicate Polio Now" As Our #1 Priority
 
     Fellow Rotarian, Bob Presman, will discuss the why he thinks we have to keep supporting the "Eradicate Polio Now" program of Rotary International. 
 
     In addition to Bob's presentation: 
 
     -  We will be awarding 7 people their next level Paul Harris Fellowship awards. 
     -  We will auction off 2 tennis balls from the Australian Open
     -  We will be selling Polio T-Shirts for $10 each
     -  We will have a free will offering to the Polio Foundation equal to or greater than the cost of a lunch ($10)
     
     So don't forget to bring your checkbook or cash on the 19th.
 
     Bob Presman is retired after having two careers as News and Sports Director at WROK radio in Rockford and as a financial consultant.  Bob is currently the President of the Rock River Valley Civil War Roundtable and has been a member of Rockford Rotary since 1995.  Bob co-founded Rotary’s Rockford Reads Program and led the program for seventeen years.  He still reads with second-graders at Spring Creek School.  Bob is a member of the district’s recently-formed End Polio Now Committee.  He is a recipient of Rotary’s Service Above Self Award and was a finalist for the Rockford Register Star’s Excalibur Award.
          Bob is a graduate of Knox College where he received a B.A. majoring in economics.  After graduation he was a VISTA volunteer in the government program Volunteers in Service to America where he worked in Pawnee, Oklahoma. 
          Bob lives in Rockford with his wife, the acclaimed short story writer Mary Ann Presman.  They have two children.  Their daughter Roberta Leaf lives in Rockford with her husband Tim.  Their son Harry Presman lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Ashley and Bob’s two beautiful grandchildren Finn and Sawyer.
 
     Eric Moe will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary Host. 
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Future Programs
Future Programs
 
10/26/23 - "Service Above Self Awards"
                  Speaker - Honorable Thomas McNamara,
                                   Mayor of Rockford
                  Host - David Byrnes
 
11/02/23 - "Child Abuse and Human Trafficking -
                   Doing Nothing is not an Option"
                   Speaker - Jennifer Cacciapaglia
                   Host - Lynn Momberger
 
11/09/23 - "Annual Tribute to our Veterans"
                  Host - Janine Idstein
 
11/16/23 -   "Rockford Symphony's 5th Music Director"
                   Speakers - Yaniv Attar and Julie Thomas
                   Host - Warren Heinke
 
11/23/23 - Thanksgiving - No Meeting
 
11/30/23 - "Holiday Social" Hosted by President Pete
 
12/07/23 - "The Changing Face of Medical Care and
                    the Education of Doctors"
                   Speakers - Dr. Alex Stagnaro-Green &
                                     Dr. Jeff Smith
                  Host - Elise Cadigan
 
12/14/23 - "Our Park District Expanding Our Economy"
                  Speaker - Jay Sandine, Executive Director
                  Host - Paul Von Driska
 
12/21/23 - "Multi-Cultural Holiday Festival Music"
                  Rockford Music Academy
                  Host - Elise Cadigan
 
12/28/23 - Happy Holidays - No Meeting
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Weekly RI Foundation Message
 
     Each week we will be publishing a message from the Rotary International Foundation.  This week's message is:
 
     WHAT IS POLIOPLUS?
 
     Ending polio is Rotary’s main humanitarian goal, and PolioPlus is the program that supports these efforts.
 
     It was launched in 1985 with help from Dr. Albert Sabin, the developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the paralyzing consequences of polio. Rotary later became a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
 
     Since then, the incidence of wild polio cases has decreased by 99.9% and the wild poliovirus remains endemic in just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
 
     The processes Rotary helped build to fight polio have also been used to protect communities from COVID-19 and other diseases. This illustrates the Plus in PolioPlus.
 
     But polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere. Only global eradication will ensure that no child suffers its devastating effects ever again.
 
     Learn more about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate this disease at endpolio.org.
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Our Youth Exchange Student - "Chama"
 
 
Surisa "Chama" Chaithammachok
 
     Our 2023-24 Youth Exchange Student, Surisa Chaithammachok, or Chama as she likes to be called was introduced at our September 14th Meeting by President Pete.
     Chama is from Thailand and will be living in Pecatonica and attending Pecatonica High School.  Her first host family are Peter and Kelli Kang.
     The following information was taken from Chama's Youth Exchange Application which was approximately 25 pages long and was very interesting to read.
 
     Chama's mother is Patchananp Yanthitiworakorn, who is a financial advisor, and her father is Chanothai Chaithammachok, who is a mechanical engineer.  She lives with her mother and grandmother in Udonthani province.   
     Her typical day at home is up at 6:00 AM to have breakfast and her mother drives her to school at 6:45 AM.  At her Donbosco High School, she has 7 subjects a day and covers 20 subjects in a year.  These include Mathematics, Thai language, Chinese language, Math in English, English listening reading and writing, social study, basketball, science, physics, biology, chemistry, psychology, computer science, history, girl guide, art, Thai dance, music, home economics, and science in English.  Each glass is about 50 minutes, and her last class is finished by 4:00 PM.  Her mother picks her up and she is home by 5:00 PM.  After dinner, Chama looks after her pet hamster, takes a shower, does homework and goes to bed.  She has been studying English and Chinese for 9 years.
     During her free time, she likes to watch movies in order to practice her English, clean and tidy her room, and cooking and spending time with her family.  On holidays, she likes to travel to Bangkok by herself to visit her cousin for a couple of weeks.  She traveled to Hong Kong with her mother and grandmother (before COVID) to visit her aunt and uncle.  She went to Hong Kong Disneyland and other Hong Kong attractions.  They also took a ferry to Macau Venetian in Asia.
     When asked what she hoped to accomplish as an exchange student, Chama said "I best wish to gain more experiences in oversea especially culture, art, new expat friends, western lifestyle and new classroom including classmate too.  Moreover, this is a chance for me to improve my English language skills in both of formal and informal styles".
     If you get a chance to meet Chama during this year, make an effort to greet her and welcome her to Rockford Rotary.  As is our custom, Chama will be presenting at least one program during the year where she will tell us about herself and her adventures as our Youth Exchange Student.
 
I have a big family.
 
I always cook food in my free time.
 
This is my pet.  It is a hamster.
 
This is my house.
 
 
 
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District Membership Award
 
District 6420 Mewmbership Award
 
     At our September 1st meeting, Laura Kann, Past District 6420 Governor, presented Past President Eric Moe with an award for the Best Membership Growth of all the clubs in the district.  Our club welcomed 11 new members during the 2022-2023 Rotary Year.  
     Congratulations to Membership Committee chairperson Linda Niemiec and the entire committee for a wonderful job this past year.
     We are off to a great start for the 2023-24 Rotary year with two new members, Michelle Ryan for Habitat for Humanity and Maggie Kasicki from Rockford University, who will be inducted into the club at our September 8th meeting.
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Rotary Lunches
 
     Starting with our September 7th meeting, we will be having lunches at our noon meetings.  We will be starting with a package from Beef-A-Roo.  It will consist of a Wrap, salad, chips, cookie, and a soda or water.  There will bea variety of meats in the wraps.  This is a work in progress and things may change.  Lunches will start on September 7, 2023 and will be available at 11:45 AM the day of the meeting.
     PLEASE.  If you plan to bring a guest, PLEASE let us know 3 days in advance so we can make arrangements for food.  It will be your responsibility to cover the cost at $12.50 per meal.
 
     Thanks
     Pete Rundquist - runky907@comcast.net
     President, Rockford Rotary
     
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Rotary Links
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Speakers
Oct 26, 2023
"Service Above Self"
Nov 02, 2023
Child Abuse and Trafficking - Doing Nothing is Not an Option
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Upcoming Events
Board Meetings
Nov 21, 2023
 
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Jim Nelson
October 5
 
John Larsen
October 12
 
Lynn Momberger
October 14
 
John Anderson
October 17
 
Jim Powers
October 18
 
John Torrence
October 18
 
Daniel Ross
October 30
 
Bob Presman
October 31
 
Join Date
Alex Stagnaro-Green
October 9, 2014
9 years
 
Dick Lunde
October 16, 1975
48 years
 
Cynthia Drollinger
October 25, 1991
32 years
 
Jeff Smith
October 27, 2016
7 years
 
Tyler Smith
October 27, 2016
7 years
 
Darlene Furst
October 28, 1994
29 years
 
Karl Jacobs
October 28, 1971
52 years
 
Meeting Responsibilities
Meeting Set-Up and Take-Down
 
October 19th
Moe, Eric
 
October 26th
Carlin, Taylor
 
November 2nd
Clabough, Tom
 
Meeting Greeters
 
October 12, 2023
Thacker, Beth
 
October 19, 2023
Todd, Jo An
 
October 26, 2023
Foreman, Michael
 
November 2, 2023
Norwood, Mary Ann
 
November 9, 2023
Shelain, Suzanne
 
November 16, 2023
Maxted, Mary
 
cember 7, 2023
Johansson, Russ
 
December 14, 2023
Buchmann, Frank
 
December 21, 2023
Drollinger, Cynthia
 
Meeting Invocators
 
October 12, 2023
Dickinson, Elizabeth
 
October 19, 2023
Moe, Eric
 
October 26, 2023
Johnson, Linda
 
November 2, 2023
Buchmann, Frank
 
November 9, 2023
Todd, Jo An
 
November 16, 2023
Kwiat-Hess, Kathy
 
December 7, 2023
Maxted, Mary
 
December 14, 2023
Niemiec, Linda
 
December 21, 2023
Ryan, Michelle
 
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Rockford Rotary - Our 108th Year - www.rockfordrotary.org