Each year the District Governor visits each club in District 6420 and October 22nd is her chance to visit Rockford Rotary.

     District 6420 Governor Tina Curtis helped charter the Rotary Club of Carpentersville-Morning, Illinois (District 6440) in 2009. During her time there, she served as Club Secretary, President-Elect, and two terms as Club President before becoming an Assistant Governor and later a Sector Assistant Governor Chair.
     In 2016, Tina and her husband, Chip, moved to a small farm in rural Bureau County. Before choosing a new Rotary home, Tina visited five District 6420 clubs before joining the Rotary Club of Walnut. Since then, she has served two terms as Club President, Grants Chair for nine years, and continues to serve as the club's Foundation Chair.
     Tina also served as the club liaison to the Bureau Valley High School Interact Club after helping charter it during the 2017–18 Rotary year. She later served as Assistant Governor for Area 7 before joining the District Governor line.
     As District Governor, Tina believes Rotary's greatest strength lies in building relationships, developing leaders, and empowering clubs to create lasting impact in their communities. She is committed to listening first, encouraging collaboration, and supporting every club as they pursue meaningful service, strengthen membership, and create the conditions for peace through their actions.

     DG Tina will share some of the goals from Rotary International and also talk about what she sees as the goals for Rockford Rotary.

     This is always in interesting and informative program and also a chance to meet the District Governor.  Since we are in the discussion phase of our Strategic Plan, we will see how we can incorporate some of Tina's goals into our strategic plan.  

     We would encourage as many members as possible to show your support for DG Tina and plan on attending this important meeting.  We would also encourage members to bring a guest of prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom.

     President Paul will introduce the District Governor and act as Rotary host.

     Rockford Rotary Club is offering a buffet lunch before each Thursday meeting at 11:30 AM.

 

     The October 22nd menu is "Taste of the South":

 

     Fried Chicken, tossed salad/dressing, green beans, cornbread and Home Style Mac & Cheese
 
To reserve a lunch, text John Mecklenburg by Monday at 3:00 PM at (815) 988-6851.  Price is $15 each.
If you have a guest, reserve a meal, but the guest meal is free.

 

 

 

     Our October 15th meeting featured Dr. Feride Rushiti who was in town to speak at the "Minds of Peace" event at the Tebala Event Center.  In order not to give us the same program that she would be presenting later that night, she spent most of her time talking about her life and how she gave up her doctoring practice to concentrate on the children of Kosovo.  It was a most enlightening program and did indeed not duplicate her later presentation. 

 

Dr. Feride Rushiti

 

Stan Goral presents Dr. Rushiti with a Sock Monkey

 

And a Rockford Peaches t-shirt.

 

And of course, a Rotary Mug

 

     SwedishAmerican hospital started with a $1 contribution from O.F. Nilson in 1911 to establish a Swedish hospital, a culture of philanthropy has persisted for over 100 years to improve the health and well-being of our northern Illinois community. Today, this culture has left an enduring legacy, championing compassionate care and excellence in health care.

     The SwedishAmerican Health Foundation (SAHF) was formed on August 6, 1980, with a mission to provide financial and in-kind support for the stated missions of Swedish American Hospital System Corporation, Swedish American Hospital and affiliates operating in the State of Illinois (all part of UW Health in northern Illinois). 

     Tricia Cratty joined the SAHF team in July of 2025 and brings more than 20 years of experience leading marketing projects for SwedishAmerican Health System (and others); and has also served in several fundraising development roles in northern Illinois. She leads SAHF efforts to build relationships and connect donors to projects that help UW Health deliver remarkable, life-saving care throughout the Rockford/Northern Illinois region.

   

 

We are again collecting cereal for the Rock River Valley Pantry.  A barrel is at west entrance of Memorial Hall for the rest of October.  The next time you are shopping, pick up a couple of boxes of cereal and bring them to a meeting.

Rotary Academy at Camp Winnebago will be held from 9:30 AM to 1:15 PM on the following dates with pizza being served at noon.

 

Camp Winnebago is located at 5804 N. Main St. on the west side of the street.

 

You don't have to come for the whole time, just whatever amount of time you can fit in. 

 

Oct 19, Monday

       20, Tuesday

       23, Friday

 

 

     Rockford Rotary and Loves Park Rotary are sponsoring the "World's Largest Polio Walk" from 10:00 AM to 12 PM on Octobr 24th at Rock Valley College.  We will walk around the recreational path at Rock Valley College.  If the weather doesn't cooperate, the walk will be held inside at the RVC Physical Education Center.

     The flyer below gives you all of the information you need to either register if you plan to walk or to donate if you can't attend.

     If you have any questions, contact Lynn Momberger - lynnmom1@icloud.com or 815-494-0994.

 

     Rockford Rotary will be helping out at the Northern Illinois Food Bank at the following times:

 

     If you have any questions, contact Mary Maxted - marymaxted1@gmail.com or 815-985-5538

     Rotary Direct is Rotary's recurring giving program.  It is an easy way to give to the Rotary Foundation either monthly, quarterly, or annually.

     Below you will find a file with all the information you will need to give on a recurring basis.