April, 2006 My Fellow Rotarians - Rotary's Global History Fellowship

District 6440 Histories 2005
2001-02 – Lew O’Donnell was president. This was the year of education with one meeting per month
designated as a District Program. This created an awareness of what Rotary is all about for all members,
both new and old.
In the summer, we worked at the pizza booth during the 4 th of July Festival. We also renamed the Book
Scholarship in memory of charter member George Harris and awarded six grants at $800 each. Our
international project was building a well in Lagos, Nigeria with a matching grant of $5,000 from Rotary
International. This was accomplished with the help of the Rotary Club of Gowon Estates, Ipaja, Lagos,
District 9110 Nigeria.
The groundwork was laid for our Centennial Project. This project will be a five-year project fixing up a
home for adult males administered by Clearbrook (a local, non-profit organization in Arlington
Heights). That year’s Christmas project we supplied holiday food and gifts for forty families in town.
In the spring of 2002, we dedicated Rotary Softball Field in conjunction with the Arlington Heights Park
District. At the end of the year, we had ten new Paul Harris members with $10,000 contributed to the
Rotary Foundation.
2002-03 – Fran Rogers was president. The year 2002-03 was a very good year for the Rotary Club of
Arlington Heights. We had a fantastic Board guiding our Club through many new and continuing
projects. In “Rotary Time,” it is hard to know where one activity starts another begins, since funds may
be appropriated in one year, but projects completed in the next. Please forgive me if I miss some names
along the way. The theme for the year 2002-03 was “Sow the Seeds of Love.” My attendance at the
International Rotary Meeting in Barcelona was an excellent way to start the presidential year. It is in the
international setting that one realizes that Rotary is worldwide organization that reaches out to people
across the world, quite literally giving people the seed they need to make their own way.
Jim Bertucci, Director of International Service, discovered the meaning of international health need.
Under Jim’s guidance, we allocated our entire contribution for the Polio eradication, $20,000 up front in
the first year, rather than over three years, so that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation could match
the funds. Our Club’s generosity was a model for other clubs in District 6440. We finally completed and
paid for a well in Nigeria, begun under Lou O’Donnell’s past presidency. Bill Hoff, President Elect,
guided Melinda Brauer, to an Ambassadorial Scholarship to study in Chile. Bill became very proficient
in preparing and advising young college graduates on how to interview well.
On the home front, Tim Padgett, Secretary, kept the Big Wheel going on our high tech website. Many of
us discovered that we could successfully receive our Big Wheel via e-mail just as easily as via the U.S.
Post. And there were added savings on the postage! Howard Grue, Assistant Secretary, kept track of our
attendance. He reported that we had 68 members, with 14 members proposing a new member in the
previous two years. Our meetings averaged between 60 to 70 percent attendance. We found that
attendance fell off when our “snowbird” members left for warmer climates, while the rest of us slogged
through the snow. There was a serious commitment to club member attendance, as evidenced by the
many perfect attendance awards at the end of the Rotary year.
Fellowship and programs were a driving force for attendance. Mary Kalou, Ron Walther, Jim
Hassenplug, and Judge Ryan all developed their own Fine Master techniques. And who could forget the
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