Welcome to The Rotary Club of Naperville!

For 71 years, the Rotary Club of Naperville has provided service to our community by helping others. Through the inspired commitment of our members, we provide college scholarships, funding for medical screenings, food pantries, homeless shelters, clean water and health initiatives worldwide and much more, and the most important signature project of our generation, eliminating Polio. Polio is a serious disease that cripples, paralyzes, or kills many children under the age of 5. Rotarians worldwide have volunteered their time and personal resources to reach more than two billion children in 122 countries with oral polio vaccine. More than $900 million has been contributed by Rotarians worldwide since 1985 and incidence of polio has decreased from 125 countries to just 3 endemic countries: Pakistan, Afganistan, Nigeria, and India and cases have plummeted by more than 99 percent. When Rotary began it's polio eradication work more than 350,000 children were infected annually. In 2009, fewer than 1,700 cases were reported worldwide.

Next Meeting – The Rotary Club of Naperville will meet at 12:15pm on Thursday, May 17th,at Meson Sabika located at 1025 Aurora Avenue in Naperville. Jeff Korhan will deliver a talk titledAspects of Digital Marketing. John Knobloch will deliver the invocation.

April 26, 2012 - The Naperville Rotary presents the recipients of our

Scholarships for the College of DuPage

Rotarian of the Week - May 2, 2012

Our Rotarian of the Week is our friend and colleague, Carl Schumann!

Carl has been a Rotarian and member of this club for 30 years and has consistently and continuously provided service to our local and international communities. For the past year, Carl has been working diligently on a grant request to Rotary International to supply desperately needed medical equipment to a birthing clinic in Naperville’s Sister City,Patzcuaro, Mexico. The grant process, translation of documents, purchase of equipment, and coordination of international logistics has been a very involved, drawn out, complex project.

As President Sun described it, "it is like pushing a boulder up hill, having that boulder fragment into smaller pieces, and having to gather all of those pieces and push those pieces up the hill at the same time, due to the number of organizations, governments, and parties involved in the project." Sun said that it has been an "absolute pleasure to work with Carl this year. His attention to detail and determination to get this and other projects done has really made a difference."

Carl has pursued it with great diligence and enthusiasm, as he knows how many pregnant women and infant children it will benefit.

This is a wonderful example of the power and positive impact that Rotary has internationally. Carl’s 30 years of Service Above Selfare a great example to our club and to Rotarians everywhere, and we are proud to honor him for his service and as our Rotarian of the Week. Thank you, Carl!

Rotarian of the Week - April 26, 2012

Our Rotarian of the Week this week hardly needs an introduction, at least in and around Naperville, for it is none other than our beloved colleague, Mayor A. George Pradel. Mayor Pradel’s term as Mayor of Naperville extends from 1995 – 2015. Prior to that he served in the Naperville Police Department for 29 years, and retired from the force as Lieutenant of Police on April 30, 1995 to become Mayor. Pradel has been married to Pat for 51 years, and has two sons, George and Gary, and one daughter, Carol.

Mayor Pradel has been involved with literally every community organization in Naperville, and is the most ardent supporter of all of our great nonprofits. Pradel’s other civic involvement includes: The Illinois Tollway Authority, Naperville Lions Club, Naperville Kiwanis Club, Naperville Exchange Club, Police and Fire Pensions Boards, DuPage County Police Association, DuPage Mayors and Managers Association, The Hundred Club of DuPage, North East Multi-Regional Training Board, Founder of Safety Town, Founder of the Naperville Marines. The Mayor is also very active in the religious and spiritual life in our community.

At our club meeting this past Thursday, I introduced the Mayor as our Rotarian of the Week by reading the definition and characteristics of Servant Leadership. Mayor Pradel epitomizes and lives all of the characteristics that make for a true Servant Leader. He continues to serve our community faithfully, lovingly, passionately, and selflessly. For all that he does to promote and exemplify Service Above Self throughout our community he is our Rotarian of the Week.

Rotarian of the Week - April 18, 2012

Our Rotarian of the Week for this week (nominated by Fred Spitzzeri) is our esteemed colleague, Dr. Kathy Birkett, Superintendent of Naperville Unit School District 204.

Dr. Birkett freely gives of her time and many talents and serves our community with distinguished Service Above Self. At the national level, Dr. Birkett is one of 100 superintendents who serves on the Education Research and Development Institute. She is also one of 20 superintendents from across the country who serves as a board member of the League of Innovative Schools. At the state level, she is a board member with the Large Unit District Association (LUDA).

Superintendent Birkett serves locally as a board member with the YMCA of Metro Chicago; she served for 10 years on the Edward Hospital and Health Services Board of Directors; she is a board member with the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation; she was recently appointed to serve on the Naperville Heritage Society board; and, she is an active volunteer with the Special Olympics. Additionally, she locally serves as a member of SPARK (Students Prepared And Ready for Kindergarten) which is an early-learning initiative from which she was appointed by Mayor Weisner from the City of Aurora, and on the Naperville Development Partnership.

We are honored to have Dr. Birkett in our club, and pleased to recognize her as our Rotarian of the Week!

Rotarian of the Week - April 11, 2012

Our Rotarian of the Week this week is our esteemed colleague, Rosemary Macko Wisnosky. Rosemary joined the Rotary Club of Naperville in 1989, just two years after women were admitted and was the fourth woman to join our club. Only the late attorney Maryann Yacobellis, Mayor Peg Price, and Rita Harvard preceded her. When Rosemary served as Club Sergeant she was booed when she suggested a $3.00 weekly fine!

Rosemary has a long and distinguished list of accomplishments for community leadership. She served as
Chairman of the Board of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce in 1988, and recommended that the Chamber initiate a committee that recognized and served the needs of its small business members. Today this is known as the Small Business Council. For more than two decades Rosemary served on the Board of Directors of the Heritage YMCA Group, and continues on the Advancement Council of the Kroehler Center and Fry Center of the Naperville YMCA.

She served on the task force in 1992 charged with identifying Naperville’s Sister City, and helped identify Nitra, Slovakia as our first Sister City, and then served on the Sister Cities Commission for several years. Rosemary has also served as a Trustee of Benedictine University since 1994.

Awards for Rosemary include the Naperville Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, the Crystal Award from Citibank, the Influential Woman of the Year Award from the Business Ledger, and a “Women Who Inspire” recognition from Authentic Woman Magazine. Most recently, she has been named a candidate for Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic in Illinois, having been approved by the Slovak government and pending U.S. State Department approval for this distinction.

It is an honor for us to have so many accomplished people in our club, and Rosemary’s achievements are another example of the many good works undertaken by our club members. We honor Rosemary for her exemplary Service Above Self to our club, our community, and our nation. Thank you, Rosemary!

Rotarian of the Week - April 5, 2012

Our Rotarian of the Week for this week is our esteemed colleague, Jini Clare. (Nominated by President Sun Kwok.)

Jini is the president/CEO of Clare Communications, a Naperville-based marketing and public relations company, and is the author of several books about Naperville, including Century Walk: Art Imitating History, The Naperville Area Handbook and Guide, Naperville: Reflections of Community, and Naperville's Riverwalk: Where History and Community Flow Together.

Jini often promotes the Rotary Club of Naperville and Rotary International through her writing talents, and recently authored an article on the global efforts of Rotary to eradicate polio in India. The article featured fellow Sunrise Rotarian and future District Governor, Nicki Scott, in her recent travels to India. It is a wonderful article on the important work that Rotarians are accomplishing in the health field worldwide. Jine also volunteers for several Naperville organizations, including: CAPS (Citizens Appreciate Public Safety), Century Walk, Focus: Women in Business, the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Education Center.

Thank you, Jini, for exemplifying the ideals of Rotary in your writing and in your life. For your Service Above Self we are pleased to honor you as our Rotarian of the Week!

Chuck Newman (L) and Pat Merryweather (R) in Nigeria with Polio Volunteers, April 2012

Incoming District Governor Pat Merryweather has given us a report on her recent trip to Nigeria. Attached is a draft report focused on more of the healthcare aspects of the recent trip to Nigeria. It was a great trip and great time with Rotarians and the people of Nsukka. which you can view here: Healthcare and Education Support to Nsukka Nigeria

A Rotary Christmas - A Festival of Lights and Fellowship

December 15th will be one of the year's highlights as over 109 Rotarians and friends gathered to celebrate the Christmas season. Meeting at the Rubin Center, My Chef provided an array of food and drinks as members talked about their Christmas plans (travel and family!) and listened to the holiday music provided by the Sounds Abounds. Check out the pictures of the fun, captured by Ron Ory.

Presidential, Officer, & Board Nominations - 12/29/11

The Rotary Club of Naperville Presidential Nominating committee met this week and has selected a President Nominee candidate for Rotary Year 2014-2015.

This year’s committee, consisting of four past presidents Pat Merryweather, Bill Garlough, Ken Kolbet, and Bob Estvander, as well as myself, Frank Slocumb, and Liz Zienty, spent several hours of discussion before choosing our next presidential nominee candidate. We are so lucky that our club has so many exceptional and worthy individuals, all of whom would make an excellent President for our club, but in the end, we had to choose just one person.

The Presidential Nominating committee will present their President-Nominee and call for any nominations from the floor at our upcoming regular club meeting on January 12, 2012. If there are no additional nominations at that time, an immediate club vote will be held for the President-Nominee position.

President-Elect Frank Slocumb will also present his slate of incoming board members and we will hold a club vote to confirm these new members to the board of directors, who will start their terms in July 2012.

Finally, we will also vote on a clarification to our bylaws about the Presidential selection process. We are proposing that the text in red be changed.

Club President – The Club has a succession process in place for the office of President. A President-Nominee is elected two and one-half years before he/she is installed as President. The President-Nominee becomes President-Elect and then President. Thus, only a candidate(s) for President-Nominee is presented to Club members for election. The President-Nominee automatically transitions to President-Elect and President in subsequent years. In November or early December, the Club’s President-Nominee establishes a nominating committee that includes himself/herself, the President, President-Elect, and at least four past Presidents to nominate the next President-Nominee. A Club member must have served as an officer of the Club to be eligible for nomination as President-Nominee.

The current bylaws limit President nominees to officers of the club. There are varying interpretations that being a member of the Board of Directors makes you an officer, but in its strictest interpretation, the officers of our club are the President, Vice President (President-Elect), Secretary, and Treasurer, which is very limiting to the pool of potential presidential candidates. I have proposed, and the Board of Directors has approved that the text in red be changed to:

“A club member must have served on the Club Board of Directors to be eligible for nomination as President-Nominee.”

We will need a club vote to enact the clarification and change to the bylaws. You can find a full copy of our bylaws on our website under the Members Section, go to : Members, Documents, Rotary Board, View Documents, Club Bylaws.

I hope that all of you are having fun and taking some much needed personal time during the holidays, and I wish you a safe and happy New Year!

Your El Presidente,

Sun Kwok

Photo by Jini Clare

Last year's Kids' Best Friend Award winners, Liz and Norm Zienty, joined this year's Kids' Best Friend honorees, Sandy and Art Davis, at The Education Center's annual award benefit dinner and auction last Friday.

On Sunday, 2000+ braved the threatening rain clouds
to contribute and participate in our signature event.
With 30 restaurants providing unique and enjoyable foods
(from soups to cheeses to steak sandwiches
to more chocolate than you could imagine),
everyone had a good time.

If you would like to relive or just remember -
Club photographers Rosemary Wisnosky and Ron Hume were able to
capture the best of Soups On! If you were able to join us,
or you wanted to join us,
click below to see pictures from the event.

Go here And here

2010 Exchange Student Ruth Baneszova goes to Medical School!

Ruth Baneszova, third from the left.

Ruth Baneszova, our exchange student last year from Nitra, Slovakia, just wrote us a note with some good news:

Hello Rosemary,

I just wanted to let you know I got accepted to the medical school in Bratislava. I hope you have a nice time with your family.

hugs

Ruth

Rotary Club of Naperville Provides Much Needed Help to Area Residents

Once again the benevolence of the Rotary Club of Naperville has helped hundreds – if not thousands – of individuals in need within our hometown communities. Ron Czalbowski, chair of the Rotary Club of Naperville Community Service Committee, reports that 15 not-for-profit organizations have become beneficiaries of $65,000 in total grants recently awarded. The recipients include: the Naperville Education Foundation (support for at-risk students); The Education Center of Developmental Resources (life-coaching programs); Edward Foundation (public education for signs of mental illness); Community Career Center (educating job seekers); Friends for Lisle Township (food for the Lisle Food Pantry); the YMCA (low-income family school program); Humanitarian Service Project (food for Seniors); Samaritan Interfaith Counseling (counseling and psychotherapy); NCO Youth & Family Services (therapeutic services expense); Ecumenical Adult Care (salary support for elderly care); NAMI of DuPage County (support group for mental illness); CASA of DuPage County (child advocates); Naperville Elderly Homes (low-income senior housing and food); Naperville Cares (financial assistance program), and Families Helping Families (housing for one homeless family).

“This year the community service committee’s objective was to focus funding specifically on basic humanitarian needs in the Naperville community,” explained Czalbowski. “Basic criteria for the eligibility requirements were redefined by the committee and required non-profit organizations to submit projects that focused strongly on purposes that would significantly impact the lives of individuals struggling for the basics in life – such as food, shelter, clothing, mental and physical health, education, and sanitation. The goal was to prevent at-risk residents from falling into crisis situations. All money awarded by the committee this year was received from Naperville Rotary Charities.” He added, “These decisions are never easy, but the committee believes that the diversity in the organizations selected will impact a wide-range of worthy causes.”

The Rotary Club of Naperville was founded in 1941 by a group of Naperville business leaders and has grown to over 140 members. Each year, this Rotary Club routinely contributes over $315,000 to local community non-profit organizations and national and global causes.

Years ago, the club established Naperville Rotary Charities (NRC) which has sponsored the House of Dreams charity raffle since 1993. Naperville Rotary Charities is a community-based licensed 501(c)(3) charitable organization run by volunteers. Its annual fund-raising efforts support a charitable endowment, which provides monies to non-profit organizations that give quality care and services to children and families in need. As well as helping causes large and small, over the years NRC has been a major donor for three core charitable organizations and programs: Children's Memorial Hospital, Polio Plus (eradicating polio worldwide) and the American Red Cross. NRC has awarded millions of dollars to date and is committed to continuing its support of children and family-based charitable programs via annual grants in perpetuity.

Come Join Us! Join Rotary Today!

Do you believe in Service Above Self? Would you like to make a difference in Naperville and in the world?

Rotary is the worlds first service organization. The Rotary Club of Naperville is an group of business, civic, and non-profit leaders and people interested in helping their community by providing their time and talents to promote world peace, understanding, and helping their fellow man.

It's a great way to make new friends, to get out of the office for lunch once a week, learn about your community, and to give back to your community. If you are interested in joining our club you are very welcome to visit one of our meetings! Please contact us for more information.

Donna Dziedzic - Executive Director of the
Naperville Public Library Celebrates 11 Years of #1

More Photos!

8th Grade Service Above Self Awards

Every year at this time, The Rotary Club of Naperville recognizes two graduating 8th grade students at each school in Naperville who best eptiomize the Rotary Ideals of truthfulness, fairness, goodwill, friendship and service. The recipients are chosen by each schools faculty and staff, with these criteria in mind. This year's recipients of the Service Above Self Awards are:

School	Rotarian Presenter	Girl Recipient	Boy Recipientent
Jefferson Junior High	Steve Coates	Emily Akins	Jeff Zugay
Kennedy Junior High	Jerry Feldott	Dana Paulo	Kyle Crementent
Lincoln Junior High	Ray Kinney	Charlotte Brooks	Jacob Verreyey
Madison Junior High	Tom Kallay	Michelle Ross	Thomas Zhangang
Washington Junior High	John Gallagher	Chelsea Smith	Spencer Stibbeibbe
Crone Middle School	Justin Karubas	Brooke Kuzniewicz	Jonathan Lelekelek
Granger Middle School	Roger Schnorr	Dianna Leigh	Matthew Salernoalerno
Gregory Middle School	no presenter	Kara Abunassar	Chrysovallantis Michelisantis Michelis
Hill Middle School	Justin Karubas	Avery Ericksen-Russo	Spencer Calhounalhoun
Scullen Middle School	No Presenter	Rachel McMullan	Thomas Berarderard
Still Middle School	Justin Karubas 9:00	Hayley Morton	Sanjay Roa
Ss. Peter & Paul	Liz Zienty	Colleen Rafferty	Scott Kleiserer
St. Raphael's School	John Knobloch	Kathryn Harrington	Connor Druhanuhan
Bethany Lutheran School	Barry McKeown	Meredith Staunch	David Mackeykey
All Saints Catholic Academy	Bonnie Marshall	Tara Mayoralgo	Mark Egan
Fischer Middle School	Kathy Beedle	Julianna Dantzer	Christopher Wilsonr Wilson

THE ROTARY CLUB OF NAPERVILLE HAS BEEN A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO HUMANITARIAN RELIEF, CHARITABLE CAUSES AND SCHOLARSHIPS IN NAPERVILLE AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD FOR MORE THAN 65 YEARS. RECENTLY, THE ROTARY CLUB OF NAPERVILLE AWARDED $30,000 TO ASSIST 6 STUDENTS AT C.O.D, AND WILL ALSO AWARD 15 GRADUATING SENIORS FROM NAPERVILLE’S HIGH SCHOOLS, WITH 15 SCHOLARSHIPS TOTALLING $70,000. THIS PAST YEAR ALONE, OUR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GIVING EXCEEDED $500,000

WE MEASURE THE THINGS WE THINK, DO, AND SAY BY OUR 4 WAY TEST -

IS IT THE TRUTH?
IS IT FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED?
WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
WILL IT BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL CONCERNED?

END POLIO NOW!

Polio epidemics have crippled thousands of people, mostly young children. The disease has caused paralysis and death for much of human history. A global effort to eradicate polio began in 1988, led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and The Rotary Foundation. These efforts have reduced the number of annual diagnosed cases by 99%; from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to a low of 483 cases in 2001, after which it has remained at a level of about 1,000 cases per year (1,606 in 2009). Polio is one of only two diseases currently the subject of a global eradication program, the other being Guinea worm disease. If the global Polio Eradication initiative is successful it would be only the third time humankind has ever completely eradicated a disease, after smallpox in 1979 and rinderpest in 2010.

We are THIS CLOSE, to ENDING POLIO (Rotary Website) FOREVER. World Health Organization Polio Status Website