Stories
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DuPage County Care CenterToday, our guest speaker was Cindy Vacek with the Care Center. The Wheaton Rotary clubs have decades of support of the Center (formerly known as the Convalescent Center), and its residents. The Center is an invaluable resource for the residents of the county providing skilled nursing care, and rehabilitation services. https://www.dupageco.org/convo/  |
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DuPage Legal AidToday, our guest speaker was Cecelia Najera, Executive Director of DuPage Legal Aid. Since its founding in 1975, the DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation (DuPage Legal Aid) has helped thousands of clients in need of legal help, most often in matters involving family law issues, such as divorce, child support and custody. The lawyers working with us provide free legal help both in the courtroom and in meetings with clients, giving legal advice and counsel to those in need. Services are provided by staff attorneys and volunteer attorney members of the DuPage County Bar Association. Website: www.dupagelegalaid.org/ |
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Illinois Prairie PathOur guest speaker today (our first hybrid meeting) was Erik Spande, President, Illinois Prairie Path.  |
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National Gathering of Veterans/PowwowToday, our guest speaker was Joe Podlasek, CEO of the Trickster Cultural Center in Schaumburg, IL [https://www.tricksterculturalcenter.org/]   |
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Weiss Scholarship FoundationToday, our guest speaker was Brett Weiss from the Rotary Club of Naperville, and founder of the Weiss Scholarship Foundation.   |
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Giving DuPageToday, our guest speaker was Shefali Trivedi. Executive Director of Giving DuPage  |
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Legalization of CannabisToday, our guest speaker was Dr. Richard Jorgensen. DuPage County Coroner.  |
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Update from City HallToday. our guest speaker was John Rutledge, club member a  nd city councilman. He was joined by Mike Dzugan, City Manager |
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Blessings in a BackpackToday, our guest speaker was Kaitlyn Blaha. Kaitlyn is a student at St. Francis High School.  |
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Humanitarian Service Project (HSP)Today, our guest speaker was Nancy Dorsman, Outreach Coordinator with the Humanitarian Service Project.  |
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ALICE training in School District 200Our speaker was club member, Charles Kyle, District 200 Ass't. Superintendent - Administration . His subject was the ALICE active shooter program in the District.  |
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Wheaton North High School Show ChoirToday, our guests were the student members of Show Choir under the direction of Kassie Krause.  |
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B.R. Ryall YMCAToday, it was our pleasure to welcome Rob Wilkinson, CEO of the Ryall YMCA  |
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The Flunked-Out ProfessorToday, our guest speaker was Jon Becker, author of The Flunked-Out Professor: Six Steps to Turn Your Big Failure Into Bigger Success.  |
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Andrew's GardenToday, our guest speakers were Andrew and Tonya Parravano, proprietors of Andrew's Garden, 131 W. Wesley St., Wheaton.  |
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B.R. Ryall YMCA.jpg) Today, our guest speaker was club member Katie Sivak, Director - Organizational Engagement and Community Health with the B. R. Ryall YMCA of Northwestern DuPage County. |
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Wheaton Sanitary DistrictToday, our guest speaker was Matthew Larson Executive Director of the Wheaton Sanitary District. .jpg) |
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Portrait of District 200 GraduatesToday, our guest speakers from Wheaton-Warrenville School District 200 were Dr. Chris Silagi, Asst. Supt,-Student Services, and club member Dr. Charlie Kyle, Asst. Supt.-Administration.  |
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DuPage Airport AuthorityToday, out guest speaker was Mark Doles, Interim Executive Director of the DuPage Airport Authority  |
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Bridge CommunitiesToday, our guest speakers were Jen Bystry and Pamela Paulson from Bridge Communities. The mission of Bridge Communities is to transition homeless families to self-sufficiency by working with partners to provide mentoring, housing, and supportive services. Through the help of their program partners and supporters, Bridge Communities provides free transitional housing to 137 homeless DuPage County families each year. The faces of homelessness:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?Information about Bridge can be found on their website: https://www.bridgecommunities.org/index.html |
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DuPage PADSOur guest speaker today was Chad Padigo representing DuPage PADS The solution to end homelessness is more complex than providing individuals with food and shelter. Founded in 1985, DuPagePads is the largest provider of interim and permanent housing, coupled with support services in order to help individuals work toward becoming self-sufficient. These vital support services enable the individuals PADS helps to receive case management and life coaching, employment support such as job coaching, as well as engagement with employers—effectively stopping the cycle of homelessness. PADS greatly relies on community support, and needs volunteers at the overnight shelters, fund raising events, and at the Wheaton Service Center. Website: https://dupagepads.org  |
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Loretto Club of WheatonToday, our guest speaker was Maryann Loncar, Sales Consultant with Pulte Homes at the Loretto Club development. This secluded, planned 48 home development is situated between the Chicago Golf Club and Seven Gable Park. Pulte offers four ranch styles and two two story styles with pricing starting in the mid-$500's. |
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DonkaDonka provides computer training and job readiness services to persons with physical, visual, and limited learning disabilities. To learn more, visit their website: https://donkainc.org/ Our club is proud to have been a supporter of Donka's mission since 1991. Today, Leanne Vos, Executive Director at Donka (on the left) was our guest speaker, and Kaitlyn Wild (right), club Philanthropy Chair, presented our current donation.  |
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Being an election judgeToday, our guest speaker was Scott McKay with the DuPage County Clerk's Election Division. There is a shortage of election judges, and Scott addressed the requirements and training involved in becoming a judge. Illinois Statutes require Judges' to complete training courses and pass a written examination in each two-year appointment period. A school of instruction and training session is conducted for this purpose. Prospective judges of election will receive a handbook and a home study review test prior to the school of instruction. All Judges must attend and satisfactorily complete the course or complete the online training & testing offered before each election in order to receive extra compensation for each election served |
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Arts DuPageToday, our guest speaker was Debbie Venezia from Arts DuPage. Operating under the umbrella of the DuPage Foundation, Arts DuPage serves as an arts champion, dedicated to sparking the art lover deep inside everyone. Their website: https://www.artsdupage.org/ is a one-stop directory for all things art in the county. You can search for a wide variety of local events, and find area artists &  venues |
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Madison Elementary PlaygroundLong just a dream, today the playground was formally dedicated. Our club, together with many individuals and community organizations were pulled together by the PTA to make it a reality.  |
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SCARCEToday, it was our pleasure to welcome back Kay McKeen as our guest speaker. Kay is the Founder and Executive Director of School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education (SCARCE). Much of her presentation deal with the issue of proper recycling: what is and is not eligible for curbside recycling. .jpg) |
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Rotary & Play For All at Veggie FestVeggie Fest held in Danada South adjacent to the Sensory Garden Playground attracted some 30,000 visitors, and provided an amazing opportunity to promote awareness of the Playground. Having a sand box at the booth proved to be a magnet for kids and their parents.  |
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Rotary at Kane County CougarsA terrific club social outing combining "Thirsty Thursday" at the ballpark, perfect weather, and the Cougars crushing the visiting Cedar Rapids Kernels.   |
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College of DuPageToday, our guest speaker was Dr. Mark Curtis-Chavez, Provost at College of DuPage. As Provost he is officially the college’s chief academic officer, and is responsible for overseeing the educational programs as well as student services of the college. Coincidentally, two of our vocational scholarship recipients attending COD: Mary Coffey and Cody Welton, joined us for breakfast and brought us up to date on their first year's experience at the college.  |
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Wyndemere updateToday, our guest speaker was Judy Miltner, Director of Marketing & Sales
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“Return on Integrity – Unleashing the Potential of Your Real ROI”Today, our guest speaker was John Blumberg. John believes that core values are the most untapped and impactful strategy in the hands of every leader … more precisely in their core. John’s intense focus on leadership eventually led to his belief that it is imperative for leaders to be intensely focused on core values. John is convinced that, for far too long, we have been working on everything but the right thing. He believes surface-level solutions will never deliver the natural alignment, authentic engagement and genuine service so needed in today’s marketplace. He has no doubt it is only at the intersection of personal and organizational core values that we will find long-term possibilities delivered in short order.  |
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2019 Club Installation Dinner The annual Installation Dinner is a celebration of the past year, and an opportunity to honor those who have contributed so much to the community and to the club. |
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Cybersecurity BriefingToday's speaker was our very own Mike Harvey. His topic: Cybersecurity: Current Threats and How to Protect Yourself, Your Computers, and Your Data.  |
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Play for All Foundation honors Will Grosch |
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Encore career: what comes next? |
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Suburban Law Enforcement AcademyToday, we visited the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage. Jim Volpe, Director provided a overview of the program including the lengthy process required for an individual to become a police officer, and a tour of the amazing facility. For more information about the Academy, visit their website: https://www.cod.edu/slea/  |
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Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans.jpg) Christine Lewis, Executive Director of the Shelter accepts our club's donation from Bob Rammer. Wwww.helpaveteran.org/ |
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Downtown Wheaton Streetscape projectOur guest speaker today was John Duguay, Assistant City Manager. He discussed the progress, challenges, surprises, and upcoming phases of this extensive multi-year project. The latest on the project is posted on the City's website:  |
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DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU-COMM).jpg) Our guest speaker today was Brian Tegtmeyer, Executive Director at DU-COMM.DU-COMM is the other end of calling 911. This intergovernmental agency serves 44 DuPage Police, Fire, and EMS agencies to provide a high level of service in public safety communications from their facility on the DuPage County Campus. In 2018, DU-COMM responded to over 750,000 police and Fire/EMS incidents. , For additional information visit their website: https://www.ducomm.org/about/ |
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Senior Living ExpertsOur guest speaker today was Kerry Quirin. Her timely and very informative presentation dealt with with services provided by SLE. They help their clients to make informed decisions on senior living options by addressing geographical, medical, financial, and other considerations. There is no obligation or fees for their services. For additional information, visit their website: www.seniorlivingexperts.com  |
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Memorial Park updatingOur guest speaker today was Robert ("Rob") Sperl, Director of Parks and Planning with the Wheaton Park District. The expected year long project will begin in August includes construction of a new band shell, and consolidation of the many statues in the park into a single memorial space. |
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Prairie Path Clean-upAnother clean sweep on the annual Prairie Path Clean-up. Rain & snow: no problem for the AM Rotary crew.  |
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DuPage Animal Friends Kaitlyn Wild presents our club's donation to Laura Flamion, Operations Manager at DuPage Animal Friends (a.k.a. Friends of DuPage County Animal Care & Control Foundation). DuPage Animal Friends is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 charitable organization. Their mission is to strengthen the lifesaving, compassionate and innovative initiatives at the county shelter. It partners with the shelter to understand the needs of our community's animals, providing financial resources and advocacy on their behalf. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.dupageanimalfriends.org/ |
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Wheaton's Community Relations CommissionOur guest speaker today was Gail Forrest, Chair of the Community Relations Commission.  |
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Wheaton Environmental Improvement CommissionOur guest speaker today was Bob Young in his capacity as a member of the Commission
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Collegiate scholarship winnersToday, it was our pleasure to have Luke and Margaret plus their respective parents join us. They are this year's recipients of our scholarship award of $1,000 annually for four years.  |
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Club philanthropy: BR Ryall YMCARob Wilkinson, CEO of the BR Ryall YMCA accepts our donation from Philanthropy Chair Bob Rammer  |
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Wheaton Mayoral ElectionOur guest speaker today was Phil Suess  , City Alderman and candidate to be our next mayor. He presented his qualifications; his views of the financial challenges the city will face in a few years; and how he differs from the other candidate as to how to meet those challenges. |
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Wheaton Mayoral ElectionOur guest speaker today was John Prendiville, City Alderman and candidate to be our next mayor. He presented his qualifications; his views of the financial challenges the city will face in a few years;  and how he differs from the other candidate as to how to meet those challenges. |
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Spectrios InstituteOur club is a long time supporter of the Spectrios Institute, and we were fortunate to have Dr. Tracy Williams again visit with us. The Institute is dedicated to helping individuals with low vision lead full and productive lives. Tracy spoke of his becoming a low vision specialist, the history of Spectrios, and the amazing technological developments to help those with vision loss. For more information, visit their website: https://www.spectrios.org/  |
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We Grow Dreams Greenhouse & Garden CenterOur guest speaker was Greg Bettcher, Executive Director. Located in West Chicago, We Grow Dreams provides job training and employment for people with disabilities. It is a year-round business supplying a variety of annual and perennial plants, vegetables, herbs, potted plants, hanging baskets, and many garden accessories. To learn more about them, visit their website at www.wegrowdreams.org  |
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Conservation @ Home programOur guest speaker was Jim Kleinwachter, representing the Conservation Foundation. He is responsible for the Conservation @ Home program which is designed to assist homeowners, commercial & governmental property owners to develop their property with native plants. In addition to their beauty, the plants provide habitat for beneficial wildlife (such as birds and butterflies), provide cleaner water through infiltration.  |
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Cosley Zoo, a Wheaton institutionOur guest speaker was Cathy Mousseau. She shared with us the long term master plan to enhance the facilities (including much needed additional parking) so that future generations can enjoy the zoo experience. See:  https://cosleyzoo.org/masterplan/ |
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Outreach Community MinistriesOur guest speaker was Chris Ellerman, CEO  |
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GoBabyGo Build WorkshopMembers of the Wheaton Rotary clubs joined forces at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital to build battery powered cars for children with disabilities https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/10/15/776647/10152683/en/GoBabyGo-at-Marianjoy-to-provide-first-taste-of-independent-mobility-for-children-with-disabilities.html |
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2018 Fun Run in colorThe cold, wet and windy day was more winter like than spring, but it didn't put a damper on the 700-800 runners, walkers, and hardy Rotarian volunteers. A huge THANK YOU to the following sponsors:
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A.M Rotarians at the PRC food pantryEvening of March 14, club members helped distribute food at the People's Resource Center, Wheaton. |
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Kathy Fezzuoglio/Travanse Living Wheaton |
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Judy Martin/The Perfect Thing |
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Lt. Governor Evelyn Pacino Sanguinetti |
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Wheaton North High School Chamber ChoirMembers and guests were delightfully entertained at our holiday breakfast by the WNHS Chamber Choir under the direction of Kassandra Krause. The Chamber Choir is an auditioned mixed ensemble and is the most select choir at WNHS. Emphasis is placed on music literacy, music theory and vocal pedagogy. All chamber students are encouraged to audition for IMEA District IX. Using advanced repertoire, students will perform at a high level and will be assessed bi-weekly. It is highly recommended that students in this ensemble seek private vocal instruction. Students are expected to practice daily for the length of time necessary to be technically proficient on the assigned repertoire. |
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Mobile Food Pantry benefiting District 200 students & families |
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Making Spirits Bright Christmas Tree Lot at B.R Ryall YMCA |
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Dr. Richard Jorgensen, DuPage County Coroner |
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Rotary District Governor Donald Brewer |
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The Rotary Foundation |
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Bridge Communities |
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Rotary Club of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
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A Special Thank YouIn recognition of his many years of service and fellowship in our club, we honored Tony Guerra and wish him well on his move to Wisconsin |
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Installation & Awards Dinner26th annual installation and awards dinner. This year our Honorary Rotarian is Charles Bernstein, and our Business of the Year is Ivy Restaurant (owners Dick & Carol O'Gorman). In addition, there was A Special Thank You for club member Tony Guerra for his many years of service and fellowship.  |
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Northern Illinois Food BankThe ever fashionable Rotarians at the Illinois Food Bank in Geneva. |
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College of DuPage |
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People's Resource Center |
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DuPage Pads |
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DuPage Foundation |
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Teen Parent Connection |
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Donka, Inc. |
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McAninch Arts Center |
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Technology Center of DuPage |
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DuPage Animal Friends |
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Your real estate taxes & the Wheaton municipal budget.jpg) Councilman and fellow Rotarian, John Rutledge discussed with us the complexities and the public's frequent lack of understanding surrounding the relationship between the budget, and property valuations, tax levies, TIF districts, etc. |
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Scholarship award winners: Stephanie & Mike DeLuca |
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Scholarship award winner: Lynn Nguyen |
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Dick O'Gorman/Ivy Restaurant |
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Fermilab or Particle Physics 101 |
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Kilwins WheatonBill Barrett was our guest speaker. He described how his long association with Kilwins as a customer in Petoskey, MI led to his and his wife, Maribeth obtaining a franchise, and the prime retail location. They opened their store in 2014. See: https://www.kilwins.com/wheaton
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B.R. Ryall YMCA2/15/17 Joint meeting of the Wheaton Rotary clubs at the "Y". Tammy Lemke, CEO addressed us about the history, mission, programs, and services they are providing as well as the challenges they face.
For more about the "Y": http://www.brryallymca.org, and http://www.ymca.net/
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City of Wheaton Communications Department |
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Wheaton North High School Chamber Choir |
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12/7: Club Assembly - Direction of our club's philanthropy |
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DuPage Public Defender's Office |
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Poinsettia BreakfastNovember 23, our annual breakfast meeting in the Cantigny greenhouse. Always one of our favorite meetings as we get to visit with the staff, tour the greenhouse, and see the thousands of poinsettia plants.
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Student Life at College of DuPage |
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Northwestern Medicine.- Cadence Health |
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Food Waste in America |
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Carlson Paint, Glass and art Stores, Inc |
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August 3, 2016 breakfast meetingVisit by District 6440 Governor Rick Rivkin. We had a full house of attendees to hear from Rick on the opportunities for fellowship, community and international service, and participation in the February 17National Random Acts of Kindness Day.
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7/20/16 meeting: Spectrios Institute & Buffalo Theatre Ensemble |
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Outing at the Two Brothers Brewery |
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Rotarian visit to Pakistan |
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2016 Fun Run In Color sponsors |
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Making a Difference at Northern Illinois Food BankA day at the Northern Illinois Food bank.
Saturday, April 23, 2016: Led by Community Service Director Tony Guerra. we (Art Fedder, Ken Geppinger, Ben Heaton, Jim Hebert, Chet Henry, Gwen Henry and Joe McCarthy) joined with many other organizations to help support the NIFB's mission to help feed others!
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Club announces 2016-2017 Scholarship WinnersThe Rotary Club of Wheaton A.M. is pleased to announce that the winners of its two scholarships are Colleen Ward (Wheaton North) and Elli Pointner (St. Francis). Colleen will be attending the University of Oklahoma, and Elli will be attending Marquette University. Colleen, Elli, and their respective families attended our April 20 breakfast meeting. Congratulations to both Colleen and Elli!
Each year the club selects two scholarship winners from among dozens of well deserving applicants from Wheaton Academy, St. Francis High School, Wheaton North High School, and Wheaton - Warrenville South High School. Scholarship winners each receive $1,000 per year for four years for college tuition.
Funds for the scholarships are provide by our fundraisers: poinsettia sales at Christmas, and the Fun Run in Color jointly sponsored with the Wheaton Park District in early April.
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2016 Peoples Rescource Donation
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FUN RUN a SUCCESS The AM Rotary Club partnering with the Wheaton Park District successfully completed their first 5K Fun Color Run on Saturday, April 5th. Over 1400 runners participated. This was a family oriented event and everyone enjoyed running through the four color stations where they w ere greeted with colored corn starch tossed from packets and squeeze bottles. After the run, runners and spectators were invited to a street party held near Memorial Park.
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RAFFLE WINNER
Congratulations to Charlie Cooper of Naperville, This year's Winner of our Annual Car Raffle. Charlie has a choice of receiving a FULLY LOADED 2010 Chevy Cobalt LT with a sticker price of over $15,000 or $10,000 cash. The winning ticket was sold by Rotarian Brett Dale. Proceeds from the raffle support local agencies and not for profits, our educational scholarship programs and international projects that the Rotary Club of Central DuPage A.M.is involved in.
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John Harrell's Wild Side
Rotarian John Harrell loved the movie "Bucket List" and has been living a wild and crazy life ever since. With some help from Rotarians, John had a chance to put another check mark on his list! John had his day at the Speedway driving an official NASCAR with a 600 horsepower engine.
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A New Home for a Haitian Family of 10
Because of the generosity of many members of the Rotary Club of Central DuPage AM, a financial drive lead by Club President Mike Bock, was held to help a homeless family in Haiti have shelter and the necessary supplies to be able to live a little easier after surviving the devastation of the earthquake. "We cannot turn our backs and forget that the need for our help is still there today as it was in January", stated Rotarian and Vice President Bill Keffer.
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Local Service Club Night at Wheaton College
All Rotary Club of Central DuPage AM members are invited to join Wheaton College on Feb. 3rd to see the Men's Basketball Team to be victorious over Carthage College. The tickets are free for our club members. Come join the fun. We will see you there at 7:30.
Local Service Club Night at Wheaton College
February 3, 2010 - 7:30 P.M.
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CDam Team Heads for Guatemala on Matchig Grant Eye Mission.Members Bob Williams, Chet Henry and Stan Tawser will be joining ophthalmological professionals January 31-February 7, 2009 in the Mayan mountain village of Chichicastenango, to provide eye exams and develop a permanent eye clinic at Good Samaritan Hospital.
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CDam Charter Member, dies April 19, 2008 |
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Tyler Jost, Ambassadorial Scholar
West Point grad on May 31, wedding in Russia, two months in Beijing, one month internship at the China desk at the Defense intelligence Agency in DC and then
straight to England to begin school. |
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Central DuPage AM Helps Needy Children With School Supplies
Central DuPage AM spent a day helping the DuPage Regional Office of Education and Catholic Charities with loading up backpacks and school supplies for needy families on August 18th and delivering them to the DuPage County Fairgrounds.
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Club Helps DuPage Regional Office of Education Back to School Fair
The Rotary Club of Central DuPage AM came to the rescue of the DuPage Regional Office of Education in Wheaton. The education office received donations of over 1000 backpacks and many boxes and cases of back to school supplies that needed to be transported from the Regional Office of Education to the DuPage County Fair Grounds where they would be distributed to low income families as part of the Catholic Charities event. A big THANK YOU goes to Ben Heaton,Mike Pisoran and his son Ross, Joe McCarthy, Tom Bookler, and his son Ryan.
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Angie Engstrom: Getting Yourself Unstuck/Transforming your mess into your masterpiece, mission & money
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Wheaton A.M. club makes donation to Peoples Resource Center