Donations will fund many worthwhile programs for local, national, and international service projects. We support programs to eradicate polio, fight hunger, provide clean water, promote literacy, and alleviate suffering worldwide.
Grand Prize: 2020 CORVETTE COUPE 1LT OR $45,000Plus 10 Additional Prizes of $500 Cash!
3 Early Bird Drawings! Win $500 Cash BY ENTERING NOW! August 23rd — September 23rd — October 23rd. Winning Early Bird Tickets remain in drawing for Grand Prize.
07/18: Strike Out Polio event at the Kane County Cougars. This is the 10th time we are hosting this annual event. Tickets are $22. Each ticket includes $10 in Ozzie Bucks (for food or drink) and a $5 donation to Polio Plus. We have sold 1,364 tickets over the years. Please place your orders with Dave Pedersen. The ticket order deadline is 06/27.
Seven Rotarians showed up on a Saturday in May to paint the walls of the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry. With the much needed fresh coats of paint the food pantry volunteers and clients were pleased with the new look and thankful for the Rotary Clubs efforts
.
A new color for the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry
The Rotary Club Trivia Bee team "The Game of Throw-ins" Don Hoefler, Tony Winter, and Dave Pedersen came in 9th out of 31 teams. Pictured is Dave Pedersen with Batavia Rotarian George Scheetz representing the Batavia Public Library.
5th Annual Batavia Interact Night was held April 24th. It is great to share what Interact and Rotary has to offer to the community. Interactors showcased yearly program of success and brought new members together for certificates and awards. Good job Batavia Interact.
Batavia Rotary and Interactors gathered together on Saturday April 13th to clean up the trash along Main Street in Batavia. Many treasures and friendship were found.
Leora thanked us for our efforts at collecting donations at Christmas time by bell ringing and how that enables the Salvation Army to serve others throughout the year. Just some of the ways that they serve is through the food pantry, after school programs, summer camp, health education programs, and spiritual care programs. The funding gathered in the tri-cities stays in the tri-cities. “Everyone has the ability to give in some way and you never know when you might need help.” Bell ringing raised just over $900K. April 12th is their annual dinner in St. Charles; if anyone is interested in attending, more information can be found at https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/tricity/civic-dinner.
An induction ceremony for Bill Kettering and Brittany Bruno welcoming them as new members to the Club. Great to have two new members on board to experience the good work of Rotary.
Pictured is Rotarian George Scheetz, Master of Ceremonies; Rotarian Tony Winter (sponsor for Brittany Bruno), Brittany Bruno, Bill Kettering, Rotarian Dan Hoefler (sponsor for Bill Kettering).
The Batavia Rotary Club was up to their "Elbows in Macaroni" at the Northern Illinois Food Bank February 19th. Members of the Batavia Rotary Club and the Batavia Interact Club bagged 1,886 pounds of macaroni. This much macaroni will be filling the bellies for 1,566 citizens in need. Thank you to all who came out to help. This helps feed the hearts of all and especially the Batavia Rotary Club.
One of our newest members has been officially inducted into the Batavia Rotary Club. Michael Shoultz will be a great addition to our club. He has been on many service projects so far and will continue the good work under the name of Rotary. We are very happy to have you in our Rotary family. Pictured below is new Rotarian Michael Shoultz and his sponsor Batavia Rotary President Elect Tony Winter.
Congratulations to our 30th Annual Batavia Rotary Club Corvette Raffle Winners!
2019 Corvette #996 James Nasti
$500 #779 David Satkus
$500 #641 Alan Balutis
$500 #162 Connie Lemme
$500 #306 Dan Hoefler
$500 #761 David Satkus
$500 #557 Rickey Pierce
$500 #300 Kevin Scroggins
AUG Early Bird $500 #505 Daniel Zack
SEP Early Bird $500 #32 Carlton McLamb
OCT Early Bird $500 #308 Dan Hoefler
Fundraising Chair Tom VonLunen and Club President Dan Hoefler pick the winning tickets at the event on Saturday night.
Grand prize winner James Nasti visits our Club to meet our members and share in Rotary camaraderie.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Donations will fund many worthwhile programs for local, national, and international service projects. We support programs to eradicate polio, fight hunger, provide clean water, promote literacy, and alleviate suffering worldwide.
Batavia Rotarians Bob Hubbard and Tom Van Cleave (not pictured) help out with this years' Batavia Access Toy Drive. Bob is given a helping hand by our Mayor Jeff Schielke.
Polio cases have dropped by over 99.9 percent since 1988, and the world now stands on the threshold of eradicating this dread disease and thereby eliminating the threat of polio-caused paralysis to every child in the world. October 15th at the Batavia City Council Meeting Mayor Jeff Schielke proclaims October 24, 2018 as World Polio Day in Batavia, Illinois. Batavia Rotary Club has pledged to continue to contribute their time and their resources to support Polio Plus and the Global Eradication Initiative. We encourage all residents to join the Rotarians of Batavia and the world in the fight for a polio-free world.
Batavia Illinois proclaims Oct. 24, 2018 as World Polio Day
"Service Above Self" brings us out the the Northern Illinois Food Bank on September 27th. Together with other volunteers we packed 1,690 pounds of food providing 1,408 meals for hungry neighbors in Northern Illinois. Thank you to all the Rotary volunteers for doing it again!
“Rotary is the world’s oldest and largest service organization with 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs across the globe. Internationally, we’re eliminating polio, providing clean water, battling hunger, helping people read, furthering public health and more.
Locally, we meet every Tuesday at 7:15 am for breakfast at Denny’s in Batavia. We socialize, hear a great speaker and map out service projects and funding opportunities.
Batavia Rotary Club does their part and teams up with Batavia Interact Club to pick up road trash. A one mile section of Main Street in the Kane County "Adopt A Highway" program from Dearpath to Nelson lake Road is dedicated for the Club. The job is easy with good friends and family and good luck with great weather and plenty of smiles.
Let's hit this one out of the park. You, your family and friends are invited to the 9th Annual "Strike Out Polio" on July 19th. Tickets are $22 each and include $10 Ozzie Buck, Box Seats, Fireworks, and Out of the Park Rotary Fellowship. Did I mention it's Thirsty Thursday Beer Night!
We did it again. Every two months we gather at the Northern Illinois Food Bank to do good will. In two hours and a team of Batavia Rotarians and other volunteers we bagged 4,275 pounds of onions. 3,563 meals will be provided to hungry neighbors in Northern Illinois due to our efforts.
Batavia Rotary competing in the Fox Valley Literacy Volunteers Trivia Bee. Our team did well coming in first against all the service groups and George Sheetz from the club was on the overall winning team from Batavia Library. Our team was Dick Larson Laura Newman Andrew Deitchman and Dan Hoefler.
Batavia Rotary competes in the Fox Valley Literacy Volunteers Trivia Bee.
A great evening spent with Batavia rotary Club and the Batavia High School Interact Club. With all of our help families and individuals will not go hungry. Thank you to those at the Northern Illinois Food Bank for the great work they do. This gives us the opportunity to help those in need on a regular basis. The Batavia Rotary Club gets together to help every two months usually with group of 20 - 25 members friends and family.
Batavia Rotary + Interact = Northern Illinois Food Bank
The Batavia Depot Museum has opened for the season and is featuring a "Community Above Self" exhibit. It focuses on Batavia service organizations, including the Batavia Rotary Club.
Community Above Self exhibit at the Batavia Depot Museum
We gather every year at Markland Home in Batavia to help with Christmas present unwrapping. This event is close to our hearts as we help do the things we take for granted - unwrapping presents. Some of the people there may not be able to tell us thank you or share a smile but we know that we are warming their heart during this season. We look forward to the Markland family every year. Thank you to Tim Wulff for coordinating this for our Club. Pictured is Rotarian Bob Hubbard.
Rotarian Dick Larson swears in our New Batavia rotary Club President, Dan Hoefler. Thank you Dan and Dick for all you do for the community and our Club.
Batavia Rotary Club has a new President, Dan Hoefler
Ringing the Bell for the Salvation Army at Jewel Osco on Randal Road. Batavia Rotarians keep the bell ringing to help those in need every Christmas season. don't forget to give. Rotarian Brian Barus is pictured with Rotarian from Montgomery.
Joining in with community fun. Serving beer at the Batavia Windmill City Festival is something we look forward to. don't miss this great event every year and stop in a see us!
Batavia Rotary Club joins in at the Windmill City Fest
Adapt a highway program is important to our Club. We team up with Batavia Interactors, Park District and Rotarians to do our part in cleaning up America.
The Batavia rotary Club has been supporting local businesses and the Batavia Chamber of Commerce for over 30 years. Our President Dan Hoefler accepts the award for our years dedicated to service in the community.
Celebrating 30 years in Batavia Chamber of Commerce
Batavia Rotary Club volunteers every month where there is a 3rd Tuesday to provide and serve dinner to those at the Lazarus House. Pictured are a few of the Batavia Rotarians who helped with the regular event.
Batavia Rotary Honored by Mayor and City Council on the eve of our 70th anniversary installation as a club. The 70th celebration dinner will be held on June 14th at the Lincoln Inn Batavia. The proclamation states how over the years our club as made a significant contribution to our community, region, country and internationally. We are proud to be leaders in our community.
Batavia Rotary Club receives honor for 70 years of service
The Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 Batavia Illinois Corvette Raffle is
Anne Richards plus 18 additional St. Charles, IL Rotary Members - Ticket #0481
Winners of the 10 Additional Cash Prizes! #0470 - Roger Seddon - $500 #0378 - Nicholas Anderson - $500 #0875 - Bill McGrath - $500 #0942 - Bob Hansen - $500 #0205 - David Binkley - $500 #0523 - Col Earl Rumbaugh - $500
#0087 - Robert Close - $500
EARLY BIRD WINNERS! Jack Wanzung (August 18th Winner) - $500 Judy DeVito (September 18th Winner) - $500 James Treber (October 18th Winner) - $500
Anne Richards reacting to the big phone call from Past President Rick Pumo about being the Grand Prize Winner. Congratulations to all!
Congratulations to all the Winners of the 29th Annual Corvette Raffle, and Thank you to everyone that purchased a ticket.
Drawing Proceeds Benefit Local Charities, and Rotary International Programs
With your support Batavia Rotary can continue to help the economically disadvantaged residents of Batavia and Batavia Township. Please consider purchasing a Corvette Raffle Ticket and help us give back.
Prize Winners need not be present to win. Winners assume all applicable license fees, state and federal taxes and required modifications. No one under the age of 18 may participate. Subject to rules & regulations. Please see complete rules & regulations at: www.bataviarotarycharities.com
Andrew Dietchman, Amy Seyller and Dan Hoeffler attended the "Birds and the Bees Trivia Bee for Literacy" hosted by the Literacy Volunteers of Fox Valley. We didn't win but had a great time trying.
On March 21, 2017 22 Rotarians, Interactors, friends and family joined forces to tackle 1,260 pounds of cereal. During the time we spent together we bagged 1,050 meals. These meals will be distributed to families and individuals in need of nutricious food in the Fox Valley. Thank you so much to all who helped this cause in the name of Rotary. Keep up the great work!
It's a Tom Sawyer kinda thing. Have a few brushes and paint - things get done. Mike Glavin and Dave Pedersen joined forces on Wednesday to brighten up our bench. Yes the wood may be warped but the spirit of Rotary is what keeps it great!
One of the benefits of Rotary, a Club recognized around the world, is welcoming 8 fellow Rotarians from India. On Wednesday, Batavia Rotary Club Members greeted and hosted the group to their cuisine at "Taste of Himalayas" in St. Charles. On Thursday, the Newmans hosted a wonderful day for our Friendship Exchange guests from India. A trip to the jewel of Batavia "Fermi Lab" was scheduled and it looks like a great time was had by all. A huge thank you to Tom and Liz Van Cleave, President Rick Pumo, Laura and Steve Newman, Dan Hoeffler and International Chair Leigh Tracy for coordinating this wonderful day of Rotary Fellowship.
For the 5th year the Batavia High School Interact Club lives by the Rotary motto "Service Above Self" The Batavia High School Interact Club has experienced growth every year as they continue to do great work throughout the community. A big thank you to Haley Nickolaou for leading this group of superstars. All received certificates for their service and Interact pins for all new members. Shown below: Haley Nickolaou, Interact Board of Directors, Batavia Rotary Club Prez. Rick Pumo.
Batavia Interact Honors Members for 2016-17 "Service Above Self"
Join the Fox Valley’s newest team, and the Fox Valley Service Clubs for a night of family fun. The service clubs of Fox Valley and the Chicago Steel are uniting to raise funds for LivingWell Cancer Resource Center. A portion of the ticket proceeds purchased through this online portal will go towards LivingWell.
Go to steelgroups.com to purchase tickets online. Follow instructions and enter password: Service. Click on image below.
Visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com for additional information about the organization and upcoming schedule.
Written by Bianca Celozzi, Interact Exec Board memeber
Interact Club at the Batavia High School has been super busy with volunteering in the month of October! From helping package food at Feed My Starving Children to watching a movie at inclusion movie night at the Batavia Public Library, there has been a lot of students participating in both of these events. Interact Club, also, linked up the Central Dupage Hospital for Halloween. We got fifty bags and filled them with gooey eyeballs, pencils, and other halloween toys. Then we donated all of them to Central Dupage Hospital for Halloween. It was a blast and all the children in the hospital loved the goodie bags. We plan to do something with the hospital again sometime this school year. Along with the Halloween theme, there was a huge amount of people volunteering with the Haunted Quarry downtown Batavia. They got to dress up on the weekends and make the Haunted Quarry come alive by scaring the little kids. Everyone had so much fun, definitely a success. There is a handful of volunteer opportunities coming up for the holidays that Interact Club is tremendously excited about!
Please join the Tri-Cities Rotary Clubs in conjunction with Barnes and Noble in raising money for books that are needed by local charites. You can help by either purchasing books from the charity's wish list or purchasing your own books and a portion of the proceeds will go to the charity's list.
On September 6th, 2016 Rotarians George Sheets, Jack Jangelis and Dan Hoefler induct three new Batavia Rotarians Leigh Tracy, Michael Quirk and Mark Harrington. We are looking forward to many years of service and fellowship from these fine new Rotarians.
Congratulations to our new President Rick Pumo and to our outgoing President Holly Deitchman. Looking forward to a great year in Rotary.
Pictured from upper left. Bruce Hartman receives the "Service Above Self" Award for all his hard work making sure we balance out & Dan Hoefler for "Rotarian of the Year" on being the "Best Rotarian" he can be. New President Rick Pumo with Assistant. Gov. Paul Keenan and Immediate Past President Holly Deitchman. The new 2016-17 board is sworn in by Assistant Gov. Paul Keenan.
Come out and have some fun at the Peg Bond Center RiverWalk on Wednesday's for great concerts in the park. Check out our new Rotary flag. "Do Something Really Great"
Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles Rotary Club meet last week at out Tri-Cities Rotary Club meeting and welcomed Rotarians from Pakistan. These four special Rotarians were apart of a group Rotarian Exchange Program. A group of Rotarians from our district went to Pakistan to understand the Rotarian Ways and issues surrounding Rotary Communities in Pakistan. One thing that set us apart is our need to look out and help internationally those in need, In Pakistan those needs are far to close; terrorism, hunger, Polio are just some of the issues these Rotarians work with every day.
A Successful Batavia Interact Night! Congratulations and a huge thank you to all Batavia High School Interactors. It's great to hear about and honor this special group. A big thank you to Haley Nickolaou the fearless leader of the Batavia Interactors and The Batavia Rotarians for their dedication to to this Club.
Four Batavia Rotarians lead and sponsored teams that walked the 2 1/2 miles this past Saturday morning in support of Living Well Cancer Resource Center. The Interact Club of Batavia High School was lead by Erin Janca. Jack Barshinger led his team from Batavia Public Schools, Tim Wulff led a group of Rotarians joining with the Interact Club, and Bob Hubbard led a group of his supporters. Over 2,000 walkers turned out for the Countywide annual event, and over $220,000 was raised thru sponsors and walkers.
Rotary Club of Batavia Sponsors "Living Well" Bridge Walk
Thirteen Rotarians and their spouses welcomed our new inbound student from Brazil - Davi; at host Rich and Libby Munsons' home on Sunday August 21st, 2011. The weather was sunny and pleasant. There were snacks, pizza, and swimming. Two potential members and their family were also in attendence.
Incoming officers of the Batavia Rotary Club attended the 2011-2012 Northern Illinois PETS Seminar held in Schaumburg, Illinois. Officers attending the weekend session included incoming district 6440 Governor Dick Larson (2012), President Elect Tim Wulff, President Elect nominee Bryan Barus, Secretary Holly Deitchman, and Fundraising Chair Tom Von Lunen.
RIPE Kalyan Banerjee with 6440 Governer Nominee Richard Larson
Would any of your members and guests like to
join members of the St Charles Breakfast Club
for a tour of Rotary International on Saturday,
October 23? We can charter a school bus or
drive on our own and meet at RI by 10 AM.
Batavia Rotarians Ring the Bell & Deliver gifts/holiday meals to Shut In Seniors on December 13th. In the morning we visited many seniors with gifts and meals for those in need. We were greeted with smiles and many hugs that warmed our hearts on this chilly day. In the afternoon Rotarians raised $1,417.00 for the Salvation Army. Records were broke that day for the Salvation Army. We raised the most money ever on a single day at the Jewel Randall Rd. location. We all enjoyed fellowship with Rotarians, friends and family on this great day of "SERVICE" during the holidays - Great job Batavia Rotarians! A Great Big thank you goes out to Roland Treiber and Tom Van Cleave for chairing these annual events.
Batavia Rotarians Ring the Bell & Deliver gifts/holiday meals to Shut In Seniors
Batavia Rotary Club Donates $4,000 to Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry
The great work of Rotary continues in our community. With generous donations from our members, the community, and Rotary International we were able to give $4,000 to the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry. This money enables the Food Pantry to purchase more than $30,000 in food and supplies from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. With your support Batavia Rotary can continue to help the economically disadvantaged residents of Batavia and Batavia Township. Please consider purchasing a Corvette Raffle Ticket (see ad) and help us give back. If you are interested in becoming a Rotarian or would like to help us in the pursuit of the betterment of our community visit www.bataviarotaryclub.org. Thank you.
Batavia Rotary Club Donates $4,000 to Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry
Our bench has a new coat. Yes the wood is still warped and cracked. It's not perfect but neither are we. But what I do know is that it is excellent and all that we do as Rotarians is excellent! Byran and I talked and he made a great point that this bench is a billboard for us and with that said why not paint it our Rotary colors. Dan Hoefler and I then gave it the paint job on Wednesday. Thank you Byan Barus for your help and continued research for a possible new bench and location for the future.Thank you Dan Hoefler for your help painting the bench.
BHS Interact Club/HC Storm tutoring partnership. Syndney Cavanaugh, Interact Exec Board member and Julie Alholm, HC Storm teacher will share their experiences with the partnership.
Batavia Rotary teams up and serves another great meal at Lazuras House. Homemade meatloaf & mash potatoes, salads, drinks and extras were provided by our very own Rotarians. All provided was enjoyed and appreciated by those staying at Lazarus House. Batavia Rotary takes great pride in helping those in need and does this every 5th Tuesday throughout the year for Lazarus House.
Pictured: Community Service Chair, Richard Munson; Fundraising Chair, Tom Von Lunen; not pictured President, David Pedersen doing what they do best - helping out.
Batavia Rotary Serves Up Meat Loaf at LaZarus House Tuesday 29th.
The Club approved $750.00 for to help those who need a bike. We partnered with the Batavia Bike commission and All Spoked Up to provide bikes, helmets and locks to the people who need them. We provided a check to Matt Knolls of All Biked UP, of a check for the Bike Commission to rehab bikes for needy folks.
Fun was had by all. Thank you to Jack Barshinger, Past President 2013-14 for a wonderful year leading our Club. We now have a New President - Dave Pedersen, New Board of Directors, New Rotarian of the Year - Jack Jangelis, New Paul Harris Fellows, Perfect Attendance Rotarians, and much more. We have a great Club and I am looking forward to to all of the fellowship and service this Club brings to our community. Let's work hard and continue to "Light Up" those lives around ours through Rotary. Dave.
On Saturday May 10th Rotarians; Erin Reid, Rich Munson, Bob Hubbard, Tim Wulff, David Pedersen, Tom Von Lunen and Interactor Liason Haley Nickolaou and 14 Interactors joined together for road clean up on Mainstreet from Deerpath to Nelson Lake Road. Even though we were picking garbage, a good time was had by all as we did our part for Community Service beautification of Batavia. Afterwards, Rotarian Rich Munson hosted the group for refreshments. Thank you to Rich and all Rotarians and Interactors for making this event succesful. I am sure we will do it again in the fall so keep those gloves handy.
The drawing for a Free Corvette Raffle tickets from the first 250 tickets sold was held on Tuesday August 26th at our regular weekly meeting. The winner of the free Corvette Raffle Ticket was Gary Paplow of Ravena, NY.
A conversation about why it is important to provide avenues of joy for our youth was presented by Jim and Jan from the Royal Kids Camp organization. The need to provide a place for kids to experience good lasting memories for their childhood keeps the volunteers and participants coming back year after year. President Jack presented Jim and Jan a check for $1,500 for continued support in changing the lives for our youth.
John Heath has recently retired from Batavia High School after 22 years as Director of Bands. John Heath has helped shape the lives of our Batavia youth for many years. Through the years his guidance in group dynamics and orchestration has put smiles on many faces young and old and continues on in our community.
Mr. Heath has received numerous honors including: 2014 Illinois Music Education Association Distinguished Service Award, 2009 “Mr. Holland’s Opus” Award sponsored by the Bob Rogers Travel Company, 2004 Kane County, Illinois Regional Superintendents Award for Teaching Excellence, Illinois State Board of Education “Those Who Excel” Teaching Award, Candidate Illinois Teacher of the Year, eight time recipient of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 1998 Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award sponsored by the Quinlan and Fabish Music Company, and recognition in Who’s Who in America. And much more.
In a leadership capacity, Mr. Heath is a Past President of the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA), and currently serves on the Board of the Fox Valley Orchestra. He has also served on the University of Illinois School of Music National Advisory Board.
April 1st Presentation - John Heath, Music Educator, Retired Batavia High School Band Director after 22 years
Rotarians attended the District Conference and experience first hand great fellowship, service and networking. Attendance to this event helps as we move forward as Rotarians and make the decisions we do to help make this world a wonderful place. Many thanks to Jack Jangelis for Co-Chairing the event. Jack rounded up a group us to help with the Seargent at Arms duties. Those in attendance were: Jack Jangelis, Jack Barshinger, Tom Van Cleave, Tom Von Lunen, Bob Hubbard, George Sheetz, Dave Pedersen, Tim Wulff.
Batavia Rotarians attend District Conference 2014 - April 11 - 13
I am pleased to report that the Rotary Club of Batavia team (Dan Hoefler, Avery Scheetz, George H. Scheetz) finished in a two-way tie for 7th place with 39 points (out of 50). A total of 31 teams participated in this year’s Trivia Bee.
Avery, as the team’s alternate member, filled in for Dick Larson, who arrived just after the Trivia Bee started. By the rules of the Trivia Bee, he could not trade places without Avery without disqualifying the team. Nonetheless, Dick stayed for the whole event and seemed to enjoy himself—and even won a desk set in the silent auction.
The tie, ironically, was with the Rotary Club of Geneva.
The overall winner was the Duukes and Duuchesses (Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva). Note the pair of U’s in each word; the team called itself the ooh-oohs.
There were a total of four Rotary clubs in this year’s Trivia Bee, listed here in order of finish:—
7 (tie) (39 points)—Rotary Club of Batavia (no team name)
7 (tie) (39 points)—Rotary Club of Geneva (no team name)
13 (tie) (31 points)—Rotary Club of St. Charles (no team name)
13 (tie) (31 points)—Rotary Club of St. Charles Breakfast (Counts and Countess)
Lori Hewitt presented the facts to the Batavia Rotary Club March 25th. CASA Kane County recruits, trains and supervises community volunteers who serve as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) for children in court due to abuse, neglect or private guardianship.
Holly Deitchman, President Elect Nominee: Holly came back from PETs with great ideas about making our meetings and the Batavia Rotary Club more fun. Participation and having fun yet still getting our business done is a high priority.
David Pedersen, President Elect: Also attended PETs. At our first meeting after PETs Dave presented President Jack Barshinger and Holly Rotary pins representing our Rotary theme for 2014-15 "Light Up Rotary". Let us not forget that "We are a membership organization that does great service". Service is what we do best and it takes a team of Rotarians to make a difference. We always need to be addressing our membership by keeping engaged and constantly growing our relationships and emotional connections to Rotary. Let's continue to Engage Roatary, Change lives and Light Up our Community through Rotary.
Frank Blazek (Past Skokie Rotarian and often visiting Rotarian to our Batavia Club) presented Batavia RSVP, Inc. (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) an organization established to help the senior citizens in our community. Batavia Rotary Club President Dr. Jack Barshinger presented Frank with a check in the amount of $1,000 to go towards helping seniors to live independently in their homes as long as possible and to maintain as high a quality of life as long as possible.
RSVP providers service for: Medication Assistance Program, Meal Delivery, Transportation, Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Lock Boxes.
Jay Curtis of the Fox Valley Christian Center provided a brief overview of the programs offered through his organization. He accepted our check for $1,50 and thanked the Batavia Rotary for sponsoring three scholarships for underprivileged youths to attend a 5-day Residential Camp Program (M-F). In Kane county, there are more than 60,000 people living below the federal poverty level. This camp affords children and teens of all socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to develop critical leadership skills in a secure and supportive environment.
Fox Valley Christian Center Receives $1,050 for Scholarships
Stacey Peterson, Adult Services Manager at the Batavia Library provided a presentation on Genealogy and Family History. The most important message – “Talk to your family!”. After that, “Be prepared to ruin some shoes walking around through cemeteries”. Stacey shared wonderful photos that she was able to collect from family members. She also included a photo of the shoes she ruined while trudging through cemeteries!
The Batavia Library has several resources to assist you in your own search – including a subscription to Ancestry.com. That particular resource is only available to card holders located within the walls of the library. If you prefer to start your search from home, you can have access to HeritageQuest remotely with you BLP card.
Stacey Peterson, Adult Services Manager at the Batavia Library provided a presentation on Genealogy and Family History
Ri President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15, Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucious who said: "It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness."
"There are so many problems in the world, so many people who need help. Many people say, 'There's nothing I can do.' So they sit there doing nothing. Meanwhile everything stays dark," Huang told the 537 district governors and their spouses and partners who are attending the 2014 International Assembly in San Diego, CA.
"The Rotary way is the Confucious way. the Rotary way is the light a candle. I light one, you light one. 1.2 million Rotarians light one. together, we light up the world," said Huang, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Taipei in Taiwan.
After announcing his theme at the opening session of the five-day training meeting, Huang urged club members to Light Up rotary in the coming year by hosting a Rotary Day in their community and including local Rotaract and Interact members in their service projects
"How you Light Up Rotary is up to you," Huang said. "You know where you are strong, you know what your community needs, and you you know how you can help."
Coach Lou of Batavia Aurora North Aurora (BANA) football came to thank us for our $1000 contribution, one of many our club was able to give recently after our successful Corvette raffle. Our previous $1000 contribution provided two full and 5 partial BANA scholarships. Like president Dave Pedersen said, "That's what we do here - we change lives."
Batavia Aurora North Aurora (BANA) thanks the Rotary Club for its contribution.
Dennis Piron, Jr., coach of the Batavia football team, presented to us the many and varied aspects of the football program at BHS. It's a lot more than just winning state this year.
The Batavia Rotary Club would like to report that we delivered about 60 gifts and meals to the seniors and frail members of the community through senior services. No accidents (of note) from the delivery teams: Dick Larson, Dave & Karen Pedersen, Tom VanCleave, Deb Reiter, Rich and George Munson, Bob Hubbard. Remember that if you know any locals (that fit into this category) that are would Like Christmas Cheer this time of the year next year, let us know, we'd like to serve them. Thanks to the gift buyers: Lauren Egan,Tim Wulff, Holly Deitchman, Tom VonLunen, Dan Hoeffler, Rick Pumo, Dave Pedersen, Tom Lalonde, Dick Larson, Tom VanCleave, Christine Voight, Rich Munson.
Rich's son, George, enters addresses into his GPS getting ready to make deliveries.
Batavia Rotary Club presents a check for $2,500.00 to the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry. The funds go towards the purchase of food to stock the shelves during the Holiday Season. The food is purchased from the Illinois food Bank. Pictured from left to right: Bruce Hartmen, Treasurer; Rich Munson, Community Service Chair; Linda Dahms, Batavia Food Pantry, Leo Heska, Rotarian; Jack Barshinger, President; , Not in picture David Pedersen, Pres. Elect.
Batavia Rotary Club presents a check for $2,500.00 to the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry.
Tim Donowski shared with the club an organization that he loves to be a part of, and it was clear that his message resonated with many of the Rotarians in attendance.
Tue, Nov 12: Tri-City Rotary Meeting, Riverside Receptions in Geneva
Caroline Olinger talks about life in the armed forces
Braving the painfully frosty November morning, the Rotary clubs of Geneva, Saint Charles, and Batavia huddled in the beautiful Riverside Receptions venue on the banks of the Fox River.
The District Governor Nominee spoke to our club about the importance of attracting younger members, because the next generation does want to get involved.
The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is a collection of individual funds and resources given by local citizens to enhance and support the quality of life in the Fox River Valley Illinois.
Before going into detail about her role at Waubonsee Community College, Dora Phillips, had to recognize the clubs esteemed member, Dan Hoefler for his work at the college.
After showing his support for Rotary and Rotarians, Congressman Randy Hultgren gave the club a brief overview of his background. Hultgren grew up in the happenin’ burb of Wheaton, where his family owned a funeral home right downtown.
Chris Neitzel - Beyond Bartman, Curses & Goats: 104 Reasons It’s Been 104 Years
Chris Neitzel is a full-time teacher at Oswego High School and clearly a baseball buff. His book Beyond Bartman, Curses & Goats: 104 Reasons why it’s been 104 Years, is fun and interesting catalog on how the Cubs franchise has been a consistent manufacturer of woe.
State Senator Jim Oberweis gave the club a first hand insight on the innerworkings of Springfield. When he first got downstate, there were a number of things that surprised him. First of all, he was amazed
Tucked away in a little hamlet a ways north of Saint Charlesoff of Route 25, the Riverwoods Christian Center feels isolated in a world of its own. It is a sprawling, yet welcoming, 85-acre campus nestled on the Fox River, and it is simply an awe inspiring display of nature.
As Rotary International calls its year to a close, the Batavia Rotary Club celebrated by honoring its members and inducting some new ones too. The board members and a few lucky Rotarians received a savvy new Rotary Hat, and a few other members received some high honors.
Saturday’s banquet brought together scores of Rotarians past and present, spouses, special guests, and Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke. The atmosphere was warm and fun as the guests enjoyed good food, cocktails, live music, and partaking in a few songs as well.
We had a great time marching in the 2013 Batavia Loyalty Day Parade. It has been many years since we participated and hope to make something we do every year. It's a great way to show support for our community.
Batavia Rotary Marches in 2013 Batavia Loyalty Day Parade
The Batavia Rotary Club sponsored a program with the BPS Reading Teachers Foundation at the Batavia apartments. Batavia Rotary provided books for 20 families and the Teachers Foundation provided the horsepower. The teachers provided insight on how to engage a reading program at home for their children. Thank you Christine Scheffert, Elaine Modene and Crystal Anderson.
Batavia Rotary teams up with the BPS Teachers Foundation
Robust and cheerful was the atmosphere of the morning as the four Rotary Clubs of the Tri-Cities converged upon the beautiful upstairs of the newly renovated Riverside Receptions. Spring had finally
Holly Alcala of the Anderson animal shelter told us of the shelter's long (founded in the 1960s) history of service to our "4-legged friends" (cats and dogs). The center's annual budget is $1million, employing 10 full-time and 10 part-time staff, and benefiting from 850 volunteers who collectively offer 20,000 hours of service annually. The center serves the Fox Valley and also portions of Kane, DuPage, and Cook counties.
Linda Sonner, Volunteer Coordinator for the Batavia Community Garden, spoke about their wonderful initiative. The garden, located at Main and Water, raises food for the Batavia Food Pantry and local soup kitchens.
Britta McKenna gave an enthusiastic preview of what’s to come for beautiful downtown Batavia. In the first week of June, the Batavia Parks Foundation will begin the renovation of the Riverwalk boardwalk.
Club Member and Batavia Fire Chief Randy Deicke presented the latest in lifesaving; AEDs, CPR,
and the Heimlich maneuver. These techniques work and save lives. Training's available at the fire stations on
Wednesday nights and you don't have to be 18 years old. Contact Randy or the Fire Department.
Batavia Rotary Club presents a donation of $1,000 to BANA.
Batavia Rotary Club President, Bryan Barus (left) presents Lou Auriemma, coach and head of Batavia, Aurora, North Aurora youth football, (right) with a donation of $1,000.
Batavia Rotary Club presents a donation of $1,000 to BANA.
LOU AURIEMMA, coach and head of Batavia, Aurora, North Aurora youth football, spoke on the work of their group. They have over 60 players on four teams with a combined record last year of 34-2. Two teams went undefeated and two won their league championship. Their first concern is for physical safety while playing football; the second is to enable any kid who wants to to play football.
Jack Barshinger, President-Elect, Bryan Barus, President,
and Ron O’Connor, Community Service Chair, present a $3032.11 check to
Linda Dahms of the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry.
Just a reminder that we will be at the food pantry this Monday morning at 7:40
Also, please continue to think of any ways we can help our community. People need our help, and it is imperative that we improve the lives of others.
Batavia Food Pantry food stocking this Monday Dec. 3rd.
On Tuesday, November 20th, 2012 Bryan Barus, President of the Rotary Club of Batavia; Ed Ritter, Mayor of Carpentersville & honorary member of Rotary Club of Carpentersville, along with Brian Borkowicz, President of the Rotary Club of Elgin, presented a check for $4250.00 to CASA Kane County.
Gifts will be collected at our Annual Christmas Party Dec 11th. Members will also be needed to help deliver gifts and holiday meals to participating seniors on Dec. 15th, 9:30 a.m. meeting at Aurora Senior Services, 900 N. Lake St.
For those who did not have a chance to attend the District Conference, here is a short video summarizing everything that happened. It was prepared by Rotarian of the Year Rich Lalley with a poem by RI President Representative, PDG Don Alhart from District 7120. Enjoy!
Make plans now to attend the District Conference at the fabulous Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. This is a great opportunity to make new Rotary friends and share the Rotary experience with your family and fellow members of your club.
We have great speakers and entertainment scheduled, as well as organized networking time with Rotarians and Youth Exchange students. We'll also organize sight seeing trips for Saturday afternoon. Click here for the conference program.
Make plans now to attend the District Conference at the fabulous Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
Tue, Feb 21 – Interact Club Charter Meeting – Batavia High School, 7-9 p.m. – Soda and snacks will be served; use the south entrance. Our regular morning club meeting will be canceled.
Tue, Feb 28 – Tri-Cities Rotary at Hotel Baker, St. Charles – 7 a.m.
NEWS FLASH!! – Rotarians met the
$200 million End Pollio Now challenge grant six months early, and in
recognition the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated another $50
million to the cause.
Rotary Board member Dave Pedersen, Treasure Molly Schrader,
and Club President Tim Wulff presented Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry director
Linda Dahms-Firth with a check for $3,391.00.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Eric Bartell and Sheriff's Sgt. Craig Campbell presented a program on "Distracted Driving," which accounts for a large number of traffic accidents. Adults 30-40 represent the largest group of distracted drivers. The number of teens texting while driving is increasing at an alarming rate."
George Scheetz, Jack Jangeles and Dick Larson presented Darlene Marcusson with the Batavia Rotary Club’s first annual Vocational Service Award in recognition of her contribution to the welfare of the community over the years of her work at Lazarus House. The Rotary Club of Batavia established a new Vocational Service Award to recognize the importance of high ethical standards and public values to honor an individual who exemplifies such traits. Vocational Service is the banner by which Rotarians “recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations” and demonstrate a commitment to “high ethical standards in all businesses and professions.”
Dick Larson announced that $1000 has been donated in Darlene Marcusson’s name to the Paul Harris Foundation, and that she has been designated a Paul Harris Fellow.
First Annual Vocational Service Award to Darlene Marcusson
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Four Batavia Rotarians lead and sponsored teams that walked the 2 1/2 miles this past Saturday morning in support of Living Well Cancer Resource Center. The Interact Club of Batavia High School was lead by Erin Janca. Jack Barshinger led his team from Batavia Public Schools, Tim Wulff led a group of Rotarians joining with the Interact Club, and Bob Hubbard led a group of his supporters. Over 2,000 walkers turned out for the Countywide annual event, and over $220,000 was raised thru sponsors and walkers. 
Stacey Peterson, Adult Services Manager at the Batavia Library provided a presentation on Genealogy and Family History. The most important message – “Talk to your family!”. After that, “Be prepared to ruin some shoes walking around through cemeteries”. Stacey shared wonderful photos that she was able to collect from family members. She also included a photo of the shoes she ruined while trudging through cemeteries!
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