Page 1 of 14

The storm clouds

parted for the sun to

shine down on the annual

event to celebrate the

change of leadership in

District 6490.

J. Gordon Bidner was

installed on June 24 as

district governor for the

fiscal year, which began

July 1.

The installation was

under a tent on the

Carlock farm owned by

INSIDE District Governor’s column…2

District Leadership Team…..3

14 Assistant governors……..4

2012-13 club presidents……5

Dwight joins D-6490…………6

B-N Daybreak headed to 25..6

Brazil project nearly done…..6

Downtown Danville raffle……6

Pictures from district install…7

Danville places flags…………8

Peace cranes everywhere….8

RYE commitments due 7-6…8

RLI Aug. 18 in Decastur…….9

Monticello Haitian project…..9

Record DSGs………………....9

PDG Ron bids farewell……..10

Polio statue at RI hdq……….10

Diana Wilkins honored……...10

DG club visits scheduled…...11

Carol Ropp surprised……….11

Normal outing with goats…...11

RLI registration form………..12

Savoy project completed…..13

Annual Fund record…………13

District Secretary’s Report…14

attend an international

Rotary Peace Forum

focused on “Peace Begins

with You.”

Billi Jo, who prefers to be

called JoJo, is a 2012

graduate of Monticello High

School. She plans to attend

the Peace Forum focused

on “Green Path of

Peace/New Generations,”

on Jan. 25-27, 2013, in

Honolulu, Hawaii.

RI’s third Peace Forum

will be Nov. 30-Dec. 2,

2012, in Berlin, Germany,

with a focus on “The Role

of Democracy in Building

Peace.”

Shannon and JoJo were

selected from 13

applications for the Peace

Forums Scholarships

announced in March.

The winners were publicly

announced June 24 at the

installation of new District

Governor J. Gordon Bidner

on his farm near Carlock, Il.

Shannon spent 3 months

in Daka, Senegal, then

elected to stay another 3

months to work with

the “10,000 Girls”

program to promote

literacy. She credits

those experiences with

jump-starting her

career in international

relations and

international

development. “Since

my time with Rotary in

Senegal, I have grown

in experience in the

areas of international

development and

dialogue. I managed

community

development projects

in a refugee camp in

Zambia for a year.”

More recently, she has

been in the Eastern

region of the

Democratic Republic

of Congo, where she

worked with survivors

of gender-based

violence, some of,

whom had been raped

by soldiers and rebels

during the civil war.

Among her work as an

“intern” for the

International Medical

Corps in the Meheba

Refugee Settlement in

Zambia for the past

year she was credited

with development of a

Peace Education and

Training Center, which

Bidner and his wife,

Sandi.

About 175 people --

including former RI

President Ray

Klinginsmith of Missouri --

attended the event to see

District 6510 PDG Greg

Yank install DG Bidner,

his Leadership Team and

presidents of some of the

district’s 55 clubs.

(See more pictures on

Page 7)

Continued as

Scholarships on

Page 5

July

2012

Peace scholarships to O’Rourke, Rhinehart

Former

Ambassa-

dorial

Scholar

Shannon

O’Rourke

and

Monticello

Interact

member Billi

Jo Rhinehart

have been Shannon O’Rourke, left, and JoJo Rhinehart

with DG Gordon Bidner.

J. Gordon Bidner was accompanied by wife Sandi as

he was installed as District 6490 governor June 24 by

District 6510 PDG Greg Yank.

DG Bidner ushers in new year

of ‘Peace Through Service’

chosen to receive $1,500

each in Peace Forums

Scholarships from District

6490.

Shannon, a scholar from

this district in 2007, plans on

going to Hiroshima, Japan,

on May 17-18, 2013, to

Under the ‘Big Top’ on installation day

2

Governor’s column

Gordon and Sandi Bidner

Stortzum.

7. Enhance and grow

participation at our district

meetings and events. Make

sure they are meaningful and

serve the purposes of support

and training as well as

recognition. The growth and

attendance at the Rotary

Leadership Institutes chaired

by Cathy Rector is a prime

example of being ‘on point’.

8. Having FUN and

enjoying the experience of

Rotary. Rotary is about family

and families always look for

the component of fun and

fellowship!

I’m enthused and pleased

to be a member of the D6490

Leadership Team. Yes, we do

‘stand on the shoulders’ of

those dedicated Rotarians

who paved the way, but I also

feel that the 2012-13 team is

prepared to have a ‘banner

year’ for D6490. Thank you

for your support, your

involvement, your counsel

and your dedication to Rotary.

In ‘Peace through Service.’

By District Governor J.

Gordon Bidner

As I write the first DG’s

message for 2012-13 for

our district newsletter,

several thoughts come to

mind. First, the awesome

responsibility and

opportunities that the new

Leadership Team has

facing it this Rotary Year.

Second, the feeling of

gratitude and appreciation

for the past leaders in our

district that got us to this

point in time. As I have

gotten to know better the

2012-13 fifty five D6490

Rotary club presidents,

the 14 assistant

governors and our District

Leadership Team that

plays a supporting role, I

am convinced that we will

have a GREAT Year. I do

know this for sure, if our

D6490 Rotary clubs are

successful, D6490 as a

whole will be successful!

So, how will we

measure our success? If I

may, permit me to share a

few goals/observations:

1. We will grow our

Annual Fund giving to the

RI Foundation. Goal

$250,000 How? a) More

‘Sustaining Members’ and

more ‘Star Clubs’ -- the

$100 per year, per

member average.

Twenty-seven of our 55

clubs have indicated in their

‘goal reports’ that they plan

on being a ‘Star Club.’ This

effort is being led by John

Alexander, the Annual

Giving chair. b) Growing our

Paul Harris Society

members from 37 presently

to 75, the $1,000 per year

per member commitment.

This effort is being led by

PDG Liz Skinner, The PHS

chair.

2. On July 1, 2013, our

district will be ready to be

‘full participants’ for Future

Vision. (Actually this date will

be more like April 1, 2013)

This effort is being led by

DGE Larry Pennie.

3. We will retain and grow

membership within our

clubs. Forty five of our clubs

have indicated a goal of net

growth of from 1 to 10

members for a district total of

196 more members, which

includes 23 members when

Bloomington-Normal

Daybreak is chartered.

Membership Development

Director/PDG Al Griggs,

Chair Kevin Yonce and Vice

Chair John Bishop are

providing the leadership for

this effort using the

‘Customer Attitude’ as the

focus.

4. New Generations

emphasis will continue as

PDG Chris Scherer, AG

Scott Burnsmier, Cathy

Rector, Tiffany DeSpain,

Karl Konrad, Tom

Redington, AG Terry Weir

and Bill Volk work to grow

and develop Rotaract,

Interact, Early Act, RYLA

and Youth Exchange. Take

a look at pages 57-59 of the

2012-13 District Directory

and note that we have six

Rotaract clubs and 16

Interact clubs, with another

Interact club being planned.

RYLA attendance grew

significantly in 2012 and the

Youth Exchange Team is

hard at work continuing its

super effort to make sure all

of our adults that work with

our youth are ’certified’.

5. DGE Larry, and his

committee is successful in

recruiting, training and

having in place by early fall

a District 6490

administrative assistant, to

assist the clubs and district

leadership team in

accomplishing their mission

and goals.

6. Our communications

with and between Rotary

clubs, members and district

leadership is clear,

transparent and action

oriented. The 14 AGs are

indeed key partners in this

effort along with the AG

Coordinator Gary

Swearingen, Trainer Joe

Mikulecky, Newsletter

Editor Bill Wills and our

Electronic Communications

Team led by PDG Jay

3

District Governor

J. Gordon Bidner

(309) 963-4240

vmsa@frontier.net

District 6490 Leadership Team in 2012-13

Larry Pennie

District Governor Elect

(309) 530-1599

pennierotary@comcast.

net

Les Mitkos

District Governor Nominee

(618) 635-3143

Lmitkosjr@gmail.com

Gary Swearingen

Asst. Gov.Coordinator

(217) 254-0999

Gary.swearingen@

wellsfargoadvisors.com

PDG Ray Ropp

Council of PDGs

(309) 454-1760

ropp@a5.com

Directors

Mary Droste

Administrative

Services

Surinder Sethi

Foundation &

International

Services

John Calderon

Leadership

Development

Alvin Griggs

Membership

Development

Chris Scherer

New

Generations

Tom Redington

New

Generations

Kevin Yonce

Service &

Activity Projects

District Officers

Marcia Dennis

Secretary

Mary Ann Webb

Treasurer

Jay Stortzum

Communications

Coordinator

Joe Mikulecky

District Trainer

Bill Wills

Newsletter

editor

DGE Larry Pennie

Directory co-editor

Arlene Pennie

Directory co-editor

4

District Website

www.rotary6490.org

Rotary International Website

www.rotary.org

Online make-up

www.rotaryeclubone.org

Newsletter editor

Bill Wills

2404 Clarkson Lane

Bloomington, IL 61704

Email: Billphyl@aol.com

(309) 825-3541

District Governor

J. Gordon Bidner

5150 E. 2050 North Road

Bloomington, IL 61725

Email: vmsa@frontiernet.net

Home: (309) 963-4240

Cell: (309) 531-1230

Assistant Governors

Eureka

Metamora-

Germantown Hills

Roanoke

Bloomington

B-N Daybreak

B-N Sunrise

B-N Sunset

Normal

Gibson City

Hoopeston

Paxton

Rantoul

Atlanta

Clinton

Lincoln

Mount Pulaski

Champaign

Mahomet

Monticello

Savoy

Champaign West

C-U Illini After 5

C-U Sunrise

Urbana

Area 1

Nancy Scott

(309) 303-5673

nscott@mtco.com

Area 8

Dana Schaumburg

(217) 260-9099

dschaumburg@

hotmail.com

Area 2

Robert Lange

(217) 387-2213

Jamon99c@

yahoo.com

Area 3

Susan Hoover

(309) 838-2148

cjsghoover@

yahoo.com

Area 4

Joe Bolser

(217) 493-2179

Jgb42@aol.com

Area 5

Marcia Dennis

(309) 454-5047

mldennis@

ilstu.edu

Area 6

Scott Burnsmier

(217) 520-4634

srbburnsmier@

yahoo.com

Area 7

Jon Rector

(217) 552-2888

jwrector@gmail

Area 9

Paul Stanzione

(217) 433-7760

Paul.stanzione@

decaturymca.org

Area 10

Rick Davidson

(217) 621-4672

rdavson@

gmail.com

Area 11

Steve Bonnett

(217) 412-8865

Stebon51@

hotmail.com

Area 12

Bill Dees

(217) 324-3173

b.m.dees@

juno.com

Area 13

Joe Fearday

(217) 342-3373

josephfearday@wells

fargoadvisors.com

Area 14

Terry Weir

(217) 822-5524

terryweir@country

financial.com

Danville Noon

Danville Downtown

Danville Sunrise

Blue Mound

Decatur

Decatur Metro

Forsyth Sunrise

Arcola

Arthur

Tuscola

Villa Grove

Charleston

Mattoon

Shelbyville

Sullivan

Hillsboro

Litchfield

Nokomis

Pana

Effingham Noon

Effingham Sunrise

Newton

Vandalia

Casey

Marshall

Paris

Robinson

Deadline for next newsletter is July 31

Dwight

Fairbury

Gilman

Pontiac

District 6490

5

District 6490 club presidents for 2012-2013 Arcola Sunrise Howell, Larry

Arthur Holder, Joy

Atlanta Coyne, Chris

Bloomington Kroeschen, Michael

Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Mathy, Jamison

Bloomington-Normal Sunset McCarty, Douglas

Blue Mound Smith, Roy

B-N Daybreak Enger, Sig

Casey Jenkins, Mark

Champaign Rouseff-Baker, Fay

Champaign West Hodson, Tom

Champaign-Urbana Sunrise Van Buren, Jeff

Charleston Duzan, Darcy

Clinton Holmes, Jeff

C-U Illini After 5 Wallace, Gayle

Danville Hoose, Amy

Danville Downtown Dixson, Jennifer

Danville Sunrise Kasper, Chuck

Decatur Goebel, David

Decatur Metropolitan Stork, John

Dwight Adams, Dale

Effingham Noon Gibbons, Rosie

Effingham Sunrise Vahling, Julie

Eureka Schumacher, Jeff

Fairbury Whitfill, Becky

Forsyth Sunrise Brinkoetter, Colleen

Gibson City Everett, Gene

Gilman Wilson, Gloria

Hillsboro Holcomb, Gregory

Hoopeston Anvick, Greg

Lincoln Rodgers, Kirby

Litchfield Brown, Randy

Mahomet Smith, Charlie

Marshall Meehling, Julia

Mattoon Goodwin, Valerie

Metamora-Germantown Hills Moyer, Lucy

Monticello Lochbaum, Susan

Mount Pulaski Johnson, Doug (contact)

Newton Wilson, Tammy

Nokomis Keele, Jo Ann

Normal Drake, Art

Pana Deere, Craig

Paris McGilvrey, Johnny "George"

Paxton Pfeifer, Patrick

Pontiac Fairfield, Lori

Rantoul Holmes, Jessica

Roanoke Gastman, Matt

Robinson Heidorn, Douglas

Savoy Sharp, Karen

Shelbyville Miller, Phil

Sullivan Bonnett, Steve

Tuscola Moody, Brian

Urbana Rost, Gail

Vandalia Grimmett, Roger

Villa Grove Mikeworth, James

Scholarships continued from

Page 1

dream is to work for the United

Nations.

JoJo, who plans to attend

Columbia College in Chicago, is

one who has “pulled herself up by

her own bootstraps,” said her high

school guidance counselor, Amy

Malone. “Her first three semesters

of high school were dreadful.” But

the counselor praised JoJo as “the

disengaged freshman transformed

into an extremely involved senior.”

The counselor added: “During her

four years of high school, JoJo

Rhinehart grew more than any

student I have ever known.” She

served as president of FACS club,

president of the school’s Art Club,

yearbook editor, newspaper co-

editor, Business Club Executive

Board, Rotary Interact Safe Driving

Committee leader and Relay for

Life team chair. She also went on a

mission trip to the Neuvo Loredo

orphanage in Mexico. JoJo works

nearly full-time hours at a

McDonalds and is a regular

volunteer at Willow Tree Missions.

JoJo acknowledges that “My first

years as a teenager were filled with

a rebellious taste for adventure in

all the wrong places, and the

luxuries I took for ‘living fast’ took a

toll on my self respect. In plain

English, I wasn’t a good person and

didn’t like myself because of it.

Through my years of high school, I

have grown to accept who I was,

and to look back on my life with

steady acceptance rather than sorry

for who I was. I found that by

inserting myself into activities within

my school and community, I

became a happier person.”

As part of their scholarship

requirements, both will speak of

their Peace Forums experiences to at

least five District 6490 clubs. JoJo

has also pledged to speak at the

2012-13 annual District 6490

Conference next April and Shannon

at the annual District 6490

Conference in May 2014.

DG Bidner heaped praise not only

on the quality of all of the

applicants, but also on all of the

sponsoring clubs, which had to

agree to pay for any expenses

exceeding the $1,500 scholarships.

Shannon is being sponsored by the

Bloomington Rotary Club and

JoJo’s sponsor is the Monticello

Rotary Club. Clubs that sponsored

other applicants were Mattoon,

Charleston, Hillsboro, Normal,

Urbana, Decatur 180, Vandalia,

Marshall, Tuscola and Downtown

Danville.

is now being expanded. She will

be returning to the Democratic

Republic of Congo in a few days

for a new job. She graduated from

Illinois Wesleyan University in

Bloomington, receiving the

Oustanding Senior Award in the

Department of International

Studies. During her undergraduate

days, she served an internship

with the State Department’s

International Women’s Issue’s

Office and studied abroad in

Geneva, Switzerland, at the

School for International Training.

She has since received her

master’s degree in International

Development Studies with a

concentration in Global

Community Development. Her

6

Dwight becomes newest district club

By: PDG Ron Schettler

District 6490 was notified that the

Dwight Rotary Club’s (Dwight,

Illinois) application to transfer from

District 6450 to District 6490 has

been approved. In early 2011,

D6450 PDG Johnson contacted

D6490 Governor Ray Ropp and

discussed the possibility of making

the transfer.

What was thought to be a fairly

easy transfer turned out to be

rather complicated, but turned into

a very lengthy process due to not

only a transfer from one district to

another, but also a transfer from

one zone to another. The transfer

process was carried forward into

the 2011-2012 Rotary year.

Surprisingly, the transfer ran into

more complications than expected,

but finally was approved by Rotary

International in May to become

effective on July 01,2012.

So, District 6490 welcomes the

Dwight Rotary Club with President

Dale Adams and its 15 members.

The club is very active with

members from around the Dwight

community. Members are no

strangers to D6490, as their

leadership team was invited to, and

attended, all D6490 activities in

2011-2012. So, I am sure many of

you have already met some of

them. Please take the opportunity

to say “Hi” and welcome them to

District 6490. If your club is close to

them, maybe you can arrange a

joint meeting with them. Their

contact information is in our 2012-

2013 District Directory.

B-N Daybreak’s goal is 25 members

By PDG Dick Wagner

Governor’s representative to

Daybreak

Bloomington-Normal

Daybreak Rotary has 18

members and continues to seek

members. When 25 members

are in place, the club and its

sponsoring club, Normal, will

submit to RI International Board

of Trustees an application to

charter as a new club in District

6490. This application usually

takes around 3 months to be

approved.

Daybreak Rotary continues to

build its traditions and

community service projects.

Recently, the club established a

procedure for member

application and induction. New

member orientation still needs

to be established. The club

officers, board and bylaws are

in place.

The ceremony to install new

officers has yet to be

established. President Elect

Sig Enger has been trained

and is ready for his year that

began July 1. He has

attended two Rotary

Leadership Institute seminars

and plans to attend Seminar

III soon.

It’s great to see the potential

in the current members, who

average age 40. Their motto

has become, "This is NOT

your Father's Rotary Club".

By James L. Ayers

The Monticello Rotary Club recently

participated with the District 6490 Rotary

Foundation Alumni Association in sponsoring

an international grant to purchase a

gastroscope, an automatic reprocessor that

cleans endoscopes, for the Hospital do Cancer

De Londrina located in Londrina, Parana,

Brazil. The District 6490 GSE team led by

Rotarian Steve Kite of Mattoon, IL visited the

state of Parana, Brazil, in the spring of 2011.

The team consisted of Jonathon Cox, Lauren

Dodge, Tim Goodwine, and Kristina Bushue.

While in Brazil, they visited the Cancer

Hospital of Londrina. The hospital specializes

in cancer treatment for an area of 5 districts

consisting of 200 towns serving over 250,000

patients a year. The GSE team made a

connection with the Rotary Club of Londrina

Universidade and identified the hospital’s need

for a gastroscope to replace older equipment.

In May of 2011, the District 6490 Rotary

Foundation Alumni Association was chartered,

and the returning GSE team members agreed

to fill the officer positions in the charter year.

The acquiring of the gastroscope for the

hospital was selected in cooperation with the

Rotary Club of Londrina Universidade as an

international project for the group. In

January 2012, the Alumni Association

sponsored a fundraiser for this project.

Partnering with the Alumni Association were

the Monticello Rotary Club, Rotary District

6490, the Rotary Club of Londrina

Universidade, the Rotary Club of Londrina,

Rotary District 4710, and the Rotary Club of

Delft-Koningsveld, Holland. The

contributions of the partners and the Rotary

Foundation matching grant totaled $27,900.

The trustees of the Rotary Foundation

approved the grant in April, the funds have

been dispersed and the machine is

scheduled to arrive shortly in Londrina.

Monticello Rotarians - Club President Dick

Koch, and Rotary District 6490 Foundation

Alumni, PDG Liz Skinner and Rotarian Jim

Ayers - along with Rotarians of District 6490,

District 4710 and local Rotary Clubs in

Londrina, Brazil and Delft-Koningsveld,

Holland made this project possible.

Monticello, Alumni Association project near done

Downtown Danville

promotes Illini football Downtown Danville Rotary is holding its

annual raffle fundraiser to give away two

season tickets for the 2012 Illini football

season. Tickets are $20 each, and the

drawing will be held during the Summer

Sounds concert from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Aug.

3, 2012, in Temple Plaza in downtown

Danville.

The winner does not need to be present to

win. For more information, contact

Downtown Danville Rotary Secretary Dana

Schaumburg at 217-260-9099 or

dschaumburg@hotmail.com..

A life spent making mistakes is not only

more honorable but

more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

-- George Bernard

Shaw

7

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A

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1

2

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3

16 of 55 new club presidents were there to be formally installed

Traditional pin exchanges, from PDG Ron Schettler to DG J. Gordon Bidner to DGE Larry Pennie to DGN Les Mitkos

PDG Ron and wife, Sandy, during his

year in review presentation

Gordon Ropp serves up the ice cream to a warm, eager crowd

DG Gordon gives stats on his old tractors for visiting dignitaries,

including, from left, former RI President Ray Klinginsmith, D6510

DGE Tom Ripperda and D6510 PDG Yank.

DG Gordon’s grandson, Calvin,

showed antique farm equipment

to the Tom Redingtons.

M.C. Bruce Bergethon

District Secretary

Marcia Dennis kept

program on track.

Photos by Bill Warmoth

8

Peace cranes take flight

Peace cranes were perched

everywhere – as evidenced by

the pictures on the previous

page -- at the annual District

6490 installation ceremony on

June 24 at the home of new

PDG Gordon Bidner and wife,

Sandi, pictured above.

Sandi and several of her

grandchildren made “well over

50” of the origami projects to

decorate the tables. Some

were also given away to

attendees who asked for them.

Of the cranes, Sandi said:

“…it took me almost a month to

learn to make them …I watched

people make them, watched

You-tube demos, and read

directions. It finally clicked in my

brain and I knew then I could make

enough to use for Gordon's

Induction. I used 12 x 12 squares of

paper and began in earnest making

them about mid May, making 3-4 a

day or whenever I had a few

minutes. I also had all of our

grandchildren make one.”

Sandi and granddaughter Natalie

also made other table decorations,

and Natalie did most of the sewing

on the table runners.

Word is that the peace cranes

may fly back for the District

Conference next spring.

Danville displays flags 13th consecutive year

Rotarians Alice Kirby, far left; Scott Deboer with hole maker;

and Bob Bookwalter participate in annual flag posting.

By Cathy Reardon

On Friday, May 25, over 1,200

U.S. flags were seen proudly lining

both sides of Vermilion Street in

Danville. The flags spanning a

distance of over 4 miles were on

display over Memorial Day

weekend. For the past 13 years,

Rotary Memorial Way has been a

labor of love for the Danville Rotary

Club. The club members working

with the local Vermilion County War

Museum started this project as a

way to honor our service men and

women and to raise funds to

support the museum.

For a $5 donation, a person could

sponsor a flag in honor or memory

of a veteran or loved one. Each

Rotarian was asked to personally

sponsor or sell at least 10 flags.

Community partners, including the

Danville Public Library, Iroquois

Federal, Old National Bank and

Trillium Staffing, also helped to sell

the sponsorships. Other partners,

such as Danville Gardens, County

Market and Danville High School,

allowed the club members to sell

sponsorships at their locations.

Each flag displayed the name of

the person it was dedicated to on an

attached tag. The tags were printed

by the war museum and laminated

by the Printing Department at

Danville Area Community College.

Volunteers of the war museum also

prepared the flags for display. Over

30 Rotarians and their family

members walked along Vermilion

Street carefully placing the flags

an equal distance apart creating

the mesmerizing and humbling

landscape. “There is no way a

person could look at this

outpouring of support and not be

proud to be an American living in

our community”, stated Jim

Wagner, Rotarian and Memorial

Way chair. After the weekend,

Rotarians removed the flags and

stored them at the war museum

for use in future years.

This year, the Danville

community received an added

bonus when the Rotary Club

arranged a guest appearance at

the war museum by Captain Scott

Zastrow, a U.S. Army Green Beret

and former member of the Special

Forces team ODA555, the first 10

American soldiers into

Afghanistan after 9/11. Aside

from earning Bronze Stars and

being part of the team that

ultimately freed the city of Kabul,

Captain Zastrow is an

accomplished author who recently

penned his experiences in the

book entitled, “The Deguello”.

The Danville Rotary Club

salutes our veterans and thanks

everyone who supported the

Memorial Way Project.

(Editor’s note: The project earned

about $7,000 in flag sales)

Friday, July 6, is deadline

for RYE host commitments By Karl Konrad

District 6490 RYE chair

D-6490 Rotary clubs are

reminded that the number of

commitments to host a Rotary

Youth Exchange student in

2013/14 determines the number

of students to be sent overseas in

2013/14.

That number currently stands at

3. Please submit your club's

Inbound commitment by Friday,

July 6, so your club can be

counted in wishing to send and

receive a student in 2013/14.

The receipt of the Inbound

Commitment form will be counted

as a commitment to host an

inbound. The form will serve also

as a promissory note to pay the

customary $1,000 fee before

December 1, 2012, if no check is

attached. Reminders to pay will

follow so that checks can be

deposited in the District 6490

account and held in escrow until

December 1, 2012.

To steal ideas from one person

is plagiarism. To

steal from many is research.

9

Monticello completes Haitian project Phase II

By Kelly Skinner

Monticello Rotary Club has been

working for the past two years in

partnership with the First Christian

Church of Monticello and its Haitian

Outreach division of Mahomet on a

campus project in Peredo, Haiti.

After the hurricane devastation of

Haiti, the church sent a team to

help rebuild a hospital/medical

facility on

the

campus.

Through

the sale

of Green

Mountain

Coffee as a fundraiser, the

Monticello Rotary Club was able in

2010-11 to help cover the cost of a

borehole well at the site.

During 2011-12, this project was

expanded to help provide hospital

equipment. When Monticello’s

Kirby Hospital built a new medical

complex and the old hospital

relocated to the site, club

members approached the hospital

to see if they could secure any

equipment not being moved. The

equipment was made available to

the Monticello Rotary Club with the

stipulation that they remove it from

the property. The club, along with

the partners, removed the

equipment and transported it to an

Indianapolis location, where it was

completely refurbished and packed

for shipment to Haiti. With funds

from the club and a District

Simplified Grant the equipment

was shipped and in late April the

shipment arrived in Peredo and

the hospital was dedicated (see

photo).

RLI training Aug. 18 in Decatur By Cathy Rector

On Saturday, August 18,

2012, Heart of America Rotary

Leadership Institute (HOA-RLI)

Training will be held at

Richland Community College in

Decatur, Illinois.

Traditionally, the emphasis

on RLI has been solely for

potential Rotary leadership.

However, the emphasis will

now be more on making it

available to all Rotarians,

regardless if they have been in

the club a couple of months or

several years. We would also

welcome all Rotaract and

Interact members, as this is an

incredible tool to educate

everyone on Rotary and what it

is and does. With New

Generations as our fifth avenue

of service, RLI is a natural fit. It

will assist us in the

development and training of not

only our current leaders, but

our future leaders.

If you are interested, please

register online at www.hoa-

rli.com. If you need additional

information, please contact

Cathy Rector at 217.621.5494.

All checks should be sent to

Eric Lewis at 7956 Vaughn

Road #161, Montgomery, AL

36116. The cost is $85 per

session. All three parts will be

offered. If you have already

taken Part I and Part II and sign

up for Part III, you will not need

to send $85. The third part is

part of the package and there is

no charge.

(See registration form on

Page 11)

District 6490 gives record amount

for District Simplified Grants Official Rotary Foundation rules state that a

maximum of 20% of all District Designated Funds

(DDF) in a given year may be allocated to District

Simplified Grants (DSG).

With District Governor J. Gordon Bidner’s new

Rotary year facing the lowest amount of District

Simplified Grant money ever, District 6490

Foundation members got busy raising funds.

The result is DSG grants of 28% of all new DDF

and record dollar amounts available for District

Simplified Grants, $20,517 for distribution starting

July 2012, essentially now.

Money in hand let the district move the timetable

up. By changing how the district raises money,

there is money ready to grant to clubs, so the

application process for grants was moved up to

July. Clubs could start applying BEFORE the new

Rotary Year started. This builds momentum.

Rule changes bring more bang for our bucks. In

addition, the District Simplified Grant Committee

wanted more bang for our bucks. The district added

the condition that local clubs also contribute.

“The clubs have to have some ‘skin in the

game’,” commented incoming District Governor

Bidner.

“This way we save our DDF for places where

it gets matches,” said District Foundation team

member Drake Zimmerman of the Normal

Rotary Club, who led the effort.

He added, “We all want impact. With DSG we

can double our money and do twice as much

good in our communities. With matches we can

make a difference of not 20% of our DDF, but

28% this year, and then take that times two, for

an amount equal to over 50% of our DDF. More

support for local projects is worth our

contributions.

“Simply, $2 is more than $1. Enough clubs

and individuals agreed. Our pilot year set

records we will probably exceed this Rotary year

as the word gets out.”

10

Ron Schettler bids farewell as DG

First, I would like to

thank all District 6490

Rotary clubs’ past

presidents and their

leadership in the 2011-

2012 Rotary Year. Your

leadership and support is

essential for your clubs

in 2012-2013 to address

Mikulecky, Kevin Yonce, Mary Droste, PDG

Chris Scherer and Tom Redington.

--Assistant governors: Susan Hoover, Nancy

Scott, Marcia Dennis, Bill Fugate, Mike

McNamara, John Calderon, Jon Rector, Les

Mitkos, Joe Fearday, Mike Miller/Steve Bonnett

and Assistant Governor Coordinator Gary

Swearingen.

There are several other members of the

district team that you rarely hear from, but they

were very essential to supporting your club and

you from the district. They were: District

Treasurer Steve Heidbreder; District Secretary

Bill Warmoth; District Trainer Eric Luedtke;

Newsletter Editor Bill Wills; Communications

Coordinator PDG Jay Stortzum; PDG Council

Chair PDG AL Griggs; RYLA Chair Tiffany

DeSpain; Youth Exchange Chair Karl Konrad;

GSE Inbound Coordinator John Calderon; GSE

Outbound Chair Kevin Miller; RLI Leader Cathy

Rector; WCS Chair John Alexander; District

Grants Chair Debbi Hirschi; and Alumni Chair

PDG Liz Skinner.

There are many committee chairs and

members who are very special and they give

their service to the district just for you and your

club. If you happen to be working or just talking

with them; please take a moment and THANK

them for their service/time. Also, a very

SPECIAL thanks to DG Gordon Bidner, DGE

Larry Pennie and DGN Les Mitkos for their

support of the many new ideas that we

implemented and for preparing for the upcoming

changes to our Rotary programs.

It takes all of these volunteers/Rotarians to

help direct Rotary’s mission to help our fellow

man, both in our communities and

internationally. I do wish your new district

governor all the success in the world. Gordon, I

will be happy to serve in any way I can to

assure that District 6490 does have a GREAT

2012-2013 Rotary year.

The “OPPORTUNITY” to serve the Rotarians

of District 6490 as your district governor was

indeed an honor as well as a humbling

experience. What a pleasure it was for Sandy

and me to work with so many dedicated

individuals, all with both common and separate

goals, but willing to work together and support

the many Rotary programs serving their local

and international communities. Thank you for

giving me this wonderful opportunity to see

firsthand the amazing impact that you are

having in your communities and around the

world.

Thanks.

the ongoing changes and new training for the

Future Vision programs.

District Governor Gordon Bidner, the DG’s

Leadership Team, assistant governors and the rest

of the district team will be guiding you through this

transition to new programs being put in place on

July 01, 2013. Please continue to be Pro Active

and Act Now:

-- Review and act immediately to requests

directed by DG Gordon Bidner.

-- Direct your committee chairs to review the

district newsletter every month, as this is a source

of valuable information for you and your club.

-- Also, review the district website

(Rotary6490.org ) regularly; especially your club’s

membership information. Please direct your club

secretary to keep your club membership role up to

date at all times.

-- Please direct your leadership team to attend

the many district programs available to you to

assist your club with the many programs of Rotary.

Remember, your assistant governor can be your

best Rotary friend in leading your club and to

having a GREAT Rotary year. Our revised

program for our AGs this year will allow them to

have more time to assist you and your club, BUT,

you have to ask for their assistance! Please do so.

They are the source to answer many of your

Rotary questions or issues.

District 6490 has one of the best leadership

teams in all of Rotary. Almost all of them have

served as past presidents of their own clubs,

served as assistant governors and a few are past

district governors. Yes, we are here to serve

Rotary and our primary role is to serve Rotary by

working with and for you. Please take advantage of

this wonderful opportunity the district affords you.

Speaking of opportunity, I wish to take this

moment, to first thank clubs for their tremendous

support given to me in the 2011-2012 Rotary Year

as your district governor. District 6490 could not

have had as GREAT a year as we had, had it not

been for the 2011-2012 Rotary Team. I wish to

take a moment of your time to recognize them:

--Directors: Surinder Sethi, PDG Al Griggs, Joe

Ronald R. Schettler

Thanks to Ralph Dude of the Normal Rotary Club

for forwarding this picture he took outside Rotary

Headquarters in Evanston of the statue celebrating

Rotary’s involvement in polio eradication.

Monticello’s Diana Wilkin wins

Distinguished Service Award

Diana Wilkin, right, with Amy Malone, MHS

Interact faculty advisor.

Monticello Rotary

Club member Diana

Wilkin was selected

by the Monticello

Area Education

Foundation for the

Distinguished

Service Award for

2012.

Diana is serving

her third year as the

Rotary Club liaison to

the Monticello High

School Rotary

Interact Club. Club

membership has

grown steadily during

this time.

11

Date Club Club Board

Meeting Meeting

July 11 Dwight 12:10 1:10

July 16 Mattoon Noon 11 a.m.

July 17 Effingham Sunrise 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

July 17 Casey Noon 11 a.m.

July 18 Monticello Noon 11 a.m.

July 31 Rantoul 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

July 31 Pontiac 12:05 1 p.m.

Aug. 1 Roanoke 6:45 a.m 7:45 a.m.

Aug. 1 Metamora/Germantown Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 1 B-N Sunset 5 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 2 B-N Daybreak 6:45 a.m. 7:45 a.m.

Aug. 2 Bloomington Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 6 Decatur Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 7 B-N Sunrise 6:45 a.m. 8 a.m.

Aug. 7 Eureka Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 8 Mahomet 6:45 a.m. 7:45 a.m.

Aug. 8 Normal Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 9 C-U Sunrise 6:45 a.m. 7:45 a.m.

Aug. 9 Savoy Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 13 Nokomis 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

Aug. 13 Shelbyville Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 14 Forsyth Sunrise 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

Aug. 14 Atlanta Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 15 Lincoln Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 16 Mount Pulaski Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 16 C-U Illini After 5 5:15 p.m. 6:15 p.m.

Aug. 18 RLI-Richland CC 8:30 a.m.

Aug. 20 Danville Noon 12:10 p.m. 1 p.m.

District Governor’s scheduled visits Date Club Club Board

Meeting Meeting

Aug. 21 Danville Downtown Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 21 Hoopeston 5 p.m. 6 p.m.

Aug. 22 Champaign West Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 23 Danville Sunrise 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

Aug. 23 Paxton Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 27 Paris Noon 11 a.m.

Aug. 28 Fairbury Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 28 Gilman 6:05 p.m. 7 p.m.

Aug. 29 Robinson Noon 1 p.m.

Aug. 30 Villa Grove Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 4 Marshall 6:45a.m. 8a.m.

Sept. 4 Charleston Noon 11 a.m.

Sept. 5 Effingham Noon Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 6 Arcola Sunrise 7:15 a.m. 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 6 Arthur Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 11 Clinton Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 11 Blue Mound 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 Gibson City Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 13 Decatur Metro Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 18 Vandalia Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 19 Litchfield 7 a.m. 8 a.m.

Sept. 19 Hillsboro Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 Champaign Noon 11 a.m.

Sept. 25 Urbana Noon 1 p.m.

Sept. 26 Pana Noon 1 p.m.

Oct. 2 Sulllivan Noon 1 p.m.

Oct. 9 Tuscola Noon 1 p.m.

Oct. 16 Newton Noon 1 p.m.

‘Old goats’ judging young goats in Normal’s annual outing

PDG Ray Ropp presided over the judging of goats -- in

foreground.

Former ‘First Lady’

Carol gets surprised

Although not a member,

Carol Ropp was

presented a Paul Harris

award June 6 by the

Normal Rotary Club for

her years of service for

Rotary.

PDG Ray and Carol

Ropp again hosted

the Normal Rotary

Club for its annual

Rural/Urban Night on

June 6. Some 4-H’ers

brought goats for

Rotarians to test their

skills at judging the

“best.”

The Ropps also

had a sow and

piglets, a llama and

several cute calves,

including one born that

morning, according to

the club’s weekly

newsletter.

While members

judged the penned

animals, the Ropps’

kittens and terrier

roamed about, judging

the visiting Rotarians

by how much food they

dropped, we are told.

12

Heart Of America Division-Rotary Leadership Institute

Registration Form Registration Options

Preferred—register on-line at www.hoa-rli.org

Or, mail this Registration Form with check payable to “HOA-RLI” to

Eric Lewis, 7956 Vaughn Road #161, Montgomery AL 36116 (334) 651-0603

Registration is not complete until payment is received. Fees are non-refundable. Deadline is two weeks before course. No credits for no-shows. All courses: Registration at 8:00am Classes 8:30am-3:30pm– breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks included.

__________________________________________________________________________ Course Selection: PART I PART II PART III

Please circle one course only- All Candidates must take Parts in order: I - II - III Date of Course: ____________________________________________________________ Location of Course:_________________________________________________________ Registration Fee: $70 per person ($85 if registration received after 14 days preceding event)

See course list at www.hoa-rli.org

PLEASE PRINT CAREFULLY Name: ______________________________________ Badge Name: __________________ Address: __________________________________________________________________ City: ____________________________________ State: ____________ Zip: ___________ Telephone: (H) ( ____) _______________________________________________________ Telephone: (C) ( ___) ________________________________________________________ Fax: ( ____) ________________________________________________________________ E-mail address: ____________________________________________________________ Rotary Club: _________________________________________ District: _______ Number of Years in Rotary: _______ Highest Position in Rotary Served: _____________ Signature ________________________________________________ Date ____________ Please fill in your payment information below. Name: ______________________________Credit Card or Check #:____________________________ (as it appears on card)

Circle one: Exp. Date: ____________ CID/CVV2 #:___________ Visa Mastercard Check

Signature: __________________________________

August 18 at Richland Community College in Decatur

13

It’s a race to Annual Fund record By Drake Zimmerman

Major Gifts/Bequest Society

chair

The last week of the 2011-12

Rotary Year giving shows

District Governor Ron Schettler

set to pass pre-crash #2 Annual

Fund giving of $187,199 set in

2007-8, Dick Wagner’s year as

district governor. This year’s

giving is at $184,401 so far, with

not all donations booked in.

The peak Annual Fund giving

of $195,947.97 is well within

reach set by PDG Liz Skinner’s

year of 2005-06. If the dozen or

so clubs pay just half the

amounts they set as goals, then

we will pass the all-time record

for Annual Programs Fund.

Annual Programs Fund giving

comes back to the district (half

of it, technically, in the third year

after donation) to use on local

and international projects,

typically with matches from The

Rotary Foundation.

This year has already set the

all time record for overall giving.

Thanks mainly to the final Push

on PolioPlus giving, this year’s

overall donations to The Rotary

Foundation is 10% above the all-

time record of $272,960, set in

2006-07 Rotary year. In

contrast, giving to polio and

matching grants is ‘restricted,’

that is non-Annual Programs

Fund giving. Overall giving to

June 26 stands at $294,671.05.

Both Rotary giving records set

high standards that incoming

District Governor J. Gordon

Bidner pledges to pass.

Finishing up pavilion

Savoy completes

Friendship Crossing By Tiffany Spain

Last month, The Rotary Club

of Savoy put the finishing

touches on a project that began

when the club’s Community

Committee voted on a project to

celebrate the club’s 20th

Anniversary in 2009-10.

The project that won was a

park project. This site was

chosen because this was the

site of a house that had to be

razed when Curtis Road was

expanded, so it became an

empty lot.

The club received a District

Simplified Grant of $1,200 for

the first stage of the park. This

money was used to purchase

the picnic tables and park

benches.

The Rotary Club of Savoy put

in over $8,000 and around 250

volunteer manhours for the

entire project.

This included 4 work days, the

last was on June 2 with 15

Rotarians and spouses donating

their time to put the final

touches together. They spent

time painting and putting

together picnic tables, installing

park benches and bike racks,

clearing out the area for

concrete pours, installing a

drinking water fountain, adding

landscaping, putting together

our pavilion and much more.

The park is at the busy

intersection of Curtis and

Prospect Roads in Savoy and

is called Friendship Crossing

as it is in Savoy and near

Champaign.

There are nearby bike paths,

so even though this park is

small in size, it will be a nice

resting location for those riding

their bikes.

The Rotary Club of Savoy is

proud to work together in our

community for a park that will

be enjoyed for years to come.

Reserve A space

this size every

month for a year

for just

$300 Not Enough Space?

Full page $975

Half page $575

Too much space?

Business card size $150

Support your District 6490 with a monthly ad in

this newsletter. Contact Amy George at (217)

373-7453 or ageorge@news-gazette.com; or

Bill Wills (309) 825-3541 or Billphyl@aol.com

14

NON MEMBERSHIP ATTENDANCE RI

REP

- Member Count Ma

y YTD % CONTRIBUTIONS Held

Club Name ORT 01-Jul-11

31-May-12 +/- +/- % Last Year

May YTD TO DATE YTD

May

Arcola Sunrise 28 29 0 1 3.57% 73.92% 69.29% 73.59% $3,740.00

Arthur 23 23 0 0 0.0% 71.83% 70.00% 66.55% $0.00

Atlanta 17 18 0 1 5.88% 71.44% 79.00% 77.64% $1,200.00

Bloomington 84 83 1 -1 -1.19% 73.01% 63.82% 67.83% $11,505.00

B-Normal Sunrise 97 91 -1 -6 -6.19% 71.42% 72.00% 70.09% $1,764.56

B-N Sunset 21 22 0 1 4.76% 77.67% 77.00% 80.64% $12,183.93

Blue Mound NR 8 48.43% $5,100.00

B-N Daybreak

Casey NR 19 49.33% $0.00

Champaign 170 167 0 -3 -1.76% 67.65% 63.12% 67.69% $19,513.50

Champaign West 155 154 0 -1 -0.65% 76.69% 71.82% 76.03% $16,462.00

C-U Sunrise 43 43 -1 0 0.0% 78.70% 68.90% 78.04% $1,780.00

Charleston 74 67 0 -7 -9.46% 59.15% 70.00% 61.91% $7,125.00

Clinton 36 36 0 0 0.0% 66.65% 75.76% 67.37% $3,050.00

C-U Illini After 5 20 21 0 1 5.00% 97.13% 90.00% 92.36% $3,780.50

Danville NR 106 45.20% $6,096.50

Danville Downtown NR 10 51.67% $263.15

Danville Sunrise 27 28 0 1 3.70% 64.33% 79.00% 74.73% $3,670.00

Decatur 114 110 1 -4 -3.51% 36.40% 35.00% 38.91% $3,902.00

Decatur Metropolitan 15 17 0 2 13.33% 67.86% 57.60% 59.88% $2,016.00

Dwight

Effingham Noon NR 101 48.33% $17,271.75

Effingham Sunrise 60 62 0 2 3.33% 66.87% 68.06% 74.15% $6,371.00

Eureka NR 49 48.66% $5,760.00

Fairbury NR 41 62.18% $785.00

Forsyth Sunrise 14 17 0 3 21.43% 83.67% 78.00% 80.36% $620.00

Gibson City NR 24 43.79% $293.29

Gilman NR 15 80.50% $9,460.00

Hillsboro 27 26 0 -1 -3.70% 40.67% 44.00% 41.27% $525.00

Hoopeston NR 15 64.04% $700.00

Lincoln 61 61 0 0 0.0% 70.41% 65.07% 70.32% $8,155.00

Litchfield NR 29 79.67% $11,060.88

Mahomet 24 26 -1 2 8.33% 86.75% 93.22% 91.20% $10,628.41

Marshall NR 23 79.08% $1,630.00

Mattoon 68 63 -1 -5 -7.35% 65.06% 63.79% 62.42% $300.00

Metta-Germantown Hills

27 31 0 4 14.81% 74.01% 72.00% 70.48% $1,000.00

Monticello NR 81 71.28% $25,591.18

Mount Pulaski 12 12 0 -12 00.00% 57.00% 45.00% 47.27% $0.00

Newton 36 33 0 -3 -8.33% 69.60% 72.73% 71.18% $3,146.00

Nokomis 13 10 0 -3 -23.08% 77.00% 90.00% 77.82% $1,250.00

Normal 91 85 0 -6 -6.59% 75.08% 68.00% 70.82% $24,625.50

Pana 22 21 0 -1 -4.55% 58.96% 68.57% 63.96% $0.00

Paris NR 39 58.67% $0.00

Paxton 18 19 0 1 5.56% 55.17% 53.00% 57.00% $250.00

Pontiac 44 45 2 1 2.27% 66.67% 56.00% 57.18% $16,554.73

Rantoul 37 35 0 -2 -5.41% 67.80% 64.83% 71.09% $1,800.00

Roanoke NR 18 69.42% $0.00

Robinson 17 16 0 -1 -5.88% 59.00% 74.67% 67.44% $1,000.00

Savoy 32 33 1 1 3.13% 77.92% 83.00% 84.73% $3,824.00

Shelbyville 32 27 0 -5 -15.63% 68.67% 51.00% 61.73% $2,000.00

Sullivan 37 32 -1 -5 -13.51% 57.20% 56.97% 50.78% $100.00

Tuscola 42 43 0 1 2.38% 72.58% 67.00% 65.82% $5,450.00

Urbana 98 100 0 2 2.04% 50.89% 52.00% 49.53% $10,067.55

Vandalia 40 42 0 2 5.00% 65.92% 64.00% 60.77% $4,225.00

Villa Grove NR 22 $0.00

$2,238.12

Summaries 2376 57.28% $279,834.55

District 6490

District

Secretary’s

May

Report

New Members

Reported in June Champaign

Jack Conlisk

John Knoblett

Champaign West

Michelle Mergman

Lillian Wilcoxen

Marsha Osterbur

Charleston

Randal Miller

Marilyn Holmes

Clinton

Jay Peterson

Decatur

Jill Applebee

Michelle Gregg

Clay Koenig

Philip Romano

Mahomet

William Peithmann

Thad Wells

Paxton

Corrine Bretz

Savoy

Jeff Henderson

Rotarian Deaths

Reported in June Decatur

Rev. Robert C. “Bob” Wiedrich

(June 19, 2012)

Effingham Noon

John Timothy “Tim” Fennessey

(June 6, 2012)