Mark your calendar now! July 13, 2024 is Rotary Family Day at the Ball Park. The Cardinals will be playing the Cubs at 1:15 p.m. Rotary Clubs in our district have 2000 tickets to sell. You can buy tickets from members of the Rotary Club of Springfield or download the order form (link provided below) and mail it in with your check. The tickets are greatly discounted at $60 each. Rod Buffington (Mr. Baseball) is arranging for two buses to go from Springfield to Busch Stadium in St. Louis so you may be able to catch a ride if seats are available. You don't have to be a Rotarian to buy tickets! Buy them for your friends and family. Proceeds from the ticket sales support District Literacy Grants. The form to buy tickets for this game is available on our Club's Website Home Page (click on form here to download it).
Bill Smith had the great honor of presenting our club’s 2024 Community Paul Harris Fellow award to Hope Humphrey Walker at our March 11 meeting (image above). She was accompanied by her husband, Greg Walker.
Our club has had a long history with Hope and her family. For nearly 50 years we have been selling Florida oranges and grapefruit as a fundraiser to support local charities. When we started this fundraiser, we dealt directly with the Florida citrus groves. In the late 1990s we entered into a partnership with Humphrey’s Market to improve the quality of the citrus product. We selected Humphrey’s Market because they had a long history of purchasing quality fruits and vegetables. This history started with Hope’s grandparents, who for many years purchased and sold fruits and vegetables. In 1967, Hope’s parents, Henry and Iona Humphrey, took over the business. Humphrey’s Market continued to grow and became a corner grocery store.
In 2008, Bill Smith began his involvement with Humphrey’s Market when he began managing our annual citrus campaign. This is when he met Henry Humphrey and got to know his understanding of citrus. His involvement with Hope began ten years ago when Henry died. He quickly realized that this was a seamless transition.
Hope is a life-long resident of Springfield. She attended schools in Springfield and she has a business administration degree from the University of Illinois in Springfield. Her only employment has been with the family business.
With her grandparent’s knowledge of fruits and vegetables, followed by her parents’ knowledge of fruits and vegetables, followed by Hope’s knowledge of fruits and vegetables, this looks like a pattern in the family tree. Bill is not a scientist, but it made him wonder if this knowledge is part of their DNA.
Our club has loved selling Florida oranges, except when we didn’t love selling Florida oranges. Let us explain, six years ago when the quality of Florida oranges had become an issue, we asked Hope to find an alternate grove to improve the quality of the oranges. Back then, another Rotary Club in Springfield was conducting their own citrus campaign and reported to us that they were getting quality oranges from their grove. Hope followed up on this lead and the new grove agreed to provide us with citrus. The next step was to determine the price of the citrus. Since the other Rotary Club dealt directly with the grove, the presumption was that their cost would be less than what we would have to pay. It didn’t work out that way, our cost was $1.00 less for each large carton of oranges and grapefruit than the cost for the other Rotary Club.
This change to a different grove seemed to solve the Florida orange problem until last fall. We were notified in early November that we would not get Florida oranges for our citrus fundraiser. The citrus grove reported a complete failure of the orange crop due to an extended dry spell in Florida. Naturally, we had to have oranges to complete the sales from the citrus campaign, otherwise, we would be forced to cancel all sales. This unsatisfactory result would involve returning money to customers who have already paid, and could also tarnish the reputation of the Rotary clubs who were part of the campaign.
The timing of the notification from Florida, left us with less than four weeks to find replacement oranges. Humprey’s Market, that is Hope Humphrey Walker, came up with a solution to our problem. Texas oranges were considered, but they were having similar drought issues as Florida. She was able to secure a premium California orange for us, which saved the day. We have received rave reviews from many of our customers about these oranges.
By the way, while Hope was solving our orange problem, she was already very busy with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays that were coming up.
We have had a wonderful partnership with Hope and the Humphrey family. It was said that Hope’s father, Henry Humphrey, had a passion for customer service and instilled that in his family and those who worked with him. Hope, has followed in that tradition and provides a wonderful service to our club and to the Springfield community.
We congratulate Hope for this prestigious recognition (images below).
The Rotary Clubs of Springfield again donated oranges to the Central Illinois Foodbank as a part of our annual Citrus Sale Fundraiser. Three Rotary Clubs in Springfield participated in this year’s donation of oranges to the Foodbank—our club (the Rotary Club of Springfield), Springfield Sunrise, and Springfield South. The Rotary Clubs allowed Rotarians and their customers to purchase oranges specifically for donation to the Foodbank. This year, Rotary donated 162 40 lb. cartons of oranges—three full pallets with over 20,000 oranges to the Foodbank (image above and lead image). This is Rotary’s second largest donation of oranges to the Foodbank since the Rotary Clubs added the option to buy oranges for them in 2013.
The Central Illinois Food Bank picked up the donated oranges from the Rotary Clubs at our Citrus Warehouse in the Underfanger Moving and Storage Warehouse in Springfield on December 6. Bill Smith, the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Warehouse Manager for the citrus fundraiser, Bonnie Styles, PR Chair for the Rotary Club of Springfield, and Brooke Dunn, PR Manager for the Central Illinois Foodbank were on site for the transfer of the oranges to the Foodbank. Channel 20 News and WAND Television interviewed both Bill (image to left) and Brooke and got footage of the oranges being loaded on the Foodbank trunk (image below). The interviews were featured that evening on news reports for these two stations.
Bill Smith described the benefits of the program for the Rotary Clubs, the Foodbank, and those in need of food. “It’s a win-win situation all around.” Customers buy nutritious citrus to eat and gift during the holiday season and also purchase oranges for donation to the Central Illinois Foodbank. The Foodbank delivers the oranges to pantries throughout central Illinois that serve those in need. The gift keeps giving because the proceeds from the sale of the citrus by Rotarians, including the oranges purchased for direct donation to the Foodbank, support Rotary community grants that help combat hunger, promote literacy, and meet other community needs.
At our June 26 Installation Picnic, our outgoing club President Randy Erford welcomed President-Elect Travis Magoulias to the outdoor stage as well as the dignitaries participating in the Installation Ceremony: Bob Stuart, Past Rotary International Director, Past District Governor, and long-time member of our club; District Governor Elect Dan O'Brien; and our current and soon-to-be Past District Governor Bill Durall (image above). Dan O'Brien spoke about the fame and successes of the Rotary Club of Springfield and its leadership at the District level and above.
Bob Stuart conducted the installation of incoming President Travis Magoulias, including the Oath of Office (image below).
Randy assisted with the presentation of the President's Pin (image on left) and the Gavel (image below)
Bob Stuart installed the other incoming 2023-2024 officers:
Megan Reynolds, President-Elect (image below)
Marty Michelson, Secretary (not able to attend event)
Jim Theis, Treasurer (image below)
Bill Durall installed the other members of the Board of Directors (image on left) and asked each one to stand. The 2023-2024 Directors are:
John Webb, Club Service Director (image below)
Madeline Boner, Community Service Director (pictured on left in image with her sister and President-Elect Megan Reynolds)
Bob Stuart, International Service Director (numerous images above)
Harry Mitchell, Membership Service Director (standing on right in the image below)
Bill Kempiners, Youth Service Director (unable to attend event, not pictured)
Directors at Large: Ross Hodel (seated in above image), Loretta Meeks (shown in image below with her 2022-2023 Service of Above Self Award for her long-term service as Secretary), and Bonnie Styles (the photographer, not pictured).
Barry Tobias, Sergeant at Arms (standing on the left in image above).
Following the installation ceremony: Travis presented Randy with the coveted Past President's Pin (image on left), and Rod Buffington presented Randy with a print of his original artwork (image below) for the Rotary International Theme for Randy's Rotary Presidential year (Imagine Rotary).
Randy presented Travis with a gift of a special model car (image on right) and passed the microphone to Travis. Travis thanked all the members for coming to the installation picnic and for having confidence in him to lead the club (image below). He invited participants to continue enjoying themselves and to attend our upcoming club meetings and service events.
The Rotary International Presidential Theme for 2023-2024 is to Create Hope in the World (image below), and we know that our work helps contribute to that goal.
We held our annual Springfield Rotary Foundation Grants Night (image above) on June 12, 2023. This is always a joyful and rewarding occasion where we see the fruits of our labor. Attendance of the grant recipients at our meeting offered our members an opportunity to meet and encourage these charitable organization who are making a difference in our community and to invite them to join our Rotary Club and participate in our community service projects (image below).
Vicki Megginson, who became our Springfield Rotary Foundation President in July, 2023, served as the Master of Ceremonies for the June event. Foundation President for 2022-2023, David Fowler, was unable to attend the meeting, but was with us in spirit. Vicki acknowledged all the work that Bill Smith does as Foundation Treasurer and for the management of the community grants program (image on left). She also acknowledged the work by all the members of the 2022-2023 Foundation Board, including David Fowler, Vicki Megginson, Bill Kempiners, Barry Tobias, and Randy Erford.
The club’s fundraisers for the current Rotary year provided $40,400 to be used for national and international club projects or donations, including an annual donation to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flights, scholarships, and grants to charitable organizations. The club’s foundation board of directors met during May to allocate $28,600 of these funds for our community grants program. There were 17 requests for grant funds; of these, 12 organizations were fully or partially funded. They also allocated some of the monies raised through the Flag Service Program for the annual donation to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flights.
At our June 12 meeting, Vicki and Bill presented checks to representatives of 11 of the 12 organizations, and a check for the annual donation to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flights (image on right). Representatives from the organizations receiving checks are shown in the image below. Each representative briefly described how they will use the grant or donated funds. The representative, organization, and the use of the funds are listed below following the order of individuals in the image.
Organization Representatives, Organizations, and Use of Awarded Funds for Front Row from left to right:
Brandy Stabler, Director of Development for Compass for Kids (for providing healthy snacks and well-balanced meals for low income students in District 186); Dan Way, Board Member for Land of Lincoln Honor Flights (to cover expenses for 5 veterans to visit memorials in Washington D.C.); Deana Corbin, Executive Director for Animal Protective League (for purchase of pet food for the pet food bank for struggling pet owners); Amy Voils, Executive Director from MERCY Communities (to buy learning materials for families with children experiencing homelessness); Peggy Dyson, Executive Director, Educational Center for the Visually Impaired (to support an orientation and mobility program for the visually impaired including accessibility devices and Personal Vision Coaches); Linda Laun, Executive Director, Beerlahai Roi Women’s Ministries (for providing nutritious meals for pregnant women and babies in their residence for individuals experiencing homelessness).
Back Row, from left to right:
Jane Locascio, Board Member for Wooden it Be Lovely (for purchase of food and other supplies for women struggling with addiction, poverty, and/or abuse who are living in the residence and/or working in the workshop); Michael Carson, Principal for St. Patrick Catholic School (for support for subscriptions for an online digital reading programs for improving grammar, phonics, and writing); Cindy Drum, Executive Director for Contact Ministries (for purchase of food for women with children in their emergency and transitional shelters and for new outdoor safety lighting); Laura Davis, Executive Director for Helping Hands (to provide breakfast in their shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness); Jennifer Butcher, Principal for Ridgely School (for purchase of food for Bulldog Care Food Backpacks to send home with targeted students on weekends and sometimes during the week as well); Stacy Kelly, Manager for Education and Community Volunteers, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (for support of a free-of-charge conference to increase dementia literacy within the Black community in the Springfield area). The representative from the Youth Service Bureau was unable to attend, but they were awarded a check to provide food for low income families.
Small things can lead to big results!
In early February 2023, a devastating earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, struck Turkey. Rotary clubs in the Midwestern United States responded by partnering with Midwest Mission and North Star Foundation to ship a container of food, donated by Rotary’s partner, Baja Bridges in California, with the approval of the Turkish Consulate.
So far, 25,000 “Chef 5 Minute Meals” (image below) have been sent to Turkey, with 25,000 more to be sent on Friday, March 24 to Ukraine. As the war zone continues to escalate in Ukraine, so does the need for humanitarian aid.
It's common for Rotarians to visit other Rotary clubs when traveling or relocating. It's not so common for such a visit to lead to a complex collaboration impacting people in multiple states and countries. David Fowler, President, of the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Foundation, contacted Midwest Mission to see if they could get a donation of “Chef 5 Minute Meals” to Turkey. These meals were donated to the Rotary Club by Katherine Turner of Baja Bridges out of Clarksburg, California. Rotary was willing to pay the cost to bring them to Springfield, they just needed a partner to get them to Turkey. At that moment, there was no clear route.
About an hour later, Brad Walton, Midwest Mission Operations Manager, called North Star Foundation, one of Midwest Mission’s partners, to coordinate the details of an upcoming Ukraine shipment. While talking, North Star mentioned they had a contact through the Turkish consulate to get supplies into the country. Within an hour, the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Foundation, Midwest Mission, and Baja Bridges went from no way into Turkey to a clear route to get the meals into Turkey.
The first shipment of aid dedicated to disaster relief in Turkey left Midwest Mission on Friday, March 10. This shipment included 25,000 “Chef 5 Minute Meals”. The second shipment of 25,000 meals will be the first of many shipments containing meals and other requested relief items that will be sent to the region.
The shipment for Ukraine will take the same route as Turkey shipment. David Fowler stands with some of the boxes of meals that are headed to Ukraine (image on left). The donated supplies will leave Midwest Mission in a container on a truck to St. Louis on March 24, 2023 (the image below shows boxes being loaded into the container on the truck). They will then head on the railroad up to New York, and from there, will leave on a boat over to Poland. There is a warehouse set up in Poland as a distribution center for disaster relief. From this warehouse, they are able to get supplies to Ukraine, refugees in Poland, Syria, and Turkey. Because of this, future shipments full of aid have the potential of getting needed resources to people in four countries - based on need.
Midwest Mission Executive Director Chantel Corrie says, “Please remember disaster response, especially of this magnitude, is not a sprint but a marathon. If you assume what others need you can clog the transportation and storage of items that are more important or create a disaster within a disaster. That’s why we only work with trusted established partners, so we can be sure to send what is actually needed.”
This will be the first of many shipments of relief that will go to Turkey and Ukraine. The magnitude of the disaster in the region means there will be years of recovery ahead. Midwest Mission is continuing to respond to the effects of the war in Ukraine as well, sending Rice Meals, medical supplies, Personal Dignity Kits, and other requested items.
Monetary donations allow us to quickly buy supplies in bulk and buy what is specifically requested by our partners in Turkey and Ukraine. We never send items that are not specifically requested because we never want to create more chaos in their crisis.
If you’d like to help people impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and the war in Ukraine, the Rotary Club of Springfield, IL makes it easy. The Club’s Foundation partners with Midwest Mission, the North Star Foundation, and Baja Bridges to ship containers of food and needed supplies. The Rotary Club of Springfield works with other Rotary Clubs, Rotary International, and Rotary Clubs in Turkey and Ukraine to help families in need. The image below shows Rotarians from the Springfield Sunrise Club (on left) and the Rotary Club of Springfield (on right) with some of the meals that are now on the way to Ukraine.
Please send contributions to:
Springfield Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 615, Springfield, IL 62702 Memo: Disaster Relief Fund
Midwest Mission, 1001 Mission Drive, Pawnee, IL 62558 Memo: Turkey OR Ukraine
Midwestmission.org / Tel. 217-483-7911
Baja Bridges, P.O. Box 14, Clarksburg, CA 95612
Bajabridges.org / Tel. 916-832-8965
About the Rotary Club of Springfield and their Springfield Rotary Foundation
The members of the Rotary Club of Springfield are an active, diverse group of individuals with a common interest in making the community and the world a better place for everyone.
About Baja Bridges https://www.bajabridges.org/
Baja Bridges is a network of volunteers who provide equipment and supplies for EMTs and firefighters and other assistance for community services in Baja, Mexico. Baja Bridges builds community connections across the border and supplies the necessary tools for these dedicated individuals to perform their jobs with safety and pride.
About Midwest Mission
The mission of the Midwest Mission is to bring the hearts and hands of God’s people together to transform resources into humanitarian aid, so we can show God’s love in a practical way to those in need in their time of crisis.
Around the world and around the corner, people are lacking simple resources that could improve their circumstances. That's why Midwest Mission sends tangible resources to make an intangible difference in their lives through hope and empowerment. In times of crisis internationally and in the United States, Midwest Mission sends Disaster Relief, Health, Education, and Micro Business supplies distributed freely through trusted partner nonprofits.
In 2022, Midwest Mission sent $7.99 million of humanitarian aid in 299 domestic and 48 international shipments.
If you want to learn more about what Midwest Mission does and how you can get involved, visit www.midwestmission.org or visit our Facebook at www.facebook.com/midwestmission.
At convention find breakouts tailored to you
Take away bold ideas about how to improve your club experience, your community, and the world from breakout sessions at the Rotary convention in Singapore.