Events

“If it Wasn’t for Rotary …

Join Norah Webster for stories, lessons, and laughs as she shares how Rotary has been shaping her friendships, values, and career for the past 30 years.

Norah Webster is a Certified Meeting Professional who graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, with a degree in art. After briefly working in arts administration in Denver, she found her way to Chicago and to a career in nonprofit event planning. She spent nearly 13 years working for Rotary International, based at the organization’s headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

Today, Norah works as a Program Manager for the Million Dollar Round Table in Park Ridge, Illinois, where she and her team help member volunteers create one-of-a-kind learning and networking experiences for the world's top insurance and financial services professionals.

Dani Munsch from Gougeon Brothers, Inc. will speak to the founding of the organization, their history in the community, what they do, and how they do it-- all in an effort to give our club more familiarity with this more than 50 year old family business in our community with an international reach.

John Hewko is the general secretary and chief executive officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.

From 2004 to 2009, Hewko was vice president for operations and compact development for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries. At MCC, he was the principal United States negotiator for foreign assistance agreements to 26 countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. During his tenure, he completed the negotiation of assistance agreements totaling $6.3 billion to 18 countries for infrastructure, agriculture, water and sanitation, health, and education projects.

Prior to joining MCC, Hewko was an international partner with the law firm Baker & McKenzie, specializing in international corporate transactions in emerging markets. He helped establish the firm’s Moscow office and was the managing partner of its offices in Kyiv and Prague.

While working in Ukraine in the early 1990s, Hewko assisted the working group that prepared the initial draft of the new Ukrainian post-Soviet constitution and was a charter member of the first Rotary club in Kyiv.

Hewko has been a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has published papers and articles in leading U.S. and international publications, and he has spoken extensively on political and business issues dealing with the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He is also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Hewko holds a law degree from Harvard University, a master’s in modern history from Oxford University (where he studied as a Marshall Scholar), and a bachelor’s in government and Soviet studies from Hamilton College in New York. 

As general secretary, Hewko leads a diverse staff of 800 at Rotary International’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and seven international offices. He and his partner, Marga, are major donors to the Foundation. They live in Evanston.

Follow @johnhewko on Twitter. Visit John Hewko on Facebook.

John Hewko is the general secretary of Rotary International. Today we will listen to his speech from the 2022 Rotary International Convention.

The bike ride will leave Mode's Tavern at 5:30. Dinner to follow at Mode's Tavern @ 7:00pm for those who wish to eat and not bike.

Library Outreach Program Working With Children
 

Hear from Carrie Strohkirch and Stacy Bothe!

No Rotary meeting due to the golf outing on the 19th!  

Join us at 409 First Street to hear from Avram Golden @ his new adventure in an old building. Lunch will be catered in.

CEO Tony Klapish from Renue Physical Therapy joins us to share news about this growing business.

District Polio Chair Chuck Cusick will update us on the current state of Rotary's effort to eradicate Polio.

Since January 2022, Jonathan has worked as a Major Gifts Officer for the Rotary Foundation. Hear him share stories of how our gifts to the Rotary Foundation impact the lives of people around the world.

Since January 2022, Jonathan has worked as a Major Gifts Officer for the Rotary Foundation. Hear him share stories of how our gifts to the Rotary Foundation impact the lives of people around the world.