Whenever Wednesday rolls around, you can count on finding members of the Rotary Club of Naperville/Downtown preparing to assemble at 4:44PM for their weekly meeting in one of the community rooms at Hugo’s Frog Bar. Members and guests typically begin arriving about 4:30PM for the one-hour meeting that includes fellowship, light refreshments and wine or soft drinks.
Their Rotary ritual begins with the Pledge of Allegiance, the club song “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” an inspirational thought for the day and an amusing un-thought for the day.
The 22-member club is engaged in knowing about its members and learning from each other. Laughter is at the heart of the downtown organization that recognizes “Service Above Self” as its motto and takes pride that 100 percent of its members are Paul Harris Fellows and sustaining members of the Rotary Foundation.
Enlightening programs are the hallmark of Rotary Club meetings throughout the world, providing members with opportunities to learn about timely topics from guest speakers that they otherwise might not encounter live and up close on a regular basis.
For instance, in late April Rotarian Tony Chirico introduced his brother, Naperville City Councilman Steve Chirico, as the featured speaker. Steve Chirico, owner of Great Western Flooring, addressed Rotary Downtown with a detailed and educational account about the solar system with 644 solar panels he’d installed last July on his Great Western Flooring warehouse in Naperville. Over a period of about five months, his company successfully completed one of the largest rooftop-mounted solar systems in Illinois. He’ll be invited back to provide a progress report on his “green story,” to be sure.
Every quarter or so, Rotary/Downtown takes one of its weekly meetings to regroup and assess its strategic plan without a guest speaker as was the case when President Kenn Miller called a club assembly on May 1.
During the meeting, President-Elect Neal Cerne, a DuPage County Associate Judge, was wearing a patriotic tie emblazoned with American flags, his reminder that May Day also is Law Day.
While discussing future coffee blends for a fundraising plan, growing and retaining membership as well as grant opportunities for the club’s scholarship awards at College of DuPage and Waubonsee Community College, members also were drawn to Cerne’s tie that was followed by a little history about Law Day.
First proclaimed on May 1, 1958, by President Dwight Eisenhower, Law Day is dedicated to honoring the role of law in the creation of the United States of America with the Preamble to the Constitution, “We the people.”
Going forward, speakers lined up for the month of May include Deb Rickert, founder and president of Operation Support Our Troops-America, May 8; Tom Gruenwald, May 15; Cynthia Ciekiewicz, owner of the Uptown Soda Bread Co., May 22; and Mayor A. George Pradel, May 29.
Hugo’s is located in the Main Street Promenade on Van Buren Ave. in downtown Naperville. To find Downtown Rotary meetings, held most Wednesdays unless a holiday conflicts, simply look for the yellow A-frame sign with the big blue Rotary wheel and an arrow that will direct you. Guests are always welcome. The first visit is compliments of Rotary. Afterward, a guest fee applies.
For more information, find Rotary Club of Naperville Downtown on Facebook or visit www. rcndowntown.com.
Rotary Club of Naperville Golf Outing / Aug. 19
The Rotary Club of Naperville Downtown is one of four Rotary clubs in Naperville. On Mon., Aug. 19, the four Rotary Clubs of Naperville will host together a golf outing at Springbrook Golf Course. A dinner will follow at Meson Sabika. The Rotary Golf Outing is a member-guest event.
