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MacKenzie is active in Student Council where she serves as President. She coordinates Spirit events for the sports teams. She loves to dance. MacKenzie is very active in her church and she just finished a 5 week mission trip to China this summer where she taught English and other classes. Her future plans are to attend either Moody Bible Institute or a school that will allow her to blend her love for people and cultural studies.

Ethan is the son of Kevin and Jennifer Medenblik. He loves sports and he has played baseball and basketball at MHS. He also helps umpire Little League games at the sports complex. Ethan plans to attend MIT this fall majoring in Network Administration.

Morrison Rotary donates books to 1st grade students

Morrison Rotary Club Literacy Committee Chair Ellen Smith submitted these photos of one class which is receiving free books throughout the 2018-2019 school year. Parent donations supported the program, Smith noted.

Northside School children received their October installment of free, monthly books, provided by Morrison Rotary Club. Increasing literacy is an important goal of the organization. Below are children in Karen Mayberry's class.

Morrison Rotary Hosts Exchange Student

Kolten Conklen was our speaker today. Kolten traveled to South Korea through the Rotary Long Term Youth Exchange program. He spent the 2016-2017 school year there and was sponsored by the

Sterling Noon Rotary club. While in South Korea he stayed with three host families and learned a lot about their culture.In the photo Kolten’s jacket is covered in all sorts of pins and memorabilia that he collected throughout his visit. This is a tradition with all of the exchange students (inbound and outbound).

Kolten is currently attending the University of Illinois studying International Studies and Business. He will return to South Korea next Spring on a study abroad.

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Morrison Rotary honors new Paul Harris Fellows

Today Donald Jevne received his Paul Harris Fellow (pin and certificate) from President Ron Coplan. Kevin

Schisler received his Paul Harris +1 recognition pin. A Rotarian receives the Paul Harris Fellow after donating at certain levels to the Rotary Foundation.

Congratulations Don and Kevin!

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Our club mourns the loss of Don Miller

The Morrison Rotary club members lost a wonderful member. Don Miller passed away on January 4th at the young age of 90. Don joined the Morrison Rotary club on September 13, 1967 making him a 52 year veteran! Don served his country in the armed forces and he was a long time school teacher in the Morrison Schools. I am proud to say that I was a teammate of Don's trivia team for several years which benefited the Friends of the Park. He was our song leader whenever we had a Rotarian birthday. He loved a good joke and he would laugh whenever he was fined for some trivial offense at our noon luncheons. He will be missed!

December 2018 Students of the Month

December 2018 Students of the Month

At the December 12 meeting the Morrison Rotary Club announced the Students of the Month. The honorees are Michelle Edwards and Jacob Schlegel.

Michelle is the daughter of Tom and Nancy Edwards. She was co-president of Key Club which provided her with numerous projects to serve her community by doing projects. She is a lifelong member of Morrison (18 years to be exact). She plans to attend Sauk Valley College to take classes that will steer her to a future of happiness.

Jacob is the son of Todd and Christine Schlegel. He was captain of the football team (until an ACL injury ended his career) and he also participated in basketball and track. He has served on Student Council and has volunteered in a few food drives. He works for Green and Clean. His future plans will take him to Upper Iowa, or Monmouth or Loras College to study business and to play football.

November 2018 Students of the Month

It's Teamwork That Gets the Job Done!

The final day of road cleanup was accomplished by this team of Rotarians! Great Job!

October 2018 Students of the Month

Students of the Month

Our October Students of the Month were Megan Muur and Steven Kramoski, both seniors at Morrison High School.

Megan Muur

Megan is the daughter of Todd and Pam Muur. She is currently captain of the cheer squad. She is also Vice President of Student Council. Next year she plans to attend Central College in Pella IA and major in Elementary Education.

Steven Kramoski

Steven is the son of Randy and Laura Kramoski. Steven is captain of the basketball team and he is also on the MHS baseball team. He is active in the B.L.I.N.D program. His plans next year are to attend St. Ambrose University and major in Exercise Science and then go on to attain a degree in Physical Therapy.

Rotaract Presentation

On October 17, Dr. Steve Nunez, Vice President of Academics and Student Services at Sauk Valley Community College and Lilian Maxfield, SVCC student and Morrison resident, enlightened our Rotary club with a presentation on Rotaract. Rotaract is a student club that is affiliated with Rotary Club International and local Rotary Clubs found in Dixon, Rock Falls, and Sterling. Rotaract is focused on: (1) "Service Above Self" and will conduct local service projects and at least one international fundraising event each year, (2) providing opportunities for students to grow their leadership skills, and (3) interacting with local Rotary Club members to develop a professional network with local business, government, and educational leaders from across our community. Lilian reported that donations through Rotary that were used to supply books to students at Northside School. Rotaract students went to the school and read those books to the children. She said it was very fulfilling.

Don Miller celebrates his 90th Birthday with his Rotary family

Don Miller celebrated his 90th Birthday with his Rotary family. We are honored to have Don in our club. He is a retired teacher and a military veteran. Thank you Louise Clark for arranging to have a birthday cake in Don's honor.

Morrison welcomes our District Governor Kathy Kwiat-Hess

Today our club welcomed Kathy Kwiat -Hess, our District Governor for 2018-2019. She gave us a brief biography, why she’s a Rotarian and explained our Rotary theme this year, “Be the Inspiration”. Thank you Kathy!

Harvest Hammer in 4 days!

Good morning. This is just a reminder that if you have not yet registered for the 31st Annual Harvest Hammer Duathlon in Morrison IL that the early registration discount expires at 5:00 PM CST on Thursday, September 13. After 5:00 the registration fees increase by $5.00. Take advantage of the discount and register today. We look forward to seeing everyone on what is shaping up to be a beautiful Saturday morning.

Sergeant Kris Schmidt addresses Rotarians

Sergeant Kris Schmidt of the Whiteside County Sheriffs office addressed the Morrison Rotary Club on Wednesday, September 5. His topic was school safety. Kris made a compelling argument for increasing protection for our kids while they are in school. Following his talk he answered questions from the Rotarians. Thank you again Kris for an eye opening presentation.

Morrison Rotary Club recognizes Dr. Brad Yaklich for a great year as president

The Morrison Rotary Club celebrated the transition of our outgoing president Dr. Brad Yaklich and the incoming president Mr. Ron Coplan. Dr. Yaklich presented Mr. Coplan a plaque to thank him for the decades he has served as our weekly newsletter publisher. Later, Ron presented Dr. Yaklich with a president pin to thank him for his year of service where we met the following goals:

A tree was planted in Morrison for each of our 40+ Rotarians.
Rotarians met our goal to donate $1,000 to Polio Plus to efforts to eradicate Polio worldwide.
Our goal to increase membership was met.
$5,000 was donated to area students in scholarships to attend area colleges and technical schools.

Rotarians and their spouses celebrated a successful year with a dinner at Happy Joes. If anyone would like information to join this wonderful organization you can go to our website www.morrisonrotary.org or contact any of our Rotary club members.

Morrison Rotary welcomes new member Dr. David Yeager

President Dr. Brad Yaklich welcomed new member, Dr. David Yeager, to the Morrison Rotary Club. Dr. Yeager is a new Surgical Foot and Ankle Doctor/Podiatrist at Morrison Community Hospital. He requested a transfer from the Dixon Rotary Club to the Morrison Club. Dr. Yeager is pictured here receiving a Rotary pin from his sponsor, Mick Welding. Congratulations Dr. Yeager and welcome aboard!

Morrison Rotary recognizes Phil Renkes for his years of service as Foundation Director

Dr. Brad Yaklich presented a plaque to Phil Renkes to honor him for the 30 plus years he served as our Foundation Director. Phil noted that the Morrison Rotary Club members have donated in excess of $550,000 to the Paul Harris Foundation. The funds raised in this foundation provides;

Vocational training for teachers establishing an early childhood education center in South Africa
Water filters, toilets, and hygiene training to prevent fluorosis, diarrhea, and other diseases in India
A scholarship for a medical professional in Italy to research treatments that minimize mortality rates among premature babies
Peace-building seminars for 200 teachers and 1,300 students in Uganda
Treated mosquito nets and medical services that prevent malaria in Mali

Thank you again Phil for your dedication to our club.

Rotarians enjoy annual night at the Lumberkings

Morrison Rotarians, spouses and guests were treated to a night with perfect weather, great food, enlightening company and a great come-from-behind 10th inning win by the Lumberkings. Pictured here are Rotarians Tanner and Suellen Girard and Rotarian Gary Steinert and wife Betty. Thank you to John Prange (JP) who coordinated a wonderful social evening.

June 6 Program features MCH CEO Pam Pfister

MCH CEO Pam Pfister was the feature speaker at the Morrison Rotary Club June 6 meeting. Pam enlightened the group on the latest plans for the $18,000,000 expansion slated to break ground later this summer. She indicated the project is being funded by a USDA loan at a rate of 3.60% for 40 years. Pam noted that the expansion includes 8 new Med/Surg rooms on the 2nd floor, 5 new Emergency Room bays, a new Operating Room to accommodate Orthopedic Surgery, a canopy for the ambulance to safely unload patients and a renovated and relocated Laboratory and Physical Therapy department. This expansion has already created some additional jobs and will continue to add more positions as the project progresses.

Bicycle Helmet Distribution

The Morrison Rotary partnered with the Morrison Friends of the Park Foundation to donate new bicycle helmets to every 3rd and 4th grade student at Southside school in Morrison. Proceeds from the Harvest Hammer are used to purchase a helmet for these kids. Each helmet has a Morrison Rotary sticker affixed to the front. Assisting with the stickers and the distribution were Rotarians Kathy Schmidt, Merle Reisenbigler, Mick Welding, Ellen Smith and Dr. Brad Yacklich (not pictured). As an added incentive, Ellen also partners with the Morrison Police Department to provide free Dairy Queen ice cream stickers if the police patrolmen see a child wearing these helmets.

Morrison High School Scholarship awards

The Morrison Rotary Club awarded scholarships to Morrison High School Seniors at their awards night on May 8. Presenting the awards to the students was Kevin Schisler. The winners were: (right to left)

Sauk Valley Community College Scholarship – Gillian Larson

MIT Scholarship – Grant Slater

Vo/Tech – Jack Ottosen Agricultural Scholarship – Derek Bush

Rotary Good Citizen Award – Kaleb McCoy

Rotary All Around Achievement Award – Female –Madison Steines

Rotary All Around Achievement Award – Male – Isaac Damhoff

Congratulations to all of these students!

Membership Drive event

The Morrison Rotary Club held a membership drive in conjunction with the Morrison Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, April 19 at Loft 112. Over 50 members of the community enjoyed food provided by the Morrison Hospital and beverages provided by Rotary. Meredith Layne from the Chamber thanked everyone for coming and then Rotary President Brad Yacklich briefly discussed projects that Rotarians have completed in the community and worldwide. Any member of the community can get information on a membership with Rotary by contacting our membership chair, Mark Schuler at 815-772-2196.

Ellen Smith receives District award

At our District conference last week, the Morrison club was recognized for outstanding achievement in Literacy for 2018 as well as Sustained achievement in Literacy. Ellen Smith, our Literacy chairperson is pictured accepting both awards. Great job!

Rotary Road Clean up Crew

Members of the Morrison Rotary club just barely beat the rain on May 2 as they conducted their first road cleanup of the year. Rotarians uphold the motto “Service above Self” by providing a variety of services for our city. Those members who braved the weather are pictured (l-r) kneeling- Mike Blean, Back row: Jim Camp, Don Jevne, Mark Schuler, Dr. John Tomasino, Mike Gunderson, John Prange, Mick Welding and Dan Vandermyde. Merle Reisenbigler serves as our transportation and disposal director.

February 2018 Students of the Month

The Morrison Rotary Club is proud to announce the February 2018 Students of the Month are Avary Bielema and Grant Slater.

Avary is the daughter of Cory and Jennifer Bielema. She was a member of Student Council all 4 years of high school. She was recently captain of the MHS Pons Team that won the IDTA State competition. She also qualified for the IHSA State Competitive Dance competition. She was a member of Key Club and she enjoyed trick or treat for UNICEF and she also collected canned goods to donate to food drives. She loves to dance at Jennifer’s Dance Center and also work at Sterling Federal Bank as a teller. She plans to major in Physical Therapy at Bradley University.

Grant is the son of Tom and Faith Slater. He was captain of the football team and he also participated in basketball and track. In addition he was a member of the Key club and National Honor Society and FFA. He loves to work with youth at his church and volunteer at events. Grant plans to attend Morrison Tech to major in Mechanical Engineering and then transfer to a 4 year college to get a bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering.