MORRIS ROTARY SPONSORS FOOD PANTRY DISTRIBUTION

The Morris Rotary Club members are sponsoring a Food PAntry distribution through We Care this year in the spring.  Many members have contributed toward the $600 dollars to reserve the semi-trailer truck of food for the Distribution.  Recently Arthur Hornsby completed the amount needed by donating the remaining $80.  Thank you Arthur and congratulations to the members for these donations.  After the food truck is scheduled, members will be signed up to help with the distribution of food.

Bell Ringing for Salvation Army & We CARE

Upper L: Dave Trotter with Interactor greeting a customer; Upper R Art Gore, Interactor, & Jim Wright inside Walgreen's; left is Chuck Johnson at Jewels & at right is Interactor, Dave Trotter & John Zappia in front of Walgreens.

Morris Rotary members rang the Bell and manned the red buckets for the Salvation Army and We Care on Monday, Dec 3rd.  Teams were located at Walgreen's Drug Store and Jewel Food Store at the intersection of Division Street and Bedford Road.

The one-hour time periods were from 5 - 8 p.m. at both locations.  Some of the members that participated include Glenn Bates, Art Gore, Chuck Johnson, Bob Trotter, Dave Trotter, Jim Wright and John Zappia.  A Morris High School Interactor also helped out at Walgreen's from 5 - 7 p.m.

Most of the volunteers weathered the cold - it was 27 to 28 degrees most of the time we were there.  Art Gore and Jim Wright obtained permission to move the red bucket inside at 7 o'clock for their shift at Walgreen's.

Morris Rotary Members Lite Luminaries

Morris Rotary members helped with the luminariess during the Home for the Holidays home tours the day after Thanksgiving.  President Andrea announced that Bob Trotter, Art Hornsby, Alan Ferrari, Steve Roth, Don Brown and she picked up, distributed and lit up the luminaries for the annual House Walk, which took place November 24th weekend.

                Morris Rotary Distributes Dictionaries

      Morris Rotary President, Andrea Buckman reported that Morris Rotary club members distributed about 280 dictionaries to area third graders recently.  Rotarians passing out dictionaries included Andrea, Donna Guinn, Glen Bates, Dave Trotter, Alan Ferrari & Rich Mitchell.        
     Starting on November 5, the members went to White Oak Elementary, Nettle Creek, Saratoga Grade School, Immaculate Conception school and Morris Christian School. 
     The dictionaries are a paperback version and includes a sticker on the inside cover that indicates the dictionaries are donated by the Rotary Club of Morris.  This is the third year of this annual program.

Cruise Night in Morris

    Morris Cruise Night netted over $2000 for the charity fund.  All the members who helped at the Morris Cruise Night will receive credit for a make-up (for attendance only). Those that helped (19 members) include Glenn Bates, Mark Blackwell, Julie Buck, Andrea Buckman, Alan Ferrari, Charlie Gibbs, Art Gore, Donna Guinn, Art Hornsby, Chuck Johnson, Lon Lovellette, Donna Matteson, Al Pilch, Jim Ringer, Steve Roth, Tom Talarico, Bob Trotter, Dave Trotter, and Jim Wright. 

    Thanks also to Interact members, member spouses and children that also lent a hand.

    Morris Rotary Club was responsible for selling the 50/50 Raffle tickets, organizing and staffing the food concession stand located at the corner of Libery and North Streets. 

   Steve Roth coordinated the food concessions and Chuck Johnson and Art Hornsby co-chaired the 50/50 raffle.

Caring Effort

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 2:36 PM CST

Over 110 families received food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank Mobile Food pantry from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 6 in the parking lot of We Care of Grundy County. With over 10,000 pounds of food to distribute, each household received approximately 100 pounds of food.

The food items ranged in variety from frozen meat and entrees to fresh bread and bakery items and included an array of cleaning products. More than 15 volunteers came to assist with the distribution, including volunteers from Morris Rotary Club, the First United Methodist Church and many who showed up to help because they heard of the need.

This is the first of five such distributions We Care of Grundy County is sponsoring in various locations over the next few months. The next mobile food pantry will take place in Gardner from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on March 20 at the Gardner Fire Station on Center Street.

These distributions are open to anyone who needs help with food and lives in Grundy County. Those interested should bring a container, such as a laundry basket, in which to carry their food items.

If you are willing to volunteer to help with the distribution, please call the We Care office at 815-942-6389. Future distributions are planned for Mazon and Coal City in April. Exact dates and locations will be announced soon.

Reference:  Article Appeared in the Morris Herald Daily News, PAge 6A, Wednesday, March 7, 2007

---

More than 15 volunteers participated, including members from the Rotary Club of Morris.  Those that helped distribute the food from Morris Rotary included Julie Buck, Alan Ferrari, Charlie Gibbs, Chuck Johnson, Ann Wright, and prospective member Donna Guinn. 

Don Mahler, member and manager of Walgreen’s in Morris provided the use of their shopping carts.  Julie Buck, our Community Service chairperson, was instrumental in bringing out the members to help with this effort.

YE STUDENTS AT MORRIS ROTARY

The July 17th meeting was the last night for Laura Espinel to attend the Rotary Meetings as she is going home to Columbia Friday Morning, July 20th.  It is hard to believe her year with us is over.  She will leave from O'Hara at 10:00 a.m.  She will be missed.

Elisa Cruz is visiting for a month in the U.S.  She is staying with the Comforts who were her host family in 03-04.  She will return home to Brazil August 9th.  Elisa was our Youth Exchange student from 2003-2004; Chuck Johnson's year as District Governor.

Eliza Cruz Updates Members

Eliza Cruz was at the Tuesday Meeting (July 10) and provided members with an update on her life since going back to Brazil.  Eliza is in her third year of Law School and has a job at a court house in her home town.  She is a member of Rotaract and is in the Chicago area visiting old friends and attending some Rotary activities.  She will be in theUnited States until August 10.  She provided each member with a small bag of Brazilian sweets.

Morris Rotary's Past President Jim Ringer Installed the First Woman President

See the June 26th Rotamorr for more on the story.

---

Morris Council moves towards creating linear park

By Michael Farrell, Herald Reporter

Morris aldermen Monday night took a step toward creating a linear park, extending from Liberty Street to Armstrong Street past the former railroad depot.

During the city council meeting, Julie Buck of the Morris Community Foundation told the aldermen the foundation was donating the land to the city.

The Morris Rotary Club, as a civic project, will then develop the land as a passive linear park, to be completed in 2015, the club's centennial.

Buck explained that, in 2000, the foundation purchased the Rock Island Depot and surrounding property. The depot was refurbished and ultimately sold to the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The area south of the depot and chamber parking will now be developed as a park.

Buck, who is also a member of the Morris Rotary, said plans for the park have not been finalized.  ...

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2007 Last modified: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

---

George Brown –Morris Rotarian – Passes Away

Article From Morris Daily Herald 6/7/2007    

Lt. Col. (Ret.) George H. Brown, Morris, is remembered today by his long-time friend, Elmo Ray Younger, as one of the most patriotic people he ever met.Brown, age 86, a former Grundy County Board member perhaps best known for portraying Chief Shabbona, died late Wednesday, June 6, 2007, after a long illness, County

Coroner John Callahan said.Arrangements are pending at the Fruland Funeral Home, Morris.  A World War II veteran, Brown was the 1998 recipient of Joliet Junior College's Distinguished Service Award for outstanding community service. He was a senior active member of Morris Rotary and a past president, serving in 1987-1988.

“He was my hero,” Younger said. “He served with distinction in the Pacific in WW II, and was a dedicated public servant. I worked with him at Erienna School about 12 years “His main purpose and object was the satisfaction he got from working with the students. I shall surely miss my hero, Col. George H. Brown, of the Disabled American Veterans.”