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Announcements
Note: our January 25th meeting is being held at the Northern Indiana Education Foundation.
402 Franklin St, Michigan City, IN 46360
 
Our January 25th program is
Honoring Al WhitlowPaul Alinsky Award 
Honoring Al Whitlow
 
 
This year's Paul J. Alinsky Excellence Award will be presented posthumously to Councilman Al Whitlow, who passed away on November 19, 2017.
 
After his death, Al was described by The News-Dispatch as being “the epitome of a public servant.” He began working as an educator for Michigan City Area Schools in 1961. Over the next 30 years he served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and coach – including as the assistant for the state champion 1966 Red Devils basketball team.

He later spent 13 years working as executive director for the Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City. When he retired in 2014, Al successfully ran for an at-large seat on the Michigan City Common Council, serving until his death.
 
Al was also named Humanitarian of the Year by the Human Rights Commission in 2006.
 
His obituary states, “Allan was an invaluable presence to Michigan City, and his dedication, perseverance, passion, kindness and unpretentious attitude to everyone he encountered during his life will be missed by an endless amount of people.”
The Paul J. Alinsky Excellence Award is presented in honor of Paul Alinksy who was a past Chamber Chairman of the Board, Rotary Club President, and founder of Sentinel Alarm Company.  Paul passed away in 1997 and this award was created to keep his memory alive. The award is given annually to a person from the Michigan City community who exhibits dedication to community service and excellence, passion and innovation in their vocation/career.  These are the areas where Paul excelled.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is paying off Nigeria’s $76 million polio debt
As Nigeria’s battles on to become a polio-free country, Bill and Melinda Gates have taken an extraordinary step to give Africa’s largest economy a helping hand through their foundation.

The foundation will pay off a $76 million loan taken from Japan to aid the fight against polio. The loan was taken in 2014 and repayments were due to begin this year. A Gates Foundation spokesperson confirmed the loan repayment in an email to Quartz. Gates Foundation says it agreed to repay the loan after Nigeria met the condition of achieving more than 80% vaccination coverage in at least one round each year in very high risk areas across 80% of the country’s local government areas. The loan will be repaid over a period of 20 years.

The news comes as Nigeria counts down to becoming polio free and completing another year without the discovery of any new cases. No new cases were recorded in 2017. That’s a far cry from 2012 when Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.

But Nigeria has experienced previous false dawns in its fight to become polio-free. In Aug. 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the discovery of two cases in Nigeria’s troubled northeast. The timing of the find was heartbreaking as Nigeria was set to mark its second year without any polio cases and was close to confirming the eradication of the disease.
 
Number of polio cases in Nigeria:
At the time the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation said while it was “deeply concerned,” the overall progress which had been made encouraged it to continue working with several partners to eradicate the disease in Nigeria. That progress, particularly over the last decade, has seen the number of annual cases reduced from hundreds to tens. Since 2014, only 10 cases have been confirmed across Nigeria, according to WHO data.
 
While polio has no cure, it can be eradicated. Unlike several other diseases, the polio virus cannot live within an animal host and can only survive for two months outside the human body. As such, the key to ending the disease is consistent and widespread immunization. But the insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast continues to pose a major obstacle. Despite the progress made by Nigeria’s army, several parts of the region still cannot be accessed by health and immunization workers leaving some children at risk of the disease remain out of reach.

The Gates Foundation’s intervention is timely for Nigeria as its economy is only just beginning to recover from its first recession in more than two decades. Across the country, state governments have struggled to pay workers‘ salaries and the federal government is faced with shoring up the deficit of a $23.9 billion record budget in 2018 by borrowing externally.
Read more...
2018-19 presidential theme: Be the Inspiration
RI President-elect Barry Rassin laid out his vision for the future of the organization on Sunday, calling on leaders to work for a sustainable future and to inspire Rotarians and the community at large. A member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, Rassin unveiled the 2018-19 presidential theme, Be the Inspiration, to incoming district governors at Rotary’s International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA.
5 ways to inspire through vocational service
Vocational Service calls on us to empower others by using our unique skills and expertise to address community needs and help others discover new professional opportunities and interests. January is Rotary’s Vocational Service Month, a great time to leverage vocational service in our club projects and activities.

Here are five ways we can incorporate vocational service in our club activities:
 
 
  1. Host a club meeting at your work place and share about your profession; take time to learn about fellow members’ occupations.
  2. Use your skills and expertise to serve a community.
  3. Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your words and actions.
  4. Work with local businesses to create mentorship, internship, or practicum opportunities to help young people achieve their career goals.
  5. Guide and encourage others in their professional development.
 
Rotary has a new vision statement
In June, Rotary’s Board of Directors and Trustees approved a new vision statement for the organization:

Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
 
The new vision statement helps us set a future course so that Rotary can thrive in the years ahead. It reflects the impact Rotary aspires to have on the world and our members.

To get an unbiased perspective while we developed the vision statement, we worked with Grant Thornton, a consulting agency that specializes in planning and change management.

To help us in shaping the vision, Grant Thornton facilitated surveys, focus groups, and interviews with Rotarians, Rotaractors, Foundation partners, Rotary alumni, Rotarian Action Groups, and others. “It was critical that the vision be crafted from diverse feedback so that it could be understood and adopted by all,” says Stephanie A. Urchick, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee.

“We cannot thank our survey and focus groups enough. Your honest feedback was invaluable not only in capturing the true spirit, shared values, and priorities that make up the distinct character of Rotarians, but also in providing a rich foundation for the next phase of our work: building the strategic plan and priorities needed to bring our vision to life,” she said.

Rotary is developing a plan for implementing the new strategic plan this year.
Rotary, University of Chicago host peace series
Pathways to PeacePathways to Peace Series: Peace in the Age of Uncertainty
 
The 21st century has ushered in an era of rapid and at times incomprehensible change. Citizens in communities great and small are living in a near constant state of social, political, economic and cultural upheaval. Simply put, people no longer feel safe and secure in their lives. From crime on the streets of Chicago to human rights violations in Syria and unending war in Afghanistan, people are increasingly convinced that the world is falling apart. The reality is that in many ways, the world is healthier, more prosperous and more peaceful than at any time in history. Thus we face the paradox of a world that is both turbulent and tranquil at the same time. How do we calm the unrest, spread prosperity and show that the world can be, and in fact is, a better place to live?
 

Save the Date

Join us for the second and third installments of Pathways to Peace

February 1, 2018:
Peace in the Age of Big Data

April 10, 2018:
Sustaining the Long Peace

Questions?
Please contact harris-events@uchicago.edu.

Photo Albums
2017-11-30 Meeting
Speakers
Jan 25, 2018
Honoring Al Whitlow
Feb 01, 2018
Mike's Annual Market Presentation
Feb 15, 2018
Franciscan Health - Michigan City
Feb 22, 2018
Underwater Search and Rescue Divers
Mar 01, 2018
Photographer
View entire list
Duty Roster
Jan 25, 2018
 
Ticket Table
Welborne, Jim
 
Sergeant at Arms
Scott, Jim
 
Greeter & Invocation
Alevizos, Mandee
 
No students this week
 
Photographer
Smith DDS, Bruce
 
Feb 1, 2018
 
Ticket Table
Boy, Pat
 
Sergeant at Arms
Gertner, Bill
 
Greeter & Invocation
Bartsch, Johnny
 
Student Pickup - Marquette
Silcox, Sherri
 
Photographer
Smith DDS, Bruce
 

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