February
Anniversaries
Jeff Livengood
22 years
Brian Ford
13 years
Blake Lippi
9 years
Greg Ratliff
5 years
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My Fellow Members,
Time is fleeting, the end of our club year is rapidly approaching. Before you know it, we will be getting ready for another Marigold Festival. The one thing I want our club to accomplish before the end of the year is to add some new members to our membership roll. To that end, I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the social gathering this coming March. I am especially interested in meeting all of the new prospective members we are going to invite. The lifeblood of any organization is its membership and we have a top notch one at that. Even so, we need to continue to adding to our membership to keep the spirit alive and vibrant. See you at Mashies! Matthew Stropes Club President, Pekin Rotary Food for thought: I know the voices in my head aren't real.... but sometimes their ideas are just awesome.
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Each year the club honors someone in our community who has rendered outstanding service to the youth in the Pekin area.
The recipient, who is selected by a committee of non-Rotarians, must volunteer their time in service to youth and cannot be a member of the club.
 Club members Donna Sassman and Dennis Green present the Barney Maticka Memorial Award for Service to Youth to Karmen and Ryan Mayberry" January 2015
This year we recognized two recipients. Husband and wife Ryan and Karmen Mayberry.
Ryan:
6 years Coaching Boys and Girls Club
1 Summer helping coach AYBT Boys basketball team
4 years Coaching Union Mission Baseball
4 years Coaching Union Mission Softball - Karmen helped with paperwork
Ryan and Karmen
5 Years Coaching Pekin Lil Lettes Teams (10U-14U)
Starting in 2012 we were involved in the creation of Pekin Community Softball Association
Karmen continues as a Board Member
Ryan was an assistant Coach for 18U (2013) and Head Coach for 8U (2014).
Karmen does all of the scheduling with the Pekin Park District for all PCSA Teams games and practicing.
2007 they helped in starting a Precise Ice Booster Club for the Park's Ice Skating Team.
Karmen served as the President, Secretary and Treasurer over the years.
Currently Karmen serves as the Treasurer, helps with lights, decorations, set up and tear down for the Annual Ice Show.
Karmen has helped with the Dance Recitals with the students in the waiting areas.
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 The Pekin Pre-School Family Education Center (PFEC) "is an evolving community school dedicated to the education of children and families through quality instruction, active partnerships, and community involvement." These pre-school children often come from homes with limited means. PFEC encourages increased parental involvement including GED training for parents and the social/emotional development of children.
Supported exclusively by grants and outside financial assistance the school is subjected to the limitations of that funding.
In 2012 The Pekin Rotary Club recognized the unmet need and stepped up. Since then, every dollar raised in the Silent Auction at the Annual Installation Banquet goes to PFEC. Our support alone allows for professional counseling which can identify early development problems in pre-school children.
Quality in early childhood programs is, in a large part, the function of the interactions that take place between the adults and children in the program. These interactions form the basis for the relationships that are established between parents, teachers, and the children in the classroom or home and are related to children's developmental status. Close relationships with adults who provide consistent nurturance strengthen children's capacity to learn. The Preschool Family Education Center is grateful for the Rotary's continuous support.
Jan Ostermann
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Speakers Chair
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February 4 - Len Ealey
The title of speech is "Traditional Chinese Culture and the Shen Yun Show":
Dr. Feng, from Bradley University, will present the traditional Chinese culture and the world-class classical Chinese dancing show - Shen Yun.
This presentation will be centered on the Chinese classical dance company, Shen Yun Performing Arts, and will explain how it uses the medium of dance to display Chinese civilization and various aspects of Chinese culture. Specific topics include story-based dances and how they present great classics of Chinese literature (such as Journey to the West) and tales of ancient or modern heroism (like the story of Mulan). Another topic explored in this presentation is that of China's vast array of ethnic groups and how Shen Yun brings their traditional dances, forms of dress and music into the cultural awareness of the Western world.
February 11 - Jerry Tupper
Pastor Randy Atchley of Teen Challenge, Journey of Hope. Pastor Randy will talk about his journey that brought him to a place called Teen Challenge. He will talk about what the Peoria center is and the services that it provides the community.
February 18 - Dean Cooper
TBD
February 25 - Donna Sassman
Ken Johnson will be speaking about wood carving, both realistic and stylistic. Ken was born in Pekin and attended school in Pekin. He was the guidance director at Limestone for forty years. He has carved several life sized carousel animals and will bring some carvings with him.
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Gary Gillis aka Curly
This month's Rotary Spotlight falls on Gary Gillis, a member who
exemplifies his dedication to Rotary with thirty and one half years of perfect
attendance. Gary was born in Chicago, grew up in Arlington Heights and
attended Barrington High School where he arranged his schedule so he could work in a shoe store from noon to 6:00 p.m. six days a week. He is very proud of the fact that he has worked since he was 16 years old.
A little-known fact about Gary is that he served as a goalie on his high school prep league ice hockey team.
He graduated from Illinois State University with majors in Business Administration and History. While there, he served as a resident assistant and a teaching assistant in the history department. Gary met his wife, Becky, while attending I.S.U. They married after their junior year and lived in married-student apartments while finishing their education. After graduation from college in Dec., 1976, he began working in sales for the Hormel Company. He trained in Milwaukee then transferred to Kansas City for nine months before moving on to Springfield, Missouri where he covered three states from home. His introduction with Edward D. Jones Company began when he met an employee of the firm at church. Gary signed on with the firm and planned to open an office in Batesville, Arkansas but someone chose it first, so he chose Pekin, his wife's hometown. Gary and Becky returned to Pekin in February, 1979 to open the company's first office in town. He recalls in those early days he knocked on a thousand doors looking for business. Many of them were in rural communities.
He is proud of the fact that he is a limited partner with the firm. He is one of five financial advisors, out of fourteen thousand in the company, who serve on the C.E.O.'s Kitchen Cabinet. Representing his company on Capitol Hill as part of a Grass Roots Task Force was a
memorable opportunity in his career. He ranks within the top fifty in seniority within the firm. Gary noted there are not many financial advisors in the business who can say they met the founder of the company, as he has. At this point in his career he is motivated to give back and makes it his mission to mentor many of the younger Edward Jones financial advisors.
He has shared his interest and skills with his adopted home town by serving in many different capacities. Gary has been elected to the Pekin Park District Board for twenty-two years where he chaired the 100th anniversary of the Park District in 2002 and the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Mineral Springs Pavilion in 2005. He was the idea man behind the formation of the Pekin Park Foundation and the creation of the pergola as an addition to the Mineral Springs Park. His creative writing abilities may be witnessed in many places. Some of the most notable are the clues he prepares for the Marigold Medallion Hunt. He has served on the Marigold Committee for thirty three years and as its clue meister for twenty seven years. The enjoyment Pekin residents receive from reading his clues and attempting to follow his line of thinking is
testimony to the popularity this event has enjoyed over almost three decades.
His hobbies include cycling, working out at Parkside Athletics and kayaking at their lake house on Spring Lake. He enjoys reading, with a special interest in history and biographies. His personal dedication is displayed again by the fact that he has read at least 50 books per year for the last 10 years. He has a real passion for learning and says there is so much to learn. Travel has also been a part of his life as he and his wife have enjoyed their trips to Hawaii, totaling 23 and counting.
The Pekin Rotary Club is fortunate to have,as one of its members, an individual with the sense of dedication Gary has displayed throughout his life. After joining the club in 1979 he served as President in 1987-88 and went on to fill the position of District Governor's Rep in 1990-91. For his service to Rotary in the Pekin Rotary Club, Gary has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow. His passion for the club continues in his service as coordinator of the Paul Harris Fellow selection committee where he also announces the honorees at the Installation Banquet. The popular silent auction fund-raiser held at the banquet would not exist without the
leadership of Gary and his wife Becky in partnership with Dean and Linda Cooper.
Speaking of Rotary, he says, "It is special to be part of something bigger than ourselves." He is proud to be a member of one of the most respected humanitarian organizations in the world. Besides Rotary's world-wide
reach, Gary appreciates the work that the local club does in seeking out and filling needs in the community. According to Gary, membership in Rotary has provided him the opportunity for fellowship, where he has created some life-long friendships. He says, "Some of the people I admire most in this world sit in this room every Wednesday." "Curly" as he is known by his good buddy, serves as the Ying to Dean Cooper's Yang, making our Wednesday meetings fun for all.
His question for us is, "If not Rotary, Who?" "If Rotary, then You."
Dennis Green
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