It has been a very busy three months for our club.  April saw the first recruiting drive in years; May brought our Annual Scholastic Dinner; and on June 24th we'll again experience our Installation Banquet and Silent Auction.  Thank you to the tireless efforts of many who have made- and are making- those events a success.

While they are among our larger committments, we continue to persue club adjustments, both big and small.

Among these:

-We are looking at rebranding our Pork Chop Fry.  What we present to the public will not change- what we call it will.

Our focus will be a bit different as well.  Duties will be better understood.  Sign-Ups will be easier and simpler to track.

We're striving for a better look- and updated version.  More discussion on this at our Club Assembly on July 1st.

-With new members comes a need to rethink their orientation into the club.  We are currently identifying the best way to do so with a new orientation program.

-Besides better communications within the club, we are striving to do so within the community through our website and Facebook.  We will begin promoting our club by listing our weekly program in the Peoria Journal Star.

-We are looking at instituting a "Good News" or "Happy Bucks" effort.  Members will be invited to come forward at each meeting to share anything good happening in their life or that of others in their family.  They'll be given the floor for one minute and it will cost one dollar.  It will help us get to know each other a bit better, and raise funds to help the club do more.

-We are looking at the concept of "Micro Projects" whereby individual members with similar interests can join together for their own common effort.  If it attracts broader club interest, it will be a proven project that the club could consider adopting as a Pekin Rotary Club Project.

Finally, pleae join me in welcoming two new members into our club.  Shelly Heavrin comes to us from Heartland Bank and was sponsored by Paul Scherer.  Drew Eilts is an Edward Jones Financial Advisor and was sponsored by myself.

They both look forward to a long Pekin Rotary Club tenure and the opportunity to serve.

Don't forget to sign-up for your Silent Auction item and select your dinner item for the banquet.  Thank you to Sue Woodruff for all her behind the scenes efforts to make this year's banquet a special one.

Gary Gillis 

Join me in welcoming two new members...

Shelly Heavrin-  comes to us from Heartland Bank where she manages the two Pekin offices and the one in Delavan.  She will be with the bank 2 years in October.  Prior to that, she worked at CEFCU for 18 1/2 years and brings a diversity of experience to her current position.

Born and raised in Galesburg, she attended ICC and Carl Sandburg College.  She and her family have lived in Morton for 23 years.  Rotary was her choice to fulfill her desire to give back to the community and selected our club over others.  Paul Scherer was both her sponsor- and example- of what it means to be a Rotarian.  She is anxious to learn more about what our club does and the impact we have.  She especially pointed out our Mobile Diner.  "I didn't know that someone did that", she shared with me.

In her free time, Shelly loves to travel, loves any activity on the water, and confesses to once making jewelry.  Maybe we can talk her into donating something of her own design for our Silent Auction. 

Welcome Shelly, and thank you Paul for your sponsorship.

Drew Eilts- has been a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones for almost 11 years.  Hired right out of college, he started his career in Dunlap and then came to Pekin when we had an opening at our Parkway office.  Since then he has grown his business and is now a limited partner with the firm and has leadership responsibilities as well.

A product of Ottawa, IL, Drew graduated from the U of I with a degree in Economics.  An avid Illini fan, he can tell you many stories of witnessing Dean Cooper in action at many school athletic events.  He and his wife Jamie, have 2.5 kids (with one due in September) and reside in Germantown Hills.  Drew happens to be one of two White Sox fans that I know exist- he and President Obama.

Like others, Drew felt now was the time to get actively involved in a community that has been the foundation of his success.  He is a friend of yours truly who I know will be an asset to our club.

We are happy to have you both join us as Pekin Rotarians making a difference.

Gary Gillis