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The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on
23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional
club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary"
derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.
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Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs
were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six
continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.
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As recently as 1991, there was no service club in Lincolnshire, Illinois, one of Chicago’s
wealthiest suburbs! In that year, ground was broken when Rotarians Mimi Altman (District
6440’s first female District Governor) and Ted Joseph of the nearby Deerfield club initiated
talks with Lincolnshire businessman Tom Klym. With Jim King, Guy Lothian, Shirley Friedlander,
Bob Tepper, John Staub, Jim Dolan, and Herb Didier, enough members were gathered for provisional
club status. District Governor Russ Granzow presented an informational session, and the
Lincolnshire Morning Star group began holding meetings in a dark, upstairs corner room in
Lincolnshire’s Marriott Resort.
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Despite dire warnings that there would never be enough people to come to a 7:00 a.m. meeting
every week, the group quickly grew to 26 members, enough for a club charter. In 1992, District
Governor Dick Beals led the first meeting of the Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary Club. That
first year, the meeting place was changed to Walker Brothers Restaurant on Milwaukee Avenue
in Lincolnshire. Ever since, members have been able to look forward to fine food, splendid
hospitality, and great service every Thursday morning. Shirley Friedlander, Director of the
Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce in the early 1990s (and, in 2002, the first woman president
of the Lincolnshire Morning Star Club), remembers that right from the beginning the club was
characterized by fun, camaraderie, and a shared attitude of enjoying life together.
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Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary Club deserves distinction for its level of giving relative
to the size of the club. Robert Gremley recalls that this handful of people have sent tons
of medical equipment to Russia and have brought disadvantaged children from Poland here for
surgery through the Gift from the Heart program. One year the club bought a $22,000 thermal
imaging device for the Vernon Area Fire Department (now the Lincolnshire/Riverwoods Fire
Department) so that the firefighters can detect life in a burning building. "They’ve given
in energy and dollars, way out of proportion to the number of members," says John Lamb.
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Stan Roelker names the annual Herb Didier Memorial Golf Outing as, "Lincolnshire Morning Star’s
biggest fundraiser, and for that reason an important event in our history." Initiated in 1993,
the event was named for charter member Herb Didier, who died during the club’s first year.
It has grown from 12 golfers netting $200 to over 100 players, yielding close to $20,000 each
year. These funds have made an impact every year, staring with Augie Grundel’s spearheading of
a donation to the newly constructed Vernon Area Library in 1994. Eventually, $4,000 of golf
outing proceeds went to purchase books. In the most recent four years, the golf outing has
enabled Lincolnshire Morning Star to give $6,000 each year to two different agencies.
Recipients have included A Safe Place, The Riverside Foundation, Shore Community Services, CASA,
and Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Waukegan.
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As an aside, members recall that the Herb Didier Golf Outing has historical highlights of its
own. For the first few years, Jim King hosted a volunteers’ dinner at his home following the
outing. One year, he arrived with dozens of guests, only to realize he had forgotten to tell
his wife – and then he learned it was their wedding anniversary! Jim’s wife, Phyllis, laughed
and went along with it. Because of Lincolnshire Morning Star’s experience, the club was asked
to host the District golf outing in 1995. The event was a great success, with all proceeds
going to the District. When asked to estimate the number of volunteer hours needed to create
a successful golf outing, club members could not begin to quantify the enormous amount of labor
donated by Rotarians and friends.
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The golf outing is not the only fundraiser for this busy club. Over the years, member Cleo Filer
has organized several initiatives to assist local families in Vernon Township, providing transportation,
holiday gifts, and emergency aid. An early fundraising event fondly remembered by John Lamb was
the Valentine’s Day Theatre Outing/Brunch, especially enjoyable because many attendees stayed
overnight at the Marriott Resort. In 1994, the Theatre Outing fundraiser donated $1,600 to the
Joint Committee on Humanitarian Medical Aid. The funds provided medical equipment and supplies
to a hospital in Russian (now Ukraine).
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Because of its reputation for good work in the Lincolnshire area, a call from a Morning Star member
"opens the door," according to Bob Tepper. He goes on to say that, "Our members are extremely busy
professionals. They get involved and pull it off. We’re not a check writing club." "It’s that
spirit, of pulling together to make it happen, and having fun while we’re doing it, that’s one of
the reasons why we love our club," adds Shirley Friedlander.
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Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary Club is also known for its hospitality, according to Tom Klym, who
commends the way members meet and greet visitors. "They go away happy because of us – and the great
Walker Brothers breakfast!" The combination of hospitality and friendly fun attracts kindred spirits.
Many friends get involved in the club’s fundraising efforts. Support from Lincolnshire Mayor Barbara
LaPiana and Manny Patterson of W.W.Grainger has been crucial to the success of many events. Sue Hoth,
an honorary member of the Gurnee Rotary Club, worked as Tom Klym’s assistant and "right arm," helping
run the golf outing every year and compiling the club’s financial statements for over 10 years. Sue
passed away in 2004, so that last year was the first year the club had to run the golf outing without
her. "She was greatly missed," noted Alan Nerad.
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Dan Friedlander, Shirley’s husband and an honorary member of the club, helps with every event, manages
public relations, and is the club photographer. Many other spouses help also. John Staub’s wife Chris
managed the gift lists for Lincolnshire Morning Star’s six "adopted" families from Catholic Charities.
Family members also get in on the fun. On 4th of July, everyone including kids helps with the float
in the parade, and afterwards, says Bob Tepper, "We all go to a party at Jim Dolan’s or Augie’s."
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Youth Exchange students sponsored by Lincolnshire Morning Star have greatly enriched members’ lives.
From Lorelei Heylinger, who came from Italy for 2004-05, the club learned about violin making and saw
how the arts curriculum at Stevenson High School could inspire a young photographer to follow in her
grandfather’s footsteps. Knot Likitkumchorn, here in 2005-06 from Thailand, has involved everyone
in the development of an athlete and taught members a great deal about competition tennis.
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"The Lincolnshire Rotary Club is a chance to meet wonderful people, have fun, try – no, not try, but
DO some good, and have fun while doing it," according to John Lamb.
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PRESIDENTS OF THE LINCOLNSHIRE MORNING STAR ROTARY CLUB
| 1992 | Tom Klym |
| 1993 | Milt Pfetzer |
| 1994 | Bob Tepper |
| 1995 | Jim King |
| 1996/7 | Guy Lothian |
| 1997/8 | Greg Koehlinger |
| 1999 | Bob Gremley |
| 2000 | Tadashi Enami |
| 2001 | Peter Chamy |
| 2002 | Shirley Friedlander |
| 2003 | Vic Fernitz |
| 2004 | John Staub |
| 2005 | Jim Dolan |
| 2006 | Gaylord Fill |
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