Installation Dinner
It was a beautiful June evening as the Arlington Heights Rotary Club gathered together for its annual Installation Dinner gala event. This year, since our new President, Bill Hoff, was traveling to the Rotary International Conference, the Installation Dinner was held on the evening of the third Thursday rather than the last Friday in June. With the change in schedule, attendance was lighter than past Installation Dinners, but everyone who attended enjoyed a wonderful evening of chilled drinks, good food, great music and dancing and most important, the fellowship of our Rotary Club.
Outgoing President Ron Crawford began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Four Way Test while Jon Ridler provided the invocation. Ron then reviewed the accomplishments of our Club for the Rotary year 2008-09. We had the successful continuation of most of our regular projects like the Annual Turkey Dinner project, the Holiday Giving project and Immunization Clinics as well as a new Rotary Reads project. We continued to support our local community with George Harris Book Scholarships, The Calderwood Officer of the Year Award, a donation to the Drive To Revive Memorial Park. along with several other donations to local organizations. On the International front, Wendy Davis made a trip to Africa to get a review the progress of the micro-credit lending program she initiated the previous year and to try to set up a new school project in the Ivory Coast. Wendy also traveled to Guatemala with Linda Borton and Ron Crawford for another schools and water project there. Ron also talked about the Santa Fun Run which was a huge success and a tremendous addition to our Club's fund raising efforts. The Annual 10K Raffle was also a great success in spite of not quite meeting our goal of selling four hundred tickets. The Club added some new fun things to do at the Raffle like a Bingo game that helped raise funds for another Shelter Box and a Margarita Bar which also help raise funds for the Club.
Ron then Introduced Kris Stabler so she could present the Paul Harris awards. This year was somewhat unique in that an anonymous Rotarian offered matching funds for Paul Harris awards earlier this spring. This significantly increased the number of Paul Harris recipients for this year. The following individuals received Paul Harris awards:
| Recipient | Member Sponsor |
|---|
| Ken Alger |
| Linda Borton |
| Ron Crawford |
| Wendy Davis |
| Bill Kmiecik |
| Nancy Hoff | Bill Hoff |
| Janet Jensen | Lynn Jensen |
| Diane Crawford | Ron Crawford |
| Tim Bertucci | Jim Bertucci |
| Lisa Anderson | Mike Silverman |
| Dylan Thomas Stabler | Kris Stabler |
| Kim Stabler | Kris Stabler |
| Kari Evensen | Robert Paddock |
| Egil Evensen | Robert Paddock |
| Kristine Stabler | Robert Paddock |
| Peggy Connors-Sheridan | Robert Paddock |
| Judith McHenry Webster | Robert Paddock |
| Jon Ridler | Anonymous Donor |
| Tim Corrigan | Anonymous Donor |
| Mike Field | Anonymous Donor |
Next on the agenda was The Rotarian of the Year Award which was jointly awarded to Wendy Davis for her outstanding commitment to our International Projects and Bill Kmiecik for his terrific efforts in organizing and running a very success First Annual Santa Fun Run. Then Bob Blaseck was recognized for his years of Perfect Attendance. Walter Wollnik, District Assistant Governor, gave a brief overview of some of the District 6440 goals including the District's focus on membership. During this economic downturn, our District would like each Club to maintain 80% membership retention through the next year.
Mr. Wolnik then inducted Bill Hoff as our new Club President. Bill's first act as Club President was to present a plaque to Immediate Past President Ron Crawford for all his hard work and dedication as the Club's President for the 2008-09 Rotary Year. The Club also showed its appreciation for Ron's tenure as President with a standing ovation. Bill then called to the stage the Rotary Club Board members for the 2009-10 Rotary Year and inducted them in unison into their various positions on the Board. Bill then closed with some remarks regarding his plans for the coming year.
Everyone in attendance then enjoyed a fine meal with soothing background music. After dinner, as dessert was being served, Kris Stabler lead us all in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of the evening being Bill Hoff's actual birthday! After dessert, the remainder of the evening was spent in fellowship with lots of delightful dancing and cheerful conversation.
