A packed Monday meeting! Lots of Rotarians and lots of great information. Today we welcomed Jeff Blair from the Indiana Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States, dedicated in 1913. It winds its way over 3,000 miles between New York City and San Francisco. The Lincoln Highway Association, originally created to promote the highway and good roads in general, is now dedicated to preserving and celebrating this important part of American history.
Learn more by visiting: https://lincolnhighwayassoc.org/ including information about the Association's June 23-29, 2024 Conference held in Elkhart. The Association will hold a kickoff social event at Wellfield Botanic Gardens the evening of Monday, June 24.
Jeff Blair grew up in Goshen in the 60s, of course considered Elkhart his major enemy in several sports, graduated college in Indiana in the early 70s and went to work in the medical products industry. He spent 45 years in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility and in a variety of places across the country but always considered Elkhart County “home”. About 15 years ago Jeff and his wife Carol moved to Lake Tippecanoe and found their way into the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association, a not-for-profit group dedicated to preserving the history of the first paved road across America and its impact on northern Indiana. He has served as its president for the last 8 years. Jeff and Carol have recently relocated to the Indianapolis area. The association is hosting the annual national conference of the Lincoln Highway Association from June 23 to 28, next year at the Hotel Elkhart.
Jeff gave a great resource if you want to check it out, including a video about the history of the Lincoln Highway: https://after-ike.com/
Club Historian Shan White provided some great insight on the involvement of the budding Elkhart Rotary Club in the time leading up to its founding in August of 1917. A small group of those planning the establishment of the Rotary Club in Elkhart were tasked with helping to plan the route of the Lincoln Highway through Elkhart. And through a donation of land along what we call Highway 33 (also the Lincoln Highway), the highway was routed through Elkhart, Indiana!
Important Club information for Club Treasurer, Jim Story.
- A friendly reminder to those who have not yet paid this quarter’s invoice to remit payment soon. Invoice reminders were emailed recently to those with outstanding balances so please check your Junk/Spam folder if you cannot locate the email in your Inbox.
- The Matterhorn Conference Center and the Club have worked to keep the price of our noon meeting meals down and while it will continue to be significantly below market value, the price of noon meeting meals will increase from $10 to $12.50 per person. Effective with your January 2024 invoice, meals will be billed at $150 per quarter which covers 12 meetings held per quarter on average. Guests and visiting Rotarians will be charged $13 when paying at the welcome table but Club members will be billed $12.50 for each guest meal they have billed.
- Provide your gifts to the Salvation Army directly but if you give through the Club, be sure to make your check payable to Salvation Army and note ‘Elkhart Rotary’ in the memo section.
- The former morning division/Elkhart morning members consistently raised funds and awarded scholarships annually. Many thanks to the former morning division members along with Tom Neat and his Scholarship Committee for their commitment to ensure the legacy of the former morning division will continue on for generations to come. The Elkhart Rotary Club has recently established a scholarship fund with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County with $15,000 opening balance, which consists primarily of funds from the morning division members. Anyone can now make a donation to the scholarship fund to help it grow and help the Foundation award even more scholarships in the name of Elkhart Rotary Club. Gifts are matched by the Foundation and may be tax deductible (consult a tax professional). Donations are to be made directly to the Community Foundation of Elkhart County and please note ‘Elkhart Rotary Club Scholarship’ in the memo line of your check. Or DONATE ONLINE HERE
- Enjoy the convenience of having your $100+ annual ‘Every Rotarian Every Year’ gift to the Rotary Foundation automatically included in your quarterly invoice. And now you have the option to give regularly to the Interact Club and/or Sergeant Fines by setting up a recurring charge on your quarterly invoice as well. Rotary Foundation gifts are to be $25 or more per quarter while gifts to Interact and Sergeant Fines can be as little as $5 per quarter. Your signature is required on the ‘Acknowledgement of Rotary Direct’ form which can now be found on the Club’s website. Find this printable form in the IMPORTANT DOWNLOADS section of our homepage or by contacting Treasurer, Jim Story at StoryJ@1stSource.com.
- As we close out the year, let us remember as Rotarians, we can make a larger and lasting impact by giving generously and regularly to The Rotary Foundation, a 4 star charity (the highest level) that transforms our gifts into service projects that change lives close to home and around the world. If you haven’t yet given your $100 Every Rotarian Every Year donation or perhaps you’re just shy of becoming a Paul Harris Fellow or PHF+ member, consider making your gift today by visiting www.rotary.org/donate or access the Rotary Foundation Printable Donation Form on the Club’s website www.elkhartrotary.org.
- Andy McCaskey - Returning Board Member
- Mandy Leazenby - Returning Board Member
- Breanna Allen - NEW Board Member!!
- Luke Lefever - NEW Treasurer!!
- Irwin Larrier - Returning Board Member and NEW VICE PRESIDENT for the 2024-2025 Rotary Year, in line for the President-Elect position in 2025-2026 and Club President in 2026-2027. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT, Irwin!