Rotary Double Header November 6, 2023

Elkhart Rotarians are known to be very industrious! Monday's meeting was no exception as they welcomed speakers from both the OWLS Club of Elkhart and Rotary District 6540 District Governor, Ed van Wijk.

 

First up, one of the OWLS Club founding members, Art Bowers, who provided a little history of the young club then introduced the OWLS Club Executive Director Maggie Okponobi who gave an organizational overview and took questions from the club. 

The OWLS Club is a private, community organization that exists to help aging adults in Elkhart County and surrounding communities thrive throughout their pre- and post-retirement years. Their mission is to improve the health and well-being of adults 55 and older through meaningful opportunities for service, lifelong learning, active play, and social connection. Their vision is to be an indispensable community asset for older adults as they navigate and embrace the entire aging process. They envision a community where every adult 55 and older will have access to programs and services in a welcoming environment that fosters wellness, encourages socialization, and promotes active aging. OWLS Club is located on the Trinity United Methodist campus at 2715 East Jackson Boulevard in Elkhart, Indiana. OWLS were founded In 2021 by a small group of seniors in Elkhart recognized a gap in services for the active-aging and committed their time, talents, and treasures toward making this center a reality. 

 

Rotary District 6540 District Governor Cornelis Eduard “Ed” van Wijk is the pastor of Knightstown United Methodist Church. He preaches, teaches, manages, and is the spiritual leader of the congregation. Before Ed came to Knightstown, he served the DeMotte UMC for 7 years and the Kentland Trinity UMC for 9 years. While attending seminary Ed worked as the director of worship and education at Lowell First United Methodist Church. In a prior career Ed was a computer consultant and worked on the implementation and operation of enterprise management systems based on the Oracle relational database system. He specialized in the implementation of human resource management systems. Ed’s first career was in the Dutch Merchant Marine as a radio-officer traveling the world on freighters and passenger ships. His task as a radio-officer was to provide communication between ship and shore via telegraphy, telephony, teletype, and satellite. Ed holds the Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston Illinois, the Bachelor of Science in Systems Analysis and Design from Purdue University and the Radio Officer degree from the Radio Holland Radio Officer School in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Ed was born and raised in The Netherlands and emigrated to the USA in 1991. Ed joined the Kentland Rotary Club in 2007 and was the club’s president in 2015/16. Since July 2016 Ed is a member of the DeMotte/KV Rotary Club and has served D6540 as AG from 2016 thru 2022. From 2022 through 2023 Ed served as district trainer. He is a graduate of the Rotary Leadership Institute, a Paul Harris Society member, a major donor, a benefactor, and a member of the bequest society. In order to stay in shape, Ed runs and has completed 12 half-marathons. Ed loves to sing and play the guitar. Ed enjoys travel and hanging out with Rotary friends. Ed is the father of three grown children: a daughter and two sons.

 

Ed provided an overview of his goals this year within our District, as well as the shared goals of Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally, to:

As part of his goals this year, Ed asked club members to support efforts to outfit a medical center at Bashor Children's Home, home to a new residential program for teen-aged girls who’ve been trapped into sex trafficking.

 

Running List of Rotary Event Announcements 
Rotarians are an integral and engaged part of our active community! Here’s a list of upcoming events represented by Rotarians from the Elkhart Rotary Club. If you’d like more information, contact the Rotarian listed for the event or email elkhartnoonrotary@gmail.com and your message will be forwarded to them. Are you a Rotarian with an event to share? Put it in the format below and email to Eric Garton, he’ll add it to the list.

 

• November 16, 5:30 p.m. Social, 6:15 p.m. Dinner. District 6540 Rotary Foundation Dinner at the Crystal Ballroom in Elkhart. The event is seeking silent and live auction items, donations, and sponsors. Guest Speaker is John Smarge, Rotary International Director 2010-2012 and RI-USAID Partnership Steering Committee 2021-2024. For info and reservations visit: https://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=143087f8-5964-49f5-b159-8a294378f529 Contact: Terri Rickel

• November 24-25-26, December 1-2-3, 8-9-10, 15-16-17, 20-21-22-23, 26-27, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. Bigger and Brighter than ever with over 1.4 million lights! You can purchase tickets at the gate when you arrive, or in advance at https://35522.blackbaudhosting.com/35522/tickets?tab=3&txobjid=5b77815b-9227-4b15-bfb7-fed9c934479e

• December 9, 9 a.m. start, shifts TBA. Rotary Bell Ringing for Salvation Army. Contact: Paul Warning, stay tuned for more info and signups.

• Early May, 2024. In September, Rotarian Carl Dickerson of Dickerson Literacy Initiatives presented a program at the club about a project in Costa Rica in cooperation with Peace Corps volunteers to distribute books in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. Rotarians have distributed books in recent years in connection with eye clinics from IU and the Goshen Rotary Club. We are considering doing a trip to Costa Rica in early May that would distribute books in connection with five Peace Corps volunteers and also distribute eyeglasses that will be made for people from a February 2024 eye clinic trip. If you wish to support such a trip or travel with the group, contact either Doug Risser or Ashley Bowen for more information.