Stories
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2016-2017 STATE OF CLUB 3351 You should all be very proud of what we’ve achieved this Rotary year: SERVICE – GIVING OF YOURSELVES AND YOUR TREASURE
EVENTS & FUNDRAISING
MEMBERSHIP & FELLOWSHIP
YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Our Club will be awarded the Rotary International Presidential Citation!! · And how lucky have we been with events and speakers!! Club Assemblies, Evening meetings with our spouses and friends! Annual Fellowship Picnic at Rich & Bette's Blues Brews & Barbeque Event Our Junior Rotarians Speakers: Steve Pangere Annual Fellowship Picnic at Rich and Bette’s Chris White & Joe Battistoni of the Times Kirk Muspratt – of the NWIS VU Basketball Coach Matt Lottich District Governor Ranjan Kini and his wife Navi Aco Sikoski – Youth Employment Council State Rep Julie Olthoff Spero Batistatos of South Shore CVA Salina Gomez-Beloz, Director CP Community Library Our own Fred Triezenberg speaking on the Kairos Prison Ministry Our own Herman Barber on our Club history Our own Jerry Caravana - presented a movie depicting some of the rich history of Crown Point Mary Nielsen from the CPCF Mommy’s Haven of Lowell Len Sherwinski of Honor Flight and we honored many of our vets! CPHS Choral Group for our Christmas Program Ruth Kernegis on Roatan Library Progress Cal Bellamy Bishop of Gary, Don Hying YMCA Future presented by Pat Huber and Tom Hoffman VP of Marketing & Planning for the South Shore RR US Congressman Peter Visclosky Alison Duncan - CPHS Volleyball Gloria Touhy and L Castellanos - Classical Arts Center Plans Allan Katz - Enjoying Chicago Shay Shmoul - Shaliach (Israel emissary) to NW IN Mary Kaczka - E Chicago Water Crisis Stephen Beekman, Executive Director of the Food Bank NWI Ana Grandfield took us on a visual trip down Route 66 Leslie Plesac - Unveiling the Sinai Forum for 2017!! |
Dart Koedyker passed away on Tuesday morning in Florida, Dart was President of the Rotary Club of Crown Point 2003-2004. It was during Dart's presidency that our Roatan Library project took root and continues to thrive, and in fact, is about to grow and move to a new home. Dart was an active member of our club until his retirement. Since then he has been an Honorary Member – and it truly was an honor to have him as a member! He continued to actively attend our meetings right up through this year anytime he was home. He was an amazing carpenter as well, guiding us through many Christmas in Septembers/Rebuilding Together projects. We will miss him greatly! |
Our Junior Rotarians for December 2016! From left: Liz Dietrich, Megan Blahunka, Maria Leontaris, Andrew Zimmerman, Nick Burrell, Lauren Massow, and Kyle Ramus ![]() |
This week you'll receive your letter from the Imagination Library Committee. We are starting our Community-wide campaign with our club. We want to achieve 100% participation from our club before we expand the campaign to the entire community. Remember for under 30/year we can provide a book each month delivered directly to a child aged from birth to 5! What a great investment in our community's future!!
Below is a letter I received from Marian Buchko, the principle at MacArthur School, Crown Point:
Dear Katherine,
Attached is a picture of “some” of the MacArthur students and parents that are part of the Imagination Library program. The students are holding some of the actual books they have received thanks to the Rotary. On behalf of MacArthur School thank you so much for this life changing project. To put books in the hands of students that wouldn’t otherwise have them is such a blessing.
Have a Great Day.
Marian |
![]() ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT IMAGINATION LIBRARY PROJECTCROWN POINT — Two local organizations have come together in support of a community based literacy project. The Crown Point Rotary Club and the Crown Point Community Foundation contributed $2,500 each allowing 200 children to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library project. With additional support from Crown Point Rotary, 300 children are now enrolled! The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a literacy based program. Every month, participating children will receive an age appropriate book, delivered directly to their home, until they reach the age of 5. This program is FREE to the families – because of the generosity of both the Crown Point Rotary Club and the Crown Point Community Foundation. “This is a new program for our organizations”, said Katherine Chariton, President of Crown Point Rotary. “CP Rotary is an active community organization supporting projects like: Shoes for Kids, Rotarian Library and Rebuilding Together of NWI. This program will interact directly with young families. We were happy to spearhead this project.” The Crown Point Community Foundation is involved with financial support for the project as well as serving on the committee as project participant. Mary Nielsen, President of the CPCF, believes literacy is a huge factor in preparing children for kindergarten. “In the past several years, the CPCF has focused much attention on literacy projects. It takes only $25.70 a year to provide one child a book each month. We are hopeful more donors will get involved. Our goal is to reach families with children under five.” The Foundation and Rotary are partnering with the Crown Point Community Schools to identify the first 300 families. Mary Ann Chapko, Principal of Eisenhower Elementary, is helping to coordinate the project. Other members of the team are: Brad Belush, Bette Oesterle and Sue Riester. For more information on the Imagination Library Project or to sponsor a child, please contact Crown Point Rotary at 219.663.0110. You can make an online gift at: www.theCPCF.org search for the Crown Point Rotary Fund and donate now.
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OCTOBER JUNIOR ROTARIANSWhat a joy it is each month, to have our Junior Rotarians! This month, committee chair, Jerry Caravana, presented each one with a 2016-17 RI Theme pin, which will commemorate their visit with us!
Left to Right: Rileigh Haas, Zach Hoover, Casey Akers, Graham Votaw, Presley Tolbert, and Junior Rotarian Committee Chair Jerry Caravana
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SEPTEMBER JUNIOR ROTARIANSOur first group of Junior Rotarians for 2016-17! Great Kids!
Back Row: Jessica Yukich, Zack Stewart, Matthew Krampen, Donald Schuch
Front Row: Rachyl Adams, Delaney Benich
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![]() ![]() President Jesse Forrester says " the club has a separate fund setup to help buy tickets for students who can't afford to go, so even if you can't go, you may want to just chip in a few bucks - that works great too. :)" |
Mark Your Calendars! Crown Point Rotary's | Saturday, October 15th, 2016 |12th Annual Blues, Brews & Bbq Stay tuned for band line-up and other exciting event details!
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Kassie Gre
![]() Rebuilding Together of South Lake County was in Lowell on Sept. 17. This group is made up of public minded individuals, business, unions and corporations to be able to reach out and help low income people, those who are physically challenged, and vets who are homeowners to get necessary repair or maintenance work done on their houses to maintain the quality of life, and security for all the household members. The applicants have to furnish information documenting the total household income. This group was at one time part of the well known National group called Christmas in September.
This organization of energy-filled people serves just four communities, one each year. This year was Lowell's turn. In future years it will be Merrillville, Cedar Lake, Crown Point and then back to Lowell.
Ten houses were selected in Lowell this year. There was a great deal of difference in what was needed being done at each home. Cost estimates ranged from just $500 in one place to over $2,000 in another.
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Below is a letter I received from Marian Buchko, the principle at MacArthur School, Crown Point:
Dear Katherine,
Attached is a picture of “some” of the MacArthur students and parents that are part of the Imagination Library program. The students are holding some of the actual books they have received thanks to the Rotary. On behalf of MacArthur School thank you so much for this life changing project. To put books in the hands of students that wouldn’t otherwise have them is such a blessing.
Have a Great Day.
Marian |
![]() Your participation is appreciated more than you can imagine!
I’ve designated September as Crown Point Rotary’s Imagination Library Month!
As the school children get ready to go back to school I’d like us to focus on those children who won’t enter the school system for another 1-5 years! In particular those children who don’t have all the gifts of time and family available to help them prepare for life’s journey.
Rotary International’s service partnership with The Dollywood Foundation’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library provides opportunities to collaborate in support of basic education by fostering a lifelong love of reading and learning from an early age. Through this partnership, children receive access to age-appropriate reading materials to help establish a strong educational foundation early in life.
Crown Point Rotary joined in on this effort a year and a half ago. With Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library we have committed to providing a book a month for up to 300 children in our community for the next 5 years. We are only able to do this because of our partnership with Rotary District 6540, Crown Point Community Foundation, and you!
While 300 children is quite a few, there are over 750 families within our own community that are in need! The need is obviously bigger than our club can take on alone. We are launching an internal initiative this month and our goal is to get 100% participation from our members.
After our internal initiative, with the help of Crown Point Community Schools Corp, we will be rolling the initiative out to the community. The ultimate goal is to set up an Endowment for the community to provide books to all pre-school children in need for years to come.
A fund has been established with the Crown Point Community Foundation, the Crown Point Rotary Foundation Fund, all donations to this fund will be tax deductible.
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We had a fantastic time at the annual Crown Point/Hammond Rotary Club Picnic! Great food, amazing FISHING!!! Thank you Rich and Bette! Check out the photos! |
From the District 6540 WebsiteWHAT WILL YOUR ROTARY LEGACY BE? |
May 7 – Opening Day Baseball - CP Rotary Club first to be back on the North Street Major field
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Congratulations to our 2016 Crown Point Rotary Club Scholarship recipients from Crown Point High School: Caitlyn Baker, Alyssa Guritz, Joseph Karczewski, Zach Otano and Luke Perrin. Thank you for joining us on our Wednesday lunch at Youche Country Club and thank you for your continued interest in Rotary. Best of luck in your future endeavors!
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We successfully launched our Imagination Library Literacy Project and have registered 200 children birth to 5 years old of low income families in the program! The Imagination Library, fosters a love of reading among preschool children by providing them with a free high quality, age-appropriate book every month from birth to the age of five. The program supports early childhood literacy and a life long love of reading by creating excitement about books. The program insures that every child will have access to books, regardless of their family’s income. |
The Crown Point Rotary Club enjoyed helping pack 655 care boxes for seniors in Lake and Porter counties at the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Service above self. Visit www.foodbanknwi.org to learn how you too may give back!
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We are neighbors, community leaders, and global citizens uniting for the common good. With you, we can accomplish even more.
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How close are we to a polio-free world? What’s needed to finish the job? Can we make history together? Watch our third annual World Polio Day webcast for a global status update on the fight to end polio and take part in the conversation.
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Our Centenial Project is Complete! Our trailhead clock tower project has been in the making for 5 years as a celebration of Rotary's 100th birthday. We're thrilled to see this collaborative project come to fruition. What a beauty it is! The Erie Lackawanna (EL) Trail represents the longest contiguous trail in Northwest Indiana, running 17-miles from Crown Point north to Hammond. This trail passes through wetlands and open space on an unusually wide, paved corridor. The EL is a popular thoroughfare that lends green space to an urban landscape on this rail-trail with connections to five neighboring communities. At the southern end in Crown Point, the EL starts at Summit Street, just west of Main Street, or State Road 55. The trailhead is brand new as of the summer of 2014 and features a 20-car parking lot, bathrooms, a drinking fountain and a seating plaza, complete with a large shelter replicating an old train depot. |
Have you wondered how you can give back, have a more meaningful connection to your community and make lifelong friends with others with a giving spirit?
Our club is continuously looking to grow our membership with other community minded leaders. Our weekly meetings are held on Wednesdays at 12:10pm at Youche Country Club in Crown Point. You are welcome to to join us as a guest at our weekly meetings to determine if our club may be a good fit for you.
About Rotary... We volunteer (Jack Barber's Shoes for Kids, Roatán Library & Scholarships, Brews, Blues & BBQ, Rebuilding Together, Hope Tree, Service Projects, Literacy Initiatives, etc.) but we also build meaningful relationships with community leaders, provide leadership development, and other personal and professional benefits such as hearing regularly from great speakers.
A good Rotarian will attend as many of our meetings as possible. When traveling you may pick up a "make up" from another club. Attendance is important but it doesn't have to be at your home club!
Our members pay quarterly dues. Our dues include lunch, district and international dues as well as a contribution to Rotary International.
Rotary International is by far the largest service club in the world with 1.2 million Rotarians, 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. It is interesting and fun, when traveling, to attend a local club's meeting. Rotarians and their guests are always welcome at any meeting anywhere in the world. It's neat to hear about other clubs projects and how they raise money to fund them.
Who are Rotary's members? The movers and shakers in our communities. Our club gives you an opportunity to join leaders to take action on important issues affecting our community, our nation, and the world. We also have a lot of fun — whether we’re socializing or working together on service projects. Members of our Rotary club connect at weekly meetings and learn from business experts, political and civic leaders, and entrepreneurs, who help us stay informed on topics that are relevant to our community. Together, we are make great things happen. We have a structure that focuses on action and positive results.
While considering membership in our club please take some time to visit www.rotary.org and www.crownpointrotary.org to learn more about us. Please don't hesitate to contact us via email if you have any questions or would like to join us as a guest at one of our weekly meetings.
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We enjoyed lending a hand at the Food Bank of NWI this past Saturday. The Food Bank of NWI distributes nearly 4.5 million meals annually. The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana strives to reduce the impact of hunger through programs of advocacy, nutrition education and faith based partnerships. You too can help! Visit www.foodbanknwi.org to learn more!
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We had some good family fun bowling this past weekend. Rotary is focused on bettering our communities through service but we also build lifelong friendships in the process.
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There's a special feeling you get when you fill a need, solve a problem or simply make life better for someone else. You feel it when you give money to a cause you believe in, take food to a sick neighbor or help a friend in need. Here's your chance to identify volunteer opportunities and become an integral part of cultural change by giving back in your own community.
Join us at the 6th Annual Spring into Action Community Volunteer Fair! Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 10 am - 3 pm | Crown Point High School Cafeteria, 1500 South Main Street | http://www.spring-into-action.org/
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This week our guest speaker was Secretary of State Connie Lawson. Lawson is an advocate for increasing Indiana’s financial literacy and protecting Indiana investors, Secretary Lawson educates Hoosiers about smart money decisions and fights for stringent penalties for white collar criminals.
One great benefit of being a Rotarian is that we're able to connect at weekly meetings and learn from business experts, political and civic leaders, and entrepreneurs, who help us stay informed on topics that are relevant to our community. ![]() |
We've been so busy shoveling ourselves out of the snow recently that we haven't shared some of our great speakers and news!
Most recently we've heard from Seattle Sutton, RN, BSN, Founder of Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating (1985). SSHE is a family-owned Illinois-based company, offers a convenient no-gimmick approach to healthful eating.
Linda Armstrong of Sunshine Paws. Sunshine Paws is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescue and adoption.
Also, Les Corkill Master Scuba Diver, Bob Heisse editor at NWI Times, Dr. Ed Williams Boys and Girls Clubs, Matt Glaros, South Shore Extension, Chancellor Tom Coley, Ivy Tech Northern Region.
We're looking forward to hearing from Tracie Moldenhauer of Mommy's Haven and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson this month.
Members of our Rotary club connect at weekly meetings and learn from business experts, political and civic leaders, and entrepreneurs, who help us stay informed on topics that are relevant to our community. Together, we make great things happen!
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Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people. - Nicholas Sparks
We had a great turnout at Rebuilding Together this weekend. Thank you to all of our volunteers and sponsors!
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We installed David Kacmarik, Atty of Sendak & Stamper, our 5th new member since our membership drive commenced in January! Welcome to Ro Loughmiller (Franciscan Alliance Working Well), Doug Kvachkoff (Indiana Title), Tom Neuffer (Centier Bank) & Cynthia Schiller (Grace Counseling)!
With each new member we are able to make a greater impact on our community through fresh ideas and a joined service effort. Message us for a personal invitation to one of our lunch meetings to see the difference you can make through Rotary and the impact it will have on you.
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Our club and the Crown Point Community Foundation presented contributions to the City of Crown Point for the Trail Head project at Summit Street. A clock tower will be erected with Rotary's logo and text dedicated to our service and in celebration of Rotary's Centennial. This collaboration truly demonstrates great community partnerships. The Trail Head is a beautiful addition to our city and we're thrilled to be a part of it!
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The Rotary Club of Aspley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, proposed an International Toast to the Crown Point Rotary Club. They started the tradition 2 years ago to make meetings more interesting. And Cheers to you!
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We received a message from a gentleman in Florida (thank you Jerry Flaherty!) who inquired on a dollar bill he had come across that was signed by ~40 Rotarians and stamped with the Crown Point Rotary emblem. Some of our long time members informed us that when a soldier was home on leave during WWII the club would have them to lunch. The bill was signed by everyone. It was a good luck charm as the club was always with them. Our club is rich with tradition!
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Do you want to do good in the world? So do we! We're looking to grow our membership to increase our impact on our communities. Join us as a guest to see if Rotary is a good fit for you on Wednesday at Youche Country Club at 12:10pm. Message us for a personal invitation! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8tqT3pKQPI
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Our members connect weekly and learn from business experts, political and civic leaders, and entrepreneurs, who help us stay informed on topics that are relevant to our community. Where else can you hear regularly from a line up like this?
Albanese Confectionery Boy Scouts of America BP Amoco Brewmaster, Steve Mazylewski CEO of Family Express, Gus Olympidis Challenger Learning Center NWI Cole Hardwood Congressman, Peter Visclosky Crown Point Building & Development Crown Point Community Foundation District Governor Face to Face, Portrait Memorials Fair Oaks Farm Financial Advisor, Times Contributor, Marc Ruiz Franciscan Alliance Girls on the Run Indiana State Superintendent International Service, Honduras library, health fair, scholarships Mayor, Dave Uran NWI Small Business Development Center NWI Times Opportunity Enterprises Personal Trainer, DLux PET Mobility Project Purdue Economist, Larry DeBoer State Senate, Sue Landske Students, Athletes, State Champions Superintendent of CP Schools, Teresa Eineman TradesWinds US Veterans Various Non-profits Wood Carver, Award Winning, Jerry Lambert and many more... |
We wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014! If one of your resolutions is to give back to others, gain leadership skills or be more involved with your community then Rotary might be a great fit for you. We meet weekly at Youche CC in Crown Point at noon. We're happy to invite other community minded members to grow our club.
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One great benefit of being a part of Rotary is hearing great speakers weekly. Last week we heard from Family Express CEO, Gus Olympidis who employs 500+ locally, this week we had the opportunity to meet local celebrities the CPHS State Soccer Champions and next week we will hear from Public Relations Manager at NIPSCO. Where else would you be able to hear from so many fantastic community influences?!
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We are thrilled to announce that we have updated our membership options to include corporate memberships! This is in consideration of work obligations that make it difficult to attend weekly meetings and employee turn over. We hope this will make it easier to benefit from being a part of the Crown Point Rotary Club while our club will be able to retain valuable relationships with great businesses in our community. Inquire within to learn more about this opportunity to make a real difference and network with community leaders!
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It was our most fun and successful year yet! We believe responsible leadership means more than just doing good work—it means making the most out of every donation we receive. Thank you again to all our sponsors and all of you!
Edward Jones City of Crown Point Fran & Allan Katz Geisen’s Funeral Homes Puntillo & Crane Orthodontics RE/MAX | Roger Pace Austgen Kuiper & Associates Blade Cutters Brad's Designs & Jewelry Centier Bank Franciscan St. Anthony Health Horizon Bank Katherine Chariton’s KBCPA Kwik Kopy Liss Carstar Lucrezia Café & Restaurant Peoples Bank Pinnacle Insurance Superior Petroleum The Old Bank Thomas Hoffman, Attorney Wendy’s Crown Point Vanis Salon |
![]() Sign-up today for the Crown Point Rotary Club's New 5K Blues Jam | Fun Run! Visit https://www.signmeup.com/site/reg/register.aspx?formid=95012&q12=Z22LWY7 to register. Save the Date Saturday, October 12th!
Registration & Check-in 12:30-1:30
Industrial Building, Lake County Fairgrounds The Details
Enjoy a scenic 5k course | Live Blues Music at Finish Line | Special ¼ mile course for children ages 3 to 10 | Every child will receive a ribbon | Consent and release must be signed by parent/guardian at check-in | Awards given to top 3 men, women and children in each age group | Performance t-shirts guaranteed to all pre-registered Be active while benefiting our community
Please Bring 2 or more non-perishable food items | Thank you Strack & Van Til who will match your donations to the Food Bank of NWI! |
"Personality has power to uplift, power to depress, power to curse, and power to bless." - Paul Harris
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The happier we are, the better we serve is a great Blog Post that fits right in to Membership Month. Mary states, "Success doesn’t lead to happiness; happiness leads to success." Enjoy this quick inspirational read and remember why you joined Rotary or why you might want to! http://blog.rotary.org/2013/08/05/berge/ |
The weather was hot, the scenery was beautiful at Fox Run and we enjoyed each others company at our annual Crown Point and Hammond Fellowship Picnic. |
Rotary's 1.2 million members believe it starts with a commitment to Service Above Self.
In more than 34,000 clubs worldwide, you'll find members volunteering in communities at home and abroad to support education and job training, provide clean water, combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, and eradicate polio.
This is Rotary EN from Rotary International on Vimeo. |