Read a variety of current articles in our Programs section and/or choose articles from our Archived Programs list and/or information from our Avenues of Service pages. You will be required to answer questions. There is space on the makeup request form for up to three articles to be reviewed, however you will need to read more than three to meet your 30 minute visit obligation.
2
At the end of your 30 minute visit click on Make-up Request Form from the drop-down menu at top of page OR the bottom of each make-up program.
3
Read Makeup Request Form carefully, and follow instructions. A Make-Up Form will appear once you press the SUBMIT button (one time only) and an email copy will be sent to the email address you provided.
PRINT YOUR MAKE-UP FORM
Once your make-up appears, if you know the email address, you can also click on File, Send and email a copy to your club secretary.
2025 – 2026 Officers
President: Joseph McDonough
President-Elect: Jackie Speciale
Treasurer: Roscoe Stelford
Secretary: Barb Groskinsky
Immediate Past President: Laura Cullotta
Directors
Laura Cullotta (Club Service)
Breanne F Wicker (Public Image)
Scott Brix (Community Service)
Phil McKown (International Service)
Peter Knapp (Vocational Service)
Chris Cantwell (Youth Service)
Date
Greeter
Writer
October 3, 2025
Lloyd
John H.
October 10, 2025
Jackie S.
Margie K.
October 17, 2025
Roscoe S.
Scott B.
Remember, as Greeter this week, you need to arrive at Woodstock Country Club, to register visiting
Rotarians, and guests (collect guest lunch fee of $20.00). You also provide the pre-meal prayer, check attendance, announce guests and visiting Rotarians, manage the marble drawing and provide "Fun & Frolics." If you are unable to fulfill your greeter obligation, please contact the next person in the greeter rotation to take your place.
We grieve the loss of Rotary’s own Maureen “Mimi” Motroni, who passed on September 27. The club lost one of our best with her death. Let’s take time this weekend to do something meaningful, special, and fun as a tribute to her. You can read her obituary here: https://www.thewoodstockindependent.com/obituaries/maureen-mimi-motroni-74/
Rotary’s Natalie Ziemba is honoring her father, and all those who have faced the devastation of Alzheimers, this Sunday at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s McHenry County. Natalie has participated in this event for 13 years. Go to www.tinyurl.com/Ziemba2025 to see a short video, make a contribution, or please join Natalie Sunday morning in Crystal Lake for the event.
Cultures from around the world have unique ways of dealing with loss, from community-wide ceremonies to the very personal processes that individuals experience while mourning. Each of us will face loss a number of times throughout life and naturally find our own ways of honoring our beloved. Mourning is often a time to, not only celebrate the life of the departed, but to reflect upon our own lives, to appreciate our gifts, take stock in our achievements, or reconsider our priorities as one day in the, hopefully distant, future it will be our turn to be mourned and celebrated.
Since there is no ‘correct’ way to mourn, it is important to remember this as we support those around us who are grieving, and to let them express grief in their own manner and timeframe. Beyond grieving the loss of a family member or friend, loved ones may be mourning the loss of a relationship, a job, a home, or cherished pet. When we support those who are mourning, we may offer assistance in practical ways. Perhaps the best we can do is to show our genuine caring, without agenda. Let us choose wisely the words we share with the bereaved and, if we are mourning, be gentle and patient with ourselves.
When we go through the mourning process, we may feel a wide range of emotions, some of which may be in conflict with one another. It is common to feel both sadness and relief after someone passes who has gone through a prolonged period of illness. We may feel anger or frustration if we had unfinished business with the departed. We may feel joy at the realization of all the positive impacts that person had upon us. Often we celebrate a richly-lived life, filled with many friends and adventures. If grief is weighing heavy on us, it may help to focus on happy memories or keep ourselves busy with necessary tasks, knowing that a time of quietness will come in which can fully allow ourselves to 'let it all out'. If we consider, as many of us do, that we are eternal in nature, is it wrong to be happy for the soul that is now stepping into a new adventure, in a new world? I admit, I have felt a little envy at the thought of a departed friend soaring through the Universe, or knowing the answers to some of life's more philosophical questions. Regardless of what one is feeling, the moment of loss is a great opportunity to join with community, give thanks, and to open ourselves up to ever more meaningful relationships and experiences, and realize that we are never alone.
The phrases, “As above, so below” and “As within, so without” which have been attributed to the principles of Hermeticism, suggest a connection between the physical and metaphysical realities and that what we see externally is a reflection of all that is going on within us. This concept is echoed in the notion that “We give to others that which we want to receive”. Most of you will agree that, in giving, we also receive, supporting the proposition that, on some level, there really is no separation between us and our environment, or all of humanity for that matter. When we improve the life of one, we improve the lives of all in some small, but measurable way.
In these turbulent times, I find it helpful to focus on areas where I can have a positive impact, however small. In the grand scheme, every small, positive act, helps to make a better world. Politics and the ever-present media coverage of events can be triggering, and sometimes might even cause low-level trauma, when the events covered are tragic, with images that cannot be unseen. When this happens, it is natural to want to go to an urgent mode of problem-solving, at least in our imaginations: “What is the problem, who/what is to blame, and what can be done?!?!” In our haste, it is easy to fall into a trap of seeing ourselves as separate from others, which can lead to blaming, which is not productive, instead of taking personal responsibility (our fair share of it). In our own small way, we each can “take on the sins of the world” by doing something good to counter what is not so good, to treat others the way we would like to be treated, and live by the Golden Rule. When it seems like all of us are divided, it is the perfect time to envision us as connected, to find causes that unite us, and to come together to work for the common good, something for which Rotary has been known for generations.
