On July 6 of 2023, the officers and committee chairs were installed by Past District Governor, Jane Hopkins. In the first picture, Debbie Willage is being installed by Jane.

In the other photo, the following members were installed into their positions for the 23–24 year: from the left, MARC WILLAGE will continue as Secretary and Program Chair, MARILYN SAINSOT will continue as Social Chair and Sergeant of Arms; and JERRY MCILVAIN will serve as Immediate Past President.

TOM BALTZ will continue to serve as Treasurer; VICKIE DORGAN will continue to serve as International Service Chair, and incoming President, DEBBIE WILLAGE, is shown all the way to the right, and start her year as Club President.

KATIE ANDERSON - will continue to serve as Assist Chair for Both International as well as local service project

Honored, but unable to be present, were: BOB MANTSH - who will continue to serve as Foundation Chair; CLIFF HARSTAD - will continue to serve as Local Service Projects Chair; and GUS SAMIOS - will continue to serve as Membership Chair.

Not pictured, but joining us today, were: FLORENCE FORSHEY - outgoing assistant governor, and MICHELLE BALOG - incoming assistant Governor.

The Installation Banquet was held at the Berghoff Restaurant in downtown Chicago. The food was great, and the fellowship was even better!




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 We feel it is unacceptable for any child to live in an environment of constant violence... or to lack some type of basic art education. According to an article from the New York Times... "Art Makes You Smart!"  The purpose of the program is NOT to train potential artists... but rather to develop the mind to think in different ways and perspectives.  An environment of violence, in whatever form, stifles the ability of a child to develop to his or her potential.  Far too often, it ends the life of a child.
 
There are many organizations doing great things to address the problem, but as a community, a country, and a world, we've got to do more!  We've got to stop failing future generations. The "Rotary Smart Art" program is designed to supplement, not supplant, the work of others.  "Smart Art" is a basic awareness program for elementary school children that exposes them to what art is... so as to "spark their imagination, creativity, and to develop new ways of thinking."  Using Art as the medium, the message is that violence (in all its ugly forms, to include domestic violence, bullying, and street violence) is not a given and must be diminished... or eliminated. 
 
Started by the Rotary Club of Chicago Financial District, our team now consists of multiple Rotary Clubs... plus the Near South Planning Board ... Smart Museum of Art... and the University of Chicago Provost's Office.  Our goal is to continually expand the program, first in Chicago, and then ever outward.  The goal is to enlist involvement from communities, residents and businesses. At present, the program consists of: 
 
    1. An Initial Visit to the Smart Museum at University of Chicago for an interactive introduction to art.
    2. 10 in school classroom sessions with our Art Director, spread over a 5 week period, with a focus on awareness of violence
        issues through the use of various art techniques and media.
    3. A 2nd visit to the Smart Museum so the children can share what they have learned, display their own art work, and interact
        with museum staff and volunteers who also participate in the program.
    4. The final Museum Visit is very exciting and includes a catered lunch. 
 
Volunteer helpers assist with the in-class sessions and museum visits.  The cost to conduct one class of 30 students is $2,500.  The original "Pilot Program" was launched with one Chicago Southside School in 2014. Learning from that initial experience, it was then expanded to two schools in the second year... and, with additional "streamlining", we conducted the program on an even larger scale (7 schools) during 2016. As more people get involved, we can continue expanding the program, which has received "rave reviews" from the students and faculty who benefit from the program.  Would you like to join us? 
    
 

A sizable portion of the funds to purchase the back packs and the art supplies that were placed in them, were obtained with funds obtained through a Rotary District (6450) grant procured by club president Debbie Willage.

          OUR SMART ART PROGRAM, emphasizing “Peace Though Art,” provides an art program to students who no longer have the availability is formal art instruction in their schools.

          We  plan to restart our program’s engagement with students during the next school year (2022 - 2023), though our efforts in conjunction with the Smart Art Museum at University of Chicago.

Through this program, classes of students are bussed to the Smart Art museum, followed by six to eight classroom sessions lead by a teaching artist, which is then followed by a second museum visit. The backpacks are distributed to the students at the of the 2nd museum visit.
 

The members of the 6450th  District were joined by a variety of other volunteers at the Humboldt Armory in October 2022; Just the setup for this event, took a good part of the day before the veterans gathered at the amory. 

Now the challenge has been in locating classrooms and schools that have been identified as in need of additional services. We hope to restart having students come through this program (initial Smart Art museum visit, then eight sessions with a teaching artist, then a follow-up visit to the same museum). It is amazing to watch, and the children relate to the art in the museum in a significantly more involved way - the second visit as compared to the first visit.

In the future, the club is considering a video version of this project, that be conjuncture with a "lay" instructor; a virtual museum would shown to the students - at least - before and after - the 8 live/video sessions.