The Rotary of Macomb meets Tuesdays at noon at the First Presbyterian Church.
November 11, 2025 The 18th meeting of the Rotary year was formally initiated by President Seth Minter, who called the session to order by ringing the Rotary bell. The invocation was delivered by Todd Rodeffer, followed by all the Veterans who were in attendance to lead the members in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Craig Rigg, representing the Prairieland Barbershop Chorus, was introduced and he presented a check for $500 to the Rotary Club in recognition of our participation and support during the Heritage Days celebration. He expressed his gratitude for two primary reasons. First, Rotary’s assistance with the Lemonade Shakeup sales was essential to the project’s success. Second, the Barbershop Chorus allocates part of the proceeds from beverage sales to the music departments of two local schools, and Rotary’s involvement contributed to advancing these musical programs by ensuring the success of the weekend event.
Attendance was reported by Bob Baumanni: 25 members attended in person, 3 participated via Zoom, representing 52% of the club’s membership. Seven guests were also present—Cheryl McGowan & Maureen Wallen from Loaves and Fishes, Jimmy Koller from Brown’s Shoe Fit, Craig Rigg from the Prairieland Barbershop Chorus, November’s Junior Rotarians Lauren Schmalshof and Tobias Royer, and Rotary Exchange Student Thea Granheim from Norway—bringing total attendance to 35.
Nine Rotarians contributed “Happy Money” in recognition of recent significant events. The 50/50 drawing took place next, with Abbey Thorman holding the winning ticket; however, she drew the 3 of Clubs instead of the 6 of Hearts required to claim the $20 prize.
President Seth then called Tobias Royer to talk and present his studies, and his future plans after graduation from MHS. Toby is a senior at MHS and is currently enrolled in a work-based learning program and has been shadowing a diesel technician at John Deere. He plans to continue and attend diesel school at either Spoon River College or John Wood Community College after graduation.
Seth wanted to reminder members that the meeting on December 2, 2025, will be held at the Western Illinois Museum and will include a program and tour. There will be no meeting on December 23, 2025. He announced that Dennis Danowski is working on getting dates setup for the Salvation Bell Ringing. Lastly, The Rotary Annual Scholastic Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2026; further information will be provided.
Todd Lester introduced the 1st guest speakers, Cheryl McGowan and Maureen Wallen from Loaves & Fishes. Todd said that this is perfect timing for us to hear about the food situation happening not only nationally, but especially for the local area.
Cheryl gave the history of Loaves & Fishes that began with 12 local churches in 1993 and probably started the first food pantry in Macomb. For many years the organization provided a food pantry and many other services. In 2020, with the Covid shutdown things changed drastically and the food pantry closed. Loaves & Fishes changed to a voucher program as a different way to provide food. Having several other pantries available using vouchers seemed the best way to continue. They found a new location and reopened doing vouchers only. They now average 425 families monthly and provide up to $40 per month. Amounts are based on the family size. The recipients tell them that they use the vouchers for other everyday items that are needed also.
At this time demand has exceeded the money that they have. Money is from gracious donations throughout the community and they hope to get funds and begin giving vouchers in the near future.
A collection was started within the Rotary members and was presented to Cheryl and Maureen.
Following this, Todd Lester introduced the 2nd speaker, Jimmy Koller, representing Brown’s Shoe Fit in Macomb. Jimmy has served the Macomb community for over two decades and recently approached Todd and Seth regarding a proposed shoe program for children. Seth presented the initiative to the Rotary board, which subsequently committed funding to launch the program. Jimmy attended today’s meeting to provide additional details.
Jimmy explained that five years ago, a Macomb High School alumnus collaborated with a school social worker and contributed $2,000 to establish a local shoe fund. The social worker had been identifing students in need of footwear, and the program has operating effectively for the past five years; however, its scope now needs to increase to support additional children.
Brown’s Shoe Fit now functions as the designated venue for measuring and fitting suitable footwear for students. Additionally, he has arranged beneficial agreements with shoe manufacturers to obtain cost-effective pricing. With these measures established, his objective is to serve as both the source and distributor of shoes for those individuals in need.
Seth proceeded to outline the Rotary Club’s support for the initiative. To date, 51 students in local schools have been identified as needing shoes, and the club has pledged $500 as a partner. During today’s discussion, several Rotarians expressed their willingness to personally contribute as well. Seth encouraged Jimmy to present the program to other organizations, expressing confidence that similar support would be forthcoming and the program would achieve its goal of helping more children.
The meeting concluded with the recitation of the “Four Way Test” and the sounding of the Rotary bell, encouraging all members to make Rotary Part Of Their Life – and to “Unite For Good”.
Interested in speaking at Rotary or becoming a member, contact Tom Stites at tastites902@ gmail.com.
Tobias Royer, Jr. Rotarian addressed the Rotarians to give an update on his school activities and future plans
Left: Cheryl McGowen spoke to the group about Loaves & Fishes and the growing need for the vouchers the group provides to needy families in the community. Following her presentation a hat was passed and $725 was raised for the Loaves & Fishes efforts. Right: Jimmie Koller of Brown’s Shoes also spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, presenting a Shoes for Kids program that he has provided to area children for the past few years. The Rotary of Macomb Board has committed to helping as a group, and other members gave additional donations.
