The Rotary of Macomb meets Tuesdays at noon at the First Presbyterian Church.
September 8, 2026 President Nick Knowles called the Rotary Club’s 11th meeting to order with the ringing of the Rotary Bell at the First Presbyterian Church in Macomb. First, Todd Rodeffer delivered the invocation, and Ryan Van Dolah led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dennis Danowski reported attendance of 25 members in person representing 47% of the club’s membership. He introduced our guests: Kessiena Erebi WIU Grad Assistant in Public Health (our speaker), Junior Rotarian Carter and Rotary Exchange student from Budapest Hungary, Nora.
The Happy Money portion of the meeting followed during which six Rotarians shared special events from the previous week. During the 50/50 drawing, Abbey Thorman held the winning ticket and had the opportunity to claim the $200 prize by drawing the 9 of Hearts from the remaining 27 cards. However, Abbey drew the 10 of Spades and did not win the prize this week.
Ryan Van Dolah gave the update on our Cash Raffle Ticket sales and reported that we had sold 191 so far and that leaves 117 to have a break-even total. He mentioned we had an opportunity to sell tickets this Saturday 9/11/26 at the Farmers Market in Chandler Park. He then conducted the Early Bird drawing for a free ticket and the winner was Dan Wise.
President Nick provided some announcements to the club. A sign-up form had been distributed electronically, and a printed copy was also made available for members to volunteer for cash raffle ticket sales. Nick reminded the club members of our club’s 5th Tuesday Social on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, which will include the drawing for the $20,000 Raffle. The club will not hold its regular noon meeting that day.
President Nick then announced the Rotarians with birthdays, membership anniversaries, and wedding anniversaries in the month of September. “Happy Birthday” was sung to the Rotarians.
The last announcement was that we would not have a meeting on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, due to many members attending the Legislative Day in Springfield.
Emily Gillett then was called up to introduce the speaker for the day, Kessiena Erebi who is a Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate student at Western Illinois University with a background in Pharmacology. Her public health interests include aging and health, maternal and child health (MCH), community health, and health promotion.
Kessiena discussed extreme heat as a public health concern in Macomb and explored practical ways the community can better prepare and protect vulnerable populations. She emphasized her work which focuses on promoting health awareness, prevention, and community-based approaches to improving health outcomes.
Key points included the definitions of a heat index, heat warnings, heat advisories, and the identification of at-risk groups like older adults and outdoor workers. Practical measures include hydration, staying informed, and community support. One support that is important is to regularly check on neighbors who live in the your area. Knowing where to find cooling centers located around town is also essential.
With the recent oppressive heat this was a very informative topic and the club members thanked Kessiena on her excellent program.
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 lives and to “Unite for Good.”
