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Community Corner

Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield Welcomes New President

Annual dinner celebrates past year's achievements, sets agenda for coming one.

Members of the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield gathered together Thursday night at the Winnetka Community House for an annual celebration of the year's work and a welcoming of the club's new president, Kristen Janinski.

Rotarians enjoyed drinks and a catered dinner of BBQ ribs and chicken while they perused a silent auction of items such as a week-long stay in Naples and a sunset dinner aboard a yacht before moving inside to avoid stormy weather.

Janinski made her first speech as President, followed by a concert with jazz/pop/soul artist MC Kato, a friend of Rotary member ArLynn Presser, was performed to close out the night.

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The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield was founded in 1924 and is part of the larger Rotary International. Over the years, members of the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary have initiated a number of services programs, including establishing a micro-lending program in Uganda, building a library at an orphanage in Vietnam, rescuing African war refugees from slavery, and sponsoring Ambassadorial Scholarships for graduate studies overseas.

In her remarks to those in attendance, new Rotary President Kristen Janinski stressed the importance of service projects, calling them "the heart of what we do as Rotarians." 

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Janinski mentioned several projects that will be undertaken this year, including efforts to improve employment conditions for women in India and raising seed money for a prosthetics clinic in Bolivia. 

She also mentioned this year as the first "Holes for Heroes" golf tournament and dinner, an event to support veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and their families. 

"The order is tall, but for this club, our agenda can be accomplished," said Janinski.

Janinski got her start in Rotary when at 17 she traveled to Isesaki, Japan through the club's exchange program. 

During her year in Japan, Rotary Clubs in the U.S. first began to allow women to join their ranks. 

"I was ecstatic because it meant that I too someday might find the opportunity to become a Rotarian", said Janinski.

Years later, Janinski was invited to join the Rotary in Winnetka by her banker, Connie Berman. Of the Winnetka-Northfield group she said, "Luck was on my side to have joined such a phenomenal club packed full of so many gracious and generous Rotarians."

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