Theater students get support from St. Charles Rotary
Scott Piner, president-elect, and Mark Nyman, president of the Foundation Board of the St. Charles Noon Rotary Club, presented Donna Steele, executive director of the Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles with a check for $1,000 to assist in student scholarships.
Because of the financial challenges due to the slack economy some of the avenues of support that the Steel Beam Theatre had depended on were reduced. Steele was thankful to the Rotary Club for its support of their efforts helping supply scholarships for children in their theater productions as well as to the private support that many Rotarians made in attending performances throughout the year. For more information about performances and supporting efforts, visit SteelBeamTheatre.com or call (630) 587-8521.
Rotarian Bob Brown took a couple of minutes at the meeting to recognize a fellow member, Bob Miller. Miller grew up in Berwyn and pitched for Morton High School. Recruited by the Detroit Tigers as a pitcher in 1953 Miller, at age 17, was the youngest player in the major leagues that season. He played for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, and the New York Mets. This past January, Miller, baseball nickname is Burly Bob, was invited to New York City to be inducted into the New York City Sports Hall of Fame.
Finally, the Rotarians enjoyed hearing a presentation from Dick Cavenaugh about his new book, “Just About — But Not Quite,” a book that he wrote in his own words to capture all the numerous events and stories that he had experienced, all of which are true. Cavenaugh shared some of his exploits: piloting a charter plane service which Bob Hope used many times; umpiring the first game of the 1984 National League Playoffs between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres; and meeting famous people like President Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor. Cavenaugh can be contacted for information about ordering his great book at rcavenaugh@sbcglobal.net.
The St. Charles Noon Rotary Club is all about “Service, Fellowship, and Networking,” a global network of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards and help build goodwill and peace in the world. This past October, the St. Charles Rotary Club hosted its first Bluegrass Concert featuring a nationally recognized bluegrass band, the Henhouse Prowlers, at the historic Arcada Theatre. Proceeds from this concert, the Scarecrow Festival brat stand, and other fundraisers are dedicated to help support local nonprofits and educational scholarships for local students.