Tom Zengeler Named President of Local Rotary Chapter

Northbrook, IL, July 7, 2020: Libertyville Sunrise Rotary held its 34th annual installation dinner on June 24th, with its first ever meeting in a virtual format. While the club's traditional "changing-of-the-guard" took place via Zoom because of the pandemic, the event was still presented with the usual amount of good friendship and humor.

Outgoing President Greg Hill closed out his term with remarks about Libertyville Sunrise Rotary's successful fundraising efforts and continued commitment to service while encouraging all club Members to remain involved and continue to make an impact in the community.

Greg Hill installed the new officers for the coming year, including incoming President Tom Zengeler of Zengeler Cleaners. Bob Zamor and Diana Taylor received the club's Rotarian of the Year award in recognition of their significant contributions to the club and for exemplifying Rotary's motto, "Service Above Self."

Zamor is the retired former Fire Chief for the Libertyville Fire Department; Taylor is an attorney with DeSanto Morgan & Taylor in Libertyville.

Incoming President Zengeler thanked Greg Hill and last year's Board for their hard work, after which he introduced Rich Schoeneman as the club's new President-Elect.

During his remarks, Zengeler invited everyone to support the new "Rotary Opens Opportunities" initiative, the theme for the coming year announced by incoming Rotary International President Holger Knaack.

According to Zengeler, "President Knaack reminded us Rotary is not a club you join; rather, it's an invitation to endless opportunities. We believe in creating opportunities for others as well as ourselves. We believe our acts of service, large and small, generate opportunities to live a richer, more meaningful life, with friends around the world based on our core values."

"We also know this will be a challenging year, one in which we'll maintain focus on promoting the health of our club by maintaining and growing memberships," continued Zengeler.

He then invited current members to become even more involved, to make a difference, and to develop friendships through Rotary, because "The world needs Rotary now more than ever. It is up to us to make sure that Rotary Opens Opportunities for generations to come, just as it did for me when I joined Rotary at the age of 23."

Zengeler also reminded club Members that, thanks to world events, the coming year will be a challenging one, especially when it comes to fundraising.

"Let's remember that Rotary is about a lot more than fundraising," Zengeler noted. "In the coming year, I'd like us to focus on growing internal social interactions and enhanced relationships between Members. I believe the value of this approach cannot be underestimated as we move forward. We also need to continue supporting local organizations while also supporting international projects that our local Members are involved in and/or wish to support. After all, the need for Rotarians stepping up to help those in need is greater now than when Rotary was founded by Paul Harris on February 25, 1905."

Zengeler concluded by thanking Diana Taylor for keeping the club together with Zoom meetings over the past few months.

According to Zengeler, "Many Rotary clubs were unable to meet during these past three months. We have been fortunate to have Diana keeping us on track and moving forward with our weekly meetings."

Since its inception in 1987, the Libertyville Sunrise Rotary has donated millions of dollars to both local and international charities, including literacy and scholarship programs, programs to combat hunger, homelessness and domestic violence, the eradication of polio, local foodbanks, charities and scholarships. The club's members are always accepting interested new members and welcome anyone wishing to find out more to attend one of the club's weekly meetings.

Rotary International is a 110-year old worldwide organization that provides humanitarian service, encourages highly ethical standards in all vocations, and works to build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 35,000 clubs in more than 200 countries worldwide.

In addition to Tom Zengeler, other Libertyville Sunrise Rotary Board Members for the coming year include Rich Schoeneman, President-Elect; Greg Hill, Immediate Past President; Bob Zamor, Secretary; Tom Miller, Treasurer; Steve Risley, Foundation Treasurer; Tony Collins, Sergeant-at-Arms; Pat Schwartz, Club Service; Tim Dempsey, Community Service; John McDonald, International Service; Scott Hezner, Vocational Service; Bill Taranowski, New Generations; Rick Mittleman, Fellowship; Jon Robb, Public Relations; Patricia Bleck, Social Media/Website; Doug Fendon, New Members; Patrick Hart, Bulletin Editor; and, B. Tucker-Olsen, Member At Large.

For information about Rotary International, please visit www.rotary.org, or contact Jon Robb, Public Relations, at 847.362.4244 or jrobb@farmersagent.com. For more information about Zengeler Cleaners, contact Tom Zengeler at 847.272.6550, ext.14 … or visit www.zengelercleaners.com.

Zengeler Cleaners has two stores in Libertyville, along with stores in Deerfield, Hubbard Woods, Northbrook, Northfield, Winnetka and Long Grove.