Lincolnland Club and District Leaders,

Let's formalize it.  I am issuing the Official Call for the 84th Annual Convention of the Lincolnland District.  Please refer to the first attachment for details.  Our convention will be held on June 10th through 13th at the Holiday Inn Select at 1801 N. Naper Boulevard in Naperville.  Registration and hotel information is attached and is included in the next edition of the Lincolnland Link, which will reach your mailboxes shortly.  Club Presidents need to confirm with their Treasurer that their club accounts are in good standing with National and District.  Delegates of clubs with accounts that are past due will not be able to vote at the convention.  Delegate registration forms will be sent to Club Secretaries in about two weeks.  We look forward to seeing you at the convention!

Club officer training is in full swing, and there are a few more sessions on tap.  District President-Elect Kathy Johnson has scheduled the following remaining sessions: Saturday, April 24th, beginning at 9:30 AM at the Belleville Clubhouse in Belleville; Wednesday, April 28th, beginning at 6 PM at the Homestead Restaurant in Woodhull; and Thursday, April 29th, beginning at 12 noon at the Community of Christ Church in Beardstown.  There will also be a session on Saturday afternoon, June 12th, at the District Convention in Naperville.  Please have your club officers, board, and interested members take advantage of these informative sessions on Exchange.

Congratulations, Lincolnland!  March was a big month for membership, as we had a net positive growth of 12 Exchangites.  Lincolnland is now the second largest district in Exchange with 1306 members.  Joliet led the way in March by adding five new members, and Aurora, DeKalb-Sycamore Area, Grayslake, Greater Kendall County, Naperville, Rantoul, and Round Lake Area also had positive growth for the month.  By the way, Aledo, Champaign, Quad Cities, and Urbana have all had positive growth for the year.  Thank you for your focus on membership recruitment, and please keep up the good work.

As a reminder, please be sure to file your club election reports with National by Friday, April 30th.  Reports can be mailed, faxed (1-419-535-1989) or submitted online at www.nationalexchangeclub.org (username: member, password: exchange) under "Forms and Awards" and then "Club Forms".

Awards, Awards, Awards:  As another reminder, nominations are due on Saturday, May 1st, for the following district awards: ACE Award (Chair Teresia Mueller, tmueller@ytb.com), Youth of the Year (Chair Paul Zollner, zoll547@charter.net), All-American Volunteer (Chair Marge Keenan-Denniston, margekd101@yahoo.com), Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and Contributing Service Award (CSA) (Chair Lou Molitor, palsmolitor@wi.rr.com), Exchangite of the Year (Chair Jim Ruzon, jruzon@comcast.net), Rookie of the Year (Chair Joe Johnson, jbj46@att.net), and Best Bulletin and Kremer-Clarkson-Krause Awards (Chair Jason Koch, kochjason19@yahoo.com).  We're looking forward to making some tough decisions on many fine nominations, so please submit your candidates by May 1st. … Also, make sure your club is reporting your activities and accomplishments to National.  So far, five Lincolnland clubs have qualified for the National Service Award, and we want all our clubs to be recognized with the awards your members have earned.

Got editing skills? - With the printing of the final Lincolnland Link for 2009 - 2010, Jason Koch will be retiring his editor's pen.  If you are interested in becoming our next editor, or if you know someone who might be, please contact Jason, Kathy Johnson (kj43@att.net), or myself.

Lincolnland Website: For the latest in district news and information, visit our website at www.lincolnlandexchange.com.

Lincolnland Trivia:  We all know the 2010 District Convention is in Naperville, but can you match the following convention sites with their respective years?  The sites are 1) Bolingbrook, 2) Fairview Heights (hosted by Alton and Belleville), 3) Joliet, and 4) Quad Cities, and your choices are a) 2007, b) 2008, c) 2009, and d) 2011.  The answers are below.

Lincolnland Faces and Places:  Charleston's Tour De Exchange cycling event is on Saturday, April 24th.  Routes of 10, 25, and 50 miles are available for bicyclists, and start times run between 6:30 and 9:30 AM. … Round Lake Area is holding their Rose Special Fundraiser on Wednesday, April 21st.  For only $20, you can have a dozen roses personally delivered by an Exchangite to an administrative professional. … Joliet held their Annual Youth of the Year Luncheon on April 13th.  The club will sponsor a "Stewards of Children" Workshop on May 18th to educate adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse and to take proactive steps to protect children. … For their first meeting in May, the LMV Club will take a field trip to the Gurnee Park District to have hands-on experience on how to run an $8000 fundraiser. … Grayslake President Mike Deney is the proud father of Ryan James Deney, who was welcomed into the world on April 1st.  Congratulations to the Deney family! … Gurnee Breakfast's Salad in the Park event will be held on Tuesday, May 11th. … Congratulations to Gurnee Noon's Bob and Georgeanne Depke, who have been selected as 2010 Gurnee Days Honorees! … Alton held their Annual Spring Candy Sale at the Jerseyville Walmart on April 16th and 17th.  Their 65th Annual Basketball Player of the Year event was on Sunday, April 11th. … Quad Cities presented their 2010 Youth of the Year Award to Kelsey Winters on April 1st. … Champaign will present their 35th Annual Police Officer of the Year Award on Monday, April 26th. … The Lincolnland District Board will meet at the Naperville Holiday Inn Select on Saturday, May 1st.

Trivia Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d.

And finally, I'd like to thank the Aledo and Galesburg Clubs for their hospitality and camaraderie during my visits on April 8th and 9th.  I certainly enjoyed hearing about all the ways these clubs positively impact their communities, and a good time was had by all.

Thanks for all you do in the Spirit of Exchange.

Scot

<<Call to Convention 100404.pdf>> <<Lincolnland 84th Annual District Convention Registration Form 100330.pdf>> <<Holiday Inn Select Information 100329.pdf>>

Scot Warren
Lincolnland District President, 2009 - 2010
The Power of Exchange - Be Inspired!

Home: (630) 527-9130, swwarren@att.net
Work: (815) 609-2137, scot.warren@veoliawater.com