Executive Club Newsletter

July 2008

The Art of Public Speaking

by Jeannette Beck

Thursday July 17

Champaign Country Club
11:30 a.m.:  Registration and Networking
11:45 a.m.:  Buffet Opens
12:15 p.m.:  Mtg/Program

Public speaking is a common source of stress for most people. Some studies have shown that fear of public speaking ranks up there with the fear of death. As executives, whether we work with large or small numbers of people, public speaking is inevitable. Effective leadership almost always requires the skill of good public speaking.

Jody Littleton, Executive Director of Community Relations and speech communications faculty at Parkland College, and ECCC Member, will give the July program on The Art of Public Speaking.
Registrations are due by noon on Monday, July 14. Please indicate if you are bringing a guest. Contact the Treasurer with questions about registration. Register online now!

Pre-register online and send a check for $15 to ECCC, P.O. Box 61, Champaign, IL 61824-0061 OR pre-register online and pay on day of luncheon.

*Remember, there will be a $5 late fee for reservations received after the Monday Noon deadline. Attendees with late or no reservations will be permitted to attend as seating is available.

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PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

President’s Message

by Jayne DeLuce

One advantage to being late with your ECCC president’s message is the opportunity to be inspired by something unexpected. Having just attended the Ice Cream & Independence event at the Virginia Theatre, I was blown away not only by the sounds of the Central Illinois Concert Band and Caitlin Caruso Dobbs, a talented young singer, but by the overflow of patriotism in the room. (The ice cream was good, too!)

How lucky are we to live in a country where freedom is somewhat taken for granted, until we’re reminded of this truly precious gift; to live in a country where women can run for president or run a major company; to speak our minds freely; and to practice our religion of choice.

With daily media coverage about rising gas prices, people making bad choices, and movie stars acting silly, it’s refreshing to sit back and be reminded of the many wonderful people in this country, the beautiful variety of landscapes, the pride of the men and women who have served in the name of freedom, and to remember what it means to be an American.

At one point in the concert, Caitlin sang a medley of tunes from “Sound of Music” which is one of my favorite all-time musicals. Here’s a young person with a good head on her shoulders and well on her way to being a terrific entertainer. The future is bright with the youth of today.

During the Armed Services Salute, men and women of all ages, along with their families, stood to be recognized during their respective song; how emotional to realize the sacrifices made over the years and to see the pride in their faces as this will always be a part of them (and us.)

Earlier today, I conducted staff evaluations; finished a budget worksheet; mapped out a project due first thing Monday. I hurried to check off my “to do” list so that I could rush home for spending the holiday weekend with my family, thinking about how we would navigate through the many scheduled activities.

Tonight, I was filled with pride and joy and reminded of how truly blessed we are to live in this country. I took a moment to breathe in the red, white, and blue; to proudly wave a flag in the air; to sing along with songs that I remember singing as a child (Yankee Doodle Dandy, for one); to look around at my fellow countrymen and realize that we’re in this together.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the pride I felt listening to my dad, Jim Turpin, hosting the wonderful evening and sitting next to my mom, Louise; they make a daughter proud!

Life is good. Happy Independence Day! Enjoy the parades, the cookouts, the fireworks, the day off work, but more important, take the time to truly celebrate what it means to be an American.

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Summer Social

Mike & Molly’s

by Amy Fruehling

Enjoy great music, your favorite beverage, and the company of fellow ECCC members at Mike & Molly’s 105 N. Market St. Champaign on July 8th from 5:30-7:30pm. We’ll enjoy a special performance by Parkland’s Big Band. Look for ECCC member Gretchen Wieshuber in the band.

This event is free for ECCC members and their guests. If you have questions contact afruehli@illinois.edu

Register online now! RSVP is preferred but not required.

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Save the Date

Coffee & Dessert at the Parkland Art Gallery

by Laura Frerichs

Hold Thursday, September 11th on your calendar!

ECCC will be at the Parkland Art Gallery enjoying dessert and coffee/tea in handmade ceramic mugs that you can take home with you. We will also receive a special tour of the current art gallery exhibit and hear a talk on art from the gallery director or one of the art faculty. Look for more details soon.

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Dirty Dancing

Look for more information in an email on the ECCC bus trip Oct. 8th to Chicago to see Dirty Dancing.

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Member Profile

Jennifer Greene

Jennifer Greene is one of our newest members to ECCC. She is the Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Carle Development Foundation. She loves that her job allows her to meet a lot of new people in the community and teach others about all the great things that Carle is able to offer our community.

Jennifer enjoys decorating, shopping, attempting to learn how to cook and running. One thing that people might not know about her is that she had always planned to move back to Champaign from Chicago, but really wanted to move to Charlotte in-between and work in some capacity for NASCAR. Instead, she started dating her high school crush and came back home to Champaign.

When she has some free time she listens to music from Ryan Adams, Dar Williams, and Elton John. Her favorite TV shows are "Sex in the City" because the friendships remind her of her girlfriends when she was single in the city and "The Office" because she loves dry humor. Favorite movies include When Harry Met Sally and Love Actually.

Her favorite quote is "Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end."

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Member Profile

Denise Burger

Denise Burger has also recently joined the club. She is the Director of Human Resources at Horizon Hobby, Inc. She chose the field of human resources because she loves working with people, and she also wanted to find a career that her combined her three interests of people skills, business and employment law. She loves the tremendous variety in HR stating that “I could write a book about the things I’ve seen over the years with different employers, and things still do happen that surprise me.”

Denise is originally from Olney IL, which is "famous" for being the home of the white squirrels. She says “Olney has the world’s largest colony of albino squirrels. I’ve always questioned the "famous" part though, because it is hard to claim you are famous when not many people have heard about it.” Her non-work life mostly revolves around her daughters’ activities and family events. Her family loves to travel, and are avid Illini fans. Denise enjoys swimming and claims to be a scrapbooker. She says her husband thinks she just collects scrapbook supplies rather than actually scrapbooks, because she only works on them about once a year.

Musical tastes include Classic rock, Hawaiian slack key guitar, steel drums, and light jazz. She doesn’t watch much tv but admits that she loves to catch Dr. Phil and Oprah when she has a chance. Her favorite movies cover a variety of genres and include Gone With the Wind, A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, and Pretty Woman. One thing that people might not know about Denise is that she doesn’t eat cooked fruit so if you have her over for dinner don’t serve apple pie:-) Her favorite quote: “Denial is not a preventive.”