Executive Club Newsletter

September 2009

Living the Dream

Ida Kay Miller Author

by Ellen Schmidt

Champaign Country Club
Thursday, September 17

11:30 a.m.: Registration and Networking

11:45 a.m.: Buffet Opens

12:15 p.m.: Mtg/Program
Don’t miss our September speaker! Local Author Kay Miller, writing as Taylor Nash, will share her story as a successful author.

Taylor Nash writes comtemporary romantic suspense novels. Her character could be your next door neighbors, whose lives have been twisted by murder, lies, and deceit.

She has one published novel, one on the way and one under construction.

Uncharted Depths is her first novel. This novel will take you from the Midwest to an exotic tropical location. Events and personalities collide in a tense dance, as the story unravels a conspiracy.

Her second novel, The Apparition, is being polished.

Her third novel, Illusive Memories, is under construction.

For more information on Kay, please access her website at http://www.taylornash.com/.

Registrations are due by noon on Monday, September 14. Please indicate if you are bringing a guest. Register online now!

*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.

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. Contact the Treasurer with questions about registration.

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President’s Message

Fall is the season of new beginnings…

by Jeannette Beck

Spring is typically thought of as the season of new beginnings, but I contend that fall is also a season of new beginnings. It brings cool nights for great sleeping and relief from the hot summer days most years although this was an unusually cool summer. It also brings the students to campus creating a buzz and activity in the community at the beginning of a new academic year. Together with my coworkers, we prepare for the new year and look forward to assisting the many lost souls who just need a friendly smile and a little help during their stressful first days at the Big U. Also, many friends have been commenting on the firsts for the new school year for their children or grandchildren starting preschool, kindergarten, middle school or high school and going off to college. In my school years, I distinctly remember looking forward to the new school year, seeing all my friends there, and shopping for supplies, new school shoes, a winter coat, and learning new things. Happy memories.

Fall is also the time when about half of the Board positions of Executive Club change. We thank the outgoing board members for their service and welcome a fantastic group of incoming directors beginning their terms in September. Hope Wheeler has been a fabulous leader as our President during the past year; she will continue as an ex-officio member of the Board for the next year. Jayne DeLuce completes her term as Ex-Officio Past President and five years of enthusiastic service to ECCC. Deb Reardanz served us well as treasurer for the last two years and was elected Vice President for this year. She’ll be responsible for the nominations committee for the next batch of officers and the bus trip. She promises that the bus trip will NOT be on the first Wednesday of any month so that she can also attend it. Jody Littleton was our Newsletter Chair and handled communications for the last two years. She added regular graphics to the monthly newsletter creating a more interesting website for the members. As Membership Chair, Jackie Phillips processed a near record number of applications. We wish her well as she leaves the C-U community to move to Nashville to be closer to her daughter. Sandy Barnes resigned the Logistics Chair position for personal reasons last month so that position will also have a new Chair beginning in September.

We have a group of dynamic and interesting women serving on your ECCC Board this year. New to the board are Rachael Wright, Treasurer; Shayla Maatuka, Membership Chair; Jennifer Greene, Communications Chair (formerly Newsletter Chair); Joni Utnage, Logistics Chair; and already mentioned Deb Reardanz as the Vice President and Hope Wheeler as ex-officio member of the board. Continuing board members are Ellen Schmidt, Programs Chair; Kathy Reeves, Social and Networking Chair; Andra Lee, Outreach Chair; and Julie Roth, Board Secretary.

During the next year as your President, I will champion the objectives of the Executive Club of Champaign County which are to promote the progress of women in professional and management careers; to pursue projects designed to help members identify and develop their career potential; to raise public awareness of the abilities and potential of women in management, administration, the professions, and business ownership; to provide opportunities for interaction, fellowship, and the sharing of knowledge and resources among executive women.

I’m looking forward to it!

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Executive Club Bus Trip

FOUR SPOTS REMAINING!

by Jeannette Beck

FOUR SPOTS REMAINING!

Join your fellow ECCC members for some shopping or lunch before the last midweek matinee showing of JERSEY BOYS and as always, we will have plenty of food and drinks on the bus.

Registration is now open for member guests and the price is $ 80. (Registrations are not refundable after September 1, however, they are transferable.)

On October 7 we will depart from the County Market on Glenn Park Drive parking lot at 7:30 a.m. and will return at approximately 8:00 p.m. A continental breakfast will be served soon after departure. The bus will make two stops; one in the loop at the Macy’s State Street store and the second stop will be near Water Tower Place on North Michigan Avenue. Lunch is on your own. Snacks and wine will be served on the return trip.

Registration includes theater ticket, transportation, food and beverages on the bus.

Register online now!
Here is a link to the show’s website:http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/chicago/

Warning: Authentic New Jersey profane language is used frequently in
this show.

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Upcoming Social Event

Thursday, September 10

by Kathy Reeves

Thursday, September 10th is the opening night for Krannert. Many of your fellow members of Executive Club will be there, so why not come? It is only $5.00. There will be many groups playing, starting at 7 p.m. You can check out the Krannert website for complete information at www.krannertcenter.com.

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August Speaker Summary

May Berenbaum, UI Professor of Entomology

by Ellen Schmidt

May Berenbaum graduated with a B.S. in biology from Yale University in 1975 and a Ph. D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University in 1980. Since 1980, she has been on the faculty of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has served as head since 1992. She is well-known for her contributions to chemical ecology, elucidating co-evolutionary interactions between phytophagous insects and their host plants in natural and agricultural communities. Berenbaum has received numerous accolades for her work, including election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Devoted to her teaching and fostering scientific literacy, she has authored numerous magazine articles and four books about insects for the general public. She also founded the UIUC Insect Fear Film Festival, a celebration of Hollywood’s entomological excesses, an outreach activity entering its 26th year.

Only May Berenbaum can make learning about insects interesting by injecting her humor. May shared the workings of social insects. Social insects make up 1/3 of all animal biomass. Social insects have attracted attention because they appear to embody so many virtues people hold dear: group effort, self-sacrifice, and devotion to youth. Their ability to defend themselves also attracts attention. The oldest depictions of insects in art date back 8,000 years, to cave paintings of honey hunts (Cave of the Spiders, Valencia Spain). The details of insect social behavior were not easily grasped. For example, the reproductive division of labor in the western honey bee Apis mellifera. Each colony has one queenwith 20,000 to 50,000 workers (all femail) and 200 to 300 drones (male). Bees are known for their ability to pollinate, produce honey, their social nature and their "reputation for diligence." The queen bee has not gotten the recognition she deserves over the years as being the primary leader in the hive.

For more information on Dr. Berenbaum and her research, visit: http://life.illinois.edu/entomology/faculty/berenbaum.htm.

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September & October Birthdays

by Jeannette Beck

September Birthdays

01 Diane Ruedi

02 Sue Lenschow

03 Gretchen Wieshuber

06 Lorraine Patricia Sherod

07 Carey A. Hardy

08 Jayne DeLuce

12 Vicki Harber-Wheeler

13 Andra Lee

15 Isak Griffiths

15 La Mae Ryan

15 Carol Timms

16 Cathy McArthur

18 Amy Fruehling

18 Janice C. Olson

19 Julie McGown

19 Maureen Parks

19 Betsy Pendleton Wong

22 Karen F. Folk

23 Mary McCain Schlorff

25 Linda Hamman Moore

27 Lois A. Meerdink

28 Roaa Al-Heeti

28 Shirley K. Anderson

October Birthdays

02 Vanessa Faurie

02 Kathryn (Kathy) Reeves

05 Laura Frerichs

08 Cynthia Coleman

11 Betty L. Hembrough

12 Cheryl Berger

13 Jane A. Hays

15 Marilyn L. Whittaker

20 Nancy Weimer

21 Dena Bagger

21 Jerri Wilkerson

24 Barbara Mann

24 Vicki Mayes

25 Amani Fouad Ayad

26 Pamela Hulten

27 Alaina Kanfer

28 Deborah Secor Kurz