This Friday evening is one of celebration for the Rotary Club of Skokie Valley.  It’s the annual ceremony of welcoming a new Rotary President and the prestigious installment of a new Rotary Governor with local roots.

Sam Eckerling will be installed as President of the Rotary Club of Skokie Valley and Mike Yesner will be installed as Governor of Rotary District 6440.  Yesner who is a member of the Skokie club will become Governor of 70 Chicagoland Rotary organizations, which make up Rotary District 6440. The Rotary Club of Skokie Valley serves Skokie, Lincolnwood, Niles and Morton Grove.

The Rotary Installation Dinner at the Evanston Golf Club will include a ceremony to honor outgoing Rotary President, Al Anile, and, outgoing District 6440 Governor Carlos Frum, from the Northbrook Rotary Club.  Also planning to attend the event is Ron Burton, President-Elect of Rotary International with over 1.2-million members and 3,400 clubs worldwide.

Incoming President, Sam Eckerling, joined Rotary in 1988 and grew-up in Skokie.  He owns and operates PRINT-Xpress in downtown Skokie.  One of Sam’s goals during his one-year-term is to help Rotarians from Monterrey, Mexico build a learning center for children and adults.   “Monterrey, Mexico is only 150 miles from the US, and the need for services is great,” Eckerling says.

Mike Yesner, will become Rotary District 6440 Governor at the event.  Yesner joined Rotary in 1990 and lives in Des Plaines.  He owns Yesner Marketing and has an MBA in Marketing from University of Chicago and teaches marketing courses at The University of Phoenix, Chicago campus. Yesner’s goal as Governor is to visit every club in District 6440, he says. “And encourage those clubs to adhere to simple Rotary principles of “Service Above Self”, he adds.

Ross Mathee, Rotarian and President of North Shore Community Bank will serve as host and moderator of the evening’s scheduled events.  The Michael Lerich Orchestra will provide the music and a dance will follow the ceremonies and dinner.  To be held at the Evanton Golf Club, a few tickets are still available for the evening at $55 each including dinner, dancing and a cash bar.  A choice of three entrees of steak, salmon or vegan will be service. Contact Sam at 847-677-5555 for ticket information.

The Rotary Club of Skokie Valley helps local organizations like, THE ARC, A Just Harvest Soup Kitchen, American Cancer Society, USO of Illinois, Metropolitan Family Service, End Polio Now, Orchard Village, Golf Marine Park District, Summer Foundation, VITA and more locally and internationally.

For information on joining Rotary, visit the Rotary website at http://www.skokierotary.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SkokieValleyRotary