We meet every Tuesday, with breakfast at 6:45am and the meeting starting at 7:00am, at the Eastland Suites Hotel & Conference Center in Bloomington, IL.
Our meetings start with the Pledge of Allegiance and an Invocation. But, unlike other Rotary clubs, we don’t sing!
Once the meeting begins, we recognize guests in attendance and our club’s committees share any announcements.
Then it’s time for Happy Dollars. Giving a dollar gives members a chance to tell the club something important — something personal (a child getting married) or something professional or business-focused (an update about work, good experiences with local businesses, an upcoming work or charity event, etc.). If another Rotarian’s business is mentioned, many times that Rotarian will also give a dollar for the shout out. Members can also give crabby dollars (maybe a favorite sports team didn’t win), or dollars for missing weeks, arriving late, or leaving early. During Happy Dollars, members also give Birthday Checks, checks equivalent to the age on their birthday. These are not required but appreciated encouraged. Many people round up and will be sure to let the club know they did!
We then move on to the speaker presentation portion of the meeting. Each meeting a group of members is tasked with inviting & introducing a speaker to our club. Every week we hear from leaders in Bloomington-Normal about events, activities, and groups that might be important to our club members! Examples of speakers have been our elected federal & state congressmen, city managers, mayors, university presidents or sport team directors, heads of non-profits, members of local beekeeper groups, or even a lady who has bald eagles that nest near her house!
Members can pay their Happy Dollars, Birthday Checks and more online: bnsunriserotary.org/donate/