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Kentland Rotary Hears  Bernie Markley of BA Markley &

Associates in Watseka

 

Rotarian Tira Howaniec (right) invited Bernie Markley of BA Markley & Associates in Watseka to speak at the Kentland Rotary Club Monday noon luncheon meeting.  Markley, a man of many interests, is the Board President of Sugar Creek Symphony and Song and also the Choir Director at the First United Methodist Church in Watseka. Although he has had formal training in opera, his topic for Monday's meeting was the Woodmen of America Fraternal Financial, the third largest of circa 200 fraternal societies in the United States.  You might ask, "Just what is a fraternal society?"  The answer is that Modern Woodmen is a membership organization that sells life insurance, annuity and investment products not to benefit stockholders but to improve the quality of life of its stakeholders ---members, their families and their communities.  Through social, charitable and volunteer activities its members qualify Modern Woodmen as a 501C8 tax-exempt fraternal society.  The Modern Woodmen have supported disaster relief, college scholarships, tree planting, volunteer programs, education programs and more.  The Watseka Camp of Modern Woodman, which offers fellowship and community service opportunities for its members, sponsors the Kelly Miller Circus to raise funds for community projects.  Money raised this year went to the Watseka  firefighters to help build a training facility.  The Woodmen have contributed to disabled adults, Toys for Tots, and needy families needing essential care.  Their good neighbors program built ramps for area handicapped.  The Woodmen have made a difference by donating crossword puzzles and word search books to local nursing homes.  They have planted trees in four nearby counties. That includes trees planted in the Donovan Park and in Watseka's Veterans Memorial Park.  Bernie Markley has been employed by the Modern Woodman of America for 23 years.  It was founded by Joseph Cullen Root in 1883 in Lyons, Iowa .  Today, its headquarters is in Rock Island, Illinois. 

 

 

 

Brandt Stum 

Kentland Rotary Club