The mission of Heart of Illinois Chapter is to benefit the members of the uniformed services, their families and survivors, and to advocate for a strong national defense, while providing support to the community and programs to grow our members.

In order to continue these great programs and activities we need great members, that’s where you come in. We still meet at the Lariat Steakhouse 2232 W Glen Ave Peoria on the third Tuesday of the month except June, July, August and December.  We have added the ability to join Chapter meetings using ZOOM if you cannot attend in person. The Camaraderie before the meeting is vibrant and we all learn from each other during our meetings.  To join our Chapter, Please reply to our Chapter president  david.zabinski@comcast.net

Our members were recently involved supporting General Petraeus Peoria visit and have have been involved in such endeavors as “Tee it up for the Troops”, Honor Flights, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, ROTC, JROTC, Veterans Affairs, and others.  In addition, our programs range from current affairs such as Ukraine & Middle East, critical military impacts such as Tricare changes, “Planning for Military Spousal Benefits” and military historical learnings. We are always looking for other ways to support the military in our Chapter region.

Of course, our reason for existence is to influence legislation that affects the military, especially retirees, and there is much of that floating around these days – such as 2025 Tricare changes. And we track what affects Active and Reserve/Guard as well. With so little military experience in our legislature these days, they need our voice.

Future Planned Programs:  On Russia; GPS, AI, and supercomputing; ROTC JROTC updates.

Chapter’s 19 November 2024 Program will be on China.  Chinese history, geography, politics, and society.  Chinese attitudes to their place in the world from a Chinese historical and intellectual perspective, in order to provide a basis for anticipating developments in the future. 

Has China (PRC) has turned back toward Maoism under Xi Jinping’s regime?

When asked about the state of U.S.-China relations, Americans offer mostly negative assessments: A substantial share consider China an enemy of the U.S., and most think limiting China’s power and influence should be a top foreign policy priority for the U.S. About two-thirds of Americans think China is having a great deal or fair amount of negative influence on the U.S. economy.

Professor Stan Mendenhall has a Bachelor in Arts from
Western Illinois University, with a major in History and a minor in Political Science. He
was awarded a Masters in Science in History from Illinois State University in 1988. He was a History and Political Science instructor at Illinois Central College from 1989 -2021.  Through the generosity of ICC’S Chinese Language Studies Institute, Stan had the opportunity to teach at Xiamen Huaxia College in Xiamen, China in
2013.

Stan has also taught modern world history at Eureka College and the Foreign Policy of South Asia at Bradley University’s Institute of In-
ternational Studies.

Come join us for this important topic.