The above photo is of Mequon Boy Scout Troop 865's Cub Pack 3894, of which our M-T Sunrise Rotary is the Sponsor.

Our Cub Pack held its Annual Blue & Gold celebration this past Sunday at Reuter Pavilion in Rotary Park to honor and recognize 30 Scouts who advanced in rank as a result of their hard work this past year.

Sunrise Rotary is proud to be their sponsor, and to work with them every year on environmental service workdays at Rotary Park. We are especially pleased that they share our commitment to truth, fairness, goodwill, friendship and beneficial service to all.

A special shout out to our own Connie Pukaite who worked with pack leaders to make this event a success.

The City of Milwaukee will hold Independence Day fireworks and celebrations on July 5.

The announcement comes after Milwaukee County said last week that it would be canceling its July 3 lakefront fireworks show because it did not have enough workers.

Daytime celebrations will take place at Humboldt Park, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and Enderis Playfield, following a tradition that began in 1911, according to a statement from the city. 

Milwaukee County parks that will host fireworks are Alcott, Gordon, Humboldt, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, Mitchell, Noyes, Washington, and Wilson.

The celebrations are beginning again after the city lifted its COVID-19 health orders on Tuesday, according to the city.

by Joseph Derr

During a breakout session on “Welcoming the LGBTQ Community Into the Family of Rotary” during the 2017 Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Michelle Wilson, a member of the Rotary Club of Athens Sunrise, Ohio, had a question. “I asked, ‘Why doesn’t Rotary have a group for LGBT+ people?’” When she added, “We should start one,” she says, “the response was overwhelming.”

Before the session had even ended, Sean O’Hara, a member of the Rotary Club of Lake Charles Happy Hour, Louisiana (and later the fellowship’s first president), had opened a Facebook group for LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender). Wilson left the meeting with a stack of business cards from people who wanted to be part of the new group. The LGBT Rotarians and Friends Fellowship was born.

In between regular Zoom events held in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, members like Wilson — who is the group’s current president — are talking to clubs about promoting diversity and telling the story of being LGBT in Rotary.

The fellowship is seeking to work with clubs on projects that support the LGBT community and to offer resources to clubs that want to be more diverse and welcoming to all.