When: We meet Friday mornings from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM.
Where: Our next meeting will be at the Mequon Public Market, 6300 W Mequon Rd, Mequon, WI 53092.
This week's meeting will feature the induction of Dave Petrulis along with classification talks from Clarene Mitchell and Brittany Vulich.
The greeter will provide either the thought, a Rotary minute, share a family moment or a cultural tradition ... anything they would like to start off the day positive.
Upcoming "It's your Rotary moment" assignees:
Kurt Zellmann (10/28)
Errol Barnett (11/4)
Scott Bern (11/11)
Bob Blazich (11/18)
Note: If you are unable to act as "It's your Rotary moment" assignee when scheduled please arrange for your replacement.
Club Assemblies have been scheduled for the following dates: 11/18 and 12/16.
Where were you born, education/degrees or associations/board seats? I was born in Milwaukee WI, (St Joe’s) 1973 I have always been a WI resident. Raised in Mequon, MTSD grad Homestead Class of 1991. First went to MATC North then to MSOE, Earned Associates of Mechanical Engineering and continued into Senior @ MSOE year but never completed BS in Mechanical Engineering. Worked in ME roles for two companies Power Test Dynamometers and Western Snowplows.
Became a volunteer FF/EMT and went back to MATC to earn Associates in Fire Protection Engineering. Went to Paramedic school and became a full-time firefighter for the City of West Allis in 2004. Worked part time for Flight For Life as a Flight Paramedic. Promoted to Assistant Chief of EMS at West Allis. Started one of the regions first Community Paramedic Programs in the state. Flipping the EMS delivery model from reactive to proactive.
Left West Allis in 2019 for City of Mequon Fire Department. Hired as the second full time employee of the organization. Completed Batchelor’s of Fire Service Management in May 2021 from Columbia Southern University. Serve on the MATC Fire Service Program Advisory Board since 2016.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A helicopter Pilot for the US Coast Guard.
Name of company & position, or your very first job: My first job was at my father’s company Truline CNC Inc as a Machinist Assistant / First non-Family Business job was as a “Spherical Projectile Removal Technician” at Missing Links Golf Course – Driving Range. (I picked up golf balls on the range)…
Family: Married to wife Suzanne since 1999 two children, Daughter Katelyn (12 y/o @ Steffen Middle School Son Kolby (10 y/o @ Wilson Elementary) – Two younger brothers, Kris & Kyle. Parents still live in Mequon in the same house I grew up in on Valley Dr.
Interests/hobbies/last book read/favorite movie/what’s playing in on your car’s stereo/pastimes: I am a “gearhead” at heart. I love working on cars and mechanical items. A fan of Sprint Car racing. Last book – Playing With Fire by Scott Lazenby – Favorite Movie – “It’s a Wonderful Life” Car Radio – 88.9 Radio Milwaukee.
Best business decision, or hardest business decision: Not to join the family business and to strike out on my own.
Biggest career accomplishment/highlight to date, or what do you like best about your job? Biggest Accomplishment – I’ve been a part of a team that has saved 100’s of lives during my 20 career in EMS. I like that I get to help people. It’s really that simple, what I do as a Firefighter/Paramedic is to help people.
By Shannon Coleman, governor of District 5870 Central Texas, USA
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the United Nations estimates that more than 14 million people are thought to have fled their homes. We began hearing about some of these families through our Ukrainian community here is Central and South-Central Texas. Children are entering our school systems with only the clothes on their backs. Many of the families have experienced violence, war, a shortage of food, water or shelter, personal injury, and disease.
Wanting to help, Rotarians in our district applied for a Disaster Response Grant from The Rotary Foundation to work with Peaceable Kingdom by Variety, a children’s retreat/camp in Killeen, for a three-night, four-day recreational experience over the Labor Day weekend. We imagined a space where the Ukrainian families could connect with their community, step away from the reminders of war, and take a much-needed deep breath. We wanted to give the children a place to explore, laugh and just be kids.
Working with the Ukrainian community in our area, we identified 47 children ranging in age from 5-13. Twenty-six parents also attended. The $20,000 grant provided for overnight lodging and meals, facility costs, and on-site medical professionals. We had 55 Rotary members give more than 350 volunteer hours, while 20 members of our Ukrainian community volunteered their time. All volunteers were required to complete a criminal background check and a child sexual abuse prevention training.
Seeking a hallmark project to boost attention and money for PolioPlus during his year as governor of District 9980, Nick Wood picked pumpkins — a variety called the Atlantic Giant, to be specific.
Fifty-five Rotarians, family members, and friends competed to grow the greatest gourd from plants that Wood started and distributed beginning in late October of last year. The goal: “to have fun, and this was heaps of fun,” Wood says. The grand weigh-in in late April required a forklift when the Rotary Club of Wanaka’s winning pumpkin tipped the scales at more than 357 pounds.
With sponsors donating a set amount for each kilogram, the competition yielded more than US$31,000 at current exchange rates, topped with a District Designated Fund contribution of about $6,200, all matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The biggest success was the almost doubling of our club and personal contributions to polio from the previous year,” says Wood.
Anton Zeilinger, a member of the Rotary Club of Wien-West in Austria, was among three physicists who were announced as the winners of the Nobel Prize in physics on 4 October for their experiments in quantum mechanics. Their research laid the groundwork for rapidly developing new applications in computing and cryptography.
Zeilinger, a professor at the University of Vienna, shared the award with French physicist Alain Aspect and U.S. physicist John F. Clauser. Their experiments explored quantum entanglement, a phenomenon that occurs when two particles behave as a single unit, even when separated. The three scientists will share the prize of nearly US$900,000.
"I'm still kind of shocked, but it's a very positive shock," Zeilinger told reporters in Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after learning that he won. "I was actually very surprised to get the call."
He also acknowledged the contributions of more than 100 students who had worked for him over the years. He advised young people, "Do what you find interesting, and don't care too much about possible applications."
The Nobel Prizes are announced every October and November by committees in Sweden and Norway for groundbreaking contributions in chemistry, economic sciences, literature, peace work, physics, and physiology or medicine. In December, Zeilinger and the other laureates will accept their award in Stockholm.
The Saukville Community Food Pantry is a non-profit organization providing warm meals, groceries, school supplies and support to families in need in Ozaukee County. The number of families served has grown tremendously since we opened our doors in 2012. In the first month of operation, the pantry helped 23 families. Today, we serve over 400 families a month and help over 750 families a year. Saukville Community Food Pantry has created a shopping experience for our families to allow them to choose the foods that work best for their family and any dietary needs they may have. Outside of the needs of the pantry we provide a free meal site, holiday meal boxes, mobile food pantries, a Back 2 School Fair and a Back Pack Fridays Program in the Port Washington / Saukville School District.
Bio:
Mark Gierach, the Executive Director and Founder of the Pantry, was born and raised in the City of Mequon, and moved to Grafton just before his junior year in high school. After graduating from Grafton High, he attended MATC in Milwaukee for Police Science and began working for the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department in 1974. He retired at the rank of Sergeant in 2004. He worked for Business International Network (BNI) from 2005 to 2015 and operated his own promotional products business. Mark started the Saukville Community Food Pantry in 2011 and became its Executive Director in 2012. He currently lives in the town of Farmington with his wife, Nancy, who also gives much time to help run the Pantry and the Community Meal Site hosted by the Pantry. They are both active at Parkside Community U.C.C. in Saukville and enjoy time with their extended families and friends.
Married to Nancy, we each have three children from previous marriages, 12 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
Born and raised in Mequon till I was 15 and family then moved to Grafton.
Graduated from Grafton High School, attended MATC for Police Science and started working at the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office in 1974.
Retired in 2004 at the rank of Sgt.
From 2000 to 2005 I attended Lay ministry training in DeForest WI with the United Church of Christ and worked as the Youth Minister at St. Peter's UCC in Saukville WI until 2015 on a part time basis.
Started my own Promotional Products business in 2002 and sold my customer list to another business in 2011 when it became apparent I either needed to hire staff or cut the number of customers I had been working with.
The Food Pantry began to be formed in 2010 when I was approached by a group of people we worked with at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Saukville that had a small food pantry in the basement of the rectory and our church had worked with them on several projects. Their group were all in their late 70's and 80's and asked if we would continue the work they had started. From there we created a separate 501c3 organization and the journey continues today and into the future.
