Stories
Club Meeting Information

No meeting this week as we celebrate the 4th of July. 

Our next meeting will be July 9. Our meetings are held on Fridays at 7:00 AM.

Our in person meetings are held at Newcastle Place, 12600 N Port Washington Rd, Mequon, WI 53092.

To join a virtual Zoom meeting: Click Here 

  • Meeting ID: 819 2807 9639
  • Password: 503093

Our "Meaningful Conversations" guest this Friday will be last year's PHF Erica Turner from Bridge the Divide. Erica will be sharing her experiences living in Ozaukee County since the murder of George Floyd. (Scroll down for details) 

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:

  • Dan O'Connor (7/9)
  • Lance Parve (7/16)
  • Steve Peterman (7/23)
  • Connie Pukaite (7/30)

Note: If you are unable to act as "It's your Rotary moment" assignee when scheduled please arrange for your replacement.

Visit our website at mtsunriserotary.org.

Thought of the Week

Meaningful silence is better than meaningless words. - Pythagoras

Grazing goats officially return to Pukaite Woods

Conley Publishing Group

MEQUON — The popular goats that first helped eradicate weeds in Mequon’s Rotary Park Pukaite Woods last have officially made their return this season, with help from the Mequon-Thiensville Sunrise Rotary Club.

Last year, 38 goats grazed the woods eating buckthorn and other invasive brushy species for about a month in June and another two weeks in August. It’s estimated they weakened the plants considerably, reducing new growth this year, though there is still work to be done.

The 18-acre woods is located behind the band-shell in Rotary Park. The goats work in pens built around a 1-acre perimeter at a time. With the help of Boy Scouts, Rotarians and people in the neighborhood, the pens are moved every day or so over the time that the animals are there.

A Rotary LOL Moment

Frank and Ernest by Thaves

Rotary Music Festival

CEDARBURG - The 21st annual Rotary Music Festival, canceled last year because of Covid-19, will return to Cedarburg this summer on Sunday, Aug. 8. Seven (7) Midwestern drum and bugle corps will perform at the Cedarburg High School Athletic Field starting at 7:30 p.m. The event is hosted by the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club.

Participating drum & bugle corps include the Madison Scouts of Madison, WI, Cavaliers of Rosemont, IL, Phantom Regiment of Rockford, IL, Blue Stars of La Crosse, WI, Colts of Dubuque, IA, Colt Cadets of Dubuque, IA, and River City Rhythm of Anoka, MN. Three of the corps — the Cavaliers, the Blue Stars and the Phantom Regiment — ranked in the Top 12 in world championships in 2019. 

“This will not be a judged competition as in past years, but instead will be a showcase that will give hundreds of young musicians a chance to get out and perform in front of a crowd after a year-long hiatus,” said Layton Olsen, chairman of the Rotary Music Festival. “It will be a very colorful and entertaining evening.”

All seats are reserved so advanced tickets are encouraged to get the best seats in the stadium. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40.

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

Swiss Rotary clubs help young refugees start new lives

The program matches refugees with training to get them settled and fill a need for skilled workers

by Gundula Miethke and Arnold R. Grahl

Eid fled war-torn Afghanistan at age 14, leaving his family and his small motorcycle repair shop behind. He sold the shop and gave most of the money to his parents and siblings before leaving on an eight-and-a-half-month journey to Switzerland.

Like many refugees, Eid — identified here by his first name only, for his safety — took a path that was complicated and at times harrowing. He stayed in Iran for two months, working as a bricklayer, but discovered that his situation there was no safer or better than in Afghanistan. In Turkey, he found passage to Greece on a rubber transport ship with about 60 other refugees. But when they were halfway across the sea, the engine failed — and the boat’s pilot didn’t know how to fix it.

“Thanks to my knowledge as a motorcycle mechanic, I was able to get the engine going again,” Eid says matter-of-factly, omitting the detail that he likely saved the lives of all the passengers.

After brief stays in Greece, the Balkans, and Germany, he reached Switzerland in December 2015 and found shelter with various relief organizations. In one of them he got involved with ROBIJ, a program run by Swiss Rotary clubs that connects young refugees with job opportunities. Three career exploration days and 70 job applications later, he is in his second year as an apprentice network engineer.

The Rotary Park parking lots are now completed

The reconstructed parking lots will serve as an asset to the large events returning to Rotary Park this season, including Gathering on the Green, the Jewish Food Festival, and all of the sports tournaments that user groups will be hosting. With the potential elimination of capacity restrictions, the timing of the projects is perfect for welcoming citizens and patrons to the park. The ancillary path paving that was completed with the project will also serve to provide safe access to other amenities within the park.

Online Version
Upcoming Speakers
Jul 09, 2021
The Borgen Project
The Borgen Project

Hello! My name is Brian Hamilton, and I am a college student studying political science and philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. This summer, I am interning with The Borgen Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan advocacy organization that works to make global poverty reduction a key focus of the United States’ foreign policy, as well as raise awareness about global poverty in general.

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