Exciting news: Friday, June 4, we return to Newcastle Place!
Our first meeting wholly "in person" will be at 7:00; arrive a little early to socialize! Our first breakfast will be "continental" style, although for future breakfasts, other options are to be explored.
Masks are not required in our dining area, but we are asked to wear masks from the front door to the dining room and back. Those comfortable wearing masks in the dining area may do so and are welcome.
The Board wishes to try an alternating plan at first, with Zoom meetings and in-person meetings alternating every other week.
Our program this week will be a Club Assembly but before that Dave Schlageter will update us on plans for this year's fund raiser and Shawn Whalen will give his classification talk.
The virtual 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:
Brian Monroe (6/4)
Andy Moss (6/11)
Mike Meinolf (6/18)
Kay Newell (6/25)
Note: If you are unable to act as "It's your Rotary moment" assignee when scheduled please arrange for your replacement.
What do remember most about this Rotary year? Since our meetings have been virtual, my attendance at MT meetings has improved. I haven’t missed a meeting in over a year. I have found it easy to attend while visiting family in Seattle and the Greater Toronto area and from our home in MI’s UP. I love that other members who are traveling, staying in other parts of our country and in other countries has been able to attend.
What have been some of your favorite meetings? Because of our virtual meetings Dave, Bob and Lucia have brought in some incredible guests. It’s hard to decide between our former exchange students, international guests and guests for our “Meaningful Conversations”. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the “Meaningful Conversations”. Those meetings have really helped me learn and grow.
What recent MT Club related projects are you proud of? That’s an easier question to answer. I’m very proud of our club’s involvement with the TM Rotary Foundation’s ability to facilitate the completion of the Mequon Thiensville Gateway project. I’m also proud of the successful goat project in Pukaite Woods and our club’s continued support of GMRP (Guatemala Medical Resources Partnership).
Any recent funny Rotary related memories? Yes this one brings me a smile. When our seven-year-old grandson mentioned that “Papa you must really love Rotary”, and I asked him why, he said that “you have Rotary stickers on our cars, you have Rotary pins on your cloths and use Rotary beverage containers”. I told him that he was right, that I’m proud to be a Rotarian, that I love what Rotary has done to help me grow and to make the world a better place for others.
It is with great pleasure we welcome a new satellite club to District 6270. New clubs make it possible for current, past members, and new members of Rotary to create more opportunity for service in our community and the world. A special thanks to Barb Senn and the board of Fond du Lac Morning for spearheading this effort. It is wonderful to see how Rotary can renew itself and adjust to new times and circumstances. The new club is currently meeting once a month virtually but is looking to change to hybrid meetings in the coming months. With 10 active members, the club is set for growth.
A satellite club offers current members of a club the opportunity to meet a changing schedule or circumstance, past members to rejoin Rotary, and new members to join at a time and place that fits their work hours or family schedule better.
A few comments from club members to illustrate some of the many reason for clubs to offer an alternative to a traditional Rotary experience:
“We used to be Interact members and wanted to rejoin the Rotary World, but a morning club did not make that possible.”
“We now spend several months out of state and the time difference makes it difficult to participate in a morning meeting.”
“I am commuting to work at 7:00 AM and an afterhours club makes it possible to join Rotary.”
Congratulations to Fond du Lac Afterhours. Four growing active Satellite Clubs are now part of our District.
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.
The reconstruction of the Rotary Park parking lots has reached the halfway point.
The reconstruction of the east parking lot at Rotary Park, which provides access to the Reuter Pavilion and is heavily used by user groups, was recently paved last and pavement striping is finished. Completion of the east parking lot will allow parking and access to the park to transfer to it, while the west parking lot, which provides access to Rotary Pavilion and many sports fields, is milled and paved. The project also includes repaving several of the trails within the park, which provide access to the gazebo, pier and connection between the various park elements.
With the luck of good weather, the project is progressing ahead of schedule. The intent is for the parking lots to be completed and stripped prior to the beginning of peak park season this summer, and specifically
Jeff Wenzler is a motivational speaker, award-winning author of The Pivotal Life: A Compass for Discovering Purpose, Passion & Perspective, resilience mentor, international servant leadership organization founder, executive producer of 10 Dollar Perspective, humanitarian, wannabe photographer, avid hiker, dad, and dog rescuer.
Jeff has degrees from Marquette University and Boston College. He resides outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin when he is not at his 12x12 home in a Jamaican landfill community where he mentors single mothers and their children living in extreme poverty.
Jeff’s passionate, almost surreal journey of resilience will provide a 5 point strategy that he used to navigate his brother dying in his arms on his birthday, chronic illness, being stabbed at work, having the electricity shut off on his kids, living in a garbage dump in a Third World country, Covid destroying his business, and the clutches of addiction. Growth can happen despite your current situation.
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