I hope this newsletter finds everyone well. Make sure you get out and enjoy that sunshine today!
As this will be the final newsletter insert of my term, I would like to begin by thanking you, the M-T Sunrise Rotary Club, for the opportunity to serve with you in this capacity. It’s has truly been my honor and privilege to do so, I have learned so much and grown as a Rotarian from the experience. I look forward to serving with you in other roles in the years to come.
This week, I had the privilege to speak with some of our local senior citizens about Rotary, about our Club, and about the Guatemala Medical Resources Partnership (GMRP) project that we support and participate in. The enthusiasm and delight that our Rotarians, their neighbors are involved in such selfless and worthy causes was quite high, the “thank you”s were plentiful and in turn , I relay them to all of you.
Again, I was honored to be the one sharing our story and it was fitting emotion for me as we prepare to celebrate our nations independence and all that we have because of it. I hope you all have a very memorable holiday weekend, enjoy all the freedoms we have as a result of the hard work and sacrifice given by those before us, and lets pass it forward.
Upcoming Events:
MT Sunrise Rotary "Changing of the Guard” Ceremony - July 16, 6-9pm - you should have received and replied to the invitation by now. If you have not, please contact Tom Martin ASAP.
This week’s at MTSR:
No meeting this week, July 3, 2015.
Next week, July 10, we will meet at River Barn Park. We will hold our annual meeting, officially electing in the new officers and then hear from our District Governor, Karen White. There will be a business meeting with the new Board of Directors and DG White immediately following our Club meeting, please adjust your schedules to be in attendence.
On June 25, 2015 we closed on a new preserve and it’s a good one! At 155 acres, the new Spirit Lake Preserve becomes our third largest preserve behind the Zinn Preserve (187 acres) and Fellenz Woods (165 acres.)
With contributions from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District Greenseams Program, the Milwaukee Audubon Society and various private parties OWLT was able to buy this special piece of land from the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother - a community of women religious who desire to live the Gospel.
The Sisters used the land as a private retreat for many years and they’re pleased to know that the public will get to enjoy the land now. The property was also used by Native Americans as a place for spiritual gatherings. You can feel a special presence there.
Our goal is to manage the preserve as a combined natural area with the Pukaite Woods section of Mequon Rotary Park, which is adjacent to Spirit Lake. The Mequon-Thiensville Sunrise Rotary Club is already funding one intern per year to manage the two areas. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Audubon Society is planning to take a very active role in the management as well.
Today is also the day that OWLT goes over 6,000 acres preserved! Wow. June 26, 2015.
I am honored to be your District Governor. For those that do not know me, I moved here from Connecticut 14 years ago. Within a few months, I got involved with Plymouth Rotary because someone got their ‘ASK’ in gear. I encourage you to do the same. I look forward to my club visits to meet all of you and hear what you have to say. We will be adding a section on the district home page for the Assistant Governors to tell us what is going on in their areas. This is something new so we can expand what’s happening in our district.
This year’s theme is “Be a Gift to the World.” Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. Some are elegantly wrapped while others are the handiwork of a child – so proud of the beautiful job they did. Gifts come from the heart. We give them to celebrate occasions or because someone can use a surprise. This year please consider your gifts to the world. Wouldn’t it be a terrific gift if this is the year of no new cases of Polio? Or that more people have clean water, know how to read, have healthier babies or have better medical and vision care? These things and many more are possible through the Rotary Foundation. I would like to see every member of every club do a minimum of $100 this year. It is $2 a week and what a gift it is!
This year will see some changes in a few areas. First will be the Rotary monthly themes. You can find them on our website at http://www.rotary6270.org/ on the right column titled " Site Pages" under RI Monthly Themes (or in our district directory). I encourage you to get speakers during the months that relate to the themes. Not only does this open your club to others in your community and possibly new members, it helps us learn what Rotary stands for and believes in. When a member asks ‘why should they give to the Rotary Foundation’ you can point to at least 11 reasons why.
RI President K.R. Ravi Ravindran is moving Rotary forward with technology. All clubs and members should be registered in My Rotary. This year the Presidential Citation will be processed online only. Some goals are dependent on your club size so read it carefully. As a club you can measure your progress against the goals set by your president. RI will measure the same through Rotary Club Central as well. By urging Rotarians to utilize the online tools for recording goals and following their progress, the more accountable we will all be. You will have a ready reference at any point in time. I urge you to go to https://www.rotary.org. Go to "My Rotary", login and play around. Make it a club meeting. Bring in a seasoned user who can teach your membership how to get in and navigate. There are different authorization levels, but there is a wealth of information there, not to mention training sessions. Members can even track their own Foundation donations. As RI migrates more to online usage, we should all – me included – become more comfortable with the system.
This year I’m encouraging clubs to break or bend rules that no longer serve a purpose. If your membership requirements are so tight that it makes it tough for anyone new to come in, then you need to take a look at this. I’m not talking about breaking the by-laws of your club. That is a formal process. But don’t be afraid to be more flexible - to move forward. “We’ve always done it this way" does not work anymore. The work environment has changed and if it means changing to meet the need, then at least try it. Some clubs do not bill for weekly meals. They have a pay as you go plan with 3 to 5 options. I’ve seen this done and it works well. Some clubs have changed one meeting a month to an evening social in lieu of a breakfast or lunch meeting. The possibilities are endless.
If you need me or have a question of any kind, email me at lakewinds@msn.com . I am here to work with you. Together we all make a difference.
Mequon-Thiensville school taxes stay flat By Jeff Rumage
Mequon - The Mequon-Thiensville School District's proposed 2015-2016 budget would keep tax bills flat while adding a lacrosse program, two math specialists and special education leadership stipends.
The school board had originally anticipated a $522,000 shortfall due to the loss of categorical aid, but the State Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted in May to reinstate that aid. Mequon-Thiensville's budget anticipates a total $2.2 million in state aid, but that figure won't be finalized until Oct. 15, at which time the budget will be tweaked by the school board.
The district's proposed tax levy is roughly $37.4 million, which is an increase of $59,662 — or 0.16 percent — from last year's tax levy.
The 2015-2016 tax rate is a penny higher than last year at $8.55 per $1,000 of equalized value. Assuming home values remain constant, a home with an equalized value of $350,000 would pay an additional $3.50 in school taxes.
This is the seventh year the district's tax levy has either decreased or increased less than 1 percent.
The budget was adopted by the school board on June 15. Residents will be able to vote on the tax levy during the school district's annual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, July 20, in the Range Line Conference Room, 11040 N. Range Line Road.
Mequon-Thiensville's budget calculations are based on a projected enrollment increase of 49 resident students, which means more state funding. The district's enrollment projections include 130 new students in the 4-year-old kindergarten program, which was approved by the school board in November. Without those students, the district's enrollment was projected to drop by 81 students.
The main initiatives in the budget include the addition of two math specialists, an annual special education leadership stipend of $8,000 and a boys and girls lacrosse program. Many Homestead students currently play in club lacrosse teams, but Superintendent Demond Means said there was a strong interest in offering a Homestead team.
"Lacrosse has been a sport of interest to our families for many years now, and that interest grew to a boiling point this past school year," Means said. "This is another opportunity for kids to be engaged and active in our school community."
Those initiatives, along with operational costs, will be funded by reducing two staff positions at the elementary school level, the projected retirement of staff members and switching transportation services. The district was also able to pay off its $1.25 million in nonreferendum debt, due to $2.9 million in revenue from the sale of 112 acres of vacant farmland.
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On June 25, 2015 we closed on a new preserve and it’s a good one! At 155 acres, the new Spirit Lake Preserve becomes our third largest preserve behind the Zinn Preserve (187 acres) and Fellenz Woods (165 acres.) 
I am honored to be your District Governor. For those that do not know me, I moved here from Connecticut 14 years ago. Within a few months, I got involved with Plymouth Rotary because someone got their ‘ASK’ in gear. I encourage you to do the same. I look forward to my club visits to meet all of you and hear what you have to say. We will be adding a section on the district home page for the Assistant Governors to tell us what is going on in their areas. This is something new so we can expand what’s happening in our district.
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