It was a wild Round of 64 and Round of 32 that took place the the T-M Rotary Club's Facebook page live at 3:30 last week Friday. As expected there were several upsets, including 15 seed Stephen F. Austin taking down Dayton in the first round. In the second round we saw 9 Seed LSU take down 1 seed Baylor and 2 seed Michigan State eliminated by 7 seed Colorado.
Many brackets are decimated, but many still stand strong. Brackets have been graded and standings through the Round of 32 can be found below. Although some brackets seem to be performing well, many have seen their Final 4, Championship game, and Champion's eliminated early, leaving them with few points possible. Be sure to tune in next week Friday at 3:30 to the T-M Rotary Facebook page for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. It's guaranteed to be a good time!
Meetings will be suspended until further notice! We encourage everyone to continue this practice of social distancing. This will not be taken into account for your attendance for those pursuing perfect attendance. Also, you will not be charged for your lunches at this time. I recommend putting those excess funds to work with the Rotary Foundation or to local non profits such as Ozaukee Family Sharing.
For those looking to continue to find ways to be of service during this event, I encourage you to visit http://volunteerwisconsin.galaxydigital.com/. there are a number of opportunities including things that can be done from home!
While it seems distant, summer meetings are just around the corner. Anyone interested in being a head chef for one of these meetings should reach out to Sandy at cust1234@aol.com. These meetings will be July 7- Aug 25.
This week our speaker was our fellow member and superintendent of schools Dr. Matthew Joynt. His presentation provided information regarding the proposed referendum for the Mequon-Thiensville School District. The referendum has many goals: maintaining a commitment to facilities, providing high quality adaptable physical environments for students, addressing current and future learning needs, providing value to all stake holders, and staying financially responsible.
Following an initial review, six areas were identified for potential support.
The area highlighted as the main concern was enrollment and growth. the existing capacity for our elementary schools is 1524 students; the current enrollment is 1561. before adjusting for expected growth in the next 5-10 years, we are above our limit. The plan would call for renovations at the three elementary schools to increase space available for all classes, expand cafeterias, and renovating targeted spaces at the middle schools including musics specialist for current needs.
The next important area identified was safety/security. In a world with ever evolving dangers and threats, it is important students feel safe in our schools. That in mind, the district is looking to improve traffic circulation and parking lot queuing space, make restrooms and play grounds more accessible for those with mobility impairments, create a more identifiable main entrance at homestead and district wide, improvements to control visitor, and connect municipal water and enhance fire suppression at middle and elementary levels.
The other four issues, outdated learning environments, maintenance, community and recreation use, and athletics are important; however, they are not the current priority of the district.
Amanda M. Roddy is the Field Organizer with Marsy's Law for Wisconsin. She is also a newer member of the Waukesha Noon Rotary Club. Amanda has been married 15 years this summer, and her and her husband have 3 daughters. They enjoys road trips with the family and live theater and music. She also loves to help plan and run events, which, as we all know, will make her an excellent addition to her Rotary Club.
Amanda is here to tell us about Marsy's law, which is a proposed constitutional amendment which will support rights of crime victims and their families. If passed, Wisconsin would become the 14th state to pass ballot measure for the adoption of Marsy's law. The resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Alberta Darling and Representative Jim Ott, among 51 State Senators and Representatives.
Last week we celebrated a birthday number 101 for our esteemed member, Dr. George Witte. At 72 years, he is our longest active member and a true servant of the Thiensville-Mequon community. We wish him another year of health and happiness.
Visiting the wreckage of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor with her Japanese father and American mother left a lasting impression on Megumi Nishikura as a child. But it was the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001 that convinced the then film-student to pursue a Rotary Peace Fellowship and commit to using media to pursue peace.
Since 2015, more than 4 million people have fled an economically devastated Venezuela. The latest issue of The Rotarian tracks the stories of three refugees to put a face on the crisis. Also read how Rotarians are helping people fleeing from Venezuela and those who remain behind.
Gates Foundation extends its match of donations to Rotary for polio eradication
On 22 January, Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that they would extend their long-term fundraising partnership, which generates up to $150 million annually for polio eradication. Under the agreement, Rotary commits to raising. $50 million a year over the next three years, and each dollar will be matched with an additional two dollars by the Gates Foundation. This expanded agreement will yield up to $450 million for polio eradication activities.
International delegation of Rotary leaders visits Pakistan to support polio eradication
Earlier this month, a delegation of Rotary International leaders from around the world traveled to Pakistan to meet with government officials to discuss recent challenges in the effort to end polio there. The government leaders praised Rotary for its prominent role in polio eradication and for providing vital financial support to Pakistan and other countries that are threatened by polio.
The Rotary delegation included Holger Knaack, 2020-21 Rotary International president; K.R. Ravindran, 2020-21 trustee chair of The Rotary Foundation; and Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. The group was accompanied by incoming Rotary Foundation Trustee Aziz Memon, the chair of Rotary’s Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee.
Polio eradication in Pakistan: Rotary members will finish the job
Pakistan is one of two countries that continues to report cases of polio caused by the wild poliovirus. Aziz Memon, an incoming Rotary Foundation trustee and chair of the Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee, explains what motivates Rotarians in Pakistan to finish the task of polio eradication.
Our speaker this week was none other than our club's youngest member, Peterson Apfelbach! While he doesn't have as many years behind him, he still had plenty of great stories to tell!
Peterson has been a member of the Mequon-Thiensville community since he was three years old. He had the honor of receiving an education from the Mequon-Thiensville school district from K5-12th grade. During that time he was active on the tennis team, competed in chess tournaments, participated in curling bonspiels, and played clarinet in the band! During that time in the band, he taught himself how to play trumpet, a far more fun and flashy instrument! After a great adolesence, it was time to move on to something bigger, college.
While not his first choice, UW-Madison was always where he had been fated to attend. Even though a large portion of his time was dedicated to his studies in physics and economics, those were really just a side gig for his participation in the University of Wisconsin-Marching Band under the direction of Michael Leckrone. As a member of that band he got to travel all across the country performing for the best fans in the world at tailgates, sporting events, and numerous charity outings.
Following his time at school, we find him where he is now, serving as a financial adviser for Edward Jones in the heart of Thiensville! When he isn't working, he would be happy to challenge you to a game of chess, or perhaps get back to his Ironman training to have a cleaner race than last time! We look forward to his continued contributions to the club and hope he doesn't get hit by another bus.
As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, Rotarian Maureen Duncan understood the value of reaching out to Peace Corps volunteers to help her district’s project. The project is advancing education and providing economic opportunities for youth in Guatemala. Your club can work with Peace Corps volunteers to identify beneficiaries, assess communities, and involve community members in projects.
In his blog post for Rotary Voices, Martin Postic Jr. explains why The Four-Way Test makes a better mirror than window. Postic argues that the test should not be used to put down the opinions of others or defend contentious social issues, but should be used to guide one’s own ethical behavior.
Last week our guest speaker was none other than Tyler Briggs! As with all members, he got an opportunity to share with us a little about himself!
Tyler Grew up in Madison and graduated from Madison Memorial. Due to the incredible ability and outstanding nature of the program, and not his immediate proximity to UW- Madison, Tyler was a die hard Badger fan. He planned that after one year of attending UW-Milwaukee he would transfer; however, he fell in love with the school and the city of Milwaukee. As a result, he stayed there to complete his undergraduate degree. For his professional career, Tyler has long been involved with financial services. The majority of that time has been working as a financial adviser. While RBC is his current employer, Tyler has worked for a few other great companies along the way such as R.W. Baird. Since joining our club, Tyler has been a wonderful participant in many of our activities as well as a generous contributor to our causes already earning a Paul Harris Award. It is a pleasure having him in our club and we look forward to him sticking around for a long time.
The Rotary Club of Manila Magic and the Rotaract Club of Manila inaugurated monthly medical visits at a child care center in Tondo, one of their city’s most crowded and hardscrabble slums. The program taps volunteer professionals, including five doctors. Hundreds of patients have benefited from the visits and from medicines purchased by Rotarians and their families. Read more in our monthly roundup of club activities.
Rotarians in the coastal community of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia, answered the call when the country’s brushfires began burning close to home. Contacted by Emergency Management Services to help, club members provided meals for volunteer firefighters for a month and sorted and distributed relief supplies once the fires were contained.
Rotary International is working with Toastmasters to provide opportunities for our members to grow their networks, leadership and communication skills and increase their impact within the community. Learn more about Rotary’s alliance with Toastmasters International and how you and your club can get involved.
Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are renewing their partnership to end polio. Under the agreement, Rotary is committed to raising $50 million a year over the next three years, and each dollar will be matched with an additional two dollars by the Gates Foundation. The extended partnership will raise an additional $150 million for polio eradication every year for three years. Donate today and your contribution will be tripled.
Thank you to Professor Ed Follone for speaking to our club at Tuesday's meeting about some of the issues being faced in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election this Spring. Ed Fallone is a constitutional scholar. An expert in corporate and criminal law, whose advice has been sought from a wide range of people, including Senator Herb Kohl in connection with confirmation hearings of four United States Supreme Court Justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen. Much like Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Barack Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he is an academic-- a law professor for the past ~30 years at Marquette University Law School where he has taught over 2,300 members of the Wisconsin Bar, including current and former judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and Rotary Club Presidents-elect.
Ed has been an advocate his entire life for individual rights, including civil rights, human rights, women's rights and more-- his entire career has been spent fighting for justice. The son of a Mexican immigrant, he is a leader in the Latino community who started the Latino Community Center for at-risk youth to prevent the school-to-prison pipeline in a previously high crime neighborhood of Milwaukee's Southside, Centro Legal which provides affordable legal services, and has done extensive work with Catholic Charities for immigrants.
Ed is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court looking to add some diversity to the otherwise all white Supreme Court. if elected he would be just the first Latino Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, and only the second justice of color in Wisconsin's history.
Welcome to the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club, new member, Jim Counsellor. Pictured above with his sponsor, Stan Lind, and club president, Rob Kos. We are very excited to have Jim join the club. He is a 35 year member of the Mequon-Thiensville community and has been married for 32 years! He retired after 40 great years in the technology industry serving Oracle on an international basis. He served 10 years as a marine officer and is a wounded veteran of the Vietnam War. We look forward to his continued contributions to our club!
Clubs are encouraged to attract new members and to fully engage and retain existing members. District Governor Steen Sanderhoff is offering an award to clubs with the greatest net growth during this Rotary year. The Award:
• Winning clubs each receive 1,000 Paul Harris points.
• Up to 10 Awards may be given for 2019-20.
• Award made to: Clubs with Largest Net Percentage Growth during the year.
• Phase 1: July 1 to March 31. Awarded at Celebration 2020 Conference. Award to top 7 clubs.
• Phase 2: July 1 to June 30. Awarded for full year. Award to top 3 clubs.
Kudos to top clubs in the district as of Nov. 27 (by net percentage growth)
#1 = West Bend Noon; #2 = Slinger-Allenton; #3 = Mequon-Thiensville Sunrise; #4 = Sheboygan Early Birds; #5 = Manitowoc Sunrise; #6 = Ripon; #7 = Fox Cities Morning; #8 = Oshkosh; #9 = Burlington; #10 = Green Lake, Two Rivers, Whitnall Park (tie)
Tips for Growing Membership
Look for fresh perspectives and new ideas for your club – especially from young Rotarians. (See Roc City Rotary in Rochester, NY)
Hold an event for non-Rotary service organizations to attract volunteers. (Recently done by Evanston Rotary in IL)
Make a list of club member responsibilities. Discuss it at a club meeting.
For our meeting this week we were joined by Erica Vitek. She is an Occupational Therapist with Aurora Hospitals specializing in the treatment and therapy of individuals suffering from the progressive neurological disease Parkinson’s.
The form of treatment she adheres to is the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, LSVT, named after its first patient. It is designed to create sustained improvement in speech and voice structures. The movements we do by auto-pilot such as speaking, walking, or getting up from a chair are the most impaired. This program tackles those problems head on by emphasizing very intentional motion. Therapists request the patient to think BIG MOVEMENT and LOUD VOCALS during their 1:1 sessions. The goal is to clear the space between how the patient is perceiving their own signals and how others are actually receiving them.
If you have any further questions, I encourage you to reach out to Erica using her email. She is one of the finest in her field and travels across the country instructing others in how to care for those who are suffering from Parkinson’s
The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored our first Student of the Month, Jake Kallas, for the 2019-2020 school year. Jake is a senior at Homestead High School and is the son of Bonnie and Perry Kallas of Thiensville. He is an Eagle Scout, he has received the Merit Award all 3 years of high school, is a member of the National Honor Society, and a trumpet section leader for the Homestead Marching and Symphonic Band.
Jake has distinguished himself as someone who truly cares about giving back to his community. He has participated in several volunteer projects including Gathering on the Green, Family Fun Before the Fourth, and Lionsfest. Some of his most impactful projects include achieving his Eagle Scout Award. Jake’s projects included building planter boxes for Lasata as well as collecting toiletries for a homeless shelter in Milwaukee. Jake has also volunteered for the Riverwest Food Pantry Christmas gift program for the past 6 years, which involved collecting and wrapping gifts each Christmas.
Jake, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your community!
Jim Hahn started with KIDS MATTER in 2008 as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program volunteer. His professional background includes more than 25 years in nonprofit fundraising and administration. He served as a national award-winning officer of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and as a member of the Subject Matter Expert Corps charged with writing the international exam questions for the Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential. While pursuing his English degree at West Virginia University, Jim joined Alpha Phi Omega National Service Organization in 1983. Having served at all levels of the organization including on their national board of directors and as the National Marketing Director, today he chairs their efforts to expand into Canada. His experience in nonprofit service has afforded him tenures in addressing homelessness, healthcare advocacy, small business development, literacy, local historic preservation, as well as victims of child abuse and neglect.
Working with kids matter has been a Passion project for Jim. He started as a volunteer with them 12 years ago has been brought into their staff recently. His major role right now is searching for volunteers to be Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA for short. their phrase for 2020 is to "change a kid's story." Court appointed special advocates are the voice looking out for the best interest of kids for safety and permanency as they enter and go through the process of the foster system. In some cases, the CASA may also be appointed the guardian ad litem for the child, but this does not always happen. Less than 50% of foster kids nation wide graduate from high school; however, in Milwuakee 100% of foster kids with a CASA have graduated.
There are several requirements for becoming a CASA. These include participation in a 30 hour training course to learn how to best evaluate, connect, and communicate with children and those involved in their lives. You must also be available to provide the court with your opinion at least every six months. The funding for the CASA program comes mostly from private donations although Kids Matter does receive funds from the state victim of crimes fund.
The 2019 Holiday Food Drive is underway! Bring items with your name attached between now and December 17th to help the Family Sharing Food Pantry and your team!
THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST POSSIBLE DAY TO BRING DONATIONS!!!
This week we had members of the Homestead Choir Perform form several holiday tunes for us. They were led by their director Jennifer Schwingle. Having them perform is always a tremendous pleasure for our club and we look forward to hearing from them again next year!
Full Program list:
Rise Up Shepherd and Follow Jolly Old St. Nicholas It Came Upon a Midnight Clear Apple-Tree Wassail All So Still While By My Sheep Deck the Hall Silent Night Joy to the World
Our Speaker Sandy Sullivan has led an exciting life and has had more than 300 opportunities to share those experiences with Rotary Clubs. She has a unique experience with the Packers having been on their ticket sales staff during the 1961 season and has documented and shared those experiences in her two novels!
Her adventures with the Packers started when Assistant GM Tom Miller employed her to sell Season Tickets for the 1961 Packers. On her first day, none other than Vince Lombardi greeted her and gave her all the lines she would need to sell the 6,000 they still had available. Following that season where she became aware of the who's who in Packer football, she attended UW Stevens Point and took on some modeling gigs. Following an event She was introduced to Paul Hornung, 1956 Heisman Trophy winner and star running back for the Green Bay Packers and a brief relationship began.
After this relationship fizzled, she went on to pursue a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This was during a time of massive riots; however, this led her back into another famous Packer Dan Currie. They moved out to Washington DC and planned to marry in 1971, but when things didn't work out, she married Matt Sullivan team dentist for the Washington Redskins. They lived a happy life together enjoying the grandeur of the capital city.
In 1994, Matt Passed away and life with their 12-year old became cumbersome. She returned to Mauston, became a teacher, and started writing her stories detailing her adventures with the packers. Through her life she has maintained relationships with many of the Packers from the glory days and even had Paul Hornung write a foreword for her story.
She went on to run for Wisconsin Secretary of State; however, was defeated by a long tenured politician. During the Campaign, her novel gained national attention with national news outlets reaching out to have them appear on their talk shows. Many of the Packers rallied behind and supported her campaign following this trouble, however, she was not able to unseat the long time incumbent.
Unfortunately, she did not have time to share all of her adventures, but many more fun stories and adventures are contained within her books!
