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Club Information
Thiensville-Mequon Rotary
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Ozaukee County Club
10823 North River Road
Mequon, WI  53092
United States of America
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Stories
With Great Sadness, Thiensville-Mequon Rotary has Lost Longest Serving Rotarian, Dr. Robert Jacobs
 
Following is from the email sent to members from Club President, Tim Vertz, notifying of Dr. Jacob's passing. 
 
"It is with great sadness we let you know that one of our longest serving and honored Rotarians, Dr. Robert Jacobs, passed away peacefully [], Friday, February 15th. 
 
Dr. Jacobs has been a devoted member of the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary since 1958 and had 59 years of perfect attendance. Prior to his retirement, Dr. Jacobs spent his professional career as a podiatrist in Thiensville. 
 
Dr. Jacobs also served his life as the Rotary Chartered Organization Representative to help oversee our Cub Scout Pack 3852 and Boy Scout Troop 852 where he served in this capacity from the 1970’s until the recent past few years. 
 
Dr. Jacobs was certainly an avid traveler and he visited Rotary clubs all over the globe including Denmark, Jerusalem, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Japan. 
 
Our heartfelt prayers go out to his wife Marilyn and his entire family. 
 
Services for Dr. Jacobs will be held on Monday, February 18th at 11am at Goodman Bensman Funeral Home which is located at 4750 North Santa Monica Boulevard in Whitefish Bay. His full obituary should be listed on their website [] (https://www.goodmanbensman.com/). 
 
On a personal note, Dr. Jacobs has been a wonderful mentor to me in my years in Rotary and helped prepare me to help mentor and advise our Cub Scout Pack 3852 and Boy Scout Troop 852 who we sponsor. 
 
We all are incredibly appreciative of a well-lived life of service that Dr. Robert Jacobs gave to his community."
Amy Luft Speaks on the Honor Flight
“I have a passion for honoring our veterans. My work is in tribute to my late father Robert Akright, who was a WWII veteran and charter member of the building of the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.” -Amy Luft
 
Much like the commitment of our war heroes, a little snowfall (something like 12"-18") wasn't going to stop Amy Luft from speaking to a few dedicated Rotarians attending Tuesday's meeting, and to everyone's delight, the story of the Honor Flight and the stories about the Honor Flight Magic were inspirational, breathtaking, and tear jerking. But before we get into that, I'd like to take an opportunity to thank our veterans for their service to our country, specifically our Rotarian veterans, Sandy Custer, Dan Gannon, Herb Hillman, Bob Jacobs, Karle Naggs, Jim Ott, Stan Smith, Jack Wiese, and George Witte. Thank you gentlemen for your service.  
 
Amy Luft is the Community Liaison for Horizon Home Care and Hospice and on the Board of Directors for Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Inc. was started in 2008 by Joe Dean and a merry band of volunteers, after Dean had seen a brief national news segment. Joe recalls thinking, “someone should do this in Wisconsin.” The next day Dean, son of a WWII Hero (David Dean, US Navy), woke up with one overwhelming consideration of who that person should be, “Oh man, I should do this in Wisconsin!” Within days, the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight wheels were in motion. Recruiting the busiest people he knew, Dean asked each potential board member three questions: “Why not here?” “Why not us?” “Why not now?” The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Board of Directors became a reality and the board booked the first flight at their second meeting, with a grand total of $250.00 in the bank. The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight story was told to one person or one small group at a time, and grew from tiny fundraisers to partnerships with many local organizations and individuals, who have all stepped forward to ensure that our WWII and Korean War Veterans feel appreciated. To date, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown over 4,500 veterans. Our community has been phenomenal in its support, and we are forever grateful.
 
The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has grown to take so many of our veterans, who otherwise never would have been able, to see the memorials built in their honor in Washington D.C.. The sacrifices made by these men and women to provide us with the freedom that we know and love are deserving of as much appreciation as can be bestowed upon them. To hear the stories of certain veterans and what going on the Honor Flight meant to them was truly inspirational, and we cannot be more grateful to Amy for speaking to the club and sharing some of the stories, and those who have made the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight a reality.
 
Amy encouraged us to say thank you to our vets when we see them, and to encourage everyone to apply to go on an Honor Flight. Just last year, the Honor Flight was opened to Vietnam War veterans as well, causing a list of applicants to grow to a level seen only when the organization first began. The commitment to see every one of the vets who have applied to get on an Honor Flight still remains. Anyone is encouraged to donate at starsandstripeshonorflight.org or to attend a Homecoming Event at General Mitchell International Airport to welcome our veterans home from their Honor Flight. 
The Rundown, February 18
Save the Date/Mark your Calendars: 
 
We will be meeting at Thiensville Village Hall for our final meeting of February as well as our first two meeting of March.
 
Our Tuesday March 19 meeting has been moved to Monday, March 18 and will be held at Homestead High School for the National Honors Society Induction Ceremony. More information will follow.  
 
Everyone's favorite event Roadside Cleanup will take place at 9am on Saturday April 13. We will meet at Kwik Trip on the corner of Green Bay and Donges Bay Roads. By moving this event to the second week in April, we hope to have a beautiful April morning, but are fully prepared for the chances of a January snowstorm. 
 
Chinooks Game has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 31 at 7pm. We hope to have a beautiful July evening, but are fully prepared for a January snowstorm. More information regarding this outing will be made available as the date draws nearer.
Amazon Applauded by TM Rotary for Innovative Marketing  
Amazon has great modern day marketing techniques and has managed to squeeze their way into this bulletin! Congratulations Amazon, way to go. Don't forget to shop at smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com this Valentines Day.
Rotary Exchange Student Update

Elisabeth with her AFS friend, Marianna, from Mexico.

Taken at Holy Hill where her ski team was competing.

Enjoying a no-school/snow-day tobogganing with her first-time-playing-in-snow friends from Mexico and Cameroon.

Our German RYE student, Elisabeth Burschel, has been living with Jan and Bob Blazich since early December. After spending August with Blazichs, she moved to the Timmer family home (behind Pukaite Woods) in September and will be with her third family, the Tischers, starting sometime in March. The Tischers live about a mile north of Freistadt. Her planned second family fell through when the father took a job in Denmark and the high school daughter decided to attend school in Spain.

Elisabeth is a very bright, caring and social young lady. She tends to be high energy and often challenges herself by keeping a very full and demanding calendar. She tries to keep a balance in her life, but the requirements of her coursework and activities often dictate how she uses her time. She knows that she pushes herself too hard at times, but resists cutting back on her schedule. She lives life to the fullest, and that is especially true during her short year in the US. Why else would she take the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day?

Elisabeth is an outstanding student. She is currently taking AP Latin 5, Honors English Literature, Art, Orchestra and US History. She is on the Homestead ski team, plays violin in the chamber orchestra and is part of the pit orchestra for the upcoming spring musical. Elisabeth earned Senior High Honors for her first trimester at Homestead and played on the JV tennis team in fall. She recently started attending the Homestead Interact meetings when her schedule allows.

Elisabeth has built a wonderful circle of friends during her months at Homestead. This is often one of the hardest tasks for our visiting students. Elisabeth has three best friends and about 7 or 8 other friends. One of her best friends is an AFS student from Mexico. She has gotten to be very close to the other Rotary students in our district and hosted a group of them for an overnight on New Year's Eve. She recently attended the Homestead Winter Formal with a group of girls and hosted 8 friends afterwards for a sleepover party at the Blazichs’ house. Nearly 20 girls attended her 16th birthday party at the Timmers' in late November. When she has free time, which is rare, she enjoys going for coffee, connecting on the internet or attending house parties with other students. The Blazichs’ two dogs are her constant companions when she's home, and she willingly helps with meals, dishes and general tasks around the house.

Being 4000 miles from home hasn't always been easy for Elisabeth. Shortly after arriving in the US, she learned that her mother had significant heart problems and was not able to work for almost 2 months. Barbara, her mother, is doing well now. Of course she missed her family over the holidays, but was able to connect with them often thanks to the internet. Elisabeth has kept up with several friends in Germany, but that can be good and it can be bad depending on how her friends back home are doing. She enjoyed a short visit with an aunt and uncle in early January, and her parents and brother will be coming to visit her later in the school year.

Elisabeth is now just over half way through her time in the US. Upcoming events for her include attending a Latin convention in Madison, joining the Homestead lacrosse team in spring and taking the RYE student west coast trip after graduation.

-Images and Story courtesy of Bob Blazich

Club Welcomes New Member Colleen Landish-Hansen
 
Thiensville-Mequon Rotary welcomed new member Colleen Landish-Hansen who is the incoming Administrator for the Village of Thiensville. She is shown above receiving her Rotary Pin from Dianne Robertson who is the current Village Administrator who plans to retire in early March. Dianne plans to continue her membership as a Rotarian, so not to worry, we will still see her at our meetings when she is not sailing the open seas and travelling the world. Colleen has agreed to abide by the 

Four-Way Test, which is the ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships to consider of the things we think, say or do 1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? and 4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? Welcome Colleen, we look forward to a long Rotarian friendship.

 
Griselda Aldrete, president and CEO of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM), Speaks at Tuesday's Meeting
 
Thank you to Griselda Aldrete and Kim Schultz from the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM) for speaking at our meeting on Tuesday and sharing some insight of what HPGM is doing to advance and inspire young high school and college age Hispanics in Milwaukee.  HPGM holds an annual GALA which will be held this year on May 11.  
 
Griselda Aldrete is the president and CEO of HPGM. Her primary responsibility is to work in coordination with the Board of Directors to develop and execute the vision and strategic plan for the organization. She has far-reaching experience in community leadership and outreach, financial oversight and managing day-to-day operations of complex organizations.  She received a bachelor’s degree in Criminology/Law Studies and Spanish from Marquette University, a master’s in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a law degree from Marquette University Law School. She is a graduate of the National Hispana Leadership Institute Executive Leadership Fellowship and the Harvard Business School Executive Leadership Program, and is a proud alumna of the Future Milwaukee Leadership Program at Marquette University. 
 
Aldrete has been recognized for and received a number of prominent awards for her community service and advancement of Hispanics, including Milwaukee Business Journal's 40 under 40 Award, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee's Philanthropic 5 Award, Marquette University College of Art and Sciences’ Young Alumna of the Year, Biz Times Milwaukee’s Regional Spirit Award, United States Delegate for the British American Project, Wisconsin’s “Top 48 most powerful Latinos” list, Major League Baseball’s SEAT 21 Award, National Football League/Green Bay Packers’ Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, Donald Driver Foundation’s Driven to Achieve Award and the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast’s Risk Taker Award.
 
Kim Schultz is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for HPGM. She is a graduate of UW-Madison and is also a proud alumna of Future Milwaukee Leadership Program at Marquette University.  She currently serves on the Wisconsin Humane Society Advisory Board, is the chair of the Racine Community Committee, and was elected in 2019 to the Class of Milwaukee's Emerging Women Leaders.
Student of the Month - January, 2019
(Pictured Above:  Rotary Members Matthew Joynt and Megan Borland, Joe Nelson, Lisa Nelson and Eric Nelson)
(Pictured Above:  Joe Nelson, Student of the Month)
This past week, we honored our 3rd selected Student of the Month for the 2018-2019 school year.  Joe Nelson, a senior at Homestead High School, was the selected winner and was honored during our club meeting on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.  Joe was accompanied by both of his parents, Eric and Lisa Nelson of Mequon.
 
Joe Nelson is certainly no stranger to taking action to help others within his community and school.  Joe has an impressive resume, filled with several community, church and school related volunteer activities, clubs, band, and leadership positions. 
 
One of Joe’s most significant service accomplishments is his involvement with the Best Buddies Club at Homestead.  Joe is now the president of this organization, leading 60 members, and has spent the last 3 years as a Peer Buddy.  Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to creating one-on-one friendships, employment and leadership development for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Joe has been paired with the same buddy for all 3 years, an individual who has non-verbal autism.  Joe has learned how to communicate with his buddy, created a special friendship, and helped improve his peer’s social and communication skills.  Joe’s experience has developed a passion for caring for other people and ultimately, has prompted him to explore a career in the medical field.
 
Joe is a 4-year Merit Award recipient at Homestead, a member of the National Honor Society and represented Homestead at Badger Boys State.  He has participated in his church mission trips for the past 4 years, traveling to New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, San Francisco and Minneapolis to name a few.  Joe has also served as the percussion section leader for the past 3 years at Homestead.  He is involved in marching band, symphony orchestra and the jazz band.  He also plays the pit orchestra for the Homestead musicals.  He is the co-founder and co-president of Homestead’s Investment Club.
 
Joe is still in the process of deciding where he will attend college this fall, but does intend to study nursing.  Joe, we congratulate you on your accomplishments and thank you for all of your “service above self”.
Upcoming Speakers
Oct 22, 2019
Oct 29, 2019
Vice President - Chief Legal Officer West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
Nov 05, 2019
New Member Thumbnail Sketch
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Meeting Responsibilities
If you cannot fulfill your responsibility, please make arrangements for someone else to take your place.
 
Seriously!
 
Prayer/Inspiration
 
October 15
Carr, Tim
 
October 22
Custer, Sandy
 
October 29
Davis, Todd
 
Greeter
 
October 15
Von Rueden, Anthony
 
October 22
Weston, Shelley
 
October 29
Wiese, John
 
Pledge
 
October 15
Naggs, Karle
 
October 22
O'Connor, David
 
October 29
O'Leary, Maureen
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Join Date
Tim Vertz
October 4, 2011
8 years
 
Rob Holtz
October 15, 1996
23 years
 
Russell Hampton
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