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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
The Rundown February 4
1. Due to the weather last week, our speaker was unable to make it to the meeting. Fortunately, Rob Kos and Brian Monroe were able to pick up the pieces.
 
Rob Kos kicked off the show with some stories about his past life as a road manager. If you missed it, you missed a fantastic story about Smokey Robinson and a punch line of Smokey leaning in towards Rob and saying "I wonder what size pants he wears." 
 
Rob went on to tell a story about touring with Art Garfunkel and having a couple run-ins with Walter Cronkite, iconic news anchor who reported on many things including bombings in World War II, the Nuremburg Trials, the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iran Hostage Crises, and the assassinations of JKF, MLK, and John Lennon (Cite Wikipedia). When you're as legendary as Walter Cronkite and you want a cheeseburger, Rob Kos is going to get you a freaking cheeseburger. 
 
Needless to say, attendees received indisputable proof that Rob Kos is by far cooler than the rest of us combined. 
 
Brian Monroe's presentation on Rotary 101 was also very informative, but harder to take notes on. 
 
2. 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.
 
3. Let's talk about Facebook. On Tuesday (for real this time), we will take a brief moment to discuss whether T-M Rotary will or should have a continued presence on Facebook and what you should do to support. Technological assistance will be offered.
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”.
Student of the Month - December, 2018
Pictured above:  Kimberly Hartlieb (Student of the Month) and Megan Borland (T-M Rotary Vocational Director)
 
Pictured above: Kimberly Hartlieb with her parents, Elizabeth and John Hartlieb
 
Congratulations to December, 2018's Student of the Month winner. 
 
Kimberly Hartlieb was honored as our December Student of the Month on Tuesday, December 18, 2018.  Kimberly is a senior at Homestead High School and was accompanied by both of her parents, John and Elizabeth Hartlieb of Mequon.
 
Kimberly is actively involved in several community and school organizations.  She has earned the Merit Award all 4 years of high school, she is a member of the National Honor Society and a Student Council Executive Board Member where she works with the student body to plan school-wide events and charity events.
 
Kimberly is the Head Leader for the Reading Buddies program.  This program involves pairing up with second graders at Wilson Elementary and reading with them on a weekly basis.  She also volunteers with Kids 4 Kids, which involves tutoring young students in the MPS school district.
 
One of Kimberly’s most recent volunteer activities involved leading a “5 Minute Fundraiser” at Homestead High School.  Students were given 5 minutes one morning in December to donate money in their classroom for the KAPCO toy drive.  They raised over $1,000 from students in this short 5 minute window and used those funds to buy toys for children.
 
Kimberly will be graduating this May and has already decided to attend the University of Iowa where she will study business.  Kimberly will be the 3rd generation in her family to attend Iowa, where both of her parents, her uncles and her grandmother are all Iowa alumni.
 
Kimberly, we thank you for your “Service Above Self” and all that you have done to make your school and community a better place!
 
To say “100% Goes to the Cause” - Here’s What You Can Do to help Mel’s Charities
  
 
First of all, let’s say thank you to Mel Stanton, Executive Director of Mel’s Charities, and Dick Phalen, President of the Board for visiting and speaking at our December 18, 2018 meeting.  
 
Mel and Dick gave some insight as to what Mel’s Charities does in Ozaukee County, including supporting people with special needs, memorial scholarships, and human services. The emphasis Mel's puts on all of this is on having fun. Mel’s has 6 annual fun events, the most notable being Mel’s Pig Roast in late summer. These events all help raise funds for these great causes. Mel’s has distributed over $1 million since 1999, with $168,000 in 2018 alone. The organization’s distributions have increased every year since its inception, and continued growth is expected.
 
The one question we’re all guilty of asking is “how much of my donation is going to overhead.” If we don’t ask it, we probably think it. Mel wants to be able to say 100%, but as the organization grows, so does the overhead expenses. That’s where the idea of the 300 FUNd Club came in. Mel’s is looking for 300 people to commit to donating $300 a year for three years, earmarked for supporting the organization and its overhead, which consists of nominal salaries and wages, rent for its office space located on Badger Circle in Grafton, and other general expenses. Additional amounts raised through the 300 FUNd are anticipated to be used to start an endowment to keep Mel’s Charities around for the long haul.
 
As of December 18, 2018, Mel's had 181 FUNd Team members, of which on 17 were from Mequon-Thiensville.  Since speaking at the meeting, at least 3 more Mequon-Thiensvillians have joined! Way to go Rotarians! Anyone (else) interested in joining the 300 FUNd Team can visit http://www.melscharities.org/300fundteam for more information or to join. Samuel Azinger will happily help make connections or answer questions if you're looking for more ways to contribute.  
Results are in - and the Winners are... Those Family Sharing Helps!
3 teams, led by Captains Hillman, Wiese, and Jacobs, went head to head to head in a competition to see which team could donate more food and cash to Family Sharing this holiday season.  
 
Motivated by strong leadership, competitive nature, the promise that winning will get you to heaven, and mostly the desire to do good and right in the world, Rotarians gathered 2563 items this year, by far exceeding the totals from every other year (2470 in 2017), data for earlier years is unavailable, making this claim nearly impossible to refute.
 
We all know who the real winners are, but let’s get the breakdown for bragging rights purposes.  Team Hillman led the pack with 967 items donated, followed by team Wiese with 937 items, and team Jacobs with 656 items. 
 
Bottom line is that the winning team is the Thiensville Mequon Rotary Club with 82% participation, compared to 75% in 2017! Way to go team!
Lou Menchaca Trio Performs “Holiday Jazz” for Rotary Club
 
The Club enjoyed the holiday entertainment of the Lou Menchaca Trio performing some holiday jazz at Tuesday's meeting.  The performance was kicked off with a wild rendition of a very famous Miles Davis hit, followed by many of everyone's favorite Christmas Carols.  It was wonderful to see so many guests, including the friends and family of many Rotarians.  As always, Lou kept the show PC (politically correct) and opted out of playing "Baby Its Cold Outside."  If only our friendly editor were so smart.  
Thiensville and Mequon Clubs Represented when RI President Barry Rassin Hosted by Rotary Club of Milwaukee
 
The Rotary Club of Milwaukee hosted current RI President Barry Rassin on Tuesday 4 December. There were 23 D6270 clubs that sent one or more representatives to be part of this special event. The Mequon and Thiensville Rotary Clubs were represented by PDG Karl Hertz and Brian Monroe. President Rassin explained the design and call to action behind this year’s Rotary theme “Be the Inspiration”.
 
President Rassin shared updates with regards to the Polio Plus and many positive life changing projects funded by our dollars that we give to The Rotary Foundation. He also asked us to make sure that are clubs are relevant in order to keep our members engaged and to be attractive to younger leaders.
Student of the Month
Pictured above:  Rob Kos (President-Elect), Lauren Grueninger (Student of the Month), Jill Grueninger (Lauren's Mother) and Megan Borland (Vocational Director)
 
The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored our first Student of the Month, Lauren Grueninger, for the 2018-2019 school year.  Lauren is a senior at Homestead High School.  She is an honor student, she has received the Merit Award all 3 years of high school, and she is a member of the National Honor Society.  She represented Homestead at Badger Girls State this past summer and has participated in numerous clubs and activities at Homestead, including the Rotary Interact Club.
 
Lauren has distinguished herself as someone who has taken action to make a difference in the lives of others.  One of her most impactful service projects was for St. Hyacinth’s Food Pantry on the south side of Milwaukee.  She started volunteering as a greeter every Wednesday afternoon.  During the first week she was there she noticed the “free books” shelf had very few books available.  Reading and education are Lauren’s passions and she wanted to share that experience with the children at St. Hyacinth.  She started a book drive which expanded into collecting school supplies as well.  She collaborated with local businesses to hold a brat fry and a bake sale and collected $975.  She also established donation bins at her church and local schools to collect new and used books and school supplies.  Lauren collected over 2,500 books, 102 backpacks and a truckload of school supplies for the children at St. Hyacinth.  One of the most rewarding aspects of her service was distributing all of the supplies to the children.  Lauren shared a story with our club about one little boy who fell in love with a Batman backpack as she was distributing supplies.  She remembers him being overjoyed when she told him it was his to keep. 
 
Lauren, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your school and community!
 
Read more...
Katherine Adamek - 2010 Speed Skating Olympic Medalist
 
Thank you to Katherine Adamek for speaking to the Club at Tuesday's meeting.  Katherine provided vivid insights as to what it takes to win an Olympic Medalist. 
 
In 2010 Katherine won silver and bronze medals in short track speed skating at the Vancouver Olympic Games.  In 2013 she retired after 3 hip surgeries and years of rehab when she began coaching. She then got the desire to compete again, and from 2016 – 2018 she trained for the 2018 Winter Games. In a sport where 10ths of a second can have an enormous impact, Katherine just barely missed qualifying.
 
This led Katherine to recognize and focus on the importance of mental skill training.  Katherine now partners with Vision Pursue to teach Performance Mindset skills to high performing individuals and organizations.  Performance Mindset Coaching combines the latest research in Neuroscience and Sports Psychology. Clients develop Performance Mindset through ongoing instruction, daily practices, and practical application.
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Nov 05, 2019
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