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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
Walk to End Alzheimer's
Our speaker on Tuesday was Terese Capizzi! Terese is a Mequon resident who recently retired from Northwestern Mutual after 38 years in product development. She is now an active volunteer for the Alzheimer's Association and is a board member of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Association and a member of the development and advocacy committees. Her focus is promoting both Federal and State legislature changes and research dollars for supporting those impacted by Alzheimer's and other dementias. Her passion is to be a part of the cause to see the first survivor of Alzheimer's.
 
Ozaukee County is having our Walk To End Alzeheimer's on Saturday October 5th! The walk will start at Veteran's Memorial Park in Port Washington. Registration & Check-in at 8:30. the two mile walk will begin at 10am with post walk celebration including food and music!  There are many ways to get involved such as being a sponsor of the walk, joining the Rotarian Action Group National Walk team at www.alz.org/rotarianactiongroup, community engagement, getting a yard sign from the library anytime after 9/5/19, and sharing with others you think should be connected with this wonderful cause! The Goal for this walk is to raise $90,000!!
Calendar of Upcoming Events and Dates!
June 25- August 20: Meetings will be held at Rotary Park on Highland Rd.
 
August 20 we will have Family Night from 5 PM to 7 PM
 
October 10: Fall Into Comedy. 
The Rundown July 22nd, 2019
1. 2019 Summer Schedule has been distributed at meetings by Sandy Custer assigning head chef's and cooking crews for summer meetings. If you don't have your date on your calendar, get it on there. 
The Official Throwing of the Gauntlet
The T-M Rotary Noon Club has challenged the M-T Sunrise Club to give more to the Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus each year.  The winning club each year will be awarded the Sam Azinger Trophy (pictured above with Potato Salad and a tub full of chicken for scale) until they are unseated as the champion by the other club and must pass the Trophy to the victor along with all bragging rights and pride appurtenant thereto.

In 2018-2019, the Noon Club contributed $5,050 between the Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus, while the Sunrise Club raised $4,950.  Accordingly, what is being named “the Sam Azinger Trophy” (named after Sam Azinger for some reason unbeknownst to everyone other than Sam Azinger), will be proudly displayed by the Noon Club until the Sunrise Club can take the title and the Trophy is passed on.

In defense of the Sunrise Club, the Noon Club contemplated this idea in June of 2019 and contributed accordingly to surpass the Sunrise Club in late June, while nobody actually informed the Sunrise Club that the competition was happening.  We do anticipate a fairer fight in 2019-2020.

Monthly updates on the status of each club’s contributions will be provided in newsletters. Good luck to both club’s and may this friendly competition help advance the goals of Rotary to make the world a better place.
Crises in Cameroon
Our Speakers:
Dr. Cal Tamanji, PHD;AICP. Professor of Economics/Social Science  Milwaukee Area Technical College,President of Ozaukee County NAACP Branch, Adviser of West Cameroon Community Association(WECAWI.)
Dr Zachary Nchinda, Phd Professor of History Milwaukee Area Technical College, Adviser of West Cameroon Community Association(WECAWI.) Last but not the least,
Mr George Azeh, MSc. Consulting Accountant. President of West Cameroon Community Association(WECAWI). We are all US citizens of Southern Camerron origin that have lost relatives in the ongoing French-backed genocide in Southern Cameroons(Ambazonia.) 
 
History:
Cameroon was colonized by Germany In 1884 and remained under their control until their defeat in World War 1.
 
After the war, African colonies held by the defeated countries were split between France and England with 1/5 of Cameroon falling into English control and the other 4/5  were given to France. This amount of control was maintained until 1945 when the UN set rules and standards for the preparation of independence for the many colonies and territories in Africa.
 
The British style of rule allowed West Cameroon to establish its own common laws and customs; however, in East Cameroon, the French ruled directly with the  East Cameroonian government answered directly to Paris.
 
In 1961, the French colonies in Africa were presented with the opportunity to have complete independence, or become part of the French Union. When New Guinea requested complete independence, France made an example of them, freighting other colonies into joining the Union. Resulting in the formation of the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
 
In 1970 oil was discovered in West Cameroon, as a result, France pressured their East Cameroon state to move for a combined Cameroonian state so they would have access to the oil reserves.
 
This led to continued conflict between the western English speaking residents and the French backed East Cameroonian citizens.
 
Many professionals protested the many changes that were uninvited and unwelcome from the french speaking side of Cameroon and were labeled as terrorists for their perceived hate of Cameroon resulting in unfair treatment of many lawyers and teachers.
 
Today:
 
War has been raging for 3 years with 500,000 refugees fleeing to Nigeria, many eternally displaced. Many countries are hesitant to contribute and support the suffering members of English speaking Cameroon. 
 
Due to collusion between governments, there have been many difficulties shipping resources and supplies to the suffering refugees. Our guests highly encourage us to reach out to our government officials to stop the violence going on in English speaking Cameroon 
Rotary at Gathering on the Green
Many members of our Rotary Club attended Gathering on the Green Saturday July 13th! They had a great time listening to rockers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The close proximity of the tents for the sunrise and noon clubs provided great opportunities for the two great clubs to spend time bonding and getting to know one another at a deeper level.
Heather Wins it All
At the first ever Gathering on the Green Battle of the Bands, our very own Heather Mader and her band Won first prize! I highly encourage everyone to visit our Facebook Page "Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club" so they can watch of Video of their award winning performance! You can quickly access the video by visiting this link https://www.facebook.com/ThiensvilleMequonRotaryClub Don't forget to like the page while you are visiting!
Rotary Foundation Good News/Bad News
I'm happy to announce that we have met our goal for 2018-19 Rotary Foundation giving. Our goal was set for $4,000 and as a club we contributed $4,325.
 
Unfortunately, our goal for Polio Plus giving for 2018-19 was $1,500 and our club contributions were only $725.
 
Although combined we did not meet our total giving goal of $5,500, as you may recall, we have a friendly competition with the Sunrise Club to see which club could contribute more to the Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus.  In the end, our club did contribute $100 more than the Sunrise Club, whose total contributions were $4,950 for the 2018-19 year! It looks like the Noon-Sunrise Foundation Giving trophy will be named after our Foundation Chair and will stay with the Noon Club for at least the next 12 months (and hopefully longer). 
 
Although our numbers are great in comparison to most clubs in the district, there are still a couple clubs in Ozaukee County that are outdoing us. Specifically, Cedarburg-Grafton contributed $5,664 in 2018-19 and Port Washington-Saukville contributed $6,125. 
 
Let's look forward to a great 2019-20 year of meeting our goals, and making sure that the Sam Azinger trophy stays with the Noon Club!
 
If you'd like assistance with setting up recurring monthly, quarterly, or yearly contributions to assure your Sam Azinger award for 2019-20, let Sam know and he'd be happy to assist. Otherwise, make out a check to the Rotary Foundation and give it to Sam at a meeting and he'll take care of the rest.   
Pam Johnson - How to Breathe
During her time, Pam invited us into the world of fine speech and sustainable breathing technique! She highlighted that many of us have fallen into the terrible habit of vertical breathing. This style of breathing only utilizes the top portion of our lungs limiting our oxygen intake while simultaneously putting unnecessary stain on our shoulder and neck muscles. Sustainable and proper breathing involves full use of your diaphragm which allows your stomach to expand completely filling your lungs. When it comes to speech, there have been a number of quirks she has identified and helped her clients overcome through a variety of exercise to control tone, volume, and power.
 
Pam’s training and experience as a singer taught her how the vocal instrument works and how to make it more powerful. Her experience as a voiceover artist gave her insights into how different parts of the voice affect the listener in very specific ways.
 
Pam has held workshops for U.S. Attorneys, trainers with GE Healthcare, the local chapter of ATD, and the Women’s Business Council at SC Johnson. She also works with individual clients.
 
Below are a list of common exercises and a link to a Ted talk discussing proper breathing habits.
Exercises
 
  1. Body position – stand, bend over at the waist, slow roll up, stacking the vertebrae and then pulling the string up through the top of the head.
  2. Head position – push head forward then bring back to position – look in the mirror to check there is no double chin
  3. Breathing – fill the belt around the waist, let the abdomen pop out
  4. High hoot to find the upper register – feel the vibration between your eyebrows and behind your eyes
  5. Upper middle register – breath through the nose then yawn  - feel the openness on the roof of your mouth and space behind your front teeth – feel the vibration in your cheekbones – say “hi” as a breathy Marilyn Monroe
  6. Middle register– tongue flat and low, tip touching the back of the bottom teeth –say Ahh, Ayy, Eee, Ooooh, Oooo . Fill the hand six inches in front of your mouth with air– show your teeth - feel the vibration behind your top teeth
  7. Lower register – say “huh” with lots of air  - feel the vibration in your breastbone
 
Read more...
Welcome Our New Member, Jenne Hohn
Welcome to the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club, new member, Jenne Hohn. Pictured above receiving her Rotary New Member Kit from Sponsor, Maureen O'leary. We are very excited to have Jenne join the club. She has already spent some time with us serving corn at Fun Before the 4th and we look forward to her future contributions to our club!
Our Honorary Paul Harris Award Winners
 
We celebrated the achievement of Greg Sommersberger and Diane Robertson for being named Honorary Paul Harris award winners they will each have $1,000 donated to the Rotary Foundation. We look forward to the continued contributions of these two great members!
Rotary at Fun Before the 4th
We had an exciting time at the Fun Before the 4th event on June 29th.  Due to a rental corn roaster with a low powered motor, the corn roast got off to a dark start. Fortunately after some manual labor and a great reduction in cooking temperature we were able to start producing  high quality corn of the for the lovely patrons at the event. In addition to the corn, we also served free ice cream to the many children and adults who were  fortunate enough to arrive before our great supply ran out!
Calendar of Upcoming Events and Dates
June 25- August 20: Meetings will be held at Rotary Park on Highland Rd. On August 20 we will have Family Night from 5 PM to 7 PM
 
July 13: We will have a tent at Gathering on the Green. Announcements for how and where to buy tickets will be announce at an upcoming meeting.
 
July 31: Chinooks Game at 7 PM. 
 
October 10: Fall Into Comedy. 
Changing of the Guard 2019-2020
On June 18th, we gathered together at the American Legion Post 457 to celebrate our 2018-2019 Rotary year! During this time we were able to Thank Tim Vertz for his service as Club President as well as the board that served during his tenure to help him keep us in line. Following those recognitions, we took some time to honor a few Rotarians who stood out in the last year!
 
For the first time ever we had recipients of the Sam Azinger Award! This was bestowed upon Ellen MacFarlane, Greg Huffman, Jack Weise, John Wirth, Karl Hertz, Pam Koch, Rob Kos, Sam Azinger, Sandy Custer, Stan Smith, Tim Vertz, Tyler Briggs. All of these members donated $100 or more to the rotary foundation and/or Polio plus in the 2018-2019 year. If you were not in attendance at the Changing of the guard you can expect them this Tuesday at our first outdoor meeting.
 
 
Many were also honored for their years of perfect attendance.
 
 
Next, we honored Megan Borland with the Service Award!
 
 
 
Rotarian of the Year was presented to Sam Azinger and shared with his children!
 
 
 Finally, Greg Sommersberger was named an Honorary Paul Harris Fellow for which our club will donate $1,000 in his name to the Rotary Foundation! Following the applause and celebration, to our surprise, Sandy Custer took the microphone and gave out one more award. For her great service to our club, Diane Robertson was given an honorary Paul Harris award having $1,000 donated to the rotary foundation in her name as well!
 
 
 
Once the dust settled, Our New President  Rob Kos took time to introduce our new officers and directors for the 2019-2020 rotary year. Those officers and directors are pictured above from left to right as follows.
 
Pam Koch: Fall into Comedy
Megan Borland: Director of vocational Service
Peterson Apfelbach: Director of Club Service
Heather Mader: Secretary-Treasurer
Sam Azinger: President Elect
Rob Kos: President
Ellen MacFarlane: Director of International Service & Club Outreach
Sandy Custer: Director of Community Service
 
 
Ukrainian Visitors
This week, five infrastructure professionals from Ukraine visited our club! In recent years, the government in Ukraine has worked to decentralize its power giving more responsibility to the local governments. During their visit, they took time to learn about the various forms of local government and visit different work sites to better understand the processes we use to keep our infrastructure in great condition.
 
These wonderful guests were brought to us by Bob Blazich, a member of the Sunrise Club, through Friendship Force, a group funded by congress to bring the best and brightest from the former Soviet Union to help them learn how our communities have been able to grow and prosper.
 
Guests pictured above from left to right
Alexander works to protect city from natural hazards.
Roman does research on cities open spaces works to have cities be more human centered.
Serhii works with construction and engineering of roads.
Tatiana recently received PhD and now works for her City Council.
Maria works for increased accessibility.
Elisabeth gets her Graduation Ceremony
 
 
AFS had their final picnic and invited Elisabeth to join them. They found out that Elisabeth (Rotary Exchange Student) and Yasmine, here from Cameroon, would not be able to attend the graduation ceremony on Sunday. Yasmine is on a program through the US Congress and has to be in Washington D.C. this week. Elisabeth leaves for her tour of the western US on Saturday. As a surprise, they played Pomp and Circumstance, had their caps and gowns available, and provided them with a graduation ceremony.
Calendar of Upcoming Events/Dates
June 18: Changing of the Guard will take place at the American Legion on Mequon Road. Cocktails at 5 PM and dinner at 6.
 
June 25- August 20: Meetings will be held at Rotary Park on Highland Rd. On August 20 we will have Family Night from 5 PM to 7 PM
 
July 2: No Meeting: Happy 4th of July!
 
July 13: We will have a tent at Gathering on the Green. Announcements for how and where to buy tickets will be announce at an upcoming meeting.
 
July 31: Chinooks Game at 7 PM. 
 
October 10: Fall Into Comedy. 
Showdown Between Noon and Sunrise
The esteemed Rotary Club Foundation Chair has taken the liberty of challenging the Sunrise Club to raise more money for the Rotary Foundation/Polio Plus before the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year.  As of May 21, the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club ("the Good Guys") has contributed $4,100.00 total, nearing our ultimate goal of $5,500 between the Foundation and Polio Plus. The Mequon-Thiensville Sunrise Rotary Club ("the Other Guys") has raised $4,075.00, trailing by a narrow margin.
 
The Other Guys are bringing the competition request to their Board for approval, but the Good Guys are just going with it, because the ultimate objective is to raise money for the Foundation and the reward is merely bragging rights. Posted below are instructions for making one time or regularly scheduled contributions online. Otherwise, a check made out to the Rotary Foundation can be given to Sam Azinger at a meeting (or dropped off at his office at 414 N. Main St. in Thiensville). If you would like assistance with online contributions or setting up automatic contributions, Sam would be more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance (your place or mine). 
 
Additionally, for the first $400 that is contributed this year, our new member, Tyler Briggs has agreed to contribute a matching amount. Needless to say, Sam will be very disappointed if we as a club do not take full advantage of this opportunity. 
NEWS FLASH: THIENSVILLE-MEQUON ROTARY REGRETS PLACING FOUNDATION CHAIR IN CHARGE OF NEWS BULLETIN: Sub-News Flash: Unless you don't have 2 minutes and $25.00, you don't have an excuse!
I'm new at this, so I don't know know that I'm getting all of my facts right.  But here's how I understand the facts:
 
Our club goal for Foundation contributions from July 2017 to July 2018 is $5,500.
Our total contributions for the year is $3,550 (plus my measly $25.00 contribution today)
 
If I'm reading the reports correctly (which I acknowledge I may not be) the full $3,550 in contributions came from 5 members! Thank you to those 5!
I mentioned my measly contribution, because I would like to encourage a whole lot more measly contributions. It took me less than 2 minutes to make my contribution (it was easier than ordering a pizza).
 
So why can't we all take two minutes to make a small (medium or large) contribution?  Here's the link: https://www.rotary.org/en/donate. If you need help, give me a call and I'll come over. 
 
While you're at it. Go ahead and make that a monthly, quarterly, or yearly contribution. Admittedly, this will add 4-6 seconds to the process, but will save you 2 minutes every month, quarter, or year, plus the headache of remembering.  Further, if everybody signs up for monthly, quarterly, or yearly contributions, I won't post stories like this all the time (which I reserve the right to do).
 
Together, we can blow this goal out of the water! 
 
As an aside, and without board authorization, I will personally give a pat on the back to anyone who makes a contribution before the end of June. 
 
 
Welcome New Member, John Wirth
 
Welcome to the Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club, new member, John Wirth.  John is the newly elected Mayor of the City of Mequon and an attorney with Mallery & Zimmerman.  Picture above receiving his Rotary Pin from Sponsor, Kathleen Schneider. John's membership was co-sponsored by Stan Smith (not pictured). We are very excited to have John join the club, and look forward to getting to know him as a fellow Rotarian. 
Congratulations Tim Vertz on Achieving Paul Harris
 
Congratulations Club President, Tim Vertz, who was presented with a Paul Harris Award on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Shown above being presented with the recognition by Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club Foundation Chair, Sam Azinger.  
 
A Paul Harris Award is granted to a Rotarian who contributes $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation or Polio Plus. Money raised by the foundation goes to carry out an array of programs that achieve beneficial changes in our world, including improved living conditions, increased food production, better education, wider availability of treatment and rehabilitation for the sick and disabled, new channels for the flow of international understanding, and brighter hopes for peace throughout the world.
 
Thank you Tim for your contribution and caring heart. 
 
 
Read more...
Rotary Speaker Erica Turner - Bridge the Divide
 
Thank you to Erica Turner for speaking and sharing with the club at Tuesday's meeting. Erica is with the grassroots organization, Bridge the Divide. The Cedarburg based organization is a forum for discussion and action around racial reconciliation. The group seeks to identify instances of inequality, foster empathy and educate individuals to recognize their part in the problems and solutions.
Welcome New Member - Tyler Briggs
 
Rotary is happy to have inducted new member, Tyler Briggs from RBC Wealth Management, to the club. We look forward to getting to know Tyler as a fellow Thienville-Mequon Rotarian! Tyler passed the first test of being a Rotarian by hardly flinching while sponsor Roger Kirgues placed his pin on his collar. 
Student of the Month - Josh Hodge
Student of the Month, Joshua Hodge, with Vocational Director, Megan Borland
 
Joshua Hodge (center) with parents, Doug Hodge and Wanda Hodge
 
On May 7, 2019, we honored our final student, Joshua Hodge, for the 2018-2019 Student of the Month program.  Joshua is a senior at Homestead High School and was accompanied by his parents, Doug Hodge and Wanda Hodge.
 
Joshua was selected as our Student of the Month for his dedicated volunteer and community service work.  Some of Joshua’s accomplishments include Champions, a program that promotes remaining alcohol and drug free to local middle school students.  He has also been very involved with serving his church as a lead Sunday school teacher for 4th and 5th graders.  He has also participated in mission trips as well as the church’s Vacation Bible School the past 4 years.  Joshua has been a member of Homestead’s choir for the past 4 years.  He has served as the co-captain for his volleyball team and a member of the Track and Field team. 
 
Joshua will be studying engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall.  Joshua, we thank you for your service above self and all that you do for your school and community.
Upcoming Speakers
Aug 06, 2019
Author - 100 Things to Do in Milwaukee Before You Die
Aug 13, 2019
Aug 20, 2019
View entire list
Meeting Responsibilities
If you cannot fulfill your responsibility, please make arrangements for someone else to take your place.
 
Seriously!
 
Cooking Crew
 
Head Chef
Koch, Pamela
 
Crew
Davis, Todd
 
Crew
Holtz, Rob
 
Crew
Sommersberger, Greg
 
Crew!
Landisch-Hansen, Colleen
 
Prayer/Inspiration
 
August 6
Wirth, John
 
August 13
Witte, George
 
August 20
Witte-Dycus, Nancy
 
Greeter
 
August 6
Robertson, Dianne
 
August 13
Rosing, John
 
August 20
Rowe, Bruce
 
Pledge
 
August 6
Lind, Stanley
 
August 13
Lysaught, James
 
August 20
MacFarlane, Ellen
 
Russell Hampton
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