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When I started my first meeting as your Club’s President, I went out of my way to talk about the importance of diversity. In fact, the very first item on that first day’s agenda was the reading of a children’s book titled “The Crayon Box that Talked.” Diversity is one of the many themes embedded within the story. The secondary theme of that same meeting was membership. Being the smart Rotarian that you are, I know that you were able to make the connection between diversity and membership and my goals for the year.
As a white, Christian male with an advanced degree from college, you probably wouldn’t guess that I have lived in a country where I experienced the life of a minority. In fact, the official percentage of citizens in that country who were Christian was 0%, there was not a single official Christian church of any denomination, and my looks made it obvious that I was foreigner. This experience helped me to learn empathy and gave me some limited insight into what life as a minority might be like.
So how does this personal story relate to diversity? What I have found is that we have to put in effort if we want to increase our diversity. For example, last week, many groups, including our own, scheduled events on Yom Kippur. This most holy day for the Jewish faith is overlooked by many. In contrast, not too many people schedule meetings on Christmas Day. Early on in my career, I learned that if you bring up a problem, you should also present a solution. So, here is my simple solution to start our Club on the path of becoming a little more diverse.
My concept begins with a simple technological fix. If you use an electronic calendar, add in religious holidays. For years, I have had the official holidays of the United States downloaded on my electronic calendar. However, this list does not include many religious holidays. After a quick ‘Google’ search, I learned that religious holidays from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, etc. can be downloaded too. In other words, these holidays will be reflected on your calendar exactly like the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, etc. Obviously, there is more we can do after taking this initial step.
Do yourself a favor and go ahead and add these relevant calendars to your electronic calendar today. If you use an old fashioned paper calendar, the most significant religious holidays are probably already included, but you should still check. This simple exercise has the potential to save you some future embarrassment. I use Microsoft Outlook and the attached image (you may need to magnify the picture) shows how simple this is. If you need help, please let me know. (As an aside, the background picture is of my boys in their Naval Sea Cadet Uniform. If you have children or grandchildren, you should look into this on their behalf. It is an amazing program.)
Changing topics, last week I had you read Bill Hoel’s District 6250 newsletter instead of viewing a short video. This week I continue the short reading selection in order to complement this week’s message on diversity. This link takes you to a brief history on Yom Kippur as told by the History Channel.
As a reminder, one of the reasons that I am including these links is that if you happen to be sitting with a table of Rotarians that you don’t know, but you have all experienced the same content, then the table will have a common experience with which someone can utilize in order to start a conversation. Second, these links can be interesting, educational, funny, and/or address many topics and issues that are relevant to our lives.
Finally, invite someone to our Club’s meeting this week. We have money set aside to cover the cost of your guests’ meals.
This week at Rotary Chuck Hanson and Lee Rasch will update us on the final plans for our "Growing Hearts Across the World" Centennial Project.
Why members are supporting this project....
I support Growing Hearts Across the World because making a public and meaningful connection with a country who does not have a big voice or presence shows that we care about all people here in La Crosse. It speaks to the very essence of Rotary in a way that many people will experience. Eva Marie Restel
I support "Growing Hearts Across the World" because...it combines support for the arts, promotion of our community, education about our sister city in Cameroon, a celebration of 100 years of local Rotary service, and on-the-ground support for the children of Kumbo. - Catherine Kolkmeier
I gave to the Growing Hearts Across the World Campaign for two reasons. The first is because I love how it publically promotes the acceptance of cultural diversity in our community. And secondly, this project has local and international impact which perfectly aligns with Rotary and its causes. Jodi Widuch
I support Growing Hearts Across the World because it tics so many boxes: contributing to the physical beauty of La Crosse while teaching about and honoring the culture of far away friends, working on a project that is collaborative—providing fellowship and unifying our area Rotary clubs, dramatically improving the education of Cameroon children….and showing anyone watching that many hands do, indeed, make light work. Sue Durtsche
I support Growing Hearts Across the World as a tribute to Sister Mark. Sister Mark was at our club meeting last year where she was presented with a Paul Harris award. Her work at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Shisong, in Cameroon has made a huge difference in the dental care and procedures the people in her town and the surrounding area are able to receive. When I told her of the plan to add Cameroon to our international garden she was overjoyed at the prospect. Sister Mark is an inspiration to me and many other people whose lives she has touched.Kathryn Sexauer
Centennial Project Fundraiser - Growing Hearts Across the World.
Message from the Fundraising Committee: Lee Rasch, Kerstin Boudreau, Kenna Christians, Sue Durtsche, Mary Ann Gschwind, Chuck Hanson, Kathryn Sexauer, Mike Swenson, Jodi Widuch, Todd Restel, Katie Berkedal and Catherine Kolkmeier.
As you know, we are celebrating 100 years of Rotary service to our region with the Growing Hearts Across the World campaign. The campaign will culminate with the completion of the Cameroon Garden in Riverside Park in the summer of 2019. The Garden will honor the rich cultural traditions of Cameroon and provide a wonderful gathering place overlooking the area where the the “Three Rivers” meet. Most importantly, it will serve as a model for community and international service for the upcoming generations of Rotarians.
To date, we have received excellent support from Rotarians. But we have not yet heard from all of you. The next phase of the Growing Hearts Across the World campaign will be to the Seven Rivers Region community. It is very important to be able to state to the community at large that Rotarians are fully committed to Growing Hearts Across the World. Indeed, there is no better message than to state...every Rotarian in our Club contributed. We have asked members to consider a $100 contribution pledge for up to two years. However, your contribution at any level will count. Please complete a pledge card and include with your payment.
Please turn in your pledge cards and contributions to Earlamae Dahlby or send your contribution to Lyn Sheffer at P.O. Box 1914, La Crosse, WI 54602-1914.
One hundred years of service by Rotary has had a profound impact on the lives of many in our region and throughout the world. Come join us in celebrating this service...and help set the stage for generations of Rotarians in the years to come.
We have dedicated a page on our web site for our Centennial year to keep members updated on our project. Click here to view.
If you would like more information, please contact Lee Rasch.
Thanks to all who attended the USO Military Lounge Open House last Friday. The USO Lounge at the La Crosse Regional Airport served around 38,000 troops this year and Rotary Club of La Crosse members got a chance to see how their donations help.
The USO Lounge offers services to military members to let them relax before their flight. It includes a book exchange, movie library, gaming system, comfort foods, wifi and an area to relax during the stresses of travel. The USO is fully stocked by donations and staffed by volunteers.
If you’d like to volunteer you can sign up by going to usowisconsin.org.
ATTENDANCE FOR THE 2017-18 YEAR....Congratulations to the members who achieved 100% attendance for the 2017-18 Rotary year...click here to view. If you believe you should have 100% attendance and are not on the list, please email Lyn at rotarylax@charter.net. We will draw four names on Thursday, September 27th for $25 gift cards.
We will have Anita's cards available each week...self-service some weeks. Anita will still take special orders. Place your order by emailing Anita at anitafroegel@centurytel.net
Birthday, Wedding, Sympathy, Get Well, Anniversary, Congratulations, Note Cards and other cards, All cards are unique and hand-made. Thank you cards are only $1.50, as are the note cards, which are blank inside. The regular cards are $2.00 and $3.00 each. Some cards are three for $5.00 and some three for $10. Anita donates all sales to the Rotary Works Foundation! Thank you to Anita for sharing her talents and supporting the Rotary Works Foundation.
Kwik Trip Scrip cards are available for sale after and before our meetings. We will get 5% off the face value of each card...if the card is used IN STORE for purchases we will receive another 10%- total 15% back (some exclusions apply)....if used only for gas we will only get the initial 5%.
Last week at Rotary we had Dannette Jacob from Travel Leaders and Rotarian Dean Dickinson give a program on the upcoming Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany - June 2019. Travel opportunities prior to and after the convention were highlighted. PowerPoint Presentation.
Every Rotarian is Responsible for Membership Growth
Mary Beth Hensel Director Reslove Through Sharing
Gundersen Medical Foundation
Proposed by Ashley Skoczynski
If no written objection to the proposal stating reasons is received by the Board of Directors from any member of the club within seven days following publication of the name of the prospective member, the prospective member shall be considered to be elected to membership.
We have received the Presidential Citation two years in a row! Clubs that are strong and making a positive difference in our communities achieve goals related to Rotary's three strategic priorities: to support and strengthen clubs, focus and increase humanitarian service and enhance Rotary's public image and awareness. Last year's Rotary Citation recognized clubs that completed activities that support these priorities. Presidential Theme and Citation for 2017-18 - goals that we achieved.
Attention All Enthusiastic Rotarians...One Rotary Summitwill be coming to La Crosse on Thursday, October 11th. Why attend? A much-used description of Rotary these days is “Join Leaders, Exchange Ideas, Take Action”. Well, this is a chance to help lead your club in some fashion, by joining leaders, hearing ideas from other clubs, and taking them back to your own club. In the process, you may well help another Rotary club by explaining how your club does something that they find interesting. In short, this is not a chance to sit on your rear and listen to speaker after speaker. It’s a chance to talk with others in a structured session, and then rotate to two more similar sessions with different people. At the end of the session, we will have about a half hour to “shop” as you review many ideas from other tables you might not have heard, but you can read them off posters, and if necessary get a quick explanation, and take them back to your club. Register today!
October 11, 2018 - LaCrosse Time 5:00 - 8:00 pm La Crosse Public Library, lower level auditorium 800 Main Street, La Crosse WI Parking in lot on south side of library Rotary Contact for Event: Assistant DG Patt Boge
ROTARY JANESVILLE NOON: Save the date for the Centennial Celebration of Janesville Noon Rotary Club. Thursday, December 6th at Pontiac Convention Center. 6:00 Registration * Cocktail Party * House of Friendship: 7:00 Dinner & Program. Keynote speaker Ed Futa, past General Secretary of RI. 100 Years of Service and We are Just Beginning! Rotary Janesville Web Site.
Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko will be the presenter at the Rotary Club of Madison's luncheon meeting on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at the Park Hotel in Madison.
If you would like to attend please register online - cost for the lunch is $20. Informational Flyer. Please note the deadline to make a reservation is September 30th. Register here.
As general secretary, Hewko leads a diverse staff of 800 at Rotary International’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and seven international offices.
Message from Rotarian Dean McHugh, Past District Governor 2016-17.....
Now that we are a few months into the new Rotary year, I’d like to ask you and your club members’ assistance in identifying potential candidates for our District’s 2021 – 2022 Governor.
I am chairing our District’s Nominating Committee this year. I have linked for reference a copy of the qualifications to be considered as a candidate for the position of District Governor Nominee, a job description and also a club nomination resolution. At this point we are asking just for potential candidates. The forms can be submitted a bit later in the process once we confirm the suggested individuals are qualified and interested in the interview process.
I would encourage you to thoughtfully consider Rotarians from all areas within our District who have the qualifications and desire to serve in this position.
Please contact Todd Restel if you are interested or would like to nominate someone to be our District Governor 2021-22.
Created in 2015, iFeed is a proclaimed holiday in La Crosse. iFeed is a one day event that brings the greater La Crosse community together to help alleviate hunger in the world and our own communities. The fourth annual event is organized by seven area high school Interact Clubs and their Rotarian advisors. Interact is the high school equivalent of Rotary that focuses on teaching servant leadership.
Part 1: Involves packing 100,000 + dried meals in assembly line fashion. The past two years we have shipped these meals to Nicaragua.
Part 2: Includes the collecting of non-perishable food items in the weeks preceding iFeed. The collections are all brought to Logan High School November 3rd for the area's largest food-drive. The items will be counted, sorted, and transported to the Hunger Task Force to be distributed to area food banks.
HOW TO GET HELP: If you have flood/rain damage or know somebody who does, please have them contact one of these area Rotary clubs immediately. We want to be as efficient and quick as we can be in getting financial help to where it is supposed to go. Thanks. Also report your damage to 211 because if damage isn't reported the government won't know and the help funding will be less for the budget for the area.
HOW TO GET HELP: Proceeds from the Fight the Flood effort will be distributed through the Rotary Works Foundation, and flooding victims can apply for funding through their local Rotary Clubs. Here is the contact information for clubs in the western Wisconsin counties hit hard by flooding:
Thank you to all who contributed to our India Project We received the following email and thank you video on September 19, 2018
We have completed and handed over the facility to the beneficiary families in a simple function attended by local officials. We have also provided training for the people on how to maintain hygiene and toilet maintenance. Satheeshkumar.P
We are happy to inform you and members of your club and district the formal opening of our project GG1759519 at Pattamadai village on 17/06/18.
The district governor of our rotary district 3212 will be the chief guest. As informed to you we have started construction early in order to complete the project before this term ends. We have completed construction of 10 toilets and for the balance 26, construction is progressing. We plan to complete the whole project by end of July 18. We would love to have you amidst us when we open the facility in part to the beneficiaries. I’ll update you when the project complete in full shape.
A formal invitation is attached. Please inform all concerned in your club and district. Our special thanks to all Rotarians of lacrosse Valley view and downtown clubs and district officials of 6250.
COME FOR SUPPER....The Humanitarian Committee will be helping again with the "Come for Supper Meal Program" at Our Savior's Lutheran Church - 612 Division Street on Tuesday, September 25th from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Click here to volunteer.
As our club continues to grow, it becomes more difficult to know your fellow Rotarians. Beyond the fellowship that we enjoy each Thursday and beyond committees on which you may serve, there may be activities or interests that you share with other members, but you simply haven't discovered that mutual bond.
We have put together a survey to identify some of these common activities or interests. Please complete the survey and return to Lyn by September 27th. You will be contacted shortly afterwards with the results of the survey. For more information and to fill out the survey click on the Survey Link.
Rotary Youth Exchange A Step Toward WorldUnderstanding. The La Crosse area Rotary Clubs are looking for students who are interested in a unique experience of attending high school while living in another Rotary International country. Rotary International has a program which annually involves over 10,000 high school students living nearly a year in another country. Candidates must be sophomores to seniors in high school at the time of application and 16-18 1/2 years old when they leave for their assigned country. Applicants must rank in the upper half of their class.
How to apply. If you know of someone that is interested in this program for the 2019-20 school year, simply have them complete and return the application. Click here for application and more information. An informational meeting will be September 19, 2018, 6:30 pm at the Children's Museum, 207 5th Avenue, La Crosse. Preliminary application due, September 19, 2018. Local interviews will be October 1, 2018 and final application due October 24, 2018. District interviews will be held on November 4, 2018 in Baraboo.
Jamie Bakkum Gamez MD will give a presentation on Henrietta Lacks. (Jamie is the sister of Rotarian Andy Bakkum.)
We are giving you a heads up so that you can either read the book or view the film prior to her presentation.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Now an HBO® Film starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
The Rotary International Convention is scheduled for June 1-5, 2019 inHamburg, Germany.
Registration and convention housing materials are available at Rotary.org.
If you are considering attending it is recommended that you get registered and book your accommodations while in Hamburg. The tour elements will be inclusive of travel and hotels while on those tours. Club members who attended the Toronto convention, the Restels, Hoels, Dickinsons, Tami Woods and Roz Schnick would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
We are sending our condolences to Todd Ondell and family. Todd lost his mother this week Marilyn Ondell, 94 from La Crosse. Todd's address is 710 South 28th Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 View her obituary.
Rotary Attendance policy is to attend or makeup at least 50% of the club meetings during the first six months and the second six months. They can be done by: • Attending regular club meetings • Making up meetings at other Rotary Clubs ( which includes E-Clubs) • Engaging in club projects/events/fellowship/board meetings.
Associate Membershipis a program to recruit younger members, millennials, to membership. Associate Membership is available to anyone who is proposed for membership who is 35 years of age or less. Associate membership will end when that member reaches the age of 38. They would pay for dues and $100 for meals per quarter no matter how many meetings they attend that quarter.
Corporate Membership is a program to allow multiple employees of a business Rotary participation under one primary membership. Each corporate membership is limited to a three-year term. After the three-year corporate membership term, the individuals are required to become individual members. View Corporate Membership Policy.
Family Membershipis a program to allow a second individual Rotary participation under one primary membership. View Family Membership Policy.
Honorary Membership is offered to members who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals. View Honorary Membership Policy.
Excused Membership is offered to members if the aggregate of the member’s years of age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more, the member has been a member of one or more clubs for at least 20 years, and the member has notified the club's secretary in writing of the member’s desire to be excused from attendance and the board has approved. Excused Members will pay the quarterly dues and only for meals when they attend a meeting.
Membership Proposals....we will no longer ask for three references when you propose a new member. This was a criteria that our club had set not RI. This will help us process new members into our club more efficiently. You can access the membership proposal form online, under the Club Information site page.
Please note: Raffle, Fines, Birthday, Anniversaries and Scooters are all donations that will go to the club If you are making a donation and would like it to go to the Rotary Works Foundation or Rotary International Foundation, we ask that you write a check to the Foundation of your choice.
Sept 20th: Raffle $54: Fines $134: Scooters $14: Scrip $210:
If you would like to volunteer for Rotarians in the News, be a greeter, a hospitality greeter, raffle ticket seller, scrip seller or announce guests, you can email the Monthly Duty Roster Coordinator that are listed above....just click on their name. If you would like to give your classification talk please contact Program Committee Chair Andy Bakkum.