Speakers

Cindy Ericksen works with individuals, couples and families to resolve challenges they face in their lives and relationships using Solution Focused, CBT and Mindfulness approaches to help them accomplish their goals. 

Research shows that the connection between mind, body and spirit is a significant factor in the healing process and creating lasting change. Today, Cindy will be talking to us about meditation and we can use it to enhance our own lives. 

Cindy holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from Shimer College, a M. A. in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College, and a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Wisconsin – Stout.

View her website, here. 

James (Jim) Salmo serves as the vice president for advancement at Viterbo University. Salmo was chosen to lead fundraising and benefactor relation efforts at Viterbo, succeeding Wendell Snodgrass who resigned last August.

Ashlyn Neader was a Rotary Youth Exchange student from the USA to Austria from 2016-17 and recently returned from a second Rotary Exchange to India from 2018-19. Read her blog, here. 

Joel Restel spent a year in France through the Rotary Youth exchange program. 

Ed McCann is a Conservation Warden with the Bureau of Law Enforcement, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources with the Mississippi River Warden Team, based in La Crosse. He is the 2017 winner of the Haskell Noyes Conservation Warden Efficiency Award (Wis. DNR Conservation Warden of the Year). Read the article, here.

Climbing, a traditionally outdoor experience, is exploding indoors via climbing clubs and gyms around the country, and is even popping up in sporting goods stores and on university campuses. Climbing has become an outlet for social activity and a new form of working out. Climbing is also now officially part of the 2020 Olympic Games.

View the Wisconsin Climbers Association website, here; and on Facebook. 

 

Dr. Heather Walder is an anthropological archaeologist interested in interregional interaction and diaspora communities of the Upper Great Lakes during the 17th century.  In summer of 2018, she co-directed the Chequamegon Bay Archaeological Survey (CBAS) undergraduate field school, in partnership with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, in Red Cliff, Wisconsin. She is passionate about undergraduate education and public outreach, and actively involves students and community members in her current research, including training in data collection and management strategies.

 

Patty Nuttleman serves as the Development Director for New Horizons Shelter and Outreach Centers. She has a BA in Communications from Winona State University and over 20 years of experience working in local media, developing and executing promotional campaigns & events. Patty lives in Trempealeau with her husband and three dogs. Along with her siblings and mother, she is a survivor of domestic violence.

Keachen Abing, a La Crosse native, teaches Social Studies at the 7 Rivers Community High School, which he helped found. In 2016 he won the Top Notch Teacher award and also serves as a director of La Crosse SOUP. Keachen will be talking to us about the 7 Rivers Community High School and Project Based Learning. The idea for the school came about when parents of children at the La Crosse Design Institute, a project-based charter hosted at Longfellow Middle School, voiced their support for a high school level program. Project Based Learning provides each student the unique opportunity to dive into their areas of interest and passions. He says, "it is AMAZING to see how students can connect their interests to the curriculum and how how each project has the potential to make an impact in our community." 

The Alliance to HEAL (Halting the Effects of Addiction Locally) launched in August of 2018 to work towards healing the broken continuum of care for local people with substance abuse disorders. Alliance to HEAL brought together over 80 community members  including judges, mayors, hospital CEOs, legislators, and boots on the ground people working directly with those struggling with addiction. Together, they're sharing their experiences and are problem solving to improve our community response to the opioid crisis. Read more. 

Dr. Mueller serves as a Regional Vice President for Mayo Clinic Health System, overseeing the 10 locations headquartered from La Crosse, Wisconsin. He has been a consultant in general internal medicine for Mayo Clinic since 1998 and has chaired that department since 2009. He is also a professor of medicine and biomedical ethics for the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His appointment in La Crosse was effective October 1, 2018.

The La Crosse Area German Relations Association, Inc. (LAGRA) mission is to foster a productive international relationship with our Partner City, Friedberg, Germany, to increase awareness of our area’s German heritage, and to promote the study of German culture and language in area schools. Their vision is to be recognized as a leading organization honoring La Crosse’s German heritage, and facilitating the many relations between the Greater La Crosse Area and Germany.

Some of their activities include:

• Welcoming &/or hosting Germans from Friedberg, our Sister City in Bavaria
• Assisting with setting up tours for visiting Germans
• Adult delegations to Friedberg  
• German Heritage Day activities for students at the Northside Oktoberfest grounds
• Lincoln Middle School’s annual Oktoberfest dinner & entertainment 
• 3rd graders at Northwoods Elementary International School have a partner class in Friedberg 
• Fundraising & supporting both Central’s and Logan’s high school German exchanges
• Helping in the German Garden at Riverside Park
• Providing La Crosse area products for the annual Christmas Market in Friedberg

Read more about Friedberg. Read a news story about a delegation from Friedberg.

Dani Stuhr serves as the Assistant HR Director for Festival Foods and has been in the HR field for over 11 years. She also serves as the College Relations committee chair for the La Crosse Area Society for Human Resource Management. 

The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.
Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.

With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world.

What impact can one donation have?

• For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.
• $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.
• $500 can launch an antibullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.

Learn more.

The Elmaro Vineyard winery, found northwest of Trempealeau, continues to experience explosive growth, having won several wine competition medeals, indluing the Wisconsin Winery of the Year award. The winery opened in 2011 and makes about 25 kinds of wine. They are sold by the glass and the bottle in the winery tasting room. Bottles also are available at grocery and liquor stores, and some area restaurants serve Elmaro wines.

Through the Chamber's First Friend program, Beth works to strengthen the business community by helping area companies and organizations attract and retain the best talent. She works with individuals and families relocating to Greater La Crosse, matching their wants and needs with our community's assets, allowing them to feel like they can always call our community their home. She provides a personalized experience for each individual/family, helping them integrate into the community. She also provides accompanying partner career services.

This week we'll be providing an overview of the Rotary Club of La Crosse's standing committees and sharing ideas for how you can get more involved! 

Greg serves as the Vice Chancellor for University Advancement and President of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse UWL Foundation. 

After a successful 12-year career in economic development, Greg moved into the higher education arena at his alma mater, Northwest Missouri State University. As part of a small fundraising team, they successfully completed the school's first-ever capital campaign, exceeding $42 million. He was then chosen to lead the advancement efforts at Avila University in Kansas City where they set school records in fundraising in four out of the five years he was there. Greg joined the advancement team at UW-L in 2010 and has helped launch the $15 million Share the La Crosse Experience Scholarship Campaign.