The club service committee includes service and fundraising projects, the membership committee led by Jim Wartinbee and the Friendship Committee led by Bill Mowbray.
Service Above Self is Rotary's principal motto, which means that every Rotarian is responsible for finding ways to improve the quality of life in his or her community and in those around the world through service.
Our current service projects include the Orphan Train projects, the ADA Pier at Middleton Lakeview Park, Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy, Madison YWCA Third Street, CTM Summer Drama School, Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA), Academic Decathlon, Ambassadorial Scholar, Haiti's Children's Project, Youth Exchange Students and the Polio Plus Project.
To financially support our service projects we hold fundraising projects including the Meister Meter, McAdow Miles, Notara Farm Horse Driving Trial, Kwik Trip and PDQ gas cards, Orphan Train Art Note Cards, Iris bulb sale, “Aliens for Rotary”. The fundraising committee is also discussing such projects as the OktoberFest at the Wisconsin Brewery in the fall of this year. Cory Recknor will be chairing that event.
The membership committee has been busy this year with 6 new members and 1 pending application. Jim and his committee would also like to challenge all of our MWT-M members to bring at least 1 guest this year and continue to increase our membership.
Bill Mowbray is always available via phone, e-mail or a notification at our luncheon to send a note or flowers to any of our members who are in need of a special indication of our friendship.
The 20 top high school teams in Wisconsin will compete at the 31st Annual State Competition on March 13-14, 2014. Volunteers receive online instructions, an on-site orientation, meal & free parking.
Note all assignments take place in Wisconsin Dells, except for Essay reading.
A shuttle bus will be provided for Speech and Interview volunteers on March 13. The bus will depart from the west side of Madison @ 2:15 P.M. and return from the Dells at approximately 10:00 P.M.
Over 100 volunteers are needed – Be a part of this outstanding academic venue. Experience the intensity, determination and excitement of competition.
Speech Judges: 15 Pairs of judges (30 total judges needed from 4:00-8:40 P.M. on March 13). Listen, critique and grade the students’ prepared and impromptu speeches. A Judges’ Handbook is provided along with a brief orientation on the day of the event. A background in public speaking, or affiliation with Toastmasters a plus. Dinner included.
Speech Timers: Stationed in each speech room (15 needed from 4:00-8:40 P.M. on March 13). Monitor and time each student’s speech. Written directions are provided and a brief orientation takes place on the day of the event. Comfort with a stop watch is necessary. Dinner included.
Interview Judges: 15 Pairs of judges (30 total judges needed from 4:00-8:40 P.M. on March 13). Jointly interview students; guidelines and sample questions are provided in the Judges’ Handbook in addition to a brief orientation on the day of the event. A background in Human Resources a plus. Dinner included
Essay Judges: : Essay rubric is outlined in the Judges’ Handbook; 18 volunteers will read and critique essays written prior to the State Event — Judges will gather on Thursday, March 6 from 1:00 - 4:00 P.M. at First Realty, Madison, WI. A background in English or editing is helpful.
Final figures aren't in yet, but the results are good! Thanks to MWT-M members (and a host of other friends around the country), ratings for Ed Herro's first script for "The Neighbors" TV show last Friday were up 22% over the previous new episode. And, more importantly for our Orphan Train, quite a few members have reported watching the show...thereby earning a $10 donation to our Foundation for the benefit of the Orphan Train.
To date, I have the following list of members who watched:
President Svein Morner
Otto Cordero (and, Jane is lobbying for a second $10 because she watched in Wisconsin while Otto watched in Miami)
Jane Voichick
Mary Feldt
Mary Van Hout
Rod Nilles
Ray Holloway
Matt Loch
Doug Coerper
Bill Mowbray
Dan Fose
Lynne Spielman
Stuart Herro
I'll be at the Club meeting on Friday with a check. Let me know if you watched the show, but you are not on the list. I'm concerned Mike Price and Derek Moehring should be on the list, but tonight I can't find any emails from them, Apologies, Mike and Derek, if you are supposed to be listed.
Thanks to all who made the effort (and shared in the fun!).
While I was doing a home visit to check on Sophie Gelenik and her second host family, Penny Seaberg (Host Mom #2) volunteered that she was convinced Rotary Youth Exchange was the best program available! She said she keeps her ear to the ground and hears comments about other exchange programs. Penny says Rotary does the best job of following up and checking on the "kids". In addition, she says Rotary does the best job of making sure its students get a broad range of cultural experiences and travel.
Special thanks to Toni Pabon and Dan Fose for overseeing this program. Thanks also to all the other members who make a special effort to do things with exchange students.
We will need 15 Rotary members to participate in this project.
Memorial Student Business Plans arrive to Tony on Jan. 15th.
Your student plan can be delivered to you or pick up your business plan at the Rotary meeting on Jan. 17th.
Memorial High School....Meet Your Student & Business Review January 21, Tuesday 2014
8:20 am coffee & muffins
8: 30 am meeting your student and review business plan
9:30 /10:00 am review is completed
The Memorial High School " start your own business " Plan Project is one of our clubs longest running programs. To volunteer, you do not have to have an extensive business background just be able to ask good questions. In the past, Rotary members have found the students to be very creative and innovative, with their business plans.
In her new album, “Eve,” Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo honors the women in Africa, and pays tribute to Rotary’s work to end polio worldwide.
The singer and activist from Benin chose to include Rotary in the soon-to-be-released video of the album’s signature song, “Eva.” Rotary’s presence in the video is no coincidence. The relationship between the singer dates back to 2011, when she joined about two dozen celebrities, including Jackie Chan, Jack Nicklaus, and Jane Goodall, in Rotary’s “This Close” polio awareness campaign.
“I am the cherry on top of the cake,” says Kidjo in an exclusive...
No polio vaccinator had ever set foot in Killi Baksho, near Pakistan's rugged northwest border with Afghanistan. Most people there have long opposed immunization, believing the polio vaccine causes infertility or AIDS.
The combination of that public mistrust and intimidation from militant groups has been nothing short of deadly. In 2013, 20 polio vaccinators and nine police officers assigned to guard them were killed in Pakistan. With that memory fresh in their minds, a team from a Rotary-supported polio resource center went to the village to promote acceptance of the vaccine. They expected...
For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.
After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug...
