May 21 -- Michelle Grindle from Waste Management (WM) will tell us what her company does for our community, our country, and beyond. Find out what is trash and what is not trash and how this giant company makes recyclables into useful products. Ever wonder what happens to the garbage that you put out on the street, where it goes, and how you can help? You'll find out on May 21.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
May 28 – No Meeting. Memorial Day.
June 4 – Presentation of High School Scholarships, funded by the Club
June 11 -- Our own Dennis Zitnak will present a program on SPAM--- that's right SPAM. Everybody makes fun of SPAM including Monte Python skits. Even the name SPAM has morphed into computer language meaning trash or junk. But SPAM was an essential food product for our US and Allied troops in World War II. The product was created in 1937 and is sold in 41 countries on 6 continents. Hormel, who makes this canned pork meat concoction, has its headquarters in Austin, Minnesota (Dennis's hometown). Dennis even worked there while going through school. The narrator of our program today is employee Jeff Johnson who will tell us about the fascinating SPAM museum.
June 18 -- Mike Gomoll will talk about the scourge of epilepsy. Epilepsy affects 1 person out of every 26.
Wisconsin has 65,000 people who have epilepsy. That is more than Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, and Cerebral Palsy combined, yet epilepsy remains a mystery to the general public and misunderstood by and large. Mike's mission is to raise awareness and funds in the battle against epilepsy. His topic is entitled "Joey's Song" who lost his life of this disease at the age of 5. This will likely be our first LIVE meeting post-COVID!
Yes, Middleton’s Good Neighbor Fest is back along with Rotary Bingo! That’s great news after a very long time of being cooped up. We plan to run bingo throughout the festival that will be held August 27-29, 2021. Make sure to mark your calendars and start talking up this community event. Along with our fundraising, we have had a great opportunity to showcase Rotary to the Middleton market.
A highlight of the festival is entertainment. This year attendees will be able to roam freely from all venues including the beer tents, entertainment stage and of course, BINGO!
We are looking for any ideas to add some talent to fill a couple of spots (Friday 5-7 and Saturday 4-7). Contact either Matt Loch or Kevin Moran with any suggestions.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Board approved moving forward with live meetings effective June 18. The member survey showed the vast majority of members are eager to meet again. The meetings will combine a live, in-person element with the capability to join via Zoom. We’re working out the details and buying some equipment to make the process a smooth one. Kevin Moran and Dean Ryerson have been doing the heavy lifting on this, guided by an informational handout from Rotary International.
The meeting place is Serendipity Labs, a co-working facility on the sixth floor of the Johnson Bank Building at 525 Junction Road, Madison, WI 53717 (right next to Panera Bread). Parking is easy and undercover. We’re doing this on a month-to-month basis right now, but it may lead to a long-term arrangement. Space will be ample, especially with Dane County due to relaxing its mask requirement on June 2.
We’re working out the details on meals, but we’ll likely start out with box lunches, a la the Golf Outing. We’re talking to our caterer about that right now.
We’ll have more details to come on parking, on food, on technology, and on any lingering COVID issues. The team in charge of this will be conducting mock meetings to fine-tune the operation. But the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter.
Our MWT-M Golf Outing is scheduled for June 28, 2021. However, the Silent Auction will begin at 3 pm on Monday, June 21, and go until 8 pm on Monday, June 28. It will again be an online auction giving you and your friends ample opportunity to bid high and bid often. The online link will be sent to everyone in a short while. The Silent Auction Committee is asking MWT-M members to donate to the auction. The success of the auction truly depends on your participation. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
GIFT CARDS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES! Very popular and avoids any pain in thought or shopping! Last year we had gift cards to grocery stores, restaurants, jewelry stores, Target, Kohls, Nevada Bob’s. Other gift card ideas include REI, Madison Children’s Museum, Noah’s Ark, Brew Pubs, your favorite bakery or bakeries, movie theatres. Everyone enjoys state parks and a one-year membership is a low cost or the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.
Thank you to those members who have stepped up already with their donations:
Roxanne Brazeau/BMO 4 Tickets to Overture’s “Come From Away”
Cory Recknor/Aprilaire Air Purifier
Stuart Herro 3 Foursome’s to Blackhawk Country Club
Doug Coerper Foursome to Lake Wisconsin Country Club plus 4 Fish Fry Dinners
Matt & Sue Loch Florida Condo
Greg Blum Weekend Getaway in Wisconsin Dells
Peder Moren Food Fight Gift Cards
Leo Edelstein Wine from Total Wine
Thank you for your generous donations! The Silent Auction Committee: Abby Benbow, Deb Dieter, Jeannine Desautels, Ruth Domack, Leo Edelstein
very long time of being cooped up. We plan to run bingo throughout the festival that will be held August 27-29, 2021. Make sure to mark your calendars and start talking up this community event. Along with our fundraising, we have had a great opportunity to showcase Rotary to the Middleton market.
