THE STATE OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

Jim Guenther, President and CEO of Economics Wisconsin, explained that they are a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 1963 by a group of business leaders, educators, laborers and agriculturalists. Their mission is to provide economic and financial education for kids K-12. They have 8 centers for economic education located in Wisconsin: U. W. Oshkosh, U. W. Parkside, Lakeland College in Milwaukee and Sheboygan, U. W. Stevens Point, Edgewood College, U. W. Whitewater and U. W. River Falls. These centers offer programs in economics to K-12 teachers in their geographic locations. Economics Wisconsin focuses on teachers because they believe that it is the most effective and efficient way to reach K-12 kids. If you educate one teacher, you can impact 30-150 kids each year. Last year, 5,000 teachers went through one of their programs. To read more, please click here.

Happy Hour - Tuesday, October 4

Take a break from your busy schedule and join the Family of Rotary for our next happy hour where we can talk about how beautiful Wisconsin is in the Fall, see old friends, meet new ones and generally relax and enjoy the camaraderie and conversation. Bring friends, family and prospective Rotary members. There will be a cash bar and Free hors d’oeuvres.

October 4th, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Leg Lamp Lodge
Located above The Bar at 427 W. College Avenue, Appleton.

The History of the Appleton Fire Department

Lieutenant Jordan Steel from the Appleton Fire Department discussed the history of professional firefighting in Appleton. A group of civic minded people got together and recognized the threat that fires held if not controlled. In 1854, they organized and appointed 2 fire marshals to seek out fires and get volunteers to help put them out. There have been many fires over the years. In 1859, a fire consumed 6 factories, 2 mills, various other buildings and presented a staggering fire loss of $16,000. Fires like this led the City to form the first professional fire department in 1894. Fire Station #1 was located on the corner of Oneida and Washington Streets. Fire pumpers and ladder wagons were pulled by horses. Because fire fighters protect the community 24 hours a day, fire fighters spring out of bed, dressed and slid down the pole. In 1907, the Fire Department built a new station on Oneida and Washington Streets that served the community until 1964. When the first fire department started, there was only one shift. Fire fighters stayed at the fire station all the time. Every other day they were given 4 days off to go home to take care of matters. In 1922, they went to 2 shifts and in the 1960’s went to 3. The steam engine replaced water supplied by a hydrant or hand pump. This was kept running 24 hours a day to keep it hot and is also served to keep the station warm. By the 1930’s the horses were replaced. In 1964, the Station moved to Drew Street that serves today as their headquarters. In the 1960’s, the fire department used to operate ambulances. In the 1980’s, there was a referendum and the fire department lost the ambulances to Gold Cross. In the late 1990’s, fire departments re-entered the emergency medical field and works with Gold Cross. However, fire fighters cannot transport people to the hospital. Fire Station #2 was operated from 1890-1920 as a volunteer fire department on the corners of State and Eighth Streets.

Community Service Grants

The Rotary Club of Appleton is pleased to make available grants from Rotary Shines, our major spring fundraiser, and from the Community Service Fund. Grants from the Community Service Fund will total $2939 this year. Rotary Shines funds are estimated at $10,000 but will vary depending on the success of our 2012 fundraiser. You are encouraged to apply for either source of funding, or both. Both grants support local community needs, and may provide members of the Rotary Club of Appleton with volunteer opportunities. The following guidelines will help you determine if you qualify for funding from these sources:

• Grants will be given to organizations designated as 501c(3).
• The project must serve/benefit residents of the Appleton area.
• Capital Projects (“bricks and mortar”) will not be funded.
• Annual campaigns will not be funded.
• Funds may serve as seed money for projects.
• Funds will be committed for only one year at a time, but may be awarded up to three consecutive years.
• Please do not request funds for ongoing operational expenses.

Requests for both grants must be received by October 14, 2011. Rotary’s Community Service Committee will determine recommendations for recipients of both grants at one meeting. Applications can be found on our website.

NAMI Walk - October 8

The NAMI Walk will be held on Saturday, October 8 beginning at Memorial Park in Appleton. If you are interested in being part of "Downtown Appleton Rotary Rovers", go to the team website to sign up - http://www.nami.org/walkTemplate.cfm?section=NAMIWALKS&template=/customsource/namiwalks/teampage.cfm&teamID=28187

Rotary Youth Exchange

The Rotary Club of Appleton will be presenting an informational meeting on the Rotary Youth Exchange on Tuesday, September 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the Appleton Public Library in meeting room D. The full year and the short term (summer) exchange programs will be discussed.

Interested high school students who are in the top 50% of their class and who will be between the ages of 15 and 18.5 on their departure (if selected) in the summer of 2012 should attend this meeting with at least one parent. Rotary is primarily looking for a sophomore or junior student. Some exceptions can be made for seniors. It does not matter whether your parents are members of a Rotary Club - the program is open to children of Rotarian's and non-Rotarian's alike. Exchange student candidates must be outgoing, self-confident, friendly, adaptable, and adventurous, willing to learn a foreign language, with above average grades in school. The application form will require you to tell about yourself your family, and provide references from school teachers and/or administrators.

The mission of the Rotary Youth Exchange is to foster world peace, international understanding and good will by extending international communication at the personal level through the exchange of students of high school age. It is our hope that these young people will be able to observe, first hand, the problems and accomplishments of other countries by living with and meeting people of cultures, creeds and colors other than their own. For further details follow this link.
http://www.rye6220.org/dbimages/Am_I_eligible_to_be_a_Rotary_Exchange_Student_8-09.pdf

Questions can be referred to Steve Taylor at 731-4351 or Robb Waugus at 450-9201.

Mobile Photographers WANTED!

Snap a picture wherever you are Rotary! (SAMP packing, weekly meetings, fellowship group events, socials, fundraisers, committee meetings!) They can be serious, funny, crazy, or anything that best expresses the personality of our club or the seriousness of our motto, “Service above Self.” Since every member cannot be everywhere, help us capture every opportunity through pictures so we all feel a part of where all the action is!

Photo contest rules:
- Take pictures everywhere you are doing Rotary from September 1st – September 30th.
- Submit your pictures electronically to dreyer.kathy@gmail.com
- The Marketing/PR committee will be selecting the top 3 photos of the month and prizes will be awarded in October.

Categories include:
- Best overall Photo
- Funniest photo
- Photo that demonstrates the camaraderie we value through Rotary.

Do not submit blurry photos or photos of poor quality.
If you take several pictures only submit your favorites.
Kathy Dreyer reserves the right to post your photos on our Facebook page.