2012-2013 Presidential Citation

The Presidential Citation recognizes Rotary clubs for achieving an array of accomplishments that help them become stronger, deliver more effective service, and enhance their public image. By qualifying for the Presidential Citation, clubs contribute to Rotary’s organizational goals and multiply the impact of their good work through the collective focus of 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide. Assistant District Governor Tom Berkedal presented President Dawn with the 2012-2013 Presidential Citation.  Our Club is one of nine in the District to receive the Citation

CHARLES AND ADELE HEETER OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARDS

The Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award is bestowed on Rotarians or individuals of the Appleton/Fox Cities community who exemplify the Rotary Motto of “Service Above Self” by providing significant Rotary and/or community leadership and/or service through the use of his/her time, talent or treasury.  Such leadership and/or service should reflect the standards described in the Rotary Four Way Test.  These individuals should also demonstrate a strong commitment to volunteerism in one of the four Rotary Avenues of Service outside the scope of his/her normal job responsibilities.  The Club donated 1,000 points to each recipient making them a Paul Harris Fellow. 

Renee Boldt’s contributions have no bounds.  With every opportunity, she leads the way in improving the quality of life here and throughout Wisconsin.  Her contributions include:  Board Chair of the Circus World Museum Foundation; Board member of American Players Theatre in Spring Green; Governor’s appointee to the Wisconsin Women’s Council; Board member of the Wisconsin Historical Foundation; President of the Friends of the Appleton Public Library; Lawrence University Board of Trustees; LEAVEN; Kings Daughters; Meals on Wheels; Appleton Youth Education Initiative; Memorial Presbyterian Church; PEO and Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra.

Chuck Lewis has been a SCORE volunteer for 17 years and recently has concentrated on counseling for the group’s entrepreneurial clients who are starting nonprofit businesses and organizations.  He has given many hours to nonprofits that are successful today because of his dedication and knowledge.  Chuck offered his expertise and guidance to the Burundi Education Fund to help them achieve the group’s 501(c)3 status and remained as an advisor; provided financial support; and is looking at how his knowledge can help other such organizations.  Chuck’s efforts have given hope to 266 students in Burundi.

Paul Harris Fellowships

The Paul Harris Fellowship is named for Paul Harris, who founded Rotary with three business associates in Chicago in 1905.  The Fellowship was established in his honor in 1957 to express appreciation for a contribution of $1,000 to the humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation.  Those programs include an array of projects that save and invigorate the lives of people around the world and enhance international friendship and understanding.  Foundation programs provide educational opportunities, food, potable water, health care, immunizations and shelter for millions of persons.  These activities are funded, implemented and managed by Rotarians and Rotary clubs around the globe.  Today, the following individuals were recognized for their contributions to The Rotary Foundation:

Dick Calder  - Pin with 3 rubies

Dwight Easty – Pin with 1 sapphire

Kevin Loomans – Pin with certificate

Barb Merry – Pin with 2 sapphires

Rick Stark – Pin with 3 sapphires

FAMILY OF ROTARY HAPPY HOUR - JULY 9

The Family of Rotary Committee is sponsoring a Happy Hour on Tuesday, July 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Bazil’s in Appleton.

VOLUNTEER OPTOMETRIC SERVICE TO HUMANITY (VOSH)

Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity’s primary mission is to facilitate the provision and the sustainability of vision care worldwide for people who can neither afford nor obtain such care.  VOSH is an international organization that has chapters around the world.  The World Service Committee granted VOSH $2,931.82 to offset the costs of purchasing and shipping eyeglasses, eye drops and other materials for the January 2013 mission to Nicaragua.  Mary Harp-Jirschele is a volunteer for VOSH and went on the mission trip to El Ayote, Nicaragua.  Access to running water does not exist and electricity is sporadic.  Some houses are wired with electricity.  There are no streets or roads. The group traveled by bus on a muddy path sometimes teetering along the mountain to get to the village.  This is the third time Mary has traveled with VOSH to Nicaragua with eye doctors, opticians and other volunteers.  Dr. Mark Ebben, a Rotarian and Optometrist from Kaukauna, led this trip.  They brought 1500 pairs of glasses mostly bifocals and another 1500 of distance glasses were shipped.  Unfortunately, the shipped glasses were locked up in customs.  When the Bishop of Nicaragua learned of this, he marched over to the airport and the eyeglasses were released.  The glasses are ordered and bought from the Lions Club and Shopko donated 500 sunglasses.  The team worked inside of an empty building one half the size of a basketball court.  Everything got moving at about 3:00 a.m.  The group would go to the outhouse, take a shower, put on damp clothes and try to find toiletries in the dark.  Some days, 300 people would be lined up outside the door.  People traveled by bus, horse, donkey or walk for a day for the opportunity to better their sight.  People were asked to fill out a simple form then visit Mary who gave them the acuity check.  Each person has their own style of reading the chart.  Others sit on a bench watching how the check is given.  The next station is the close up acuity check to see if bifocals are needed.  Then they proceed to the refractor machine which is similar to a view master to take pictures of the eye.  The eye doctor then determines what the person needs.  One night the group was invited to watch television at one of the houses in the area.  When they got to the home, there was a card table with a 9” black and white television with 5 resin chairs in front of it so that they could watch the Patriot versus the Ravens football game.  On January 22, Mary wrote that she saw 5-6 damaged or sightless eyes.  There was an endless stream of people and she did not know what day it was.  There were lots of challenges.  A 2 year old girl came with her parents on horseback because corn flour got into the girls eyes and they were raw.  A 25 year old man had the glasses he got when he was 5 years old.  Another was blind in one eye and had a disease in the other.  A 105 year old man came in on donkey for his first eye exam.  They gave him some glasses and told him that they were guaranteed for the rest of his life.  When the group goes on these mission trips, they bring balloons, pencils, crayons, stickers and paper umbrellas for the children.  The children follow and interact with them wherever they go.  When the group leaves, they try to leave behind what they can for the people in the village.  The per capita income is $450 per year.  They gave the people in El Ayote the gift of sight and showed them that someone in this world cares about them. 

Bright Future Scholarship Recipients

The Bright Future Scholarships started last year when a memorial was established in the name of Ken Johnston to provide educational scholarships.  The Board recommended that these funds be used to provide scholarships to Bright Future Award recipients who will be attending college, technical school or university in the fall.  This year, the committee requested funds from the operating budget to continue this program.  Bright Future Award recipients were asked to fill out an application and monies were divided equally among those that applied.  Those receiving $466 scholarships were:

Kory Lain               Fox Valley Technical College      Automotive

Ibuki Lennon          California College of Music        Associate of Arts Degree

Stephanie Lotto      Fox Valley Technical College      Early Childhood Education

Kelli Nottelet          Fox Valley Technical College      CNA

Kyle Stolzman        Fox Valley Technical College      Culinary Arts Program

Tomchai Yang        Fox Valley Technical College       Natural Resources Tech

ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE OUTBOUND STUDENT – LEVI CROSS

Levi will be heading for Brazil in August as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.  Over the past year, he has attended conferences with other exchange students in the District to prepare him for this cultural exchange representing Rotary and the United States.   In April, he found out he was going to a city about 6 ½ hours northwest of Rio de Janeiro.  Today, Levi gave the presentation he will be giving about himself while in Brazil.  The United States became a country in 1776 when it officially declared its independence from Great Britain.  The United States has a population of 313,778,000 which includes 50 states and 5 territories.  The capital is Washington DC.  Our current president is Barack Obama who has been in office since 2009 and is our 44^th president.  He represents the democratic party and is our first African American president.  The State of Wisconsin officially became a state in 1848.  Wisconsin is called the “Badger State” and has a population is 5,726,000.  The state bird is the robin, state flower is the violet and the state dance is the polka.  The two largest cities in Wisconsin are Madison and Milwaukee.  The capital of Wisconsin is Madison and is home to the largest university in the state – University of Wisconsin – Madison.  Wisconsin is very enthusiastic about sports-Green Bay Packers (football), Milwaukee Brewers (baseball) and Milwaukee Bucks (basketball).  Appleton became a city 1853 and is home to Lawrence University.  Appleton is known for its paper mills, Museum at the Castle (Houdini exhibit) and the Hearthstone Museum, the first hydroelectric power home.  Levi attends Appleton East High School with his favorite subjects being math, science and Spanish.  An interesting fact about Appleton East is that it was built as a fallout shelter during the Cold War.  Appleton East is also enthusiastic about its sports:  football, boy’s basketball and girl’s softball.  After school, many students go the Appleton Public Library because it is a quite place to study and participate in athletics or clubs.  In his spare time, Levi enjoys hanging out with his friends at restaurants, coffee shops, downtown or at football games.  Levi wanted to thank the Club for this opportunity. 

Rotarian(s) of the Year

The Rotarian(s) of the Year is presented to one or more members of our Club each year in recognition of outstanding contributions to our Club either in the current Rotary year or over a long period of time.  Today we will be recognizing two Rotarians.  The first Rotarian that we’re honoring today has dedicated a huge amount of time and expertise to the Club this year and the second Rotarian we are honoring is a legacy Rotarian who has provided distinguished service to our Club over a long period of time.

I am honored to present the Rotarian of the Year Award to a person who contributed several hours of her time and expertise to the Club this past year.  The honoree has been a member of our Club for almost 13 years and has always been committed and involved in committees such as the Programs, Family of Rotary and Arts and Arts Awards.  She was the Co-chair of Rotary Shines this year which involved several hours of planning, follow-up and effort to not only generate proceeds (almost $27,000) for our projects but to also make it a fun night for all Rotarians and guests.  She was successful.  This year’s Rotarian of the Year has and continues to live our motto of “Service Above Self”.  With the Recognition’s Committees endorsement, it gives me great pleasure to present Ruth Ann Heeter with the Rotarian of the Year plaque in sincere appreciation and recognition of distinguished service, loyalty, and devotion to the ideals of Rotary along with a Paul Harris Fellowship pin.

Our second honoree if our legacy Rotarian who has been a Rotarian for almost 40 years.  He was a member of the Menasha Rotary from 1972-1983 and then a member of our Club from 1983 to the present.  He is a Paul Harris Fellow along with being a Board of Director of the Appleton Rotary Foundation. He chaired and has been a member of the Investments Committee for several years. Without his expertise and guidance, our Foundation would not be as strong.  He chaired the Group Study Exchange Committee for the past 14 years and because of his leadership, we were given the opportunity to meet people from other countries and get a better understanding of their culture and lifestyle so that one day maybe the world will be accepting and understanding of all cultures.  He has contributed countless hours of service and devotion to our Club.  He represents true leadership.  It gives me great pleasure to present Jay Drzewiecki with the Rotarian of the Year plaque along with a Paul Harris Fellowship pin with one sapphire.

Food Drive for St. Joe's Food Pantry

The Rotary Ambassador Committee will host a food drive for St. Joe’s food pantry on June 11^th. A van will be onsite to collect the bags at the Radisson. Suggested items include:  cereal, canned meats, canned stews, canned fruit, canned tuna, condiments, boxed dinner mixes, peanut butter, pork and beans, dried beans and rice.

FAMILY OF ROTARY AT THE GARDENS OF THE FOX CITIES

Please join the Family of Rotary Committee at the Gardens of the Fox Cities next Wednesday, June 12^th, to promote goodwill and create better friendships among Rotarians.  Celebrate June Dairy Month at the Gardens with Cold Stone ice cream and live bluegrass music. Bring a blanket, or bring your dancing shoes, and enjoy the down to earth stylings of Burnt Toast & Jam while surrounded by summer blooms. Activities will include a hula hoop station and kite flying. $3 per person, ages 5 & under are free.  Registration Appreciated: randerson@gardensfoxcities.org

Date: June 12, 2013 (Wednesday)

Time: 6:00-8:00pm

Location: Gardens of the Fox Cities - 1313 Witzke Blvd, Appleton

Why Harry Houdini Still Matters

Tom Boldt explained that Harry Houdini came from a very impoverished family in Budapest, Hungary.  His dad, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss, was a somewhat shady character who hustled people, possibly killed someone and fled Budapest from 1878.  He had some connection in the United States and somehow found his way to Appleton, Wisconsin.  Appleton was considered a classic American small town, a progressive expanding place of nearly 7,000 people that supported 3 newspapers, 2 fire companies, several hotels and banks and retail stores galore.  Mayer Weiss was hired on as the first Rabbi of the growing Jewish community in the Fox Cities.  His English was not so great but he quickly integrated into the community.  This job paid him way beyond what he ever experienced so he sent for his family which consisted of his wife Cecelia and their 5 children.  They arrived in New York on the S. S. Frisia on June 26, 1878 and it was not clear how they got to Appleton.  The Weiss family became very involved in the community.  As the Jewish community began to grow, they outgrew the meeting rooms on the second floor of the Gabriel Furniture building.  A capital campaign was started to build the Temple Zion Church.  The Weiss family never saw the completion of this project since Mayer Weiss was relieved from his duties.  With 6 children now, the Weiss family moved to Milwaukee then to New York.  Harry had to get a job in the garment industry making ties.  He then met a friend who introduced him to magic.  Harry thought that this was something he could make into a vocation.  Harry and his wife Bess performed throughout his career “The Metamorphosis” and became famous for his illusions.  Harry and Bess performed at Dime Museums then hooked up with the Welch Brothers Circus.  It was a hard life traveling from city to city not making much money.  Harry traveled to London and convinced Scotland Yard to put him in a jail cell where he escaped.  Harry became famous for the “Challenge Act”.  He challenged police departments that he could get out of any jail cell which generated attendance at his shows.  This made him very successful in England, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.  After spending 3 years in Europe, Harry came back to Appleton.  Through some of his friends, articles were fed to the local newspaper.  It was important for Harry to be associated with Appleton because of the promise of a better life it gave his family.  In many ways, Harry was a renaissance man - he was the first person to fly an airplane in Australia and his first film was “The Grim Game”.  Harry is still part of our vocabulary because his movies were seen by many, he was an author, filmmaker and pursued exposing fake mediums.  So why does Harry Houdini still matter?  Harry was a man that came from modest beginnings; had only a 7^th grade education; went on to become an international star; embodied the promise of America where there were boundless possibilities; there were no restrictions to race, class or religion; showed that hard work and perseverance paid off; was the highest paid entertainer in the world at one time; risk taker; had a holistic world view; continuously improved and reinvented his acts; and showed what was possible.