2013 Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal

In June, President Peter attended the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal.  Lisbon is the capital and largest city in Portugal.  Lisbon is built on 7 hills and is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe.  The population of Lisbon is about 600,000 and if you include the surrounding area it is 2.5-3 million.  Ninety four percent of the population is Roman Catholic and the official language is Portuguese.  Peter shared photos of the Monument of Discovery, the

Christ the King statue, the Vasco da Gama Bridge, street cars and how every street/sidewalk consists of individual pieces of granite.  Lisbon is considered the world sardine capital. 

The convention took place at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa and the plenary sessions took place at the neighboring Atlântico Pavilion.  The Feira International de Lisboa is a modern space with 4 pavilions. The opening ceremony consisted of the Presentation of Flags.  There were 20,000 people from 164 countries that attended the convention.  Breakout sessions offered a chance for Rotarians to share project ideas and tips. These sessions addressed topics such as membership, Rotary Foundation grants, club and district leadership, public relations, New Generation and Rotary’s new strategic partnerships.  Rotary is looking to raise the last funds to eradicate polio off the face of the earth.  Peter met Aziz Memon from Pakistan where some of SAMP’s shipments are sent.  Aziz hopes to come to Appleton in the near future. 

Rotary has 1.2 million members from 34,000 clubs and over 200 countries.  All putting the 4 way test into practice impacting their local communities and changing the world.

2013-2014 Goals

Each year, members are asked to complete a membership survey in order to help the leadership establish goals and make changes to the Club.  Out of a membership of 189, there were 94 responses – 49.7%.

2013-2014 Goals

1.  Increase membership to 200.  Emphasis will be placed on quality versus quantity. 

2.  Re-energize our local service opportunities:  Rotary Ambassadors and new opportunities to serve.

3.  Tweak meeting format to be considerate to speakers and members.

4.  Every Rotarian Every Year - 100% participation.  The challenge is for all to give something to The Rotary Foundation.

5.  Rotary Moment – Members share why they are members of Rotary.  This will help others understand why Rotary is important and why it is important to be engaged.

Rotaract of the Fox River

Michelle Reppert, Rotaract of the Fox River, talked about how they were chartered on July 16, 2012 and sponsored by the Neenah Rotary Club.  Rotaract is a service, leadership and community service organization for young men and women between the ages of 18-30.  Rotaract focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in their communities and workplaces. Clubs around the world also take part in international service projects, in a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world.  Rotaract can be community or university based.  Currently, Rotaract of the Fox River has 5 members and they are trying to expand.  They are also considering moving to a university based club with U. W. Oshkosh.  They have worked on service projects to raise money for a ShelterBox who provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters, a book drive, cooked and served food for the Appleton Warming Shelter, helped at Seafood Fest for the Neenah/Menasha Rotary Clubs, wrapped gifts for Habitat for Humanity, helped at an art show for Friendship Place and helping grow the Oshkosh Community Garden.  The goal is to keep momentum on these projects, other ways to help in the community and to grow membership.  Members can be from anywhere in the Fox Valley.  The age range is not rigid since there is a gap between the time someone is a member of Rotaract and Rotary clubs.  Rotaract of the Fox Valley does not have a formal meeting time but meets when everyone can get together. 

Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 and has grown into a major Rotary-sponsored organization of over 9,030 clubs spread around the world and 207,690 members. "Rotaract" stands for "Rotary in Action", although the name originally comes from a combination of "Rotary" and "Interact" (International + Action), the high school level program created by Rotary International in 1962.  Most Rotaract activities take place at the club level. Rotaract clubs hold formal meetings, usually every two weeks, which feature speakers, special outings, social activities, discussions or visits to other clubs. Club members get together on designated days for service project work, social events, or professional/leadership development workshops.  The purpose of Rotaract is to provide an opportunity for young men and women to enhance the knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs of their communities, and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service

RYE Summer Exchange

Louise Geniouse and Esther Roselaar were visiting us today.  Louise is our summer exchange student from France who is staying with Esther for a 3 week exchange.  After the 3 weeks, Esther will go with Louise to Frances for a 3 week exchange. 

Peter Kelly's Induction

Chad Hershner said that today is an important day for our Rotary Club – we must decide whether or not Peter Kelly is truly fit to be our fearless leader and become the next President! Before we do the formal election, we thought it would be helpful to make sure that you, as a voting member, are fully informed, understand and have a greater depth of knowledge about Peter Kelly.  Our incredibly resourceful stunts committee has been working tirelessly over the past year to conduct research, gather stories and find photos of our potential President Kelly in action. Peter is a well respected business professional who usually demonstrates a calm, cool, collected and thoughtful demeanor. We could not have a better advocate for our community!  But there are something’s you may not know about Peter.  Did you know that Peter Kelly is a terrible driver – especially in winter! When his wife Katie was pregnant with their third child, it was a bit hectic at 7:30 in the morning getting the other two children up and out the door. It was winter and the snow banks were about 4 feet high on either side of the drive way. Peter got everyone into the car and then proceeded to launch the family sedan onto one of the snow banks – so much so that the trunk and back tires extended over the road. When Peter was working at Menasha Corporation, all the snow was plowed to one side creating 6 foot snow banks. Peter managed to launch the Menasha Corporation vehicle on top of the snow bank in such a way that none of the 4 wheels were in contact with the ground – quite a feat – especially on a street with a  posted speed limit of just 25 miles per hour. Deborah Wetter has agreed to provide you with Valley Transit bus passed – not just for your safety but for those around you. Peter is also known as a man who will do almost anything. Over the course of the years, Peter has performed many stunts – he has had pies thrown in his face, chowed down on spaghetti, and even shaved his head. I heard he also dressed up in spandex as a superhero – but the stunts committee decided we could not show those photos – since we are family friendly club. What kind of stunts will Peter perform as President of our Club.  One of the top reasons and greatest values our members have said time and time again for why they join the club is for networking and building friendships. Working at the United Way, Peter knows lots of people in our community. We have a memory game we would like to play to test Peter’s knowledge and prove his skills are remembering names. Let’s play a game – Who is Your Fellow Rotarian? Peter – all you have to do is say their name. Let’s see how well Peter knows his fellow Rotarians.  Now Peter, I understand that you have a long solid history as a good catholic family. Being a good Catholic there are lots of key factors important to the Catholic faith – singing, paying attention and drinking. Here to help you remember and reinforce some of the lessons you should have learned over the years is non-other than Sister Mary Katherine…the Horrible (played by Mary Schmidt)!  I think it is important for me to share with the Rotary Club some of the things I uncovered and learned about you. I understand you are quite a Prankster and someone who loves April Fool’s Day. When your siblings were still attending St. John’s Catholic grade school, April Fools Day fell on a day when there was no school. However, you little mischievous devil set your sisters’ alarm clocks and ran into their room telling them to quickly get dressed because they had to get ready for school. When the sleepy-eyed sisters were all dressing in their plaid uniforms and eating cereal he announced “April Fools”. Do we want to elect this jokester to be our next President?  I also have observed on numerous occasions that you frequently fall asleep, dose off, or disengage during meetings, conversations and even Mass! I understand there is actually an entire SERIES of “Peter Sleeping in Mass” photos.  Will Peter stay awake during our Rotary meetings? Being a good Catholic, Peter knows how to drink – as all GOOD Catholics do! I understand that you have a special talent for balancing a high ball glass full of scotch, stinger or Irish whiskey on his head while dancing. This is a trick he learned from his Gran! We have one final item we feel is of MOST Importance for our Club to know and it has to do with your SINGING (or lack their of) abilities. Is it true that not only can’t you sing, but that you can’t even hum well?  I think you should demonstrate your humming abilities for our club by humming the tune SMILE!  If we decided to elect him, this Prankster Peter will need all of our help to stay awake and remember our names. The question is now up to the Club – is this man, Peter Kelly, truly fit for the office of President?  The answer is "yes".

Rotary Club of Appleton Accomplishments for 2012-2013

President Dawn wanted to reflect upon some noteworthy Club accomplishments for just a few minutes, as a way to say thank you to everyone.

We began this year with a survey, asking you to shape the direction for our Club.

The Youth Services and Education Awards Committee awarded 10 Bright Future Awards, 10 Outstanding Junior Awards and 11 Outstanding Senior Awards.  Valley New School was added to the list of recipients.  The committee also awarded 6 Bright Future Scholarships.  Each student received $466. 

The Recognitions Committee awarded 6 Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Awards. 

The Membership Committee held 2 membership drives and 19 members were inducted. 

The Courtesy Awards Committee awarded 6 awards for exceptional service in our community.

The Program Theme Committee presented 4 programs on water. 

The Family of Rotary Committee held a SAMP packing event for new board members in fall 2012, organized a family night at the Timber Rattler stadium, held a kick ball event, coordinated the annual Holiday Celebration, held quarterly Happy Hours and coordinated a community event for Rotary families at the Gardens of the Fox Cities. 

The Children with Disabilities Committee distributed $22,284.59 to area organizations. 

The Arts and Arts Awards Committee awarded $1,968 in arts scholarships. 

The World Service Committee granted $2,931.82 to the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity to purchase and ship eyeglasses for a mission trip to Nicaragua.

The Community Service Committee granted $3039 to the Community Clothes closet.

The Scholarship Committee changed their criteria to more need based scholarships and awarded 2 - $5,000 scholarships.

The Visitation Committee renamed itself to the Rotary Friendship Committee and formed three subcommittees – transportation, hospitality and illness and bereavement. 

The Rotary Ambassadors held a collection drive for St. Joe’s Food Pantry, the Emergency Shelter and the Mooring House.

Rotary was on the Road at Boldt Construction, Boy’s and Girl’s Club of the Fox Valley, the Outagamie County Museum, the Outagamie County Jail and the Salvation Army. 

Our Club hosted a Rotary Youth Exchange student from Brazil – Flora Prada.  Elinor Bell was our outbound student who will be returning from Hungary.  Levi Cross was selected to be an outbound student who will go to Brazil August. 

Rotary Leadership Awards Committee sent 6 students to Camp Manito-wish YMCA in Boulder Junction. 

The Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project collected, packed and sent 3 shipments to Pakistan. 

Rotary Shines was a fun event held again on Friday night at the OuterEdge and raised $26,973.62 with $5,000 going to PolioPlus, $8,617.00 to the Fox Valley Memory Project and $13,356.62 to the water projects.   

Our Club hosted the GSE delegation from Australia in early May. 

Ruth Ann Heeter and Jay Drzewiecki were presented with Rotarian of the Year Awards.

Our club received the Presidential Citation for its accomplishments during the 2012-2013 Rotary year