Deborah Wetter's Induction

My name is Debbie Driver and I’m your bus driver today.  We’re here to travel all over the club to celebrate the induction of Deborah Wetter.  Because she’s the new president she’ll be the first passenger on the Rotary Transit Express.  But before we get going, we’re going to have some traveling music as we make our stops.  For those of you who don’t know Deb, she’s the top man, er, woman at Valley Transit.  Deb, get on the bust and let’s not be late for our first stop…but remember: you cant’ get on the bus without sharing a story about Deborah.  Robb: You can call her Deb, but never Debbie—she prefers Deborah.  This Wausau native hasn’t stayed too long in one place.  She was one of the long line of family members who are actually all Ivy League.  Deb has a degree in business from Radcliffe—the all girl companion to Harvard.  So you can call her a “Cliffe.”  But don’t call her Debbie.  Caroline: Transportation is a big theme in Deb’s life.  Her working life included jobs in Mississippi, San Diego (where she met her hubby Jerry), New Orleans, San Jose, Batavia and now the Fox Valley.  When she was in the Bay area she worked for the Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART as it is called where she managed buses, trains, trolleys...Deb, is there any truth to the rumor that light rail and space shuttles are next for the Valley???  Rich:  Deb LOVES music and regularly attends symphonies here in the Valley and in Stevens Point, NewVoices concerts, and she’s a cellist—all of this love for music and she married a guy who was told to go outside and play rather than participating in music class!  Ruthann:  Life is all about anything that sparkles.  Deb LOVES shiny, glittery, bling—from the baubles she wears to the ones she puts on for Rotary Shines announcements.  She also loves anything with Meryl Streep in it including, “The Devil Wears Prada.”  This all seems to work because her favorite song ever is Dancing Queen.  Who doesn’t love a little ABBA now and then—but we hear Deb has it on a RING TONE? Really Deb? Peter:  Hey…I got a free pass last year so I can get on the bus without a story…Mary: Right you are, but please do us a favor and don’t sing! Trey:  According to co-workers, Deb is a leader who always sees the big picture, she’s collaborative and thoughtful.  But there must be something about this Rotary office because she can always remember faces, but has a little problem remembering names.  She’s traveled around the country and has picked up a few words that retain the accents from the places she’s lived.  In New Orleans, the word “ask” and “axe” come out as “axe” in her accent.  One time she was telling her assistant here in Appleton that she had to “axe” a co-worker something…and the poor woman thought someone was getting fired.  Chad:  Well Deb, we thought you didn’t have any secrets…but we understand you are addicted to Starbucks.  So addicted that you have an app on your phone set for automatic re-load every time your Starbucks card gets below $25.  And we know you enjoy the best things about Wisconsin: a happy hour now and then, cheese…but HOLD THE FISH FRY.  Jerry had to pick you up from a company luncheon years ago because fish was on the menu—after a trip to the doctor he confirmed that if it has fins, you’re allergic to it.  Tom:  As you know, Deb was just in Australia for the Rotary International conference and she stayed for a vacation to New Zeeland.  While there she fell in love with the honey.  She tried to bring honey from New Zeeland to Australia and it got confiscated.  So…she decided to ship some home to herself back here in Wisconsin.  Her son confirmed it arrived at home, but it had a sticker on it that said “DHS.”  She asked if it stood for Department of Human Services, but her son said no, it was Department of Homeland Security.  She immediately freaked out thinking she had violated international customs law—her son let her freak out.  Until he told her he was only kidding.

2013-2014 Review

Peter Kelly reflected on this year as president.  We began this Rotary year with a survey, asking you to help shape the direction for our Club. With that and input from the Board we made some small changes to our meetings in an effort to make them more efficient – reorganized meeting format, omitted “Happy Birthday” ... but still in the Gusto, inductions/thumbnails will be done on a quarterly basis. The theme committee presented a series on the Universe and Its Limits. We found out that like Protagoras, we had no idea, and that to capture neutrinos one must go to the end of the earth. Rotary on the Road was held at Gardens of the Fox Cities, Paper Discovery Center, Valley Packaging and several of you dined with me at the Wastewater Treatment Center. The Program Committee presented two Nonprofit Roundtables and the Young Professionals took control for a meeting ... young or old, it was well received. Last year, excluding Rotary Shines, we gave away $39,992.97.  Kaitlyn Pritzl and Syndee Eckberg were each awarded $5,000 scholarships.  U. W. Fox Valley Foundation and Fox Valley Technical College Foundation were also each awarded $2,481.09 for nontraditional scholarships.  The Youth Services and Education Awards Committee presented 11 Bright Future Awards and 4 of these recipients applied for and received scholarships of $625 to attend Fox Valley Technical College.  The committee also awarded 10 Youth Recognition Awards to outstanding seniors and 10 to outstanding juniors. The Arts Scholarship Committee awarded 3 scholarships to students totaling $2,552.87. The World Service Committee awarded grants to the Ghana Sanitation Project ($2,000), the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity ($825) and PowerFlour ($250). The Community Service Committee awarded a $3,206 grant to Neighborhood Partnership and Sustainability Fox Valley. The Children with Disabilities Committee distributed $23,053.01 to area organizations. In addition, Rotary Shines was held on Friday, April 11 at the Outer Edge. It raised over $28,000 to benefit Catalpa Health, Kenya Works Makini Initiative (benefiting Kenyan adolescent girls); Solar Sanitary Project in India; and a high school sanitation project in Burundi, Africa. In addition we sent money to RI to support PolioPlus. Your generosity didn’t stop there. I received personal gifts such as coffee, a bus pass, empty cans of exotic beer, chop sticks, candy, shot glass, playing cards, commemorative coins, other fun trinkets, and directions to a pancake restaurant to Bangkok. The club hosted Rotary Youth Exchange student Flora Prada from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our outbound student Levi Cross went to Brazil.  Six students to attended Rotary Youth Leadership camp at Camp Manito­wish YMCA in Boulder Junction. The Family of Rotary held a series of social events called Rediscover Appleton. (A reminder that that fun continues this evening at the Appleton Yacht Club.) The Courtesy Awards Committee awarded 4 Courtesy Award for exceptional service in our community ... and is already asking all of us to be on the lookout for remarkable customer service that we can recognize this year. The Membership Committee held 2 membership drives and 12 members were inducted. Perhaps one of my bigger regrets is not growing our membership numbers and failing to continue our pretty consistent history of receiving Presidential Citation. This disappointment is easily overshadowed by our club sponsoring the Rotaract Club of Lawrence University, which did receive a Presidential Citation. This year was also very challenging for Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project ... I would even say the future of the SAMP looked bleak at one point. The Project collected, packed and sent 3 shipments to Pakistan. Thanks for the hard work of a core group of Rotarians; SAMP also formed partnerships with the Salvatorian Center, the International Coalition of Independent Living and the International Children’s Fund. A total of 210 gaylords were sent out this year. The Board of Directors and the incoming board members held Strategic Planning Sessions facilitated by Shipra Seefeldt and Sridhar. We will have more to report on this at future meetings. The Club thanked Kathy Dreyer for her 16 years of service and welcomed our new administrative assistant – Meghan Warner. We awarded Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Awards and Paul Harris Fellows to Dawn Doberstein, Mary Harp­Jirchele for their wonderful work in our community. Tony Gonzalez was recognized as our Rotarian of the Year. This award was accompanied with a Paul Harris Fellowship. We also gave an Honorary Rotarian of the Year award to Kathy Dreyer. That brings us back to today ... and one year ago. Stunts Committee inducted me as President and the club found out that while we’re all very cheerful, Rotary is not a place where everyone knows your name. Over the past twelve months I don’t know that I’ve made any progress. So let me conclude and just say, “Hey you ... all of you, it was fun. Thank you for all you do. It has been an honor to serve as president of the Rotary Club of Appleton.

ROTARIANS OF THE YEAR

Our Club has been recognizing a Rotarian of the Year for the past 17 years.  The individual being considered for this should have demonstrated outstanding service as a Rotarian during the past year.  We may also consider a member who, over the course of more than one Rotary year, has demonstrated exceptional dedicated service to the community and club.  This year's honoree qualifies in both categories. Our recipient was inducted in February, 2003.  In 2010 he became a Paul Harris Fellow.  He has served on the Community Services, Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center, Rotary Ambassadors, Greeters and Fundraising committee.  He participates in many Club activities such as Habitat for Humanity build, Rebuilding Together, packing food and packing medical supplies with SAMP. In 2004, he became chair of the Sports and Social Committee. If you are still wondering who this mystery man is, here is a final clue... the Sports and Social Committee changed its name to the Family of Rotary Committee in 2007 and our honoree still serves as its chair. Yes, Tony Gonzalez is a very dedicated Club member.  He always looks for ways to provide service to our club and our community.  Tony works to involve everyone, but will step up and do whatever needs to be done if someone else cannot. The Rotary Club of Appleton is pleased to honor Tony Gonzalez as our Rotarian of the Year.

The Rotary also wanted to recognize an Honorary Rotarian of the Year.  Yes she is not a card carrying Rotarian, but she makes sure all of us are.  In her sixteen years as our Administrative Assistant Kathy Dreyer has attended nearly 800 Tuesday lunch meetings.  During her time with the Rotary Club of Appleton, Kathy has been at and taken the minutes for nearly 192 board meetings, I am not even counting the executive committee, Rotary Foundation and various club committee meetings she has attended all in the spirit of making our club work smoothly.  For all those that served this club as president, we were grateful to have Kathy navigate the journey.  She makes sure we pay our dues and sees that our bills are paid.  As Kathy's last job duty we have asked her to order herself a plaque as she has done for so many others for the past sixteen years.

Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project

Carol Busey gave an update to the Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project:

• 44 gaylords were sent to Pakistan at the end of March
• Another 44 gaylords are being sent to Pakistan at the end of June
• Aziz Memon will be coming to Appleton in October from Pakistan
• SAMP has partnered with 3 new organizations. Brother Regis from the Salvatorian Center was given 54 gaylords with the help from Goodwill. The organization the Coalition of Independent Living was given 8 gaylords of medical supplies. The International Children's Fund in Neenah sent out 22 shipments last year, 40 gaylords to Liberia last week and there are 20 in the warehouse this week.  By the end of June a total of 210 gaylords will be sent out.
• Thanks to Jeff Knezel and Harry Spiegelberg for packing supplies at St. Elizabeth Hospital.
• Thanks to Goodwill Industries for without their help SAMP would not exist.

Family of Rotary Happy Hour

The next Rotary Happy Hour, sponsored by the Family of Rotary Committee, is:

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

Appleton Yacht Club

1200 S Lutz Dr. Appleton, WI 54914 (near Pierce Park)

(920) 733-9848

5-7 p.m.

Cash Bar

Continue the induction celebration of President Deborah Wetter with good fellowship, good conversation and a great place to relax and unwind.

Paul Harris Fellowships

We are pleased to recognize those members who have made a financial commitment to The Rotary International Foundation. The Work of Rotary International is vast and touches the lives of millions.  This is evidenced most visibly through its work to eradicate polio worldwide.  Each of us has been encouraged to support RI so these efforts as well as others can continue. Today we honor Al Button, Dwight Easty, Kevin Loomans, Barb Merry, Steve Rieth, Rick Stark, Steve Taylor and Tom Boldt for their commitment to RI.  Together with our club's matching program they have made contributions totaling $1,000.  In recognition of this gift they will receive a Paul Harris Fellowship.

Bright Future Scholarship Recipients

The Bright Future Scholarships started two years ago when a memorial was established in the name of Ken Johnston to provide educational scholarships.  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 $625.00 scholarships were:

  Vanessa Mendoza-Sierra       Fox Valley Technical College     Nursing

  Jordan Michaels                     Fox Valley Technical College     Electro Mechanical Tech

  Tyrell Lee                              Fox Valley Technical College     Landscaping

  Linda Thao                            Fox Valley Technical College     Medical Office Assistant

THUMBNAIL: JAKE WOODFORD

(Frank Rippl began jazz piano accompaniment.)  Jake was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, the city his father and fellow Rotarian Bob Woodford grew up in. When his dad was a child, his grandparents used to hire a young pianist named Frank Rippl to play at their swanky cocktail parties. A number of years later, he would have Frank as his first music teacher in elementary school, where his poor behavior would routinely force Frank  to send Jake to the back of the room to sit in shame so that he might continue to teach the good children “Oh, Shenandoah.” Upon reflection, doing so was probably harder for Frank than it was for Jake.  Jake had an illustrious career at Appleton North high school, where he managed to both edit the newspaper and chair the student government – a situation he would later learn as a political science major was unusual, highly suspect, and fortunately not replicated in the real world, at least not overtly.  In spite of his best efforts to spare the Fox Cities from yet another Woodford in residence, Jake was pulled into the orbit of Lawrence University, where he matriculated in the fall of 2009. Jake often jokes that he could load up a small wagon and pull his belongings from home to campus when it was time to move in.  Lawrence University afforded him the opportunity to receive a world-class undergraduate education, and to experience the world well beyond the confines of Northeast Wisconsin. He had the opportunity to meet Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Michelle Obama, and peers from all across the country and the world. He served in student government and made meaningful and lasting connections with friends and faculty members, and most importantly, he was adequately prepared to write thumbnails and thoughts of the day for Rotary.  Lawrence University has yet again found a way to keep him in his hometown.  After graduation in 2013, Jake was offered the position of  assistant to the president. Jake's primary responsibilities include fostering relationships within the community, supporting research and planning of presidential initiatives, and coordinating communications with their Board of Trustees.

CHARLES AND ADELE HEETER OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Mary Harp-Jirschele received the Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award.  Mary is a role model to all and lives the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”.   She is a volunteer chef at U. W. Fox Valley EATS, Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. Committee Member, Board Member of Fox Valley Symphony, cooks at the Emergency Shelter, founder of Joy Day Conference and volunteer at Art in the Park.  Mary  traveled to Nicaragua, Honduras and Dominican Republic with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity helping people see clearly for the first time.  Before these trips, she personally purchased toothbrushes to give to people in these countries.  Mary is the Executive Director of the J. J. Keller Foundation.  The Club also donated 1,000 points to The Rotary Foundation making her a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. 

Dawn Doberstein received the Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award.  Dawn was the Chair of Business Retention and Expansion Program for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of the Institute of Management and Accountants and Fox River Area Girl Scouts Finance Committee.  She was the Co-Chair of the Children with Disabilities and Membership Committees, Board Member, Secretary, Treasurer, President Elect and President of our Club. Dawn is the Vice President at American National Bank.  The Club also donated 1,000 points to The Rotary Foundation making her a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. 

 Amna Qazi, Mary Harp-Jirschele, Peter Kelly, Dawn Doberstein