HOLIDAY CELEBRATION-DECEMBER 16TH

The holiday season is here and it is time once again for the annual Rotary Holiday luncheon hosted by the Family of Rotary Committee.  This year’s event will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel on Tuesday, December 16 from 11:30 to 1:00pm.  Entertainment will be provided by the NewVoices (formerly White Heron Chorale).  Please sign up at the registration table starting Nov. 25^th so we have an accurate count of Rotarians and guests.  You may also email your RSVP to Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com . There will be a $12.00 charge for guests and “attendance not required” members. 

As is our holiday tradition, we will again collect cash donations and items for those in our community who are less fortunate.  This year’s charitable recipient is the Boys & Girls Club. Donations of cash and goods will be collected at the Holiday Lunch.  A “Wish List” of items is attached. 

NATIONAL HEARING LOOP-JULIETTE STERKENS

Fox Valley Hearing Loop, LLC is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and is owned by Juliette Sterkens and LeRoy Maxfield.  Dr. Juliette Sterkens has practiced as an audiologist in the Fox Valley since 1983.  Dr. Sterkens was named the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Hearing Loop Advocate and she travels around the country to increase awareness about hearing loss, and the need for an increase in the use of hearing loops to improve hearing accessibility.  A hearing loop, also known as an Induction or Audio Loop, provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to “T” (Telecoil) setting.  The loop systems consists of a microphone to pick up the spoken word; an amplifier which processes the signal which is then sent through the final piece; the induction loop, a wire placed around the perimeter of a room to act as an antenna that radiates the magnetic signal to the hearing aid.  The purpose of a hearing loop helps persons who use hearing aids that are equipped with T-coils hear sounds from a PA system directly and clearly in the hearing aids, because it reduces or cuts out background noise.  There are several locations that have hearing loop installations in Wisconsin.  Here is a list of them in the Appleton area:

All Saints Episcopal Church

Appleton Public Library

Audiology & Hearing Services

Dr. Mike Thelen

First Congregational Church

First English Lutheran Church of Appleton

First United Methodist Church

Fox Cities Performing Arts Center

• Kimberly Clark Theater

• Thrivent Hall

• Ticket Window in lobby

Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist

Fox Valley Luth.High School auditorium

Heritage & Peabody Senior Communities

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

Sacred Heart Catholic Church & Chapel

St Bernadette Catholic Church

St John’s Lutheran Church

St Fidelis Friary

St Mary Catholic Church & Community Room

St Matthew Lutheran Church

St Pius Catholic Church

Thompson Community Center

Zounds Hearing Aids Office

If you would like more information regarding hearing loops you can visit the website at loopwisconsin.com or hearingloop.org or hearingloss.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         Rotary Shines is currently selling Chocolate boxes.  Each box sells for $20 and contains an assortment of Wilmar’s best sellers.  Cash or check will be collected upon delivery of the chocolates at our meeting on December 2^nd.  If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to order please contact Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com

·         The Courtesy Award is given to recognize vocational excellence in the Fox Valley area.  It is presented to people who work directly with the public and have exhibited exceptional service or uncommon courtesy to the people they serve.  It is one of the club's oldest awards, given to those in the community who demonstrate the Rotary ideal of Service above self. Rotarians are encouraged to submit nominations, which must be received by January 23, 2015.  The rules and nomination forms are available on our website at http://www.focol.org/aprotary/Documents/2015Courtesy.pdf  

·         The district wants to invite members to apply for the District Governor position for 2017-2018.  If you have any interest in applying please contact Meghan and she can give you the information.

December 9th Meeting

Next week, “In a typical year, more than 5,000 people descend on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College for the annual Nobel Conference.  On Dec. 9, Mark Jenike, an anthropology professor from Lawrence, will be here to speak about this year’s conference and the impact that the experience of attending the conference has had on his students.”

NON-PROFIT ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

The program for our meeting was the third installment of the Rotary Non-Profit Roundtables.  Over the years, the Club has had many inquiries from nonprofit organizations to make presentations about their organizations to inform members about what they do.  Today, members were assigned a table with a director/executive of a nonprofit organization.  Each director/executive director made a presentation and then time was left for discussion and questions. 

 

Those members and organizations were:

 

Jan Quinlan with Friends of Appleton Public Library

Tonya Dedering with Affinity Health

Mary Downs with Fox Valley Technical College

John Hagins with Community Blood Center

Mary Harp-Jirschele with J.J. Keller Foundation

Joe Mauthe with The Housing Partnership

David Weiss with Boys and Girls Brigade

Greg Woller with Big Brothers Big Sisters

Jan Smith with Bergstorm Mauler Museum

Michelle Devine-Giese with STEP Industries       

 

We would like to thank everyone, especially the non-profit leaders who shared their information with the club.  We hope everyone enjoyed the conversations and discussions at your table. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·        Rotary Shines is currently selling Chocolate boxes.  Each box sells for $20 and contains an assortment of Wilmar’s best sellers.  Cash or check will be collected upon delivery of the chocolates at our meeting on December 2^nd.  Please help support Rotary Shines and sign up at next week’s meeting.  If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to order please contact Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com

·        The Courtesy Award is given to recognize vocational excellence in the Fox Valley area.  It is presented to people who work directly with the public and have exhibited exceptional service or uncommon courtesy to the people they serve.  It is one of the club's oldest awards, given to those in the community who demonstrate the Rotary ideal of Service above self. Rotarians are encouraged to submit nominations, which must be received by January 23, 2015.  The rules and nomination forms are available on our website at http://www.focol.org/aprotary/Documents/2015Courtesy.pdf  

 

2014 Holiday Celebration Announcement

The holiday season is here and it is time once again for the annual Rotary Holiday luncheon hosted by the Family of Rotary Committee.  This year’s event will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel on Tuesday, December 16 from 11:30 to 1:00pm.  Entertainment will be provided by the NewVoices (formerly White Heron Chorale).  Please sign up at the registration table starting Nov. 25^th so we have an accurate count of Rotarians and guests.  You may also email your RSVP to Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com . There will be a $12.00 charge for guests and “attendance not required” members. 

As is our holiday tradition, we will again collect cash donations and items for those in our community who are less fortunate.  This year’s charitable recipient is the Boys & Girls Club. Donations of cash and goods will be collected at the Holiday Lunch.  A “Wish List” of items is available by email at rotaryappleton@gmail.com. 

December 2nd Meeting

Chris Anderson, the Regional Director for Ducks Unlimited in charge of fundraising and community relations for North East Wisconsin, a graduate of MI Technological University with a degree in Biology and has been with the Ducks for 13 years will be speaking to our club.  Also, Bruce Deadman, an attorney for Davis and Kuelthau in Green Bay, was the past WI DU state chairman and recently chaired the national committee on youth and education.  He is currently on the DU Mexico national board and locally serves on the De Pere Ducks Unlimited board will join him.

 

NEXT WEEKS MEETING- NOVEMBER 25TH- WISCONSINEYE PUBLIC AFFAIRS NETWORK

Next week, “Are you interested in the proceedings of a committee in the Wisconsin Assembly or Senate? Did you know that WisconsinEye, a non-profit, private cable network, records and airs sessions of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate, plus committee meetings and other programs of state interest such as panels and town halls?   On November 25, Jon Henkes, President of WisconsinEye, will brief us on this important service.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

· Please mark your calendars for April 17^th for the Rotary Shines Annual Fundraiser!

· The Appleton Area School District is having an Open House on Wednesday, November 19^th.  There are 2 options to pick from. First is the School Bus Tour which meets at East at 8:15 am.  You will have a tour of East High and ride a bus to visit Johnson Elementary, Madison Middle and West High.  Lunch will be provided and a bus will bring you back to East by 12:15 p.m. Your second choice is to Visit School(s) of your choice.  All AASD school will offer tours beginning at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will last approximately 1 hour.  If you are interested in joining please call Cheryl Nisler at 920-832-6301 or email at NislerCheryl@aasd.k12.wi.us.  Advanced reservations are required.

· The district wants to invite members to apply for the District Governor position for 2017-2018.  If you have any interest in applying please contact Meghan and she can give you the information.

THUMBNAILS

Bill Mullarkey is proud that he grew up on the Mullarkey Farm in Bear Creek, Wisconsin.  His dad was a 3^rd generation farmer and had the family farm for over 160 years.  Bill learned many traits while growing up on his family farm.  The start time got earlier and earlier as he would get older which taught him how to manage his time later in life.  After college Bill moved back to the Fox Cities and met his wife.  His mother was so excited!  Bill was 42 when he got engaged and his mom was worried he would never get married.  She wore out 3 Rosaries praying that Bill would find his true love and that he did.  Bill married his wife Sue and became a family with 2 step-sons.  His parents always encouraged Bill and his 2 sisters to get involved. Bill is involved with the Appleton Curling Club and has been on the board of directors.  He is also involved with his parish council at Holy Cross and does Octoberfest fundraisers.  Bill is very active in our community and is looking forward of being a member of the Rotary Club of Appleton.

 

Jeff Schultz is a Wisconsin native and grew up in Watertown.  In his early 30’s Jeff and his wife Cheryl relocated because of a job change with Valley Bank to Appleton.  Jeff has been married to Cheryl for 33 years and has 3 grown children.  Bill is very proud grandfather to 3 grandchildren.  Jeff works at Evans Title and we all know with his type of work you are either really busy or really slow…depending on the market.  With Jeff’s slow time he likes to volunteer at his church, Mount Olive.  He is looking forward to getting more involved with the club and meeting new people.

 

John Ulness is an average cribbage player, according to Steve Taylor.  They have been playing cribbage together for 28 years.  John said he learned everything he knows about cribbage from Steve.  John grew up in Valders, Wisconsin.  He always admired the city of Appleton from when he was a child.  He remembers driving through the city thinking it was a great town.  John and his wife, Pam met in college at St. Paul.  When they were married John asked Pam if she would like to move to Appleton.  He said she jumped in the car so fast that he knew she was excited for the move.  John and his wife Pam live and work in downtown Appleton.  They are in the Health Insurance business.  They have 4 grown children.  John is proud to be a member of a great community he admired as a young child.  He is looking forward to learn more about the club.

___________________________________________________________

MEMBER SPONSOR PINS

Chad Hershner and Andrew Micheletti, Co-Chairs of the Membership Committee, presented sponsor pins to 4 of our members.  Those members were: Dawn Doberstein for sponsoring John Hagins, Jon Kester for sponsoring Andrew Dane, Jennifer Stephany for sponsoring Patrick Minskey and Bob Woodford for sponsoring Jake Woodford.  Brian Casey could not attend the meeting but received a pin for sponsoring Jenni Eickelberg.  The Membership Committee is still offering lunch tickets to those interested in becoming members of the club.  If you would like to bring a potential guest to a meeting and need a lunch ticket please contact Chad or Andrew.  One last note, the Membership Committee will be having a Membership Drive in January

Nominating Committee Report

Today, Sridhar presented the slate of officers for the 2015/2016 Rotary year.  The membership has two weeks to present additional candidates. Additional nominations of directors and officers may be made within two weeks of such presentation by written petition filed with the secretary and signed by at least five members of the club.  Such petition shall certify that the nominee has consented to run and will serve if elected.  The nominations of the committee and all such additional nominations shall be published in the issue of the club bulletin next following such presentation and filing.  At the first meeting in December, we will have our annual meeting and will vote for the candidates.

 

On behalf of the Nominating Committee, President Elect Sridhar would like to submit this slate of officers and board members for the 2015/2016 Rotary year:

 

Immediate Past President           Deborah Wetter

President                          Sridhar

President Elect                  Jennifer Stephany

Secretary                          Chad Hershner

Treasurer

Sergeant-at-Arms              Jon Kester

 

One Year Term Board Members       Two Year Term Board

Rosie Cannizzo                                  John Nygaard

Ruth Ann Heeter                                 Andrew Micheletti

Gary Hermsen                                    Jake Woodford

Shana Shallue                                    Sonia Barham

NEXT WEEKS MEETING- NOVEMBER18TH- NFP ROUNDTABLE

Next week, back by popular demand, the Non-profit roundtable is coming back on Nov. 18.  Come join us for the opportunity to learn more about some of the great non-profit companies in our area and what they are doing to serve the community.

Merle Mueller

Just a reminder that Merle Mueller is in Hospice Care at the Heritage Hospice.  It is located at 2600 Heritage Woods Dr. Room 132 Appleton, WI 54915.  If you have time please stop by and see him. 

 

Announcements

· Please mark your calendars for April 17^th for the Rotary Shines Annual Fundraiser!

· The Arts Professional Development Scholarship is looking for applicants.  Please direct people to our website http://www.focol.org/aprotary/ for an application or they can contact Meghan at appletonrotary@gmail.com.  The deadline for the application is November 15^th.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

· Grant applications for the World Service Committee are available.  You can email Jeff at jeffrey.werner707@gmail.com with any questions.

· The RFP for the new website is now on our website.  If you know of a company that is not listed please contact Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com.  Proposals are due back to the club by November 15^th. 

· Attached is an article from Paul Hillmer’s father, Bob Hillmer, who served in WWII and about his experiences as a POW.  Also, some of his art work is displayed at Associated Bank located on County Rd KK Appleton

WWII Vets-Dr. Lowell Peterson

Dr. Lowell Peterson is a retired M.D. Cardiologist, living in Appleton, WI.  Dr. Peterson is the author of many short stories and has self-published four books.  The Sun Rose Clear was the first published in 2002.  His other books include A River, Green Grass and Fences – Stories of the Childhood; The Birds Were Silver Then – Stories of the Air War over Vietnam; and a Heartfelt Journey – Memoirs of a Cardiologist.  Dr. Peterson spoke to the club about his book The Sun Rose Clear.  This book presents first-hand accounts of area WWII veterans and essays by Peterson on the history of the war.  In the second edition it includes new accounts, not only by veterans but from Holocaust survivors.  A key difference between the first and second edition comes from his own recognition of the prejudice “not only against the Jews, but against blacks in our military because the armed services were totally segregated in World War II,” Peterson said.  Peterson also mentioned that World War II was a war against the evil of prejudice.  “In many countries, World War II was paramount in breaking down prejudice,” Peterson said.  “In America, it led to the civil rights movement and too much more tolerance of minorities, including Jews.”

 

The Sun Rose Clear is available at Book World in Waupaca.  You may also order it directly from the author: Lowell Peterson, 2627 Beechwood Court, Appleton, WI 54911.