THANK YOU AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I wanted to take a minute to say Thank you to everyone in the club for welcoming me as the new Administrative Assistant.  I am truly blessed to be part of such an amazing group of individuals.  I am also blessed that this club allows me to work from home and to spend quality time with my husband, Rayn (rain) and my two young sons, Charlie (5) and Grady (1).  It has been a great transition for me and my family and I just wanted to say Thank you!  I hope you all have a Happy Holiday and we will see you again in 2015!

REMINDER

Reminder there will be no meetings held on December 23 and December 30^th due to the Holidays.

NEXT MEETING- JANUARY 6TH – NEW NORTH

Over the last decade, retailers, hospitality and other services have taken over as the nation’s largest employers, but Wisconsin has clung to its heritage and manufacturing remains the state’s biggest employer.  On January 6^th Jerry Murphy, Executive Director of the NEW NORTH will be here to talk about the NEW NORTH’s involvement in building brand awareness and promoting business development for manufacturing companies in Northeast Wisconsin.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         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.

·         Orientation, Orientation, O-RIE-N-TATION…for all new members will be held on January 13^th.  Please attend the meeting as normal and you will be dismissed to meet in a smaller room with the orientation committee.  If you have any questions please contact Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com.

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

Our Holiday Celebration began with Frank Rippl playing the piano. President Deborah welcomed members and guests.  Robb Waugus gave the invocation. Robb spoke about the “reason for the season”.  Robb participated in a program at Tanner School in Kaukauna with 4K students called “caring is sharing”.  These students raised money for the USMC “Toys for Tots” program and then went shopping with their parents to purchase a new toy and then donate that toy for a child in need.  This week here in the Fox Cities over twenty four hundred families in need will go to the Salvation Army’s toy shop distribution to get plenty of new toys for their children.  Over 400 families in need will be helped by the Adopt a Family program in addition to all of the families receiving food baskets in order to celebrate the season with a special meal.  All of this is made possible by your generosity, so we thank you and wish you a healthy and happy New Year.

 

Before lunch was served, Ruth Ann Heeter and Tony Gonzalez talked about Christmas memories. Ruth Ann told a touching story about a Christmas that meant a lot to her and her family and even made her choke up at the end of the story.  Tony told a story about a Christmas where his family helped a fellow neighbor in need.  After each story we began lunch and you could hear all the Christmas stories being shared throughout the banquet hall.

 

After lunch, NewVoices performed several Christmas songs to the Club.  Some of their songs included The First Noel, Hark the Hearld Angels Sing and Joy to the World.  They did a wonderful job and put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

 

Thanks to the Family of Rotary Committee for arranging this program:  Tony Gonzalez (Chair), Ruth Ann Heeter, Nancy Heykes, Nancy Johnshoy and Eric Oelhafen (co-chair).  Also thanks to Frank Rippl for playing the piano, NewVoices, the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel and staff for the wonderful lunch and service they provide us every Tuesday and everyone who made a donation to the Boys and Girls Club. 

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

If you are planning on attending the Holiday Celebration please let Meghan know by Friday, December 12th.  You can email her at rotaryappleton@gmail.com.  Also, if you plan on  bringing a guest please let Meghan know who that guest is so we can plan accordingly. 

Thank you and see you Tuesday!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         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.

·         Orientation, Orientation, O-RIE-N-TATION…for all new members will be held on January 13^th.  Please attend the meeting as normal and you will be dismissed to meet in a smaller room with the orientation committee.  If you have any questions please contact Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com.

THUMBNAIL-DAN FLANNERY

Dan Flannery is the new VP of Communications at Goodwill Industries.  He is the former Editor in Chief with the Appleton Post Crescent for the past 28 years.  He has been a journalist for over 34 years and has written a few 100 columns as life as we know it.  Dan has 2 daughters and 3 grandsons.  He is a graduate from Laona High School and the University of Green Bay.  He is also a recent resident of Darboy.  Dan shared a seasonal piece from 2008 about his RFL (Reason for Living) wife, Mary.  I have attached the link: http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2014/06/28/best-flannery-second-thought-first-thought-better/11661601/ Also, I am attaching a link to all 62 or so of the “Best of Flannery” columns for your reading pleasure from the Post Crescent: http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/local/2014/06/28/best-flannery-columns/11633669/

2014 ANNUAL MEETING

President Deborah formally declared that the 2014 Annual Meeting is open and the only order of business on the agenda is the election of officers and board members.  A motion was made that having received no other nominations for the elected officers and directors for the club for the year 2015/2016 that the nominations be closed.  Seconded.  Motion carried.

 

President Deborah submitted for approval the following individuals:

 

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 Members

            Ruth Ann Heeter                                         John Nygaard

            Gary Hermsen                                              Andrew Micheletti

            Rosie Cannizzo                                           Jake Woodford                                

            Shana Shallue                                             Sonia Barham

 

Motion was made to accept this list of nominations as presented?  Seconded.  Motion carried.

Having no further business motion was made to adjourn the 2014 Annual Meeting.  Seconded.  Motion carried.

NOBEL CONFERENCE 2014

In a typical year, more than 5,000 people descend on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College, in southeast Minnesota, for the annual Nobel Conference.  This year, 100 students and community members from the Fox Cities made the trek in 2 buses and heard inspiring speakers for 2 days.  Mark Jenike, an anthropology professor from Lawrence, and his son Brian will share their experience at this year’s conference.  Note that a father and son duo will present.  For the Jenikes, the conference was a family experience.  Mark has Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from Harvard and UCLA, all in Anthropology.  As an assistant professor at Lawrence, he organized an evaluation of the Education for Healthy Kids pilot project at Johnston Elementary School.  That led to a study of food and nutrition at Appleton East and West High Schools. The findings from these projects were published in Human Organization, the journal of the Society for Applied Anthropology.  Mark served for three years on the board of the Appleton Education Foundation, and currently serves on the Nobel steering committee.  Mark’s son Brian is a junior at Appleton West, a member of the National Honor Society, and an AP scholar.  He was a member of the 2014 Science Bowl team from Appleton West that traveled to Washington DC to compete in the national tournament.  Brian is also a member of the West math team and has won several silver and gold medals in Fox Valley Math League tournaments.  He plays piano and clarinet, and is a member of the Lawrence Community Gamelan, and the First Congregational UCC youth bell choir.  Both Mark and Brian spoke about the different speakers they had the privilege to listen to and learn from.  Mark touched on a speaker by the name of Jennifer West, PhD.  He was intrigued to hear that her lab is developing techniques to use a patient’s own cells to grow replacement blood vessels by synthesizing so-called “scaffold materials,” which mimic extracellular matrices and provide structure for the growth of replacement blood vessels.  This could be a big breakthrough for cancer radiation treatments.  Both speakers gave great information regarding the conference and even referenced next year’s conference in 2015.    The conference will be about “Addiction”.  For more information regarding the Nobel Conference you can check out the website at https://gustavus.edu/events/nobelconference/2014/.  You can also check out the Nobel Conference on You Tube by typing in Nobel prize 50.

DUCKS UNLIMITED-AMERICA'S ENERGY

Ducks Unlimited is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife and people.  In January 2012 it had roughly 597,000 members.  Their Mission: Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores, and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl.  These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.  Their Vision: The vision of Ducks Unlimited is wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization.  DU is able to deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.  Waterfowl are not the only beneficiaries of DU’s habitat work.  Wetlands improve the overall health of our environment by recharging and purifying groundwater, moderating floods and reducing soil erosion.  The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands, and tens of thousands of wetland acres continue to be lost at an accelerating rate each year.  Each year, DU volunteers and staff hold more than 4,000 fundraising events across the country.  By simply attending a local event, you can have a great time while helping DU fill the sky with waterfowl for future generations.  If you are interested in finding out about these opportunities or joining Ducks Unlimited you can simply log on to their website at www.ducks.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         A fellow Rotarian and friend, Merle Mueller passed away on Thanksgiving Day.  The club had a moment of silence in his honor.

·         Reminder there will be no meetings held on December 23 and December 30^th due to the Holidays.

·         Rotary Shines sold out of chocolates this year…60 boxes!  If you were unable to attend the meeting on December 2^nd but ordered chocolate Amy Flanders will have your chocolate.  Again, the price per box is $20.00.

·         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.

·         Daniel Krueger has resigned from our club due to not being able to attend meetings.

SAMP ANNOUNCEMENT

Help is on the Way!!!  District Governor, Tom Berkedal, made an announcement to the club that SAMP will be receiving a grant of $10,000 from the district.  This will allow us to keep SAMP going and also to work with other clubs in the district.

2014 HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

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.  If you would like a wish list please contact Meghan and she will provide that.