Rotary on the Road

In lieu of our regular meeting on April 3, Rotary will be on the road. Members will be asked to sign up and go to Affinity/St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Bassett Mechanical (Kaukauna), Festival Foods (Darboy), Fox Cities Performing Arts Center or Goodwill Industries Shiner Center where you will have lunch, tour and explanation of the facility. Sign up will be on a first come first basis since each location will be limited to 25 people. Start time will be 12:15 and will end at 1:15 p.m.

Happy Hour

See a different side of your fellow Rotarians and of the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. Join the Family of Rotary on February 21 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the Rotary Happy Hour at the Intermezzo (lounge at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel – on the east side of the building across from the escalator). Cash bar and free hors d’oeuvres (courtesy of the Intermezzo). Bring adult family members, friends or prospective Rotary members. Or just come by yourself. See old friends, meet new ones. Happy Hour is a time to relax and enjoy the camaraderie and conversation. Please join us there.

District Governor

Tom Berkedal has been selected to be District Governor Nominee for District 6220, which means he’s slated to be the District Governor in 2014-2015. Congratulations Tom!

Rotary Club of Appleton Scholarships

The Rotary Club of Appleton Scholarship application is now available. The deadline is March 15, 2012.

Committee Meetings

The Rotary Club of Appleton Board will meet on Monday, February 6 at 3:30 p.m. at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

The Youth Services and Education Awards Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m.

The Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m.

Promoting The Earned Income Credit

Marijo Upshaw, Leader of Financial Services at Goodwill Industries of NCW, discussed how the Earned Income Credit (EIC) is a Federal tax benefit for low income working families and individuals to offset income and payroll tax supplement wages. This was meant to be an incentive for people to work as an alternative to public assistance and welfare. About 20% of all individual filers and 27 million households claim EIC which is about $59.2 billion in claimed credits. EIC and the Child Tax Credit lift more than 9 million people above the poverty line. Persons who receive these credits are spending the money in the community and helping our local economy. EIC is based on your earned income, marital status and number of dependents. Earned income comes from wages, salary, tips, self-employment, union strike benefits, military combat pay and employer paid disability. It does not include public benefits. Besides the Federal EIC, there is a Wisconsin EIC. To qualify for the State of Wisconsin EIC, you must qualify for the Federal credit and be a full-time resident. There is no credit for persons who do not have qualifying dependents. In order to claim the EIC, you must file a tax return (Form 1040 or 1040A) and if you have dependents you must file a Schedule EIC. Eligible workers can claim EIC or Child Tax Credit refunds for up to 3 previous years. Outreach for this program is needed because 20-25% of people who qualify for the EIC do not claim the credit. This results in up to $10 billion per year. Those that might miss out of EIC include workers not required to file a tax return, workers just entering the labor force, new parents, divorced or separated custodian parents and workers newly eligible due to a reduction in income or loss in employment. About 70% who can claim EIC go to a commercial preparer. Some of these preparers offer Refund Anticipated Loans or Refund Anticipation Checks which charge fees and can drain a person’s income. Goodwill has been doing taxes since 2004 for low-income individuals, individuals with disabilities, non-English speaking tax payers, and the elderly (generally, household income under $57,000). If you would like more information or to volunteer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA), visit their website at: http://www.filetaxes4free.org/.

Program Committee Theme Series

The Program Committee will be presenting a theme series on "You and Your Brain". The programs will be presented on:

2/14/12 – “Structural Overview of the Brain” - Neurosurgeon, Dr. Phil Yazbak

3/27/12 – “Self Confidence & Problem Solving in K-3rd Grade Children” – Prof. Beth Haines, Lawrence University

4/10/12 – “Regulation of Emotions and the Adolescent Brain” - Prof. Lori Hilt, Lawrence University

5/29/12 – “Memory Café” - Rev. John and Prof. Susan McFadden, UW-Oshkosh.
This will be off-site at Paper Discovery Center/Atlas Mill