Pedro Mascaró Merino is our 2025/26 youth exchange student from Argentina. He is from the province of Tucumán which is in the far northwest corner of Argentina where weather is always warm, year-round. He has embraced his year in La Crosse already traveling to Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago with his host family and taking a full load of classes at Logan High School with band and American football.
Like many of the 8,000 – 10,000 rotary youth exchange students each year, world-wide, Pedro is an ambassador for his country to not only us as Rotarians, but everyone he meets with his host families and at school. And, like wise, we get to share our culture and daily lives with Pedro. It is truly a chance to build international relationships at a personal level.
Now that Pedro has been here about 3 months, we will have a chance to get to know him better. We will learn about his family and living in Argentina as well as some of his first impressions and experiences in La Crosse. It is a pleasure to welcome Pedro to our Rotary family.
Last Week: Rotary Leadership Series, Heidi Siefkas
In this powerful keynote, Heidi Siefkas, resilience expert and TEDx speaker, revealed five transformative habits every business leader needs —not only survive change— but thrive through it. Sharing her personal restarts and leadership lessons, Heidi equips entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives with practical tools to lead with clarity, confidence, and courage.
Key takeaways include:
How to tap into the power of perspective and Look Up under pressure.
Why building a culture of reinvention fosters innovation and growth.
How to use transparency to build trust in your organization.
How to lead through change by bouncing forward, embracing the new normal.
How curiosity and risk-taking (aka “adventure”) fuels creative problem-solving.
Lunch this week: Turkey, provolone and pesto croissant sandwich, with chips and a pickle.
Coffee, ice tea, and water available.
Guests are ALWAYS welcome! RSVP in advance to Niki Pohnl if know you are bringing guests but last minute invites are also welcome!
Hospitalizations
David Johnston went in for a heart valve replacement in early October. This surgery led to a series of serious complication. David has been in and out of the hospital over the last several weeks and is hoping to go home again this week. Feel free to reach out to him with well wishes.
Michael Wagner has been supporting his mother as she goes through treatment for pancreatic cancer. Michael says, “Treatment has been going well, the cancer was caught early. We are now at a critical time and hope to get plans scheduled for an upcoming surgery.” We wish Michael and his family all the best!
Tour of French Island Refused Derived Fuel Plant
We have the opportunity to tour the French Island Refused Derived Plant as a follow up to Alex Lueck's presentation on Xcel Energy's plans for the future. The tour is November 11th at 10am.
This will be an hour long tour for members and friends.
Enter through weigh station scale. Stop and let the security guard know you are there for the tour. Proceed to the south end of the plant. Park along the right edge of the drive lane as you near the south end.
The following community members has been proposed to become members of our club:
Nancy Gerrard, Broker, Realtor Gerrard Hoeschler; proposed by Sheila Riley.
Pat Dannenberg, Director Boy Scouts of America; proposed by Joe Kress.
Heather Armstrong, Encouraging Major Gift Giving, Viterbo, proposed by Roz Schnick.
According to club procedure, applicant names are to be published in our weekly email bulletin for two weeks. If there are no objections from the current membership, these applications will be approved. Please contact the Club Administrator if you object to these applications by November 18th.
Join us on Tuesday, November 11th for a special Veteran's Day event featuring the documentary Come Here, Brother Wolf: A Veterans Pilgrimage produced by Dustin Luecke & Martha Boehm in association with ProAmo Creative. The screening will be followed by a discussion led by the filmmakers as well as Sam Scinta and Rick Kyte from Viterbo.
About the film: Military veterans have all answered the call to serve. Now, some are hearing the call to confront the wounds of sacrifice through spiritual healing. This documentary invites you to join the journey with one group of veterans, led by Viterbo's Fr. Conrad Targonski, learning ways to make peace with the "wolf" within by following the footsteps of Ss. Francis and Claire through their beloved Italian homeland.
Doors open at 5pm and film will start at 5:30pm. The cost is $5 each and all proceeds from this showing will be donated to support local veterans programs.
FOUNDATION MINUTE: November 10, 2025
Welcome to Week TWO of RI’s Foundation Month.
Abiemwense Moru of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is the source of this week’s Foundation Minute: “The Rotary Foundation is targeting malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia, Africa’s leading killers of children, through its Rotary Healthy Community Challenge. Mr. Holger Knaack, Chairman of the Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, said this in Abuja during a medical outreach, explaining that teams would move from community to community to tackle those diseases. He added that the foundation also focused on maternal and child health through its Together for Healthy Families initiative, ensuring safe childbirth for mothers and babies. Knaack reaffirmed Rotary’s commitment to global polio eradication, noting that even though Africa had been free of wild poliovirus for five years, vaccination must continue until the disease was eliminated worldwide. Ms. Ijeoma Okoro, Rotary Trustee, said the Foundation’s interventions had reduced maternal and child mortality by more 28 per cent, with current projects in Ekiti, Nasarawa, FCT, and Gombe, set to expand to 10 states in 2026. She stressed the importance of community engagement, collaboration with traditional rulers, and media advocacy to increase awareness, reduce vaccine hesitancy, and ensure the sustainability of public health interventions.
