Last Week: Amy Smith, Environmental Concerns - Ground Water
Continuing an effort begun by the La Crosse Tribune, our club will honor recipients from local high schools with the "Extra Effort Award". They will receive a financial award donated through the generosity of many club members. The students will be joined by administration, staff and fellow students from their schools. This is an ongoing project of our Youth Committee and the leadership of Tom Berkedal.
Last Week: Niki Pohnl, RFE trip to India
A Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) is an international exchange program for Rotary members and friends that allows participants to take turns hosting one another in their homes and clubs.
Niki Pohnl (Rotary Club Administrator) and her son, Caden, attended an RFE to India in February. We will learn more about their RFE experience, the relationships they built, the Rotary projects they visited, and what happens AFTER an exchange.
We understand the audio was not well recorded but we do have a recording attached if you missed it.
Guests are ALWAYS welcome! RSVP in advance to Niki Pohnl if know you are bringing guests but last minute invites are also welcome!
Hospitalizations and Condolences
We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family of Ed Neuman. Ed passed away peacefully in his home Sunday. Here is the message on Caring Bridge from his family:
Journal Entry by Steph Neuman
Good morning,
It is with great sadness we share Ed passed away last night.
I will be honest, I’ve always been a bit skeptical when I read obituaries that say a loved one “passed away peacefully surrounded by family”. But, in reality, that was exactly how it happened with Ed.
It was surprising to all of us just how quickly he declined over the weekend. But, in the end, he left this world on his own terms (he told me repeatedly last week he was at peace with his decision and hoped for a swift exit).
As you’d expect, we all have heavy hearts this morning. But, knowing he is at peace certainly lightens the load a bit.
We are working on arrangements today. Tentatively, we are planning for burial on Wednesday with a celebration of life to follow Wednesday afternoon/evening. As details are finalized, I will post an update here.
Love to you all,
Steph
Welcome New Members!
This month we officially welcome the following members to our club:
Jane Klekamp (sponsor Steve O'Malley). Jane and her husband, Keith Belzer, lives in La Crosse and has worked at La Crosse County as a social worker, a program manager, Associate County Administrator, and now County Administrator. She is an advocate for fair voting and has been a member of the League of Women Voters for decades.
Ezana Azene (sponsor Annette Mikat). Ezana lives in La Crosse works as a Vascular and Intervention Radiologist at Gundersen Health. Ezana serves on the Bellin-Gundersen board of trustees, where he brings his expertise in healthcare to the organization's leadership. Ezena and his wife, Nicole, have three children.
Michael Quam (sponsor Jeanne Meyer). Michael lives in La Crosse and works at the Salvation Army as their Development Director. Michael has Bachelor of Science/Finance from UW-L, Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Servant Leadership from Viterbo. Michael and his wife, Rebecca, have three children.
Hope Hembd (sponsor Tom Monson). Hope is a La Crosse native, a two-time graduate from Viterbo, and happy to be working in her home town. She is employed by Franciscan Spirituality Center as their Director of Community Engagement. Hope says service comes easy to her because of her strong belief and exampling of servant leadership.
STAR Meeting - Thursday, May 11th
Our next STAR Meeting will be Thursday, May 11th from 7-8am. Location: Rotary Office in the Capella Performing Arts Center at 721 King Street (enter through the doors on 8th Street (DOOR D) and follow the signs). Hosted by Jodi Widuch and Todd Restel.
Please RSVP through the link below.
STAR - Specialized Training for Action in Rotary....you will meet other new Rotarians from the area. We will provide programs on the Avenue of Service, The Rotary Foundation, and the Rotary Works Foundation, along with other aspects of Rotary. This is a great time to ask questions you may have about our club or Rotary in general. Hope you will be able to join Jodi and Todd on Thursday!
The following community members have been proposed to become members of our club and were unanomously approved by our Membership Committee and Board of Directors:
Laurie Cooper Stoll, Executive Director of YWCA and proposed by Pat Ruda. Laurie is very well versed in diversity and equity issues. She was instrumental in developing Social Justice week on the UWL campus.
Quinn Devlin, Executive Director of Marine Credit Union Foundation, and proposed by Peter Grabow.
Allison Kurth Krzych, Executive Director of the Pump House, and sponsored by Thomas Behrenbeck. Allison has experience in event planning, digital marketing, and social media.
Erik Vose, Executive Director of the La Crosse Community Theater, and sponsored by Mark Solyst.
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 Administratorif you object to these applications by May 23, 2023.
Click the link below if you have a new member to propose!
River Clean Up Volunteers Needed: Saturday, June 3rd
Our Rotary has volunteer to work as a specific group to help clean up in the La Crosse marsh. This will include an area from the Mississippi to potentially West Salem. How much ground we can cover will depend on the number of people that can volunteer. But it will include trails and road sides and could include the banks of the La Crosse River. If you can participate in this clean up please reach out to Bud Hammes or register at below.
Tickets are on sale for our Wine Raffle fundraiser and will be available through the month of May at weekly meetings our through our office.
There are two ways to participate in this effort to raise funds for our club: 1)purchase a ticket to WIN for $20 or 2)donate a bottle of wine for the raffle. YOU CAN EVEN DO BOTH...once, twice, or multiple time!