This Week: Diana DiazGrandos; Community Wellbeing Director at Great Rivers United Way
Diana will share successes and lessons learned from Better Together, an eight-year countywide youth mental health initiative funded by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment. She will outline the vision for a new partnership between Great Rivers United Way and the Mental Health Coalition of Greater La Crosse, aiming to build on this foundation to address resource gaps, reduce stigma, and promote community-wide wellbeing.
Bio: Diana DiazGranados is the Community Wellbeing Director at Great Rivers United Way, a newly established position aimed at fostering community mental wellness in partnership with the Mental Health Coalition of Greater La Crosse. She previously led Better Together, an eight-year youth mental health initiative, where her leadership significantly advanced strategies for increasing mental health literacy, resilience and community collaboration to support youth.
With extensive experience in community-level prevention, Diana enjoys working with organizations and communities to identify assets, address needs, and use data-driven approaches to inform decision-making. She began her career as a community health worker with the U.S. Peace Corps in Lesotho, southern Africa, and holds dual master’s degrees in social work and public health from Columbia University in New York. She is also a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer.
Diana’s global work includes leading the mental health response for International Medical Corps in Kosovo during the 1999 war, where she developed the nation’s first youth-focused trauma recovery program. She has also worked in Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Bulgaria, bringing a cross-cultural lens to her work.
Diana and her husband Rob Wayss moved to Onalaska in 2009 with their 2 kids. Married for 31 years, they are proud parents to Simon and Alexandra, both students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In 2007, Razia Jan founded Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation on the belief that education is the key to positive, peaceful change for current and future generations. Razia brought girls’ education to a rural Afghan community for the very first time, and the resulting transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. The foundation improves the lives of Afghan girls through community-based education, in addition to the provision of necessities like food and warm winter clothing, understanding that we must empower girls and young women through both education and resources to work toward brighter futures in their own villages and beyond.
Razia Jan was a presenter at the District 6250 Conference held in LaCrosse in 2019. After that connection, our Rotary Club funded a bus for transporting the girls to/from school. Since the fall of the Afghan government in 2021, the school has been limited to educating girls K-6.
Andrea Alberto, Executive Director of Razia's Ray of Hope, was our presenter. She shared with us some of the challenges and resulting changes that have occurred in the past 4 years.
Lunch this week: TWF homemade quiche with chevre cheese and sun-dried tomato, served with TWF House Salad
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!
STAR Meeting - January 14th at Noon
Our next STAR Meeting will be Tuesday, January 14th from 12-1pm. Location: Parenting Place, 1500 Green Bay Street, La Crosse. Hosted by Jodi Widuch, Todd Restel, and Jeanne Meyer
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 us.
All Quarter 3 invoices were emailed last week. Please let Niki Pohnl know if you did not receive one. The emails come from Quickbooks titled "Rotary Club of La Crosse". As well, if you still owed for fruit boxes or the fruit box buyout, those invoices were emailed mid-December.
Nominations for 2025-2026 Fiscal Year
Please be advised of the name provided here brought forth from the Nomination Committee for the Rotary Club - Downtown 2025-2026 year. Please reach out to Mark Jolivette, Club President, if you have concerns. Voting will take place at our Annual Meeting, January 305th.
CLUB BOARD 2025-2026
Regina Siegel (23-28)
President
Richard Strauss (24-29
President-Elect/RW Liaison
Sheila Riley (25-30)
President Nominee
Mark Jolivette (21-26)
Past President
Bridget Thomas (24-27)
Secretary
Mike Nickel (22-26)
Treasurer
Sue Durtsche (25-28)
Sergeant-at-Arms
Julia Behrenbeck (23-26)
Directors
Travis Bordeau (25-28)
Directors
Carolyn Bostrack (23-26)
Directors
Jenny Felty (24-27)
Directors
Julie Keitel (24-27)
Directors
Chris Palmer (25-28)
Directors
Joan Parke (23-26)
Directors
Michael Quam (24-27)
Directors
Michael Wagner (25-28)
Directors
Scott Horne (22-25)
Youth Protection Officer
Rotary Works Foundation Representatives:
Regina Siegel (25-28)
Second term
Sheila Riley (23-26)
First term
Richard Strauss (23-26)
First term
Steve O'Malley (25-28)
Second term
New Member Proposals
The following community members have been proposed to become members of our club:
Alex Kost (Metre, Media Planner/Buyer, proposed by Andy Bakkum)
Julie Kramer (Aptiv Director of Development; will be part of Aptiv's Corporate Membership, proposed by Jenny Felty)
Kahtan Al-Kaissy (Trane Technologies, Account Manager; will be part of Trane's Corporate Membership; proposed by Rob Jordon)
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 January 28, 2025.
Click the link below if you have a new member to propose!
Our Rotary team will be preparing a meal at Sheila Riley's home on Wednesday, February 12th. The second part of our team will make final preparation, serve, and clean up on Thursday, February 13th. All are welcome to dine with the guests. Project volunteers will be asked to provide a few ingredients for the meal.
If you are unable to assist in person, we are also asked to provide homemade desserts for the dinner. These desserts can be dropped off at our noon Rotary meeting on the 13th or by contacting Sheila Riley direct to make arrangements. Simple fall recipes will be provided for you to choose from.
The opportunity is sponsored by the Humanitarian Committee and the Cooking Fellowship.
Note: You don't have to be a Rotarian to sign up. Feel free to sign a friend or family member up with you if you wish!
TriCon brings together members from three Rotary International Districts: 6220, 6250, and 6270. These districts serve clubs in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a portion of Minnesota, and most of Wisconsin.
At TriCon, participants learn, are inspired, and grow through interactive workshops, plenary speakers, and networking opportunities. All this truly makes TriCon an outstanding Rotary conference experience.
NOTE: Our club's connection with this event:
The District Governor belongs to our club!
Our club is a sponsor of the event.
Rick Kyte is one of the keynote speakers.
Don't miss out on this lively, educational, and fun-filled Rotarian experience.
Welcome to Week 2 of RI’s Month of Vocational Service.
The Rotary Club of Itajaí-Porta do Vale, in collaboration with regional clubs (Itajaí,
Itajaí-Norte, Balneário Camboriú, Balneário Camboriú-Praia do Atlântico,
Camboriú, Itapema, and Porto Belo-Costa Esmeralda), international partners –
Rotary Club of The Palisades (District 7490, USA), Districts 4795 (Uruguay), District 6930 (USA) – Governor Douglas Heizer, and 4652 (Brazil), The Rotary Foundation, and with the support of Tokio Marine Insurance and Procave Real Estate Investments, has made a historic donation to the Marieta Konder Bornhausen Hospital and Maternity in Itajaí, Santa Catarina. The donation – a state-of-
the-art Surgical Video Tower for the Surgical Center – represents a significant
advancement in patient care and surgical technology.
The Marieta Konder Bornhausen Hospital and Maternity is a regional reference in emergency care, offering medium and high-complexity services to over 800,000 inhabitants, with 93% of patients served through SUS (the Brazilian public health system: It means it’s free of charge). As a philanthropic institution, the hospital plays an essential role in Itajaí and 11 surrounding municipalities, performing an average of 800 surgeries per month. The new Surgical Video Tower will be utilized across various specialties, including general surgery, urology, digestive surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and otorhinolaryngology, directly benefiting thousands of patients.This acquisition, made possible through a Global Grant Project (GG2455603) and tireless collective efforts, aims to modernize surgical procedures and enhance patient care at the institution. The fundraising of $92,650 USD – nearly half a million reais – was achieved through the collaboration of nine Rotary Clubs, three Rotary International districts, The Rotary Foundation, and two private companies. Rotarian lawyer and President of the Madre Teresa Association, Maurício José Gom, underscored the importance of this achievement: “Our commitment is to continually seek improvements for Marieta Hospital and the patients it serves. This project showcases the collective power of Rotary to make a difference, and it is inspiring to see our efforts positively impact our communities.”
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