We are very grateful for Lyn Sheffer, our Club Administrator, who has worked with us for the past 19 years. Lyn has helped our Downtown Rotary Club become what it is today. Our club meetings and activities tend to run smoothly, and that has been with all the extra help of Lyn. Lyn is retiring and taking a step back to get her COVID vaccine and to enjoy time walking, sewing, and with her family. "She is a legendary person, and we will miss her dearly." - Club President Andrew Bakkum
If you want to connect with her, feel free to reach her at 608.317.6033 or lynshef@juno.com Happy Retirement cards or Thank You cards can be sent to: Lyn Sheffer N6945 Pine Ln Holmen, WI 54636
Welcoming our new Club Administrator
It is with great pleasure that we welcome Jamie O'Neill as our new Club Administrator! The Rotary Club of La Crosse is honored to have Jamie join us in this role. As you know, our Rotary club has done so much good in the community and our world for over 100 years now. As we continue down this path of improving and having such a positive impact, we look forward to Jamie utilizing her talents to help this club improve, grow, and strengthen.
Jamie has been a member of our club for over 3 years now, and will continue as an active member in addition to serving as the Club Administrator. She brings a plethora of skills and experience that will enhance our club: leadership, communication, marketing, event planning, finance, and volunteer management...just to name a few. What's more, Jamie embodies the motto "Service Above Self" and has a terrific attitude and energy. We know you will all enjoy working with her!
I do have to tell Jamie a little bit of bad news. She will have to manage working with me as the President for your first 4+ months of employment. But then it gets much better in a hurry as Sarah Arendt-Beyer will take over as President in July.
Please join us in helping Jamie settle into her new role - there's a lot to learn and we will appreciate your patience and support as Jamie learns the ropes.
We are so grateful to have Jamie joining us in this role and we look forward to great things to come!
Our club is meeting by Zoom this week. We will be sending you a browser link via email Thursday morning. We will open our meeting at 11:30 and meeting will start at Noon. Breakout rooms will be available at 11:30. If you have an announcement you would like to make, please contact Andy Bakkum. You are welcome to bring a guest, just forward your link to them.
Andrea (Drea) Finnegan is a Foreign Service Officer who currently works in the State Department Office of International Health and Biodiversity. She has been posted to Bangkok, Thailand; Chengdu, China; Muscat, Oman; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Djibouti, Djibouti. Prior to joining the State Department, she had several careers as diverse as working as a strategy consultant at IBM; maintaining websites about concrete; and working on a factory production line. She earned a BA from Haverford and an MBA from Cornell. But before all that, she started her adult life of international living as Rotary high school exchange student in Herning, Denmark - for which she is eternally grateful to Rotary.
Andrea Finnegan will represent the U. S. Secretary of State to discuss global health security and disease prevention. Andrea is with the Office of International Health and Bio Defense who is responsible for policy addressing both communicable and non-communicable diseases (including polio). She will address U.S. foreign policy efforts to strengthen global health security and disease prevention. There are wonderful links in this topic with polio, COVID-19 and perhaps efforts of our own Humanitarian Committee.
Random Acts of Kindness - La Crosse Public Education Foundation
Dr. Tom Thompson, co-chair RAK Forever Fund, and David Stoeffler of the La Crosse Public Education Foundation, both Club members discussed a program called Random Acts of Kindness. The program develops a checking account at area schools where they can take care of the needs of individual students – for shoes, clothing, hygiene supplies, field trip fees, coats, school supplies and much more. The Foundation is publicly announcing a campaign to create an endowment fund to provide perpetual support for Random Acts of Kindness in La Crosse schools. One of the pillars of Rotary is supporting education so it should be a great program! Link to Random Acts of Kindness. Click here to see last week's meeting OR here to see the PowerPoint.
Each week President Andy has been interviewing one of our Rotary Members. We will post the video each week in our newsletter. We will also post on Facebook and our website: PAGE LINK. You can share this site with prospective members.
Last week Andy played the interview from Rotarian David Amborn. This was taken three weeks ago. Andy expressed that much thought went into this decision of playing this video with David's recent passing. David really wanted to be at the meeting when Andy played the video and Andy said that he knew he'd be watching over us today. It was both hard and nice to see our David on screen as we remember the big part of Rotary he has played. Click on photo to view video.
Rotary Club of La Crosse lost two members of our Rotary Family.
Rotarian Roger LeGrand passed away on February 8th.
Roger joined Rotary on Aug, 15, 1996. He served on our Rotary Board and many committees. He was a volunteer for Mobile Meals. He was always willing to give his time, talents and treasures. We will always remember his smile and warm heart.
Condolences and memorials can be sent to: Sondra LeGrand 622 Bennora Lee Court #306 La Crosse, WI 54601
or
Rotary Club of La Crosse P.O. Box 1914 La Crosse, WI 54602-1914
Donate with your Venmo Account if you prefer: Our account is Rotary Club of La Crosse (@RotaryClub-LaCrosse) - last four digits of our phone number is 4491.
Rotarian David Amborn passed away on February 14th.
David joined our club on Oct 1, 1992 He served as Rotary President 2009-10. He served on the board and on many committees. He was our Fruit Basket & Musky Challenge Chair!! He was always willing to give his time, talents, and treasures. We will always remember his smile and warm heart.
Please keep Karen and family in your thoughts and prayers.
Karen Gilster W4230 County Road B West Salem, WI 54669
Greeting cards by Anita....YES she is still creating cards for you to purchase. You can give her a call at 608.785.0602 to order or set-up a time to purchase cards. She lives in Washburn - 801 Main Street - La Crosse. A mask is mandatory. All proceeds go to the Rotary Works Foundation. Thank you Anita!!...and all the Rotarians that continue to purchase cards from her.
Check out our Leadership Series Site Page! You will find the videos of our past Leadership Series presentations.
The Rotary Leadership series involves featured speakers providing insight and information about various aspects of leadership. The events are scheduled in a virtual format on the second Thursday of the month on an alternating schedule with the STAR program. 7:00-8:00 am. The Rotary Leadership Series is designed for the members of the nine La Crosse-area Rotary clubs. Members may invite guests.
Overcome your fear of Public Speaking....from your own living room. Coulee Region Toastmasters is offering a unique opportunity this spring. Practice your presentation skills and gain confidence in public speaking through a Zoom Speechcraft. If you are interested in attending....LINK TO MORE INFORMATION.
The Rotary Club of La Crosse - Downtown Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee is considering facilitating an online/virtual (ZOOM) book club fellowship focused on the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please complete the following short survey to indicate your interest in participating.
ROTARY MOBILE MEDICAL CLINIC WITH ST. CLARE HEALTH MISSION
To All Rotarians.....thank you to all who have donated or pledged to our Rotary Mobile Clinic..there is still time to donate if you haven't done so yet.
Here is the update of the project from Dean Dickinson.....
Our club paid donations stand at $36,575. The total for all clubs is $96, 360. We are in a position to submit the global grant as soon as the International Partner joins us. There is still time to donate. All donations in excess of the grant requirement will be earmarked for vehicle/equipment upgrades and replacement and maintenance.
We launched the fundraising for the Rotary Mobile Clinic about two months ago. Our initial goal was to raise $80,000 and divide that into two parts, community outreach and a Rotary clubs enrollment...each in the amount of $40,000.
On behalf of the committee, I want to thank everyone for their investment in this project.
Benefits of sponsoring an ad on the Rotary Club of La Crosse web site: Enhance your business' public relations and image. Advertise an upcoming event. Opportunity to sponsor and support the Rotary Club of La Crosse and your community. Sharing with fellow Rotarians in our club and other local clubs who would like to know what you do.
Why advertise on the Rotary Club of La Crosse web site?The majority of visitors to our website are members and friends of our club. This makes our site's web sponsorship an ideal opportunity for small and large businesses to promote their products, services or an upcoming event in our community. Moreover 100% of the advertising revenue goes back to our club; this in turn supports the local community.
Cost is $20 per month up to $120 per year . . . . click here for form and more information. We will include your logo/link on our web site, send one email blast to all Rotarians and include an initial mention in our newsletter and on our Facebook page.
Click on the logos under Web Site Sponsors...located on right side of our home page and in each newsletter.
NEW SPONSOR THIS MONTH
Seeking Executive Director
Oak Grove Cemetery Association is seeking an Executive Director to manage a historic, non-profit cemetery situated in a park-like setting. The Executive Director provides the leadership and strategic direction to the Association, its mission and staff. The position is responsible for the day-to-day general operation of the cemetery including leading a team of staff providing compassionate customer service and facility and landscaped grounds care. Full-time position; competitive salary and benefits. For more information on the position and how to apply, visit: https://www.oakgrovecemetery.com/about/careers
Associate Membershipis a program to recruit younger members, millennials, to membership. Associate Membership is available to anyone who is proposed for membership who is 35 years of age or less. Associate membership will end when that member reaches the age of 38. They would pay for dues and $100 for meals per quarter no matter how many meetings they attend that quarter.
Corporate Membership is a program to allow multiple employees of a business Rotary participation under one primary membership. Each corporate membership is limited to a three-year term. After the three-year corporate membership term, the individuals are required to become individual members. View Corporate Membership Policy.
Family Membershipis a program to allow a second individual Rotary participation under one primary membership. View Family Membership Policy.
Honorary Membership is offered to members who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals.Unlike other membership categories that can be requested by the member, Honorary Membership is bestowed upon a member by election from the Board of Directors. View Honorary Membership Policy.
Excused Membership is offered to members if the aggregate of the member’s years of age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more, the member has been a member of one or more clubs for at least 20 years, and the member has notified the club's secretary in writing of the member’s desire to be excused from attendance and the board has approved. Excused Members will pay the quarterly dues and only for meals when they attend a meeting.
Membership Proposals....we will no longer ask for three references when you propose a new member. This was a criteria that our club had set not RI. This will help us process new members into our club more efficiently. You can access the membership proposal form online, under the Club Information site page.
Overcome your fear of Public Speaking....from your own living room. Coulee Region Toastmasters is offering a unique opportunity this spring. Practice your presentation skills and gain confidence in public speaking through a Zoom Speechcraft. If you are interested in attending....
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