Park at the Radisson, the parking ramp, or street parking where available
Allow for time to go through buffet line!
July 9 - Radisson Ballroom
July 16 & July 23 - Radisson Center
July 30 - Radisson Ballroom
This Week: Passing of the Gavel and Honoring our 25-26 Rotarian of the Year
This week's program is the Passing of the Gavel/Changing of the Guard where we'll welcome new club leadership. Richard Strauss is our La Crosse Rotary Club President for this Rotary year (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027). Special thanks to Regina Siegel who will complete her year of service as Club President when she passes the gavel to Richard.
We will also recognize our 25-26 Rotarian of the Year.
Next Week: Roger Stanford, Western: Your Community Technical College
Western President Roger Stanford will provide an overview of Western’s impact on our region, student success data, community partnerships, and future plans.
Dr. Roger Stanford is the President of Western Technical College, a position he started in July 2017 after serving as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western for two years. Before coming to La Crosse, he had increasing roles of responsibility at Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC), most recently as the Vice President of Instruction.
His career in education started over 30 years ago as a high school marketing instructor and transitioned into higher education when he served as the adjunct professor/facilitator/research advisor for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls master’s programs.
Dr. Stanford is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is a strong advocate for veteran students and programs that support these students on their quest for higher education.
Throughout his career, Dr. Stanford’s passion for student success has been a guiding force. That principle continues to be his focus at Western Technical College to help change the lives of students and grow our communities.
Thank you for everyone who voted with their dollars to the Games Committee's program, “The Laugh Factory”. Performances by Rog Christians, Andy Bakkum, Betsy Morgan, Niki Pohnl, and Michael Quam. All funds raised will go to Rotary International Education and Literacy Programs.
FOUNDATION MINUTE FOR June 29, 2026 Welcome to Week FIVE of RI’s Month of Fellowship.
The 2026 Rotary International convention ended on June 17 in the city of Taipei, Taiwan. During the grand finale of the convention featuring various reports, Holger Knaack, Rotary Foundation Chair of Trustee highlighted the continuing efforts by TRF to eliminate the debilitating scourge of Polio still ravaging few corners of the globe. He reminded the attendees that the world is still at great risk of polio in certain areas of conflict and war. “The world is still at great risk of polio in areas of conflict and war. Polio viruses continue to turn up in wastewater samples in Europe.
The danger is not behind us. What many Rotarians may not realize is how carefully we steward the dollars you give to PolioPlus. We don’t simply write a check to WHO and UNICEF. Each year, we meet with our partners to review the budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and do a depth analysis of progress and opportunities and conduct a financial audit. For Pakistan’s National Immunization Day alone — US$22 million — we pay for 350,000 health workers. We pay for 20,000 motorbikes to reach remote villages. We pay for 4,000 vehicles. We pay for 20 boats that carry vaccinators along the Indus. The smallest line in the entire budget is for the purple markers we use to mark a child’s finger after vaccination. Every line. Every cost. We see them all.
This is what it takes to vaccinate 47 million children under five in a single country. And the health workers do this work supported by 100,000 army and police personnel… I have traveled to India frequently in recent years. I saw often what polio leaves behind — people crawling in the dirt, begging. But I have never seen a child affected by polio, because polio no longer exists in India. And what we made true in India, we will make true in Pakistan. In Afghanistan. In every place where this fight is not yet won. And yet — look at where we are. Since Rotary committed to this fight in 1985, more than 20 million children have been spared from paralysis. We are closer to eradicating polio than humanity has ever come to eradicating any disease except smallpox.”
