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This week at Rotary we will be offsite at the UWL Student Union. Complimentary parking is available at no cost on Level 3 of the parking ramp. An elevator is located at the southeast stairwell. See map.
Jeff Thompson, MD, author, and CEO emeritus at Gundersen Health System, will discuss his book Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community.
Last week we welcomed our La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam.
Fire Chief Ken gave us a preview of what is happening in the La Crosse Fire Department. He answered questions and members felt it was a very informative meeting.
Every Rotarian is Responsible for Membership Growth
Elizabeth Hazlett Director of Operations & Volunteer Management USO Proposed by Steve Lindeman
Sandra Schultz Realtor NexGen, LLC Realtors Proposed by Roz Schnick
If no written objection to the proposal stating reasons is received by the Board of Directors from any member of the club within seven days following publication of the name of the prospective member, the prospective member shall be considered to be elected to membership.
Would you like to represent our Rotary Club of La Crosse by volunteering at the USO La Crosse Regional Airport lounge? In order to volunteer you will need to complete the online training and background check.
Information below is how to start the process of becoming a volunteer.
Please also email rotarylax@charter.net so we can include you in the Rotary Contact List in ClubRunner and that the USO knows you are from our Rotary group. We will also have a sign-up sheet at our meeting this Thursday at the registration table.
2) Log in to “Register to Volunteer” and create an account.
3) Enter your personal information.
The application is done in sequence. Need not all in one sitting. You can complete it any time of day or night at home or the office.
NOTE: There is a wait between the first stages to eliminate those who lose wind in their sail to volunteer.
*A background check is done on all applicants.
The USO has received our check and will be purchasing items for the Veteran's Lounge. We hope to have a social in the Veteran's Lounge this Spring once the items are installed. More info on our project.
Answers to a few questions that have been asked:
Military Lounge Hours: Open 24/7 by key pad/code access.
Code available from flight assistants/ Avis Rental office desk and USO online.
Parking: Yes, will be validated
Peak Days to volunteer: USO will give notice when they are due heavy traffic.
Consider for May – August to be busy. As weather cools so does traffic.
We have changed our deadline to submit an ad to Tuesday prior to the meeting.
Share an announcement or ad with your Rotary community. Ads are displayed during Thursday Rotary meetings and on our website. Posting an ad is as easy as posting to Facebook or Twitter.
1.Log in 2.Select a date or dates for the ad to run
3.Create your ad from these options
·Headline and text
·Headline, text and image/logo
·Image file as the entire ad (2.25 x 2.25)
4.Preview and approve
Deadline to submit an ad will be Tuesday prior to our meeting.
Rotarian Dan Roemhild will be overseeing the ads before they go to print.
Your Rotary account will be charged $10 per ad post and will be on your quarterly invoices. You may place up to 9 ads at one time. First come, first served; limit of 9 ads per week!
The Rotary Works Foundation Administrator, Kathy Knobloch is resigning. We thank her for her service these past years.
Rotary Works Foundation is looking for someone to replace her. If you know of anyone that would be interested in this position, please contact the RW President Majel Hein at majelhein@gmail.com. Job Description.
The International Project Committee report from Sondra Le Grand:
In 2016 I received a request from a Secondary School Headmaster from a small village in South India, TamilNadu, via a Rotarian friend. This school is 125 years old with about 1000 students in grades 8-12. He was asking for help to build both a boy’s and girl’s set of toilet blocks. There were no resources available and no government funds. Rotary Tinnevelli District 3212 wanted to partner with Valley View and Downtown Rotary Clubs to build those two toilet blocks. I went to Tinnevelli to do an assessment of the potential project in 2015. The conditions were abysmal. Through avid fundraising and District Rotary funds both on the part of Tinnevelli and La Crosse District 6250, we were able to raise $33,000 to build the blocks. Finally, after 2 years, that project was competed along with a Menstrual Hygiene training for the girls.
I returned to Tinnevelli in January 2018 to celebrate the completion of the project and to participate in a special holiday called Pongal. Two Public Health graduate students from UW-La Crosse accompanied me to see the students and the completed project. After seeing their new toilets, the students went home and convinced their parents to have an individual toilet in their house. So now, the Indian Rotary Club and La Crosse Rotaries have partnered again for the next phase of the project. Thirty individual toilets for villagers will be completed in 2019.
Our Indian partners and generous Rotarians of La Crosse made this desperately needed project possible. A special thank you to our Indian Rotarians who worked through the grant process, procured architects, construction companies, La Crosse Rotary members and private donations.
According to the teachers, the students would rather spend their time in the restrooms instead of class because they are so beautiful! The project was a success.
YOUTH EXCHANGE HOST FAMILIES NEEDED FOR ONE NIGHT... Our Rotary Club will be sponsoring a Youth Exchange Weekend on March 2-4. Beginning Friday, March 2nd, Inbound Youth Exchange Students from around the state will be arriving for a fun-filled weekend. They will be joined by the newly identified US Outbound Exchange Students who will represent Wisconsin and the United States around the world starting in August.
We are in need for places for these students to stay on Friday night, March 2nd. Your accommodations do not need to be 5-star.
Normally, the Rotarian is asked to pickup between 1-3 students (a carload at most) and show them a good time on Friday evening. That may involve dinner at home with your family, taking them out to your favorite restaurant, perhaps a play or show - anything that you think they will find interesting. Make sure they get a good breakfast on Saturday morning, and then deliver them to a local location just before lunch on Saturday when the weekend officially begins. That's it - it is that easy!
This is an excellent opportunity for our club to get a re-taste of the energy and enthusiasm of a Youth Exchange Student, plus get that guest bedroom and family room floor used for the first time since the holidays! Getting the chance to meet and spend a little time with these young people will instill hope that we are moving towards a better world.
If you are able and interested in opening your hearth to one or more of these students for one night (March 2nd), please contact Eva Marie Restel.
We are 99% sure that our next Inbound student will be a girl from Spain. We have already identified her first host family, who happen to live in the Central school district. The first family will have her from mid-August to early December, Her second family will have her from early December to around March 31st, after which her second family would have her until mid-July 2019.
We are looking for Rotarians who would like to host her as the second or third family. If hosting an exchange student interests you or if you have any questions, please talk to Maria Norberg, Eva Marie Restel or Jack Haase. Also, feel free to talk to Tami Woods on what it has meant to her family to host Beca.
ROTARY ATTENDANCE Feb 1st - 63% Feb 8th - 58% Feb 15th - 53%
Rotary Attendance policy is to attend or makeup at least 50% of the club meetings during the first six months and the second six months. They can be done by: • Attending regular club meetings • Making up meetings at other Rotary Clubs ( which includes E-Clubs) • Engaging in club projects/events/fellowship/board meetings.
100% Attendance Winners July - Miranda TerBeest August - Sue Durtsche September - Tim Durtsche October - Jamie Capuzzi November - Wendell Snodgrass December - Al Louis
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 Membership is 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. 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 of $70 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.
Please note: Raffle, Fines, Birthday, Anniversaries and Scooters are all donations that will go to the club If you are making a donation and would like it to go to the Rotary Works Foundation or Rotary International Foundation, we ask that you write a check to the Foundation of your choice.
Feb 15th: Raffle $65: Fines $92 Scooters $8; Scrip $10
If you would like to volunteer for Rotarians in the News, be a greeter, a hospitality greeter, raffle ticket seller, scrip seller or announce guests, you can email the Monthly Program Chairs that are listed above....just click on their name. If you would like to give your classification talk please contact Program Committee Chair Tami Woods.