Stories

Help Us to Pack 30,000 Meals!

Thank you to our event sponsors!

On Saturday, March 16th, our Rotary Club will be packing nutritious meals for shipment to impoverished people in Africa and/or Northern Wisconsin, in partnership with Rock County Rotary Kids Against Hunger!

We are seeking up to 50 volunteers to help out, and we are seeking financial sponsors! To help out register on our event page here. Contact us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com with question.

Date: Saturday, March 16th

Time: Noon - 4PM

Location: First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, Madison

Consider Supporting Santas Without Chimneys

If you would like to sponsor a child or family in need with a Christmas gift this holiday season, then please consider donating a gift through Santas Without Chimneys.

They maintain a wish list of suggested gifts on their website, and they offer numerous drop-off locations around Madison.

You can view additional information on their website here.

Mark Your Calendar!

Be sure to mark your calendar for Rotary TriCon the weekend of April 18-20!

Welcome Ben!

Ben Nelson is a recent UW-Madison grad in neurobiology and psychology, and an alumnus of UW-Madison Rotaract. Currently he is working at Meriter Hospital doing clinical research doing delusion enhancement studies. He is excited to be a Rotarian for the volunteering opportunities and the networking.

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Madison After Hours, Ben!

Welcome Sahas!

Sahas Kurumety graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in May 2023 with a BS in chemical engineering and computer science. He is originally from the Philadelphia area but moved out to Madison in September 2023 to work as a software engineer at Epic Systems. He attended RYLA in 2017 and went on Rotary Youth Exchange to Buenos Aires, Argentina from 2017 to 2018. Since his return, he has served as a Rotex mentor to help guide RYE students coming from and going to South American countries. In his free time, he likes to play golf and tennis, and he loves to travel whenever possible to experience different cultures. He looks forward to continuing his connection with Rotary and staying engaged in the community.

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Madison After Hours, Sahas!

Happy World Polio Month!

October 24th is World Polio Day, an opportunity to build awareness around our continued efforts to permanently eradicate polio globally!

Since 1988, two of the three wild poliovirus (WPV) serotypes (types 2 and 3) have been eradicated, and global WPV cases have decreased by more than 99.9%, and at this time, endemic transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) is only occurring in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But the fight is still far from over!

For a more detailed status update, view this 2023 CDC progress report here.

Breakfast Club Cornhole Tournament

The Madison Breakfast Club will be hosting a Cornhole tournament on September 30th, from 11-3:00, at the Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona. Spread the word and feel free to register a team, or just show up to spectate and enjoy food and beer and raffles!

Note that this will be the same day as our Second Harvest volunteer event, which will run until 11:30, for anyone that is thinking about attending both.

View additional details and register here -

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/6721/stories/mbr-cornhole-challenge

Welcome Austin!

Austin Doan joined our club earlier this year. Austin is an attorney at the Boardman & Clark LLP law firm. He is originally from California, but is glad to call Madison, Wisconsin home. Since coming to Madison, he has come to love water sports, cheese curds, and Bloody Marys.

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Madison After Hours, Austin!

Welcome Joe!

Joe has lived in Madison since 2008, when he moved here for a Software Development position with Dane County. Madison has provided him with many exciting opportunities, great friends and experiences. He serves on the City of Madison's Disability Rights Commission, where he draws from his own experiences as a person born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in order to educate and advocate on disability justice. Joe especially enjoys being engaged and active in his community and welcomes opportunities to be even more involved with the community and disability justice. Additionally, he enjoys the outdoors, films, and video games. His love for gaming has even led to stints as a video game tester, and an anime and sci-fi convention staff member!

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Madison- After Hours, Joe!

Welcome Ryan and Ashley!

Ryan recently joined Rotary at the end of 2022 and is looking forward to becoming more involved in the club while also serving as Secretary for the 2023-2024 year. Ryan works for BMO, leading the governance and oversight of approximately one-half of the enterprise’s outsourced item processing activities for the US and Canada. Ryan is definitely no stranger to the Madison area. He has attended Badger football games for over 20 years with his family (they’ve been season ticket holders that whole time too!), attended undergrad at UW-Madison where he graduated in 2015 with a double major in Finance and Management, and decided to move back permanently in 2021. Prior to joining Rotary, Ryan was completing his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In his free time, Ryan enjoys giving back to the UW-Madison community where he serves as a mentor for Madison Business Mentoring, helping prospective Business School students navigate both their freshman year as well as the application process in the spring. Ryan also loves to travel both domestically and internationally and has visited two continents and twelve countries, downhill ski, spend time with friends and family, and cheer on all of our wonderful Wisconsin sports teams.

Ashley Krasowski graduated from UW-Madison with her Bachelors of Science in May 2022. She grew up attending Rotary meetings with her father in Wausau, Wisconsin. She attended RYLA and was the honored recipient of two Rotary International scholarships upon high school graduation. During her undergraduate career, Ashley served as President and Director of Member Outreach for Rotaract-UW. She is excited to be a new member of Madison After Hours and will serve as our Rotaract Liaison. Ashley will be attending most meetings virtually going forward, as she is pursuing her medical degree at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Serve the World Volleyball Tournament 2023

Join us for a Coed Volleyball Tournament at Ten Pin Alley in Verona on Saturday August 5th, from noon to 6PM!

Registration is $60 per team, with all proceeds benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange, which sponsors international high school student exchange in partnership with Madison High Schools!

To Register:

1. Email Mac Dempsey at mac_dempsey@hotmail.com listing your Team Name, Team Captain Name, and email address.

2. PayPal your $60 registration fee to @RotaryMadisonAH and list your Team Name in the comments.

April 30th Brunch

Trivia Night

Club Meeting: Henry Vilas Zoo

Henry Vilas Zoo is one of the very few free, community-sponsored zoos in the United States.

Learn how they support their mission of providing exceptional animal care and promoting wildlife conservation through community partnerships!

Meeting Agenda

Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5440622028?pwd=UjRMRlZjWnNnVzlYb3N3dk5kSC9tUT09
Meeting ID: 544 062 2028
Passcode: MadisonAH

Newsletter May 1, 2022

Hi friends!

What happens in the hospitality suite, stays in the hospitality suite…but what happens at TriCon gets shared with all of you! Danielle and I had a great time this weekend. We enjoyed making friends with Rotarians from all over Wisconsin and the UP, learned at some really interesting and well-run breakout sessions, and even raised over $550 for Polio Plus and Ukraine relief! Next year’s TriCon will be in LaCrosse, and I sincerely hope that you will consider adding it to your schedule.

Now the bad news. I love our club dearly, and I know that you do, too. We are truly a home in which like-minded friends can come together, where we are greater together than alone, and where we can make good things happen in our world. But we do not have a president lined up for July 1st, 2022. Danielle will be our secretary and president-elect, roles that will prepare her to be a fantastic president in 2023. We very much need a club member to step into the role of president for the next twelve months, or our club’s status in RI could be in limbo. The role of club president is so gratifying and will enrich your life! You will be supported every step of the way by your club members, fellow Madison-area presidents, and our district leadership team. Please contact me soon if you are interested in this very important role and would like to discuss the details.

Yours in Rotary,

Erin

Membership Moment - Val Schroeder

What do you do for a living?

I’m a partner at the CPA firm Strohm Ballweg – we specialize in serving the insurance industry. I mainly oversee audits of property and casualty (i.e. homeowners, auto, etc.) insurance companies, but also am the head of our quality initiatives. I’ve been at SB for over 20 years, though I’m not really sure how that is possible!

Favorite kind of music?

Anything NOT aimed to kids – I’m pretty sick of “it’s raining tacos”, and when Alexa listens to me, it is mostly Yo-Yo Ma.

What are you looking forward to in the next few months?

I’m anxiously counting down the days until mid-January, when my husband, Dave, returns from a 400 day mobilization to Fort Meade (Maryland) with the Army National Guard. I’ve been ‘single-parenting’ since November 2020, which is a big part of why you haven’t seen much of me recently!

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Middleton, and went to Edgewood College here in Madison. I can’t imagine living anywhere else!

Tell us about why you joined Rotary?

My mom has been a Rotarian for many years, and it was just a natural fit – though not her club! I was excited to hear that a new-fangled idea of the After-Hours club was being formed and to be a part of it.

What’s your favorite thing about being in Rotary?

I love knowing that we do so much good locally and in the world. When there is a need, Rotary answers!

Have you held or do you hold any positions at the club or district level? What were/are they?

’m the treasurer of our District’s Charitable Foundation (and past Chair as well). The D6250 Charitable Foundation is available to any club in our district that doesn’t have their own foundation for club level fundraising, as well as for facilitating district-wide fundraising initiatives. We recently raised money for Covid relief in Nepal, and stay tuned for how you can help Afghan refugees coming to Wisconsin!

What is one thing you want the club to know about you?

I’ve got my hands full with two energetic boys – Nat is 9 and Vin is 5 and they definitely keep me out of trouble. I tell them stories about how I used to be fun, but they don’t believe it. They honestly believe that my favorite hobby is picking up after them.

Newsletter June 20

Hello fellow Rotarians,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making the past year so incredible! Can you believe this is my last newsletter as club president already? Being your president has been such a positive experience, and I have grown and learned so much. I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you through spending time together, whether working on projects, chatting over a drink, or exchanging phone calls and emails. I am so excited for Connor’s year and for him to continue the tradition of fun, fellowship, and service that makes our club the best!

Oh, but can I really say that our club is the best? We actually have the statistics to back that claim! We are ending this Rotary year as number one in District 6250 in per capita giving to the Rotary Foundation at $365.85 per person. That is amazing! I also hear that we are the third highest in the three districts that make up the entire state of Wisconsin. Besides being generous, we are friendly and welcoming, which has led to a 50% growth in membership over the last twelve months. It has been such a pleasure to welcome our new member class and introduce them to our group.

So again, thank you. Thank you for your guidance, patience, enthusiasm, and generosity with your time, money, and knowledge. Thank you for believing in me when I was nervous about taking this on and for encouraging me along the way. All of our accomplishments over the past year are due to your teamwork. I’m looking forward to taking on my new roles as District Storyteller (follow on Instagram at @RotaryDistrict6250, #shameless plug), and then as Assistant Governor starting July 2021.

See you soon!

Erin Luken

Club President 2019-2020

Upcoming Events

Now- June 21st: Thank you to Partita 3-D Printing Volunteers

Our club received a disaster relief grant from the district/RI that we used to help fund Partita, a local company 3-D printing face shields for first responders. For our club’s participation we said we would write thank you’s to all of their volunteers. We now have the list of volunteers and their email addresses, so I’ve made a large poster for everyone to sign so we can send a virtual thank you to them. Please stop by Erin’s house at 1826 Chadbourne Ave to sign the poster. It is on the back deck with markers and Clorox wipes.

Saturday, June 13th- Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am- 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Center Education Center food pantry. Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45 am- 1:00 pm. Sign up here or email madisonrotaryah@gmail.com Please keep an eye on the club calendar for any changes or cancellations.

Saturday, June 20th- District Conference and RI Conference

A bright spot amidst the quarantine is that our district conference and the Rotary International Conference are both virtual and FREE! Please click through to see the schedule of events and register (for free!) to get the virtual meeting invite. District Conference info and registration. RI Convention schedule and activities The RI Conference break-outs include topics on greening Rotary events, how to start and grow microfinance projects, Adopt-A-River initiative, and using tech to implement club change. I highly encourage you to check it out and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and gather inspiration.

Sunday, June 21st - Club Meeting, Best-Selling Author Andra Watkins

Join us on Zoom, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7 pm

Join us for our virtual meeting on Zoom. Join the meeting

Featured in January 2017’s Rotarian Magazine, New York Times best selling author Andra Watkins chose a crazy way to launch her debut novel. She is one of the only living persons to walk the 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. She had a life-changing adventure with her 80-year-old father. Her NYT best selling memoir Not Without My Father chronicles that experience.

Andra is a Past President of the East Cooper Breakfast Rotary Club in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She is past District Communications Chair for District 7770-Eastern South Carolina, founder of the District 7770 Friendship Exchange program, a two-time Rotarian of the Year, a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, and recipient of her District’s Distinguished Service Award. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of the Southeast and Caribbean.

Sunday, June 28th- 5th Sunday Brunch Club

10:30 am, Olbrich Park, 3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison

Dane County has lifted restrictions enough that we can have a socially distanced picnic in a park. Get out your picnic blanket, sunscreen, and picnic food! See you there!

Sunday, July 5th- NO CLUB MEETING

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Saturday, July 11th- Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am- 1:00 pm

newsletter June 7, 2020

Hello fellow Rotarians,

We, members of the Rotary Club of Madison- After Hours, are the future of Rotary. We are young. We are generous with our time, money, and knowledge. We are driven to improve lives in our community and in the world. And we have to be better. We must work hard to make our club reflective of our community, because only then can we truly serve our community. And yes, this will be work!

Just hoping that our club will evolve is not enough. Every one of us must make an effort to notice and seek out the potential Rotarians that are around us every day and then invite them to join us. I truly believe that we are capable of this. The diligence of our membership team paid off this year by growing our club by 50% (from 20 to 30 members). However, growing and nurturing the club is not a role that belongs solely to a select few. I cannot emphasize enough that it is everybody’s responsibility! In fact, I am a Rotarian because someone asked me “Why aren’t you in Rotary?” Eight weeks later I joined, and two years later I am writing the penultimate newsletter of my presidency.

We have the freedom to mold our club in whatever way we see fit. My vision for our future includes members of diverse backgrounds, professions, points of view, experiences, and yes, skin color. I pledge to do my part to make it happen, and I invite you to join me.

See you soon,

Erin Luken

Club President 2019-2020

Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can’t just be on people of colour to deal with it. It’s up to all of us – Black, white, everyone – no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets." – Michelle Obama in a statement following the harrowing death of George Floyd

Upcoming Events

Now- June 21st: Thank you to Partita 3-D Printing Volunteers

Sunday, June 7th - Club Meeting, Wisconsin Literacy

Join us on Zoom, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7 pm

Join us for our virtual meeting on Zoom. Join the meeting Agenda

Our speaker this evening is Liz Fitzpatrick, Data and Communications Manager for Wisconsin Literacy, Inc. Wisconsin Literacy supports member literacy agencies statewide and advocates for more resources throughout the field of literacy. The Wisconsin Health Literacy (WHL) division provides health literacy programming in communities throughout the state. Liz says “Everyday I get to be part of the transformative power of the written word. I hear and share stories about how accessing literacy opens doors to new possibilities and leads to a better life."

Saturday, June 13th- Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am- 1:00 pm

Saturday, June 20th- District Conference and RI Conference

Sunday, June 21st - Club Meeting, Best-Selling Author Andra Watkins

Join us on Zoom, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7 pm Join the meeting

Sunday, June 28th- 5th Sunday Brunch Club

10:30 am, Olbrich Park, 3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison

Dane County has lifted restrictions enough that we can have a socially distanced picnic in a park. Get out your picnic blanket, sunscreen, and picnic food! See you there!

News & Updates February 28, 2020

Hello fellow Rotarians,

You ask, and we deliver! Our two brunch fellowships/mini-meetings were so popular, that we're adding them into our regular schedule. For the next few months, starting in March, we'll be having brunch fellowship on the last Sunday of every month. Some may be at the Park Hotel, some might rotate to other places around town, so be sure to check the club calendar to find out where to go. The next brunch, March 29th, will be at the Baldwin Street Grille on East Washington Avenue. If you have a favorite spot that would accommodate a group of about twenty people, let me know and I'll try to get it into the rotation.

We've had quite the influx of new members lately, so be sure to go to the website and check out the bios that I've been posting in the News section. I've added a little "March Madness" twist to the President's Challenge, too. For each potential member that you bring to a meeting during the month of March, you can choose any box on the challenge and mark it complete. Don't think you'll be able to find a sponsor for our website or find the time to go to another club's event? Just bring a friend to a meeting or event and you can check those off!

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken

2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, March 1st - Club Meeting: Baldwin Street Grille

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7:00 pm. Join us on Sunday as Ryan Shultz shares his experience with owning and operating the Baldwin Street Grille! Three years ago, Ryan was working at the Baldwin Street Grille under different ownership. As fate would have it, two weeks after his son Sebastian was born, Ryan came into work only to find out that the owner was selling the place and he and the rest of the staff would be out of a job. Having nearly 13 years of experience in the industry, and having held almost every position from server to Assistant GM, Ryan had his son's future in mind and took a leap of faith. Putting everything on the line and risking it all, he agreed to take over ownership of the Baldwin Street Grille so that everyone could keep their jobs and save the place that he and the neighboring community loved to call home!

Saturday, March 14th- Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am- 1:00 pm. Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, March 15th - Club Meeting: Wisconsin Literacy

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7:00 pm. In Wisconsin, 1.5 million people need help building literacy skills to get their GED Credential, understand their health, improve their English, and build work readiness skills. Wisconsin Literacy changes lives by strengthening literacy statewide. Liz Fitzpatrick, Date and Communication Manager, will share stories about the impact low literacy has on adults and families, how Wisconsin Literacy strengthens literacy, and what you can do to support literacy locally and statewide!

Sunday, March 29th - 5th Sunday Brunch Club

Baldwin Street Grill, 1304 East Washington Avenue, Madison, 10:30 am. The 5th Sunday Brunch Fellowship for March will be held at the Baldwin Street Grille in Madison. Check out the menu here, and we'll see you there!

Sunday, March 15th - Club Meeting: Wisconsin Literacy

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, social at 6:30 pm, meeting at 7:00 pm. Asset Builders of America is a non-profit organization that has been teaching financial capability and economic empowerment to low and moderate income youth and families since 1999. Founders Richard Entenmann and Robert Wynn were both working in financial investor protection - Entenmann with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wynn with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. They both saw the damage that lack of wealth and financial literacy were creating for millions of Americans and together, they founded Asset Builders. Their goal was simple - to proactively educate and prepare individuals to avoid financial pitfalls and predatory practices, as well as to show a better way to create personal wealth and economic stability.

News & Updates January 16, 2020

Hello fellow Rotarians,

The big news to be aware of is that our next two meetings (January 19^th and February 2^nd) have been rescheduled to brunch socials due to the Green Bay Packers’ extended season. I hope you can join us on these Sunday mornings for fellowship and brief club business. We’ll still be at The Post at the Park Hotel, but please note the time change to 10:30 am. February 16^th will see us return to our regular meeting time and format.

Besides our brunch get-togethers, we’ll have the 7^th annual Cascade Mountain Extravaganza on Saturday, February 15^th. This is always a fun time! This is an excellent outing to bring your friends along. See the club calendar or the facebook invite for all the details, and make sure to RSVP to John Locke so he can let Cascade know how many people we’re bringing.

The other big news is that we have several new members to welcome to the club. Nela Kalpic is a new Rotarian, Jordan Hartzheim has transferred to us from the Twin Cities Eco Club, and Christina Wen has re-joined. I’m looking forward to their official introductions at an upcoming meeting and making them feel right at home with the Rotary Club of Madison- After Hours.

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken

2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, January 19th - Brunch Social/Mini Meeting

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, 10:30 am

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the Packer's playoff game at 5:40 pm, we will be having a brunch fellowship instead of our usual meeting. There will be some brief club updates and check-ins, but this is otherwise a time for fellowship. See you at 10:30 am at The Post!

Saturday, January 25th - Service Event with Habitat for Humanity

HFH Work Site, 4612 Pawnee Pass, Fitchburg 8:15 am-3:30 pm

We will help Habitat for Humanity at a Fitchburg work site. Tasks may include laying flooring and trim indoors or installing siding outdoors. A Habitat site supervisor and regular volunteers will assist.

Sunday, February 2nd - Brunch Social/Mini Meeting

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, 10:30 am

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the potential Packers Super Bowl game, we will be having a brunch fellowship instead of our usual meeting. There will be some brief club updates and check-ins, but this is otherwise a time for fellowship. See you at 10:30 am at The Post!

Saturday, February 8th- Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am- 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, February 15th- Cascade Mountain Extravaganza V7

Cascade Mountain, Portage, WI, 3:30 - 10:00 pm

The long awaited Cascade Mountain Extravaganza will happen once again in 2020 on February 15th!! See the Club Calendar or the Facebook invite for details. If you would like to join in on this Cascade Mountain extravaganza, please RSVP to John Locke so that he can add you to the RSVP list. We need to let Cascade know how many people we will have in advance, so try not to wait until the 11th hour!

Sunday, February 16th- Club Meeting: Safe Communities

The Post at the Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison, 6:30- 8:00 pm

Social at 6:30 pm in The Post bar, then meeting to follow at 7 pm downstairs.

Join us on February 16th as Cheryl Wittke, the Executive Director for Safe Communities, discusses their numerous programs designed to help prevent and address Dane County's top causes of injury-related death and hospitalization (including drug poisoning, suicide, falls, and traffic crashes). Safe Communities of Madison and Dane County is an award-winning nonprofit coalition of over 350 organizations working together to save lives, prevent injury and make our community safer.

News & Updates, December 15, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

As 2019 comes to a close, we can look back on the past year and be proud of our club's accomplishments:

One of our top priorities has been growing membership, and we've gained three new members.
We had a very successful Bucky Beads fundraiser this fall, bringing in over $1,600 for our exchange student program.
We donated our time to many local organizations, including the Lussier Food Pantry, River Food Pantry, UW Rotaract Club, UW Arboretum, Books for the World, Ironman Wisconsin, and Habitat for Humanity.
Many of our members continue to serve in district roles, including on the Foundation Board and Youth Exchange Board.
We spent the last several months hosting Rotary-centric speakers at our meetings, so I hope we are ready to really come together in 2020 and define some new projects for our club.

I could continue, but I want to bring your attention to an awesome accomplishment that you can continue to support through the end of the year: our club is on track to be the highest per capita in donations to the Rotary Foundation in our district. We are on par with Janesville right now at about $160 per member. We currently have dollar-and points-matching going on. Every dollar you donate will be matched 1:1 (up to $1,000 total) and tiered points-matching for up to 5:1 points per dollar. See my previous email or the club website for details, and email me or Dave Warren when you've donated so we can get you the matching points.

See you on Sunday!

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, December 15^th – Club Meeting: Marsy's Law

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Join us for our last meeting of 2019! Our guest speaker tonight will be Nela Kalpic, a longtime advocate and survivor of domestic violence, to talk to us about Marsy's Law. Marsy's Law for Wisconsin is seeking to amend the Wisconsin State Constitution to strengthen victim's rights. They are a non-partisan organization, and are fortunate that their proposed amendment has successfully passed the Wisconsin State Legislature twice with strong bipartisan support. The constitutional amendment will now be voted upon in a statewide ballot referendum on the April 7, 2020 election. More information can be found at http://www.equalrightsforwi.com.

Sunday, January 5^th – Club Meeting

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Join us for our first meeting of 2020! Social at 6:30 pm in the The Post bar, then meeting to follow at 7 pm downstairs. Speaker TBA. Reminder: Board meeting at 5:30 pm.

Saturday, January 11^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45 am until 1:00 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, January 19^th – Club Meeting

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Social at 6:30 pm in the The Post bar, then meeting to follow at 7 pm downstairs. Speaker TBA.

News & Updates, November 16, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

Did you know that November is Rotary Foundation Month? Our Rotary Foundation, which funds Polio Plus, Global Grants, District Grants, and Rotary Peace Centers, is at the heart of what we do. In honor of this being Rotary Foundation Month, the After Hours Club will be doing an extra special points and dollar matching through the end of the year. I hope you can made it to the meeting this Sunday to hear the details in person, but I will also be sending out the information on Monday. In the meantime, please take a minute to check out this compilation of figure from the past five years that illustrates the generosity of Rotarians around the world and the good work that we do together: Rotary: A Foundation to Build On.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I want to tell you how thankful I am to be part of such a great Rotary Club. The dedication that our members show through sharing their time, talents, and experience inspires me in the rest of my life. I'm especially thankful for the tremendous amount of support from the board - thank you Chelsea, Connor, Lori, Casey, and Travis for all that you do!

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!

See you on Sunday!

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 17^th – Club Meeting: Emily Tucker

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Join us at the Post for a social at 6:30 pm, then stay for our meeting at 7:00 pm. Our speaker this week is Emily Tucker. Emily is the Regional Membership Officer at RI for the Central United States, part of Ontario, Canada, and Texas (Zones 29 and 25B) - and is based right here in Madison, WI! In this role, Emily works with the Rotary leaders at the zone, district, and club levels to develop and implement membership engagement and attraction strategies, inspire and foster energizing and inclusive club experiences, and promote and utilize our membership resources, reports, and tools. Prior to this role, Emily was an Officer on the Club and District Support team at the World Headquarters in Evanston for Zones 25-33 for three years. Emily is grateful for the opportunity to introduce herself to Madison-After Hours members, share the latest and greatest in larger membership development initiatives at RI, and answer any questions the club or visitors and guests may have.

Friday, November 22^nd - Service Event: The River Food Pantry

The River Food Pantry, 2201 Darwin Rd, Madison, 3:45 - 7:45 pm

Help the food pantry at their Thanksgiving shopping session. A hot meal is provided for food pantry shoppers and volunteers. We have 6 volunteer spots reserved for members who have entered their names on the sign-up sheet. Many more volunteer spots are available. Please let Brad know if you are interested (608-469-9555).

Friday, December 6^th- Annual Holiday Party

1722 Monroe Street, Common Room, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

It's time for our annual holiday party! Join us as we celebrate our many achievements over the past year and toast to friends, both new and old. Let Chelsea know if you plan on bringing food or beverages to share. There is no cost to attend, but we hope you'll help us top off our donation of Happy/Sad Dollars that will be going to ImaBridge Africa.

Saturday, December 7^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45 am until 1:00 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, December 15^th – Club Meeting: Marsy's Law

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Join us for our last meeting of 2020! Our guest speaker tonight will be Nela Kalpic, a longtime advocate and survivor of domestic violence, to talk to us about Marsy's Law. Marsy's Law for Wisconsin is seeking to amend the Wisconsin State Constitution to strengthen victim's rights. They are a non-partisan organization, and are fortunate that their proposed amendment has successfully passed the Wisconsin State Legislature twice with strong bipartisan support. The constitutional amendment will now be voted upon in a statewide ballot referendum on the April 7, 2020 election. More information can be found at http://www.equalrightsforwi.com.

Annual Holiday Party

It's that time of year- cold weather and fresh snow! Let's celebrate all of our many 2019 accomplishments and friendships with warm drinks and toasty snacks. This year's party will be in the common room of 1722 Monroe Street with a beautiful view of the state capitol building. There is no cost to attend, but we hope you'll consider adding to the Happy/Sad Dollars Fund to top off our club's donation to ImaBridge Africa

Please let Chelsea know if you'll be bringing food/beverages to share.

Trivia Night Social!

Join us for trivia night at Middleton's World of Beer! The quiz is from 7-9 pm, so we'll be arriving around 6:30 to get a table and put our team together. Happy hour runs from 3-7 pm.

News & Updates, October 19, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

Besides being Rotary International's signature project, ridding the world of polio has a place close to my heart for a more personal reason: my father-in-law is a polio survivor. Bruce doesn't remember a whole summer from his childhood, when he was bedridden and close to death. He pulled through, after nearly having been placed in an iron lung, but the neuro-degenerative effects of the disease linger to this day, impeding his desire to be as active with his grandchildren as he'd like. We are so close to eradicating this devastating disease, and $3 from every beer purchase ($1 from the Great Dane and $2 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) at Pints for Polio on October 24th goes to the Polio Plus Foundation. Our club's "official" location for our social is at the Great Dane-Hilldale, but feel free to visit any Great Dane location and socialize for a great cause.

Another excellent opportunity to get together with other Madison-area Rotarians is at one of the One Rotary Summits coming up at the end of October/early November. The focus this year is storytelling: learn how to be a better storyteller through words and pictures, and inspire your club through sharing stories. I'll be at the Sun Prairie Summit on October 29th, but there are four others to choose from. See below for the registration link. I attended by first One Rotary Summit last year and found the event both educational and fun.

Last, but not least, I'm super excited for our speaker this Sunday: Will Harris of Working Capital for Community Needs. Our new member group invested our $1,000 grant with WCCN earlier this year, and now Will is back to tell the rest of our club about microfinance and how our money works to directly impact and improve the lives of the working poor in Latin America. I hope that you will be inspired by his story and the opportunities for our growing club to expand our impact in this area of the world.

See you on Sunday...and Thursday!

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, October 20^th – Club Meeting: Will Harris, Executive Director of WCCN

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Will was a recipient of the Rotary World Peace Fellowship, which he used to pursue a Master's Degree in International Relations at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, focusing his thesis on the topic of microfinance in Latin America. For 35 years, Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN) has created opportunities for access to microfinance, services and markets to improve the lives and communities of the working poor in Latin America. In that time, they have invested a total of $134 million, reaching an average of 25,000 small business owners every year.

Thursday, October 24^th - Club Social: Pints for Polio

Great Dane Hilldale, 357 Price Place, Madison, all day

October 24th is World Polio Day and to celebrate, all Madison Great Dane Pubs will be donating $1 to Rotary's Polio Plus Fund for every pint, crowler, growler, and 6-pack sold that day. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All Rotary members are encouraged to share this event and also attend with families and friends. See you on the 24th!

Tuesday, October 29^th- One Rotary Summit

Hilton Garden Inn, 1220 South Grand Avenue, Sun Prairie, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

We are connected by our Rotary stories. Stories inspire us - service transforms us. Join us to learn how to be a better storyteller in words and pictures. Enjoy the easy fellowship of sharing stories. You'll be glad you came. We're looking forward to a fun even that strengthens and supports both your and your club! Food provided and cash bar available. Registration link: https://rotary6250.org/page/2019-district-6250-one-rotary-summit

Saturday, November 2^nd - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45 am until 1:00 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, November 3^rd – Club Meeting: The Brain Game

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Join us at The Post for a social at 6:30 pm, then stay for our meeting at 7:00 pm. Our speaker this week is recent District Governor Bill Hoel of the La Crosse Rotary Club. The Brain Game is a book developed by the Rotary Club of La Crosse and given to every new parent in the La Crosse, WI area. Now in its 3rd edition, Bill will tell us all about how his club came up with the project and saw it through to fruition.

News & Updates, October 4, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

I am recently back in Madison after spending five days at the Zone 29 & 25b Conference in Kansas City. I was honored to have been chosen, along with Steve Nick from Eau Claire, to attend the Leadership Development seminar. As part of the course, we had small group chats (about 24 of us) with the RI President Elect Holger Knaack and the first female RI Vice President, Jennifer Jones. Needless to say, it was a very exciting week, and I'm back with all kinds of information and ideas for our club and district. One hot topic that Rotarians were asking about is whether RI will ever address environmental concerns as one of our areas of focus. I am happy to report that Holger informed us that the Board of Directors will actually be discussing and voting on that topic this fall.

Is October 24th marked on your calendar in bold? It's Pints for Polio night at the Great Dane! Our Club will be officially meeting at the Hilldale location (this counts as our social for the month). $1 from every pint will go towards polio eradication, plus a $2 match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bring your friends and family, and share on social media. And those events were just in the last two weeks...Take a look at the club calendar on our website and you'll see that we're not slowing down at all over the next six weeks!

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 5^th- Club Fundraiser: Bucky Beads

Next to the Madison South Rotary Club Brat Stand, 1437 Monroe St., Madison, 8:00 am - 11:45 am

Come over before the UW Badgers vs. Kent State football game and help raise money for our Youth Exchange Program. All proceeds from our bead necklace sales go towards funding our exchange students. Shifts are 8:00 am - 10:00 am and 9:45 am - 11:45 am. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, October 5^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45 am until 1:00 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, October 6^th – Club Meeting: Vheneka Magazi

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Come to the social at 6:30 pm in The Post, then join us at the meeting to hear from Vheneka Magazi, a Rotary Exchange Student from Zimbabwe. Vheneka arrived in Madison in January, a week before the polar vortex. He currently attends West High School and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Madison (Downtown).

Saturday, October 12^th- Club Fundraiser: Bucky Beads

Next to the Madison South Rotary Club Brat Stand, 1437 Monroe St., Madison, 11:30 am - 3:15 pm

Come over before the UW Badgers vs. Michigan State football game and help raise money for our Youth Exchange Program. All proceeds from our bead necklace sales go towards funding our exchange students. Shifts are 11:30 am - 1:30 pm and 1:15 pm - 3:15 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, October 19^th - Service Event: UW Arboretum Restoration

Corner of Seminole Hwy and the Beltline Frontage Road, Madison, 9:00 am - noon

Join us as we learn about the Arboretum plant communities, cut brush from restored areas, and remove invasive plants. Tools, equipment, instruction, and refreshments are provided. Participants are advised to wear long pants, sturdy shoes, work gloves, and seasonally appropriate clothing. Meet at teh UW Arboretum Grady Tract Parking Lot, at the Southeast corner of Seminole Hwy and the Beltline Frontage Road.

Sunday, October 20^th – Club Meeting: Will Harris, Executive Director of WCCN

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Thursday, October 24^th - Club Social: Pints for Polio

Great Dane Hilldale, 357 Price Place, Madison, all day

Club Meeting: The Brain Game

Join us on Sunday, November 3rd at The Post for a social at 6:30 pm, then stay for our meeting at 7:00 pm. Our speaker this week is Past District Governor Bill Hoel of the LaCrosse Rotary Club. The Brain Game is a book developed by the Rotary Club of LaCrosse and given to every new parent in the LaCrosse, WI area. Now in it's 3rd edition, Bill will tell us all about how his club came up with this project and saw it though to fruition.

The Brain Game was born when the Director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families spoke to the Rotary Club of La Crosse, WI. She was excited to spread the word of new, cutting-edge research into early child brain development. More than ever before, scientists discovered that proper stimulation of children in the first three years could play a huge role in growing a healthy brain.

Interested in getting this information into plain English (and later Spanish), which regular parents could use, a coalition was formed. This group effort involved pediatricians, early childhood development experts, neonatologists, in partnership with two major medical centers, local schools, and parenting resource agencies.

After two years of research, the first book was published. Since that time, every new parent in the La Crosse, WI area has received a free copy. The book has been purchased for use by major city charities, medical centers in many states, and service clubs across the US and Canada. It has even been translated into Spanish. Now in its third edition, it has been substantially revised after surveys, follow up studies with pediatricians, and much feedback from parents

Club Meeting: Will Harris of WCCN

Join us at our meeting on Sunday, October 20 at 6:30 pm. Our speaker will be Will Harris, Executive Director of WCCN.

For 35 years, Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN) has created opportunities for access to microfinance, services and markets to improve the lives and communities of the working poor in Latin America. In that time, we have invested a total of $134 million, reaching an average of 25,000 small business owners every year. WCCN empowers low-income Latin American entrepreneurs by sustaining partnerships with microfinance organizations and fair trade coffee organizations in Nicaragua, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru.

Will was a recipient of the Rotary World Peace Fellowship which he used to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Relations at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, focusing his thesis on the topic of microfinance in Latin America. Will came to WCCN from the World Council of Credit Unions, and previously served on the WCCN Board of Directors for three years. He has a deep interest in Latin American culture, poverty issues, and economic development. Will speaks near native Spanish and Portuguese.

One Rotary Summit

We are Connected by Our Rotary Stories. Stories inspire us - service transforms us.

Join us to learn how to be a better storyteller in words and pictures. Enjoy the easy fellowship of sharing stories. Make a plan to advance club Membership and Service goals through stories shared in two settings: Club Events and Social Media.

You'll be glad you came. We're looking forward to a fun event that strengthens and supports both you and your club!

Registration link: https://www.rotary6250.org/page/2019-district-6250-one-rotary-summit

Food provided and cash bar available.

News & Updates, September 14, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

*** Important note: The social this Sunday, September 15th, will begin at 6:00 pm for dinner with Edwin at The Post. Same location, just a half hour earlier. ***

Our calendars have been so full of Rotary lately - and it's a great thing! Whether at Bucky Beads (we made $651 before the Central Michigan game!), the President's Social (congrats to Bingo-winner Lori!), Ironman Wisconsin, or the STAR Program (thanks Connor for the impressive PowerPoint!), I've been so impressed with everyone's enthusiasm and dedication. And those events were just in the last two weeks...Take a look at the club calendar on our website and you'll see that we're not slowing down at all over the next six weeks!

Even though we have so many service and social events locally, Rotary also provides us with opportunities to travel abroad and enrich our lives and the lives of others through service and fellowship. Dave Warren (frequent guest to our meetings, but member of the Janesville Club) has designed part of the Humanitarian Expedition trip to Nicaragua from December 4th - 9th, with a possible extension through December 13th. I also recently received information on service trips to Guatemala in partnership with the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) that will take place in February and July of 2020. The GLP is the largest grassroots, multi-club, multi-district effort in the Rotary world not directed by RI itself and, according to former RI President Ian Riseley, the "gold standard" of Rotary projects. Over 600 Rotary clubs from eight countries have participated in the GLP since its inception in 1996. GLP Textbook, Computer, Teacher Training, and Youth Development programs currently serve more than 50,000 impoverished children.

I've added more information about these trips to our club website (in the news section), but you can also ask Dave or me if you're interested in participating.

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, September 15^th – Club Meeting: Edwin Bos, District Governor

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Our guest speaker this evening will be Edwin Bos, the District Governor of 6250 for 2019-2020. This is a great time to bring guests! Edwin Bos has been a proud member of the Fort Atkinson Rotary club since 2003. He has served on the Board of Directors, as Youth Exchange Officer, as the chair of several club construction projects, as Club President in 2012-13, and as Assistant Governor from 2014-2017. Edwin is a graduate of Fort Atkinson High School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (BSc Civil Engineering) and the Rotterdam School of Management (MBA). After graduation, he spent 10 years working for a large Dutch construction company primarily in Amsterdam, Istanbul, and the Caribbean.

Saturday, September 21^st- Club Fundraiser: Bucky Beads

Next to the Madison South Rotary Club Brat Stand, 1437 Monroe St., Madison, 8:00 am - 11:45 am

Come over before the UW Badgers vs. Michigan football game and help raise money for our Youth Exchange Program. All proceeds from our bead necklace sales go towards funding our exchange students. Shifts are 8:00 am - 10:00 am and 10:00 am - 11:45 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, September 28^th - Service Event: Books for the World

Wright Street Warehouse, 1849 Wright St., Madison, 10:00 am - noon

Books for the World is a global literacy project, supervised by Rotarians, that puts used books from the Unites States that might otherwise be discarded into the hands of children in other countries where educational resources are in short supply. Join the Rotary Club of Madison-Breakfast as we sort and pack books at the Wright St. warehouse. We would like to know by September 20th if you will attend. Thanks!

Sunday, September 29^th - Social Event: 5th Sunday Brunch

Waypoint Public House, 320 W. Broadway E, Madison, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

It only happens a few times a year - time for 5th Sunday Brunch! This month we'll be meeting at Waypoint Public House in Monona. Bring your appetite (and a friend!) for updated American Classics and your Sunday morning beverage.

Saturday, October 5^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

News & Updates, August 30, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

Did you see the news last week? Nigeria, the last country in Africa to report cases of the wild poliovirus, has not reported a case in three years. The whole continent of Africa could be declared polio-free as soon as mid-2020. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, of which Rotary International is a partner, formed in 1988. That year, there were more than 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. So far in 2019, there have only been 66 cases worldwide, and only two countries (Pakistan and Afghanistan) remain polio-endemic. What a huge accomplishment! I hope you're as proud as I am to be a part of Rotary and all of the work that Rotary International does.

Reminder - there is no meeting this Sunday, but we are having a social at my house on Monday evening. If you haven't already done so, please let me know if you're able to attend (either via the facebook event or shoot me an email). See the link below to fill out the short questionnaire for Rotary Bingo, too. Family and guests are welcome!

See below for the Ironman Wisconsin volunteer sign-up link. The race is on Sunday, September 8th, but there are volunteer shifts available for Thursday, September 5th - Sunday, September 8th. We need 15 volunteers to earn our $500 grant. Personally, I'm hosting a pro at my house for the week, and I'll be volunteering at the registration desk on Thursday morning. My athlete arrives on Saturday, so you can meet him at the social!

We have a great line-up of Rotary-centric speakers through the end of 2019. My goal is to give everyone food-for-thought regarding our club identity and what our signature local and international projects could entail, then we can re-group in January and find our focus. I hope to see you at our Sunday meetings!

See you on Monday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, September 2^nd – President's Social

1826 Chadbourne Ave, Madison, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Join us for a low-key mix and mingle social (in lieu of our usual meeting) tonight. Fill out the following survey to join in Rotary Bingo (https://forms.gle/7WDP8RwtRbceFFk88). Guests are welcome to join us and play Rotary Bingo too!

Saturday, September 7^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Saturday, September 7^th - Club Fundraiser: Bucky Beads

Next to the Madison South Rotary Club Brat Stand, 1437 Monroe St., Madison, 11:30 am - 3:15 pm

Come over before the UW Badgers vs. Central Michigan football game and help raise money for our Youth Exchange Program. All proceeds from our bead necklace sales go towards funding our exchange students. Shifts are 11:30 am - 1:30 pm and 1:15 pm - 3:15 pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, September 8^th – Ironman Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, all day

Sign up for a volunteer shift to help us earn a $500 grant. There are many roles to fill, especially on the bike and run course. For example, hang out in the shade on the run course along the Lakeshore Path, get rare on-field access in Camp Randall Stadium directing runners, or help apply fresh sunscreen on the athletes. Plus, beer and raffle prizes at the volunteer dinner on September 9th. Sign up here http://www.ironman.com/hr-hr/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/wisconsin/volunteer.aspx#axzz5u3na0JkT and be sure to write in "Rotary" when asked what group you are with.

Sunday, September 15^th – Club Meeting: Edwin Bos, District Governor

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

News & Updates, August 16, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

As I've been updating the club calendar and news for this newsletter, I've been really impressed by the line-up of speakers and events coming up over the next few months. We have a great speaker this Sunday from Mentoring Positives, a local organization making a difference in the lives of at-risk youth. Then in September, we'll have a visit from Edwin Bos, our District Governor. October brings Will Harris, a former Rotary Peace Scholar and Executive Director of Working Capital for Community Needs, an organization that provides microfinance opportunities in Latin America. We'll also be hearing from Vheneka Magazi, an exchange student from Zimbabwe attending West High School. Events coming up include the President's Social over Labor Day weekend and Pints for Polio and the Rotary One Summit in October. And if volunteering is your passion, we have plenty of opportunities there too - Lussier and The River food pantries, Ironman Wisconsin, and Bucky Beads!

This fall is a great time to take advantage of all that our club has to offer! Keep your eyes open to people in your life that are potential members and invite them to join us. We have designated money in the budget for membership and we want to spend it - your guest's first event is on the house. Just ask any of the board members for details!

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, August 18^th – Club Meeting: Mentoring Positives

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Join us for our next meeting on Sunday, August 18th. Our guest speaker is from Mentoring Positives Inc., an innovative, referral-based mentoring program that works directly with kids and families throughout Dane County and its surrounding areas. Founded in 2004 by Will and Becky Green, Mentoring Positives offers a range of positive programs for elementary, middle, and high school-aged youth.

Tuesday, August 20^th – Service Event: The River Food Pantry

The River Food Pantry, 2201 Darwin Rd, Madison, 4:15 pm – 6:45 pm

Help the food pantry with a shopping session. A hot meal is provided for food pantry shoppers and volunteers. We have 6 volunteer spots reserved for members who have entered their names on the sign-up sheet. One more volunteer spot is available. Please let Brad know if you are interested (madisonrotaryah@gmail.com or 608-469-9555).

Sunday, September 1^st or 2^nd – President's Social

1826 Chadbourne Ave, Madison, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

**Date will be announced by August 18th. Please check the club calendar to confirm**

Saturday, September 7^th - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Sunday, September 8^th – Ironman Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, all day

Sunday, September 15^th – Club Meeting: Edwin Bos, District Governor

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

News & Updates, August 2, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

What a great start to the year! We have two new members to welcome into the Club: Humza Khan and Deb Herman. Humza is new to Rotary, and Deb is a transfer from Madison South. It's so exiting to see our club grow and thrive as we add members and the energy and ideas that they bring. We are halfway to qualifying for the $1,000 new member grant from the district, so let's keep up the energy and get it!

Our speaker this Sunday is Fibre Forward, a brand new (January 2019) Madison non-profit. As an arts education charity, Fibre Forward's mission is to foster access to fiber arts for all. They do this through providing fiber arts resources to the general public at no cost. Entirely donation-driven, this fiber arts community effort inspires new fiber artists and connects member of our worldwide fiber arts community with access to free resources, instruction, supplies, and more. I've been stitching and knitting since I was a little girl, so I'm really looking forward to hearing from these ladies about the work they are doing in our community.

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 3^rd - Paint-a-thon with the Madison Breakfast Rotary Club

409 Rosa Rd, Madison, 8:00 am until the work is done

During the last 30 years, thousands of volunteers have worked together to paint more than 530 houses of low-to-moderate income residents in Dane County. Paint-a-thon recipients are often area seniors, veterans, people with disabilities or health issues, and single-parent families who live in Dane County and own their homes. Please let Brenda Weiss (bkweiss61@gmail.com) know if you are interested in joining. https://www.projecthomewi.org/volunteerevents/paintathon.html

Saturday, August 3^rd - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Sunday, August 4^th – Club Meeting: Fibre Forward

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Join us this Sunday as Allison Markoski discusses the work that Fibre Forward does to make the fiber arts accessible to all! As an arts education charity, Fibre Forward provides fiber arts resources to the general public at no cost. Entirely donation-driven, this fiber arts community effort inspires new fiber artists and connects members of our worldwide fiber arts community with access to free resources, instruction, supplies, and more.

Sunday, September 1^st – President's Social

1826 Chadbourne Ave, Madison, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Join us for a low-key mix and mingle social (in lieu of our usual meeting) tonight. Keep an eye on your inbox for a link to fill out your Rotary Bingo sheet!

Sunday, September 8^th – Ironman Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, all day

Sign up for a volunteer shift to help us earn a $500 grant. There are many roles to fill, especially on the bike and run course. For example, hang out in the shade on the run course on the Lakeshore Path, get rare on-field access in Camp Randall Stadium directing runners, or help apply fresh sunscreen on the athletes. Plus, beer and raffle prizes at the volunteer dinner on September 9th. Sign up here http://www.ironman.com/hr-hr/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/wisconsin/volunteer.aspx#axzz5u3na0JkT and be sure to write in "Rotary" when asked what group you are with.

Ironman Wisconsin is Sunday, September 8

Up for grabs: a $500 Community Grant! Sign up to volunteer with the Madison After Hours Club.

Join in as we volunteer for Ironman Wisconsin. There are many roles to fill, especially on the bike and run course. For example, hang out in the shade on the run course on the Lakeshore Path, get rare on-field access in Camp Randall Stadium directing runners, or help apply fresh sunscreen on the athletes. Plus, beer and raffle prizes at the volunteer dinner on September 9. Sign up here http://www.ironman.com/hr-hr/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/wisconsin/volunteer.aspx#axzz5u3na0JkT and be sure to write in "Rotary" when you're asked what group you're with.

Pints for Polio

October 24th is World Polio Day and to celebrate, all Madison Great Dane Pubs will be donating $1 to Rotary’s Polio Plus Fund for every pint, crowler, growler and 6 pack sold that day. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All Rotary members are encouraged to share this event and also attend with families and friends. See you on the 24th!

Pints for Polio shirts can be ordered directly via Madison Top's website. The cost is $15. A portion of that will cover the cost of production and the remainder will go back to the clubs. The shirts, when ready, will be sorted by club and delivered for further distribution.

Welcome Humza!

Welcome Humza, our first new member of the 2019-2020 year!

"Hello my name is Humza Khan. I was born in New York, grew up in Michigan, and moved to Madison after spending last ten years in California. I work here in Madison at Raven Software as a Senior Concept Artist. When I'm not working I enjoy movies, television, hanging out with friends, weight training, meditation, and yoga. Thank you for inviting me to join your group and I look forward to seeing many of you around."

News & Updates, July 19, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer so far and taking advantage of these long days to enjoy doing things that are important to you, whether that's catching up with friends and family, taking in a beautiful sunset, reading a new book, or anything else that refreshes your spirit. I know that many of our members are very busy with new babies, new jobs, career advancements, and new homes - congratulations on these big achievements! Our club calendar has a little bit of breathing room for the next few weeks before things really ramp up in the fall with many opportunities to participate, including Bucky Beads during football season and Pints for Polio in October.

Our speakers this Sunday are from the group ImaBridge Africa and the Rotary Club of McHenry, Illinois. IBA's pursuit of a Global Grant, sponsored by the McHenry Club, is for the provision of clean water through the establishment of a water production facility. IBA's varied projects are in the areas of health, education, clean water, and micro finance in their communities. This should be an ideal meeting to bring a guest to, as they can get an idea of some of the more ambitious global projects that we, as Rotarians, make happen. (Plus, you'll be one step closer to winning the President's Challenge!)

See you on Sunday,

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, July 24^th - Club Social: Concerts on the Square

Across from BMO Harris Bank on the Capitol lawn, Madison, 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Feel like taking a visit to Abbey Road? Join us for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concert on the Square, featuring the music of The Beatles. We will have blankets set out on the Capitol lawn across from the BMO Harris Bank building.

Saturday, August 3^rd - Volunteer Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am - 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry!

Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, August 4^th – Club Meeting: Fibre Forward

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Join us this Sunday as Allison Markoski discusses the work that Fibre Forward does to make the fiber arts accessible to all!

As an arts education charity, Fibre Forward provides fiber arts resources to the general public at no cost. Entirely donation-driven, this fiber arts community effort inspires new fiber artists and connects members of our worldwide fiber arts community with access to free resources, instruction, supplies, and more.

Club Meeting- Fibre Forward

Join us on Sunday, August 4, as Allison Markoski discusses the work that Fibre Forward does to make the fiber arts accessible to all!

News & Updates, July 3, 2019

Hello fellow Rotarians,

Welcome to a new Rotary year! I'm excited to be taking the reins from Chelsea as I step into the role of President. Thank you for the confidence you've shown in me and for all the support I've received so far in preparing for the coming year. There are many things happening in Rotary, from the club and local Madison level, to district, to Rotary International, that we can take part in and truly make a difference in people's lives. I hope to continue to expand our own club's role in making a difference through the development of our signature project(s), scheduling speakers that resonate with our members, expanding our membership, and providing opportunities for our members to fulfill their passion for bettering the world.

Please join us this Sunday as we welcome Mandy Mommaerts from Ironman Wisconsin to tell us all about the volunteer-side of this huge event and what it takes to pull together, organize, and train over 3,000 volunteers each year. I've been volunteering for IM WI for over a decade as the Homestay Captain, connecting professional triathletes from all over the world with local host families, and I've made some truly wonderful friendships along the way. Learn how to sign up to volunteer with our club on Sunday, September 8th, and help us earn a $500 grant.

See you on Sunday!

Erin Luken
2019-2020 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, July 6^th – Service Event: Lussier Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 am – 1:00 pm

Sunday, July 7^th – Club Meeting: Ironman Wisconsin

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Join us this Sunday as Mandy Mommaerts, the Volunteer Director for IRONMAN Wisconsin, describes what it takes to manage an Ironman event. Our club is assembling a group of volunteers for the September 8th Ironman Triathlon, so this will be a great opportunity to learn more about how we can help!

Saturday, July 14^th – Service Event: UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve

Frautschi Point Lot in Eagle Heights, 3034 Lake Mendota Dr., Madison, 9:00 am – Noon

Join our work party at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve! We'll help to serve its mission of managing undeveloped Lake Mendota shore land to preserve its natural character and provide educational opportunities. We will remove invasive woody shrubs, collect seeds for later planting, put wood chips on trails, or cut brush from trails. Tools and gloves are provided.

Sunday, July 21^st – Club Meeting: ImaBridge Africa

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

ImaBridge Africa is a 501(c)3 charitable organization established in 2008, serving the poor and less privileged in Nigeria. Fr. Godwin Asuquo, our founding director was born and raised in Nigeria. "Ima" means love in his native Ibibio language...so we Build Bridges of Love from the United States to Africa. Our presentation will give a brief overview of our service projects over the past 10 years in the areas of Health, Education, Clean Water and Microfinance. We will also discuss our international service project for which we hope to apply for a Rotary Global Grant...Clean Water Production & Bottling Facility.

Wednesday, July 24^th – Social Event: Concerts on the Square

1 West Main St, Madison, 6:30 pm –8:30 pm

Global Grant: ImaBridge Africa

Concerts on the Square Social

Interested in a night of live music on the square? Join us at 6:30pm (or earlier if you'd like!) on Wednesday, July 24 for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concert on the Square, featuring the music of the Beatles. We will have blankets set out on the Capitol lawn across from the BMO Harris Bank building. Guests are encouraged to join!

The return of Jeans ‘n Classics is eagerly anticipated with a program celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic Abbey Road album by the Beatles. We look forward to seeing you there!

UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve

We will remove invasive woody shrubs, collect seeds for later planting, put wood chips on trails, or cut brush from trails. Tools and gloves are provided.

Rotary Night at the Mallards

Join us on June 22nd for Rotary International Night at the Ballpark to cheer on the Madison Mallards! We will get to watch some of the best baseball around, meet other Rotarians in our district, and imbibe in great drinks and food at the Duck Pond at Warner Park. We will have reserved seats in Section 202. There are two ticket options - $27 to include 90 minutes of all you can eat and drink or $12 to include a Mallards hat and souvenir cup. To purchase tickets, follow this link and enter promo code "Rotary".

News & Updates, June 14, 2019

Greetings,

I'm writing you all for the last time as our club President before the Rotary year ends on June 30. I have greatly enjoyed this year getting to represent our club and I feel so proud of how we've grown and what we've accomplished. With that said, I am immensely excited to welcome our next club President, Erin Luken. I have full confidence that her energy, passion, and leadership will drive our club to new levels of growth and community impact. Welcome, Erin - we are so lucky to have you as our leader!

This Sunday, please join us as we deep-dive into possible projects and long-term partnerships for our club. It has been a common point of feedback from our members that we would like to have a big, impactful project that becomes ingrained as part of our identity as a club. This is a chance for us to make that happen so let's get to work. There is an abundance of organizations and causes that we could get involved in so we will use this time to pinpoint where we would like to focus our time and energy.

See you on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, June 16^th – Club Meeting: Grant Planning Workshop

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Join us on Sunday as we discuss possible grant project initiatives for the upcoming year! Share your ideas regarding the types of projects that you would find most impactful and meaningful as we plan our future, ongoing fundraising initiatives!

Saturday, June 22^nd – Social Event: Rotary Night at the Ballpark

The Duck Pond at Warner Park, 2920 N Sherman Ave, Madison, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

We will get to watch some of the best baseball around, meet other Rotarians in our district, and imbibe in great drinks and food at the Duck Pond at Warner Park. We will have reserved seats in Section 202. There are two ticket options - $27 to include 90 minutes of all you can eat and drink or $12 to include a Mallards hat and souvenir cup. To purchase tickets, head to mallardstickets.com and enter promo code "Rotary".

Saturday, June 15^th – Service Event: Agrace Hospice Garden

Agrace, 5395 E Cheryl Pkwy, Fitchburg, 9:00am – 11:00am

Agrace provides non-profit end of life care for patients and families in their homes and at community residential facilities in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Join us as we help with spring garden work at the Fitchburg facility.

Saturday, June 29^th – Fundraiser: Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

On June 29th, "service above self" means hitting the ball overhand! Come support Rotary Youth Exchange at our "Serve the World" volleyball tournament by bringing a team, volunteering as a ref, or just cheering on your fellow guests and Rotarians. The Tournament will be from noon to 6pm. Registration is $60/Team.

Sunday, June 30^th – Fifth Sunday - Club Brunch Social & End of Rotary Year Celebration

Tangent, 803 E Washington Ave, Madison, 11:00am –12:00pm

Celebrate the end of the Rotary year by having brunch with your favorite Rotarians at Tangent!

Wednesday, July 24^th – Social Event: Concerts on the Square

1 West Main St, Madison, 6:30pm –8:30pm

News & Updates, May 29, 2019

Greetings,

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day!

We have an exciting list of events coming up as we round the corner into summer. In particular we are excited to hear from our exchange student Erick this Sunday as he recaps his year here in the U.S. We have loved having him here from Indonesia and will miss him upon his departure. Don’t miss this chance to support him this weekend and hear his unique insights from his experiences in Madison and beyond.

In addition, we have team spots still available for our annual Serve the World volleyball tournament on June 29^th and we are also looking to fill some volunteer referee shifts. Check out the info below and on our website and let us know if you’re interested in helping out. *You don’t need to be an experienced ref; we will teach you everything you need to know.

As a last reminder – you have a few days left (until June 1^st) to earn 3x matching recognition points for your donation if you sign up to make contributions through Rotary Direct to the Rotary Foundation annual fund share.

See you on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, June 1^st – Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you’d like to sign up for a shift.

Sunday, June 2nd– Club Meeting: Rotary Youth Exchange

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Come join us as our Rotary Youth Exchange student Erick reflects on his past year in the United States! Our club has been sponsoring Erick as an exchange student from Indonesia at Madison East High School during the 2018-2019 school year.

Friday, June 7 – Saturday, June 8: District Conference

The La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse

Information about the conference and the link to sign up is here: https://www.rotary6250.org/page/2019-district-conference

Saturday, June 15^th – Service Event: Agrace Hospice Garden

Agrace, 5395 E Cheryl Pkwy, Fitchburg, 9:00am – 11:00am

Saturday, June 22^nd – Social Event: Rotary Night at the Ballpark

The Duck Pond at Warner Park, 2920 N Sherman Ave, Madison, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Saturday, June 29^th – Fundraiser: Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Sunday, June 30^th – Fifth Sunday - Club Brunch Social & End of Rotary Year Celebration

TBD, Madison, 11:00am –12:00pm

Celebrate the end of the Rotary year by having brunch with your favorite Rotarians! Location TBD – let us know if you have suggestions.

Wednesday, July 24^th – Social Event: Concerts on the Square

1 West Main St, Madison, 6:30pm –8:30pm

News & Updates, May 17, 2019

Hi all,

The sign-up is now live for our annual Serve the World Volleyball Tournament benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! The tournament is being held on Saturday, June 29^that the Coliseum Bar. Additional information and the link to sign up can be found below. We are also looking for volunteer referees so if you’d like to help out please email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

This Sunday we have the distinct pleasure of hearing from our fellow club member Brenda Weiss about her experiences though the Rotary Friendship Exchange program in Latvia and Sweden! We are also working on a future exchange trip for our club so Brenda’s insights on the program and the experiences she had will be beneficial as we begin the early stages of planning for our exchange.

As a reminder, from now until June 1^st, members who sign up to make contributions through Rotary Direct to the Rotary Foundation annual fund will receive 3x matching recognition points to their donation. Recognition points are accumulated and when members reach 1000 they are awarded the esteemed Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Giving to the Foundation is a great way to help grow Rotary and the impact we can make worldwide.

Looking forward to seeing you all this weekend!

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, May 19^th– Club Meeting: Rotary Friendship Exchange

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Learn about Rotary's Friendship Exchange Program as our very own Brenda Weiss shares her experience with travelling to Rotary District 2410 in Latvia and Sweden last fall! Numerous exchanges with other international Rotary Districts are planned each year, including 2019 exchanges with India and Australia and Holland. To view additional upcoming Rotary Exchange opportunities, visit our District's Friendship Exchange announcement page.

Saturday, June 1^st– Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, June 2^nd– Club Meeting: Rotary Youth Exchange

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Friday, June 7^th– Saturday, June 8^th– District Conference

The La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse, WI 54601

Information about the conference and the link to sign up can be found here: https://www.rotary6250.org/page/2019-district-conference

Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

"Serve the World" Volleyball Tournament

Saturday, June 29th, 2019, noon-6pm

View Event Details and Register

News & Updates, May 1, 2019

Greetings,

First, I want to say wow - we had such a great turnout for the two events we put on for YP Week. The Sustainable Suds brewery circuit sold out (again) and the Madison Mixtape event was a huge hit. Good beer, great music, and excellent connections. Our biggest thanks goes to those who helped coordinate the events, and a special shout-out to our club members John Locke and Casey Collins who worked very hard to make the events a success.

In other news, at our last club speaker meeting we rolled out a new Recognition Points program. From now through June 1^st, members who sign up to make contributions through Rotary Direct to the Rotary Foundation annual fund will receive a 3x matching recognition points to their donation. Recognition points are accumulated and when members reach 1000 they are awarded the esteemed Paul Harris Fellow recognition.

This is a special incentive for us to increase our contributions or even to begin contributing to the fund automatically for the first time. We often see the great work that Rotary does around the world and right here in Madison through projects put on by our own and neighboring clubs. Contributing to the Rotary Foundation is one piece of how we can sustain that impact.

See you on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, May 4^th – Service Event: Books for the World

Books for the World, 1849 Wright St, Madison, 10:00am-12:00pm

Books for the World is a global literacy project, supervised by Rotarians, that puts used books from the United States that might otherwise be discarded into the hands of children in other countries where educational resources are in short supply. Join us as we sort and pack books at the Wright St. warehouse!

Saturday, May 4^th - Social Event: Forward Madison FC Game

Breese Stevens Field, 917 E Mifflin St, Madison, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Forward Madison FC is Madison's 1^st professional soccer team in their inaugural season. We'll be cheering them on in their second home match vs. Toronto FC II at the historic Breese Stevens Field. For those who have signed up for tickets, feel free to meet us at The Brass Ring around 5:30 p.m. for a drink prior to the game.

Sunday, May 5^th– Club Meeting: Self-Improvement through Journaling

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

You are where you are today with your Health, Career, Finances, Relationships, Spiritual life, etc, because of your identity with yourself. Join us as Steve Aune discusses how to use journaling to get better in all of these areas!

Sunday, May 19^th– Club Meeting: Rotary Friendship Exchange

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday, June 1^st – Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Madison Mixtape

Great times had by all during the #ypweek Madison Mixtape! Great partnership between @connect_madison and @madisonrotaryafterhours! Thanks to @reconsideratemusic, @eur.band, @litlguillotine, @hitterzcollective, and A.N.T da Hope Boy

Check out more photos at the link to the right.

Sustainable Suds: a Smashing Success!

We had such a great time at the #YPWeek Sustainable Suds 3.0! Huge thank you to YPWeek Madison, Swana, Zendesk, The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company, Bos Meadery, Giant Jones Brewing Company, and Working Draft Beer Company!

Introducing: The Post at Park Hotel

After much consideration and great feedback from our club survey, we have decided to hold our meetings going forward at Park Hotel on the square (22 S Carroll St, Madison)! We can gather prior to each meeting at The Post between 6:30pm and 7pm so that members and guests may order food and drinks. We will then head down to our room on the lower level for each meeting to begin at 7pm.

This is an exciting move for us. The venue is elegant, the food is delicious, and the pours are generous. We're looking forward to this new chapter for our club!

Photo credits: Park Hotel, https://parkhotelmadison.com/dining

Madison Mixtape

Come out and celebrate Madison's local Hip Hop culture. We will have an evening of hip hop artists, hip hop dance, poetry slam, and more! Music will start at 7:00pm in the Courtyard, with other performances in the courtyard and Black Locust Cafe throughout the evening.

Performer Line Up:

eur band
A.N.T Da Hope Boy
Reconsiderate
The Hitterz Collective
Lil Guillotine
Trey
More to come!

What’s really cool is you can submit your poetry to eur band in advance of the show and they will turn your poetry into a song! Go to Eur.Band and click on to submit your poem.

Hosted by a collaboration of The Rotary Cub of Madison After Hours and Connect Madison.

SUSTAINABLE SUDS BREWERY CIRCUIT 3.0

You asked for it...Sustainable Suds Brewery Circuit is back for another tour!!!

This event will be the kickoff of YPWeek in Madison on April 20th at 1:00pm. It's time once again to embark on a journey full of suds and sophistication as we travel to and taste more of the multiple Madison breweries participating in sustainable practices with your hosts, Rotary Club of Madison After Hours & SWANA.

Brewery/Distillery Line Up:

The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company
Bos Meadery
Giant Jones Brewery
Working Draft

Thank you to our major sponsor Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company!!

****Event is sold out****

News & Updates, April 17, 2019

Hi all!

We have an exciting few weeks ahead of us with multiple YP Week events, our Forward Madison FC game social, and service events at Second Harvest, Books for the World, and the Lussier Center food pantry. I want to thank our members who have been hard at work planning these great events for our club.

One event in particular I’d like to highlight is the Madison Mixtape event – hosted by our club in collaboration with Connect Madison. This is an event dedicated to celebrating Madison’s local hip hop culture. There will be multiple hip hop artists, dancers, and slam poets! If that alone wasn’t enough to sell you, the event is FREE and is being hosted at the super cool Robinia Courtyard. This will be a great time to socialize, listen to fun music, and introduce our club to many new people that may not have heard about our club yet.

Also, this is the last call for tickets to our Forward Madison FC game social on Saturday, May 4^th. Please let us know by this Saturday if you plan to join us. Tickets are $25.

Check out the entire YP Week schedule here and sign up for events before spots fill up!

Have a great Wednesday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, April 20^th - YP Week Event: Sustainable Suds Brewery Circuit 3.0

Great Dane Pub & Brewing, 123 E Doty St, Madison, 1:00pm-5:00pm

This event is sold out but feel free to join us at Great Dane for a drink (or a few) when the tour returns at 5:00pm.

Tuesday, April 23^rd – Service Event: Second Harvest Foodbank

Second Harvest Foodbank, 2802 Dairy Dr, Madison, 4:00pm-7:00pm

Second Harvest is southwestern Wisconsin's largest hunger-relief charity. We will help sort, package, and label bulk-purchased food. Sign up by emailing us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Friday, April 26^th - YP Week Event: Madison Mixtape

Robinia Courtyard, 829 E Washington Ave, Madison, 7:00pm-9:00pm

Come out and celebrate Madison's local Hip Hop culture at the Robinia Courtyard on April 26. We will have an evening of hip hop artists, spoken word, hip hop dance, poetry slam, and more!

Saturday, May 4^th – Service Event: Books for the World

Books for the World, 1849 Wright St, Madison, 10:00am-12:00pm

Saturday, May 4^th - Social Event: Forward Madison FC Game

Breese Stevens Field, 917 E Mifflin St, Madison, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Forward Madison FC is Madison's 1^st professional soccer team in their inaugural season. We'll be cheering them on in their second home match vs. Toronto FC II at the historic Breese Stevens Field. Email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you'd like to RSVP by this Saturday. Tickets are $25.

Sunday, May 5^th– Club Meeting: Self-Improvement through Journaling

The Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Food & Beer Pairing Event with Madison Breakfast Rotary Club

Join the Madison Breakfast Rotary Club for their 9th Annual Food and Beer Pairing event to benefit Youth and Literacy projects. The event will be at the popular Craftsman Table & Top in Middleton! Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the event and they can be purchased at www.madisonbreakfastrotary.org.

News & Updates, April 3, 2019

Hello everyone,

As I'm sure you've heard by now, Brocach Irish Pub will be closing its doors this Sunday. I know many of us really enjoyed the space we had there along with the great service, food, and drinks that came along with it. As we bid them farewell it's time for us once again to envision what we'd like our club to look like. This is an exciting time as we get to continue to define the atmosphere at our meetings. While the space we're in plays a big part in this, it's not everything. What really defines the character of our club meetings is us and how we interact with one another and our guests. Every meeting I get such positive energy when I see and experience the connections that are being made and the relationships that continue to grow amongst us all. So, thank you to everyone for continuing to make our meetings a welcoming place, no matter where we are.

That being said, we have an exciting new meeting spot for this Sunday: the stunning Park Hotel on the Capitol Square (22 S Carroll St). When you enter from Carroll St, head to the left where we will gather prior to the meeting at The Post. We will have full bar and food service from 6:30 - 7:00pm at which time we can head one floor down to our room at the bottom of the steps. If you'd like to order food, please place your orders at the bar by 6:40pm so that the food is ready for you to bring downstairs when we head down by 7:00 for the meeting.

In addition to the superb location for this Sunday's meeting, we have the pleasure of welcoming Carole Trone to our club to speak about The Fair Opportunity Project, which aims to help students by improving access to college. Carole is a fellow Rotarian from the downtown club and is a passionate and engaging speaker so please do invite new guests to enjoy this meeting with us!

As another reminder, YP Week is quickly approaching and will run from April 19 – April 27. This is a week-long platform for individuals to engage in our community through discovery, adventure, and meaningful conversations. Check out the entire YP Week schedule here and sign up for events if you haven't already. Events are filling up fast!

See you on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, April 6^th – Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, April 7^th– Club Meeting: Fair Opportunity Project

The Post at Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Carole Trone will be sharing the work that The Fair Opportunity Project does to empower students with access to affordable college! Their initiatives include creating some of the highest-quality college application and financial aid guides and resource tools available, which they send to every public high school in America--for free!

Saturday, April 20^th - YP Week Event: Sustainable Suds Brewery Circuit 3.0

Detailed information below.

Tuesday, April 23^rd – Service Event: Second Harvest Foodbank

Second Harvest Foodbank, 2802 Dairy Dr, Madison, 4:00pm-7:00pm

Second Harvest is southwestern Wisconsin's largest hunger-relief charity. We will help sort, package, and label bulk-purchased food.

Friday, April 26^th - YP Week Event: Madison Mixtape

Detailed information below.

Saturday, May 4^th - Social Event: Forward Madison FC Game

Detailed information below.

Sunday, May 5^th– Club Meeting: Self-Improvement through Journaling

TBD, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

5th Sunday Brunch at Great Dane

We had an awesome time at the second installment of our 5th Sunday club brunch series. We hope you can join us for the next one. Stay tuned for details to come.

Bowling Against Hunger

Get a team together to bowl against hunger on Saturday, March 23 at Ten Pin Alley!

Proceeds from this event will benefit Badger Prairie Needs Network and their efforts to fight poverty and end hunger locally.

Individuals can register for $30 and teams of four can register for $120. Payment can be made prior to the event online though Eventbrite or with cash/check at the event. Registration fee includes your bowling, shoe rental, pizza, and soft drinks. There will also be an assortment of raffle prizes.

Cash Raffle - Rotary Club of Sun Prairie

Got Plans for St. Patrick’s Day? Visit the Rotary Club of Sun Prairie at The Nitty Gritty – Sun Prairie in the bar area between 11 am – 7:00 pm on Sunday! They are selling raffle tickets for a chance to win $2,000! All funds raised will go to The Sun Prairie Rotary Foundation to support local projects.

Tickets will be available for sale on-site OR you can buy tickets online:

Buy Tickets Online: CLICK HERE

They will send you a copy of your ticket(s) via email. No Need to be Present to WIN!

News & Updates, February 27, 2019

Greetings,

The people have spoken – the third and fourth quarter donations that we raise through our happy & sad dollar updates at each meeting will be going to… the Kanifing, Gambia Library Project! If you didn’t have the chance to attend our last meeting, Kaba & Jerreh, who are working on the project, shared their impactful plan to build a library in the underserved district of Kanifing. I am excited about the future partnerships that we can build with Madison’s sister city Kanifing, and I hope you consider joining us at an upcoming meeting to take part as well.

We have an abundance of exciting events coming up that I’ve outlined below. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the planning! If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to get involved, consider this your invitation. We’d love to have more Rotarians and guests alike involved in our projects.

See you this weekend,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, March 2^nd – Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you would like to help out.

Sunday, March 3^rd– Club Meeting: Dane Arts Mural Arts

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Dane Arts Mural Arts (DAMA) is a public art program that trains local artists to become community artists who use mural-making to beautify neighborhoods and make a difference in the lives of youth. Join us as Emida Roller describes the work they do to empower artists and neighborhoods and the over 25 murals that they have created in our community so far!

Sunday, March 17^th – Club Meeting: Guatemala Vocational Training Program

The Rigby, 119 E Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Nancy Comello will be sharing an upcoming Madison West Towne-Middleton grant project opportunity. Their Rotary Global Grant will sponsor a Vocational Training Team of health professionals who will travel to Guatemala for one or two 2-week training trips in 2019 to train birth attendants/indigenous midwives in management of postpartum hemorrhage and newborn resuscitation in underserved areas of Guatemala! They are seeking additional partners, including any health professionals that we know or Rotarians in our club who may be interested in joining or supporting this project.

Sunday, March 31^st – 5^th Sunday Club Brunch

Location TBD, Madison, 10:00am-11:00am

Join us for the second installment of our 5^th Sunday club brunch series. We are interested in hearing your ideas for which restaurants you’d like to try so bring your thoughts to our meeting on Sunday and stay tuned after that for the final pick!

Sunday, April 7^th – Club Meeting: Fair Opportunity Project

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Additional Events to check out below:

Saturday, April 20^th: Sustainable Suds Brewery Circuit 3.0
Saturday, April 20^th: YP Week Event: Madison Mixtape
Saturday, May 4^th: Social Event: Forward Madison FC Game

News & Updates, February 13, 2019

Greetings,

Hopefully everyone has recovered by now from the post-skiing/snowboarding sore muscles. It was a fun night on the slopes and in the lodge – thanks to everyone who helped make it such a blast. Check out some photos from the night below.

At our meeting this weekend we will be hearing from the Madison-Kanifing Sister City Committee. If you’re curious more about the international aspect of Rotary then this is the night for you. Join us at 7pm at Brocach on the Square!

We also have some extra time left to get a headcount for those that would like to attend the Forward Madison FC soccer game May 4^th. Let us know ASAP if you’d like to go and we will reserve you a spot. The more the merrier so feel free to invite others as well!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, February 17^th – Club Meeting: Sister City in Kanifing, Gambia

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Did you know that Madison has a sister city in Kanifing, Gambia? Come join us as Kaba Bah, Jerreh Kujabi, and Samba Baldeh discuss Kanifing's ongoing partnerships with the Madison-Kanifing Sister City Committee and how we can get involved!

Saturday, March 2^nd – Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Sign up for a shift here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you would like to help out.

Sunday, March 3^rd– Club Meeting: Dane Arts Mural Arts

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Good evening from Goodman

It may have been a snow day but the food pantry at Goodman Community Center didn’t take the day off. This evening we helped clean the pantry after the shopping hours earlier in the day.

Cascade Mountain Extravaganza

We had a great time on the slopes at the Cascade Mountain Extravaganza!

Check out more photos here.

Gooollll!!!!

Hungry for some soccer? Forward Madison FC is Madison's first professional soccer team in their inaugural season in USL League One. We'll be cheering them on in their second home match on May 4th vs. Toronto FC II at the historic Breese Stevens Field.

Email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you'd like to RSVP by this Saturday. Tickets are $25.

Cascade Mountain Extravaganza

The long awaited Cascade Mountain Extravaganza will happen once again in 2019 on February 2nd!!

The slopes will be open to us from 5-10. Lift tickets are $23 and rentals are $18. Information on transportation and timing is detailed out on the Facebook event.

If you would like to join in on this Cascade Mountain extravaganza, please RSVP yes to the Facebook event and send John Locke a message directly so that he can add you to the RSVP list.

Image may contain: 17 people, including John Marszal, John Locke, Matthew Dempsey, Chelsea Sheedy and Justin Burnett, people smiling, people standing

News & Updates, January 30, 2019

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all staying warm during this Polar Vortex. The good news is that it’s going to leave in time for our annual ski trip this weekend at Cascade Mountain! It’s forecast to be a balmy 34 degrees by the time we hit the slopes. RSVP today if you haven’t already (more information and links below).

As a reminder we won’t have a meeting this Sunday, February 3^rdon account of the Super Bowl. Go Packers (they’re in it right?)…

We have a lot of great events coming up in addition to our planning for YP (Young Professionals) Week. Stay up-to-date by subscribing to our club calendar and by following us on Facebook.

Keep warm!

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, February 2^nd – Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! This particular shift is full but sign up for future shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you would like to help out.

Saturday, February 2nd – Social Event: Cascade Mountain Extravaganza Ski Trip

Cascade Mountain, W10441 Cascade Mountain Rd, Portage, 4:00 – 10:00pm

Contact John Locke to sign up TODAY! Check out the Facebook event for more information.

Tuesday, February 12^th – Volunteer Event: Goodman Community Center

Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St, Madison, 4:00 – 6:30pm

Help clean the Fritz Food Pantry at the Goodman Community Center, and get a free tour of the facility! Email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer with us.

Sunday, February 17^th – Club Meeting: Sister City in Kanifing, Gambia

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Sunday, March 3^rd– Club Meeting: Dane Arts Mural Arts

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Welcome Casey!

Say hello to our newest member, Casey!

Casey earned his degree in Finance, Investments & Banking from UW Business School and runs his own independent financial planning practice under Waddell & Reed in Madison. He previously worked as an analyst/lender in commercial banking for Associated Bank, Product Management for CUNA Mutual group and a couple of start-ups. He's very passionate about helping folks develop financial plans, and currently serves as a financial coach for Habitat for Humanity and helps a willing particpant family in Dane County. Casey has been a long-time Panelist Judge for the Wisconson Technology Council's Governor's Business Plan Contest, which helps start-up companies create good paying technology jobs in Wisconsin. He has rightfully earned the reputation as the "Morty Seinfeld" of his condo community for his leadership on the condo board.

Outside of work, Casey has many hobbies and is a guitarist and co-writer for Drive to the Ocean, an all original pop rock group, and an engineer/bassist in Eur.Band, a local Madison "crowd sourced" poetry slam group that will soon be coming to a local establishment near you. Casey regularly practices hot yoga, and also very much enjoys travel, and learning new international cooking styles. More recently, he's been enamored with home-brewing komboucha.

News & Updates, January 16, 2019

Hello everyone!

At our meeting this Sunday we have the privilege of hearing from our Rotary Youth Exchange student, Erick, about life in Indonesia and his experiences thus far in Madison. As a club we spend a great amount of energy supporting Rotary Youth Exchange, so I’m excited for this meeting as an opportunity for us to further understand how our work impacts the students that we support through the program.

I am also excited to introduce a new member to our club – Casey Collins. Check out his bio below and join us this Sunday to officially welcome him to our club!

In addition to our upcoming events listed below, we have begun planning our YP Week events. Let us know what ideas you have and how you’d like to be involved.

Keep up the great work everyone – we are off to an excellent start to 2019!

Have a great Wednesday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, January 20th – Club Meeting: Rotary Youth Exchange Student Erick

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

We have the exceptional honor of hearing from our very own Rotary Youth Exchange student Erick. Our club is sponsoring Erick as an exchange student at Madison East High School during the 2018-2019 school year. He'll tell us about his life in Indonesia and share some of the experiences he's had thus far during his time as an exchange student in Madison.

Thursday, January 24^th – Social Event: Dinner & Game Night

Great Dane Fitchburg, 2980 Cahill Main, Fitchburg, 7:00-8:30pm

Dinner, drinks, and fun at Great Dane in Fitchburg. We will have a reservation but please RSVP and let us know if you will be bringing guests so we can ensure that we have accounted for enough spots.

Saturday, February 2^nd – Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you would like to help out.

Saturday, February 2nd – Social Event: Cascade Mountain Extravaganza Ski Trip

Cascade Mountain, W10441 Cascade Mountain Rd, Portage, 4:00 – 10:00pm

See more information below.

Sunday, February 17th – Club Meeting: Sister City in Kanifing, Gambia

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Helping at Habitat

Worked hard on Saturday morning at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore 💪📦

Check out more pictures at the link below. --->

Upcoming Service Event: Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Join us on January 12 as we help Habitat for Humanity in their ReStore East. Tasks may include stocking and organizing tile, consolidating and sorting doors, measuring and labeling carpet, moving/rearranging cabinet sets, cleaning, and prepping items for the sales floor.

Let us know at our upcoming club meeting or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you'd like to help out!

Jan 12, 2019 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM

HFH ReStore
4207 Monona Drive
Monona, WI
United States of America

News & Updates, January 2, 2019

Happy New Year everyone,

2018 was a year to celebrate and I have a feeling that 2019 is going to even better. We have some great events in the works for our club and with hard work and some Rotary pride we should have no problem finding success again this year. I look forward to continuously improving and growing both personally and together as a club with you throughout the year.

In addition to out upcoming events listed below, we will also be kicking off the planning for our YP Week events and our flag football tournament. Let us know how you'd like to be involved - the better we work together, the greater impact we can make.

See you all on Sunday,

Chelsea Sheedy
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, January 5th – Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you would like to help out.

Sunday, January 6th – Club Meeting: Big Brothers Big Sisters

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Since 1966, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in our Dane County community. They develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. Join us for the meeting to hear more!

Saturday, January 12th – Service Event: Habitat for Humanity ReStore

HFH ReStore, 4207 Monona Dr, Monona, 10:00am - 12:30pm

We will help Habitat for Humanity in the ReStore East. Tasks may inlcude stocking and organizing tile, consolidating and sorting doors, measuring and labeling carpet, moving/rearranging cabinet sets, cleaning, and prepping items for the sales floor.

Sunday, January 20th – Club Meeting: Rotary Youth Exchange Student Erick

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

'Tis the season

‘Tis the season for candy cane cocktails, mulled wine, holiday sweaters, and friends both old and new. Our holiday party was a total blast. 🎄🍷

Our biggest thanks to Justin, Carrie, and Danielle for hosting!

Image may contain: 16 people, people smiling, people standing and indoor

More pictures available at the link below.

Did someone say party?

Party time!

When: Saturday, December 15 from 6:00-9:00pm
Where: the home of Justin Burnett (address provided on our Facebook event)
What: mulled wine, holiday sweaters, festive cocktails, and your favorite Rotarians
Why: to celebrate the holidays together

News & Updates, November 28, 2018

Greetings,

Yesterday was #GivingTuesday – a movement to support charitable giving at the beginning of the busy holiday season. If you had a chance to give to an organization you are passionate about yesterday, I thank you. There are so many important causes that can always use additional support. For those that didn’t have a chance to give yesterday, don’t fret! Through our work as Rotarians, we put ourselves in a position year-round to support the causes that are important to us – both through our volunteer efforts and financial support.

If you have a cause you care about and would like to get involved further, let us know. We are always looking to grow the impact that we can make together.

As we enter the season of giving, also consider giving to our very own Rotary Foundation, which supports our efforts to achieve world peace and to advance various humanitarian efforts. Your donation will make a difference. Check out the link above to learn more.

This Sunday we welcome Julie, a volunteer with the American Red Cross, to our meeting. Most of us have likely been exposed to the Red Cross and the impact they make at some point in our life. Join us to gain a deeper understanding of how they operate and how we can support the great work that they do!

Stay festive and see you Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, December 1st– Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! If you would like to sign up for this or future shifts, email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com or sign up through the link on our website.

Sunday, December 2^nd – Club Meeting: American Red Cross

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization in the U.S. that provides disaster relief and preparedness education. They run blood drives across the country and work to collect more than 13,000 blood donations each day to meet the need for patients at about 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers. Incredibly they do all of this with a workforce comprised of about 90% volunteers. Join us at our meeting to learn more!

Saturday, December 15^th – Social Event: Holiday Celebration

The home of Justin Burnett, Madison, 6:00pm-9:00pm

Get into the holiday spirit with a joyful evening featuring mulled wine, holiday sweaters, and festive cocktails. Guests are welcome! RSVP with Justin or on our Facebook event if you plan to attend.

Sunday, January 6^th – Club Meeting: Big Brothers Big Sisters

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Trivia Night

Quiz it up Thursday, Nov. 15 starting at 7:00 p.m at World of Beer (8225 Greenway Blvd Ste 140, Middleton). Come to help us crack some trivia and watch the Packers take down the Seahawks. Great prizes to be won!

News & Updates, November 14, 2018

Hello everyone,

For those who couldn’t make it to our meeting last week, we took some time to celebrate our remarkable accomplishments from our annual Bucky Beads sale. We weathered the heat, rain, and cold before the home Badger football games this season to sell beads and ponchos to raise funds in support of our current and future Rotary Youth Exchange students. Through the 6 games we worked this year, we raised $2,370!!! That’s incredible. Thank you to everyone who participated and especially to an exceptional leader in our club, Adam Gallagher, for all of his hard work in making this a successful fundraiser.

As the holidays approach we have some fantastic events to look forward to, including our trivia night, Lussier Community Center food pantry shift, and holiday celebration social. More information on all of those events can be found below and on our website.

This Sunday we welcome GiGi’s Playhouse to our club meeting. I had the opportunity to attend their annual gala fundraiser a few weeks ago and it didn’t take long for me to understand the tremendous impact they make on kids and adults in our community with Down syndrome. I can’t wait for us to hear more and to hopefully join them for future events to help make a positive impact for those families.

See you on Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 15th– Social Event: Trivia Night

World of Beer, 8225 Greenway Blvd Ste 140, Middleton, 6:45pm-8:45pm

Trivia starts at 7:00 p.m. There are plenty of TVs at World of Beer for all of you Packer fans planning to also watch the Packers take down the Seahawks!

Sunday, November 18th– Club Meeting: GiGi’s Playhouse

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Join us as we hear from Zane Torgrude, Board Member of GiGi's Playhouse Madison. GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center’s mission is to change the way the world views Down syndrome through national campaigns, educational programs, and by empowering individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community. They offer free therapeutic and educational programming to individuals with Down syndrome and their families.

Saturday, December 1st– Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! This particular shift is full but if you would like to sign up for future shifts, email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, December 2^nd – Club Meeting: American Red Cross

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday, December 15^th – Social Event: Holiday Celebration

The home of Justin Burnett, 6:00pm-9:00pm

Get into the holiday spirit with a joyful evening featuring mulled wine, holiday sweaters, and festive cocktails. Guests are welcome! Stay tuned for more information and address details to come.

Successful Bucky Beads

We had a great time this football season selling beads and ponchos to raise funds in support of our current and future Rotary Youth Exchange students!

News & Updates, October 31, 2018

Boo! and Happy Halloween!

We are so fortunate to be welcoming speakers from the Goodman Community Center this Sunday, November 4^th to share more about their growth and future vision in Madison. I hope that this video can inspire you to join us at the meeting to learn more about how we can help, so together we can continue to strengthen our community.

There are also still spots available this Saturday, November 3^rdfor both the Lussier Community Food Pantry and Bucky Beads shifts to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange. You know the drill – email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com or sign up via the links on our website if you’d like to participate!

Check out additional events we have upcoming (including a trivia night social!) below.

Have a fun night (and don’t eat all the candy),

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 4^th– Club Meeting: Goodman Community Center

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Goodman Community Center’s vision is a community that’s thriving because everyone is valued and has the resources they need to be successful. They have a dedicated group of volunteers that work to promote their vision by hosting events and programs such as Hunger Heroes, International Women's Day, and backpack & school supply drives. Join us in welcoming Goodman Community Center to our club to hear more about their great work in Madison!

Thursday, November 15^th– Social Event: Trivia Night

World of Beer, 8225 Greenway Blvd Ste 140, Middleton, 6:45pm-8:45pm

Quiz it up starting at 7:00 p.m. Come to help us crack some trivia and watch the Packers take down the Seahawks. Great prizes to be won!

Sunday, November 18^th– Club Meeting: GiGi’s Playhouse

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday, December 1^st– Volunteer Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45 – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer for a shift.

News & Updates, October 17, 2018

Greetings,

Madison is abuzz this time of year – football games on the weekends, playoff baseball (Go Brew Crew!), and the crisp smell of fall in the air. It is also a busy time for our club! I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who has continued to show dedication towards our monthly service shifts at the Lussier Food Pantry, our Bucky Beads fundraising shifts to raise money for our Rotary Youth Exchange students, and our strong attendance at club meetings.

Tonight we will be participating in the One Rotary Summit. For those that can make it, more information is below and I’m looking forward to seeing you there. For those that can’t, we will surely have takeaways and new ideas to bring back and share with you all at our upcoming meetings and events.

Our next official club meeting is on Sunday, November 4^th. We will be welcoming speakers from the Goodman Community Center to share more about their vision for our community. This will be a great meeting for new guests to come and hear from some inspiring leaders and to experience the atmosphere at our club meetings firsthand.

Have a great week!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, October 17^th – One Rotary Summit

Warner Park Center, 1625 Northport Dr, Madison, 5:30pm-8:00pm

We will be attending the One Rotary Summit in lieu of our Oct. 21 meeting. Through the summit you'll be inspired to build membership, enhance public image, and do humanitarian service through the Rotary Foundation. You'll explore the question "Why Rotary?" and further understand the value of being a Rotarian. Check-in starts at 5:30 pm and the program begins at 6:00 pm. Register for free online at www.rotary6250.org. Space is limited to the first 65 to register so sign-up early!

Saturday, October 20^th – Bucky Beads for Rotary Youth Exchange

Monroe Street across from Camp Randall, Madison, 8:00 am–11:45 am

It’s UW Homecoming week! We are selling Bucky Beads and ponchos (if it rains) before the Wisconsin vs. Illinois football game to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange. Sign up for one of the shifts through this link (also posted on our website) or by contacting Adam Gallagher.

Tuesday, October 30^th – Service Event: The River Food Pantry

River Food Pantry, 2201 Darwin Rd, Madison, 4:30 pm – 6:45 pm

Volunteer with us at the River Food Pantry! We will be serving a hot meal for food pantry shoppers and volunteers. Let us know if you’d like to help by emailing us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, November 4^th – Club Meeting: Goodman Community Center

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

News & Updates, October 3, 2018

Good morning,

What an exciting September we had! We filled it with ecological restoration, wine tasting, Bucky beads sales, brunch, and food pantry volunteering. People often say that they can’t believe how many events and projects we do. I, too, am wowed constantly by the power of our small but growing club. Keep up the great work everyone!

As for what’s upcoming:

There are a few open Bucky bead shifts for the Badger game at 6:30pm on Saturday
- All funds raised go to Rotary Youth Exchange. Sign up here.
On Sunday we will be welcoming Kelly from Fetch Wisconsin Rescue to our club meeting. If you like dogs, this meeting is for you! Additional information below.

We’ve also kicked off the initial stage of planning for our holiday party in early December. Let us know if you have ideas that you’d like to incorporate and if you would like to join in the planning.

Have a great weekend and we’ll see you on Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 6^th – Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am – 1:00pm

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! One additional volunteer is needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Sign up for shifts here or email us at madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, October 7^th – Club Meeting: Fetch Wisconsin Rescue

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Fetch Wisconsin’s mission is to rehome and rehabilitate at-risk dogs. It started in 2013 with 4 volunteers and has now grown to a volunteer base of 800! Volunteers foster and transport dogs, coordinate fundraising events, and support the vision of Fetch to create a society in which every dog is valued and provided proper care and compassion. In their first year, they reached 100 adoptions and they are on track to hit 1,500 adoptions this summer! Join us to hear about the great work this organization is doing in our community.

Wednesday, October 17^th – Club Meeting: One Rotary Summit

Warner Park Center, 1625 Northport Dr, Madison, 5:30pm-8:00pm

Ecological Restoration Work Party

We are fortunate to have such beautiful natural spaces in Madison and we are happy to have the opportunity to help preserve them. Photos from the Ecological Restoration Work Party at the UW Arboretum. Our focus was on removing invasive plants. 🌳🌾

Wine Tasting at Cambridge Winery

What a fantastic wine tasting we had at Cambridge Winery!

Frank, a founder of the winery, passed along his expert knowledge and passion for each of the wines we tasted. Both the wine and food are delicious!

Brunch!

We had a great time at brunch on Sunday. Thanks to everyone that joined us and thanks to Madison's for serving delicious food and bottomless mimosas!

5th Sunday - Club Brunch Social

Join us for brunch at Madison's downtown (119 King St, Madison, WI 53703) at 10am. They serve delicious food and bottomless mimosas...need we say more?

Upcoming Service Event: Ecological Restoration Work Party

Join us Saturday, September 22 for an Ecological Restoration Work Party! Participate in UW Arboretum restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Training and tools are provided.

Meet at the UW Arboretum Visitor Center (1207 Seminole Hwy, Madison, WI 53711) at 9:00am.

News & Updates, September 12th, 2018

Greetings,

Well summer has left us but we have had three (I repeat, 3!) new members join us this past month. Our sincerest welcome to Erin, Mary, and Mark! See their bios below and be sure to congratulate them the next time you see them.

This Sunday we welcome Gigi’s Playhouse to our club meeting to share more about the work they do to empower individuals with Down Syndrome. We will also be officially welcoming our new members with their Rotary pins and welcome kits.

We have a lot of other exciting events coming up as well, including a wine tasting social, ecological restoration work party, club brunch social, and more! See below and the club website (www.madisonrotaryah.org) for additional information on all of these events.

Additional reminders:

Reserve your Fall Bucky bead shifts to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange here
- Spots are still open for the Badger game this Saturday!
Sign up here to volunteer at the Lussier Community Center Food Pantry

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, September 16 – Club Meeting: Gigi’s Playhouse

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Friday, September 21 – Social Event: Wine Tasting

Cambridge Winery (Madison Tasting Room), 1001 S Whitney Way, Madison, 6:30pm

Imbibe in some of the best wine around. We will having a tasting session and the opportunity to learn about the wine from the owners themselves. Additional logistics will be provided at our meeting this Sunday and on our club website and Facebook. Please RSVP to Connor Sheedy or by emailing madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, September 22 – Service Event: Ecological Restoration Work Party

UW Arboretum Visitor Center, 1207 Seminole Hwy, Madison, 9:00am – 12:00pm

Participate in UW Arboretum restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Training and tools are provided.

Sunday, September 30 – 5^th Sunday: Club Brunch Social

Madison’s, 119 King St, Madison, 10:00am – 12:00pm

Join us for brunch at Madison's downtown at 10am. They serve delicious food and bottomless mimosas...need we say more?

Sunday, October 7^th – Club Meeting: Fetch Wisconsin Rescue

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Greetings Erin!

A big welcome to new member, Erin!

Erin is a Cardiac Monitor Tech and Unit Coordinator at Meriter Hospital. She received her bachelor's degree from UW-Madison, majoring in Genetics, Molecular Biology, and French. During her time at UW, she was a member of the Hoofers Sailing Team and Vice-Commodore of the Hoofers Sailing Club.

Growing up in Ohio, Erin spent a year abroad in Quimper, France as a Rotary Exchange Student, which fostered an enduring love for travel and exploration. She is currently the Homestay Captain for Ironman Wisconsin, placing professional athletes with local host families for the race. In her spare time, Erin enjoys planning trips with her husband Jason (also a Rotarian), cheering for the Badgers, cooking delicious food, and spending time with her two cats.

Welcome Mark!

Join us in welcoming our new member, Mark.

Mark serves as a Policy Advisor in the Wisconsin State Assembly where he handles constituent concerns as well as researches and develops legislative proposals. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cardinal Stritch University, majoring in History and Political Science.

Mark has been aware of Rotary for years but did not obtain intimate knowledge of what Rotary does and has to offer until he met his wife Mary. Mary’s family has been involved in Rotary for decades. His first experience with Rotary was volunteering for a service project where Rotary partnered with Blessings in a Backpack to pack thousands of bags of foods for school kids in need of extra nutrition. Mark is excited for the chance to give back to his adopted community of Madison through his involvement with Rotary.

He enjoys many outdoor activities in his free time including boating, hunting, and golfing. Travel is also a pursuit that Mark enjoys with his wife Mary.

New member alert!

Say hello to our new member, Mary!

Mary is the Membership Engagement Coordinator at the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin (ABC of WI), a construction trade association in Madison. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, majoring in Public Relations and Advertising.

Mary has been aware of Rotary and has attended club meetings and events with her dad, who is the current President of the Waukesha Rotary Club. She is excited to continue in her dad’s footsteps of giving back to the community and helping those in need.

In her free time, Mary enjoys spending time with her family and friends and traveling as much as possible. Nashville is her favorite travel destination, and her and her husband, Mark, have a 9-month old, 80-pound yellow lab named Nash, who takes up most of their free time.

News & Updates, August 15th, 2018

Greetings,

I hope everyone is finding the time to check things off of their summer bucket lists. This is a fun time of year in Madison to get out and hear live music at the Terrace, go for a journey down one of the countless bike paths, and come visit your favorite Rotarians at Brocach on Sunday night!

This week we have the extraordinary pleasure to hear from Jacy Imilkowski on how the neuroscience of conversation can help us work together. Check out her fascinating background here and join us on Sunday night to hear from her yourself.

Other items to keep on your radar:

It’s not too late to sign up for our volunteer shift on Tuesday, Aug. 28^th at the Community Action Coalition Food Bank. See additional information below and contact us if you’d like to help out!
Our annual Pumpkin Bowl flag football tournament to benefit PolioPlus will be held on October 13. More info to come soon.

Additional reminders:

Reserve your Fall Bucky bead shifts to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange here
As we welcome our new exchange student, Eric, consider completing the background check process if you’d like to help bring him to events during his time with us

See you on Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, August 19 – Club Meeting: The Neuroscience of Communication

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

This week we have the pleasure of welcoming Jacy Imilkowsi whose mission in life is to connect people to their lost choices, helping them see a more meaningful, resonant future. Jacy will talk to us about the Neuroscience of Conversation and how this can supercharge our lives.

Tuesday, August 28 – Service Event: Community Action Coalition Food Bank

CAC Food Bank, 1717 N Stoughton Rd, Madison, 4:00pm-6:00pm

In July we heard from Mallory Swenson about the Community Action Coalition (CAC) - a nonprofit that focuses on providing housing, food, and clothing to those in need. Now we have the opportunity to help them! Join us in helping to sort donated food at the CAC Food Bank!

Saturday, September 8^th – Service Event: Lussier Community Food Pantry

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am – 1:00pm

Sunday, September 16 – Club Meeting: Gigi’s Playhouse

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Rotary Night at the Mallards Duck Pond!

Guests welcome! This will be a night to get the whole Madison Rotary community together.

To Register:

• Go to: MallardsBaseball.com

• Use the Promo Code: "RI Hat", "RI Soda", or "RI Beer"

News & Updates, August 1st, 2018

Hello everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed our visioning sessions as much as I did. We’ve got a lot to be proud of and some great ideas to start implementing in our club. The first step we are working on is to tackle some of our immediately actionable ideas - and if you’re in need of some motivation as we get started, check this out.

This week we will welcome our new District 6250 Governor, Bill Hoel. He’ll share some remarks with our club and will give us time to ask questions and converse. This will be a great meeting for new guests to come and hear more about what Rotary is on a broader scale.

A look at what’s ahead:

Sign up for upcoming Lussier food pantry shifts here
Reserve your Fall Bucky bead shifts to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange here
As we welcome our new exchange student, Eric, consider completing the background check process if you’d like to help bring him to events during his time with us

See you on Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, August 5 – Club Meeting: District Governor Bill Hoel

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

This week we will have the honor of welcoming our new Rotary District 6250 Governor, Bill Hoel. This will be a great time for us to learn more about fascinating projects he's participated in and to learn more about his future vision for our district. Guests are welcome and encouraged to come hear from this great leader and passionate Rotarian!

Saturday, August 11 – Social Event: Rotary Night at the Mallards Duck Pond

2920 N Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704

Join us for an all-Madison Rotary social at the Mallards Duck Pond! $10 gets you a stadium ticket and a Mallards cap ($25 also includes dinner and a beer). Use the Promo Code "RI Hat", "RI Soda", or "RI Beer" at MallardsBaseball.com! Guests welcome!

Sunday, August 19 – Club Meeting: The Neuroscience of Communication

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Tuesday, August 28 – Service Event: Community Action Coalition Food Bank

CAC Food Bank, 1717 N Stoughton Rd, Madison, 4:00pm-6:00pm

Sunday, September 16 – Club Meeting: Gigi’s Playhouse

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

A great day at Books for the World

Image may contain: one or more people, people sitting and indoor

Together with the Madison Breakfast Rotary Club, we packed 7 pallets of books to ship overseas at Books for the World on Saturday, July 28. Thanks to those who joined us to support a great cause!

Welcome, Connor!

Say hello to our newest member, Connor. He is a Sales Coordinator at WTS Paradigm, a software company for the building products industry in Middleton. Connor received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, majoring in Finance and Marketing. During his time at UW, he spent a semester abroad in Italy and loves to travel whenever he can.

Growing up, Connor was involved in Rotary programs such as Rotary Youth Leadership Academy and various Rotary volunteering opportunities in his hometown of Janesville. In his free time, Connor enjoys spending time outside running, biking, and relaxing on a lake.

Welcome to Rotary, Connor!

Concerts on the Square Social

Interested in a night of live music on the square? Join us at 6:30pm (or earlier if you'd like!) for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concert on the Square, featuring the music of Journey and Queen. We will have blankets set out on the Capitol lawn across from the BMO Harris Bank building. Guests are encouraged to join!

News & Updates, July 11th, 2018

Greetings all,

Wow - what a weekend! Our club had a busy Saturday which we started by volunteering at the Lussier Food Pantry and ended by hosting a successful volleyball tournament. Eight teams participated and we raised $480 for Rotary Youth Exchange. Thanks to everyone who helped out. Check out our awesome photos from the day!

Last meeting we hit the ground running with an energetic strategic planning session. We each took time to think about our visions for what a vibrant future Rotary club could look like and then we collectively shared some of those ideas. I left the meeting feeling so energized by the passion and excitement that we have for our club.

This coming Sunday we will further strategize on how we can build into those collective visions. Don’t forget to come to the meeting with your ideas for a compelling vision statement and objectives that we can start tackling together.

You can sign up for our upcoming Lussier food pantry shifts here and our fall Bucky bead shifts to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange here.

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, July 15 – Club Meeting: Strategic Planning Session 2

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Join us for the second strategic planning meeting. We will build off of the July 1 meeting and further expand our strategic plan.

Wednesday, July 18 – Social Event: Concerts on the Square

Capitol Square, 1 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Interested in a night of live music and drinks on the square? Join us for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concert on the Square, featuring the music of Journey and Queen. We will have blankets set out on the Capitol lawn across from the BMO Harris Bank building.

Saturday, July 28 – Books for the World Service Event

1849 Wright St., Madison, 10:00am-12:00pm

Join us as we sort and pack books at the Wright St. warehouse!

Saturday, August 11 – Social Event: Rotary Night at the Mallards Duck Pond

2920 N Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704

Sunday, August 5 – Club Meeting: District Governor Bill Hoel

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Thank You For Playing!

Thank you to everyone who reffed and played in our Serve the World Volleyball Tournament! We raised $480 for Rotary Youth Exchange!

View Event Photos Here »

News & Updates, June 27th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

This Sunday, July 1 marks the beginning of the 2018-2019 Rotary year. As we begin the new year it is a great time for us to reflect on our impressive accomplishments over the past year, including over 400 hours of volunteer work, over 200 households served at the Lussier Food Pantry, and thousands of dollars raised for Polio Plus, Rotary Youth Exchange, and the River Food Pantry!

When 2018-19 Rotary International President Barry Rassin introduced the theme for this year - Be the Inspiration– he stated, “I want you to inspire in your clubs, your Rotarians, that desire for something greater. The drive to do more, to be more, to create something that will live beyond each of us.” We have so much to be proud of and I am confident we will continue to build off of our past successes to broaden our impact in the Madison community and beyond.

This Sunday will be the first of our two strategic planning meetings. During these meetings we will be visualizing what we would like the future of our club to look like and strategizing on how we can build into that vision. These will be energetic and fun meetings that you won’t want to miss.

Also don't forget to sign up for our upcoming food pantry shifts and our Serve the World Volleyball Tournament!

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Chelsea
2018-2019 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, July 1 – Club Meeting: Strategic Planning Session 1

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Come join us for our annual strategic planning meeting. This marks the transition between club presidents, and the time of year to set goals for the club. Come with passion, energy, and ideas for making the future of our club stronger!

Saturday, July 7 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Saturday, July 7 – Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar, 232 E. Olin Ave, Madison, 12:00pm-6:00pm

Our annual tournament to support Rotary Youth Exchange! Register a team here or email us if you can ref (no experience needed) or just come hang out and cheer on the teams!

Sunday, July 15 – Club Meeting: Strategic Planning Session 2

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Join us for the second strategic planning meeting. We will build off of the July 1 meeting and further expand our strategic plan.

Wednesday, July 18 – Social Event: Concerts on the Square

Capitol Square, 1 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Saturday, July 28 – Books for the World Service Event

1849 Wright St., Madison, 10:00am-12:00pm

Join us as we sort and pack books at the Wright St. warehouse!

News & Updates, June 13th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

Join us for a quiet evening of friendship and beer at The Memorial Union Terrace tomorrow night as we reflect on the successes of our past year! We've achieved extraordinary impact, especially for a club of our size!

Thank you for -

Over 400 hours of community service!
Many thousands of dollars raised for The River Food Pantry, Rotary Youth Exchange, Polio Plus, and Habitat!
Over 200 households served at the Lussier Food Pantry!
Many successful community partnerships with CONNECT, Madison Magnet, HYP, and our Rotary Foundation!

There is still time to fill our our year-end survey. We'd love your input as we look ahead to our next Strategic Club Planning Meetings in July! And don't forget to sign up for our upcoming food pantry shifts with the Lussier Center, and our Serve the World Volleyball Tournament!

This Sunday we'll be joined by Mallory Swenson, a Community Engagement Specialist with Community Action Coalition (CAC), and we'll hear about the work that their nonprofit does to provide housing, food, and clothing to those in need in the Dane and surrounding counties.

I hope to see you then!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Thursday, June 14 – Social Event: Memorial Union Terrace Happy Hour

Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon St, 5:00pm-7:00pm

Join us for a quiet evening of fellowship and beer at the Memorial Union Terrace! Local folk band Peter and Lou Berryman and local Motown group VO5 will be playing Thursday night as part of the Madison Reunion.

Sunday, June 17 – Club Meeting: Community Action Coalition

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday, July 7 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Saturday, July 7 – Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar, 232 E. Olin Ave, Madison, 12:00pm-6:00pm

Our annual tournament to support Rotary Youth Exchange! Register a team here or email us if you can ref (no experience needed) or just come hang out and cheer on the teams!

News & Updates, May 30th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

Don't forget to sign up for our food pantry shifts with the Lussier Center! We're still looking for 1-2 more people for this Saturday. Then, join us on Sunday as Carleigh Olson facilitates a conversation around local and national initiatives to promote health equity!

Please also remember to mark your calendars for Saturday, July 7th for our second annual Serve the World Volleyball Tournament benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! Registration is available at the link below, or email us if you are available to volunteer as a referee.

Finally, as we approach the end of our Rotary year, please consider making a donation to our Rotary Foundation! Our club has had the honor of leading and partnering on several grant projects, including our recent Little Libraries project with HYP. Our Foundation's Annual Fund is a critical part of what makes that possible!

Thank you for everything that you do!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, June 2 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Sunday, July 3 – Club Meeting: Madison-area Urban Ministry

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Carleigh Olson will facilitate a conversation around local and national initiatives to promote health equity! Learn how our generation can help to foster change!

Sunday, June 10 – Service Event: UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve

Frautschi Point Lot in Eagle Heights, 3034 Lake Mendota Dr, 9:00am-12:00pm

Join us for a work party at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve! We will remove invasive woody shrubs, collect seeds for later planting, put wood chips on trails, or cut brush from trails. Tools and gloves are provided.

Consider a Year-End Donation to Our Foundation!

As we approach year-end, please consider donating to our Rotary Foundation! Regardless of the amount, we'd encourage all of our members to share in Rotary's success in the fight against Polio, or to consider supporting our District Grants with a donation to the Annual Fund.

Learn more and donate here »

News & Updates, May 16th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 7th for our second annual Serve the World Volleyball Tournament benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! We'll be looking for teams and refs and people coming to just hang out, so please help us get the word out! Registration is available now.

Join us this Sunday as we hear from Linda Ketcham, Executive Director of the Madison-area Urban Ministry! MUM's many programs inspire hope for individuals returning to the Dane County community after incarceration.

Finally, remember to please take our member survey this month! We'd greatly value your input as we plan our priorities and leadership transition heading into next year!

Thank you for everything that you do!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, May 20 – Club Meeting: Madison-area Urban Ministry

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Linda Ketcham, Executive Director of Madison-area Urban Ministry will discuss MUM's many programs to inspire hope for individuals returning to the Dane County community after incarceration.

Saturday, May 26 – Service Event: Habitat ReStore West Project

Habitat ReStore West, 5906 Odana Rd, 6:30pm-8:00pm

We will help Habitat for Humanity sort donated items at their ReStore. Registration for this event filled up quickly, so thank you to everyone that signed up to help!

Saturday, June 2 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

"Serve the World" Volleyball Tournament

Saturday, July 7th, 2018, noon-6pm

View Event Details and Register

News & Updates, May 2nd, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

A big thank you to everyone for putting awesome energy into this year's YP Week! We cosponsored three very successful and impactful events, and helped to raise over a thousand dollars to construct Little Libraries with HYP! Thank you to everyone that turned out, and check out the event photos below!

It's not too late to register for Tri-Con Rotary District Conference in Wisconsin Dells coming up this weekend! Email me or our club email for details on carpooling or sharing a room. (We've reserved a two bedroom condo.) Then join us on Sunday as we welcome Sharyl Kato from The Rainbow Project and hear about their initiatives to provide restorative healing and hope for young children and their families who have experienced trauma!

Finally, please take our member survey this month! We'd greatly value your input on our club direction as we plan our leadership transition and look ahead to next year!

Thank you for everything that you do!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Friday-Sunday, May 4-6 – Tri-Con District Conference in Wisconsin Dells

Don't miss out! Email Mac or our club email for details on carpooling or sharing a room.

Sunday, May 6 – Club Meeting: The Rainbow Project

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Sharyl Kato from The Rainbow Project will discuss their initiatives to provide restorative healing and hope for young children and their families who have experienced trauma!

Saturday, May 12 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Thank You for Representing Our Club During YP Week!

Thank you to everyone who turned out to represent our club during YP Week 2018!

We had a great turnout for our Little Libraries build with HYP!

The Hahn Family was out in full force!

Over seven libraries were built as part of a $1,050 Rotary District Grant Project!

Our Sustainable Suds bus tour in Partnership with SWANA had an awesome turnout for the second year in a row!

The bus stopped at The Great Dane, Old Sugary Distillery, Alt Brewing, and Ale Asylum!

In addition to sampling cocktails, everyone learned about composting and energy reduction and sustainability practices!

John helped to MC the Wilma's Fund Fundraiser at the Art In!

The Fundraiser benefited LGBT homeless populations in Dane County!

Take Our Annual Club Survey!

Members, friends and guests, please take a few moments to fill out our Annual Survey, to provide your thoughts and ideas regarding our progress and future direction as a club.

Take the survey here. Thank you!

News & Updates, April 11th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

Join us this Sunday as Jason Ilstrup from the Madison Downtown Rotary shares a project partnership opportunity to provide education and feminine hygiene products for school-aged girls in Ghana!

Also, please don't forget to register for Tri-Con Rotary District Conference in Wisconsin Dells coming up on May 4-6! This will be an awesome-energy event with clubs from three districts from all over the state, and you can go at a bargain price! Don't miss out! Email me or our club email for details on carpooling or sharing a room. (We've reserved a two bedroom condo.)

Remember also to check out the Madison Young Professionals Week calendar! There are tons of events to check out from other Young Professionals organizations, in addition to the three events that our club is helping to cosponsor!

Thank you for everything that you do!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, April 15 – Club Meeting: Change HERstory

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Jason Ilstrup from the Madison Rotary Downtown Club will discuss opportunities for our club to partner on a project to provide education and feminine hygiene products for school-aged girls in Ghana, allowing them to stay in school and continue their studies!

Sunday, April 20-28 – Madison Young Professionals Week

Our club is cosponsoring three events! View the full calendar here.

Friday-Sunday, May 4-6 – Tri-Con District Conference in Wisconsin Dells

Don't miss out! Email Mac or our club email for details on carpooling or sharing a room.

Saturday, May 12 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Top 5 Reasons to Go to District Conference in Wisconsin Dells

Our Rotary Tri-Con District Conference is coming up fast on May 4-6 in the Dells! Our club has booked a Two Bedroom Deluxe Condo at The Glacier Canyon Lodge as a club meeting place or for any members that still need a room.

Here are the top five reasons not to miss out! -

1. Build connections!

After Hours Clubs from La Crosse, Madison, Chippewa Valley, and Mequon-Milwaukee at Tri-Con 2015

District Conference is the perfect place to connect and share experiences with other clubs across the state, such as the three other After Hours Clubs from La Crosse, and Chippewa Valley, and Mequon-Milwaukee!

2. Share ideas!

In addition to educational seminars like "Rotary Friendship Exchange: India 2018" and "Working Effectively with Volunteer Teams," many breakouts will give clubs a chance to share project ideas and success stories with each other!

3. Get Inspired!

There are a whole slate of inspiring speakers planned! For example, during Friday dinner Dr. Marilyn Fitzgerald will discuss sustainability and microfinance projects and the $475,000 grant to support a blood bank that she authored after leading a Rotary GSE Team to Bali, Indonesia!

4. It's only $20!

Conference registration is only $20, and that covers everything except meals and hotel. Our club has also reserved a two bedroom condo that sleeps up to seven for Friday and Saturday night, as a club meeting place or for any members that still need a room.

5. It's in the Dells yo!

When we are not engaged in soul-expanding personal growth, you might also find us at a swim-up bar or riverside patio. As always, the Rotary conversations will continue After Hours!

For details on carpooling or to reserve a spot in our reserved condo, email Mac or our club email!

And don't forget to register!

News & Updates, March 28th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

We will not be having a meeting this weekend due to the Easter holiday, but we do have full April planned!

Please take a moment to review the Madison Young Professionals Week calendar. All of these events give us an opportunity to further strengthen our network with the other Young Professionals Clubs that we've been partnering with, so please attend several if you can. Our Sustainable Suds event is filling up quickly, so be sure to register now if you'd like to join the brewery bus tour! A big thank thank you to John and Som and Justin for planning our involvement and co-chairing three of these events!

Thank you for everything that you do!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Thursday, March 29 – Social Event: Wine Tasting at Table Wine RESCHEDULED

Table Wine, 2045 Atwood Ave #111, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Stay tuned for a future date! We will be rescheduling this event for a date that has better availability.

Saturday, April 7 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Sunday, April 15 – Club Meeting: Change HERstory

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Sunday, April 20-28 – Madison Young Professionals Week

Our club is cosponsoring three events! View the full calendar here.

News & Updates, March 14th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

Join us this Sunday as Valeria Martinez shares with us how Maydm is equipping girls and students of color with skills to succeed in technical fields through tech workshops and school immersion programs!

Also, don't forget to register here for our Wine Tasting at Table Wine on Thursday the 29th! Their "Who Knows" blind tasting will involve smelling and tasting the wines before looking at the labels.

Finally, be sure to read more below about our District's new Friendship Exchange coming up in August, with opportunities to either travel to Sweden and Latvia or to host travelers!

See you soon!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, March 18 – Club Meeting: Maydm

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

This week Valeria Martinez will discuss how Maydm is equipping girls and students of color with skills to succeed in technical fields through tech workshops and school immersion programs!

Thursday, March 29 – Social Event: Wine Tasting at Table Wine

Table Wine, 2045 Atwood Ave #111, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Register here for our private wine-tasting at Table Wine! Their "Who Knows" blind tasting will involve smelling and tasting the wines before looking at the labels.

Saturday, April 7 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Friendship Exchange Travel Opportunity!

Our Rotary District has just arranged a Friendship Exchange with Rotary District 2410 in Latvia and Sweden. Interested Rotarians and their spouses can contact the Friendship Exchange chairpersons to express interest in either traveling to Sweden and Latvia for two weeks in August or hosting travelers from their District in May!

View additional details about the exchange and who to contact here »

News & Updates, February 28th, 2018

Greeting Friends and Rotarians!

The Madison YP Week Calendar is now published online. Be sure to mark your calendar for all three of the events that our club is helping to sponsor!

Mark your calendars also for our upcoming Wine Tasting social at Table Wine on March 29th (and invite guests)! A registration link will be posted to our event page very soon.

Join us this Sunday as Erik Iverson tells us about the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and how research can solve the world's problems!

Finally, please help us to fill up our Food Pantry shift calendar! We're still seeking one more for this Saturday.

Thank you for everything that you do for our club!

Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, March 3 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Sunday, March 4 – Club Meeting: WARF

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Erik Iverson, the managing director for WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation), will tell us about their vision is to enable University of Wisconsin - Madison research to solve the world's problems!

Saturday, March 10 – Service Event: FB4K

FB4K Warehouse, 167 East Badger Rd, Madison, 9:00am-12:00pm

Free Bikes 4 Kidz needs bike cleaning and maintenance help to prepare donated bikes for a big giveaway event! Sign up through their website. Brad will be volunteering the 9:00am to noon shift on this date and can assist you with orientation.

Thursday, March 29 – Social Event: Wine Tasting at Table Wine

Table Wine, 2045 Atwood Ave #111, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Join us for a private wine-tasting class at Table Wine! A registration link will be posted to our event page very soon.

YP Week Event Calendar Now Live

The full YP Week event calendar is now live on their website.

Be sure to mark your calendar for all of our events!

• Sustainable Suds on April 21st

• Little Libraries Build Day (with HYP) on April 22nd

• Laughs & Drafts on April 26th

View the full YP Week calendar here »

News & Updates, February 14th, 2018

Greetings friends and Rotarians!

Join us this Sunday as we hear from Lilada Gee, founder of Black Women Heal, and all of the amazing work they are doing to educate and empower women to heal from and prevent sexual abuse in our community!

We have a full spring calendar coming up! Remember especially to mark your calendars for YP Week, the week of April 20th - 28th. Stay tuned to hear more about the events we're sponsoring and our Little Libraries grant project at our upcoming meetings.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, February 18 – Club Meeting: Black Women Heal

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Lilada Gee, founder of Black Women Heal, will tell us about the amazing work they are doing to educate, empower, engage, and equip black women in the healing from and the preventing of sexual abuse in our community!

Saturday, March 3 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Sunday, March 4 – Club Meeting: WARF

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St, Madison, 6:30pm-8:00pm

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Club Planning Meeting on the 21st!

We generated a lot of good new ideas! Members can review notes from our two Breakout meetings below. -

• Membership-Communications Goals
• Projects-YP Week Goals

We have ongoing email committees planning around YP Week and Member Recruitment activities. Email us if you would like to be added to one of our planning threads!

News & Updates, January 31st, 2018

Greetings friends and Rotarians!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Club Planning Meeting! We generated a lot of ideas which should position us to thrive in our upcoming YP Week and other spring initiatives! Feel to review our meeting notes in the links below.

Remember that there is no club meeting this Sunday due to the Super Bowl. But we do have an upcoming Lussier Food Pantry event on Saturday and a Trivia Night at Freiburg next Tuesday! I hope to see many of you there!

Enjoy your football weekends!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, February 3 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, 11:45am-1:00pm

Tuesday, February 6 – Trivia Night

Freiburg Gastropub, 2616 Monroe St., Madison, 7:00pm

Join us for an evening of Trivia and German beer!

Saturday, February 10 – Service Event: Second Harvest

Second Harvest Foodbank, 2802 Dairy Drive, Madison, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Second Harvest Foodbank is southwestern Wisconsin's largest hunger-relief charity. We will help sort, package, and label bulk-purchased food.

News & Updates, January 17th, 2018

Greetings friends and Rotarians!

I am delighted to report that our District Grant application for matching funds to build Little Libraries has been approved! A huge thank you to Som for putting together our grant application on a tight timeline, and thank you to all of our YP Week committee members for coordinating all of our upcoming event partnerships!

We'd strongly encourage all club members to come to this Sunday's meeting at Brocach to assist with critical event planning for 2018! We will be breaking into three discussion groups. -

YP Week (John/Justin/Ryan) -

John and Justin and Ryan will lead a discussion of planning and promotion for the four upcoming YP Week events that our club is helping to coordinate.

Membership Growth/Club Promotion (Chelsea/Lori) -

Chelsea and Lori will discuss ideas for member recruitment and visitor outreach and club promotion activities to help grow our club!

Grants & Projects (Som/Mac) -

Som will walk us through our approved Little Libraries grant application, and we will discuss ideas for other future grant and large project initiatives.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, January 20 – Service Event: Porchlight

Porchlight Eastside Site, 1708 Thierer Rd, Madison

Porchlight offers over 300 units of housing at 24 Madison-area locations to families and individuals. We will be helping to sort donated goods at Porchlight's eastside site.

Sunday, January 21 – Club Planning Meeting

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St., Madison

Please join us this Sunday as we perform critical planning to ensure that our upcoming year is a success! Guests are welcome to come and learn about our upcoming club initiatives!

Grant Approved for Little Libraries!

We are delighted to report that our District Grant application to build Little Libraries has just been approved!

Our club will build seven Little Libraries at Habitat Homes, in partnership with Habitat for Young Professionals, during Madison Young Professionals Week 2018. The total project cost will be $1050, of which half of the funds will be raised by our club and event partners through the event and half will be matched by our Rotary District.

A big thank you to Som for putting together our grant application! Members can read the full text of our application here.

News & Updates, January 3rd, 2018

Happy New Year Everyone!

Please join us for our first meeting of 2018 as Marilyn Bazinski provides an overview of the Opioid Epidemic. Note that all of our upcoming meetings are now scheduled at Brocah for the remainder of this Rotary year.

We are still looking for a few volunteers at The Lussier Center food pantry this Saturday. Please sign up here if you can make it!

Finally, we have placed our Cascade Ski Trip reservation, but we did reserve a few extra spots. Please email Mac or our club email ASAP if you would still like to RSVP!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, January 7 – Club Meeting: Marilyn Bazinski, Opioid Epidemic

Brocah Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St., Madison

Marilyn Bazinski is pain specialist at UW Hospitals, currently working on a doctorate in Nursing Practice. She will present an overview of the Opioid Epidemic in America: a definition of opioids, history and epidemiology, practice of prescribing, regulation and what can be done to quell the epidemic.

Saturday, January 13 – Social Event: Cascade Ski Trip

Cascade Mountain, Cascade Mountain Rd, Portage

Contact Mac or email us to coordinate carpooling and payment for our evening ski trip to Cascade on Saturday, January 13th!

Saturday, January 20 – Service Event: Porchlight

Porchlight Eastside Site, 1708 Thierer Rd, Madison

Porchlight offers over 300 units of housing at 24 Madison-area locations to families and individuals. We will be helping to sort donated goods at Porchlight's eastside site.

News & Updates, December 13th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Don't forget that we do have a Rotary Meeting this Sunday the 17th at Tully's II in Monona! Jeff Okazaki will be telling us about More Smiles Wisconsin and their efforts to provide dental care for the uninsured and those with Medicaid/BadgerCare.

Remember to bring your $41 to this next meeting if you'd like to join us for our Cascade Ski Trip on January 13th (or contact Mac or email us to coordinate carpooling and payment). We have about 15 people signed up currently!

Finally, please mark your calendars for January 21st! We will be having a strategic planning meeting to discuss grant projects and growth and future vision!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, December 17 – Club Meeting: Jeff Okazaki, More Smiles Wisconsin

Tully's II, 6401 Monona Dr, Monona

This week we have the pleasure of welcoming Jeff Okazaki, Executive Director for More Smiles Wisconsin, an organization working to ensure access to quality dental care for the uninsured and those with Medicaid/BadgerCare in South Central Wisconsin.

Sunday , January 7 – Club Meeting: Marilyn Bazinski, Opioid Epidemic

Location TBD

Saturday, January 13 – Social Event: Cascade Ski Trip

Cascade Mountain, Cascade Mountain Rd, Portage

Contact Mac or email us to coordinate carpooling and payment for our evening ski trip to Cascade on Saturday, January 13th!

Saturday, January 20 – Service Event: Porchlight

Porchlight Eastside Site, 1708 Thierer Rd, Madison

Porchlight offers over 300 units of housing at 24 Madison-area locations to families and individuals. We will be helping to sort donated goods at Porchlight's eastside site.

Mark Your Calendar!

Mark you calendar for January 21st!

We will have a strategic planning meeting around our future growth and projects and vision in place of our usual club meeting.

Please come with your ideas for our club direction!

Join us for a Cascade Ski Trip!

Join us for a Saturday evening trip to Cascade Mountain!

We are currently planning ride sharing and a group purchase of 15+ tickets. We reserved a few extra tickets, so please contact Mac ASAP if you have not yet RSVPed! Guests welcome!

The group rate for a 5pm-10pm evening pass is $23 (ticket) plus $18 (rental).

News & Updates, November 29th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

I hope you've all had a lovely holiday with family! Please note that this Sunday's meeting will be at The Rigby, in their basement "Cavern Club" room. Join us as we welcome Thor Ringler, writer, therapist, and founder of the My Life, My Story service for veterans!

Be sure to check out all of our upcoming December events, including our invitation to Madison Magnet's Flannel & Fizz Holiday Party! And remember to bring your $41 to an upcoming club meeting if you'd like to join us for our Cascade Ski Trip on January 13th!

Finally, we could still use one more volunteer for our Lussier Food Pantry volunteering this Saturday! Sign up here for this or any other future shifts.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, December 2 – LCEC: Food Pantry Volunteering

We could still use one more person for our 11:45am to 1pm Lussier Food Pantry shift this Saturday! Sign up here or email us!

Sunday, December 3 – Club Meeting: Thor Ringler, My Life, My Story

The Rigby, 119 E Main St, Madison

This week we have the privilege of welcoming Thor Ringler, writer, therapist, and founder of the My Life, My Story program for veterans. My Life, My Story interviews VA Hospital patients and documents their life story, producing a priceless family keepsake while making the patient's personal story accessible in his/her medical record!

Friday, December 8th – Flannel & Fizz Holiday Party

Madison Club, 5 E Wilson St, Madison

We are cordially invited by our frequent event partner Madison Magnet to celebrate with them at their Flannel & Fizz Holiday Party!

Saturday, December 9th – Service Event: Books for the World

Books for the World Warehouse, 1849 Wright St, Madison

News & Updates, November 15th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Don't forget to join us on Thursday night at Ten Pin Alley as we support the Fitchburg-Verona Rotary with their annual Wine Tasting fundraiser!

Also, please note that this Sunday's meeting will be at Sprecher's on John Q Hammons Dr. We are thrilled to welcome former RI Director and current Rotary Foundation Trustee Mary Beth Growney Selene, and to hear about the incredible work that our Foundation is accomplishing!

Finally, we still need a few more volunteers for our very last Bucky Beads shift of the season this Saturday! Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this fundraiser a huge success!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 16 – Fitchburg-Verona Rotary Wine Tasting

Ten Pin Alley, 6285 Nesbitt Rd, Fitchburg

Help support the Fitchburg-Verona Rotary Club with their annual Wine Tasting Fundraising Event! Advance tickets cost $20 each at Ten Pin Alley or are available at the door for $25.

Saturday, November 18 – Last Bucky Beads Shift!

We still need three more people for our 8am and 9:45am Bucky Beads shifts this Saturday! Sign up here or email us!

Sunday, November 19 – Club Meeting: Mary Beth Growney Selene, Rotary Foundation Trustee

Sprecher's Restaurant & Pub, 1262 John Q Hammons Dr, Madison

Please join us in welcoming Mary Beth Growney Selene, former RI Director, and current Rotary Foundation Trustee! Mary Beth will highlight the role that our Rotary Foundation plays in supporting the mission of Rotary, and why we should have immense pride in the work that Rotary and our foundation enable.

Saturday, December 9th – Service Event: Books for the World

Books for the World Warehouse, 1849 Wright St, Madison

Wine Tasting This Thursday!

Join us this Thursday as we support the Fitchburg-Verona Rotary Club with their annual Wine Tasting Fundraising Event at Ten Pin Alley! Proceeds will help support local and international programs, including Verona Area High School scholarships and Wisconsin Books for the World.

RSVP on Facebook.

High School Summer Exchange Opportunity

Help spread the word! Our District is now accepting applications for the Rotary STEP (Short Term Exchange Program), a family to family summer exchange program. High School students in Southern Wisconsin age 15-18 are encouraged to apply by February 1st.

View application details here.

Don't Forget to Register!

Remember to register for Rotary Tri-Con in Wisconsin Dells, May 4-6! Registration is currently only $20 (not including the optional meals)!

We Rocked the River Again!

Thank you to everyone who supported our Trick or TrEAT Halloween Bash! We raised over $1,650 for the River Food Pantry!

Thank you also to our event partner Madison Magnet, to our sponsor The Ale Asylum, and to Hue for a rocking performance!

Click here to view other photos from the evening!

Pumpkin Bowl a Success!

Thank you to everyone that supported our Pumpkin Bowl Tournament! We raised close to a thousand dollars for Rotary's Polio Plus program! Thank you also to the RedZone for their generous sponsorship, and for hosting our after party!

Click here to view other photos from the tournament!

News & Updates, November 1st, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Thank you all for an amazing October! In one month we've raised many thousands of dollars for multiple different causes, while also managing several ongoing service projects! I am very proud of the huge effort that all of you have put forward!

Please note that this Sunday's meeting will be at Brocach, in the upstairs dining room. Please join us as we welcome our newest member Brooke, and as we formally pin Brooke and Julia!

Finally, as a last minute social, Justin and Som are putting a car together to got to ColoniALE fest in Sun Prairie this Friday night. Email Justin if interested!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, November 4 – LCEC: Food Pantry Shift

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd.

We still need one more person for Saturday's food pantry shift at the Lussier Community Education Center! And we need several more for our December 2nd shift. Please sign up here if you can make it!

Sunday, November 5 – Club Meeting: Kris Foust, Brava

Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W. Main St.

On November 5th, we are delighted to finally welcome Kris Foust, Director of Marketing and Events at Brava Magazine! Kris will discuss the work Brava is doing to encourage women in the greater Madison community to THRIVE in their lives by providing content and events that inspire, empower, and initiate change.

Sunday, November 19 – Club Meeting: Mary Beth Growney Selene, Rotary Foundation Trustee

Benvenuto's, 2949 Triverton Pike Dr, Fitchburg

Peter Skopec, the director of WISPIRG, will discuss their mission to defend our health and safety and financial security against threats from powerful interests.

Welcome Brooke!

Brooke is a Lead Kitchen & Bath Designer with Dybdahl Design Group (of Middleton). They assist clients with creating design layouts based on their lifestyle, help with choosing materials and guide them from the beginning of the project until completion.

Before moving to Wisconsin, Brooke grew up in a small town in Michigan. She attended the University of Wisconsin - Stout where she received her Bachelor's in Fine Arts: emphasis in Interior Design in December of 2015. While she attended Stout, she was lucky enough to study abroad in Florence, Italy for a semester!

Brooke enjoys many outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and her latest obsession: rock climbing! She thoroughly enjoy traveling whenever possible and exploring state parks. She also enjoy live shows, museums, art, architecture and breweries/distilleries.

Welcome, Brooke! We are delighted to have you as our newest member!

Rally to End Polio Now!

Join us on October 24 from 4-6pm at the Wisconsin State Capitol (State Street Steps) to join as we cheer historic progress made toward a polio-free world! (Then join us for drinks at The Great Dane after!)

RSVP on Meetup to let us know that you're coming!

News & Updates, October 11th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Remember to stop by Olbrich Park throughout the day on Sunday to cheer on the teams playing in our Fourth Annual Pumpkin Bowl Flag Football Tournament!

Then, on Sunday night, come join us for our club meeting as we hear Peter Skopec discuss WISPIRG's mission to defend our health and safety and financial security against threats from powerful interests. Please note the meeting location change to Benvenuto's in Fitchburg at 6:30pm.

Finally, don't forget to RSVP for our Halloween Party at the River Food Pantry and Madison's Rally to End Polio Now! Details Below!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, October 15 – Pumpkin Bowl Flag Football Tournament

Olbrich Park, 3527 Atwood Ave, Madison

Sign up your team today for Rotary's 4th annual Pumpkin Bowl! This year's event is a one-day tournament, featuring both Competitive and Co-ed Rec brackets! We have three fields this year to allow for maximum play.

Sunday, October 15 – Club Meeting: WISPIRG

Benvenuto's, 2949 Triverton Pike Dr, Fitchburg

Peter Skopec, the director of WISPIRG, will discuss their mission to defend our health and safety and financial security against threats from powerful interests.

Tuesday, October 24 – Rally to End Polio Now!

Capitol Steps, 2 E. Main St, Madison

Join fellow Rotarians and community members at the Wisconsin State Capitol, from 4-6pm as we celebrate the great advances made in eradicating polio worldwide! (Then join us for drinks at The Great Dane after!)

Thursday, October 26 – Trick Or TrEAT Bash

The River Food Pantry, 2201 Darwin Rd, Madison

Help us scare up some funds for The River Food Pantry! Join Madison Magnet and Rotary After Hours for a spooky night of food, beer, and live music! Hue - a super fun cover band - will be jamming out with us all night as we show our support for the fight against hunger.

News & Updates, September 27th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Please be sure to note the new meeting location at The Thirsty Goat this Sunday. We'll be evaluating their space and discussing additional location options.

We have a packed October calendar, so please do join us as we plan how to make our Pumpkin Bowl Flag Football Tournament and Trick or TrEAT Halloween Bash at the River Food Pantry a success! Registration for both are available now!

Finally, we are still seeking 1-2 more people for our 9:45am Bucky Beads shift this Saturday. Sign up for this or future shifts here.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Sunday, October 1 – Club Meeting: Knowing and Loving: The Keys to Real Happiness

The Thirsty Goat, 3040 Cahill Main, Fitchburg

Robert Beezat, a businessman, public official, and community leader will talk about his book in relationship to Rotary's Mission, Motto and Four Way Test.

Sunday, October 15 – Pumpkin Bowl Flag Football Tournament

Olbrich Park, 3527 Atwood Ave, Madison

Thursday, October 26 – Trick Or TrEAT Bash

The River Food Pantry, 2201 Darwin Rd, Madison

Register Now for Our Trick or TrEAT Bash!

Trick Or TrEAT Bash

Thursday, October 26th

Registration is now available for our Trick Or TrEAT Bash at The River Food Pantry!

View Event Details.

Support Hurricane Relief

Our Rotary District has just set up a Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund within the Charitable Trust. View instructions here for how to make a tax deductible donation to Rotary District(s) heading the relief efforts in the Texas area. 100% of your contribution will go to those in need!

4th Annual Pumpkin Bowl

4th Annual Pumpkin Bowl

Sunday, October 15th

View Event Details and Register

Save The Dates!

Mark your calendars for our Pumpkin Bowl on October 15th and the Trick or TrEAT Halloween Bash at the River Food Pantry on October 26th!

News & Updates, August 30th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

We had an awesome turnout at our Volleyball Tournament, our Comedy Club Social, and our Wetlands Conservation Event! Thank you to everyone that turned out to help make these events a success!

Remember that with Labor Day this weekend our usual club meeting has been cancelled and our Lussier Food Pantry volunteering has been rescheduled for September 16th. We will begin selling Bucky Beads this Friday. You can sign up here or email us to volunteer for a future shift.

We have a busy October coming up. Please mark your calendars and help us get the word out for our Football Tournament and our Halloween Bash at the River Food Pantry!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Friday, September 1 – First Bucky Beads Shift

By the Bike Path in Front of HotelRED, 1501 Monroe St, Madison

We'll begin our first Bucky Beads shift this Friday to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange! Sign up here or email us to volunteer!

Thursday, September 14 – Social Event: Apps & Taps

The Twist, 6617 Odana Rd, Madison

Join us as we cosponsor a Social with REACH-A-Child™ at The Twist! Apps & Taps is a bi-monthly opportunity to network and meet the REACH Board & Staff at different venues throughout Dane County!

Sunday, September 17 – Service Event: Bike the Barns

Various Farm Locations Just Outside of Madison

Bike the Barns is an annual bicycle tour of Wisconsin farms, benefiting the FairShare CSA Coalition and Partner Shares, which support farmers and poor households by subsidizing access to fresh, organic CSA vegetables.

News & Updates, August 16th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

We have a busy week coming up! Remember to stop by our Volleyball Tournament this Sunday at The Coliseum from noon to 6:00! Then on Sunday our speaker Ali Mudrow, the Racial Justice Youth Organizer for GSAFE, will tell us how GSAFE creates just schools for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin. And if you haven't yet, please RSVP to our Comedy Club social next Thursday so that we can reserve enough seats.

Finally, tonight, August 16th, John Marszal has invited everyone in our club for a social to meet their exchange student Anne. Feel free to stop in at their house at 1308 E Dayton any time after 7pm.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 19 – Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar & Banquet Hall, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison

Come to our volleyball tournament at The Coliseum benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! Sign up a team on our website or help volunteer as a ref. The tournament will be from noon until 6pm.

Thursday, August 24 – Social Event: The Comedy Club

The Comedy Club, 202 State St, Madison

Join us for a 6pm Happy Hour at Paul's Club, followed by an 8pm show at the Comedy Club.

Email us in advance, so that we can reserve enough seats!

Saturday, August 26 – Service Event: Sugar River Wetlands

Sugar River Wetlands, 2517 Country View Road, Verona

Volunteers will help collect prairie seeds at the Sugar River Wetlands which will be used to kickstart the growth of prairie plants. Volunteers of all ages are welcome, so feel free to bring family!

News & Updates, August 2nd, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

This Sunday we'll have the pleasure of welcoming new Rotary District Governor Joe Ruskey to our club. In his many years as our District Foundation Chair he's provided a lot of support to our club with our Global Grant applications. Sunday will be an excellent opportunity to learn about the future direction of our club and District!

Also, check out our two opportunities below to raise money for Rotary Youth Exchange by selling Bucky Beads or participating in our Volleyball Tournament! Please email us if you can volunteer as ref.

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Saturday, August 5 – LCEC: Food Pantry Shift

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Register here or email madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, August 19 – Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar & Banquet Hall, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison

Come to our volleyball tournament at The Coliseum benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! Sign up a team on our website or help volunteer as a ref. The tournament will be from noon until 6pm.

Thursday, August 24 – Social Event: The Comedy Club

The Comedy Club, 202 State St, Madison

Join us for a 6pm Happy Hour at Paul's Club, followed by an 8pm show at the Comedy Club.

Email us in advance, so that we can reserve enough seats!

Saturday, August 26 – Service Event: Sugar River Wetlands

Sugar River Wetlands, 2517 Country View Road, Verona

Volunteers will help collect prairie seeds at the Sugar River Wetlands which will be used to kickstart the growth of prairie plants. Volunteers of all ages are welcome, so feel free to bring family!

Bucky Beads Start on September 1st!

We will continue selling Bucky Beads this year, to support Rotary Youth Exchange, beginning on Friday, September 1st!

News & Updates, July 12th, 2017

Greetings Friends and Rotarians!

Come join us this Sunday at 5:30 as we discuss Evicted and tenancy issues before our usual meeting. (If the weather is nice we'll sit on the roof patio!) Then, join us for our usual meeting as Kris Foust from BRAVA magazine describes events that they are hosting to help women thrive in Madison.

Also, be sure to email us if you can make our service event this Saturday to maintain trails at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Check out our other upcoming events below!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Saturday, July 15 – Service Event: UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve

Frautschi Point Lot in Eagle Heights, 3034 Lake Mendota Dr.

Sunday, July 30 – Rotary International Night at the Duck Pond

Warner Park, 2930 N Sherman Ave.

Join us for Rotary International Night at the Duck Pond! Tickets are $15 and include your reserved stadium seat and an official Mallards hat and $5 of every ticket sold will to back to Rotary International! To purchase tickets, go to www.MallardsBaseball.com.

Saturday, August 19 – Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

The Coliseum Bar & Banquet Hall, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison.

Come to our volleyball tournament at The Coliseum benefiting Rotary Youth Exchange! Sign up a team on our website or help volunteer as a ref. The tournament will be from noon until 6pm.

Rotary Night at the Duck Blind

Don't forget to register for Rotary Night at the Mallards Duck Pond on Sunday, July 30th!

Serve the World Volleyball Tournament

"Serve the World" Volleyball Tournament

Saturday, August 19th, noon-6pm

View Event Details and Register

Book Club on July 16th!

Join our book club discussion on July 16 at 5:30! We will be discussing Evicted, the true story of eight Milwaukee families faced with losing their homes.

Even if you haven't read the book, feel free to join us at The Breakwater to discuss tenancy and homelessness issues generally.

News & Updates, June 28th, 2017

Happy Rotary New Year everyone!

Remember that we will not be having a meeting this Sunday, but we do have a lot of events coming up, so please check out our calendar! -

We are still seeking volunteers for our UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve Service Event on July 15th.
Join us for our "Evicted" Book Club discussion of tenancy issues at 5:30 before our July 16th club meeting.
On July 30th, please join us (and bring friends!) for social fellowship with other Rotarians at the Mallards Duck Pond.
And mark your calendars for our "Serve the World" volleyball tournament for Rotary Youth Exchange on August 19th!

See you soon!
Mac
2017-2018 President

Saturday, July 1 – LCEC: Food Pantry Shift

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, WI

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Register here or email madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Saturday, June 15 – Service Event: UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve

Frautschi Point Lot in Eagle Heights, 3034 Lake Mendota Dr.

Sunday, July 30 – Rotary International Night at the Duck Pond

Warner Park, 2930 N Sherman Ave.

Greetings from Atlanta

Greetings from Atlanta! As the 2017 Rotary International Convention comes to an end we wanted to share a few highlights.

Click here to view other photos and highlights from the Convention!

News & Updates, June 14th, 2017

Greetings from the 2017 Rotary International convention in Atlanta!

Brenda, Mac, Som, John, Justin, Lori and I have been enjoying our time down south as we learn more about the world of Rotary. We have heard from many great speakers including the governor of Georgia, mayor of the city of Atlanta, Bill Gates, Ashton Kutcher and Andrew Young. Our time in Atlanta draws to a close today and we look forward to seeing you this weekend at the UW Arboretum for our service project on Saturday and/or the meeting Sunday evening as we learn about the Tenant Resource Center from Cristina Lor.

Best regards,
Jill
2016-2017 President

Saturday, June 17 – Service Event: UW Arboretum Restoration

UW Arboretum (Grady Tract), Seminole Hwy. and the Beltline Frontage Rd.

Join us from 9:00am - 12:00pm as we learn about the Arboretum plant communities, cut brush from restored areas and remove invasive plants. Tools, equipment, instruction, and refreshments are provided. Participants are advised to wear long pants, sturdy shoes, work gloves, and seasonally appropriate clothing.

Saturday, July 1 – LCEC: Food Pantry Shift

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, WI

Volunteer with us at the Lussier Community Education Center food pantry! Four volunteers are needed to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Register here or email madisonrotaryah@gmail.com.

Sunday, July 30 – Rotary International Night at the Duck Pond

Warner Park, 2930 N Sherman Ave.

End Polio Now!

As we near year-end, please consider donating to our Rotary Foundation. We are "this close" to ending polio and we want everyone to be a part of that success!

You can do that at "endpolio.org", or through the "Take Action" link at "My Rotary".

Take Our Annual Survey

Members, friends and guests, please take a few moments to fill out our Annual Survey, to provide your thoughts and ideas regarding our progress and future direction as a club.

Take the survey here. Thank you!

News & Updates, May 31st, 2017

Hello fellow Rotarians and friends of Madison After Hours,

Help us give a warm Wisconsin welcome to visiting Rotarians on a Friendship Exchange from India this Sunday afternoon at Mary Van Hout's home in Middleton. After an afternoon of fun and fellowship, head over to The Breakwater in Monona for our club meeting and learn how DaneNET serves the Madison area from Alyssa Kenney.

Best regards,
Jill
2016-2017 President

Saturday, June 3 – LCEC: Food Pantry Shift

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd, Madison, WI

All volunteers are invited to training which will be provided from 10:30-11:30am. Then four of us will stay to work from 11:45am until 1:00pm. Register here or by email.

Sunday, June 4 – Social Event: Rotary Friendship Exchange Picnic

6812 Maywood Avenue, Middleton, WI

Ten Rotary Friendship Exchange travelers from India will begin their visit this Saturday, starting with a picnic at Mary Van Hout's house at 4pm. Our club members are welcome to visit, to share a dish, and to talk about our "After Hours" Club.

Saturday, June 17 – Service Event: UW Arboretum Restoration

UW Arboretum (Grady Tract), Seminole Hwy. and the Beltline Frontage Rd.

Lussier Partnership Begins on Saturday

Our first Food Pantry shift with the Lussier Community Education Center begins this Saturday!

Please come at 10:30am for Orientation, if you can make it, 55 S Gammon Rd. The shift is from 11:45am to 1:00pm.

Donate Yard Sale Items for Rotary Youth Exchange

Brenda and Thom are having a yard sale from June 22nd to 24th. They are willing to host the sale of any donated items to raise funds for Rotary Youth Exchange.

Members can begin donating things as early as this next meeting. Brenda and Thom expect to have ample car space.

Items can also be dropped off directly at 6916 Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue in Middleton. If no one is home they can be left on the porch.

Donated items should be in good working order. Items that do not sell will be donated to St. Vincent's, Goodwill, Mom, or Easter Seals depending on which group will offer pickup.

For ideas for what might sell, feel free to check out these links:
https://household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com/best_worst_yard_sale_items/

http://makinglemonadeblog.com/7-popular-yard-sale-items-that-sell-bestsellers/

http://kdat.com/10-of-the-hottest-items-to-sell-at-your-garage-or-yard-sale/

News & Updates, May 17th, 2017

Sip, savor and enjoy libations tomorrow evening at the beautiful Boardman & Clark Law Office atrium overlooking the Capitol square to support Habitat Young Professionals and Madison Rotary After Hours. The networking and view will make it an evening to remember!

Our next service project and meeting are this Sunday evening. Please join us as we prepare a meal at the Ronald McDonald House and then we'll head to the Breakwater to learn about Wake the World from Matt Fizell.

Have a great week!
Jill
President 2016-2017

Thursday, May 18 – Social Event: HYP and Rotary Wine Tasting

Boardman & Clark Law Office Atrium, 1 South Pinkney Street, Madison, WI

Join us for for a Wine and Beer Tasting that we are co-sponsoring with Habitat for Young Professionals! Friends and guests are welcome! All proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity. Register here.

Saturday, May 21 – Service Event: Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House provides a "home-away-from-home" for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost. We will be preparing and serving a meal at their Madison location at 2716 Marshall Ct. Due to their kitchen size constraints, they recommend that we cap our attendance at 12 people.

Saturday, June 17 – Service Event: UW Arboretum Restoration

Join us as we learn about the Arboretum plant communities, cut brush from restored areas and remove invasive plants. Tools, equipment, instruction, and refreshments are provided. Participants are advised to wear long pants, sturdy shoes, work gloves, and seasonally appropriate clothing.

New Partnership with the Lussier Community Education Center

Our club recently voted to begin an ongoing partnership with the Lussier Community Education Center. We will be staffing their food pantry on the first Saturday of each month. Sign up for shifts in our next meeting!

We've kicked off our partnership with a visit from Executive Director, Paul Terranova, in our last meeting, and with a donation of $200 "happy-sad dollars" from our club.

We Rocked the River!

Thank you to everyone who came out to Rock the River at the River Food Pantry during YP Week! We had over 100 people and raised over $2000. Thank you to Madison Magnet, The Great Dane Pub and #YPWeek for your support in planning this event!

News & Updates, May 3rd, 2017

Hello fellow Rotarians and friends of Madison After Hours,

I want to thank everyone who contributed to a successful YPWeek and supported Rock the River. Rock the River raised $2000 for The River food pantry!

Join us this Sunday evening as we learn about the hot topic of sanctuary cities from Karl Shoemaker. Karl will inform us where the idea of sanctuary cities came from, and what they mean for different types of immigrants and refugees.

See you Sunday!

Jill

President 2016-2017

Thursday, May 18 – Social Event: HYP and Rotary Wine Tasting

Boardman & Clark Law Office Atrium, 1 South Pinckney Street, Madison, WI

Join us for for a Wine and Beer Tasting that we are co-sponsoring with Habitat for Young Professionals! Friends and guests are welcome! All proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity. Register here.

Saturday, May 21 – Service Event: Ronald McDonald House

Saturday, June 17 – Service Event: UW Arboretum Restoration

Welcome Julia

Welcome to our newest member, Julia! She is an attorney at Boardman & Clark, LLP where she practices real estate, land use, local government, and railroad law. She received her B.A. from Brown University and she received her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.

In her free time, Julia loves to travel and has spent extended time abroad in Amman, Jordan and Copenhagen, Denmark. She enjoys biking, British panel quiz shows, and cooking Middle Eastern food.

Welcome, Julia! We’re honored to have you in the Rotary family.

News & Updates, April 26th, 2017

Hello fellow Rotarians and friends of Madison Rotary After Hours,

It's YPWeek and time to enjoy one of the many great opportunities organized for you to network in Madison and have fun! If you haven't been able to join the festivities there is still time to sign up for two of the events our club co-sponsored, Rock the River on April 27 and/or enjoy Burnout Brunch and a recap of YPWeek at Hotel Red this Saturday after Crazylegs.

Have a great week!

Jill

President 2016-2017

Thursday, April 27 – YPWeek: Rock the River

Join us on April 27th when we "Rock the River" at the River Food Pantry! This will be a great evening of entertainment and education to bring awareness to hunger and homelessness in the Madison community. You will learn what can be done to help in our community with the significant challenges of hunger and homelessness. The cost to attend is $10, or $5 if you bring three non-perishable food items to donate.

Saturday, April 29 – YPWeek: Burnout Brunch

After the Crazylegs Classic and the craziness of YPWeek, join us for a brunch at HotelRed! Brunch will be a buffet-style, and the price will be $25 that will be paid directly to HotelRed. We will have our own reserved room and will showcase pictures of the YPWeek during the brunch on the projector. This will be a great chance to interact with YP'ers that you've met during the week! Reserve your spot for free - pay on-site.

Saturday, April 29 – Service Event: FixIT Clinic

Everyone On Madison is a DANEnet project to help low-income households get affordable internet access, computers and the skills to use both. Our volunteers will provide very basic computer troubleshooting experience to people that bring in their PCs and laptops. That might include running anti-virus or disk cleanup software, or showing someone how to store files in the cloud. Please volunteer through their website: http://everyoneonmadison.org/#core-volunteer

Saturday, May 21 – Service Event: Ronald McDonald House

Helping people with disabilities make their own music

Music has been an important part of leading an ordinary life for students at the Music School for Children With Disabilities in Honor of Paul Harris in Lublin, Poland. Founded by Rotary members, the school serves 20 students with various disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, and visual impairments. The Rotary Club of Lublin-Centrum-Maria Curie-Sklodowska has provided funding with help from Rotary Foundation Matching Grants and the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, which houses the school.

After their son Mateusz was born with underdeveloped eyes, Mariusz and Joanna Kania looked for ways to help him be active. When he showed an aptitude for music, they looked for a teacher and were thrilled to find the Paul Harris music school.

Finding Safe Haven

For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.

After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.

Register Now for District Conference

2017 District Conference

May 12-13, 2017, La Crosse

Quarterly Book Club: Evicted

Our club has selected Evicted as our quarterly book for discussion, based on Christina's poll and recommendation.

The 2016 UW Go Big Read selection, Evicted is the true story of eight Milwaukee families faced with losing their homes.

Everyone is invited to join us in reading and future discussion!

India celebrates three years without polio

Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."

The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.

All (165) ironman (1) service (1) social (1) trivianight (1) volunteer (1)