Category Archives: 2. Meetings

March 16: MGE Works with Customers for a More Sustainable Future

Posted on March 17, 2022 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Larry Larrabee

At our March 16th meeting, Scott Smith, Vice President of Business and Regulatory Strategy for Madison Gas and Electric, informed us of MGE’s performance and commitment to reliability, changes in productivity to accomplish Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 and how the company assists home owners, landlords and corporations in using power more efficiently.

Among items mentioned was that in 2020 MGE was ranked number one among all  American power companies both in fewest and shortest outages; achieving first or second in both categories since 2015.  The company also provides E-vehicle owners with off peak charging facilities in their homes.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/znZrEBqXI5g

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February 16: Five Reasons Why the Trojan War Really Happened

Posted on February 17, 2022 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

On February 16, UW-Madison Professor William Aylward shared, “Five Reasons Why the Trojan War Really Happened.”

  1. Geopolitics of the Agean Sea – The location of Troy was on a main trade route and it makes sense that competing forces would want to control this strategic location.
  2. Walls of Troy – The walls have been discovered and intended for protection.
  3. Evidence for Destruction – Siege, capture and destruction were all evident.
  4. The Ancient Greeks and Romans Who Lived Near Troy Promoted the Legend – They created art and literature to keep the story alive.
  5. We Want to Believe – Questions asked about values and morality are still applicable today.

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February 9: UW-Eau Claire – One of the Safest Places to Be During the Pandemic

Posted on February 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

On February 9, UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Dr. James Schmidt spoke to the club about the impacts of COVID-19 on his campus and the UW System Colleges. Dr. Schmidt credited the power of partnerships in making the UW-Eau Claire campus one of the safest places to be during COVID. Throughout the pandemic, UW-Eau Claire focused heavily on following public health protocols, testing and encouraging vaccination. To date, they have had no classroom outbreaks/transmissions in any of their classrooms, nor any outbreaks in their residence halls. As they developed best practices, they took their learnings and solutions out into the community to extend the Wisconsin Idea.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GksezUttNWo&t=3653s

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February 2: Character Based Management for More Productivity

Posted on February 3, 2022 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

On February 2, Robert Beezat spoke to the Club about Character Based Management, offering keys to more productive and effective organizations. Robert talked about the critical job of managers and the importance that strong character plays in being a good, effective manager. If you reflect back on great managers you’ve had in your life, you’ll likely reflect on those who had integrity – meaning their actions reflected their words. Robert reminded us that although no one can be perfect, we can all be better. He encourages leaders to continuously evaluate themselves and invest time in improving their managerial skills.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10FioW_eO9E

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DAIS: Making Adjustments to Provide Services During a Pandemic

Posted on January 13, 2022 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Andrea Kaminski

On January 12, Shannon Barry, executive director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Service, spoke about how her organization adjusted to support survivors through the pandemic. This required new strategies just when their clients’ own situations were more dire. During the Covid lockdowns, victims were isolated with their batterers. DAIS provides an array of personal services and advocacy and has the only domestic violence shelter in Dane County. The volunteers who previously staffed the DAIS 24-hour helpline were let go, and all staff members had to help staff the line. With a Paycheck Protection Program loan, DAIS has purchased additional phones, improved its technology and made the workplace safer.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_vVhluFXRI&t=2269s

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December 15: Festival of Youth Arts

Posted on December 16, 2021 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Kevin Hoffman

The program for our last meeting of the year was a video compilation of performances by five Madison-area youth arts organizations.  Featured video montages were from:

  • Opera for the Young – A professional adult touring company that brings interactive performances to elementary schools throughout the Upper Midwest.  Adult casts collaborate with music teachers and student choruses to perform specially created opera adaptations.  They reach 70,000 children at around 200 schools.  They showed snippets from Pirates of Penzance and The Magic Flute.
  • Little Picassos – A youth-focused art enrichment organization that serves low-income families and seeks to provide more equal access to art education and enrichment.  The program provides a safe and nurturing environment to create and learn about art genres and history.  It also seeks to highlight the achievements of Black, Latino and Indigenous artists.
  • Music Con Brio – Created to provide affordable, accessible, and high-quality music lessons to children regardless of a family’s ability to pay or transport their child to and from lessons.  They produce an annual community concert series in collaboration with diverse Madison groups that perform a wide range of music from chamber music to jazz and funk.
  • Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps – Founded in 1920, the Madison Scouts is the oldest youth music organization in the State of Wisconsin. The program reaches over 4,000 youth students through music education programs, leadership development programs, and events hosted in Wisconsin through performing ensembles, and the Madison Scouts.  The Madison Scouts bring 165 youth from around the world including North America, Japan and Europe. 
  • Madison Ballet – Reaches around 13,000 people per year through live ballet productions at the Overture Center, School of Madison Ballet, and outreach partnerships with other non-profits in the Madison area.  The video they shared was of a performance at a state park near Delafield of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Thanks to Neil Fauerbach for doing the video editing to present this program at our meeting.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXm9HlJ2jfw&t=4s

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