Category Archives: Madison WI

April 2: Innovation at the WI Dept of Revenue

Posted on April 7, 2025 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Rich Leffler

Dave Casey, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, and a fellow Rotarian, offered us a view of the Department’s complexity of data collections and the innovative software that it uses to serve the public efficiently and securely: It is “a full-on service organization.” Amazon Connect listens to 700,000+ telephone calls and summarizes them for staff, cutting call times and wait times. “Call Sentiment” detects when callers are angry, allowing intervention. Amazon Q will be able to answer questions. Google Document is 99% accurate in reading documents. Direct File plus Wis. Tax creates a tax return. Taxpayers only have to OK it. Security is a concern, but Google Info is on premises; Amazon is on the cloud and only Wisconsin can access it. But the IRS? That’s a worry: will it make our information available to ICE?

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Posted in 2. Meetings, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Rotary Weekly Guest Speaker

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March 26: Focused Interruption Shares Story of Gun Violence Intervention

Posted on March 28, 2025 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Valerie Renk

Anthony Cooper and Mark Cash

We show up at the hospital when gun violence victims and families need answers and support. We show up when police, during developing situations, ask for help verbally de-escalating a potentially violent situation.
That’s how Anthony Cooper, Sr, Founder/CEO, described some of the work of Focused Interruption. Their gun violence prevention programs include this outreach plus:

• Community Safety Work
• Mentorship
• Aftercare & Recovery

Cooper said they partner with hospitals, community groups, government and law enforcement. He concluded saying the organization’s goal is to improve lives by interrupting cycles of violence and trauma in communities.

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Posted in 2. Meetings, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Rotary Weekly Guest Speaker

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Wes Sparkman Receives Rotary Club of Madison’s Club Service Award

Posted on March 26, 2025 by | Leave a comment

–presented by Joyce Bromley on March 26, 2025

Today, Wes Sparkman is being recognized with a Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award for his service to our Club.

Professionally, Wes Sparkman is the Director of the Dane County Tamara D. Grigsby Office for Equity and Inclusion.

Wes joined our Rotary Club in 2005. In these past 20 years he has held leadership roles and has been involved in a variety of club committees.

He has served as trustee on our Club Board of Directors and as our Club President during our Centennial Year in 2012-13 and also served as President of our Madison Rotary Foundation.

Among the committees he has served are Ethics Symposium, Scholarship, Program, Orientations and DEI. He has also served as a Rotary scholar mentor.

For his continuing dedicated service, we are naming Wes with a 2025 Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award. The Club has made a gift of 200 Paul Harris Fellows points in Wes’s name to The Rotary International Foundation as part of this recognition.

Congratulations to Wes on receiving this recognition! At the meeting, President-elect Anthony presented Wes with a certificate and a special pin to recognize him with this award.

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Posted in 2. Meetings, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award

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Valerie Renk Receives Rotary Club of Madison’s Club Service Award

Posted on March 13, 2025 by | Leave a comment

Presented by Joyce Bromley on March 12, 2025

Our Avenues of Service Awards recognize members of our club for their contributions to our Club, to our community, to youth programs, to international programs, and for sharing their vocation.

Valerie Renk has been selected for this year’s Club Avenue of Service Award.

Professionally, Valerie Renk retired as CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County in 2023 and presently owns her own development consulting business.

Since joining Rotary in 2012 she has extensively served our club in a variety of ways. In addition, to serving on our Club’s Board of Directors for two years, she has served on several committees that include Budget and Finance, Member Engagement, Fund Drive, International Projects, Personnel, Photography, and as chair of our Rotary News Committee. She has been a Rotary Scholar Mentor, including hosting our Rotary Scholar mentor picnic with her husband at their farm. She and her husband have also hosted a number of our Dinner and Discussion Fellowship Group events. She has served on our Madison Rotary Foundation, including as President in 2023-24. Currently she chairs our Foundation’s Major Gifts Committee.

It is an honor on behalf of our club, to thank Valerie for her extensive contributions with the 2025 Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award!

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Posted in 8. Honors, Club Service Award, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award

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February 26: Crisis Management Services in Madison

Posted on February 28, 2025 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Larry Larrabee

Sarah Henrickson, Clinical Team Manager at Journey Mental Health Center, and Shane Quella, Crisis Response Team Member shared a description of CARES (Community Alternative Response Emergency Services) that is funded by the City of Madison. Because uniformed officers responding to a behavioral crisis can send the wrong message and inadvertently escalate the situation, CARES provides non-threatening support to individuals by listening to them and trying to direct them to various support organizations. It can provide transport to different places and facilities that will give immediate assistance such as shelters and hospitals. Shane described an example of one of his recent interventions.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/IQ2p7s0KLdE.

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Posted in Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Weekly Rotary Guest Speaker

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January 29: Bald Eagles in Wisconsin: Remarkable Recovery Story

Posted on January 31, 2025 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

Ecologist Jeb Barzen shared the remarkable recovery of bald eagles in Wisconsin. In 1973, there were only 108 nesting birds, but following the elimination of DDT, this number increased to 1,684 by 2019. Research shows that eagles are dynamic birds, moving based on food availability. More ice on rivers results in fewer nesting eagles in that particular area during winter. Considering various needs and perspectives is key to achieving win-win outcomes in ecological issues. To reach solutions, Barzen emphasized the importance of a common vision, iterative collaboration to build trust, and approaching outcomes with an open mind.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/P17mbtMJ_YI.

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Posted in 2. Meetings, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Weekly Guest Speaker, Weekly Rotary Guest Speaker

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