Category Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

September 27: Bending Granite

Posted on September 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

From left: Tom Mosgaller, Kathleen Paris and Michael Williamson

Our speakers shared advice on how leaders can manage and drive change in their organizations based on the experiences described in their book – Bending Granite: 30+ True Stories of Leading Change in Dane County.  

Kathleen Paris focused on how former Madison Police Chief David Couper transformed MPD into a more inclusive community-policing organization;  Michael Williamson spoke about how former Madison Mayor Joe Sensenbrenner implemented TQM (Total Quality Management) practices, including worker input and data-based decision-making, to solve long wait times to repair and maintain city vehicles; and Tom Mosgaller explained how studies have shown more young teachers would stay in the classroom longer if given more access to best practices and mentors.  

If you missed our meeting this week, you can view it here: https://youtu.be/LiimUDx-qH8.

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

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September 20: Spotlighting the Use of Psychedelics in Healthcare

Posted on September 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Sharyn Alden

If you’ve heard of psychedelics in existing research at UW-Madison and its 10 years of clinical trials, you may know of the ever-expanding base of knowledge that is evolving.

Dr. Chantelle Thomas and Dr. Todd Kammerzelt, are building bridges of understanding of psychedelics’ use in healthcare.

Dr. Thomas explained those who seek treatment for PTSD and addiction, for example, have typically tried very hard to get help via traditional paths in the healthcare system.

Prior to psychedelic therapy, a patient goes through about 50 hours of screening, Dr. Kammerzelt said, and it is followed with numerous hours of therapy.

Experiences with psychedelics widely varies depending on factors such as a person’s environment and support system.

Dr. Thomas said, if you’re at a party, and you’ve taken the compounds, outside stimulators may be amplified. Conversely, medical therapists are geared to looking inside a person to help them on their journey to wellness.

That path can be arduous since the person may not have previously received the tools they needed.

If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch the video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvjESk0SeIo&t=4s

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

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September 13: Madison Tourism Has Wide-Reaching Benefits

Posted on September 19, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Sharyn Alden

“We Never Stop Moving Forward,” said Ellie Westman Chin, President & CEO of Destination Madison, now celebrating its 50th year.

No matter if you have lived in the Midwest Capital for decades, Ellie Chin shed new light on how leisure travel campaigns and hosting events like Ironman and Top Chef, translate to a strong economic impact.

She noted tourism is often called the ‘invisible industry’ yet in 2022 it represented 1.4 billion dollars in direct spending by visitors in the Madison community.

Madison, one of only two U.S. cities situated on an isthmus, has enormous drawing power. Visitors arrive for a multitude of reasons, to explore, learn and navigate its lakes and rivers, and its year-round unique vibes. But the brand wizards at Destination Madison keep coming up with new ways to attract businesses and visitors such as the North American Chinese Basketball Association Tournament or the World Stem Cell Summit.

There’s never been an easy way to describe the plethora of Madison’s pleasures, but to paraphrase Brandon Withrow in his recent write-up of a visit to Madison for The Daily Beast, he noted the city is quirky, delicious, and never simple.

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

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September 6: Shared Revenue in Wisconsin

Posted on September 8, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

Jerry Deschane, Executive Director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, discussed how earlier this summer, Wisconsin’s republican Legislature and democratic Governor were able to come together to pass one of the largest (and most critical) investments in state municipal aid in a generation (Act 12). The new bill will put one penny of every sales tax dollar towards local municipalities, increasing both large cities’ and small towns’ ability to run and staff their police departments, fire departments and other infrastructure. This example shows that, although it’s not easy, a representative government that approaches issues with civility and compromise, can work.

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

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August 23: World Yo-Yo Champion Wows! the Crowd

Posted on August 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

Rotarians and future Rotarians enjoyed some amazing yo-yo tricks from World Yo-Yo Champion and Madison native Mark Hayward during our annual Bring A Child/Grandchild to Rotary Day.  From demonstrating classic tricks like Walk the Dog and Rock the Baby, Mark also encouraged brave volunteers to participate in more elaborate tricks – like knocking a poker chip out from behind someone’s ear with a yo yo swing and standing in the center of a yo-yo hurricane! 

Mark answered some excellent questions from our young guests – who wanted to know how many yo- yos he owns (more than 1,200) – if yo-yos come in different shapes (yes, but the triangular ones can hurt the knuckles) and if he still has the first yo-yo given to him as a gift in high school – which led to his career as a yo-yo, juggling and spin top champion (yes, but it broke in two when it hit the ground too hard while demonstrating a difficult trick years ago.)  

Mark’s fun presentation before the Rotary Club of Madison was not videotaped, but you can see more of his work on his website: markhayward.net. Visit our club’s Facebook page for more photos and a short video too!

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

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August 16: Creating Hope Through Storytelling

Posted on August 18, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

Michelle McGrath, who joined the Rotary Club of Madison in 2008 and served as our club president from 2016-17, is sharing stories on how to create hope as she travels the region in her new role as District 6250 Governor.

She says Rotarians can make a difference in the lives of the increasing number of young people in Wisconsin and nationwide who are experiencing depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide.   We can do this by showing up, surrounding ourselves with kind people, and by serving ourselves and others.  

She shared a story about how she showed up in her early days as a new member of Rotary. She attended a board meeting just to observe, but nervously stood up to contribute to a discussion about a new (at the time) social media site called Twitter. The board wasn’t sure how this worked and whether Rotary Club of Madison should use it.  Michelle took a selfie of herself and four board members – all presidents – and tweeted it with the caption:  Four presidents and a peon.  Not anymore Governor McGrath! 

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

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Posted in District 6250, District 6250 Conference, District Governor, Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Weekly Rotary Guest Speaker

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