Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rotary Wine Fellowshippers Enjoy Another Great Event on June 24

Posted on June 30, 2014 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Mike Wilson

The Wine Fellowship Group had a Bring Your Own (BYO) Event at Mike and Patty Wilson’s on Tuesday the 24th of June. There were 15 attendees, and each Rotarian brought a bottle of wine, their story to go with it and a snack to accompany it. Great fun was had by all! I rated every bottle of wine as excellent (17.75-18.5/20 on my scale),for an extraordinary fleet of wines.

From left: Nona Hagen, Dan Dieck, Mike Casey & Carolyn Casey

They started with three cold wines: a Santinori Assyrtiko to accompany a tapenade; an Alsatian Pinot Gris (Rotenberg from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht) with a Greek dip; and a Rose of Sangiovese from Amorosa (called Goia) with the winery being a large “Napa Castle” which was viewed from their parking lot on the successful Wine Fellowship tour of Napa exactly one year ago. These were accompanied by feta and watermelon kebabs.

Next, two beautifully soft Pinot Noirs were tasted: Acrobat from Oregon and Husch from the Anderson Valley. Both were paired with great artisanal Wisconsin cheeses and a basket of cherries. Just like the cold wines described above, these were excellent, and the tasting group was evenly divided in preference.

(Photo 1: Mike & Mandy McKay; Photo 2: Juli & Keith Baumgartner; Photo 3: Patty Wilson & Cheryl Wittke)

Two “racy reds” were then tasted: A Domaine de la Janesse Cotes Du Rhone with a colorful story of how it came to be selected (Dan Dieck’s son had sent a case from France) and an A Venge wine called Scouts Honor (a dog story, not Baden-Powell) California blend (Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Charbono and Syrah). Once again, the tasting group liked both equally well.

(Photo 1: Steve & Meryl Mixtacki; Photo 2: Meryl Mixtacki & Mike Wilson; Photo 3: Mary Barbieri & Beverly Simone)

Finally the hosts provided two very different ports. A 1960 Warre’s Vintage Porto as a traditional base, and a 1947 “Royal Reserve” Mazuran “Port” from New Zealand. This previously unknown vineyard in Henderson , NZ, has been producing Port for years. The initial winemaker was a descendant of the Dalmatian Kauri tree gum diggers that emigrated to New Zealand early on for just this purpose, but when the Kauri trees were significantly reduced (now a protected tree) they switched to other work. Dalmatia is near where the original Zinfandel vines have been located, and these immigrants formed the basis of the early New Zealand wine industry. Chocolate covered strawberries and other chocolates were the accompanying snack made by Hostess Patty. Here the New Zealand port was the absolute winner. The 67 year old Royal Reserve is the very first Mazuran port Mike tried some 40 years ago, and was released for the visit of the young Queen Elizabeth in her 1952 tour of New Zealand as part of the new monarchs tour of the antipodean british Commonwealth. Perhaps the Mazuran was rated so well as the tasters were informed that it now sells for NZ$700.

Our thanks to Mike & Patty Wilson for hosting another great event!

A great time was had by one and all!

NAYEN: North American Youth Exchange Network; Cancun, Mexico: March 5-8, 2014

Posted on March 14, 2014 by joannamartinez | 1 comment

–submitted by John Bonsett-Veal

My wife, Jan, and I recently attended a Rotary International Youth Exchange function, NAYEN 2014. Jan will be assuming a leadership role as District 6250 Youth Exchange Chair in July. As such, Jan wanted an opportunity to become more immersed in the protocols of Rotary Youth Exchange at the NAYEN conference. While we were there, I was invited to help train the facilitators for the Multi-District Central States Youth Exchange conference this summer for the Rotarians who will be helping the returning rebound students cope with reverse culture shock. Hopefully, we can give them a better ability to act as ambassadors of their former host countries to their home communities here in the United States.

(Photo 1: Stages of youth exchanges, cultural adaptation and reaction; Photo 2: A cooperation workshop making towers out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows)

The conference lasted from late Wednesday through early Sunday and addressed safety protocols, culture shock, conflict resolution and how to improve the experience of all our youth before, during and after their exchange experience. During our time there we attended seminars, plenary sessions and workshops. We met others of the 410 attendees from over 23 countries. Social activities occupied the evenings. We also had the pleasure of connecting with the former Youth Exchange Student to Oregon, Wisconsin, from Cancun, Carlos, as well as his parents and sister. Carlos’ father, also Carlos, is the President of the Rotary Club of Cancun… It is a small world.

The single most inspiring aspect of the conference was seeing the passion that is shared around the world by and for our Youth Exchange Ambassadorial Students. We learned of many stories and shared our international cultures with others throughout the five days we were in Cancun. Rotary… A positive influence the world around!

“Selfy” photo from left: Carlos’ mother, Jan, John and Carlos.

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Posted in 6. Youth, Uncategorized, Youth Exchange

Tagged NAYEN, Rotary, Rotary District 6250, Rotary Youth Exchange

Celebrating 100 Years: A Look Back in Club’s History – Manfred Swarsensky

Posted on November 21, 2012 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

As part of our celebration to mark the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the Rotary Club of Madison, Jerry Thain and Rich Leffler are publishing original documents from the Club’s archives and other sources. We hope that these documents will recall for you the rich history of the Club and the times during this momentous century.

This week, Rich Leffler provides the following history piece:

On Wednesday, November 14, we honored Melanie Ramey with the Manfred E. Swarsensky Humanitarian Service Award. The Rabbi was for many years a beloved member of the Club, and his many ways of service to the Club and beyond were well understood. His death in 1981 was eulogized in The Rotary News on November 11, 1981. The eulogist was a giant figure in Madison himself, The Reverend Robert Borgwardt, Senior Pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church.

It was our intention just to quote excerpts from Rev. Borgwardt’s eulogy, but after reading it again carefully, we were struck at how brilliant it is as prose, or perhaps it is more appropriate to refer to it as poetry. But read it for yourself as a remembrance of the Rabbi by a heartbroken colleague.

Following the Rev. Borgwardt’s eulogy, you will find another surprising piece. It dates from November 14, 1967. It is the full text of Rabbi Swarsensky’s Thanksgiving Address at Rotary. Virtually the entire Rotary News was devoted to the Rabbi’s remarks, something very unusual. And the reason this was done is almost certainly that what the Rabbi had to say is timeless, in the sense that what he said forty-five years ago still resonates in us today.

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving holiday. And we congratulate Melanie for a career that well deserves an award that commemorates Manfred Swarsensky.

Rotary Business LinkUp Meeting on August 9

Posted on August 13, 2012 by joannamartinez | 1 comment

-submitted by Dave Ewanowski

From left: Steve Musser, Deb Raupp, Bill Montei, Dave Ewanowski and Paul Olsen

Fifteen Rotarians and guests met at the Madison Club on Thursday, August 9^th for an informative “Business LinkUp” session. Members learned more about each other’s businesses and organizations as they discussed stimulating topics posed by moderators Derrick Van Mell and Roger Phelps. Questions included “What is the value of a great idea?” and “What was your greatest risk?” In addition, Rob Ringeisen spoke about his business (Tom James clothiers) and Dave Ewanowski, founding partner at KEE Architecture, highlighted recent work of the firm. More LinkUp sessions are planned for the future. Stay tuned…

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Posted in 2. Meetings, 5. Members, Social Media, Speed Rotary, Uncategorized

Tagged Fellowship, Membership, Rotary, Rotary Club of Madison

Speed Rotary – Rockstar Networking

Posted on June 7, 2012 by joannamartinez | 2 comments

Submitted by Rotarian Linda Baldwin

Who knows networking? Rotarians. We displayed our prowess on May 30 with a fast round of Speed Rotary.

For the 2^nd time this year, Rotarians spent five minutes each with five different Rotarians learning a little bit more about their lives. Speed Rotary sped along, and those five-minute conversations seemed over in an instant.

Overheard and tweeted…
“Old dogs can learn new tricks…when they are taught them by younger dogs.”

“Having your legacy go on after you are gone involves bringing in new blood.”

“Take your wife to your favorite places in the world before it’s too late.” “LinkedIn has all these bells and whistles I could really use.”

“As a guest, I was totally impressed that Rotarians would take this time to get to know one another.”
“Different generations talked today – someone asked me how old I was!”

“People are job hunting….subtly.”
“Caught up with some old friends.”
“Made a return phone call in person.”
“Met a techie who doesn’t tweet.”

Try it – tweeting that is, go to twitter.com, find #speedrotary and comment about today. Then touch tweet.

Rotarians – what an interesting bunch.

Mary Gaffney-Ward & Dora Zuniga

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Posted in 2. Meetings, 4. Fellowship Groups, Social Media, Speed Rotary, Uncategorized

Tagged Fellowship, Networking, New Members, Rotary Club of Madison, Social Media, Speed Rotary

Inaugural Rotary Tri-Quest May 20

Posted on May 31, 2012 by joannamartinez | 1 comment

Volunteers began arriving at The Legend at Bergamont at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 20^th, to begin the registration and course set-up for our Rotary Club of Madison’s Inaugural Tri-Quest Event. We had over 50 Rotary volunteers to help throughout the day, and the location and staff at Bergamont were superb.

By 7:00 am, many participants were on site—some were on the golf course and others getting ready for the 8:00 am 5K Run. The 31K Bicycle Race started by 9:15 a.m. and we also had an afternoon golf event.

Weather cooperated in general, although many of our participants would tell you that it was a little warmer than they preferred and the wind presented more of a challenge for parts of the course.

Registrations totaled 129 for our event, and this was a good level for our first time around. We will provide news on the total amount raised for our Madison Rotary Foundation Synergy Fund in the coming weeks but expect it to be at the $25,000 level.

Congratulations to the following winners:
Corporate/Relay Division
Mens’s               Group Health Cooperative
Women’s          Sun Prairie Rotary
Coed                  CUNA Mutual
Individual Division
Men’s                 Dave Nelson
Women’s          Karen Mittelstadt
Two-Person Team
Men’s                 John Ratkovich & Tim Schertz
Coed                   Paul & Debbie Zampelli
Four-Person Team
Men’s                  McGladrey
Individual Medalists
Run- 1^st place Men’s              David Schneekloth (Smith& Gesteland)
Run- 1^st place Women’s       Jennifer Norr (CUNA Mutual)
Bike- 1^st place Men’s             Jon Furlow (CUNA Mutual)
Bike- 1^st place Women’s      Glenda Hodge (M3 Insurance)
Golf-1^st place Men’s               Rob Peters (CUNA Mutual)
Golf 1^st place Women’s         Carrie Wall (Rotary Team #2)

Dave Nelson

From left: Tri-Quest Committee Chair Scott Haumersen, Steve Goldberg (CUNA Mutual) and Larry Zanoni (Group Health Cooperative)

For additional photos in a slideshow format visit:
Rotary Tri-Quest

Thanks to everyone—sponsors, participants, volunteers and those staffing the event—for helping us to make our 1^st annual Rotary Tri-Quest event a huge success.