submitted by Linda Baldwin; photos by Donna Beestman & Jim Christensen
Our annual Rotary Scholar Mentor Picnic was held on Sunday, June 23, at the home of Nancy and Ed Young. Moving from one side of Lake Monona to the other, Nancy and Ed treated scholars and their mentors to a terrific afternoon in the Community Room at Nolan Shores condos.
Our club has a terrific group of scholars, and I had the opportunity to talk with a few. One, Lisa Xiong, a 2016 Levy Family Scholar from East High School, a senior studying biomedical engineering, had been to four picnics, loved catching up with other mentees and enjoyed meeting new ones.
Cassidy Ferguson, a 2018 Brandenburg Scholar from La Follette High School, is studying early childhood education at UW Stevens Point. She loves the smaller school learning experience and we chatted about One City Schools, our Rotary sponsored project. I encouraged her to visit the school while in Madison this summer.
I also talked with Ahyun Chung, a 2019 McBeath Scholar from Middleton High School, who is studying engineering at UW-Madison. We talked about climate change with her mentor, Karen Kendrick-Hands. I left the event uplifted and impressed with these young people and the others I met. I’m confident that their generation will change the path of history for the better…
The tacos were terrific and we ate on recyclable plates with recyclable forks. Our thanks to Ed and Nancy Young for hosting our group and thanks to Rotarians who brought food and beverages.
“More than a store. It is a gathering place,” was how Joe Maldonado summarized the special role of Luna’s Groceries in its first year of operations. Luna’s Groceries is the result of the inspiration, research and hard work of Joe and wife/business partner Mariam Maldonado, longtime residents of Madison’s Allied/Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood. As of last fall, they are owners of the only full-service grocery store in this diverse, working class neighborhood.
Michael Johnson, President and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County, delivered on his promise to share “The Ten Characteristics of Successful Non Profit Leadership” with the Rotary Club audience on June 5th. He was profiled in last week’s Rotary News and as Rotarians and guests learned, he lives his commitment to improving conditions for young people through his own successful leadership of a major non profit organization. Sharing statistics of the impact of non profit organizations and position in the U.S. economy, Johnson had some eye-opening information for us. But he focused on the challenge of keeping the current situation in focus and emphasized the challenges of adequate employment and educational opportunities.
After congratulating 2019 Rotarian scholars, UW Foundation Sr. Director of Development Trent Jackson shared his Principles of Life. Many Rotarians remember Jackson as the sixth all time leading scorer of the UW Badger basketball team.
Christian W. Overland has been the Director of the Wisconsin Historical Society since his appointment in February 2018. He came to Madison from sixteen years in various positions at The Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Michigan.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 