November 13: Wagner on 2024 Election Results

Posted on November 15, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Michael Shulman

Michael Wagner is a faculty affiliate at the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison and provided a fresh analysis of the election. His data centric presentation emphasized the impact of voters’ low approval ratings of the current administration (41%) and voter indifference to a rebounding economy. Biggest surprises? 65% of people do not want to talk about politics, Harris lost the popular vote due to weak voter turnout in bright blue states and people who consume information from diverse sources split their ticket, re-electing Tammy Baldwin. Wagner’s presentation is easily followed in the video recording on our club’s YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/_sb3EH5ntOg.

Do you want to hear more about the election results? The Elections Research Center at UW-Madison is hosting a 2024 Elections Symposium on Friday, Nov. 22. If you are interested, here is a link for more information and how to sign up: https://elections.wisc.edu/2024symposium/.

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

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November 6: Badger Honor Flight

Posted on November 8, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Rich Leffler

Steven Bartlett and fellow Rotarian Gary Peterson spoke to the Club about Honor Flight, which is solely engaged in flying military veterans to Washington, D.C., so that they may tour and engage with the memorials created in their honor.

All veterans, whether they served in wartime or not, are eligible. All expenses are paid for. It’s an emotional and fulfilling experience for the vets, one of whom, in a short video, referred to it as “A Dream Trip.”

Gary described the welcome he received in Washington as “unbelievable.” He urged all veterans to sign up.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/-gS8m_JaBMg.

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

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October 30: Zach Brandon Delivers Greater Madison Storyline to 2050

Posted on October 31, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Zach Brandon opened his presentation by giving a snapshot of Greater Madison in 1999 and then made some comparisons to where things stand in 2024 before ultimately projecting out to 2050.

He delivered a master statistical, fast-passed, data-driven storyline that mapped fifty years of actual and projected changes.

As an example, a house in Madison was advertised for $173,000. The same house today is listed at $461,000. Epic’s MyChart was in development. Epic’s current annual revenue is valued at $5 billion in 16 countries and MyChart is now the dominant entry point for all medical records.

Madison now ranks third in concentration of software developers and was one of 12 places to receive funding through the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program. Coincidentally, its housing market, even inadequate, and Madison’s amenities help rank the city among the top 20 best places to live that are also technology hubs—no wildfires, hurricanes, or major flooding. It is well-positioned with respect to current climate changes. New rapid transit buses help linear expansion throughout Dane County. Moreover, the addition of key jobs creates a multiplier of complementary services and additional residents.

And so to “Outsight: 2050” . . . For work and living, Millennials’ influx has been followed by Gen Z. Madison ranked 9th in the country, according to data released in 2023, in Gen Z net migration. Brandon uses an estimated projection for Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area 2050 population at 1,000,000, a potential increase of 300,000.

Brandon’s presentation is complex but easily followed in the video recording: https://youtu.be/PFzrZ_WjTU4.

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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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October 23: Tom Loftus: Ambassador to Norway

Posted on October 25, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

We had the pleasure of spending time with Tom Loftus, advisor to the World Health Organization; member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents; and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Governor of Wisconsin, defeated by Tommy Thompson.

We were in the company of this Sun Prairie man’s service as United States Ambassador to Norway between 1993 and 1997.

Loftus reviewed the old order, now past:  USSR’s government had collapsed; the Berlin Wall was down; Nelson Mandela shared the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993; Oslo Accords 1 and 2 regarding Israel and Palestine were signed in 1993 and 1995 respectively.  Among other things, Loftus negotiated with the Russians regarding safe disposal of their submarines’ liquid nuclear waste at sea.

Loftus shared lighter stories too:  his introductory presentation to King Harald V of Norway, who later visited the United States; hosting and feeding Governor Thompson’s impromptu trade mission visit to Norway; and  Norwegian immigrants to Wisconsin and their links to Wisconsin mayors.

Ambassador Loftus was highly articulate, self-effacing, and very funny.  Watch the video (https://youtu.be/ubjQQoLfz8A) if you missed the meeting, or buy his book, Mission to Oslo, published last month.  It would be a rewarding experience.

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

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October 16: Dane County Executive Candidates Forum

Posted on October 18, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Club member Joy Cardin moderated a classic Rotary forum for the two candidates for the Dane County Executive Director’s seat:  five-term State Senator Melissa Agard, and Dana Pellebon, current Executive Director of RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Joy directed a series of pre-selected questions to each candidate in turn, each responding with two-minute answers and then three-minute closing statements.

The forum revealed clear differences in experience and style between the candidates and thus also signaled a change in approach for this report.  Their multiple answers were rapid-fire, challenging to report, and impossible to review without revealing this scribe’s conclusions about each person.

The good news is there is a video record of the forum, and viewing it enables those who missed the program to form clear and independent opinions about the candidates and their readiness for the job:  https://youtu.be/se6oPsuQI4o.

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

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Mike Gotzler Receives Rotary Club of Madison Youth Service Award

Posted on October 16, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–presented by Anthony Gray on October 16, 2024

Each year, our club recognizes six members for their service to our Rotary Club in one of Rotary’s five avenues of service which are club, community, international, vocational or youth service.  Today, I am going to introduce you to our Rotary Club of Madison 2024 Youth Service Award recipient.

Mike Gotzler joined Rotary in 2009.  He is an attorney with Littler Law Firm, specializing in labor and employment matters. 

During his 15 years of membership, Mike has been very active in our Rotary Ethics Symposium Planning Committee.  He chaired the committee starting in 2019 and through the years of Covid.  He co-chaired the committee last year and continues to be an active member of the planning committee which is just starting up with preparations for our 2025 Ethics Symposium.

Mike also served on our Youth Awards Committee, helping to make the presentations to high school students during our annual Youth Awards luncheon in the spring.  He has also served on our Personnel and Goodman Rotary 50+ Fitness Advisory Committees and served on the Board of Trustees for our Madison Rotary Foundation for 4 years.

We want to thank Mike for his continuing dedication to Rotary and especially to our youth programs, and our club board has named him as our 2024 Rotary Club of Madison Youth Service Award recipient.  Congratulations, Mike!

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Posted in Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award

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