Tag Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

July 24: What MSCR Has to Offer the Madison Community

Posted on July 26, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Kevin Hoffman

Executive Director Mary Roth gave an information-packed presentation about the mission of Madison School and Community Recreation (MSCR) and the many programs it offers and constituencies of all ages it serves. Even though MSCR is a department within the Madison Metropolitan School District, it has many community-focused programs that facilitate activity, engagement, enrichment and social interaction for all ages. MSCR also offers school age-based programs for elementary, middle and high school children. MSCR strives to be publicly accessible to all who want to participate regardless of physical, financial or geographic challenges. One marquee program that our Rotary Foundation supports and MSCR administers is the Goodman Rotary 50+ Fitness program. It is 30 years since its inception and is still going strong!

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/_ns1w1CgLns.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,

July 17: Growing Up Farley: A Story of Addiction, Love and Forgiveness

Posted on July 22, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Kevin Hoffman

Actor and comedian Chris Farley died 26 years ago from a heroin overdose. His brother, Tom Farley, spoke to Rotarians and guests about his mental health journey through grief, recovery and connection. After Chris’s tragic death at the age of 33, Tom began speaking to school groups to try and prevent similar tragedies. However, this wasn’t enough. He needed to find connection to the root causes of how he and his family dealt with emotional issues so that he could connect with those already struggling with addiction. He counseled us to find our lane – to be who we are meant to be, not what you are expected to be by others. Don’t let trauma build up until it explodes; focus on healing rather than pretending; and be part of a team. Realize your authentic role.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK8nJ7CWgjg.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,

July 10: Ribbon in the Sky: Soul, Funk, and the Enduring Power of Black Art

Posted on July 12, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Kevin Hoffman

Professor Alexander Shashko of UW Madison and a lecturer in African American history, gave an illuminating overview of the exceptional and significant impact Black art, and music in particular, has had on American and world culture. From the times of the enslaved to the present-day Black music in its various forms (Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Soul, Funk and more) is the communication medium that expressed hope, survival, innovation, identity, joy and greatness through and between generations. If we want to understand the world and young people and what they are experiencing, Professor Shashko urge us to listen to contemporary music – not just the melody but especially the words and what they are saying.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/hfpOSng1TVY.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

June 26: 2024 Changing of the Guard Program

Posted on July 1, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

  • Record-setting rounds of applause
  • A dozen annual achievements—429 members; $17 million Foundation endowment; $900,000 grants made
  • Thanks to team leaders, board members, committee chairs, AND Melanie Ramey’s forthcoming fourth year arranging lunch sponsorships

President Charles’s Swan Song with fedora and shades, the ghost of Sinatra, with a new title:  “We did it OUR way.”

Four past presidents and Anthony Gray, President-Elect, inducting President Jason Ilstrup, including ten facts about him, some past . . . Juris Doctor, family man, tennis pro, and, alas a liability:  a true Minnesota Vikings fan.

If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/_9dqvX4jE5Y.

Leave a comment

Posted in Changing of the Guard Program, Rotary Club of Madison

Tagged , , , ,

June 12: RI President Gordon McInally Addresses Club

Posted on June 17, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Through the invitation of club member Ed Futa, Rotary International President Gordon McInally addressed Downtown Rotary’s meeting, which included invited clubs in and around Madison.

President McInally’s Rotary year is nearing an end, but the theme he has chosen– Create Hope in the World—will endure because it describes in five words what Rotary International does.  He shared moving incidents that reinforce the theme:

  • In 2022 he vaccinated a Pakistani child with two drops of fluid on his tongue, eliminating his risk of polio.
  • In northern India, at a school funded by the Rotary Foundation, he spoke with an eight-year-old student who said that her education was the “key to the golden door and a noble future.”
  • Also in India, he spoke with a woman of 46 who appeared to be 70.  Rotary gave her a grant for medical care a prohibitive 12 hours away, cataract surgery and her first pair of glasses, enabling her to earn a living and see her grandchildren for the first time.

These are examples of how Rotary holds hope in the collective hands of our worldwide clubs’ members.

If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuZM_NjsnRc.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,

May 22: Oberhauser Shares How to Save the Monarch Butterfly

Posted on May 24, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Valerie Renk

Dr. Karen Oberhauser, conservation biologist and UW-Madison Arboretum Director, told Rotarians that Monarch Butterfly populations have been declining in the last three decades. Loss of breeding habitat and hot/dry conditions translate to less feed and are to blame. Twelve of the 100+ milkweed species needed are native to Wisconsin.

Oberhauser then shared how we can help:

  • Landscape your own home with flowers that bloom throughout the summer; Kentucky bluegrass is invasive.
  • Plant milkweed and colorful flowers in rights-of-way not mowed, crop buffers and land already protected.
  • Contribute to science and conservations organizations; mitigate climate change.

If you missed the program this week you can watch it here:  https://youtu.be/vJALctE5Ocg. 

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,