Tag Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

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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October 9: Leckrone Shares His Moments of Happiness

Posted on October 11, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Moments of Happiness:  A Wisconsin Band Story, co-authored by Doug Moe and Mike Leckrone, provided more than a meeting’s worth of happiness for Rotarians as Moe interviewed Leckrone about his fifty years as UW-Madison Marching Band leader.

From a musical family, Leckrone’s inspiration was fueled by a stage-side seat at a non-stop two-and-a-half-hour performance by Louie Armstrong and his band in a small Indiana town.  Armstrong’s commitment to even a small audience was not forgotten by Leckrone.

Moe’s questions triggered endless stories about Leckrone’s life, band, students, and stage creations from 1969 on.  In fact, he began earlier with a story about meeting his future wife in seventh grade and extended it to sixty-two years of marriage.

Many UW Band traditions began accidentally:  “When you say Wisconsin, you said it all” was a commercial injected with “Wisconsin”.  The basketball “pep band” became the UW Varsity Band.  Leckrone’s famous concert entrances offset his boredom with standard entrances.  A career highlight: The 1994 Rosebowl parade where the band played “On Wisconsin” 137 times while passing by Wisconsin fans.  Pride: The band played for all UW sports except fencing (ended too soon).

In closing . . . career and life well-lived, and presentation very funny besides!

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/PJidZnF6uzc.

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

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Rotary Club of Madison’s Club Service Award Recipient Mark Clear

Posted on October 9, 2024 by | 1 comment

–presented by Charles McLimans on October 9, 2024

I am pleased to introduce a member with our 2024 Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award. This recognition is part of our Avenues of Service Awards Program which recognizes members for their efforts on behalf of our Rotary club in one of the five avenues of service which are: club, community, international, vocational and youth.

Mark Clear has been a member of our Rotary Club since 2012.  He is currently the development director for Isthmus Community Media. He is also a founder of three start-up tech companies.

With his background in software products for website management, Mark is a natural fit for serving on our Rotary Club’s Information Technology and Office Support Committee.  He has served on this committee for ten years and is a past chair. What many members may not know is that Mark has provided countless hours of pro-bono IT work for our Rotary office.  When the office transitioned to Microsoft 365, Mark handled the transition and installation.  When there are small issues that arise with our office computers, Mark is there to help troubleshoot.  He helps keep our office systems running smoothly and is very appreciated by Pat and Jayne.

Mark has also served on our Program and Visitor Hospitality Committees, on our club board, and he is a former Meeting Experience Team Leader. During Mark’s time as Meeting Experience Team Leader, he created our Four Way Test for our Speaker Q&A portion of our meetings.  

For Mark’s continuing volunteer efforts on behalf of our club, we are presenting him with a 2024 Rotary Club of Madison Club Service Award.  Congratulations, Mark!

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October 2: Madison’s Passenger Rail Station Identification Study

Posted on October 4, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Liz Callin, City of Madison senior transportation planner and specialist in transit, passenger rail, public engagement and policy work, spoke about Madison’s Passenger Rail Station Identification Study that is fitting and necessary for the state Capital, the University and associated research, tourism, Madison’s new transit system, and linkage to the city’s biotech hub.

The goal is to provide two round trips per day between Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St. Paul while linking several Wisconsin cities associated with the new Borealis line, as well as the Hiawatha line.

Possible Madison station sites being studied: somewhere downtown (probably preferred), First Street corridor and the Oscar Mayer corridor. The best would contain associated space for development of lodging, businesses, and public functions.

A site could be identified in 2025-2026. Completion of planning, design, and construction could occur by 2031.

The benefits would include accommodation of 300,000 new Madison-Dane County residents by 2050; and more efficient, safer, cleaner and environmentally friendly city linkages.

Now the project needs federal leadership and a supporting coalition of potential benefactors in Madison and along related rail routes.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/ckc1Es-u0hM.

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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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