Tag Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

August 28: Rotary District Governor’s Address

Posted on August 29, 2024 by | 1 comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

The 2024-25 Rotary 6250 District Governor Todd Restel is a member of Rotary Club of La Crosse and the CFO of First Supply – a company that distributes plumbing supplies.  He shared a story from early in his career when he was puzzled by the excitement his colleagues had over the way a certain toilet flushed.  But he has since realized the critical importance of plumbing when it comes to global health and its connection to Rotary’s efforts to improve clean water, sanitation and hygiene worldwide.   He suggested we might consider talking or learning about a sanitation project on or around November 19 – World Toilet Day! Governor Restel also discussed District 6250’s designation as a “Global Peacebuilder District” and encouraged us to take the Rotary Positive Peace Academy Course to learn more about peace building strategies. 

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here:  https://youtu.be/RBgNSc2wJe8.

1 Comment

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

Tagged , , ,

August 21: Magician Matthew Teague: Bring a Child to Rotary Day

Posted on August 22, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

“Magic is that moment when you imagine anything can happen!”  With those words, Madison-based magician Matthew Teague proceeded to amuse and amaze an audience of Rotarians and future Rotarians participating in our annual Bring a Child/Grandchild to Rotary Day.  Teague is living his dream of performing magic all around Wisconsin and beyond and encouraging his fans to consider all possibilities.  Several young attendees volunteered to assist in the magic tricks which included bending spoons; a rope that turned into several ropes; a playing card that ended up in the shoe of one assistant; coins that magically came out of ears; and other tricks that had us all scratching our heads. When asked if he had advice for aspiring magicians, he said they should “learn how to love practice – and view it not as work but a thing of joy.” 

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , ,

August 14: Madison’s 5-Year Strategic Financial Plan

Posted on August 16, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway presented two city budget scenarios to the Rotary Club of Madison this week. One of them included a voter-approved referendum that would allow Madison to exceed the state-mandated property tax levy limit to pay for a $22-million deficit and fund city services for 5 years.  The other plan does not include the referendum and calls for $6-million in cuts to city services with the need for more cuts in subsequent years.  Mayor Rhodes-Conway says an unfair shared revenue formula is partially to blame for the budget deficit.  Madison gets the lowest amount of shared revenue per resident from the state than any other Wisconsin city.  Over the next 5 years, she says the city will also lobby the state legislature to change the shared revenue formula and allow cities to find other sources of revenue.  The political make-up of the state legislature could change with new legislative maps in place and lawmakers could be more willing to make these changes.  The Madison City Council is expected to approve putting the $22-million referendum on the November 5 ballot.  If voters approve the referendum, it would raise the annual property tax on the average Madison home by $240 or $20 a month. 

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here:  https://youtu.be/QqSsHUAc2-o.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , ,

Happy 100th Birthday, Lew!

Posted on August 15, 2024 by | Leave a comment

During yesterday’s Rotary meeting, a “surprise party” came to fruition thanks to the combined efforts of our club’s Kitchen Fellowship and Scotch Whisky LHS Fellowship Groups of which Lew is a long-time member of both. Thanks to the Park Hotel staff for decorating the room with balloons and special Happy Birthday signage for Lew, too! Members and close friends of Lew were in attendance, and Rep. Scott Johnson made a special presentation to Lew to thank him for his military service on behalf of the State of Wisconsin.  Following our meeting, everyone was invited to partake in cake and whisky and to enjoy a special Lew slideshow prepared by club member Brian Basken.  Here’s a link to the slideshow:  https://youtu.be/WKn00ZONlj4.    

Leave a comment

Posted in Rotary Club of Madison

Tagged , ,

August 7: FBI Field Office in Milwaukee Played Key Role in Taking Down Cyber Crooks Worldwide Which Involved 1.5M Victims

Posted on August 12, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Sharyn Alden

Charles Tubbs, fellow Rotarian, expert in homeland security and policing, introduced FBI Special Agent Amanda Knutson as the Rotary Club of Madison speaker, August 7.

Tubbs said homeland security has been preparing for what could be the next 911, but now it might be power grid disruptions or cybersecurity crimes.

Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Amanda Knutson runs Cyber Task Force and the Computer Analysis Response Team at the Milwaukee FBI Field Office. She said Genesis market crooks had accessed millions of “fingerprints” (passwords, banking information, and other sensitive identification) and they were selling the information on the dark web.

Genesis had 1.15 million bots for sale for as little as $10 each. Each bot contained about 80 million personal accounts. Users received an invitation from Genesis before buying the information.

How do you catch crooks on a global scale?  The plan was coordinated with FBI agents, police and Europol worldwide, and was successful due to one Milwaukee case agent’s unique approach.

Instead of going after the crooks, they went after the users.

The takedown, called “Operation Cookie Monster,” involved 44 FBI field offices in 16 countries and swiftly moved around the world, seizing domains, and making arrests, in one 24-hour period on April 4, 2023.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,

July 31: Human Trafficking in Dane County

Posted on August 2, 2024 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Kevin Hoffman

Marlene Sorenson of the Zeteo Community in Madison spoke to Rotarians about an unrecognized and dark side of our community and the larger world. Human trafficking is compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. Purveyors in this trade are skilled manipulators and exploit vulnerabilities to trap their victims in a cycle of dependence, addiction, and abuse. Often, victims become trapped because they have no safe place to turn and lack education and life skills. Zeteo seeks to provide housing and support services to victims and their children so they can live independent, productive lives with dignity, purpose, and hope.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here:  https://youtu.be/w8_WYM7GzCs.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged , , , ,