Tag Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

Linda Baldwin Receives 2015 Rotary International Avenues of Service Citation

Posted on May 6, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

Introduced by Deb Archer – May 6, 2015

Linda Baldwin pictured here with Club President Tim Stadelman

Each year, our club selects one member to be recognized with Rotary International’s Avenues of Service Citation. Recipients are selected for their volunteer efforts carried out within all five avenues of service which are club, community, international, vocational and youth.

On May 6, Linda Baldwin was introduced as this year’s recipient.

Linda Baldwin joined our Rotary Club in 1992, and she recently retired after 23 years as associate publisher of Isthmus Publishing Company.

Linda has a long listing of volunteer activities within the five avenues of service. She has served on our Member Development, Rotary Information, Strategic Planning, SummerPalooza and Vocational Opportunities Committees. She has served as chaired of our Ethics Symposium, Rotary News, Marketing and Communications and Rotary International Projects and Programs Committees. She also co-chaired our Centennial Planning Committee, a committee that developed community and club activities to celebrate our club’s milestone anniversary in 2013. She is also involved in many of our fellowship group activities.

Linda has helped our club accomplish a great deal over these past 23 years. We are indebted to Linda and thank her for her Service Above Self efforts.

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Posted in Linda Baldwin O'Hern, Rotary Club of Madison, Service Above Self

Tagged Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary International Avenues of Service Citiation

Button Box/Welcoming Committee at the Brink Lounge on April 30

Posted on May 4, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Valerie Johnson

Networking, idea sharing, and a little fun was shared by 35 members of the Rotary Button Box & Welcoming Committee on April 30. The group’s first networking event was held at the Brink Lounge, with food sponsored by the University Bookstore and the Habitat ReStore. The first ten registrants who attended received gift certificates to both the bookstore and the ReStore.

The committee is one of Rotary’s largest, with 135 members, and President Tim Stadelman challenged all committees to offer networking opportunities with another committee or among themselves. Committee chair Valerie Johnson organized the event with help from Pat McGowan.

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Posted in Rotary Club of Madison

Tagged Fellowship Opportunity, Networking Opportunity, Rotary Club of Madison

Culinary Arts Group Enjoys Cuban Meal at Maple Bluff

Posted on April 27, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Paul Hoffmann

Paul and Sharon Hoffmann

The Rotary Culinary Arts Fellowship event at Maple Bluff Country Club on April 23 was a night of lively conversation over a delicious Cuban themed four course meal.

The evening started off with a glass of wine of choice to enjoy while everyone was arriving. A little Cuban background music set the mood and it gave us time to meet the other Rotarians and guests.

Executive Chef Steve Hahn

Once everyone was gathered together and introductions were made we were escorted to the kitchen for a cooking demonstration by Le Cordon Bleu trained Chef Steve Hahn who recently returned from a Caribbean trip. The chef prepared a quick appetizer of conch and plantains served with a refreshing mojito. The Chef demonstrated how the main course of red snapper was going to be prepared. It was pan seared and then topped with a shrimp and coconut mousseline which was slightly baked.

After the demonstration, the first course of conch fritters was served back in the dining room which has a beautiful view over Lake Mendota towards the Capital. The next course was a smoked tomato gazpacho soup topped with avocado infused foam. The main course was the red snapper mousseline with rice and beans. The final course was a dessert of flan with a guava puree and thinly sliced peaches. The evening was a great way to get to know other Rotarians.

Photo 1: Mark & Candace Moody; Photo 2: Lynne Judd, Tracy & Mark Brant; Photo 3: Ron Luskin & Terry Ruzicka, Paul Olsen; Photo 4: Dan Dieck & Nona Hogan, Roth Judd

If you enjoy special dining experiences, please consider joining the Culinary Arts fellowship on their next food adventure.

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Posted in 4. Fellowship Groups, Culinary Arts Fellowship Group, Rotary Club of Madison

Tagged Chef Steve Hahn, Cuban Meal at Maple Bluff Country Club, Culinary Arts Fellowship, Rotary Club of Madison

Have the Conversation and Do It Now…

Posted on April 23, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Linda Baldwin; photograph by Loretta Himmelsbach

Jim Jaeger and Sandra Nuernberg urged all Rotarians and guests to begin the process of planning for future medical care. Jaeger and Nuernberg represent the Association of Spiritual Caregivers working with Meriter Foundation and the Gundersen Medical Foundation in La Crosse.

All of us have likely thought about end of life care; some of us have created a living will or other advance care document. But how many of us have had the “conversation” with our family, friends and agents about end of life care? 60% of people say that making sure their family is not burdened by tough decisions is extremely important, but 56% have not communicated their end of life wishes.

Jaeger and Nuernberg showed a video about a couple who were having the conversation. Benefits include peace of mind, putting your family at ease about what decisions to make for you when you are unable, having an agent to represent you who is willing and capable of advocating your wishes on your behalf. And knowing what you want done at end of life will potentially save money and extend life by taking the pressure off.

Jaeger noted that Advance Care Planning is a process, beginning with you and others understanding that decisions will need to be made in the likely event you will not be able to do so. Next you need to reflect on what you do want to happen, then have a discussion with loved ones, medical advisers and agents about your wishes. Those choices will be written down and then this should be part of your medical record.

Also, plan to review this document over time as your situation may change and you may want to alter your plans. There are resources and organizations to help you have “the conversation”. For an information booklet answering commonly asked questions about advance care planning, contact Gundersen Health System,
La Crosse, WI 800-362-9567, ext. 56748.

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Posted in Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Weekly Guest Speaker

Tagged Gundersen Health System, Gundersen Medical Foundation, Meriter Foundation, Rotary, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Rotary Guest Speaker

Next in Madison: StartingBlock Madison

Posted on April 16, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Larry Larrabee; photography by Loretta Himmelsbach

George Austin (center), Madison’s former Planning and Development director and President of AVA Civic Enterprises Inc., provided the introduction about what StartingBlock Madison is planning to do to encourage, develop and grow entrepreneurs by bringing them into an entrepreneur hub that will place them in contact with peers, mentors, investors and consultants.

The building will be located in the 800 block of East Washington Avenue and American Family Insurance is funding the construction of the first 50,000 sq. ft. phase of a 160,000 sq. ft. building.

Founded in 2012, StartingBlock Madison is dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurs, growing Madison’s economy and providing educational opportunities regarding entrepreneurism. It will be able to do this because of the strong support of MG&E Energy and American Family Insurance.

Dan Reed (left), Managing Director of American Family Ventures, spoke about his company’s investments in new technology companies in areas like automobile safety through their Direct Venture Capital program. Their support of StartingBlock Madison is an extension of this concept.

Gary Wolter (right), Chairman & CEO of MGE Energy Inc., sees StartingBlock Madison as expanding the Madison entrepreneurship environment and helping to grow the economy. He explained the stretch goal as “how can I change the world?” and sited those Madison entrepreneurs that have done that such as Jamie Thompson’s Cellular Dynamics, Pleasant Rowland’s American Girl and Judy Faulkner’s Epic.

The positive response to the three presenters and the concept of StartingBlock Madison that represents the combined efforts of corporate, educational, and civic entities including the City of Madison suggests StartingBlock and the entrepreneurs it cultivates are sure to be successful.

We would like to thank Madison City Channel for videotaping our meeting this week. The program will be rebroadcast on analog basic channel 98, digital channel 994 & AT&T U-verse 99 as follows: Friday, April 17 at 8 PM; Wednesday, April 22 at Noon; Friday April 24 at 5 PM; Sunday, April 26 at 5 PM. You can also watch this program on the WEB.

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

Tagged Rotary, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Rotary Guest Speaker, StartingBlock Madison

First Hike of the 2015 Season – Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Black Earth

Posted on April 13, 2015 by joannamartinez | Leave a comment

–submitted by Dawn Crim; photography by Karl Gutknecht

On Saturday the Hiking Fellowship Group enjoyed its first hike of the season organized by Rotarian Karl Gutknecht with Bob Miller, President and Executive director of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, and board member and Rotarian Deb Gilpin on hand at the Black Earth location. What a wonderful way for over 25 Rotarians and friends and two dogs to welcome spring! Bob provided background on the 38 acre site in front of the Leopold Lodge that can be rented for camping trips, meetings,etc. An excellent location for our group photo too.

The site has wonderful hiking trails. We hiked the first loop, about 1.5 miles consisting of mature woods, and rocky outcroppings. This path had somewhat steep terrain that took us high in the treetops before winding down into the valley. Once at the bottom, Bob shared stories of several scouting troops who rent out the site to test for hiking badges and other camping adventures. We embarked on the second loop which was about 1 mile. This path was not as steep as the first and had a fire pit and council ring at the top.

Our hike concluded with a picnic lunch on the wooded deck of the Alexander Studio. The studio has high cathedral ceilings, a center stage and originally served as a rebirthing center in the early 1970’s.

It was a beautiful day and great location to kick off the hiking season. Bob invited us all to visit the Monona Aldo Leopold Nature Center later this summer.