• Club Logo Cotton Twill shirts - Long and Short sleeve
• Long and Short sleeve Polo/Golf Shirts
• Baseball Caps - both Men's and Women's style - Blue only

     

At its Changing of the Guard ceremony held on June 29, Elmbrook Rotary Club presented forty Paul Harris Fellowships. These Fellowships included four first-time Paul Harris fellows, five Fellowships presented as gifts from a Rotarian to a spouse, one Fellowship earned by a non-Rotarian and thirty additional Fellowships presented to Rotarians who were already Fellows.

The remarkable number of Fellowships awarded was due not only to the generosity of Club members but also to two limited-time Paul Harris matching programs which have since expired. Under the first matching program, the Club matched each donation of $500 to The Rotary Foundation with a transfer of 500 recognition points. Under the second program, the Club matched any gift made to The Rotary Foundation for polio prevention with an equal number of recognition points. The recognition points were provided by the Club itself and by members who have accumulated a large number of recognition points.

These matching programs generated a Paul Harris “buzz” among Club members and prompted many of them to make contributions they might not otherwise have made. The net result of the matching programs has been a substantial increase in contributions to The Rotary Foundation and more engagement by Club members.

To build upon past success and encourage more Paul Harris giving, the Club continues to offer two matching programs. For Rotarians who have not yet obtained a Paul Harris Fellowship, the Club will match a donation of $500 to The Rotary Foundation with a transfer of 500 recognition points. For those who are already Paul Harris fellows, the Club will contribute 200 recognition points for each donation of $800 to the Rotary Foundation.

Anyone who wants more information about the matching programs and anyone who would like to receive quarterly reminders about making regular Paul Harris contributions is encouraged to contract Foundation Treasurer Gordy Miller.

At Rotary, we are deeply concerned by the escalating loss of life and humanitarian hardship caused by the war in Ukraine. We’re using our deep networks and decades of experience to take swift action in the region.

How we are taking action: (click for video)

The Elmbrook Rotary Straight Shooters (RI District 6270) enjoyed a joint outing with the Madison Shooting Sports Fellowship (RI District 6250) on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at the Milford Hills Hunt Club in Johnson Creek, WI.

While It turned out to be the hottest day the year so far, a great time was had by all in meeting new Rotarians and breaking clays over the scenic fields.

After a fun late-afternoon shooting participants learned more about each other in fellowship while enjoying beverages and a meal.

Enjoying the outing were: Harry Farchmin, Larry Rovens, Gary Gilmore, Andy McCulley and Tyler Layne (Elmbrook Rotary); Mark Blodgett, Miles Blodgett, and Justin Schoepke (MukwonagoRotary ); and Herman Baumann, Peter Cavi, Steve Holzhauer, Dewey Bredeson, & Stan Koopmans (Madison Downtown Rotary).

Rotary Fellowships are one of the great benefits of Rotary! There are currently 103 in existence throughout the world. Check out Rotary Fellowships to find one that fits your interests, and be prepared for exciting new relationships in many different countries.

Through grants from The Rotary Foundation, Rotarians improve access to essential medical services for mothers and their children. These efforts are aimed at reducing the number of children under age five who die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation – a figure that is currently estimated at 7 million.

According to another estimate, more than 80 percent of maternal deaths can be prevented with access to reproductive health services and trained health care workers. Rotarians provide education, immunizations, birthing kits, and mobile health clinics to support these causes. Women are taught how to prevent mother-to-infant HIV transmission, how to breast-feed, and how to protect themselves and their children from disease.

Encourage your friends , relatives, neighbors, and business associates to join Rotary and support maternal and child health.

Elmbrook Rotary Club had a great response to its 2022 Book Drive and collected 276 reading books. The books were donated to Literacy Services of Wisconsin (LSW).

LSW is an adult literacy center located on the corner of Plankinton Avenue and Michigan Street in downtown Milwaukee. LSW will make the books available to their students for their reading pleasure. Any books not selected will be sold to a second-hand bookstore, with the funds raised going into LSW's operational account.

Mike Groth, Chairman of the Elmbrook Rotary Club's Community Service Committee, recently delivered  the books to LSW. The above photos shows (left to right):  Holly McCoy, LSW Executive Director; Dustin Slane, LSW Director of Marketing and IT; Mike Groth; and Chad Knezel, LSW Director  of Development & Volunteer Engagement.

Thank you, ERC Rotarians, for supporting the 2022 Book Drive

The Elmbrook Rotary Club has always challenged that mentality. 

 

Proof: The club has re-imagined our weekly drawing. 

 

                             

• Both In-Person & Zoom attendees can participate.
• Instead of a "progressive pot," each weekly winner will receive a $20+ gift card and an opportunity to patronize a local business.
• Current donors are Brunch of Brookfield and First Watch of Brookfield, but that's just be beginning...
• Please let Paul Langer or Mike Hogan know if there is a local business you think would want to have their name in front of Elmbrook Rotarians each week for the drawing.

One of the six Areas of Focus of Rotary we don’t seem to talk about very much is peace and conflict resolution and prevention, which happens to be the theme for the month of February. It is often, however, the conflicts that occur throughout the world that are the root causes of poverty, despair, economic hardship, and poor health. Consider, for instance, the major deterrent to polio eradication: the difficulty in vaccinating children in war-torn countries. We also see these conflicts occurring in some form within our own communities with the same results. Rotary International as an organization understands this relationship and therefore is deeply invested in supporting individuals and programs that will develop leaders who are committed to seeking ways toward peace. The path toward peace begins with understanding and respect for the differences that make us unique.

These are the same types of values that are studied in the the Peace Centers supported by Rotary International in association with several major universities across the globe. The mission of these centers is to “empower, educate, and increase the capacity of peace builders through rigorous academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities."

Through this experience, Rotary Peace Fellows build the skills needed to act as leaders and catalysts for peace and conflict resolution both in their communities and around the globe. These fellows develop the skills needed to act as “leaders and catalysts for peace and conflict resolution both in their communities and around the globe.” As Rotarians, we should all be similarly committed to understanding the conflicts that exist in our own society, to speak out when necessary, and to seek solutions that reflect the values of Rotary.

1. Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic, and we strongly encourage vaccination for all individuals, including our members.
2. Misinformation hinders the fight against COVID-19, and we are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
3. Rotary is engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Through joint efforts with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance we are leveraging our frontline experience with polio to facilitate vaccine delivery.
4. Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. We encourage clubs to offer recognition and encouragement to these heroes.
5. Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 prevention and vaccination efforts.
6. As one of the greatest advances of modern medicine, vaccines are safe, effective and save millions of lives each year. They have eliminated or controlled numerous diseases such as polio, smallpox, measles, and Ebola, and now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination.
7. The eradication of polio remains the goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can continue to apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to COVID-19 response efforts."

December is Disease Prevention and Treatment Month

October: Economic and Community Development Month

ROTARY MAKES HELP HAPPEN

Rotary creates opportunities to help individuals and communities thrive financially and socially.

ROTARY IMPACTS LOCAL ECONOMIES

Rotary members train people to become resources for their community, offering networking activities, advice on new business development, and financial management training.

"Congratulations on receiving ShelterBox HERO recognition for Rotary Year 2020-2021.

"Your support is very much appreciated. Your club will be listed on our HERO page www.shelterboxusa.org/hero

"ShelterBox has provided aid to over 2 million people since 2000. We could not have reached them without clubs like yours. The global pandemic has not stopped our efforts, and your help provided aid to over 33,000 families in 2020 and over 13,000 households in the first half of 2021.

"Help us Stock the Box for 2021-22:
https://www.shelterboxusa.org/stockthebox/

"Thank you for being a ShelterBox HERO! — Bill"

The MYAC campus, which is the home of Milwaukee children’s theater group First Stage and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, consists of two buildings near the intersection of West Walnut Street and Vel R. Phillips Avenue: the main building at 325 W. Walnut St. and another building across the street at 1702 N. 4th St.

MYAC also plans to update the building’s systems to increase energy efficiency, improve safety and security with a reconfigured front entrance and improve technology in the facility.

The project is expected to be completed by the fall. MYAC is using Milwaukee-based Ramlow/Stein Architecture & Interiors and Brookfield-based Hunzinger Constructions Company for the project. A second phase of the project will include renovating MYAC’s building on Fourth Street, which the organization purchased in 2016. When completed, the project is expected to create nearly twice the available teaching, rehearsal, and performance space by allowing 20,000 additional children to participate in their programs annually. Other groups, including Milwaukee’s Children Choir and Danceworks, already rent the facility.

MYAC first opened in 2005 in collaboration with First Stage and MYSO. In addition to those two organizations, MYAC hosts Danceworks, Milwaukee Children’s Choir and Festival City Symphony. The center annually serves about 25,000 students from about 90 zip codes throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

20 Reasons to Join Rotary

1. Friendship: In an increasingly complex world, Rotary provides one of the most basic human needs: the need for friendship and fellowship. It is one of two reasons why Rotary began in 1905.


2. Business Development: The second original reason for Rotary's beginning is business development. Everyone needs to network. Rotary consists of a cross section of every business community. Its members come from all walks of life. Rotarians help each other and collectively help others.


3. Personal Growth and Development: Membership in Rotary continues one's growth and education in human relations and personal development.


4. Leadership Development: Rotary is an organization of leaders and successful people. Serving in Rotary positions is like a college education. Leadership: - learning how to motivate, influence and lead leaders.


5. Citizenship in the Community: Membership in a Rotary club makes one a better community citizen. The average Rotary club consists of the most active citizens of any community.

Democracy Found is a Wisconsin-based initiative committed to revitalizing democracy. The organization argues that implementing Final-Five Voting (a system wherein the top five candidates are selected from the primary ballot and instant runoff voting is used in the general election) will ensure that politicians are held accountable for delivering results. A bill on Final-Five Voting is currently being considered in the Wisconsin legislative chambers.

The concept of Final-Five Voting is explored and explained in The Politics Industry (available on Amazon), a book by path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and business strategist Michael Porter. They apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the outcomes we see today.

Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. The Politics Industry hopes to open eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all.

• 5.5 hours of General Sessions
• 11.7 hour of Breakouts covering Membership, Engaging Youth & Young Adults, Leadership, and Fundraising
• 3 hours of House of Friendship

Elmbrook Rotary Club was not able to send a team of members, along with “friends and family,” to Guatemala this past February as it has done since 2012 because of COVID-19 issues. Instead, the club applied for a District Grant from Rotary International District 6270, representing 54 clubs in southeastern Wisconsin, to provide help for 7th grade students who are at risk of dropping out of school (now particularly difficult to deal with due to the pandemic).

Elmbrook Rotary was able to provide ten (10) LG tablets, loaded with software and internet capability, to a new “Resource Center” in a remote village. The center was designed in cooperation with Common Hope, an NGO based in the World Heritage City of Antigua. Common Hope promotes literacy and school attendance through work in housing, health, nutrition, and social services. The tablets are being used to enable contactless interventions, enabling staff to encourage students to remain in school. The technology enables working with the families to improve their circumstances and to make decisions, without the risk of in-person visits. Once the family decisions are made, the tablets can then be provided to another student, and so forth.

The issue is, and has been, economic in nature. A school-age child can be seen as an “asset” in third world areas in a country like Guatemala, being forced to work in fields to increase the family income. That leads to a cycle of poverty, which Common Hope tries to break by its efforts. Since Common Hope’s inception in Guatemala, those efforts have resulted in more than 3,000 high school graduates. The average level of school completion is roughly five years, and illiteracy in some remotely indigenous villages can be 60% or more.

For more information on how you can help, contact Elmbrook Rotarian Erik Moeser.

A great experience has been planned for 2021-2022 Rotary leadership in the Great Lakes and Midwest geographical areas during March 11-13. The President Elect Training Seminar (PETS) is a mandatory annual training event for all Presidents Elect and is also available for other Rotary leadership. This year, because of the global pandemic, the event will be a virtual one.

The Great Lakes Rotary PETS and the Midwest PETS have combined resources to create a partnership of 13 Rotary districts. The event is being referred to as MEGA PETS.

This year’s virtual PETS will be a great opportunity to network and to share ideas with other PEs outside one’s district and to learn from some of Rotary’s prominent leaders. Practical information is intended to prepare PEs for their year as a Rotary club president.

PETS trainers have developed a virtual curriculum based on years of experience and feedback from the previous attendees. That experience indicates that club presidents-elect often feel some trepidation about handling their new role, and returning presidents need a more in-depth focus. Surveys also indicate that, after attending PETS, the presidents elect increase their confidence to 95%+. This year will be no different.

Thom Arndt, Elmbrook Rotary’s PE, will be in attendance as will Larry Myers, D-6270 Assistant Governor for Area E. Let’s hope they will be inspired!

February is "Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution" month for Rotary worldwide.

Forty-two million people are displaced by armed conflict or persecution, and 90 percent of armed-conflict casualties are civilians, half of them children. Through service projects, fellowships, and other Rotary-sponsored campaigns, members train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and aid refugees who have fled dangerous areas. Members also pursue projects to address the underlying structural causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.

Join Rotary and help spread peace around the world.
Give now to promote peace.

Through vocational service, Rotarians contribute their professional expertise and skills to address societal problems and needs, and to promote high ethical standards in the workplace.
Rotarians have two benchmarks for promoting professional integrity:  the Rotary Code of Conduct and the Four-Way Test. Click on "Read more" to study these two benchmarks.

Rotarians can support vocational service by 

• Strengthening the emphasis on professional diversity in member recruitment; 
• Identifying ways to emphasize professions in club activities;
• Placing a stronger emphasis on business networking with integrity at the club and district level -- which also is a means of attracting and mentoring the next generation; and
• Emphasizing the connection between The Four-Way Test and the Rotary Code of Conduct and their importance to the values of Rotary.

Share Hope this Holiday

This holiday season, please consider sharing hope with students and families in Guatemala. You can shop the Special Edition Gift Catalog in support of Covid-19 Crisis Response, send a note to someone in Guatemala to let them know you’re thinking of them, or order the NEW limited edition Holiday Boxes in the Common Hope Holiday Shop!  Click here or on the image below to shop and order. Thank you for helping to deliver hope this holiday!

• Building the capacity of entrepreneurs, community leaders, local organizations, and community networks to support economic development in impoverished communities;
• Developing opportunities for productive work;
• Reducing poverty in under-served areas; and
• Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to economic and community development.

1. Click here to sponsor a student! – By the way,  WE HAVE A MATCH! The first month of every new sponsorship in September will be matched by a generous anonymous donor! 
2. Click here to learn more and donate to Covid-19 Response efforts – Together, we can provide hope in the face of uncertainty.  Join us in the fight to navigate forward with creativity and innovation.    
3. Walk For Hope and let’s show the world that HOPE matters and Elmbrook Rotary is making that hope real for kiddos in Guatemala.
4. Celebrate Sponsorpalooza this September! Let’s celebrate the POWER of HOPE and the 5^th year of Sponsorpalooza!  

The recordings for each breakout session of the recently completed RI Virtual Convention can be accessed by clicking here or clicking on the image below.

Click the title of each breakout and you should be taken to the recording. If you are prompted to ‘sign up’ for the convention again, there should be a selection to check indicating that you have already signed up. In view of the current ERC survey concerning the format of our future meetings, especially recommended for viewing is "Using Virtual Tools To Engage Members" originally live streamed on Monday, June 22, at 08:00 a.m.

The RI Convention team is also in the process of transitioning the recordings to a digital asset management portal. The recordings will be accessible in that location after the end of July. Do take advantage of these resources.

• Rotary Creates Opportunities is the Rotary International theme for this year. RI President Holger Knaack recently said: “Don’t be afraid of change; continue to use new tools and adapt to change.”

   

  I look forward to serving as President of the Elmbrook Rotary Club for the coming year. Our meetings will continue to be on Friday mornings at 7:00 a.m. via Zoom technology until it is appropriate to resume in-person meetings. Then, those meetings will likely be in a hybrid format with the option of attending via Zoom. Rotary International does not want members to feel compelled to attend any meeting or activities where they do not feel safe and comfortable. It will be our challenge to be open to opportunities to adapt to change while maintaining the traditions of fellowship and service that are the fabric of our club.

   

  To help guide us, a survey will go out soon to learn of each member’s comfort levels. I am confident that, as a club, we will embrace the challenges ahead in this uncertain period as we find new ways to continue our mission.

As a real estate brokerage, Acts represents families in the purchase of homes, for owner occupancy, in Milwaukee and Beloit. Acts then helps families plan and execute home rehabilitation, with a focus on reclaiming vacant foreclosures. Their affiliated nonprofit partner, Acts Lending, Inc., provides mortgage loans for rehabilitation projects.

Acts serves diverse families throughout Milwaukee and Beloit. Many families purchase formerly vacant, vandalized foreclosures. Usually, rehab costs are less than demolition, and new owners save hundreds on their monthly housing costs.

Rotary International's new monthly theme for April is Maternal and Child Health!

Every day mothers risk their lives giving birth, and millions of children die each year from treatable, preventable causes. At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, Rotary provides immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improves access to essential medical services, and supports trained health care providers for mothers and their children. Rotary’s projects ensure sustainability by empowering the local community to take ownership of health care training programs.

Maternal and Child Health Care is also recognized as one of Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus.

To get more information and read news about Rotary's work to promote maternal and child health can be found at the link below:

https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/maternal-and-child-health

•   Visit: www.waukeshacounty.gov/COVID19
•   Follow “Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow” on Facebook