Business Report- President Deborah

President Deborah went over the strategic plan for 2014-2015.  The Strategic plan is to plan and organize interesting and relevant programs and activities that attract, engage, and sustain the current and potential new members of the club.  Currently there are 5 goals.  First:  Offering Informative and Relevant programs, Second: Local Community Service Projects, Third:  Recruitment and Retention of Members, Fourth:  Increasing Visibility and the Fifth:  Linkage with District 6220 and Rotary International.  I have attached the Strategic Plan with the Gusto for members to review.  The plan is a guide to where we want to take the Club over the next four years.  Peter Kelly, Sridhar, Jennifer Stephany, Chad Hershner and President Deborah have all agreed to the five goals.  The action plans will be decided by the individual committees and the Board each year.

 

If you would like a copy of the strategic plan or financials please email Meghan at rotaryappleton@gmail.com.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION- SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

President Deborah attended the Rotary International Convention is Sydney, Australia in June.  The City of Sydney local area covers approximately 26.15 square kilometers, within Sydney metropolitan region.  Over the past decade the City has become the largest and fastest growing local government area in all of NSW.  The City is made up of 10 distinct villages that recognize their unique character to create their City of Villages.  President Deborah got to experience several cities during her stay in Australia.  She shared several slides of her experiences. 

Announcements

·         Rotary on the Road sign up sheets are available at the sign in table at each meeting.  Make sure to sign up for which facility you are interested in attending.  Rotary on the Road is September 23^rd.

·         FAMILY OF ROTARY invites you to attend An Historic Bus Tour of Neenah and Menasha on Wednesday, September 24.  Local Historian Nancy Barker will be our guide. Cost:  $5 per person.  Please sign up at the Registration Table as you attend the weekly Rotary meetings. Bus departs the parking lot on West College Avenue next to the McDonald's at 5:30 pm.  Tour will conclude at 7pm.  Participants wishing to gather for dinner at a local restaurant are encouraged to do so. WE RECEIVED GREAT FEEDBACK FROM LAST YEAR'S TOUR OF DOWNTOWN APPLETON.

·         Doug Dugal would like to thank the Rotary Club for all the support during his illness. 

September 9th Meeting

The Appleton Rotary Foundation will give a report to the club reflecting the 2013-2014 Rotary year.  New members Mary Downs and Jenni Eickelberg will be inducted to the club as our newest members.  Please show your support in welcoming them to the Rotary Club of Appleton.

NEXT WEEKS MEETING- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITES GRANT RECIPENTS

The Children with Disabilities Committee gave out over $20,000 in grants.  On September 2 you’ll hear from some of the recipients of those grants to learn how some of that money was spent.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

          Rotary on the Road sign up sheets are available at the sign in table at each meeting.  Make sure to sign up for which facility you are interested in attending.  Rotary on the Road is September 23^rd.

      FAMILY OF ROTARY invites you to attend An Historic Bus Tour of Neenah and Menasha on Wednesday, September 24.  Local Historian Nancy Barker will be our guide. Cost:  $5 per person.  Please sign up at the Registration Table as you attend the weekly Rotary meetings. Bus departs the parking lot on West College Avenue next to the McDonald's at 5:30 pm. Tour will conclude at 7pm.  Participants wishing to gather for dinner at a local restaurant are encouraged to do so. WE RECEIVED GREAT FEEDBACK FROM LAST YEAR'S TOUR OF DOWNTOWN APPLETON.

     STATUS CHANGES:  We have a few members who have changed to Attendance not  required and they are:  Karla Blair, Jeffrey Riester, Lisa Weiner and Tom Berkedal.  We have had some members resign and they are:  Alyce Dumke, Amna Qazi and Eric Turner.

     Val Wylie is moving to Phoenix at the end of this week, so we will lose her as member of our Club.  Her email address is:  valbirneyw@sbcglobal.net if members want to wish her well or contact her.

MOVE TO AMEND: THE CASE FOR OR AGAINST

Move to Amend is a resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution. The resolution calls for controls on campaign fundraising and spending.  The resolution also affirms that the protections of the U.S. Constitution extend to people, not to legal entities like corporations, non-profits and unions. Because 7,350 residents in Neenah, Menasha and Appleton signed petitions, the resolution will appear on the ballot in the November election.  State-wide, 41 communities have passed resolutions with 61% to 87% approval.  Nationally, 16 state legislatures have called for an amendment and 478 communities have passed a resolution or are considering one. The force that’s driving political fundraising and spending is the cost of getting elected.  That cost is soaring.  The cost of getting elected to the U.S. House of Representatives averaged $1.6M per campaign in 2012.  The raise this sum, a candidate must raise an average of $2,187 per day, 7 days per week throughout her 2 year term.  Running for the Senate costs $10.4 M.  A Senator must raise $4,727 per day, 7 days per week, throughout his 6 year term.  The soaring cost of getting elected benefits incumbents since they can raise money more easily than their challengers. To raises these sums, elected officials spend significant time asking donors for money.  According to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, “I think most Americans would be shocked, not surprised but shocked, if they knew how much time a United States Senator spends raising money.” Most of those hours are spent in call centers across the street from the U.S. Capitol.  Peter DeFazio, US Representative from Oregon, explains, “Boy, this is about the worst looking, most abusive call center situation I’ve seen in my life.  These people don’t have any workspace.  The other person is virtually touching them.  It’s like counters on the wall with telephones and people 8 inches away from you.” “We sit at these desks with stacks of names in front of us and short bios and histories of giving,” said Durbin.  “And make these calls to people who are our faithful friends and ask them to give money or have a fundraiser.” The 2^nd issue addressed by the resolution is granting Constitutional rights to legal entities.  In 1868, the 14 amendment was passed calling for “equal protection under the law”.  The amendment caused states to revise statutes so they afford equal protection to whites and the recently freed Negroes.  Since then, courts have expanded the definition of “equal protection” to include legal entities like corporations, non-profits and unions.  In 2010, a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that corporations are associations of people.  Corporations therefore have free speech rights and since money is speech (Buckley v Valeo 1976), corporate political contributions to independent groups cannot be limited.  Four of the nine justices disagreed saying that legal entities are not “We the People”, a phrase from the preamble to the Constitution.  The public opposed the decision by a wide margin. The Case For the resolution:  (a) Since money is corrupting the political process, campaign fundraising and spending needs to be regulated and (b) Corporations are not people so they should not have the protections of the Constitution. The Case Against the resolution:  (a) Money is speech.  Any limitation on free speech puts us on a slippery slope and (b) Corporations are associations of people so they should have the protections of the Constitution. Jim Bowman, the presenter, seeks audiences for this program.  Send suggestions to him at james@jbassoc.biz.

RYE REBOUND FROM BRAZIL- LEVI CROSS

The mission of the Rotary Youth Exchange is to foster world peace, international understanding and goodwill by extending international communication at the personal level through the exchange of students of high school age.  What began in Copenhagen, Denmark the Rotary International youth exchange program has run continually since 1929, and here locally since 1970.  For over forty years the Appleton Downtown Rotary has sponsored from our community student goodwill ambassadors to all parts of the globe.  That is quite an achievement we all can be proud of.  Annually, over 29,000 students from 78 countries around the world share their cultures with the Rotary Youth Exchange program and continue in the traditions of the RYE program.  It is Rotary’s hope that these young people will be able to observe, first hand, the problems and accomplishments of other countries by living with and meeting people of cultures, color and creeds other than their own.  Levi Cross, our “rebound” student shared a little bit of his experience of his time in Brazil.  Levi stayed in the state of Minas Gerdis, which has a population of 20,000,000 people.  The city he lived in was called Itabira, which the population was around 110,000 people.  While he stayed in Brazil he had 3 host families.  All the families were very different and he enjoyed learning the culture and their way of life.  While staying with the families he got to enjoy many trips such as horseback riding, hiking in the mountains, venturing through the Rainforest, experiencing the Amazon River, (where the lily pads are able to hold up to 70 lbs. and are only grown on the Amazon), many beaches with incredible sunsets and many picturesque waterfalls.  He also got the chance to experience a riverboat tour with 60 exchange students.  This was a 5 day trip where the students were able to sleep on the boat in hammocks.  While on this trip Levi got to experience the pink river dolphins and he also held his favorite animal, a sloth! When Levi arrived in August the school year was half over.  The school year goes from January to January.  He got to experience the junior class as well as the senior class.  School was Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.  On Mondays and Wednesdays the students would have to go back to school from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Levi plans to attend his senior year at Appleton East High School and hopefully go to UW-Madison to become a doctor.  He is grateful for his experience and for the Rotary Club of Appleton for making it happen.

Committee Assignments

     There are several Committees that are still looking for members.  Those committees are Recognitions: Dawn Doberstein-chair, Children with Disabilities: Amy Flanders-chair, Youth Services & Education: Sonia Barham-chair, Arts & Arts Awards: Maria Van Laanen-chair, World Service: Jeff Werner-chair and Scholarship: Jan Quinlan and Lynn Peters-co-chairs. We are also still looking for a RYE Officer. If you are interested in joining please let Meghan know ASAP.

August 26th Meeting

President Deborah will be going over the financials for the Rotary year of 2013-2014 and the budget for 2014-2015.  She will be discussing the 2014-2015 year and the exciting year she has planned.  She also wants to talk about Rotary on the Road, which is set for September 23^rd.  She is looking forward to seeing all of you there!

NEXT WEEK'S MEETING-MOVE TO AMEND 8/19

In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the US Constitution to buy elections and run our government.  There is a movement on the table to amend the constitution to establish that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.  Are you in favor of this controversial proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution?  Or do you have doubts?  On August 19, hear the pro and con as Jim Bowman presents Move to Amend:  the Case For and Against.

DRIVING TO PERFECTION-BRIAN FIELKOW

Brian Fielkow, an Appleton native, is President of Jetco Delivery, which provides trucking and freight services in the Gulf Coast. Before purchasing Jetco, Brian’s experience included roles as executive vice president of Recycle America Alliance, a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc., and chief operating officer of a privately held recycling company. Brian holds a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. He lives in Houston with his wife and three children.  Driving to Perfection: Achieving Business Excellence by Creating a Vibrant Culture is not your average business book. It was written by someone with 25 years of hands-on business experience who has been in your shoes and successfully guided his company to exponential growth.  Brian’s business philosophy centers on the idea that for most companies, products and general services aren’t unique, it is the quality of the customer experience that you provide which sets you apart. To create an unparalleled customer experience at Jetco, he focused on teaching and empowering employees. The end result was “Driving to Perfection” (D2P), the overall culture at Jetco Delivery that has been the driver of the company’s success in every aspect. Employees share and are committed to a common goal, and customers are assured that their deliveries will be handled with the utmost care. As Brian’s experience proves, no matter the business, establishing culture is a strategic decision with profound bottom-line implications. Driving to Perfection does not focus on the theory behind company culture. Rather, the book explores how a business, no matter the size, can achieve excellence through intense focus on the development and nurturing of its culture.  Author of Driving to Perfection: Achieving Business Excellence by Creating a Vibrant Company Culture, Brian has created a program for business owners and executives to guide them through the process of building a culture that drives overall success. As an active business owner and leader for more than 25 years, Brian offers realistic, concrete and low-cost/high-value ideas for implementing your own unique company culture, based on real experience.  Brian closed his presentation with a quote from Vince Lombardi, Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.  For more information please check out Brian’s website at www.drivingtoperfection.com.  If you are interested in getting his book you can type in “rotary” for a 40% off discount. 

NEXT WEEKS MEETING- RYE Rebound from Brazil – Levi Cross

Our returning RYE “rebound” student Levi Cross will share with us his school year stay in Brazil.  If you have followed Levi’s adventure blog about Brazil – you already know that Levi is an excellent writer and photographer- so you can expect an excellent program learning more about Levi’s cultural exchange.

PROJECT SEARCH

Project SEARCH is a one-year internship program for students with disabilities who are in their last year of high school.  It is targeted for students whose goal is competitive employment.  Students get to experience immersion in the workforce which includes the teaching and learning process, as well as the acquisition of employability and marketable work skills.  During this program students get to participate in three internships to explore different career paths.  The students work with a team that consists of their families, a special education teacher and rehabilitation services to create an employment goal and support during this program.  Project SEARCH is a partnership between a host business, education, vocational rehabilitation agencies and long-term support agencies.  The St. Elizabeth Project SEARCH partners are:  St. Elizabeth Hospital, which provides an on-site classroom and a variety of internships, Appleton Area School District, which provides the full-time on-site Instructor and student interns, Valley Packaging, which provides Job Coach staff and a Job Developer for intern placement in community jobs, Divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), which provides funding for on-site Job Coaching and VR services for student interns, Community Care, Inc. which provides long-term support and follow-up services to student interns requiring it.  Project SEARCH has grown over 200 projects across 40 states and four countries.  Some of their business partners include:  National Institute of Health-Clinical Center, US Dept. of Labor, UW Hospital and Clinics, Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Walmart Distribution Center in Menomonie.  There are several benefits to the students who are involved with this program.  The student gets to participate in a variety of internships within the hospital or business.  They acquire competitive, transferable and marketable job skills.  Students gain increased independence, confidence and self-esteem.  Each student also obtains work based individualized coaching, instruction and feedback from instructors throughout their internship and they develop connections to Vocational Rehabilitation and other adult service agencies.  There are also several benefits to the employer.  They get access to a new, diverse talent stream with skills that match labor needs, increased performance and retention in high-turnover, entry level positions and probably one of the biggest benefits is that the employer gets experience increased regional and national recognition through marketing of this unique program.  The selection process for this program goes through the Appleton area school district.  Teachers make referrals of students they believe are qualified for the program.  The students need to fill out an application and go through an assessment at the facility.  The program can accept up to 12 students and last year had 7 students participate and this year will have another 7. One of the students that went through this program, Andy Barta, mentioned how he became more independent by going through this program.  He loved his internship at St. Elizabeth Hospital and is currently looking for a career in the same line of work. As you can see this is a great program and it helps so many area students with disabilities become more independent, confident and gain the social skills necessary to make it in the workforce.