Rotarians donned some truly ugly Christmas sweaters and other garb for the yuletide meeting. With a contest to see which was the ugliest and a round of holiday trivia, the Dec. 18 meeting offered a bit of fun. 

It was also club assembly, and the members gave the following reports:

Community service - Ken Pesik said the club has received a request from Crossroads United Methodist Church to extend Rotary Lights to Jan. 3 when the members will celebrate Three Kings Day. Usually the club begins removing the lights right around Jan. 1, and has found that first week of January can turn much colder. Ken asked what the club thought about keeping the lights up to honor the request. It was decided they should be taken down as usual, starting New Year’s Day and continuing Jan. 2. The plan is to pack them into the trailers on Jan. 3. 

Membership - Five new members have joined the club, and it has a nice diversity in terms of age, John Cullen said. He’d like to help new members get their “blue” badges and get to the next level of membership. 

International - That committee is wrapping up the grant project in Kenya where greenhouses are now online, Linda Olson said. The club may be asked to partner with the Madison Club to build a library in Guatemala. Also, a friendship exchange is coming up if members are interested. 

Fundraising - Phil Willems recommends no new fundraisers. 

Programs and Meetings - There is one speaker opening between now and January. Kylie West said the committee needs suggestions, and the club may implement a new policy requesting at least one speaker suggestion from each member per year. 

Youth - The High School Interact Club is requesting can tabs as a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House, Bob Arntz said. Small empty containers from, say, nuts or cottage cheese are requested. These can be placed at local bars where customers can provide their can tabs. Members can bring the canisters to the next meeting on Jan. 8. Also, the High School Scholarship Application is beginning. And, the Reading Buddies program at Heritage Elementary School is going well. RYLA is May 8-10 and the World Affairs Seminar is June 20-26. 

Fellowship - Trivia is going well. There are requests to get together at Drumlin Ridge and J. Henry Farms, Bob Klostermann said. The Lamphouse has also offered its rooftop community room for the Kentucky Derby Party again in 2026. 

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Other News

• Rotary Lights are up through Dec. 31

• Trivia is at Octopi on Tuesdays and at Waun-A-Bowl on Thursdays.

• Jim Oughton from DeForest Rotary Club thanked the members for their orders of cheese boxes. 

Guests: June Ganser, guest of Ellen Schaaf; Danae Marsh, guest of Andrew Hovde; Max Lenz, guest of Austin Maly. 

Visiting Rotarian: Jim Oughton. 

Greeters: Jan. 1, Happy New Year; Jan. 8, Shelley Moffatt and David May; Jan. 15, Shauna Hughey and Kylie West; Jan. 22, David Rupp and ??; Jan. 29, ??

 

To sign up to greet or to find out when you are greeting, visit: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054CAAAA2CA7F85-44320149-2023#/

 

 

 

 

The Waunakee Rotary Club inducted five new members at its Feb. 5 meeting, bringing the total number to 94, which is likely a club record. 

President Tony Burns and the rest of the club welcomed Veronica Castillo, June Ganser, Cynthia Kennedy, Max Lenz and Andrew Quandt.

Each introduced themselves and talked a little about why they joined. 

Veronica is the director of the nonprofit Waunakee Neighborhood Connection. Born in Texas and raised in Iowa, she has now lived in Waunakee for a year but has spent about 13 years living in the Madison area. 

Kylee West introduced Veronica to the club, she said, and Ellen Schaaf invited her to join. Veronica said service is in her blood, and recalled wrapping gifts at the senior center as a child. 

“I love what I do daily,” she said about working at the social services agency that supports about a quarter of Waunakee’s community members who are not making ends meet. Veronica’s goal is to become more involved in the community, she said. 

Andrew is the general manager of Lundy’s Ice Cream Shop on Main Street and recently moved into the apartment upstairs. 

A native of the northern suburbs of Chicago, he roots for the Packers. Andrew moved to the Madison area in 2021. He joined Rotary because he likes to help and serve others, he said, as he does in retail. 

Andrew said his parents were also involved in their community. 

He joined Rotary because, he said, “I felt the cause was there and felt directed to take that route. I’m very excited to see projects grow.”

Max is a native of Waupun. He is currently an attorney with Godfrey and Kahn, and is a litigator who focuses on eminent domain and media law. 

He came from a small town with a service oriented family and joined Rotary because he felt it was a way to serve the community.

June Ganser helped her husband open Waunakee’s first auto parts store at the Village Mall and then built the building across the street. She went on to work with U.S. Agricultural Research Services in Madison then moved to the UW Madison where she worked in budget policy management. 

June’s husband passed away five years ago and she’s been thinking of getting more involved. 

“Here I am,” she said. “I’m happy to be here; I’m happy to serve.”

Cynthia Kennedy has several family members in Rotary and she’s participated in events for many years. She felt now is the time to participate as a member and to lend her bookkeeping skills to help with some of the treasurer’s duties. 

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Coming Up

Feb. 6-7: Rotarians will meet at Chet's Car Care to pack medical supplies to ship to Honduras. On Friday, they’ll meet at 5 p.m., then Saturday morning at 7 a.m. 

Feb. 10: Waunakee Chamber Business Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. at the Waunakee Public Library. 

Feb. 17: Morning fellowship at Grace Coffee, 7:15 a.m.

Feb. 19: Tour of the New Waunakee Middle School.

March 28: Easter Bunny Drive-Thru at Ripp Park

April 17: Tri-Con Convention

April 17: Chips & Chips Fundraiser

Guests: Mark Steward, guest of Lauren Freeman; new members Cynthia Kennedy, Veronica Castillo, Max Lenz, June Ganser and Andrew Quandt.

Greeters: Feb. 12, Jen Tasker and Phil Willems; Feb. 19 Shelley Moffatt and Todd Schmidt; Feb. 26, Dave May and Austin Maly; March 5, Alex Welk and ???; March 12, Chris Zellner and Roberta Baumann. 

To sign up to greet or to find out when you are greeting, visit: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054CAAAA2CA7F85-44320149-2023#/