During this COVID-19 pandemic time, Waunakee Rotarians have adjusted their lives to stay safe and keep their sanity.
Members talked about what they’ve been doing at the virtual meeting Oct. 22.
Tom Kennedy talked about the challenge of serving as club president now when “I can’t get all of you in the same room to thump on you.”
But even without Tom’s “thumping,” volunteering has been ongoing. The Rotary Lights at Village Park are going up, the club has been meeting its fundraising goals, and two new members – Angie Ramos and Jennifer Tasker – have joined.
Bob Lenz has been spending his time on craft projects and “supervising” village workers that he sees outside.
Ken Pesik has been working on his cabin in Prescott with his wife, spending his weekends up north.
Mick Holm, who heads up the Food for Kidz event, had to cancel it this year, but members have been packing up food in their garages to donate to the Community Action Coalition and ship to Haiti. Mick has also been playing pickleball, golf, hiking and biking, and will soon drive out to Arizona with Jeamie.
Nick Mischler is beginning to work with the volunteer public arts organization and has been closely watching the Hwy. M project, hoping to find a new spot for the park and ride location.
Howard Teeter said he and his wife have made schedules for themselves and have a ritual of happy hour. He’s also consulting.
Benjamin Locke joined as a guest Rotarian from the Madison After Hours Club. He’s working from home though his office is in Waunakee.
Bob Arntz has been busy with work from February to September and has been hiking and doing photography at local parks.
John Cullen said this is the first time he’s had a chance to complete all of the items on his wife’s to-do lists.
Angie Ramos said working at home with her 2-year-old has been a blessing, and this pandemic may have been a blessing in disguise for her. She had been working as a health interpreter for UW Madison but now works for the Waunakee school district interpreting.
Lori Derauf hasn’t traveled outside of the country, but she’s touring some of Wisconsin’s beautiful places such as Door County, Minocqua and Bayfield. She also has house projects going on.
Roberta Baumann is cooking more, has learned to bake bread with yeast, and exploring natural areas north of Waunakee. She and her husband have also done house projects.
Ross Mauer takes his dog to the dog park every day and worked with the U.S. Census. Now he’s helping with the Rotary Lights.
Linda Olson is working at a new job she started in February and keeping fit with Silver and Fit.
Todd Schmidt said as a city manager, he once saw pretty intense moments, but now it’s a sustained intensity with the dual pandemic of COVID and underlying racial tensions. Keeping village staff engaged is challenging, but each department recently carved a pumpkin.

 

Other news:
-Saturday is World Polio Day.
-A small but dedicated crew has been putting up the Rotary Lights displays at the park every day and this will continue Saturday. Show up to help if you can at 9 a.m. The displays will be illuminated Nov. 22, and volunteers will be needed at the gate through the season. We may want to discuss wearing masks as we staff the booth and also whether we should hand out candy canes. Linda is exploring ways to donate online rather than with cash.

 

Guests: Benjamin Locke, Madison After Hours.

Birthdays: Oct. 29, Lori Derauf; Oct. 29, Breck Dokken; Nov. 4, Roxanne Johnson.

 

Anniversaries: Oct. 29, Corey and Danielle Randl.