The July 11 meeting was club assembly for the Waunakee Rotary Club, and so committee chairs gave their reports.
Linda Olson from the international committee reminded the club that when you give to Rotary International, half of the money goes back to the district. The club received a $4,000 district grant to build out a girls’ dormitory and bathroom at the SOAR Kenya school. All told, the $8,000 will go toward building out the dormitory and providing chairs, desks and beds along with a separate girls’ bathroom. Kenya has seen an increase in students, partly due to an influx of Syrian refugees. The dorm will house 40 girls, Linda said. Also, the club is hosting a Rotary Friendship exchange with a group from Australia expected to arrive.
Bob Pulvermacher said the membership committee is growing. Jean Elvekrog is serving on it, as well as Ryan Knight. Linda also plans to work with district’s membership committee.
Lori Derauf reported that Jenny, the club’s exchange student is leaving Friday to return to Taiwan. Be sure to say your goodbyes at the next Rotary meeting.
Randy Guttenberg, Scott Biba and Lori and been worked on the Youth Exchange committee but are looking for other club members to replace them. Jim Kattner has stepped up, but a youth exchange counselor is needed, preferably a woman who can talk to girls when issues arise. Also, if the club would like to host a student for the 2020-2021 school year, the paperwork will need to get done now.
Bob Sachtjen from community service thanked the volunteers who helped at the Senior Picnic July 10. Several senior citizens expressed their thanks for the event.
Todd Schmidt from meetings and public relations said meetings are booked through September. If you’re into politics, you’re in for a treat. On Aug. 1, Brian Reisinger will talk about the task of running political campaigns. Then on Aug. 15, state Rep. Dianne Hesselbein will be the speaker. She’s followed by Dane County Executive Joe Parisi on Aug. 22, who will give an update on county-wide happenings.
Linda highly recommended next week’s speaker, Ed Fuda, saying this is one meeting you might want to bring a guest to. Ed was general secretary of Rotary and COO. He now is the Rotary representative to the United Nations. It’s a non voting seat, since Rotary is not a country.

 

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Other news:
–Dan Evans received his second Paul Harris Fellow award – congratulations, Dan!
–WaunaFest sign-up sheets are now available on Club Runner and at meetings. Be sure to sign up for a shift.
–The Pontoon Boat Ride is July 16. Let Bob Klostermann know if you’d like to attend.
 
Guests: Travis Denison, guest of Nancy Thomas.

 

Visiting Rotarians: None.
 
Birthdays: July 21, Travis Heiser.

 

Anniversaries: July 18, Jim and Maria Fitzpatrick.

Greeters: July 18, Jon Townley and Susan Vergeront; July 25, Sean Wayne and David Weishoff; Aug. 1, Sara Whitley and Phil Willems.