-Fox Cities Morning Rotarians Focus on New Branding for YMCA
Fox Cities: Bill Breider, Executive Director for YMCA of the Fox Cities, provided Fox Cities Morning Rotarians with insights into the YMCA’s new branding efforts. Our Fox Cities YMCA began in 1888 in Appleton. The Neenah-Menasha YMCA opened in 1911. Camp Nana Bo Sho opened in 1964. A number of the FGCMRC members were involved in the 2002 YMCA merger. Following the merger, two new locations, Heart of the Valley and Fox West opened. In 2009 the Apple Creek YMCA opened. The Y is the largest day care provider in our area. YMCA of the Fox Cities has 38,000 members and provides services and programs at 42 schools. Did you know that 28% of YMCA members are under 18 years of age? And, the over 60 age group is the largest growing segment of YMCA users. IN addition to youth programming, the YMCA of the Fox Cites is actively leading senior programs at the Neenah and Menasha Senior Centers, as well as at the Thompson Center in Appleton.

Bill Breider noted, “The new brand brings our cause to life. We are involved in life-changing work each day. This new branding gives us an opportunity to provide a clear, credible message regarding the role of the YMCS of the Fox Cities in our community. Our focus is clearly aligned in three areas: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.” FCMRC members, Doug Dieterich, Greg Kippenhan and Dave Brotski have served as YMCA board members.

The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club was initiated under the auspices of the Neenah and Menasha Rotary clubs in 2009. The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club meets every Tuesday .morning at 7:00 am at The Bridgewood Conference Center in Neenah. The focus of the club is “Building Community Goodwill. For further information on joining the club, contact Joe Ziemba at 920-729-1642.
 

-What’s Next in Slough Clean-up Plans
Fox Cities: Laurie Olson, Superintendent for Recreation-Neenah parks and Recreation provided Rotarians with a historical background on the Neenah slough. Although, this body of water is much narrower than in the past, the slough provides a great area for spawning Northern Pike . The Neenah slough is 4.29 miles long, with a depth of up to six feet and a width that starts at 45 inches. It drains 21 square miles and is located in the Little Lake Butte des Morts watershed.

Olson was inspired to initiate action n cleaning up the slough after attending a state conference and learning about the Living Lands and Waters organization which is working n cleaning up the Mississippi River. Beginning in early 2010, Olson engaged community leaders in setting up the first annual slough clean up. The 83 people who helped out last May collected two truckloads full of garbage, ranging from plastic bags to car tires. Their goals were to make this waterway more attractive for non-motorized boat travel and to clean up the environment. The next annual clean—up is scheduled for May 14, 2011.

Rotarian Mark Keating commented, “This type of project aligns with the intent of our Rotary club to be active sustainability proponents. This club has participated in a number of hands-on community building projects, such as assembling playground equipment at Fritse Park.” Olson noted, “ We have a number of goals for the community. We want people to see the importance of cleaning up our waterways. We want to make our waterways accessible for non-motorized activities, like canoeing. We invite the community to help out with the 2011 clean up.”
The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club was initiated under the auspices of the Neenah and Menasha Rotary clubs in 2009. The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club meets every Tuesday .morning at 7:00 am at The Bridgewood Conference Center in Neenah. The focus of the club is “Building Community Goodwill. For further information on joining the club, contact Joe Ziemba at 920-729-1642.


 

Fox Cities: Vince Reese, Director of Engineering Services for Plexus provided insights into how a team of 400 engineers scattered across three continents can deliver optimized product solutions for a myriad of companies. Starting in 19080 as the Product Development and Test Solutions Group, Plexus Engineering Services is part of a $2billion a year business strategy. Almost half of Plexus world-wide engineering team resides in the various campuses in the Fox Valley. You will rarely see Plexus, other than as a byline, in product literature, because the goal of these engineers is to make products that meet the specifications of their partner companies. Reese gave a number of examples of products that benefit from Plexus engineering expertise. The Electronic Counter Measure System (ECM) provides a tracking and shielding system for road-side bombs. It has been very successful over the past six years in protecting American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. This product had a very rapid design-to manufacture cycle because of the immediate need in the field. Other projects take longer. A left ventricular assist device has involved thirty-five Plexus engineers over the past three years. The device is now in clinical trials. Reese described a third product, developed for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, a wireless home monitoring system that garnered the 2009 Medical Design Award.

Reese noted, “Plexus is eager to hire more engineers. We have forty-five openings at this time. We are looking for primarily mechanical and electrical engineers. A large number of our local engineers are graduates of MSOE and UW Madison.” Rotarian, George Brownell, commented, “There is so much to learn about Plexus, its products, people and services that we plan on continuing the dialog with these Rotarians. Plexus is a great community capacity builder, not only in increasing the professional service sector of our local economy; they are also a proactive community partner, supporting many local non-profits and community initiatives”
 

Fox Cities:
The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club formal application endorsement ceremony was held on De. 8th, 2009 at Bridgewood Convention Center.   Representing Rotary district 6270, Bill Wresch, District Governor and Jim Chitwood, Special RI Representative signed the official Rotary Charter Application, along with FCMRC president, Mark Keating.  FVTC is the 60th club in District 6270, which spans from southern Wisconsin to the Fox Valley.  The 31 Charter Members submitted with the Charter Application include:  D. Brotski, G. Brownell, T. Crist, J. Davey, N. Davis, D. Dieterich, M. Healy, B. Howe, M. Keating, G. Kippenhan, J. Kosmer, C. Last-Calo, S. Lauer, K. Mahoney, P. Mahoney, W. Mattes, H. McDonald, V. Pfeiffer, K. Rust, K. Sahli, S. Schneider, M. Spielbauer, J. Webb, D. Weiss, M. Weiss, D. Welter, S. Westgor, S. White, G. Ziegler, P. Zielinski and J. Ziemba.

 Initiated under the auspices of the Neenah and Menasha Rotary clubs, the Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club provides an early-morning option for Valley Rotarians.  The Fox Cities Morning Rotary Club is a service organization, united in fellowship, who conduct humanitarian projects that encourage high ethical standards.   Club officers include:  Mark Keating-President, Pam Zielinski-President-Elect & Treasurer and, Bill Matte-Secretary. The following Board members will be responsible for the Avenues of Service; Club Service – Joe Ziemba, Community Service – Pat Mahoney, Vocational Service – Sarah Schneider and, International Service – Bill Mattes.  The FCMRC will work in collaboration with others to further the ideals of Rotary.