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Service Above Self

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Thursdays at 12:00 PM

Amercian Legion, Peter Wollner Post No. 288

W57N481 Hilbert Ave
Cedarburg, WI 53012
United States of America

Visiting Rotarians are welcome to join in at our meetings by emailing our Secretary. Please check our Club Calendar for details and any updates (such as a different time or location).

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23rd Annual Rotary Music Festival

Monday, July 3, 2023

Cedarburg High School Alumni Field

The Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton is proud to announce the lineup for the 23rd annual Rotary Music Festival. The event will feature performances by six drum and bugle corps including the

- Madison Scouts of Madison, WI

- Phantom Regiment of Rockford, IL

- Cavaliers of Rosemont, IL

- Blue Stars of La Crosse, WI

- Troopers of Casper, WY

- Colt Cadets of Dubuque, IA

Four of the corps were ranked among the top 12 in the world competition last year.

Plus other corps will be there to round out the show.

Proceeds are used locally for student scholarships and grants to non-profit organizations.

All seats are reserved so advanced tickets are encouraged to get the best seats in the stadium. Click here for details.

Tickets Are On Sale!

Donations for the Memorial Wall honoring James (Jim) W. Coutts

A memorial wall is being built in downtown Cedarburg, Wisconsin to honor James (Jim) W. Coutts, a former city councilman, and mayor, who passed away in November 2020. Jim was a beloved teacher, coach, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He worked tirelessly on behalf of Cedarburg and volunteered his time with many local organizations, including the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton. The inscription on the wall will represent the words that Jim lived by:

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU’VE GOT — IT’S WHAT YOU GIVE — THAT MEASURES THE WORTH OF THE LIFE YOU LIVE.

The wall is being funded through private donations made to the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Foundation. All donations are tax-deductible. In honor of James (Jim) Coutts, make your online donation using the link below or your gift can be given by check. Make checks payable to Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Foundation, PO Box 194, Cedarburg, WI 53012

As a Wisconsin 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton. Donations are 100% tax-deductible to the extent of the law. Ref EIN 39-1446118.

Click here to make your Online Donation

Student of the Month - GHS Amanda Hoenecke - Jan 2023

Jeff Nelson introduced the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton's January Student of the Month, Amanda Hoenecke, a Senior from Grafton High School.

Amanda’s passion and preparation were on display as she had her acceptance speech ready. Here are some of her

2022 MSO Holiday Concert

Concert enthusiasts from near and far joined together for another sold-out holiday concert on December 15, 2022 at the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center. This year, the program included a sing-along!

Annually, the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton is proud to present the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) performing a classic holiday concert right here in our community. The MSO is among the finest orchestras in the nation and the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin.

All proceeds are used locally for student scholarships and grants to non-profit organizations.

Hat & Mitten Drive

As a service project, the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton held a hat & mitten drive at its annual holiday concert by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on Dec. 15, 2022. The club collected 100 hats, 40 sets of gloves,100 pairs of warm socks, a blanket, and some scarves to make the season a bit warmer for friends of Mr. Bob’s Under the Bridge, a local charity that supports the homeless community in Milwaukee.

Rotarians Carol Alexander Coutts, left, and Cindy Petted helped gather items that were deposited into festive containers in the lobby of the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center. Photo credit, Mark Ziebell.

Student of the Month - CHS Evan Weber - Dec 2022

Casey Bowe, C-G Rotarian and CHS Principal, introduced Cedarburg High School’s Student of the Month for December 2022, senior Evan Weber.

Evan has been involved with many different service clubs and sports teams, including National Honor Society, three years on the Student Council, being a key member of

23rd Annual Rotary Music Festival

Get your tickets today for this sell-out event!

Tickets for the 23rd annual Rotary Music Festival are now on sale. The drum and bugle corps show will be held Monday, July 3, at the Cedarburg High School Alumni Field starting at 7 p.m. The event is hosted by the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton.

The event will feature performances by six drum and bugle corps including the

- Madison Scouts of Madison, WI

- Phantom Regiment of Rockford, IL

- Cavaliers of Rosemont, IL

- Blue Stars of La Crosse, WI

- Troopers of Casper, WY

- Colt Cadets of Dubuque, IA

Four of the corps were ranked among the top 12 in the world competition last year.

All seats are reserved so advanced tickets are encouraged to get the best seats in the stadium.

Photo >>> The Madison Scouts will be one of the drum and bugle corps that will perform in the 23rd annual Rotary Music Festival Drum and Bugle Corps Show on July 3. Tickets can be purchased at dcitickets.showare.com .

Click here for more details

Student Of The Month - GHS Jordan Guerra - Nov 2022

Jordan Guerra, a senior at Grafton High School, is the first Grafton recipient of the Student of the Month program recently launched by the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary. He was honored during today club luncheon meeting at the Peter Wollner American Legion Post in Cedarburg.

Katie O’Connor Named Rotary Club's First Student of the Month - Oct 2022

Katie O’Connor, a senior at Cedarburg High School, is the first recipient of the Student of the Month program recently launched by the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary. She was honored at the club’s weekly lunch meeting on Nov. 3 at the Peter Wollner American Legion Post in Cedarburg.

Rotary gives $1000 to Family Sharing

The Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton presented a check for $1,000 to Julie Hoover, Executive Directory at Family Sharing of Ozaukee County, during their Empty Bowls event on Friday October 28, 2022.

Founded in 1978, Family Sharing is the longest-standing Food Pantry in Ozaukee County. They provide food, at no cost, to Ozaukee County residents in need. The proceeds from their upscale resale store sale and events go directly to supporting the Food Pantry.

2022 No Empty Backpacks - MPS School Supply Drive

As its first service project of the year, club members formed an assembly line at its Aug. 18 meeting to fill backpacks with school supplies for the “No Empty Backpacks” program. The backpacks were delivered to the Milwaukee Public School System in time for the start of the new school year. Past President Mark Ziebell (3rd from left) and his wife Judy shopped for the supplies and made sure that each backpack was filled to the brim with notebooks, pencils, rulers and much more.

Rotary Club of Cedeburg-Grafton 2022-2023 Board of Directors

The new board of directors for the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club officially began its duties in July for the 2022-2023 year. They include (seated l-r): Mark Ziebell, past president; Minal Hahm, vice president; Melissa Wraalstad, president; Mike Herbrand, president-elect; Dave Stern, secretary; and Dick Dieffenbach, treasurer; (standing l-r): Pat Thome, Rotary International and grants chair; Layton Olsen, fundraising chair; Cindy Petted, operations & technology chair; Carol Alexander Coutts, executive secretary; Gail Ostermann, marketing & public relations chair, and Ron Knaus, finance chair. Not pictured: Brian Collins, membership chair, and Paul Radtke, youth exchange chair.

The Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club is a service organization with nearly 60 members. Its three major fund-raising events — the Rotary Bike Ride in May, the Rotary Music Festival in July and the Milwaukee Symphony Holiday Concert in December — raise nearly $100,000 annually to support community projects, local non-profit organizations and student scholarships.

Photo by Mark Justesen, News Graphic

2021-2022 Scholarship Recipients

John Hanson introduced three of this year’s scholarship recipients: Connor Sobczak, who will be attending MATC to pursue a career as an electrician, Lauren Rathke, who will be attending MATC to pursue a degree in photography, and Ella Day, who received the Lowell K. Levy Hard Work Scholarship and will be attending Creighton University with a double major in biology & Spanish. John noted that this year the club awarded five technical scholarships for $6,000 each, five renewal scholarships for $1,000 each, and the annual Lowell K. Levy Hard Work Scholarship for $6,000.

Pictured, left to right, are Ella Day, Lauren Rathke, and Connor Sobczak. Not pictured are Clayton Kleckner, Nathan Skebba, and Shane Wissing.

22nd Annual Rotary Music Festival

The 22st annual Rotary Music Festival returns to Cedarburg this summer on Sunday, July 3rd. Four (4) amazing Midwestern drum and bugle corps will perform at the Cedarburg High School Alumni Field that evening. Performances by Madison Scouts, Blue Stars, River City Rhythm, and the Colt Cadets. Pre-show appearances by Wisconsin SoundSport Teams including the Green Beret and Sound of Sun Prairie. The event is hosted by the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club. All seats are reserved so advanced tickets are encouraged to get the best seats in the stadium.

Guatemalan Water Project

In February 2022, the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary board of directors approved a $500 donation toward the Guatemalan Service Project, allowing the on-site volunteers to provide 5 families with filtered water.

The Mukwonago club announced in January, along with others they will deliver a minimum of #50 TivaWater filters to families in Chichicastenango, Guatemala March 5th - March 12th, 2022. The Mukwonago club along with the Oconomowoc club have successfully done prior projects with the Guatemalan Service Projects, Inc a 501c3 non profit.

To follow is a short 1:30 minute video clip that covers our specific Water project. https://www.canva.com/design/DAE01euVHpY/Ohk4NaO6CK9bwQw8GcpYcQ/watch?utm_content=DAE01euVHpY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

Rotary Gives $75,000 to All Children’s Playground

The Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary, represented by club president Mark Ziebell, far right, and grants chair Pat Thome, second from right, presented a check for $75,000 to members of the Friends of the Cedarburg Parks and Recreation including (from left) board members Steve Bicek and Krisie Mansell as well as Danny Friess, director of Cedarburg Parks, Recreation and Forestry.

Rotary gives $1000 to Family Sharing

The Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton gave $1000 to Family Sharing of Ozaukee County during their Empty Bowls event on Friday October 29, 2021.

Club vice president Mike Herbrand, seated left, presented a check for $1,000 to Julie Hoover, Director - Family Sharing (seated right). Other club members taking part in today's Empty Bowl fundraiser are (standing l-r) David Stern, Jeff Nelson, Jack Henke, secretary Minal Hahn, Carol Alexander Coutts, Cindy Petted, Dick Dieffenbach, Jim Pape, Chad Curran, Layton Olsen, past-president Linda Pierschalla, and Todd Bugnacki. (seated l-r) Kim & Brad Babcock, and Bob (Chimmy) Chmielewski.

2021 Paul Harris Awards Ceremony

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have had contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. Through the “Every Rotarian, Every Year” campaign, collectively our Club members contribute between $5,000 and $6,000 to Rotary International annually.

Paul Harris Awards were presented by Club President Mark Ziebell to the following:

First-time Paul Harris Awardees: Dean Fitting, Julie Hoover, and Stephanie Hayes.

Second-time Paul Harris Awardees: Ben Levy, Jim Dhein, Richard Dieffenbach, Nial Peterson, Terry Skebba, and Mal Hepburn.

Fourth-time Paul Harris Awardee: John Hammes

A Special Thank You to our Sponsors

On December 31, 2020, the Rotary Club of Cedarburg Grafton placed an ad in the News Graphic recapping the year and thanked the organizations who invested in us this past year. It read...

The Rotary Club of Cedarburg Grafton is not looking back,

We are looking forward!

In 2020, we were forced to cancel our two signature fundraising events: the Rotary Music Festival on July 3 and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra holiday concert on December 10. In 2021, we will be back better than ever. Our club will be introducing a new event - our inaugural Rotary Ride, a bicycling event on May 22 to benefit our technical scholarship program.

Thank You For Your Support We want to give a shout out to those who responded to our 2020 Fall Fundraising Campaign so that our club may continue to do good work in the community. Your support means the world to us! Click here for the list of individuals and organizations).

In Memoriam This year our club lost a dear friend, Jim Coutts. Jim was one of a kind. A former Cedarburg mayor, Jim's impact ran deep. He was a beloved former high school teacher and coach, a community leader in so many ways, and a huge cheerleader for our club. Words can't begin to say how much he will be missed.

Next December, when the country is healthy once again, we plan to bring back the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for our popular annual holiday concert at the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center.

2020-2021 Rotary Board of Directory Conducted Meeting on Zoom

Things may have looked a bit different this year, but we are still thankful for our Rotary family and the opportunity to serve our community. So,

from our family to yours, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Jerry Aussprung, Brad Babcock, Bud Beverung, Dan Bodart, David (Bones) Boyles, Todd Bugnacki, Steve Cain, Vince Cameranesi, Bob Chmielewski, Brian Collins, Carol Alexander Coutts, Chad Curran, Dan Davis, Jim Dhein, Dick Dieffenback, Jerry Edquist, Dean Fitting, Tom Frank, Adam Gerol, Blaine Gibson, Brandon Goldbeck, Mike Groth, Minal Hahm, John Hammes, Mike Hansen, Patty Hansen, John Hanson, Stephanie Hayes, Jack Henke, Mal Hepburn, Mike Herbrand, Blaine Hilgendorf, Julie Hoover, Dick Janssen, Pat Kennedy, Ron Knaus, Jeff Knorr, Chad Koehler, Mike LaRosa, Ben Levy, Don Levy, Courtney Lutz, Dale Lythjohan, Jeff Nelson, Gary Newman, Layton Olsen, Ryan Olsen, Gail Ostermann, Jim Pape, Nial Peterson, Cindy Petted, Linda Pierschalla, Paul Radtke, James Schowalter, Terry Skebba, Chris Smith, Dave Stern, Bob Thierfelder, Pat Thome, Bill Wernecke Sr,. Melissa Wraalstad, Mark Ziebell.

Celebrating Founding Member Don Levy and his 55 year commitment to the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary

As a founding member of our Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club, Don Levy shares the humble beginnings with us during his Member Minute.

2021-2022 Rotary Board of Directors

The new board of directors for the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club officially began its duties in July for the 2021-2022 year. They include (seated l-r): Linda Pierschalla, past president; Minal Hahm. secretary: Mark Ziebell, president; Melissa Wraalstad, president-elect, and Mike Herbrand, vice president. (standing l-r): Cindy Petted, operations chair; Layton Olsen, fundraising chair; Ron Knaus, finance chair; Pat Thome, Rotary International and grants chair; Gail Ostermann, publicity chair, and Carol Alexander Coutts, executive secretary.

Not pictured: Dick Dieffenbach, treasurer; Brian Collins, membership chair, and Paul Radtke, youth exchange chair. The Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club is a service organization with nearly 60 members. Its three major fund-raising events — the Rotary Bike Ride in May, the Rotary Music Festival in July and the Milwaukee Symphony Holiday Concert in December — raise nearly $100,000 annually to support community projects, local non-profit organizations, and student scholarships.

Photo by Mark Justesen, News Graphic

Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club's 2020-2021 Board of Directors

Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club's 2020/2021 Board of Directors

Top row: Linda Pierschalla, President; Paul Radtke, Operations; Mike Herbrand, Secretary; Brian Collins, Membership Chair.

Middle row: Layton Olsen, Fundraising; Gail Ostermann, Public Relations, Mark Ziebell, President-Elect, Courtney Lutz, Past-President.

Bottom row: Patricia Thome, ; Ron Knaus, Finance Chair, Dick Dieffenbach, Treasurer, Melissa Wraalstad, Vice President.

Not shown: Carol Alexander Coutts, Executive Secretary; and Dan Davis, Youth Services.

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Invest in your community through the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton.

Through donations or sponsorships, giving to the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton supports deserving students with scholarships to technical and vocational schools and improves our community's quality of life through the grants we give and the projects we're involved in.

To donate, click the image above or make your check payable to

Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Foundation | PO Box 194 Cedarburg, WI 53012

Technical and Lowell K. Levy Hard Work Scholarships

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