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.
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
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.
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.
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/
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.
The Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club 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.
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
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.
As a founding member of our Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club, Don Levy shares the humble beginnings with us during his Member Minute.
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
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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Service Above Self
Cedarburg, WI 53012
United States of America