Lake Mills Rotary Agenda: 06.04.2024, Pyramid Event Venue
12 pm
- President-Jenny McAdow –
- Good Afternoon & Happy Tuesday!
- Welcome to Rotary-Pledge of allegiance and 4-way test
- Welcome all Visiting Rotarians, Guests, Zoomers
- Jess was visiting with Nicole, and just finished her first year of law school. She is interning Nicole over the summer.
- Happy Bucks and fines
- Ed watched the class of 2024 graduate. It was a great event.
- Beth went on the Rotary Friendship Exchange in the Philippians. She saw great projects and exchanged flags.
- Ginger’s brokerage is no longer under ReMax and is independent.
- Anita volunteered at the Triathlon in Lake Mills. Rotary got $20 an hour for her services. The registration was inside, because the rain!
- Gerard gave a happy buck for graduation on Sunday. Also, a happy buck for Aaron Genthe who met with him and his mother-in-law yesterday for two hours.
- Ken mentioned his Granddaughter Molly was voted most valuable player, and has been nominated for all conference.
- Birthdays/Anniversaries
- Birthdays
- Mitch Eveland June 3rd
- Karen Reimer June 4th
- Anniversaries
- President-Jenny McAdow
- 12:30 pm Calendar Raffle -This week’s sponsor…
- Sponsor is Amy Winkleman and Associates
- $100 18
- $50 65
- $50 66
- $50 26
- $50 76
- Club Business and announcements
- Last week we had a majority vote yes to support the LMHS “the Mill” with a $1000 Gold Sponsorship for 2024/2025.
- The American Blood Drive is today.
- The Lake Mills Triathlon was over the weekend, and there were 4 volunteers there helping. The Rotary Club received $20 an hour for each volunteer.
- June 12th Rotary President Luncheon at Madison Rotary Club $25/person
- June 25th Sue Trepte of Haus of Peace is looking for volunteers 5-8 pm for Stuff the Squad @ Real Hope Church (more details 920-285-7179). Also asking for donation of consumable household items (gas gift cards, toiletries, trash bags, paper towels, sanitizing wipes, etc).
- Committee Reports
- Music in the Mills
- Bands will be Main Street Big Band, V Funk, Tim Daniels Band, and SuperTuesday.
- Vendor Booths will contain arts and crafts, and products for sale 10:00AM – 5:00PM.
- Kids Activities will include arts and crafts, facepainting, and more from 9:30AM -12:00PM.
- Beverages for sale will be beer, wine, soft drinks, and water.
- Concession Stand Update
- There is a sign-up sheet that was passed around, as well as email sign ups that have been going out.
- Cancellations are announced by 4 pm, and an email will be sent by Jenny at 4:30pm if cancelled.
Program Speaker: Cindy Weber, Author of Break Don’t Bend: My Son’s Survival Story
Cindy is an author, and friend of Rotarian Greg Renz. She discussed how her book was a labor of love, and dives into mental health. Mental health is a struggle that many have, and it is not something to be ashamed of. It’s a struggle that is not chosen or asked for, but rather, genetic or situational.
Cindy broke down statistics dealing with mental health and suicide through, age groups and gender. This showed how prevalent these issues are in our lives.
Cindy was raised in Dodgeville, WI. They were farmers, and Cindy is part of a large family. She was a teacher in the past and worked with troubled youth. She loves her current occupation of being a yoga teacher. While at UW Platteville she met her husband, and then moved to McFarland to raise their family. While on spring break one year, her son felt very ill. He kept getting sicker over the six days he was there, and they realized he was allergic to a medication he was given. When he was able to head home, he again dealt with severe health issues. He lost twenty pounds in two weeks and missed most of his junior year.
During this time, he was very depressed, and went on antidepressants, which caused him to be suicidal. He attempted suicide for the first time, and they continued to work with him on his mental health. Her son went to college, and unfortunately while there stopped taking his medication. He was in and out of the hospital, trying different medications, and unfortunately attempted suicide for the second time. He transferred schools due to grades, and unfortunately continued to deal with mental health struggles. He was dealing with depression, substance abuse, and really just struggling with life.
Cindy asked if he wanted to try something different and offered New Vision Wilderness Therapy in Oregan. Cindy ultimately attributes this program for saving his life. He attempted to run away, stated he was going to live in a homeless shelter. Cindy was scared she was losing him. He was on a hike in Oregon that said it was 40 miles, and stated he could not make it. The guides let him go back, but the walk back to the shelter was ultimately what convinced him to turn his life around.
He was on a hamster wheel of addiction and substance abuse, and realized he had a drinking problem. He moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, and was on and off with sobriety. Cindy stated that relapses can be part of sobriety, and that is ok. Cindy showed us a photo of her family now. Her son is now 29 and has been sober for 6 years.
As a parent, your need to control can be so powerful, but that doesn’t always help the situation. There are so many resources to help with your struggle. If you yourself is dealing with depression, substance, abuse, or suicidal thoughts, reach out for help.
Consider reading her book, leave a five-star review, purchase her book, and talk about mental health. Talking about these issues help to alleviate the stigma of these hard subjects.
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