Brian W. opened the meeting at the Pyramid Event Venue at 12:15pm and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance followed with the Four-Way Test.
Guests
Tim, guest of Beth
Kelly, guest of Nicole
Student Rotarians
Lily Schuetz (Lakeside)- fun fact
Alyssa Reinke (Lakeside) – brief intro
Gabrielle Mahr – (LMHS) – out sick
Alison Barradas-Castellanos (LMHS)– bio
Happy Bucks
Brian B - Hockey season is half way over. he has 11 games between now and next tuesday
Ed H - His mom passed away over the weekend. He is happy for the care she received at London Lodge, hospice, and by caretakers. His is happy to be celebrating her life. Services are Thursday 11 am visitation at St Francis Catholic Church.
Tara T - Aaron Genthe became a grandpa last week
Fines
None
Birthdays
Denny on Saturday
CLUB BUSINESS - Announcements and committee reports
Student rotarian Lily's fun fact: She has been to 19 national parks and her favorite is the Grand Tetons
Introductions from student rotarians Alison and Alyssa
Beth’s classification - Born in northern Minnesota until she was 7. She then moved to Merrell, WI. She has two sisters and a brother. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother, a school teacher who helped her love of reading. She was very active in high school activities. She went to UW Whitewater for marketing. Her first career was in the metal industry involving steel and aluminum. She taught middle school social studies for 9 years while her girls were young. She is now back in the metals industry. In 2015, her husband passed. She shares many interests with her now partner, Tim. They live here together in Lake Mills. She loves to travel and is very adventurous. She did two habitat for humanity builds, one in new zealand and one in africa. She will be doing a 5 day trek in peru this spring. She is happy to be a part of our club.
International project – formal grant submitted. All Parties have signed off on it. Now being reviewed by International.
The night group will now be meeting at 6pm in the future; changed from 7pm. First and third Wednesdays at Tyranena Brewery.
Grant Training - we need someone to be trained in grant writing. 9-noon Jan 29. Feb 23 5:30-8:30. Virtual meetings
I will be gone the next two weeks. Mick will be leading.
Need a program for assembly 1/25th
Committee reports
Program - Dr. James Fitzpatrick – Beyond Theories & Degrees
Program next week scheduled to be Sunrise Reach
PROGRAM
Program - Dr. James Fitzpatrick – Beyond Theories & Degrees, introduced by Janine Fixmer
Started in education in 1975 and has a masters and doctorate. He was the superintendent of Fort Atkinson schools where Janine met him.
He has recently published a book about educational leadership.
Jim has been a rotary member since 1986 and knew Dean Sanders and Don Childs well, and also knows Greg Wescott. He notes the propensity for retired superintendents to move to lake mills.
In the last several years, there are fewer candidates going into education. The covid environment has shed light on how hard teaching is.
Book: Beyond Theory and Degrees. The Alley Smarts of Educational Leadership
He wrote the book out of gratitude to pass on the knowledge he learned from his great mentors
The book is divided into three parts
The essentials of leadership -
Leadership at the building level
The superintendcy and board of education
We all had great mentors... What did they see in us? Too many teachers worry they dont have the pedigree to lead. One of the goals of his book is to empower teachers to take on leadership roles
A school is a multi million dollar organization and the business side often scares away teachers from the role of superintendent.
They can also shy from the uncivility of the board room.
A leader needs to have a good understanding of the culture of room they are entering. Too many young leaders want to go in with an agenda and change. He outlines 5 key questions when entering a new position of leadership
What are the strengths of the district
What areas need attention and improvement
If you had a problem, who would you confide in or go to in the district. These are the informal leaders of the district
Who are the community members who support the district
In looking forward to working with you as your new superintendent, is there anything else you would like to share with me at this time?
Build culture. The little things can mean a lot. Give everyone a chance to shine. Be honest and transparent. Be visible. Add humor. Be genuine and compassionate. Affirm good efforts.
Essentials of leadership
Planning - how far out can you look
Organization - have an agenda
Communication - do your best in oral and written forms, but pay extra attention to listening
Decision Making - 95% aren't hard, but the 5% remaining are very challenging. Always prioritize the ethical and right thing, over social or political
Influence
Coordination - Connect the dots from A to Z. You can just be the idea person
Evaluation - Have an objective way to see if you reached the desired outcome. Be honest
