Waunakee is a beautiful place to be connected to. My wife, Angie Schwab, and I grew up in the Waunakee community and are proud to let everyone know that. We have enjoyed the support of the community throughout our lives and have watched as Waunakee continues to grow and develop.

When I was younger, I took quite a bit of the things that were available to me for granted. As I have evolved through life and had my eyes opened to see more of the world and its issues, I have started to understand how important a community service organization like Rotary can be. Not just on a local level, but in a world-wide setting. Not only can we, as an organization, help the good people of Waunakee have a beautiful place to take a relaxing walk, we can help eradicate Polio from the world. The reach of our club can be and is “phenomenal.” This fits perfectly into the 2010-2011mission for Rotary: Building Communities – Bridging Continents.

When I look at what we have done in our Local Club, it makes me proud to be a part of this organization. Not only have we taken the time to beautify our village, we have also helped to build homes in Haiti, provide water to villagers in Guatemala, donated goats in Pakistan, and the list goes on.

During the 2010-2011 year I would like to continue to see our involvement in beautifying our community and helping on a worldwide level. Here are some ways that we can do this:

• Continue to work on the Rotary Walk project by adding electricity for lighting and a fountain along with a fishing pier for local children to use.
• Continue to raise funds to match the $200 million challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help eradicate polio.
• Continue to “wow” the community with our beautiful “Rotary in Lights.”
• Host an international Group Study Exchange group.

Our club is something that we should all be proud of. In my Presidential training seminar I was asked to come up with an “elevator speech” to describe my club to a potential club member. The idea is to make it no longer than the time you would spend in an elevator. Mine was very easy. It goes something like this: “The Waunakee Rotary club is blessed with some of the hardest working women and men in the Waunakee community. If they are given a goal, it will be achieved. They continually work to make the community a better place to live. With our international projects, we have worked to make the world a better place to live. There is not a finer organization in Waunakee and if you want to join and participate in an organization that you can be extremely proud of, you should join the Waunakee Rotary.”

I am proud to be the president of the Waunakee Rotary and be surrounded with such a great group of individuals striving to make the community and world a better place to live.

Sincerely,

Brent Ziegler
Waunakee Rotary Club President 2010- 2011