Lots happening at our meeting. First, Steve Seymour announced our second Taylor scholarship winner, Madi Tongco, she will be attending Cal Tech (California Institute of Technology) in just a few weeks! We also had a Visiting Rotarian from Germany - Udo!! Mike Fisher presented him with a club flag! Finally, our speaker was Bethany Larson. Bethany was born and raised in Kenosha, graduated from Tremper High School and upon college graduation from College she moved to Rwanda to work for a small not-for-profit at 21 y/o. While there, she co-founded a company - Charmed Up. With COVID and the Civil unrest going on back home, living away was even tougher. Her partner bought out her half of the business and she moved back to Kenosha. She found a job with Gener8tor/gbeta, Genera8tor is an investment firm that provides money for entrepreneurs and gbeta is a free seven week accelerated course for early stage companies with local roots and assists with helping find investors and accelerating the growth of equity right from the early stages. Bethany runs this program and it is in 33 markets.
100 Years Young in 2021!
Nearing 100 Years of "SERVICE ABOVE SELF" in Kenosha! 
The Rotary Club of Kenosha was chartered in 1921 by Rotary International. Our over 50 members are active citizens devoted to service. As a major service organization in Kenosha, we annually distribute grants to local organizations, provide hands-on service to the community, and sponsor youth programs.
Please consider joining us in service to the community, district, and world.
Steve Seymour started the Taylor Scholarship recognition by introducing Mason Prozanski and his parents Dan and Kathy. Mason is the recipient of a $3,000 scholarship and will be attending UW-La Crosse this fall. Steve gave a brief history of the Taylor Memorial Scholarship, which was established in the 1980’s, along with background information on the Taylor family. George W. Taylor, who the scholarship is named after, was the very first president of the Kenosha Rotary Club in 1921. This year’s topic was entitled: “The Year 2029: What will be the status of the U.S. Economy on the eve of your five-year high school reunion. This is your opportunity to be an economic forecaster.” Thank you to Lisa Byron, Bill Waddle, and Mark Molinaro for reading the essays.
Our program for the day was presented by Dr. Amin Rmeileh, who is an Interventional Cardiologist. One of four Cardiologists at Froedtert South. His practice deals with everything that involves the heart and cardiovascular system. These issues are the most common cause of death worldwide – 16 million deaths in 2010 (30% of all deaths).
Many modifiable lifestyle risk factors contribute to heart disease – cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, abdominal obesity, and inactivity. Non-modifiable risk factors include family history, age (males > 55, females > 65) and gender (male > female). Coronary artery disease is the cause of 50% of all cardiovascular deaths.
Dr. Rmeileh spent much time discussing the lifestyle risk factors and what people can do to counteract these factors. He answered several club member questions at the end of his talk. Dr. Rmeileh was an excellent speaker that gave the club quite a bit to think about regarding their heart and cardiovascular health.
Today was our Annual Grant Recipient luncheon and $30,250 was given to 22 non-profit agencies serving Kenosha County:
Building Our Future - Laptops and technology - $500
Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast - Summer camp financial aid and transportation costs - $750
Grace Welcome Center - Purchase food items for Food Pantry and Breakfast Programs - $2,000
Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum - Educational signs for three new features - $1,000
Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, Inc. - Virtual reality goggles and required software - $1,800
Journey Disaster Response Team Page - Training and Certification for Volunteers - $400
KAC - Special education and therapeutic coaching sessions - $1,000
Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, Inc. - Provide meals to seniors - $2,000
Kenosha HarborMarket - Fresh local produce for SNAP/EBT individuals - $1,500
Kenosha Literacy Council - English literacy workbooks & registration costs for adult learners - $2,000
Kenosha Public Library Foundation (KPLF) - Items for the collection of the Uptown Children’s Library (UCL) - $2,000
Local Missions (an outreach effort of Immanuel United Methodist Church) - Food, clothing, sleeping bags, and transportation assistance - $1,800
Matthias Academy - Refrigerator - $800
Pringle Nature Center - Purchase Garmin eTrex 10 GPS units - $1,440
Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network - Purchase native plants for Lincoln Lagoon Landscaping Plan - $2,000
Shalom Center of the Interfaith Network - Hope kits for children in the shelter - hygiene essentials, snacks, personal items - $1,800
Sharing Center, Inc. - Keeping families safely housed - $1,820
Society's Assets - Assistive technology equipment - $1,700
Three Harbors Council, BSA - Leadership training camp - $1,440
Wagner Family Fire Fund - Printing cost of recovery workbook - $500
Westosha Senior Community Center/Western Kenosha County Senior Citizens Council, Inc. Board of Directors - Gardening tools & supplies - $1,000
Women and Children's Horizons, Inc. - Client Emergency Fund - medication, food, etc. - $1,000
THANK YOU to those members who volunteered, to our sponsors and donors for our Rotary Softball Tournament last weekend. The softball tournament provides the funds to support these amazing Non-profits and the great work that they do.
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Kenosha,
United States of America