Sharon was traveling, Val led the meeting and forgot to record it.
Highlights from the meeting:
We recited the Four Way Test. Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Peter ran the 50-50 raffle - Val was the winner this month. Hooray Val!
Service Committee Updates:
- Rotary Peace Pole for Elmwood Elementary's Peace Pollinator Garden, where Julie Zilmer is a 3rd grade teacher - The pole has arrived, installation and a ceremony will take place this Spring.
- Ukrainian Refugee School - The global grant will be coming soon. Alternatively, you can donate to the District 6250 Foundation for that cause.
- Operation Pollination - We're in the winter resting period. Feel free to visit the website at https://operationpollination.net.
Committee meetings are the fourth Tuesday of the month, this month February 24th at 5 pm. If you wish to form a committee and meet at another time that is good too.
We are in need of a membership committee, foundation committee, grants committee, treasurer, secretary/website, speaker line up, and president nominee for 26/27.
Our club has lost another member, and is facing unexpected significant price increases. The executive committee has been discussing this, along with the lack of club participation and difficulty in lining up speakers. We have come to the conclusion that this club may no longer be viable. The executive committee voted to disband as-of March 31st, and brought this to a club vote. Five of the eight members voted to disband the Changemakers Rotary Club, as of March 31, 2026.
The next executive board meeting will be February 10th at 5:00 pm All members are welcome. Find the meeting link on the website.
Our tentative March 6th speaker will be Ben Stanger, CEO and Founder of Green Box Compost. This matches the Rotary focus of protecting the environment.
Today's guest is Gary Eldred. He founded the Southwest Wisconsin Prairie Enthusiasts. Over time, the organization expanded and rebranded as The Prairie Enthusiasts, which has enabled thousands of activists to work together to heal nature’s wounds. In his newly published memoir, author Gary Eldred shares his unlikely stories of how a miserable person found a passion and became the leader of a grassroots, boots-on-the-ground movement, The Prairie Enthusiasts, to protect and restore the remaining fire-adapted ecosystems of the Upper Midwest.
Gary, along with the botanist Mark Leach PhD, has recently written a book about his life and giving back to nature. The memoir intends the reader to find and grow passions in this world of wounds. In many ways, the prairie saved him. He found a passion and ways to work with other enthusiastic people to start healing nature's wounds. He hopes that the reader's small failures and grand successes bring them joy.
Gary grew up in the Albany area. As a kid he learned from the old timers, who were always happy to share their knowledge. He learned about Rubin's Cave, named after Rubin Folsom who made a living hunting wolves. Rubin lived a hermit lifestyle, and would sometimes shelter in the cave. He became good friends with trappers and fishermen, a bee keeper and breeder of Jack-in-the-pulpits. Some exploited the weaknesses of nature and could have destroyed it, others cared for nature. Gary became a good hunter, taking from nature. He was inspired by Sand County Almanac, and began to wonder if he needed to give back.
He began building bluebird and wood duck boxes, but felt he still needed to give back more. Another project was working with the Green County Conservation League to restore Marsh Creek. He fenced out the cattle and added habitat for trout. Working there, he learned about the glacial drift in the area, and the area used to be an Indian gathering area. He realized that this piece of land had been used for centuries.
In 1977 The Green County Conservation League and DNR bought Muralt Bluff Prairie, and a group including Gary worked on restoring the prairie so the original native plants could grow. Experts came to teach others about the native vegetation needs.
After that, he moved to Boscobel, and began looking for native areas in Grant County. He founded the Southwest Wisconsin Prairie Enthusiasts, which became The Prairie Enthusiasts, which has thousands of members in the upper midwest area. Because of all of his activities, one of the lands for restoration in Grant County has been named Eldred Prairie.
Gary is selling his memoir, with all proceeds going to cover publishing costs and restore more prairie land.
