Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

Joe Gallamore, Project Supervisor of WisDOT, Mike Hammond, Public Involvement Lead at HNTB, and Mike Ernst, Deputy Project Manager at HNTB discussed a recent study of the I-794 at the Lake Interchange. The study identified a transportation solution that addresses deteriorating infrastructure in a manner that will improve safety and operations while striving to enhance community connectivity and compatibility with local plans.

New York Times best selling author David Maranniss will spoke on his new biography, Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe. This riveting biography details the life of America's greatest all-around athlete, Jim Thorpe, who rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for John McGraw's New York Giants. Even in a golden age of sports celebrities, he was one of a kind.

Sara Shaw, Senior Education Researcher for the Wisconsin Policy Forum, discussed a new Forum report released today on teacher turnover trends in Wisconsin. Her presentation sized up how much turnover is occurring and what that means for districts' ability to staff their classrooms. Sara also reviewed whether turnover is caused by teachers moving to different districts versus leaving the profession altogether and how turnover rates compare among various districts, including the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Scott Walker, former two-term Wisconsin governor, spoke at the Rotary luncheon on Tuesday, August 8, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Press Club and WisPolitics.com. Walker now is president of Young America's Foundation [YAF], an outreach organization that introduces young adults to principles of conservatism such as individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. The foundation is a partner with Fox News in the first Republican presidential primary debate for the 2024 election cycle, scheduled for August 23 at Fiserv Forum. Walker, who briefly sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has urged former President Donald Trump to take part in the debate. Trump, the current Republican front-runner, has not committed despite such criticism and has said he might hold an alternative event. Walker took questions from a panel of journalists and from the audience at the luncheon, moderated by Milwaukee Press Club President Maryann Lazarski, series/documentary producer for Milwaukee PBS.

Construction has begun to restore and re-purpose the former Gimbels-Schuster's building on Martin Luther King Drive. On Tuesday, Greg Wesley will share the vision of ThriveOn King and details of the restoration and redevelopment of the iconic department store building. ThriveOn King, a collaboration between the Medical College of Wisconsin, Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Royal Capital Group is focused on five priority areas - housing, early childhood education, health and wellness, social cohesion, and economic opportunity. Guided by deep deliberate community engagement and partnership, the collaboration and project are catalyst and exemplar for community and economic impact and investment.

Daily headlines are filled with references to generative AI, ChatGPT, Deep Learning and Neural Networks. As business and community leaders, what do you need to know to stay ahead of the curve? On Tuesday, Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence at MSOE shared his presentation, Beyond the ChatGPT Hype: What is AI?

On June 27th Rotary toasted outgoing President Karen Hung on a successful year and welcomed Leslie Hauser as the new Club President for 2023-24.