December Rotary meeting drew a nearly standing-room only crowd. It was not that unusual for the Rotary Club of Madison South, as the club has been growing, so much so that we’ve had to increase our meal count at meetings. On this day, a married couple joined us as guests. After the meeting, several members approached them to introduce themselves, thank them for visiting and to encourage them to join the club.
“Will you be looking at many other clubs?” one of our members asked. “I don’t think we have to,” the husband responded. He has since applied for membership.
Maybe it was how the club gushed over the infant daughter of a member who brought her newborn baby to the meeting. Perhaps the light atmosphere and laughing appealed to him? Maybe honoring the high school scholar with recognition and a $100 check resonated? Who knows? Maybe all of it appealed to our new guest.
This club has been functioning well for a long time, and for good reason. Chartered in 1967, Madison South is a 70-member organization that has been serving the local community for decades, fortunate to have forward-looking founders who established a fundraiser to beat all fundraisers. It’s a brat stand that’s been operating for more than five decades across from Camp Randall Stadium before every home UW football game. But that’s just part of the club’s secret sauce. There’s so much more.
Like all clubs, Madison South operates on the principle of service above self. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, too. Fun is quite literally part of everything we do, including service projects. You cannot attend a meeting without hearing laughter throughout the luncheon. In fact, Club President Mike True opens each meeting with the Joke of the Week, rated in our newsletter for its quality (the “Joke ‘O Meter”). The ability to laugh together is a welcoming feature for guests. Why not join the party? And they do.
When Mike was contemplating his year in leadership, he thought, “Let's all start with a laugh, because if we can laugh, then we can, no matter what's going on in our lives, connect here,” he says. “It never hurts to laugh.”
Fun is also behind the club’s multiple fellowship groups—book club, bowling, embroidery, beer tasting, snowshoeing and biking, among them. At a bike ride last summer, a newer member brought her husband and little boy for the ride and we all got a great kick out of hearing their precocious child chatter at dinner following the ride.
Other members have growing families, as well, with one baby on the way in 2026 and two just born! These first-time mothers suggested we raise Foundation money by guessing the birth dates of their infants! We did, and our members got out their wallets and raised more than $400 for the first birth. That baby girl accompanied her proud mom at our last meeting, where she was introduced to her new Rotary family.
Other efforts include serving dinner to low-income people, college scholarships, high school student recognition, sponsoring a bingo party for assisted living residents, providing cleaning and other supplies for MATC students, donating hats, scarves and gloves for those in need, in addition to dozens of grants to non-profit groups made possible by our brat stand revenues.
“The brat stand is the heart and soul of our club,” says Lee Ann Dillis, who ran it for two seasons after learning the ropes the prior year from brat czar, Erin West. “It allows us to provide funds to organizations and people in our community who could not have achieved their goals, if not for the support they received through our grants and scholarships.” Lee Ann quickly added that the brat stand is a unique and wonderful opportunity for our members to have fun, dress up in their badger gear and really get to know fellow members.
Journalist entrepreneur Jeff Mayers did exactly that, quickly volunteering regularly at the brat stand after he joined the club about a year ago. Mayers, the son of a Rotarian, was first exposed to Madison South when he was invited to speak about the company he founded, WisPolitics.com, at our meeting. He soon noticed and appreciated the focus on youth, and the fact that there were familiar faces in the audience.
“I looked around the room and knew a few folks,” he recalled. “It seemed like a fun group.” He joined us shortly thereafter. “[Madison South] does a lot of good work in the community through volunteering and donations. When I get to the meetings, I always feel better about the world.” Jeff encouraged social media specialist Laura Marie Kaiser to check out the club, and she quickly felt a kinship here and was officially inducted into membership on December 15.
Why did she choose to join Madison South? “I think the biggest thing is realizing that I felt like I belonged, because people are fun here,” Laura said. “People enjoy each other here.” Laura also noticed the composition of the club, with a good representation of members across the age spectrum. “To realize that some of these members have been members for so long, I think that's really kind of telling. It's not like every two years there's a bunch of turn-over of new people. People love this. It's a strong feeling of community.”
With tenure, comes experience, tradition and schedule flexibility. At least three Madison South members have served as Assistant Governors for the District in recent years, with Aaron Frank currently serving in that role. Member Alan Selene is a Past District Governor. Longtime member Randy Sproule has led Polio Plus efforts for the district and has personally funded Madison South scholarships for MATC students, most of whom are the first in their families to attend college.
Perhaps an environment rich in camaraderie, friendship and fun leads to generosity. Past President Steve Fine was all smiles as he made the announcement June 30 that Madison South Rotary hit an impressive milestone when it presented a record 18 Paul Harris Fellows at a single meeting! Six received the recognition for the first time. Madison South also led District 6250 in 2025 for the total amount of contributions to the Rotary Foundation, including 100% participation in Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY).
Like every club, Madison South faces challenges, but it appears the club is on a roll. Success begets success.
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