Posted by Patricia Boge on Aug 05, 2024
What’s some of the most fun you can have on a sunny summer day? How about a convertible ride through the hills and coulees of Western Wisconsin with a group of like-minded Rotarians?
 
 
Holmen Area Rotary Club has an annual service auction each spring and one of this year’s featured items was the offer of Patt Boge’s (Rotary Club of La Crosse) 2001 red Porche Boxter for a two-person open-air convertible ride. The package included a stop at Linda’s Bakery in West Salem, lunch for two at the Hillsboro Brewing Company, and ice cream at Pasture Pride Cheese in Cashton.
 
Alex Goodman, a member of Holmen Rotary and the evening’s auctioneer extraordinaire, offered up his Chrysler Crossfire to the back-up bidder and before you knew it, ten other participants from five different Rotary clubs wanted to join the fun with their convertibles. (Organizers decided to limit the number of cars to 10 the first time out.) $30 was charged for each of the additional cars, next year the spots will be auctioned off bringing in higher returns.
 
The agreed upon date was rained out but the back up date was bright and sunny. The convertibles met in Holmen at 9:30 a.m. and followed Alex Goodman and his wife in her Crossfire lead car through the bluffs and valleys of Amish country, returning at 4:30 p.m. Everyone agreed it was a wonderful inaugural event and suggestions were made for next year’s open-air convoy. All agreed Holmen could charge more for the additional convertibles, beyond the two auctioned off sports cars. It was a “fun” fundraising event and new routes, maybe north along the Mississippi River, are being explored for 2025.
 
If your club is interested in more information on how to start an event like this, Alex Goodman is your person. Contact him at 608-304–0775 or  email Alex.goodman@wibuildingsupply.com. Wisconsin has so many beautiful backroads to explore—your area could be one of them.
 
 
Patricia Boge
Rotary Club of La Crosse