Rotary History
Early Bird Rotary
The Early Bird Rotary Club was chartered March 26, 1985. Led by the vision of John Holden, President of Heritage Mutual Insurance and member of the Sheboygan Downtown Rotary Club, a group of about 30 men held their first meeting at the Executive Inn. John Eichorn, an employee of John Holden, worked with Mr. Holden to recruit new Rotarians for the early morning club. At the first meeting, John Eichorn was nominated President, the name "Early Bird Rotary" was adopted, and future meetings were scheduled. Throughout the twenty-plus years of the club, the group membership has remained steady between 30 and 45 members. Today, club membership is up to 47 and continuing to grow each year. The first woman to join Early Bird Rotary was Dawn Baiden in 1987. Two founding members, Bob Feider and Paul Stenklyft, remain active Early Bird Rotary members today.
Early Bird Rotary Founding Members
- Lee Brockman
- Jens Christensen
- John Eichorn
- Bob Feider
- Arnold Grotbeck
- Richard Gruenke
- Robert Hahn
- William Hatten
- Fred Hollander
- John Molitor
- Todd Mueller
- Ronald Navis
- John Rhode
- Daniel Rostollan
- Richard Schneider
- John Schott
- Gary Seppanen
- John Silvey
- Donald Van Der Jagt
- William Walter
- Paul Stenklft
Rotarian of the Year
- 2002-2003 -- Janet Carter
- 2003-2004 -- Kris Krentz
- 2004-2005 -- Dan Redman
- 2005-2006 -- Ed Morgan
- 2006-2007 -- George Morrelle
- 2007-2008 -- Gerry Plehn
- 2008-2009 -- Sebastian Schmidt
