The Blue Lotus Center

Here is me and my friend Debbie the fish! At The Blue Lotus Center, twice a week we have friends from Portal, Inc. come volunteer to water our flowers and keep them looking beautiful. Today was their annual Run, Walk, and Roll 5K at Fish Day in Port Washington, and Debbie invited me to come run. I’ve never ran a 5K race before and love our partnership with Portal, so I decided to do it! How did it go? Hills make running harder, apparently. I run around a lake with zero elevation change, so that was a fun surprise. However, the Portal staff, volunteers, and clients that cheered me on helped tremendously. A wonderful event for a great organization!

We’ve been nominated! Congratulations to the volunteers and staff of The Blue Lotus Center!

What a fantastic evening we had at yesterday's Business After Hours at The Blue Lotus Center! With over 50 attendees, the energy was buzzing as we learned about their mission of making nature accessible to all. It was truly inspiring to hear about the different groups that benefit from the center, enjoying a day in nature without limitations. The heartfelt stories shared by the founder about the center's beginnings added an extra layer of significance to the event. And let's not forget those 3 lovely raffle prizes, delicious drinks, and appetizers - what a treat! But beyond the goodies, it was the connections made that truly made the evening memorable. Business After Hours meetings like these are invaluable for networking and fostering new relationships. Thank you Blue Lotus Center for hosting such a wonderful meeting! For those who missed out this time, not to worry! Make sure to mark your calendars for next month's BAH on April 24 from 4-6pm, hosted by Kilian Management Services. Sign up today at bit.ly/BAHNetworking2024 #BusinessAfterHours #NetworkingEvent #CommunityConnections

“Can you throw a party in three weeks?” When the West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce asked us to host a Business After Hours event due to a last minute cancellation elsewhere, I turned to special events coordinator Gina Marx, and she said “let’s do it!” The result was a wonderful evening with 50 of our friends from the Chamber. I reconnected with friends, met some great people, and discussed ways that we could all work together between the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Special shout out to Fred, Laura, Denise, David, Nancy, Patricia, Amber, and especially Gina for pulling this together. We have the best volunteers, board, and staff at The Blue Lotus Center!

Tune in to hear executive director, Michael Larson talk with one of our favorite partners, Community Projects For Seniors in Milwaukee!

The Blue Lotus Center is Hiring! Do you enjoy working outdoors? Do you enjoy helping people? Do you enjoy working with people who are fun and dedicated to helping others experience the benefits that nature can provide? Then come join our team! Our Mission Blue Lotus Center assists people of any age with profound life challenges by offering accessible outdoor recreational and therapeutic opportunities in a caring, accepting, and inspiring 64-acre day-camp setting.   Call, Michael Larson at 262.675.2473 or email [email protected]  

Sometimes you get the opportunity to work with the best. For me, I've been lucky enough to work with Natalie Streppone Holoubek twice in my career. Natalie and I were part of the same Finance and Operations Team at the Urban Ecology Center for years (FinOps4Ever!) and even shared an office for some time. During that time I was particularly impressed with Natalie's skill in HR, finance, and accounting, as well as being just a really great person, confidant, and friend. Fast forward five years, The Blue Lotus Center is expanding and nearing the point where a deeper level of financial sophistication will be needed to handle bookkeeping, accounting, and audits. During our board discussions of the issue I said "I think I know just the person!" Natalie had since become the principal of Intarsia Consulting, helping nonprofits and small businesses who "strive to support our local community, children and families" flourish and to manage their HR and finance needs. I introduced her to our finance committee and they were deeply impressed. I am thrilled to say that on Monday the Blue Lotus Center entered into a partnership with Intarsia Consulting, and I am working with Natalie once again! Good things are ahead for sure! Here we are working together on "All Staff Cleaning Day" at the UEC. Natalie would sometimes wear the same clothes as me (how embarrassing!)