PETER TEAHEN is a prominent American pilot, author, mental health professional, and humanitarian based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is widely recognized for flying light aircraft long distances around the world to raise millions of dollars for polio eradication. Teahen has been piloting small aircraft for over 53 years.
In 2023, Teahen and his co-pilot John Ockenfels completed a 25,000-mile flight around the world in a 1977 Cessna T210M single-engine aircraft. The trip raised more than $2 million for Rotary International's PolioPlus program to distribute vaccines globally.
Atlantic Route Flight (2025): In late 2025, Teahen partnered with 89-year-old pilot Ed Galkin for an 8,800-nautical-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean (covering 11 countries in 37 days) to target remaining wild polio strongholds in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Beyond aviation, Teahen has an extensive background in public safety, mental health support, and disaster response: He has served in leadership and mental health support roles during 75 major global disasters, including the response following the September 11th World Trade Center attacks and the 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami. He is a highly active member of the Cedar Rapids Rotary Club and the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians.
JOHN OCKENFELS
John has been piloting small aircraft for over 51 years. Along with Peter Teahen, he is half owner of the 1977 Cessna T210 that they flew together around the world to raise funds to eradicate Polio.
He is a founding member of the Iowa City, Iowa A.M. Rotary Club, serving as President in 1998-99. He served as District Governor for Rotary District 6000 during the 2014-2015 Rotary year. In 2002, John traveled to India to take part in a National Polio Immunization Day event and the International Polio Eradication Summit in Mumbai. John has served on many District, Zone, and International Rotary committees over many years. He is a member of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians and serves as the North Central Chair for the Americas Region. He is also an adjunct member of the E-Aviation worldwide Club.
My years in Rotary started as a member of the club in Indianapolis in 1971. It had over 500 members so it was a little difficult to get to know most of the people. At that time the classification expectation was still quite rigidly in place; I was principal at the Jesuit high school, and the club already had the president of Butler University and the superintendent of the Indianapolis public schools so it took awhile for my membership to pass muster. Our meetings had amazing speakers because we attracted major figures from numerous fields. When my career took me to a Chicago suburb of Munster, I had the experience of a recently started club. Unlike Indy, all members were deeply involved in all activities. For me it was the start of my realization that Rotary comes in packages of all sizes. During that time, the club put in place a small park at the corner of a significant intersection including an interesting piece of art. Our next move was to Neenah, WI. The Rotary club was founded in 1925. It had a long history of all sorts of community involvement. The membership was about 100, and we sang from the Rotary song book at every meeting which was a fun new Rotary experience. Our son Michael finished college at Georgetown during that time; he wanted to go to central America and build a school in the countryside where there was none.
The Neenah club raised the money. I went to see it over spring vacation, took pictures, and upon returning talked about it at numerous clubs. It was a personal experience of Rotary in action and life changing for me. Then we moved to the Mequon and Thiensville community as I became school superintendent, and my wife joined the Cedarburg schools. A new adventure was afoot. I’ve now been a member of the Thiensville-Mequon club for 42 years; it was started in 1937. I enjoyed being club president
when we sponsored the start of the Mequon- Thiensville Sunrise club. In 1996-97 I had the
good fortune to be District 6270 governor, and really enjoyed visiting all the clubs which confirmed my belief that Rotary clubs come in all sizes and with various personalities. On two occasions we had the very special opportunity to attend the Rotary International Convention in Calgary in 1996 and Indianapolis in 1998. Over the years, a daughter joined Rotary in another district. I had experienced women finally being admitted, albeit after a lawsuit, and at first only where it was illegal. Happily, R.I. very shortly recognized the wisdom of women being members all over the world. Our Rotary worldwide is a wonderful vehicle for all of us to do good deeds. Let’s keep it up.
Karl Hertz Fall, 2026
Thanks Karl, for all of your service to the educational world, and everything you have done, and continue to do, for Rotary and your community/world at large. To date, I believe that Karl is the only T-M Rotary Club member who has served as a District Governor for District 6270.
As promised, this is my quarterly progress report — I'm calling this series "Wheels in Motion." Our 2026/27 board word of the year is "prepared," and I'm continually amazed by the energy, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas coming down the pipeline. I'm excited to break into committees for our first official business meeting (also known as Rotary in Action) on Sept 29th. These rebranded business meetings will be packed with activities, thoughtful networking opportunities, and brainstorming with your committee as you work toward your goals throughout the year.
I also want to thank the Rotarians who stepped in during Family Fun Night — I was unexpectedly out because of my dad’s medical emergency. It was supposed to be a fun splash-and-luau themed night with bubbles, crafts, island music, yard games, a tropical photo booth, specialty tiki drinks, and so much more. While it didn't go exactly as planned, I'm so grateful to everyone who stepped in to make it happen anyway. That's what I love about Rotary — it doesn't matter what's needed, we're there for each other, ready to roll up our sleeves. Honestly, that spirit is something I saw in my dad growing up, and it's a big part of why I wanted to join Rotary— to find more people like him, who show up for others without being asked twice. Seeing that same teamwork and camaraderie in our club is something truly special.
One thing I've come to appreciate more and more is how different everyone's "why" is. For some of you, it's expanding your professional network. For others, it's finding a mentor or becoming one. Some of you joined to build deeper roots in this community, and others simply because Rotary gave you a place to put your energy toward something bigger than yourself. Whatever brought you here, it matters — and it's part of what makes this club so FANTASTIC. I'd encourage you to hold onto your "why" this year, because it'll be the thing that keeps you showing up when life gets busy.
This year, we're focusing heavily on membership. I've put together a "grocery list" of prospective members that I plan to work down throughout the year, and my goal is for each member to reach out to three friends in Ozaukee County to tell them about Rotary and invite them to a meeting. We'll really hyper-focus on this at our Membership Olympics on February 23rd. Stay tuned — you won't want to miss it!
Goals Achieved ✓ Created business cards & TM Rotary swag store ✓ Rebranded business meetings as "Rotary in Action" ✓ Activated Instagram + other socials (thanks Bruce!) ✓ Created President's Playbook (hoping to expand to all board positions)
In Progress
Update website — add member testimonials (thanks Vertz Marketing!)
Membership Olympics
Rotary on the Road (Joint Meeting + 2 others) (thanks Heather!)
Board accountability — goal setting and benchmarks (we'll discuss at our next meeting on Sept 29th)
Lastly, as we prepare for the changing of the seasons, I want to close with some exciting news: December 15th is our Holiday Party at the River Club. We are bringing in a lovely violin duet — it's going to be elegant and truly festive!
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." — Helen Keller
Thanks again for all that you do, Angelica Niemann TM Rotary President
In need of more gear to show that you are a true Thiensville--Mequon Rotarian? Look no further than our newly updated Swag Store! Click on the link below to get your quality hats, shirts and pullovers, for both men and women, in a variety of sizes and colors!
With the 1831 publication of Table of the Post Offices in the United States, the Post Office Department acknowledged the population’s reluctance to completely spell out state names on mailing envelopes (such as the always-vexing “Massachusetts”) and for the first time unveiled a list of approved abbreviations. The list largely followed consistent guidelines: States with one-word names were abbreviated with their first and last letters (e.g., Connecticut became “Ct.”); states with two-word names were marked by their initials (New York became “N. Y.”); and territories were shortened to two letters with a “T” (Arkansas Territory became “Ar. T.”). But there were a few anomalies among the group: Alabama and Illinois were denoted by their first two letters (“Al.” and “Il.”); Michigan Territory retained its first three (“Mic. T.”); Missouri used a middle letter (“Mo.”) to avoid confusion with Mississippi (“Mi.”); and Ohio simply became “O.”
When the U.S. Post Office released updated lists in 1874 and 1943 to account for the country’s expansion, it did away with abbreviations for Ohio and other states with short names. Then, in mid-1963, the department established new two- to four-letter abbreviations for all states — with the exception of Ohio, Iowa, and Utah — to fit the templates of new mail processing equipment. When the four-letter designations were still found to be too long, the Post Office shortened them one more time in October 1963 to a consistent two letters, and Ohio, Iowa, and Utah became “OH,” “IA,” and “UT.” And that’s where things stand today. The only state abbreviation that has changed since 1963 is Nebraska’s; originally given the two-letter abbreviation of “NB,” the Cornhusker State was rebranded as “NE” in 1969 to avoid confusion with the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
