The Badger State adds its third Legatus chapter

They say that spontaneous growth produces the sweetest fruit. If that’s the case, we can count on remarkable things from Legatus’ chapter in Wisconsin’s capital city.

Stuart Herro, Bishop Robert Morlino, Susanna Herro

The chapter — which chartered with 21 member-couples at The Madison Club on Sept. 21 — found its legs when Kathy Wall came back from Michigan almost two years ago. She had just experienced Legatus for the first time at a chapter event there.

“She came home so excited about it,” recalled Susanna Herro. “She called me and said, ‘Susanna, I really want to get Legatus started. Let’s chat!’”

Legatus connection

A short while later, Herro and Wall were part of a gathering of 15 prospective members who gathered for the budding chapter’s first event in March 2015. After Mass celebrated by Madison Bishop Robert C. Morlino, guests heard from Nancy Haskell, director of Legatus’ Great Lakes Region, who explained what Legatus is and its benefit to the local church.

Ten years ago, while serving as the Diocese of Madison’s justice and pastoral outreach director, Herro had asked Bishop Morlino about starting a chapter in Madison.

“His very wise response was that he would like it to come up from the people,” said Herro, who had been interested in Legatus since the Milwaukee Chapter chartered in 2000. “Back then I was really hoping something like this would happen in Madison and now it has!”

Bishop Morlino, who had served as Legatus’ international chaplain from 2008-2009, celebrated the chapter’s chartering Mass, which fell on the Feast of St. Matthew.

“Being a Legate is all about keeping the big picture in mind,” he said. “We are all about our salvation and the salvation of others. We are all about heaven. There’s always been a tendency in the Church to build heaven here. And we have a lot of that going on at this time in history.”

The Church, he said, “can never become a nongovernmental organization because we don’t do what we do simply out of love for our fellow human being. We do what we do because of Jesus Christ, because the spirit of Christ pushes us forward. We do what we do because Christ does it through us, and we love Him.”

Future growth

Traci Dalsin, Bishop Robert Moroni, Jeff Dalsin

Chapter president Jeff Dalsin said he and his wife Traci, who joined the chapter in April, have been impressed by the chapter’s quality programs — including a talk by Mike McCartney, a member of Legatus’ Genesis Chapter, who spoke after dinner the night of the chartering.

“Our experience has been really great,” he said. “One of the things that attracted us to the group is the ability to interface with other business leaders who share our faith, face the same kinds of tough decisions we do every day, and try to understand how they might deal with those situations. It’s a great forum for that kind of exchange.”

Aside from building a quality program for the chapter’s first year, Dalsin said he also plans to include round-table discussions with Legatus members.

“We’re really excited to be a part of the group, and to invite other people so they can be part of the experience,” he said. “Membership growth is Mission One for our board.”

Herro and her husband were among three Madison couples who attended Legatus’ 2016 Summit in Orlando. The experience sealed the deal for them.

“Our Legatus experience has been very educational and uplifting,” she said. “My husband Stuart and I went to the Summit in January. We were both blown away by the quality of the speakers. They were just excellent. We came back and urged everybody else to go.”

She also feels the chapter has room to grow.

“Madison is a small, but close-knit community,” she said. “The challenge is that we have the university here. It’s the major part of our economy. We have very little actual industry, so we’ve been very fortunate to pull people from very far away. One couple drives 90 minutes to get here. They’re dedicated and we’re looking all over the diocese for new members.”

Bishop Morlino put a face to that dedication in his homily.

“When we get chartered tonight as Legates, we witness publicly to the fact that we have met Jesus and that he has made all the difference. If we live that out, Legatus will flourish in Madison like nothing else!”

PATRICK NOVECOSKY is Legatus magazine’s editor-in-chief.