Tom was prepared for this spring like day as he welcomed the club to Rotary. The mood of those assembled was convivial and jocular. Tom asked Charlie Albert to open the meeting with Prayer and Pledge. These formalities out of the way, the fun began.

We had no news from the Caring Committee so that is good news. We did introduce our guests for the day. We had a man running for City Council and a builder of gas stations for Airports with us, Doug Lashley. Ken Fusco was with us again. His attendance is better than some of the club members. Betty Brown, of the downtown Fort Collins club, was with us. She was here to pick up pointers on International Service by picking Charlie's brain. Jim Royal, the District Manager for Wal-Mart joined Russ for lunch.

Mark Prouty said that most things are in place for the Mexican Food Fiesta. There have been sales at the grocery stores and at the Super Stores to help expand the numbers of attendees. They will again be selling tickets at these locations this Saturday.

Brian Meyers told the assemblage of our next Locks for Life give away. This will be on May 12th in conjunction with the DACRA Trade Show and Mike McGuire's Safety Day.

Tom mentioned the Leadership Training occurring in Montrose this Saturday. The club will pay for the cost of attendance. There will be another Conference in Colorado Springs on April the seventh.

New shirts will be on sale at the Mexican Food Fiesta. Same great value but a far different Logo. What happened to the Train?

Habitat is planning a new building up at Sky Ridge. There is a bunch of Americore Volunteers coming to help with the building efforts. Tom asked for club volunteers to raise their hand if they would be helping. Seven worthies volunteered. The date of this event is April the tenth. The time will be Durango eight o'clock.

Ward Holmes jumped up and paid a fine. His station was recognized as having great on the air talent, providing Public Service spots and the news talent. He is really proud of his group. He also mentioned his shameless Email, asking for support for the Bowl for Kids sake. Tom gave him a check to begin the process. Jim Wotkyns then mentioned the raffle tickets for those great play homes found out at the mall. They are grand works of art. Margaret paid a fine for all the help she has gotten from the club.

Fines were then the next order of business. Carl Clark was the chosen purveyor of fines. He asked Bud Deering to help collect the fines. He had all those who did not wear their pins pay a fine. He then announced that he was going to fine those members who had not picked up their tickets for the Fiesta. He began to read and it was like a list of the club faithful. Jill Bruce, Wayne Bedor and others were shamelessly opened to ridicule from the club. Mark Prouty ran to the rescue, as we learned that the list was wrong and our good persons were besmirched for nothing. Oh, the collapse into chaos. Jim Jennings, given permission from "mother", was allowed to pay a fine to the Foundation for his Birthday. Jim Williams paid a fine for getting a Hole in One recently. A wag was heard to say "He is out golfing while the Market is in the toilet. How is that possible?"

Senator hopeful Mike Matheson then introduced our guest speaker for the day. This was none other than Cathy Metz from City Parks and Recreation. Cathy was there to give an overview of the conceptual design of our second Rotary Park. We have raised 50,000 dollars to build outdoor amenities above the river and near the Recreation Center. The design is one of an amphitheater hidden behind a berm, which would separate it from the parking lot. Cement walkways would connect people to the Recreation Center and the Amphitheater from the parking lot. The design of the seating is the use of stones from the grandstands that would be placed in rows facing a stage or Gazebo. There was also an idea to include a garden area that requires very little water, xeroscape. Dean has offered that we may want to consider a group of conversation areas instead of focusing on the stage area alone. He also suggested boulders on top of the berm that will allow children to climb and interact with the space. A suggestion from the membership was a band shell that would allow for electricity and lighting for concerts and other stage events. This project is in great hands as Mike Matheson, Tom Galbraith, Jeff Brown, Dean Brookie, Steve Wheeldon and Brian Kimmel are the committee leading the way.

ONE FINAL NOTE: "The heart is wiser than the intellect."