Rotary Gram

Durango High Noon Rotary Club

February 5, 2004

    "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

                                                                                                       Dr. Albert Einstein

    President Chessa greeted us with a spirited welcome and lead us in the invocation and the pledge.  Guests were abundant, including Jake Billingsley, a celebrity Survivor, and his wife; Steve Bowen, the club's outbound exchange student to Sweden; Jay Gill, spouse of our President; Tyler Silvernail and Ashley Terry, managers of the new Dollar Rental Car effort, guests of Frank Valen; David Coates, guest of Laurie Forbes; Mark Donahue, Vern Swanson's guest;  Pam Bowen, Jeff's guest and Steve's mom;  Nancy Wanderwall, guest of Bart Cross; Kathy Redford, Paulette's guest and John Well's, registered as a guest(?) of the speaker.  The club's exchange student from Japan, Yuta, introduced a visiting exchange student from Copenhagen, Denmark, living with Rotarians in Monte Vista.  Sorry, didn't catch him or his name.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

     Chessa called for announcements and recognized David Coates, an agent from Coldwell-Banker and the driving force behind an effort to raise money for a new van to transport Disabled American Veterans to ABQ for medical care.  He attended to thank the club for it's contribution, indicating that a vehicle was on loan until the new van was to be delivered this coming summer.  Any extra money beyond that necessary for the van will be used for wheelchairs (Jeff B., did you catch this?) and dental care for DAV dependents.

International Service:  Charlie circulated photos of some old fire and rescue equipment and challenged the club to participate in finding donors of used equipment in good condition that could be shipped to underdeveloped countries.  Call Charlie @ 247-5200 or 946-2788 to help.  He is promoting the idea of a website that would list donors and those in need and would facilitate the transfer of goods and equipment to the location of need.

Red Ball Express:  Bill Cartwright spoke about the success of the fund raiser and recapped things to date.  23 La Plata County non-profits worked to earn money through the event, with BB/BS being the lucky grand prize winner, as one generous citizen bought a ticket in the name of BB/BS.  Bill said a final accounting would be presented at the February 12th meeting and Chessa presented him with a 110% pin for his efforts.

Snow Down Snowball:  P.E.N Steve G. indicated that the event was a success and that final numbers were due shortly.  He thanked all who worked on the effort, names that come to mind are co-coordinators Ms. Angie Beach and Dave Ganefsky, Jill Wark, Minister of Decoration and Peter Marshall for his efforts on the silent auction and venue.  Yabba dabba doo d......

3 New members complete red badge duties:  Chessa invited Jill and three newer members and their sponsors to the podium.  Having completed the new member requirements, Daniel Morgenstern, Angie Beach and Bill Cartwright, were presented with their blue badges.  The were accompanied by their sponsors, Emil, Ron and Laurie, respectively.  These three have already distinguished themselves as dedicated Rotarians.

Golf Tourney News:  Golfers, housebound by a good snow year, had their dreams answered when Melisa Caskey and Tim Walsworth announced the beginning of the planning for the annual HNR/UW fund raiser.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 14th.  The event will be held at Dalton Ranch.  Contact Tim, Chessa or Melisa to add you name to the list of volunteers and start getting commitments from team members.  Melisa indicated that she would not be continuing in a leadership role and members are encouraged to submit their names to Chessa.  Thanks Melisa for great efforts in the past.

Dave Spencer Ski Classic:  Scott Mathis reminded us of the February 28th event at DMR, a fund raiser for the activities of the Adaptive Sports Association.  7 Rotarians have signed up to compete and Scott needs 3 more to make 2 teams of 5.  He challenged the club by indicating that the Lions and Kiwanians needed some competition.  Go to http://www.asadurango.com/events.html#dssc for more details.  Call Scott to be on the team, 247-8650.  There is an all-participants banquet at the Double Tree after the event.

Thanks for the Wood:  Chessa read a letter of thanks to the club from Doris Phillips for it's efforts in getting her a supply of firewood.  Heading this effort is Past President ('87 - '88) Dr. Bob Volger.  Expect a call from him is you have expressed interest in helping.

SAAIT:  It was announced that Keoki Sears is a Sergeant At Arms in Training.  He went right to work.  Jill put some generous 'happy bucks' in the pot, announcing passing here real estate exam, affiliation with Prudential and a her buy-out from her former business PCS.  To celebrate, Jill announced the completion of her Paul Harris Fellowship.  Wow!

    Steve O was fined for taking an extra piece of cake and Bud Deering told us his next new cataract was scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9th.

    Chessa asked David Downs, to give the club a bit of history on himself.  He began by thanking all who have served the country in the military and for their sacrifices that set the stage for the opportunity we now enjoy. 

    David was born in to a middle class family in Kansas in 1959.  They moved to Houston where he grew up, with mom teaching at his school.  He participated in the construction of churches in Guatemala and he and his brother were active amateur canoers.

    Thinking he was going to get a degree in marine biology, he explored the employment opportunities and switched to business, earning his BS, followed by and MBA and a degree in law, all in Texas.  In his spare time he fenced for 2-3 years.

    Joining a large firm and having Ford as a client, he gained insight into the enormous power of large corporations.  He and his wife Julie have two children, his hobbies included building and remodeling and he told us about his mottos for life.  Thanks David!

    David drew two tickets for the pot, neither Bill Wright or Wayne Bedor were successful, but they did get a free lunch, courtesy of Steve Redding and his SubWay in the Wal-Mart center.

PRESENTATION

    Chessa introduced Jake Billingsley, former Durango resident, employee of the Wells Group and a participant in the TV reality show, Survivor Thailand.  Jake showed some slides and regaled the club with his experiences as a competitor.  He has shaped the experiences of his 30+ days into a motivational type presentation that includes perseverance, respect, teamwork, attitude, obstacles, disappointment and love.

    His wife participated in one episode and provided him with the inspiration to continue.  Go to http://www.survivorhunks.com/JakeBillingsley/ to get the low down on Jake and his participation in the show.

    At the conclusion of the presentation, Chessa gave Jake the speaker's mug and invited members to stay around and ask Jake questions.  With nothing more for the good of Rotary, Chessa closed the meeting.

COMING UP

February 12      Film Festival

February 19      Workshop with President Chessa

February 26      Trails 2000 w/ Bill Manning

March 4            Greg Hoch, County Planning

March 11          Debate Team

March 18          Mercy Wellness Dietitian

March 25         

April 1

April 8              Dr. John Withers, Surgeon

*all programs subject to change.