ROTARY GRAM

High Noon Rotary

March 4, 2004

Patty Burkholder called the meeting to order with the suggestion we all pray silently for a moment, giving thanks for another wonderful day in paradise. The Pledge of Allegiance followed.

Today’s guests were:

Our speaker, Gregory S. Hoch, Director, Planning and Community Development, City of Durango and Eddie and Nancy Cheung of Newbury Park, Kenneth Walker of Ardmore, OK, and Bob Geffe and Joy Mathis.

Marv Collentine announced, with a little help from serenading friends, that he will be attending a NASTAR alpine skiing competition in Utah. Marv modestly credits the benefits of NASTAR’s age handicapping system (and his 71 years of life experience) with his Gold Medal rating and invitation to this competition. Fresh from his travels, John Marshall presented the flag of the Rotary Club of GrandCayman Island.

G. Steven Wheeldon gave a detailed recital of the adventures and participation of Rotarians at Durango Mountain Resort during the Dave Spencer Ski Race, last weekend, benefitting Adaptive Sports. An impressive amount of money was raised, though the precise amount escaped my notetaking (however $40,000.00 seems to ring a bell once Steve’s minute accountancy tallied all funds raised to benefit Adaptive Sports).

Jeannie Wheeldon spoke for five minutes during the “This is Your Life” portion of our program. She gave perhaps the most-memorable and courageous biographical presentation to date. Jeannie is a fourth-generation Durangoan. Her great-grandparents arrived by covered wagon. Jeannie’s lifelong involvement in the Strater Hotel and Diamond Circle Theater stem from her grandfather’s purchase of the Strater and Jeannie holding down every conceivable job in those establishments at some point during her life, including at age 7 being the telephone operator. Following her father’s example, Jeannie is a life long Rotarian. Involvement with horse and skiing began from her earliest years. She began horse wrangling on pack trips at age 8. She learned to ski at locations no longer in use (including Stoner) and remembers Purgatory from its inception. In high school, she participated on the ski and tennis teams. She once played an exhibition match with Arthur Ashe. After high school, she spent one year touring with Up With People, then got her degree from Stanford University. She became a hot air balloon pilot and flew at the Calgary Olympics (as part of the festivities and merry making, not competition). She married Steve Wheeldon in Hawaii on the beach and has kept “two studs on the property” ever since, (horse breeding operations accounting for the second). Drawing what seemed her first breath from a non-stop recital of activity, Jeannie paused “for the hard part.” “My life has been so frantic because I am a survivor of sexual abuse. I choose to overcome by being an overachiever.” Jeannie tearfully recounted her abuse occurred at the hands of an older neighborhood bully, while she was only 5 - 8 years old. She told us about this event “to get it out and get it healed” after years of nightmares, depressions, and memories. Jeannie’s courage met with open-hearted and complete acceptance from Rotarians, who honored her with a standing ovation. We admire, respect and appreciate Jeannie all the more for her honesty and this sharing of her inner-most feelings. Jeannie, we thank you. You have earned our unqualified love.

Our meeting flipped from the soulful to the whimsical with Bud Deering’s reading of a

humorous story about how to get a cat and a dog to swallow a pill. Bud admonished March

birthday Rotarians to ante up to the dictates of their conscience.

Greg Hoch gave a program covering in detail the incredible number of projects, issues, study groups, task forces, ordinances and agendas facing the City of Durango’s Planning and Community Development office. Building and Planning Activity reached record heights in 2003 with 320 building permits for dwelling units (previous high = 211). There’s been significant building activity in multiple subdivisions: Rivergate, Sky Ridge, Parkside Terrace, East Animas Village, Valle de Verde, etc.

The Mercy Hospital plan approval and coordination of transportation infrastructure development with CDOT has been significant, with groundbreaking on the immediate horizon. A Regional Traffic Study is underway, as well as Durango Downtown Partnership. Intergovernmental agreements with the county are underway for the Ewing Mesa plan. Code revisions and Comprehensive Plan updates are in process. Meeting adjourned late as Mr. Hoch’s presentation gave rise to many questions from the

audience.