Durango High Noon
Rotary
Rotorygram
April 15, 2004
For this full house meeting,
commemorating the 25th Anniversary of our club's creation, Bob Chaput
orchestrated an extraordinary beginning. The club trooped outdoors to the
parking area of our meeting site at the Doubletree Inn. Cannon fire,
courtesy of Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad, resounded during the presentation of
the Flag by a troop of Brownies and Girl Scouts who led us in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Our tables were festooned with balloons
and guests galore attended, lead by Rotary dignitaries. Our District
Governor Laura, from Rocky Ford, Colorado, received a standing ovation.
Visiting Rotarians were Fred Wold, Fairfield, California, Mark Berent and Bill
and Dorothy Tarpley from the morning club. Other guests were Diane Giffe,
Berkeley Rich, Janet Rich, Bill Hobson, Mike Filed, Mark Bonahue, Ciny
Anderson, Laura Volger and Daryl Wothers.
Berkeley Rich announced the plans of
"Housing Justice" for an 800 mile statewide walk to promote
affordable housing for all. A Durango community walk will occur
Saturday, July 17. A map and description of logistics of the walk may be
viewed at www.housingjustice.org. Dan Morganstern of our club is working
on this project.
On the darker side, Bill Hermanson and
Patty Burkholder warned about the proliferation of fraudulent checking writing
schemes upon seemingly good accounts with impressive and highly persuasive
pre-printed checks, courtesy of modern printing technology.
Volunteers are needed for the Rotary
International Youth Tour on June 13 and 14. Contact Paulette Church.
Stephanie and Clark McKay and Laura and
Paul Webb announced their wedding anniversaries.
Scott Mathis donated ten happy dollars
and announced the birth of his grand daughter.
Past President Jeff Brown, Bill Tarpley
and District Governor Laura combined in a prestation that focused our attention
upon the international missions of the Rotary Foundation with reminders of the
good work accomplished by donations to the Foundation by our club members:
Nancy Hammond paid for three cataract surgeries in India and four water wheels
in Zimbabwe; Susan Sanders paid for mosquito netting for 35 homes in
Bangladesh; Terry Lee paid for 1,000 trees for reforestation in
Guatemalea. Rotary Foundation, established in 1917, collected $133
million last year and $1.5 billion since its inception. Current Paul Harris
Fellows (Rotarians contributeing $1,000 to the Foundation) in our club include:
Patty Burkholder, Bob Chaput, Paulette Church, Burt Coleman, David Farmer, Tom
Galbreath, Nancy Hammond, Karen Largeant (and others as Jeff read the list
faster than I could write). Four new fellows were honored: Jill Ward,
Wayne Bedor, John Anderson and Ron Holligan. Paul Harris Fellows in the
"Plus One" designation (pledging $2,000) were honored as well: Burt
Coleman, Kathy Crum, Bob Volger and Jim Watkins. Bob Chaput received
special commendation for his donations totalling $6,000 to the Foundation.
100% of all donations to Rotary
Foundation are spent on humanitarian ventures within three years of
receipt. This means the Foundation must continue to received donations of
its good work will inevitably end. District Governor Laura implored we
follow the credo "Every Rotarian, every year" to assure the
Foundation's continuation. Jeff Brown pointed out our club's
"donation challenged" status with good news/bad news statistics: our
club is 7th in the District in per capita giving to Rotary Foundation BUT third
in Durango!
Our original club certificate has become
lost over the years. Distrct Governor Laura presented a replacement