She’s always looking for volunteers and board members. If you’re interested, you can reach JoAnna at 720-550-2677 or joanna@bodhibattalion.org
This week, John O’Hayre presents Chief Mark Daugherty and Pam Kutchen from North Metro Fire & Rescue. We’re expecting a guest this week (Deana Manzaneras) who was unable to attend last week. Ben will be running the meeting this Thursday.
Tomorrow’s speaker is presented by Ben Vagher. JoAnna McTevia will be presenting on the topic of service dogs helping veterans. Thank you, Ben!
We’re expecting a visitor tomorrow evening. Deana Manzaneras Anderson will be joining us, so please join me in giving her a warm welcome. We’ve added eight new members this year. Let’s keep it up!
Finally, you might remember that Bal Swan had plans for a huge treehouse that was never built. You’ll be pleased to know that they ended up making the most of the stump they have by employing one of their school Dads to craft what you see in the attached photos.
We also had two fantastic guests and may have another this week! Speaking of this week, our presenter will be Bruce Stahlman, speaking on the subject of “Resilience and Optimism”. Thanks again to Bob Erichsen for arranging for our presentation.
I’d also like to pass along this message from Linda Deland about Tom…
Rotary friends of Tom Deland. The cemetery burial for Tom was a private service but I recognize many of you would like to visit him. He would love you stopping by for a visit/chat!
Tom is buried in the Louisville Cemetery (2105 Empire Rd., Louisville). His plot is between Block 32 and 31. He’s right off the car path to the right as you’re headed west. I do have a temporary plaque with his picture and a wind chime on his plot so you will easily find him.
Last Thursday we were visited by Kibbe Brown, a 4th generation descendant of William McGaa (he was born in 1824 and married to a Native American woman from the Oglala band of the Lakota). His family was the first family in Denver.
She gave a wonderful presentation about her family’s role in developing the Denver area, including her great-grandfather’s naming the streets in downtown Denver. Her family was also involved with the oldest cemetery in Larimer County.
Kibee is a Rotarian from Hill City, South Dakota, and is a registered dietitian for the Indian Health Service.
For more information on her check with Bob Erichsen or Gerry Case.
First, our presenter this week is none other than Jerry Miller, who will be presenting on the Charles Manson case. Not for the faint of heart!
Next, I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be voting on a potential new member. Jack Castellano, who has visited us a couple of times, has expressed interest in joining us!
I mentioned last week that there is an upcoming “Rotary 101” training session coming up on 4/26. Details and registration are available via the link below.
Members of the Morning and Evening Broomfield Rotary Clubs gather to distribute 386 Flowering Plants to local Seniors. (Photo by Gerry Case)
At the conclusion of the Colorado Garden and Home Show this year, many Denver Area Rotary Clubs came together and with the help of several Boy Scout Troops, gathered all of the flowering plants that were in good shape. The purpose of this effort was to place these flowers in the hands of Seniors throughout the greater Denver area. This year 7810 flowers were gathered and distributed …creating 7810 huge, happy smiles.
In Broomfield, the Evening Rotary Club distributed 208 Flowering plants to the residents of Maryel Manor, Salvation Army’s Silver Crest, Broomfield Skilled Nursing Facility, Broomfield Senior Center, and Meals-on-Wheels. The Morning Rotary Club delivered 178 Flowering plants to other facilities in the area, including Balfour Retirement Community, to bring the total number of Flowering plants distributed in this area this year to 386 plants
The Rotary Club is looking for more sites that would be interested in receiving flowers for seniors next year at the conclusion of the Colorado Garden and Home Show. For additional information, contact Gerry Case, Rotarian, at (303) 618-0104.
Last week, we were visited by Mike Litzau from the Arvada Sunrise Club. Mike shared his club’s fundraising effort to benefit the people of Ukraine. A copy of his handout is attached here in case you’d like to get involved.
For those of you who couldn’t attend, Linda Deland presented briefly on the Police and Fire Golf Tournament. Please mark your calendars for 7/11/2022, and please reach out to Linda with any questions.
This week, our speaker is Kermit Shields, who will be discussing the history of Dinosaur Ridge.
A few updates for you as you enjoy the Spring weather…
First, as Ben mentioned last night, Bal Swan is holding a fundraising event on Wednesday 3/23. The concert will feature players from the Colorado Symphony and will be conducted by Michelle DeYoung. A link to buy tickets is below, and there are in-person and live stream options.
Second, please make every effort to attend next week as Ben will be presenting on the sweepstakes. As you know, this is a vital component of our fundraising efforts this year.
Finally, you may recall that we had a great presentation a while back from Ann Klein of the Grant A Dream foundation.
The Grant A Dream’s mission is to reduce caregiver burnout by sending moms and dads of chronically ill or special needs children on a rejuvenating “dream” getaway. Ann shared with the club stories of parents who have gone years without the chance to simply be together on a trip because of the intense needs of their kids.
They are hosting a poker tournament at The Broadlands on Saturday 4/2. I’ve attached a file with more details, and you can also find them at the link below. They are looking for both players and volunteers. Depending on the level of interest from the club, we could consider a sponsorship.
Ron Puening spoke to our Club about the pluses and minuses of the Removal of Historical Memorials. He discussed the Stone MountainConfederate Memorial in Georgia, the Sand Creek Massacre, and many memorials that were raised to glorify specific moments in history.
There was some intense discussion about his views as he is very dogmatic about the removal of what he and others consider offensive statues and memorials.
Andy Lenec, a Ukrainian American, and his wife Joan, who visited and presented a program to us recently, came back to offer us some insight into what is happening in Ukraine. When Andy was here previously he spoke about his experiences in Ukraine in the US Peace Corps and about taking a group of 10 college-aged men and women to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards conference in Ukraine with the goal of perfecting skills in leadership, volunteerism, communication, conflict resolution, and team building.
If there is more that you’d like to do to help Ukraine please go to: ukrainiansofcolorado.wpcomstaging.com and read their story about working with Project Cure to get medical supplies, equipment, and services to doctors and nurses to help the people in Ukraine. Their daughter is on Facebook raising funds to help Ukraine with the awful situation that is occurring over there right now. Her name is Alana Maria Schmidt…put her name into the search bar on Facebook and take a look at her page on the plight of Ukraine and feel free to help out there, too, if you are so moved (it would obviously be very much appreciated).