78 Denver Southeast Rotary members and guests gathered for a banquet at Cherry Creek Country Club to salute DSE’s 41st birthday. Former Club presidents Doug Andrews and Tom Bieging were among the charter members present. The party, emceed by President Martha Boon, paid tribute to our strong and thriving club’s history of service, fellowship and impact here in our local communities and abroad.
Kaye Taavialama
May 07, 2026
Colorado LiftEd (formerly Colorado Dream Foundation and formerly Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation)
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Charter Night 2026
The Service Above Self Award is Rotary’s highest individual honor. Each governor or director may nominate only one candidate, and a maximum of 150 recipients are selected worldwide. In 2025, just 132 Rotarians were chosen — 132 out of 1.2 million members globally. That makes Steve one of approximately one in every 9,000 Rotarians to receive this distinction.
A longtime member of Denver Southeast, Steve has served Rotary at the club, district, and international levels. He is widely recognized for his leadership advancing Rotary’s mission in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Known affectionately as “The Godfather of WASH,” Steve founded District 5450’s WASH Local Action Group, sponsoring 16 annual WASH Symposiums. He has also played key leadership roles with the WASH Rotarian Action Group, the Rotary WASH Ambassadors Program, and the Peaceful Schools Initiative.
Mary Jo Heins joined our club on March 5. She is the owner of Medicare Insurance Help. Mary Jo has a history of managing medical practices which has enabled her to understand and help clients through the Medicare maze. She has an undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus (Minnesota) and an Accounting degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. She has lived in Colorado for 40 years. Mary Jo is single and lives in Denver. She is interested in active pursuits - golf, biking, scuba diving, pickleball, hiking and has a particular interest in Cross Purpose. Susan Donahue introduced her to our club.
Edwin "Buz" Eddy transferred his membership from Gulf Breeze, Florida where he was active for 30 years and was club president. He lived in Florida most of his life and obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Florida. Most recently he was City Manager of Gulf Breeze before retiring. He and his wife, Janet, have two grown children and 6 grandchildren who live in Denver, which occassioned the move. Buz initially found our club online.
Kathy Cook is retired from the Insurance business. She was a SVP for Aon Canada and lived in Calgary for 6 years. She has a BA from Indiana and an MBA from the University of Colorado. She has been a Rotarian for 5 years and is transferring from Littleton - DSE is much nearer her home. She is married to James and has a grown daughter. She is an avid cyclist and very interested in our literacy efforts. Bonnie and Tim Thomas introduced her to our club.
DSE Rotary supports a Colorado Reading program at Samuels Elementary in Denver that is delivering much- needed literacy skills to students in grades 1 through 5. For many, English is a second language.
The English alphabet, which we take for granted, is new to them. Join the DSE Rotary team in helping Denver kids enter the mainstream of literacy by volunteering an hour or two a week with our reading program. It’s beyond rewarding.
Samuels Elementary is located at 3985 South Vincennes Court, off Tamarac in southeast Denver. Click here to contact team lead Steve Tillis for more information.
The Village Health Partnership (VHP), a non-profit chartered in 2013 and based in Denver was selected as the International Service Committee signature project for the next 3 years. VHP serves people in remote southwest Ethiopia. Its work regarding maternal health care and WASH -- two of Rotary's foci -- is central to its mission of safer motherhood. Clinics and small rural hospitals are featured. Our assistance will help to cover the training of nurse midwives in seven new target villages and clinics. These professionals are the primary caregivers for pregnant women; very few doctors and nurses are available. A six-person DSE committee, all with Ethiopian interests, will advise.
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Would you like to honor or memorialize someone special? Make a contribution to the Denver Southeast Rotary Tribute program to let them know you are thinking of them. Each donation funds our local and international humanitarian Rotary projects and is 100% tax deductible. Download Form
Do you have a succinct explanation of Rotary when someone asks you- what some would call an "elevator speech"? Here is a possible response, authored by former member, Jim Creamer:
Rotary is an international organization dedicated to the service of mankind. Denver Southeast Rotary Club is an active organization of men and women providing domestic and international assistance to others far and wide. And we have fun doing it with fellowship for our members and with a sense of ethics as outlined in the Four Way Test.
Time to Recruit for RYLA
It's time to recruit for RYLA with registration ending April 30.
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DSE Rotary Book Club
Apr. 16, 2026
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. -
Community Service ZOOM Meeting
Apr. 21, 2026 7:30 a.m.
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BiWeekly Breakfast Walk
Landmark CafeApr. 27, 2026 7:30 a.m.
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DSE Foundation Trustees Meeting
ZoomApr. 28, 2026 4:00 p.m.
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DSE Board of Directors Meeting
ZoomApr. 28, 2026 6:00 p.m.
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Last Day to Apply for Young RYLA or RYLA Camp
Apply OnlineApr. 30, 2026
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