I am deeply honored and thrilled to be taking over this column
Our first in-person meeting of the new Rotary year will be next Friday, July 9, at 12 pm at The Antlers.
Rotary's theme for July is New Leadership. With that in mind, I am planning next Friday to share the goals that I have planned for this Rotary year.
One of my big focuses for this year is to break that membership barrier of 140. I am hoping that we can grow even beyond 150! Make no mistake, I like you all, but won't it be grand to have more members and watch the dynamic of our club change. With new members, we have new energy and new excitement! Many of you have been in this club for so many years and you worked so hard that now is the time to sit back and enjoy choosing the committees and volunteer opportunities that you want to participate in. I understand! So please think of connections that would make great Rotarians and please invite them~!
Our club has a lot to offer the community and we need them to know that. Jordan Davis and Samantha Chapman, our international and community service directors, will grace us with a program on August 20. That would be an especially interesting program to invite guests to attend. Jordan and Samantha will be presenting all about our service programs from the past, currently, and plans for the future!
When I think of service above self, I imagine our club members all throughout the community doing good and serving well! I'm offering a suggestion for while you are all doing and serving. In the next week, think about offering a compliment to someone you don't know. I have a list of RADs (Random Awesome Deeds) and I will be sharing these each week to help inspire those of us who want to be the Catalysts of Caring in our Community!
Please be well, be safe, and be kind. There are a lot of people out there needing just that.
Bill Rudy was a Rotarian from the Garden of the Gods Rotary club but he often did his makeups with our club. Sadly he passed away recently.
William J. "Bill" Rudy completed his work on Earth on June 19, 2021. Born April 19, 1929, in Liscomb, Iowa, to Goldie and Clayton Rudy, who preceded him in death, Bill led an exemplary life of service to his country, community, friends, and above all, family.
As a 1952 graduate of Iowa State College, Bill went on to earn a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
Commissioned as a US Air Force officer, Bill served ten years on active duty followed by ten years in the Air Force Reserve and retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Bill continued to serve our country as a research scientist for defense contractor Kaman Sciences of Colorado Springs beginning in 1962. There, he played a vital role in the development of strategic systems for the US Navy, including the Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile programs. He retired as a vice president of Kaman Sciences in 1992.
In service to the community, Bill was a committed leader within several charitable organizations, most notably the Garden of the Gods Rotary Club, in which he had 54 years of perfect attendance, served as president in 1978-1979, and was named a three-time Paul Harris Fellow. He served as member and president of Colorado Springs School Board District 11, having been elected on his promise to build what is now Coronado High School on the city's west side.
Bill shared his love of the outdoors with his children, all of whom continue to respect and enjoy all that it has to offer. He was an avid athlete, playing semi-pro baseball while attending college in Iowa and softball in local leagues wherever he lived up to age 82. He was a devoted fan of the Air Force Falcons, Denver Broncos, and Colorado Rockies. His greatest passion later in life became playing his weekly game of golf with friends.
Bill is survived by his sister Mary Dunblazier of St. Petersburg, FL, his six children, Rex (Val) Rudy, Kelly (Catalina) Rudy, Kristi Rudy, Timothy Rudy, Lisbeth (Sean) Kinney, and Kathleen (Brian) Hubel along with his six grandchildren, Sam (Katie) and Margaret Rudy, Evan and Shea Kinney, and Oliver and Zoe Hubel, plus numerous nieces, nephews and his first wife, Joanne Damon Butcher. He is preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Shirley, along with brothers John and Clarence Rudy.
A memorial service will be held at Swan Law Funeral Directors, 501 N. Cascade Ave., Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at 10:00 AM.
In lieu of sending flowers, donations can be made in his name to Garden of the Gods Rotary at Rotary 5470.org or to Colorado Springs Rotary Champions, PO Box 876, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.
You can find all things FLIGHT 2021 in this column every week! Also, check out WWW.CSFLIGHT.ORG!
FLIGHT 2021 will be virtual but next year we hope to all be seated in a big room with food and butterflies! Thank you to last year's co-chair, Kay Rendleman, we now have a location to live- stream for the big event on Sept 25! We will be working under the direction of Steve Weed Media at the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy!
Raffle tickets should be available next month (July) so please talk this up in the community! We want to sell out those tickets this year!!
~Sponsorship information:
If you are interested in being a sponsor for FLIGHT 2021 at one of the many sponsorship levels available, please click here for the:
Do you have items you would like to donate to this year's FLIGHT? We would love to feature your item in the silent auction. The auction will take place virtually, Saturday, September 25. Please download this form, https://bit.ly/2TnrpBr Complete the form and send it to Amanda Salmons at amanda@greenivybookkeeping.com. The deadline for donations is Saturday, August 28.
Currently searching for the following items for Silent Auction baskets:
If you have bulletin announcements, please email the EXACT WORDING of your announcement to KSaltmarshVoss@yahoo.com by Wednesday at 5 pm. I don't write your announcements but I do make them nice 'n' fancy!
As you're doing your shopping online, did you know that you can support our Rotary Club with every Amazon purchase? Here’s how:
Go to smile.amazon.com (not amazon.com). Amazon Smile is the same company, same account, same password, but the Amazon Smile program gives one half of one percent of every purchase to charity. No, it’s not a lot, but it’s also not nuthin’ (to be exact: about $150 for the Club so far). So again, go to smile.amazon.com
Sign into your Amazon account as you normally would
On the very top left of the page, next to the AmazonSmile logo, are three horizontal bars. Click there for the drop-down menu.
Scroll ALL the way down to “Your AmazonSmile”; it should be the last option right before “Sign Out”; Click on “Your AmazonSmile”
On the right side of the page, click on the “change charity” box under Your current charity (Note: If you are currently supporting another charity, that’s awesome! These instructions are for those who are not doing so. Also, if you have not previously selected a charity, your default option will be St. Judge Children’s Research Hospital.)
Type in Community Service Fund of the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs; click Select
That’s it. You’re all set. Just remember to go to Smile.Amazon.com when you shop from now on.
