I love, love, LOVE Super Bowl commercials, even though I'm not a huge sport ball fan otherwise. I'm a sucker for a schmaltzy Google commercial like the 2010 classic, "Parisian Love." Still my favorite, all these years later. This year's Google Super Bowl commercial was so over-the-top emotional that my friends were texting me DURING the commercial to tease me about how they knew I would be bawling over it. And reader, I was. This year's commercial was all about how we remember the people we love, and how they live on through our memories of all the wonderful small things that make them unique. Which leads me to this quote:
"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you... I could walk through my garden forever." - Alfred Lord Tennyson
This week's meeting coincides with Valentine's Day, and we will be marking the occasion. I will have a rose for the first two dozen Rotarians who bring their sweetheart with them to the meeting. Your sweetheart could obviously be a romantic interest, but they could also be a friend or a beloved family member. Your sweetheart is the person whose characteristics and influence on your life make your garden bloom with color and joy. (And since my sweetheart is away on business travel, I'm borrowing Craig Whitney's sweetheart, Penny, for the occasion.)
Our featured presentation will also be about memory. Marv has asked me not to give anything away, but he has allowed me to say that he was a witness to history, and his story will fit right into this month's themes in Rotary and in American history. Also, Marv CANNOT STOP ME from saying that this is a meeting to which I have invited several people who I think will be interested in the subject matter. For our puzzle lovers, I can also say this is a story of "desired reform." I am excited about this week.
We are also two weeks away from the World Peace and Understanding lunch on February 28. As you know, this will be a joint meeting of all the Pikes Peak Area Rotary Clubs. It is a good time to get together with Rotary friends and to invite people who may be interested in all we do throughout the region. Rodney will be running the next two meetings: The February 21st meeting while I'm away at a family wedding, and the World Peace and Understanding meeting in his role as President Elect. He and Kathleen will then both be off to their respective President Elect Training Seminars on behalf of our club.
Thank you all for braving the snow in order to attend the annual meeting last Friday and approve the slate of nominees and the amendments to the bylaws. Please don't forget to sign up for the Mock Trial service opportunity as soon as it is rescheduled. We have an international service meeting and a Flight meeting at 11:00 a.m. on February 14th (before the main meeting) at Sportivo Primo/Duca's. There will be a community service meeting and a Flight meeting at 11:00 a.m. on February 21st at the same place. We had a great orientation meeting yesterday with two new prospective members, one a former Rotarian from Pueblo. Our next orientation meeting will be March 3rd, and we already have two prospective Rotarians planning to attend.
It's another great week in the life of this club, and I'm so pleased that my thoughts of each of you make my own life more joyful and brighter.
Our newer member, Dr. Martin Cook, will be speaking about his experience teaching at Ashesi University in Ghana. Dr. Cook could speak about many subjects (as shown by part of his bio I am including) but this particular subject will fit in nicely with our empahsis on International Service in our club.
Co-Editor, TProfessional Experience
Co-Editor, The Journal of Military Ethics, 2011-2017
Ashesi University, Volta Region Ghana, West Africa, Visiting Professor, Fall Term, 2017
United States Air Force Academy, Department of Philosophy, Distinguished Visiting
Professor, Fall 2016-June 2017
United States Naval War College, College of Operational and Strategic Leadership.
Admiral James Bond Stockdale Professor of Professional Military Ethics, June
2009-June, 2016
United States Air Force Academy, Department of Philosophy, Professor of
Philosophy, July 2003-June 2009. Deputy Department head, June 2004-June
2009
United States Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership and
Management, Professor of Ethics, 1998-June, 2003. Awarded Elihu Root Chair of
Military Studies, 2000. Appointed Adjunct Professor, Dickinson College, Carlisle,
PA as one of two War College faculty engaged as Adjunct Faculty to Dickinson
College, Carlisle, PA.
Santa Clara University, Department of Religious Studies. Assistant Professor, 1982-
1988; Associate Professor, 1988-1998
Saint John’s College, Santa Fe, Graduate Institute. Visiting tutor in Political
Philosophy, Summer term, 1995
United States Air Force Academy, Department of Philosophy and Fine Arts, Academic
years 1991-92 and 1993-94, Visiting Professor (On leave from Santa Clara
University, California)
Fuller Theological Seminary in the Bay Area. Adjunct Professor of Medical Ethics,
Winter Quarter 1991
The College of William and Mary, Department of Religious Studies. Visiting Assistant
Professor of Ethics, 1981-1982
St. Xavier College, Department of Religion. Instructor (part-time), 1980
Gustavus Adolphus College, Department of Religious Studies. Visiting Instructor of
Ethics, Spring Term, 1980
Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago. Teaching and Research
Associate, Clinical Medical Ethics Program. 1976-79
The University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Teaching Assistant, Department of
Philosophy, 1973-74
There's so much fun going on with Rotary in the Pikes Peak Region outside our own club...
Broadmoor Rotary will be hosting a Family Feud Night Fundraiser on February 20 at 6 pm at the Double Tree. The cost is $25 per person or $125 per team. Contact www.rotarybroadmoor.com or Mark Potter at 719-331-4824.
The Rotary Club of North Colorado Springs (North Club) is hosting a wine tasting and silent auction at Phelan Gardens on February 28 at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $35 per person. Contact Bill Savage at 719-332-7166 or getsavage1@me.com or via the club website: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3236/
On April 18, 2020, the Broadmoor Club is hosting an indoor corn hole tournament at the Double Tree. The cost will be $50 for a 2 person team.
SAVE THE DATE. Rotary Champions will be at the Pikes Peak Center on May 4, 2020.
Millions of people all over the world are currently displaced by armed conflict or persecution. In fact, 90% of casualties in armed conflicts are civilians, half of which are children. Through service projects and Rotary programs, the Rotary family is committed to pursuing projects that address the structural causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.....
Rotarians train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and aid refugees who have fled dangerous areas. During February, Rotary Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month, we’re celebrating our commitment to build peace and mitigate conflict.
Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced on 22 January that their long-term fundraising partnership, which generates up to $150 million annually for polio eradication, will continue. Under the agreement, Rotary is committed to raising $50 million a year over the next three years, and each dollar will be matched with an additional two dollars by the Gates Foundation.
In a video address at the 2020 Rotary International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA, Bill Gates told incoming district governors that the partnership with Rotary needs to continue.
“The Gates Foundation’s longstanding partnership with Rotary has been vital to fighting polio,” Gates said. “That’s why we’re extending our funding match, so every dollar that Rotary raises is met with two more.”
He added, “I believe that together, we can make eradication a reality.”
The funding will support polio eradication efforts such as disease surveillance, technical assistance, and operational support for immunization activities.
The partnership between Rotary and the Gates Foundation has yielded $2 billion, and Rotarians have given countless volunteer hours to fight polio since Rotary started its PolioPlus program in 1985.
Be a part of the fight to end polio and have your donation matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Visit endpolio.org to learn more and donate.
"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Peas." "Peas who?" "Peas be mine!"
"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Butch, Jimmy and Joe." "Butch, Jimmy, and Joe who?" "Butch your arms around me, Jimmy a kiss, and let's Joe."
"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Disguise." "Disguise who?" "Disguise is your boy friend!"
"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Howard." "Howard who?" "Howard you like a big kiss?"
"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Bea." "Bea who?" "Bea my Valentine!"
Man: “Honey, on this Valentine’s Day, I want to tell you something… I’m not rich like Jack. I don’t have a mansion like Russell. I don’t have a Porsche like Martin. But I do love you and I want to marry you.”
Woman: “Oh, dear, I love you too! What was that you said about Martin?”
