I hope everyone had a blessed and happy Thanksgiving! As we spend time with family and friends, don't forget your Rotary family. We are here and would love to see you if you have not joined us in a while. There are lots of opportunities this month to share fellowship during service projects, meetings or at our socials.
Speaking of service opportunities, we have lots of projects going on so you can pick what sounds fun for you. We are bell ringing for the Salvation Army, packaging gift bags for kids at Queen Palmer Elementary School one day and then handing them out on another - and don't forget that our favorite Santa will be there to help! We also have wreath-laying at Evergreen Cemetery - a truly moving experience. You can also go shopping - with money from Rotary (plus some of your own if you'd like) - for some children we have "adopted" for Christmas. So lots of fun choices. See the Community Service section later in the bulletin for more details.
Our social last night was a fun time to share fellowship with other Rotary members. About 30 members and spouses attended and enjoyed wine, food, and conversation. It was a delightful and relaxing time. Our next social will be at the Golden Bee on December 14th, followed by a walk around the Broadmoor to see the beautiful lights. It will be lots of fun singing songs and enjoying each other's company - and you know how much I love the sing-alongs
Sadly, I must report that we will need to change our meeting location beginning in January. We have loved meeting at The Pinery on the Hill but unfortunately, they need to raise their prices due to the increase in their costs. Their initial proposal would have required us to increase our lunch prices another $12 to $42 per lunch. While we explored some options, none could get us close to our current price. Therefore, the board reluctantly voted to move our meetings to the DoubleTree so we can keep the same pricing.
Our speaker this week is Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC President & CEO, Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer. It should be a wonderful presentation! The following week, our speaker will be Michael Gaal, Superintendent of School District 11, giving us an update on what is happening in the district. This is also our annual meeting. Come and bring a friend. Don't forget to RSVP by Monday at 5 pm. If you can't attend but would like to watch the meeting, let our club administrator, Karen Mooty know and we'll try to get you set up as we are no longer Zooming the meeting.
Don't forget that our annual holiday luncheon will be on December 16th. Please make sure you RSVP by the deadline if you are bringing a guest. We don't have flexibility to accommodate those who do not RSVP.
Please take time to read the bulletin each week and check out our website that has more information about all our events, activities and upcoming speakers.
From the Colorado Springs School District 11 website: WELCOME!
With pleasure, I welcome you to Colorado Springs School District 11’s 150th year as we continue our commitment to providing excellent education in the heart of the city! I am honored to have been selected as your new superintendent and look forward to serving all students, staff, families, and D11 stakeholders. My professional journey started in this great city, so this is like a homecoming for me, and I know that we will exceed expectations together.
In addition to academic excellence, we prepare our students to understand and lead in a globally connected society. Our students are thriving academically and gaining the personal, social, and cultural experiences they need to impact our world profoundly, starting their educational foundation right here in Colorado Springs School District 11. We’re building a community that can rise to any challenge and reach new heights. Excellence is our destination, and your future in D11 is full of opportunities to realize your brilliance!
Our entire D11 workforce serves our students, one another, and our community. We intentionally collaborate across departments, schools, and locations to strengthen all of our futures. The goal of D11 is to help schools and our staff adopt promising practices in our classrooms so that every student has the best opportunity to meet their potential and exceed it! Our team is growing so our students can succeed! We believe innovation coupled with passion can change students’ trajectories.
I look forward to celebrating the Sesquicentennial year, leading into the future while learning from the past. Building on our legacy, we have a solid foundation to cultivate knowledge, empower young minds, and serve each other as the City’s central school district.
I invite you to come along for the journey this year as we commit to providing academic excellence, safe learning environments, and opportunities to propel ourselves into the future. I look forward to writing the next chapter of the D11 story with you!
Section 7.3. Nomination by Others. Within seven days following the presentation of the report of the Nominating Committee, any Member may nominate any other Member of the Club in good financial standing to any vacancy which may exist for the up-coming fiscal year. Such nomination must be in writing, shall include a statement signed by the nominee of his or her willingness to serve, must be countersigned by five other Members of the Club, and shall specify the position for which the nominee is to be a candidate. Such nomination must be delivered to the President not later than 7 days following the presentation of the report by the Nominating Committee.
Section 7.4. Election. The membership shall elect the Officers and the new Directors for the upcoming year at its Annual Meeting.
If at the time of the election, only one nominee is standing for a given vacancy, the President shall declare that the nominee duly elected to that position. A vote by secret printed ballot shall take place when the number of nominees for any given position exceeds the number of vacancies for that position.
Section 12.2. Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of the Club shall be held each year at the regular weekly meeting, on the second Friday in December.
The Annual Meeting will be on Friday, December 9th. We will be electing new officers for our club. Below are those nominated by the nominations committee.
President - Samantha Chapman
President Elect - Tina Dewey
Secretary - Lynne Pearson
Treasurer - Mike McGrath
Past President - Kay Rendleman
Director - Membership - Jordan Fontaine
Director - Community Service - Cody Burket
Director - Foundation - John Buckley
Director - International Service - Jon Kaufman
Director - Rotary Service Fund - Tom Nelson
Director - Youth Services - Fabrizio Labate
Director - Club Administration/ Programs - Trevor Dierdorff
Director - Public Relations - Krys Fakir
Director at large - Website - Misty Stuart
Director at large - Fundraising & Socials - Ron Rubin
Queen Palmer Elementary Gift Bag Stuffing and Santa Day
This weekend we will need the help of about 5 Rotarians, to sort out and fill the gift bags going out to the students. On Saturday Dec. 3rd, we will meet at Carol Bach's house at 10am to stuff the gift bags and this is usually finished by 11:30am. Please follow this link if you would like to volunteer: Sign Up
We also have the sign up ready for Santa Day on December 16th at Queen Palmer. We need 6-8 Rotarian Elves to volunteer and help hand out the holiday gift bags to the children. We will arrive at 2:20 pm and will be finished by 3:15 pm. You will need to fill out a volunteer form for School District 11, either Carol or I can email the form to you and collect them that day. Please also bring a mask in case they may be required while in the building. Follow the link here to sign-up for volunteering: Sign Up
Salvation Army Bell Ringing 2022
December 3rd, 8th, 9th, 19th or 20th. Various 2 hour shifts available. Bring your spouse, kids, or a friend and have a fun time!
Uintah King Soopers - 1750 W Uintah St Click on Sign Up to view available slots and book yourself directly online
Columbia Elementary School Christmas Project
This project is where Rotarians fulfill a Christmas wish list for a student at Columbia Elementary and their siblings that is provided for you. The Community Service Fund has approved funding for $90 per child for you to use for your shopping, plus any additional money you wish to add. In order to receive reimbursements for the gifts purchased receipts must be submitted to Karen Mooty and any amount over the budget will be the responsibility of that Rotarian.
Gifts should be purchased no later than December 9th so that they can be wrapped and delivered to the school during the week of December 12th. We will host a wrapping party at the home of Cody Burket, on Dec.11th from 4pm-6pm, if you would like to wrap your purchased gifts together and enjoy some fellowship! Click on Sign Up to view available slots and book yourself directly online.
Join us for our December social at the Golden Bee on December 14th. We'll gather for refreshments, food and singing beginning at 5 pm. At 7:30 pm, we'll walk over to the Broadmoor and view the lights and the beautiful Gingerbread house. It should be fun so bring your spouse, friends and neighbors to join in.
These monthly socials are an opportunity for fellowship among Rotarians and also a great way to introduce potential members to Rotary, so bring a friend!
The Concert Committee is forming with captains being chosen to plan a Concert to Rock Your World next October for 8500 ticketed guests. The District Conference will preceed the concert day, all to be held at UC Health Park. If you want to be part of the formation committee email Jon Kaufman at jkaufman@GlobalWaterFirst.com There is a zoom meeting tonight, Thursday, December 1st at 5:30 pm if you are interested in helping on this project. Contact Jon for the zoom link information or call Kay at 719-331-5502
Recurring Projects include Trampled Rose in Ethiopia, PEN (Practical Education Network) in Ghana
Possible upcoming projects include a Science Lab at Maasai Mara High School, Kenya and HKMU Social Work Student Scholarships in Tanzania
If you are interested in participating in our International Committee, please email Jon Kaufman jk595@aol.com to be added to the notification list!
Martin Cook provided this new update about the room we funded for the Practical Education Network (PEN).
Ghana Education Service and PEN, with support from Odeefoo Oteng Korankye II Education Fund and Ashesi University, organized a hands-on science workshop for 26 teachers drawn from schools within the Akuapem District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The training, dubbed "Nuts and Bolts on Hands-on Learning," took teachers through two kinesthetic (movement-based) learning activities they can conduct in their classrooms. It also equipped teachers on how to manage the logistics of hands-on learning.
In addition, 30 teachers from Ga Central, Ga North, and Weija Gbewe districts in the Greater Accra Region were also trained on hands-on STEM pedagogies through the support of the Ghana Education Service and assistance from Someone Else's Child Foundation. The teachers were equipped with kinesthetic (movement-based) learning activities that will enable them to engage their learners effectively in inquiry-based learning.
Both workshops form part of several online and in-person aspects of training offered under the PEN Teacher Roadmap initiative.
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.
If you have bulletin announcements, please email the EXACT WORDING of your announcement to kay.rendleman@comcast.net by Wednesday at 5 pm. I don't write your announcements, but I do make them nice 'n' fancy!
