This week both our meeting and our service project focuses on Juneteenth and celebrating freedom. At our meeting we will learn about the history and meaning of Juneteenth. Then, this weekend, we will be helping staff the Juneteenth festival. More information and links to volunteer are later in this bulletin.
Our monthly socials are set for the next few months. Tomorrow night is the social at Red Leg Brewery with the Sofakillers, we will have a wine tasting at Kay's house in July and we'll head up to Donkey Derby Days on August 11th. These promise to be a lot of fun!
As this Rotary year draws to a close, please enjoy watching the pre-meeting slideshow on this year's activities. Fun times!
Our Flight Committee is looking for a few more members. It is exciting to be part of this major effort of our club and it is a great opportunity to see all the moving parts that go into this event. There are tasks that go for a few months and tasks that are a quick couple of days, tasks that take a little time and ones that take more time. Come check with Cody and we can get you plugged in to fit your time and interest. Remember - "many hands make light the load".
This week our speaker will be State Representative and Harrison District 2 school board member Regina English discussing Juneteenth. She has an impressive background in community service and engagement. Next week will be a busy meeting as we welcome the Girl of the West, presenting the Community Service Fund donation to School District 11, and hearing from our own John Buckley on flying the Russian MIG-29 Fighter Jet. I can't wait to hear his fascinating story. Don't forget to RSVP - and bring a friend!
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.
In April 1994, I traveled to Moscow and spent a week at the Russian Test Pilot School, flying 4 times in the the L-39 Albatros fighter trainer (see 1st pic below). After the 4th L-39 flight, my Russian test pilot instructor told me that he approved me flying in the front seat of the MIG-29 Fulcrum (2d pic below). At the time, I was one of only a handful of Americans to have flown this advanced Soviet (erhhh, Russian) aircraft.
The Cold War was over. Fighter pilots who stood on opposite sides of the conflict flew during the day, and drank wine and vodka at night. I learned a lot in those days in Russia about what we had in common, and what still separated us. This program focuses upon upon what it was like to fly one of the most advanced Russian aircraft at the time, as well as the lessons I learned about Russian culture and technology after the Cold War ended.
Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival is the biggest celebration of inclusion to ever be held at AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL Park in Colorado Springs on June 16th - June 18th. Their mission is to bring together people from every background and community for a time of celebration, music and family fun. This is a free event to attend.
If you sign up to volunteer, please send a follow up email to Cody Burket @ cburket@firmaitss.com and include the day, time and position you have signed up for. Thanks!
We are still hoping our club can be a "Every Rotarian Every Year Club" with the Rotary Foundation. So please donate if you are one of the 20 or so who have not done so already. If you are unsure if you have donated this year, please check with John Buckley, our Foundation Director; Karen Mooty, our Club Administrator; or with me and we can let you know.
June Social at Red Leg Brewery with the Sofakillers
Come enjoy fellowship, food and beverages and great music at our last social of the Rotary year. In keeping with June being Rotary Fellowship month, we are continuing with our monthly socials. This month it will be next Friday at Red Leg Brewery. They will have food trucks there. In addition, it is a summer beach party theme and they will have beachy cocktails available as well as beer. Hawaiian attire is encouraged. - The best part is that the Sofakillers will be playing from 5 pm to 8 pm. Since they are so popular, if there are a couple of members who can arrive around 4 pm and stake out an area, let Ron Rubin know. People are welcome to bring camp or folding chairs as seating will be limited - though many will be out dancing.
When: 5 pm - 8 pm
Where: Red Leg Brewery - 2323 Garden of the Gods Road
Also, watch for details on the wine tasting social at Kay's house in July and mark your calendars for our trip to Donkey Derby Days on August 11th in Cripple Creek.
The question is constantly asked “what the next big project for Rotary will be” and the answer is always the same, “we must keep our promise to the world and finish what we started”. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative continues to be the number one focus of Rotary International and will be until this promise is kept. With only two countries still endemic to the wild polio virus and with only three new reported cases this year there is guarded optimism. However, the partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative know that the fight is not over, and a renewed worldwide effort will be needed to reach the goal. At the World Health Summit last October world leaders pledged 2.6 billion dollars over the next three years towards the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The funding will support global efforts to overcome the final hurdles to polio eradication, vaccinate 370 million children annually over the next three years and continue disease surveillance across 50 countries.
From the early 1980s when Rotary Clubs in the Philippines started a local project to vaccinate children in their country. Seeing the success in the Philippines Rotary International adopted the program to vaccinate all children around the world. From those early commitments until today Rotary has been unwavering in the effort to eradicate polio. Rotary support includes volunteers on the ground, environment sampling, laboratory testing facilities, transportation of vaccines, and financial support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Without the commitment of Rotary International and the continued support of the dedicated Rotarians the eradication of this disease would not be possible.
As part of the tremendous financial support commitments made at the World Health Summit Rotary International has pledged $150 million over the next three years. For Rotary to meet this pledge local clubs and their members are asked to help Rotary keep our promise. We have the ability to be part of the eradication of only the second disease in history. Your help is vital to make a difference in the world. As we approach the end of this Rotary year, please consider a donation to The Rotary Foundation Polio Plus Fund. Your donation will be matched 2:1 by our polio partner The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
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If you are interested in promoting your business, we are offering banner advertising on our website for $250 for the Rotary year. This is a great way to help underwrite the costs of our club website and promote your business at the same time! See Mike McGrath or Misty Stuart for more details.
Now in its fourth year, the Craig and Kyle Whitney Memorial Golf Tournament was established to provide community service. To-date, this very fun event has been sponsored by a wide range of local businesses and individuals and has raised more than $50,000 to benefit our community through the programs of the Salvation Army and the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs. Beginning last year and now going forward, the Whitney Tournament also provides “scholarships” for First Tee youth.
“Being able to participate in the Whitney Memorial Golf Tournament gave our participants an experience that they will never forget because it gave them a chance to grow and provided them a safe place to fail. They were pushed outside of their comfort zones and were able to rely on all the active learning experiences that we have been teaching them through our life skills and leadership curriculum.”
Emily Ortmeier, LPGA, Director of Golf and Education First Tee – Southern Colorado
PEN (Practical Education Network) in Accra, Ghana (installation of online training facility) $5,000
Science Lab at Masai Mara High School in Kenya, Africa. $2,500 (with $2,500 from the Los Altos, California Rotary Club)
Social Work Scholarships at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Two individual scholarships) $3,000
School bus purchase for Rotary Volcanes School of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico $2,000 (Tri Lakes Rotary Club project; total goal from area clubs and District grant $16,000)
Ukrainian Letter Project (supplies, printing and shipping) $2,600
Ankara Turkey disaster response $3,000
Our Community Salutes (recognition of high school military enlistees) Vendor Booth $500
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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!
