I hope you are having an outstanding week. I also hope you all enjoyed the meeting last Friday. I certainly enjoyed seeing everyone who came in-person and who joined us via Zoom. I was happy to hear the feedback that our members and members of our community had about the message given on Friday. It made the impact I was hoping for. Now, we have a starting point firmly established for the rest of the year. The Gazette was kind enough to write about it (https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/TheGazette/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=THEGAZETTE%2F2020%2F07%2F11&entity=Ar00803&sk=F3E6C04B&mode=text).
We also had concerns from members about the social distancing observed at the meeting. From what I’m tracking, if the situation doesn’t improve in two weeks, El Paso County will be shutting down. Mayor Suthers may be announcing soon that masks will be required in Colorado Springs. All this because it seems we are losing ground with the fight against COVID-19. I know the masks and social distancing are no fun. I know it was really nice to see everyone again since we’ve been apart since March. If we are going to continue to have an in-person meeting component then we have to do better. I also must do better so let’s just do better together. Keep working to improve how we engage each other during this pandemic. It won’t last forever but for now, we need to be safe and stay the course.
The other feedback I received was from those attending the meeting via Zoom. The audio was a problem and the Wi-Fi at the Antlers wasn’t able to keep up with the stream so there were times when the video feed would get hung for the attendees viewing remotely. Until we can find a better system, we will move to livestreaming. What does that mean? It means we won’t be utilizing Zoom for the meetings at this time. Instead, you can go to the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoSpringsRotary/) and tune into the livestream which will start around 12:15pm on Fridays. There you can watch and participate via chat during the meeting. We will have someone online monitoring the chat to answer questions and ask questions to submit to our speaker. The DJ that attended the meeting last week (James Flowers) will be at the meeting this Friday to facilitate the live stream of the meeting for us. Please like, love, comment and share the meeting if you end up tuning in on Friday. This livestream will also give us the ability to post the meeting to various other social media platforms after the conclusion of the meeting. We have our first board meeting of the year next Wednesday, at that time we will be discussing some options for our club meetings moving forward.
I will be with my wife Friday as she has her retirement ceremony from the US Air Force culminating 20 years of service. Dr. Michael Thomas will be the speaker on Friday to discuss the future plans of D11 as we enter the 2020-2021 academic year for our students. Have a wonderful week and I’ll see you all next Friday.
Dr. Thomas, D11 Superintendent, will be Program Chair for the new 2020-2021 Rotary year. He plans to bring a variety of inspiring, educational and topical programs every Friday. And he welcomes input and ideas for insuring the high quality and success of our Friday programs.
Today Michael will share with us the plans for the District's 2020-2021 acadaemic school year.
Thank you to those who registered to attend our Friday meeting at The Antlers! If you are one of the Zoomers, the link to virtually attend our meeting is included in the email you received from Claudine.
For those in attendance at the Antlers, we are required to wear masks. Those masks need to be used except while eating. Please know that we are trying to accommodate Rotarians while taking into account all of the safety measures that need to be followed to ensure our club stays healthy! Seating will be staged to include proper socially distanced chairs and food will be plated.
Another concern that some club members have mentioned is how to greet each other, especially because we haven't seen each other in person for so long! So the guidelines are as follows: Handshaking and hugging will spread potential germs. So the club has adopted an elbow-bumping technique for greeting and minimal touching. And we want pictures of the club doing the elbow bump!
*The Rotary Club of Colorado Springs and The Antlers have put in place preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; however, the Club nor the Antlers can guarantee that you or your guests will not become infected with COVID-19. Further, attending the in-person meetings could increase your risk and your guest's risk of contracting COVID-19. By RSVP'ing to in-person meetings you are acknowledging the contagious nature of COVID-19 and voluntarily assume the risk of exposure.
This waiver will remain effective until laws and mandates relevant to COVID-19 are lifted.*
You are invited to participate in the Craig & Kyle Whitney Memorial Golf Tournament at Colorado Springs Country Club! Golfers must register by August 1, 2020 at kylewhitneygolf.com. We look forward to seeing you on August 31st!
Topic: Community Service Meeting, Rotary Club of Colorado Springs
Time: Jul 17, 2020 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join the Community Service Committee for our first meeting of the 2020-2021 year via Zoom. We will discuss projects typically planned for the year as well as future projects members may want to pursue.
Thirteen years supporting School District 11 and Rotary service projects!
We’ve come so far through time, improving and innovating every year. As the primary fundraiser for our club, we have raised well over one million dollars for these projects. Even though we have been constrained this year due to COVID-19, we are forging ahead with our plans. The artists have started creating their pieces and are sending us pictures and videos of their work in progress. We will have them on our new website in a couple weeks. We’ll let you know when it’s live.
As to the event, it is scheduled for September 26th at the Boot Barn next to Bourbon Brothers on the north side of town. We are building as much flexibility as possible into our plans so we can accommodate various scenarios. Right now, it looks like we will have a hybrid event, that is limited attendance in person as well as a virtual, live-streamed opportunity to participate. What all that looks like is still in the planning stages and we will report to you as we go along.
Now for some things we need from you. Our new website will have a history page called “Through the Years.” We want to include memories, factoids and other historical information as well as any pictures we can find. If you would be willing to share your Flight experiences and history with us, we’d be grateful. If you have a creation (or several!) of your own and will share some history and pictures, they would be appreciated. You can contact any of the Flight committee members including Caryn, Rodney and Claudine for further information.
Also, there’s no time like the present to start thinking about next year. All of us on the Flight committee want to make sure this project is successful for many years to come. So, we are looking for members who would be interested in joining Flight next year and would be willing to shadow our committee this year to learn the ropes (and butterflies!). Some of the opportunities are Artist Management, Fabrication, Sponsorships/Partnerships, Logistics, Website, Marketing, Video/Photography, Silent Auction, Live Auction, Raffle and of course, Co-Chairs. Many in our committee will stay on for another year or at least be involved in some way but just in case, we want to be prepared. It takes a Rotary village to make Flight 2020 a success and we need you!
It was really fantastic seeing some of you at the meeting last Friday! President Rodney lived up to his promise and delivered a phenomenal program! I mean, has any other president started their year with a DJ bringing the tunes?? I'm really sorry that the audio was so awkward for those zooming in to the meeting.
Personally, I'm looking forward to learning more about #BlackLivesMatter and how I can be part of the solution instead the problem. I was reminded today that our club should set the example of responsible behavior. (Thank you, Carol Bach!) We've done some amazing work in the community. It's time to learn to be even better!
Thank you for joining me in this exciting and important Rotary year!
