Annie and Vance Valades' well deserved Rotarian(s) of the Year Award recognizes individuals who have given extraordinary service to the club during the past year that brings recognition to our club because of their efforts. They not only "rescued" Flight last year, they continue to head the committee for our Flight Lite on September 7th for this year's event. They have connected with the community in many ways, have built bridges to community leaders and artists through Flight, and have assisted the club through volunteering all year long. It was unexpected, they said, but to me, no one could have done more to be Rotarian(s) of the Year. Congratulations to you, Annie and Vance.
I recognized other board members last week who have done so much for our club. Those whom I recognized will not be at my last meeting this week and I wanted to honor them while still president. The others on my board will be shown my appreciation on Friday.
As Claudine mentioned, her role with our club may be changing due to career moves she is making that might prohibit her from every Friday's set up and possible attendance at the meetings. This may change even further in the future but Claudine will let us know and prepare us for what may come. We all know what an invaluable service she performs as administrator.
My "Step-down" Dinner made me even more appreciative of our club and its members. Such nice compliments were spoken that I was humbled/embarrassed by what was mentioned. I sincerely hope we can do this every year and make it a tradition like it is in Ventura, California, where Kevin Stevenson was a member. Thanks to all who attended and presented me with the Mickey Mouse engraved watch that I will wear all the time. A perfect gift for me to go with my working Mickey Mouse rotary phone! This was no "Mickey Mouse" gift; it is truly an extraordinary watch. Jack Kinney showed me his Mickey Mouse watch, not to be outdone.
The bylaws for the Service Fund that include a Permanent Endowment piece are almost ready to present to the Service Fund for their approval and then to the general membership for passage. How exciting to envision funds that will be creating even more opportunity to enrich our community for generations to come. It will soon be possible to give to the Service Fund, designating a portion for the Permanent Endowment, knowing that it is unending in its service to our city. We can leave a legacy through our wills, estates, and through current gifts, as well.
Thank you for a wonderful time in my life to serve as your president. I feel such pride in our club, our new members who have chosen to become a part of our club and Rotary International, and I know that we will continue to advance with Alan at the controls. Onward and Upward and Crescit Eundo (our New Mexico State Motto).
In just over two months, we will welcome Noa Ferriera-Trindade as our 2018-19 Rotary Youth Exchange student to our club. Noa is from Domont, France, just north of Paris and will arrive in Colorado on August 6th. She is 16 years old, speaks excellent English, and will attend Palmer High School starting August 15th. She's excited about coming to the U.S. and the chance to live with host families, the Cass Daley & Patrick Doyle family, plus the Molly & Josh Slate family -- both members of our club.
Liz and I were in Paris in late May and had the opportunity to meet Noa and her family for lunch. Her family includes her sister Leah (19) plus parents Ilda Trindade and Philippe Ferreira.
Noa with Dennis and Liz in Paris on May 27th.
Ilda Trindade, Noa, Leah, and Philippe Ferreira
We also had the opportunity to share dinner with our club's exchange student from 2005-06, Yaelle Molho. Yaelle lived with us for 10 months and attended Rampart High School. She is now a lawyer in Paris. We've stayed in touch with her over the past 12 years and have had opportunities to visit her in France on several occasions - always a delight.
What does Rotary do? Where do we do it? and How do we do it? In 8 short words, Joseph Kovarik suggests the following: " What do we do? Improve people's lives, where do we do it Locally and globally, How do we do it? Through service."
Short and sweet, this was in the Rotarian Nov 2018.
Our Club has decided to establish an ongoing program for sharing Foundation Recognition Points (FRPs) to encourage contributions to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and to help members become Paul Harris Fellows or to obtain multiple Paul Harris levels. See attached documents.
This is the way the program will work:
Members who have FRPs will be asked to donate all or a specified part of their points.
The donated points will establish a pool available for transfer to other members who are contributing to TRF
Members contributing to TRF may choose to use points to help them become a PHF or advance to the next PHF level
The approach essentially functions as a clearinghouse to connect members with points to members who wish to use points in connection with contributions.
To donate or to request points, simply contact Foundation Chair Tom Nelson by phone (719-440-6611) or by email (tcnelson21@gmail.com).”
.JPG)
