“Close friends are truly life's treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone.”
― Vincent van Gogh
As I write this morning, I am sitting in Dallas, Texas in my hotel room, and just across the room is my friend, Lisa, still sleeping soundly. We flew to Dallas on Tuesday morning so we could see my son's band perform here in Dallas on Tuesday night. It was a fabulous concert and we got a little bit of time with Kid2.
Yesterday we woke up and looked online to see what was happening in Dallas that we could see or do for the day. We decided to visit the Dallas Museum of Art to see their Vincent Van Gogh immersive experience! I've been to other art exhibits but I've NEVER seen anything like this! We sat on little stools while the walls around us turned into Van Gogh works of art which then morphed into more of his pieces. The film looped so we were able to watch it again. The music created for the film completed the perfect ambiance to watch, enjoy and appreciate the incredible talent of such a tortured soul. You can read about his life at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh.
This experience was even more amazing because I could share it with my beautiful friend, Lisa. What Van Gogh said above in the quote I shared about friends "to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears" and to show us that we are never alone is of extra value to me this week. We have had such a fantastic time together. We have experienced nearly every emotion in the past few days. I'm so grateful for her friendship and the bubble of true acceptance and love. I hope you have friends like this.
Today's Random Awesome Deed suggestion is for when you are talking with your dearest friend. There is great value in asking "What can I do to support you?" Sometimes a non-judgmental ear to listen is what is needed most. After all, we are Service Above Self Rotarians, and helping others is how we roll! The other thing is if you are going to offer, be prepared to be helpful. We all know people who offer support but when you actually ask, they have 247 excuses as to why they can't help in any way. Don't be that guy.
An example within our club of this is Cass Daley. She is currently on a leave of absence but stepped up to help with FLIGHT deliveries and has even since offered to help and followed through. I have deemed her my "FLIGHT Angel" and that might even be underestimating her. I have so many of you to thank for the help and the thank you's are still going out in the mail!
Now let's go forth, be great stewards of Rotary and Catalysts of Caring in our Community!
Please be well, be safe, and be kind. There are a lot of people needing just that.
Thank you to Jody Richie for suggesting and coordinating this program. I heard it was very interesting! And thank you to Ron Rubin for serving as the facilitator! If (like me) you had to miss this program, it is available on our YouTube channel to watch through this link: https://youtu.be/ZX4U3ytf9p0
“We are looking for 4 to 5 people to be on the Diamond Awards committee. We spend about 10 hours actually working on the committee during the school year. We spend maybe five hours during our own free time reading applications and nominations from students about their favorite teacher from District 11 high schools. Reading the nominations occurs from the end of December through the beginning of February. Then we ask the committee to go with us to the high schools to notify the teachers they have won-which is another two hours of time if their schedule allows it. We then have two presentations at the Rotary Club where we invite the winning teachers and their principals to a rotary luncheon and we honor them by giving them a Diamond chipped Clock from Luisa Graff Jewelers, a longtime Rotarian, and a check from the Community Service Fund that they are able to use for themselves. All told that is another three hours for a total of 10 hours. I mention this because I know people work full-time, or even retired people have plans and things to do.
So all in all it’s 10 hours which stretches from the end of December until the first week in April. We are looking for 4 to 5 interested members who may have fond memories of teachers in their lives and how they may have changed and help them along the way. This committee was started 22 years ago by Jack Kinney- another longtime, beloved Rotary member- and if you are interested in the committee please reach out to Cass Daley, Jody Richie, or Vance Valades.
If you are interested in participating in our International Committee, please email Jordan Davis at Jordan@sociallyexceptional.biz to be added to the notification list!
In the interest of remaining transparent to all club members, the nominating committee has been selected and will proceed according to the following bylaws.
ARTICLE VII - NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Section 7.1. Nominating Committee. Approximately 2 months before the annual meeting, the Club President shall appoint a Nominating Committee whose purpose shall be to place before the Club membership a slate of candidates to serve as Officers and Directors of the Board of Directors in the ensuing fiscal year. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five Members, as follows: one Past President of the Club; the current President-Elect of the Club; and three Members-at-Large, one of whom shall have been a Member of the Club less than 5 years, one of whom shall have been a Member of the Club 6 or more years but not more than 15 years, and one of whom shall have been a Member of the Club for more than 15 years. The Past-President will serve as the Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Section 7.2. Presenting the Slate. At least 2 weeks before the Club's annual meeting, the Nominating Committee shall present to the membership the names of the four Officers and the appropriate number of Directors needed to fill vacancies occurring on the Board of Directors.
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 10th.
Here are the five members that have been approved:
Past-President -- Caryn Adams
Current President-Elect -- Kay Rendleman
At Large Member (Member less than five years) -- Cody Burket
At Large Member (Member more than 6 and less than 15 years) -- Carol Bach
At Large Member (Member more than 15 years) -- Craig Engelage
As the nominating committee is beginning the process of selecting candidates for next year's board of directors, you are welcome to contact any of the members listed on the committee above to voice your passion and/or interest in serving on this new board for 2022-2023. We are especially interested in Rotarians who might be interested in the President-Elect position for next year.
If you have bulletin announcements, please email the EXACT WORDING of your announcement to KSaltmarshVoss@yahoo.com by Wednesday at 5 pm. I don't write your announcements but I do make them nice 'n' fancy!
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.
