It was so exciting, for me, to announce the amount that has been raised through our 2017 Flight Gala at last week's meeting. I included the caveat that it might change from the number I posted with the volunteers holding up the dollar amount of OVER $75,000! Well, we have another bill that came in and the total amount will probably be closer to $72,000 or so - still a very respectable amount and more than last year. I'm also pleased that so many of you have completed the questionnaire about Flight and fundraising I asked you to complete at our meeting last week. Claudine also posted it in an email to the entire club and I would like to get responses from the rest of you, if you'll please take the time to fill it out before Friday so we can tabulate the results for our Club Assembly meeting on the 19th.
Now we have three politicians in our club: Larry Liston, Bill Rhea (our newest member who is running for the 5th Congressional District) and Maile Foster just announced she is running for Colorado House District 18! Wow, maybe we can get funding from the legislature for our club's service fund in the future if Bill and Maile win, with Larry already there (ha, ha). Best of luck to Bill and Maile!
Thanks for such an interesting program, Bart G. and Regina Lewis (who is a past Rotarian of our club and whom I hope will consider rejoining). It was eye-opening and made me realize, as always, that people can change and make something more of their lives if given opportunities as a "hand up" rather than a "hand out".
Our next board meeting is on January 25 at 7:30 am at the Antlers, for anyone who is interested in attending
So many new venues and restaurants and apartments are being built. UCCS's Ent Center for the Arts is opening this month and the Olympic Museum is rising from the ground in SoDo (South Downtown). Our Catalyst Campus for Cybersecurity had an article in Sunday's paper with the prospect of it likely becoming a center of national importance. I read all of this with great enthusiasm for our community. Now, if we can just get some snow (what?).
Wayne and Betz Smisek's wonderful children's books published under the rubric: The Chocolate Mountaineers Club that helps instruct kids how to Be Good - Do Good is being brought to life as a musical on January 18, 19, and 20 at Studio Bee at the Pikes Peak Center. Our past member, and CEO of the Colorado Springs Conservatory - Linda Weise - wrote the music and lyrics. Please plan to attend with kids and grandkids and support this very worthwhile endeavor. Find out more about it all at chocolatemountaineersclub.com and discover what Ph.B. means. This club is changing lives, just like we as Rotarians are.
Our club has agreed to host a Rotary Youth Exchange student for the 2018-19 school year from August through May of next year. We have made our initial inquiry with Palmer High School and have the support of D11 for this endeavor.
Now is the time that we're in search of three host families. The host family periods are Start of School Year in August to Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving to around Spring Break, and Spring Break to End of School Year. We have two CS Rotary families interested in hosting, one for the first period and one for the third, and need to know of others who might support this wonderful program. You don't have to live in D11, but need to be willing to get the student to and from school. Also, you don't need to be a Rotarian to host so if you have neighbors who might be willing, please let us know. We are planning to ask for a female exchange student.
If you are interested and need more information, please contact our Youth Exchange Officer, Juliana Howard, juliana.hetrick@gmail.com, our Director of Youth Services, Carol Bach, carolmbach@aol.com, or Past-President Dennis Shoemaker, hds8960@gmail.com.
I hope you are having a wonderful start to you Holiday Season! I want to apologize for not keeping you more up to date with my studies and experiences here in Cambridge. After I last emailed you, my term really took off and I became overwhelmed with coursework and making the full adjustment/transition to living in England and Cambridge (much more difficult than I expected!). That said, I officially turned in my first big paper last Friday! My paper focused on how distributed/flatter leadership models in schools impact teacher-well being. I've attached a copy, if you are interested in taking a look at my research thus far! Absolutely zero pressure (considering it's fairly long and dense), but it's there if you would like to see what I've been up to academically! Next term, I plan to conduct research (hopefully) in a local Cambridge school as well as some schools in Colorado Springs!
I have been using the past week to slowly decompress and reflect upon my travels/experiences over the past few months. I've started to draft some emails about my travels through Asia this summer, and afterwards plan to write about my first few months in Cambridge (e.g. punting on the cam, joining the soccer/basketball teams for my college, attending Formal Hall dinners, meeting incredible people from all over the world, and presenting at local Rotary Club dinners).
My Rotary hosts here have been absolutely incredible. One of my hosts, Vic Starkey, took me on a tour around the outskirts of Cambridge two weeks ago. It was so nice to get out of the University for a bit, especially considering it was a day when I was feeling particularly stressed about my paper (and a bit homesick). I am always so grateful for the support of The Rotary Club here and in Colorado Springs.
I will be in Colorado Springs for a very quick week (from December 15th - December 22nd). Vic has actually volunteered to give me a ride to Heathrow Airport (so generous!). Please let me know if either of you (or any of the fellow Rotarians) would like to grab a coffee or lunch!
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