HAPPY THANKSGIVING. As you know, we have NO MEETING tomorrow. Enjoy your holidays and your families. The next two weeks we will welcome fantastic and interesting speakers to our meeting, so please make an effort to bring a friend. In the meantime, let's take stock of all that's happened so far in this Rotary year that gives us cause to give thanks.
JULY: You all were so encouraging to me as I began this Rotary year. I am thankful for your words of support (and correction), for your emails, and for the confidence boost you gave me as we began this journey. I am also thankful that the Flight Committee was already hard at work in July: a fun and cohesive team ready to surpass all previous markers of success for Rotary and D11.
AUGUST: In August we celebrated the membership of the club. We've had to say goodbye to some wonderful Rotarians who have left the community and the club. We've also welcomed new and returning Rotarians: Martin Cook, Kent Felice, Tim Stoen, Doug Hansen, and Tara Santillanez. We socialized with each other at the Butterfly Reveal (and before meetings in the bar.)
SEPTEMBER: We started September with a service project focused on education and fun: A planet odyssey that allowed children to walk "at the speed of light" all the way to Saturn. The children were so excited to make their "space" headgear and get their planetary passports stamped. Then we pivoted to our major fundraiser: FLIGHT!
Through sponsorships, tickets, the raffle, and the silent and live auctions, we raised $120,000 net for the Service Fund and School District 11. In the process, we forged new partnerships and strengthened existing ones. And the entire club can be thankful that the Flight Committee worked so well together that they've all signed on for an additional year of service together.
OCTOBER: In Rotary, each month has a "theme," and October's is "Economic and Community Development." We honored that theme and Rotary's area of focus through our project with Habitat for Humanity. Did you know that Rotary and Habitat are official international partners?
At the end of October, we raised awareness of Rotary's efforts to eradicate Polio with cookies that featured a purple finger. Then we celebrated World Polio Day as a club and raised money that will be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We are thankful for everyone who comes together to make an impossible dream an imminent reality.
NOVEVMBER: In November, we passed out poppies, honoring the service and sacrifice of our Veterans. We checked teetch at the Queen Palmer Dental Day. We socialized together at the Red Leg Brewery and raised money and food for Courgars Cares. We refused to let the snow stop us from assembling boxes of food for needy families and passing them out the Saturday before Thanksgiving. (And yes, it was icy and cold!) Finally, we all celebrated together the good work that the Rotary Foundation does in the world. I am thanksful for those of you who committed to support the Rotary Foundation financially.
DECEMBER: By the time we meet again, it will be December, and there's so much to do. I know it's a busy, busy time of year, but I hope to see each of you and your guests at one of the three meetings we'll have during the month. And then, that's it: three meetings and we're halfway through this crazy-busy Rotary year. Enjoy your holiday!
Sophia is a 15 year old a competitive trap shooter with a twist ... She is missing her left arm. Sophia is in process with International Para Sports and USA Shooting to represent the US at World Cup competitions, as para-trap trends toward becoming a Paralympic sport. Orphaned in China, she was adopted as a 5 1/2 year old child and has grown up here in Colorado Springs. Hear about this brave young woman’s determination and journey as she rises to the level of internationally competitive athlete.
You've heard it before. . . many times. There is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS something to be grateful for! Have you ever spent a moment really contemplating the reality of that statement?
I have done so many times. I've not questioned it but affirmed it. I had a pretty severe accident nearly 2 1/2 years ago. I've gone through so many losses since that date. I lost the ability to walk (for about 6 months), my job that I loved (I was asked to resign so the organization could move forward), my independence (that was a tough one!), one of my dearest friends (the person who ran over me and doesn't believe in remorse of any kind), the ability to ever run again (as a marathoner, that's pretty devastating) and many other smaller but still impacting changes thrust upon me. Then this quote came along and I smiled. Because from the very second I was run over, I was surrounded by so many people who care about me. I never felt or feel that those losses are only for me. My friends have suffered alongside me. I've never been alone in my grief for my former life. I've also never been able to sufficiently thank the ones who stuck by me. And mostly, I've ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS had so much to be grateful for!
My other favorite quote seems to go along with that one. "What if you wake up tomorrow with only the things you were grateful for today?" This quote inspires me to be constantly grateful for people, for experiences, for things that bring me joy, and most of all, for this life. Even with the constant pain and struggle with mobility and neurological issues, I am very aware that I possess the thing that we often take for granted. If not for my constant support systems and my medical team, this would be a far different experience. So amidst the challenges, I am ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS grateful for the people surrounding me that uplift me, encourage me, support me, empower me and the occasional friend who reminds me that I'm a true badarse! My soul is tougher yet more tender and my heart is fuller because of the very thing that has limited me. I'm learning more about empathy than I ever thought I needed to know. My life has slowed down out of necessity but I realize that's a benefit. I can breathe more, think more, love more, thank more. Most of the time, I've been pretty positive and that gift of seeing the upside has definitely served me well for the past 30 months.
Everyone has their own story. Even so, we ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have something to be grateful for! As we stuff our bellies with turkey, ham, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, I hope that you will be thinking of those things that you are so grateful for, even through your own losses and challenges. With a full heart and more gratitude than I know how to express, Happy Thanksgiving! Our club members have held my hand in so many ways and you are absolutely and phenomenally so good to me. Thank you - I appreciate you!!
At the end of October, we raised awareness of Rotary's efforts to eradicate Polio with cookies that featured a purple finger. Then we celebrated World Polio Day as a club and raised money that will be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We are thankful for everyone who comes together to make an impossible dream an imminent reality.
