Can you imagine going to Hawaii and back in a few minutes?Students from the USD 475 Seitz Elementary School on Fort Riley will be able to do just that thanks to the 20’ by 30’ multicolored map of the United States that was painted on their playground by the Rotary Club of Junction City on Saturday, September 19. The map will be used to help students gain a better understanding of our country’s geography and interactively engage in educational games with a CD that accompanies the map.
The Junction City club became aware of this project being completed by the Rotary Club of West Wichita. DeAnn Sullivan was instrumental in assisting the Junction City club with the template, supply list, and detailed instructions for completion.
A history of Rotarians including Generals John J. Pershing, George S. Patton, Jonathan M. Wainwright, and Robert C. Richardson Jr. was a factor to select Fort Riley as our first location for the Rotary Map Project. Col. John Seitz (Ret) is a current member and Gen. John A. (Andy) Seitz, his father, and Gen. Richard J. (Dick) Seitz, his uncle, for whom the school was named, were also members of our club.The project was originally scheduled in April but had to be delayed. For our wait, we were rewarded with a beautiful fall Kansas Day. Members who participated in the project were Scott Stuckey, Rev. Doreen Rice, Steve Spade, David Walker, Nicole Springer, Karen Carroll, President Susan Jagerson, Mary Hogan, Amy Garner, and Past-President and project organizer Linda Couch. Member Bobby Zimmerman power-washed the site for us on Friday. Seitz Elementary Principal Jodi Testa provided support throughout the project. It was a great time and we are already looking at possibly another map location in Junction City.
At right, Linda Couch completes the project with the Rotary International logo. At left, Linda Couch strategically places the Hawaiian islands.
Pictured left to right: Scott Stuckey, Rev. Doreen Rice, Steve Spade, David Walker, Nicole Springer, Karen Carroll, Susan Jagerson, Mary Hogan, and Linda Couch. Not pictured Amy Garner, and Bobby Zimmerman.