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BELIEVE THERE IS GOOD IN THE WORLD
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Find purpose to your life with Estes Park Rotary
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Our meetings, events, and service projects are the perfect place to find your community
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Brian Deurloo, President and Founder
After graduating from Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA) with a degree in Community Development, it was a year living in Hawaii led James to discover his passion of storytelling. Initially through photography, then video, and in more recent years in writing, James has spent the years since college honing his skill and developing his craft. Realizing the power that impactful stories have to move and motivate people, James traveled around the world for a number of years, learning and experiencing new cultures. He spent this time growing his personal brand and social media following through Instagram and YouTube, using his platforms to tell stories of the overlooked, undervalued, or under appreciated. It was this that led him to Albania. Originally from the United States, James moved to Albania in 2018 to work as a Video Editor and Social Media Manager, with his role expanding into the areas of campaign strategy, public relations, copywriting and more, taking on different roles through the entire NG organization.
Come hear the latest information on the projects our Rotary and District 5440 have supported via grants to Amaro Tan, a school for at-risk children living in extreme poverty.
Christmas salad, Cheesecake minis for dessert.
Across our nation first responder agencies are stretched dangerously thin. The difficult, demanding, and dangerous work they do is causing burnout at a record pace.
When my husband, Chris, was killed in 2020 by robbery suspects fleeing from Lakewood, Colorado police, I knew nothing about this world. My interactions consisted of a few well-deserved speeding tickets. But the kindness and compassion I experienced after Chris’ death and what I learned by creating an ongoing relationship with those who serve, protect, and care for us in our worst moments inspired me to act.
In 2021, I founded Restoration Ranch Colorado a 501(c)(3). In 2022, I used my own funds to purchase and renovate a 40-acre ranch where dispatchers, fire/EMS, law enforcement, emergency department personnel, victims’ advocates, members of the Judiciary, and their families can come for a day visit or an overnight stay. We are not a mental health facility, nor do we provide mental health counseling. Rather, we’ve created a serene setting which provides a place for reflection, relaxation, and recreation and a place to care for those who care for us.
I made a commitment to “educate, advocate, and agitate” on behalf of first responders. As a civilian, I have fewer constraints on what I can do and say to bring attention to multitude of health and wellness issues first responders face – issues of which most members of the public are blissfully unaware. That is, until tragedy strikes. The heart-wrenching statistics, including more first responders died by suicide in 2022 than died in the line of duty, are simply unacceptable. We can and must do better.
Our pioneering efforts include the Ranch, our Valor Vacations® program which provides time at donated vacation properties to our stakeholders and their families, and camps for teenage children of first responders. Our Colorado Puts First Responders FirstTM initiatives use health and wellness as a recruiting and retention platform. We are working to create regional childcare facilities for first responders, a healthy grab and go meals program, an “American Ninja Warriors” style gym to provide unique workout opportunities to enhance on-the-job performance, and first responder housing support though our 501(c)(3).
There are still some first responders who are suspicious and skeptical of our motives. We have no political or religious affiliation. We aim only to serve and support those in what we refer to as “the traumatic event lifecycle.” Over the last two years, I’ve put $1.25 million of my own money into this endeavor and have followed through on every commitment I’ve made to create a place of respite for first responders and their families.
Why am I doing this? I was not able to be with my husband when he died at the crash scene. But those I call “my first responder angels” were with him as he took his last breath. That is why I created the Restoration Ranch Colorado – to give back to those who selflessly serve the public in circumstances that can be unimaginable.
Virgil H Holtgrewe was born on a farm in Southeast Nebraska on September 22, 1930. He was raised on the farm and learned how to milk the cows, feed the hogs, gather eggs from the henhouse, feed the cattle, drive the tractor as soon as he could reach the peddles and operated all kinds of farm equipment. Virgil’s profession was farming but the possibility of being drafted into the Army changed his mind. He attended Wentworth Military Academy for 1 1/2 years of Junior College and started with the ROTC program. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, a 2nd Lt. Commission in the Army Crops of Engineers and married Carol in the spring of 1955. A move to Wheat Ridge, CO in 1969 really changed his life. He became activate on Rotary District committees, a member of the Denver Ag and Livestock Club, National Western Stock Show, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and the Methodist Churches in Applewood and Denver.
Laurie Dale Marshall has worked in the nonprofit sector for 30 years developing and leading programs to serve others. Laurie is always an advocate, using her superpower of connection to build community and empower through opportunities. Laurie raised her three children (Lincoln, Emma, and Georgia) in Lawrence, KS before moving to Estes Park in 2013 by way of 14 summers at Cheley Colorado Camps, and is excited for her new role as Lala to granddaughter, Chloe.
Angelina Kirkpatrick and her husband, Jesse and daughter, Reagan moved to Estes Park from California. Angelina has worked with children and families in various capacities in her career. Angelina supports families via our Family Development program, connecting families to the services they need to reach goals they set for themselves and to build on existing strengths. She also helps families navigate accessing childcare and early education, provides developmental assessments, and supports social emotional education across home and educational environments.
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Five members of the Rotary Club of Seminole Lake, Florida, hiked Spain’s Camino de Santiago raised about $7,000 to raise funds to help Ukrainian refugee mothers and children in the Tampa Bay area. It also brought the entire club closer together.
A son recalls his father’s great medical achievement — and the moment he experienced that breakthrough firsthand
The survivor of an abusive arranged marriage, Fraidy Reiss wants to ensure that other girls never suffer the same ordeal.
Climate-smart communities bloom in Pakistan’s agricultural heartland.
Rotarian Ezra Teshome returns year after year to his homeland in Ethiopia to help with vaccines and more.
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Estes Park, CO 80517
United States of America