Meeting Notes for April 23, 2026 President Jack Ford rang the bell at 12:00.
Pete Sinnott gave the Invocation.
Jack led the Pledge of Allegiance.
We sang “Happy Birthday,” accompanied by Madison Casey. April 23 was a most unusual meeting of the noon club. A special lunch and a special presenter heralded the centenary of the Estes Park Rotary! The song Happy Birthday was sung by all present as a commemoration of the extraordinary event. Rotary Firsts A large group of visitors joined club members, and in place of the usual Announcements and Happy Money, six achievements of the club were highlighted as a way to mark the multitudes of projects from those hundred years. A different club member presented a short summary about each achievement: - Tara Moenning recalled that the scholarship program began in 1966 with a single $300 scholarship. She mentioned a special student from 1973 who received a larger award: Wendy Koenig, former mayor of Estes and a decorated Olympian runner. Over the years, the club has awarded more than a million dollars to local students.
- Dale Bonza stated that the Duck Race began in 1989, and over the years it has raised more than $3,700,000.00 for local charities. Rotarian Tom Maher has attended every one of those races.
- Scott Robbins recalled that the club has supported the wonderful Shelterbox campaign for many years.
- Beth Weisberg congratulated a present member, Suzy Blackhurst, and lauded her as the first female president of the club.
- Tara Moenning gave a summary about the first president of the club in 1926, Albert Hagen
- Jean Rismiller detailed Rotary’s world-wide polio eradications efforts, which began in 1979. Over $2.9 billion in contributions has made an amazing difference, with only a few cases worldwide in recent years.
 Area Governor Jean Rissmiller and District Governor Karen Morgan Program Guy Van der Werf introduced Kurtis Kelly, the presenter. Kurtis acted as Joe Mills, the person responsible for the earliest work of establishing the Rotary club in Estes Park. Mills spearheaded a campaign in 1921 for hosting the national meeting of Rotary in Estes Park. That effort failed, but it led to a group of local people creating the chapter in 1926. Joe Mills(Kurtis) Kurtis, Chuck, and Jack and Al Hayden(Jack) Adjournment President Ford led the four-way test and rang the bell at 12:58. Barry Hannigan
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