Jim McGibney, the honorary consul of the Republic of Korea for this area and the Vice Dean for the Colorado Consular Corporation, will speak at the Rotary Club of Estes Park on Thursday, January 21, at their regular noon meeting. He has prepared a very interesting illustrated program on the history of Korea and its current status as an important economic force. In addition, the presentation looks at the history of Korea, the Korean War, and how much has changed since that war.
Korea today is an economic powerhouse, and additionally, a significant trading partner with Colorado and the U.S.
Also, Consul McGibney’s talk explains the appeal of attending the 2016 Rotary International (RI) convention in Seoul, Korea. The current expectation is that the attendance at the RI Convention will be at least 45,000 people, which is record breaking, but not a problem for Seoul.
McGibney has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering combined with a Master’s of Business Administration. Furthermore, he has done postgraduate work in emerging business structures in service businesses and the application of technology in the Development Professions.
A Denver Rotarian, McGibney was President of the Downtown Rotary Club of Denver in 2011-12 and was an Assistant Rotary Governor in 2012-13. He has been a Rotarian for 28 years.
Jim and his wife, Nina, live in Arvada and have had a home in Estes Park for over 25 years.
Thank you from Pete Sinnott and his committee members for your successful participation at Winterfest. Our members who provided chili and served chili got to interact firsthand with the guests. The volunteers got the opportunity to respond to the requests of the non-profit, restaurant, and individual chili providers to keep them in spoons and cups as the event reached its peak each afternoon.
Our Rotary Club of Estes Park, thanks to your efforts, continues to be a successful partner to the Events staff and the committee wants to communicate our thanks to our members who helped make this event successful in 2016.
Sandy Reid joined the volunteer ranks on Saturday, the biggest attendance day of the fest.
Jane, Daffney and Jay Harroff made a batch of their signature chili.
Also cooking for the crowd were Darlene and Thor Homme with their Texas-style chili.
Phil and Rita DuChateau dished up the Grubsteak chili so the owners could go back to work.
A Mayoral challenge, chili-style, was Saturday's highlight at Winterfest. Here, several Rotarians hang out with Da Mayor.
There's always time for fun! Bob Brunson took a break from stirring his pot of chili to thank Karol Reinhart for her help.
Saturday's willing workers included Karen Thompson, Pat Newsom, Dave Evans, Scott Thompson and Pete Sinnott. Scott had fun lighting Sternos for the contestants; everyone else cleaned up chili messes.
President Scott Thompson called the meeting to order at noon. Madison Casey led the invocation. Dick Broman handled the Song and Pledge. Bob Hamblin introduced guests, including Ann Toft, Barb Marshall and Margie Broman.
Following his joke of the week, Scott made the following announcements:
The Club Board is working on three short-term goals and three long-term goals. His area of focus is meals, venue and finances. He explained that there is a possibility that the club would end the year with $2,000 less than planned due to the need to cover the minimum cost of meals.
He asked all members to check their contact information for a handout to be shared with the club.
Other announcements
Chuck Bonza thanked the 28 club members who volunteered to help at Winterfest and the 8 who will be competing for the best chili.
Thor Homme said that the club’s budget of $7,500 was never intended to be used to subsidize meals and that if $2,000 has to go toward meals, that is less money that the club can allocate to other projects.
Dale Bonza asked who in the club keeps track of the Polio Plus initiative. The consensus was that no one does.
Happy Money
Anne Slack, Scott Appleby, Sarah Walsh, Madison Casey, Wayne Anderson and Rob Ludlum were happy. Bob Brunson was uncharacteristically grumpy.
Program
Karen McClure introduced Jeff Liddle, Head of Eagle Rock School, who provided an overview of the school’s history and mission.
Adjournment
Scott adjourned the meeting with the recitation of the Four-Way Test.
Rotary International approved a grant on August 12, 2014 for $168,000 for the recovery of water and septic systems to property owners in Glen Haven after the devastating flood of September 2013. What’s remarkable about this grant it includes funds from Rotarians in India and Brazil which were matched by Rotary International.
Results since August of 2014 for the $168,000 Rotary International grant for Glen Haven property owner flood recovery of wells and septic tanks are:
$138,000 has been distributed: $104,450 for wells and $32,037 for Septic tanks for 30 property owners
Approximate $30,000 is still to be distributed to 7 applicants still in the process of permits and contracting
Committee members from all three Rotary Clubs in Estes Park continue to be active with the hopes of having the funds distributed and successful grant completion by June of this year.
