Thank you Jim, our faithful P-E, for running last week’s meeting!
As Jim announced, Duck sorting after our April 1st meeting at the Quality Inn-not an April Fool’s joke, unless I am the only one there!
Great job Scott Thompson for organizing the Duck Race Major Sponsors.... Kurtis Kelly and Scott will be our MC’s this 33d race; we will be rich with history and “quality” jokes... who knows whether Kurtis will come as a famous historical personality??
See all of you Thursday on Zoom.
Quacking along,
Prez Bill
April 1 program:
How has Rotary influenced Russia?
“Will it be Beneficial to All Concerned?” Many Rotarians since the 1990's economic devastation of Russia, most notably the Eugene, Oregon Rotary Club, believed helping Russians met the purpose of the Four-Way Test. Certainly, “Will it Build GOODWILL and BETTER Friendships?” fits the bill. As Mikhail Gorbachev said, “It is better to be friends than to be enemies. It is better to do business than to do war.” Thus, Rotary stood tall … and still does today.
What have we learned since three Swedish Rotarians first visited Russia in 1988 and the first club was chartered in Moscow in 1990? What have hundreds of American Rotary Clubs given to the Russian economy and stability (before the pandemic, of course)?
Milt Garrett is possibly one among a very small handful of American Rotarians who have, over many decades, consistently aided in that Four-Way Test consideration across Russia’s 11 time zones.
Milt Garrett
This summer’s return trip will be Garrett’s 23rd year working with Russian entrepreneurs. A self-funded Rotarian, he’s twice been selected as a citizen diplomat. Ten of 23 years he did this work pro bono as a Rotarian. He’s a former member of the Rotary International’s U.S.-Russia Intercountry Committee.
In the Fall 1999 with the Grand Junction Rotary Club, and later sponsored by a San Francisco organization that Congress funded, Dr. Garrett was sent across America to many Rotary Clubs. When there, he spent a first full week as their lead instructor and taught industry-specific delegations of Russian men and women. Local Rotarian hosts were responsible for the expenses for the three weeks of training. The purpose of this effort by Rotarians and San Francisco was to restart the economic recovery of Russia. What has he learned? Has Rotary really been beneficial to the Russian entrepreneur? If so, how has it helped in their economy since the Christmas Day 1991 breakup?
Dr. Milt Garrett will answer those questions with his presentation: “How Has Rotary influenced Russia?”
President-Elect Jim Whiteneck called the meeting to order a noon on Zoom. He made the following announcements:
Our club meetings will continue on Zoom until further notice.
The Duck Race practice run will be held April 5 at 1 p.m. at the Estes Valley Community Center.
Duck Sorting, originally scheduled for today, has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 1, at Quality Inn after the regular club meeting. It will most likely be held outdoors.
Michelle Mann will present our June 3 program on the Amaro Tan Summer Camps sponsored by our club.
Dennis Gellhaus and Jim recently attended the President Elect Training Seminar (P.E.T.S.) and passed the course.
Happy Birthday to: Dave Evans (today) and Anne Slack (March 28).
Madison Casey gave the invocation on sorrow over the Boulder tragedy and hope that Rotary service and ideals can inspire a better world. Jim Whiteneck led the Pledge of Allegiance. There were no guests today. Scott told a joke about a May/December romance.
Happy Money
Madison is happy to be going out to dinner to celebrate having his second vaccine shot and completing the subsequent waiting period.
Dave Evans and Karen will celebrate their birthdays following the two-week wait after their second shots.
Karen Thompson is happy to have received her first vaccine shot in Denver, along with Scott. The jab was administered by their daughter.
Anne Slack was happy to have visited in person with Beth Weisberg this week, as they have both been fully vaccinated.
Beth Weisberg was also happy to welcome Anne, her first visitor since the pandemic began, to her home.
More happiness for Madison: He and Marty are about to welcome a visit from their California children.
Milt Garrett was happy to have received loan reimbursement from two individuals, a Sioux Indian and a Mexican national. He celebrated their integrity.
Trivia Question Jim thought he had crafted a tricky trivia question in Bill’s absence, but it proved easy for Milt, who knew that 6 of the club’s 12 officers and directors are women.
Fourth Thursday Committee Announcements
Beth said letters have gone out to merchants to solicit Duck Race prizes. She asked for volunteers who would be willing to help with follow-up calls the week of April 5. Contact Beth to volunteer.
Karen announced that Friendship Card sales continue to be strong. She delivered another $1,300 to Longley this week.
Jim complimented the Community Service Committee for a great photo in local newspapers of the recent grant presentation to Community Corner Café.
Madison encouraged everyone to purchase a Quack Pack for our club’s foundation.
Adjournment P.E. Jim adjourned the meeting at 12:19 with the recitation of The Four-Way Test.
Rita DuChateau, scribe
Mary Overly Update
Anne Slack is passing along a message from Jack Overly. Mary suffered a stroke on March 20. After a few days at MCR, it was expected that Mary would be transferred to Poudre Valley Rehab. The stroke has affected Mary's speech as well as right leg and arm, but all are hopeful for a full recovery. As Jack is currently overwhelmed with phone calls from family and friends, please contact Milt Garrett or Anne for updates.
We're all rooting for your recovery, Mary!
Posted by Rita DuChateau
Club grant will help feed the community
The Rotary Club of Estes Park has a longstanding commitment to address areas of need in the local community and has recently awarded a grant to help with a shortfall of holiday collections by The Salvation Army.
Due to the COVID pandemic, the bell-ringing campaign sponsored by The Salvation Army came up short this year. The Community Service Committee of the Rotary Club of Estes Park, which vets and recommends grants funded by the club, recently delivered $1,000 to the Community Corner Café to help provide weekly free dinners for all Estes Valley residents. Half of the amount came from the club’s Friendship Card proceeds, and $500 was donated by a generous club member.
Roxy Hause (left) and Rev. Bruce Brackman (right) happily accept the $1,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Estes Park representative Beth Weisberg to help with the Community Corner Café.
The Community Corner Café is based at Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church on Dry Gulch Road, near Good Samaritan Village. Free meals are provided every Friday between the first Friday in October and the last Friday in April, between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Due to COVID, meals are “to go” during this CCC season.
“Community Corner Café is about Community, celebrating our ‘common unity.’ We provide good nourishing meals at no cost to anyone in Estes Park and surrounding areas,” said Bruce Brackman, pastor of Shepherd of the Mountains. “So far this year we are averaging over 225 meals every Friday night. We are so thankful for the Noon Rotary’s grant of $500 and a $500 match by an anonymous donor. We absolutely would not be able to serve without the generosity of the Noon Rotary and other organizations that consider Community Corner Café an important ministry to Estes Park and surrounding areas. CCC is funded purely by grants and donations.”
Founded in 1926, The Rotary Club of Estes Park is a service organization open to all. The club currently meets on Zoom on first four Thursdays of every month. Meetings begin at noon, with an optional lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Interested in joining? Contact Anne Slack, membership chairperson at anneslack@aol.com. To help the club’s philanthropic efforts, consider buying a $10 Friendship Card for local discounts at any of the following locations: Cabintique, Country Market, Macdonald Book Shop, Mad Moose, Nicky’s Steak and Seafood House, Quality Inn, Safeway Guest Services, Rocky Mountain Gateway, Wynbrier Home and Wynbrier Ltd.
Is Zoom a challenge?
Anne Slack has the answers!
For anyone new to the workings of Zoom, it can be a confusing experience. Our Membership Chair Anne Slack took on the challenge of creating a step-by-step tutorial on navigating Zoom.
The document is posted on our club website's home page, under Home Page Download Files (left hand side of the page) for your future reference. Click on this link to be taken to our club's home page to read all about the world of Zoom, and think about printing it out for a friend. https://portal.clubrunner.ca/5241
Thanks, Anne for your efforts to keep all of our members engaged until we can meet again!
Ever wondered?
On April 1, 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Although the day, also called All Fools’ Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as poisson d’avril (April fish), said to symbolize a young, “easily hooked” fish and a gullible person.
April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.
From History.com
Give to our Foundation while you shop!
Do you find that you are placing Amazon orders more frequently these days? Don't forget to help your Rotary Club of Estes Park Foundation with every order. As a recipient of funds in the smile.amazon.com, our foundation will receive a portion of the sale. All you need to do its sign up to get the funds flowing. And SHOP!
Choose the charitable organization by typing in Estes Park Rotary Foundation. Our club and the Longs Peak club will come up in the search. Click on Estes Park Rotary Foundation.
Create a bookmark so every time you shop Amazon, you will participating in the smile.amazon.com program.
Subscribe to Bulletin
Subscribe to our eBulletin and stay up to date on the latest news and events.
.png){kind=small}
