Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are having a good time just being with family and friends. Remember, no meeting on January 2, 2025. We’ll see you again on January 9th, 2025 at our regular noon meeting.
We have an exciting line-up of Speakers in January.
January 9th is Courtney Hill, Chief Operating Officer of the YMCA who will be providing us with an overview of that campus.
January 16th will be Scott Thompson and Bob Fulton filling us in on the details of our newly designed 2025 Duck Race.
January 23rd will be led by Shurie Scheel, Chair of our District’s Club Visioning Committee.
January 30th will be a work session, taking the results of our Membership Satisfaction Survey and developing a strategic plan based on those results, Shurie’s leadership along with Grant Delbeqc’s expert advice concerning the results.
Be sure to come to all four meetings.
Until next time,
Annie
Information About The Rotary Duck Race 2025
Here is a link members may want to explore who are interested in staying abreast of Bob Fulton and Scott Thompson’s work.
After January 1, 2025, the weekly Wednesday leadership team meetings are being refomatted into “work group” sessions, each focused on a specific topic. In that way, the team can get more accomplished, and outsiders who are interested in a specific topic can attend the meeting of interest.
To best accommodate everyone’s schedules, we have rearranged our agendas a bit:
Jan 8 – Sponsorships
Jan 15 –Race Day (overview)
Jan 22 –Prizes
Jan 29 - Organizations
As always, meetings will be held at 3:00pm on most Wednesdays, both in-person at Scott’s office (314 E Elkhorn Ave) and via Zoom (http://www.EPDuckRace.org/Zoom) for all those who are remote.
Dementia Survey
A small group of folks is looking into starting a day program for folks with Dementia. Our mission is this:
To serve local adults with dementia through an enriching day program, offering caregivers essential time for respite.
We are trying to reach as many people experiencing this as possible, through this very short survey... a way to see if there is interest in such a program.
If you are able, would you please take a minute to click on the link and fill out the 4 questions? Any honest answers are most appreciated.
If you have already received this link and completed the survey, there is no need to do it again. We give you our thanks!
Greetings District Governor Julie
From Annie: Julie requests that Presidents share this important update with the clubs in our district. I was going to edit it and put just a summary in an article for the Spoke; but it is too powerful the way it is written. Please take the time to read it.
The situation in Syria has reached a historic turning point with the fall of the Assad regime. This marks a significant moment in the 14-year-long civil war. However, the security situation remains highly unstable, with various armed groups and opposition forces contending for control. Violence is escalating and curfews are in place in many areas, particularly northern Syria where ShelterBox has been operating for over a decade.
The civil war has caused immense human suffering, displacing over half of Syria's pre-war population. Five and a half million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries, and 6.8 million are displaced internally. ShelterBox has assisted over 400,000 people since 2012. Over 16 million people require humanitarian assistance. Many have been displaced for more than a decade, multiple times, and a generation of children are growing up displaced or in refugee camps. Previous ShelterBox projects in Syria garnered Nobel Peace Prize nominations in 2018 and 2019. ShelterBox has provided shelter for over 25,000 households since 2020.
Now, while there is a renewed hope of returning home safely and reuniting with loved ones, the situation is fraught with uncertainty. Many are making long journeys back to Syria, unsure of what they will find. Large numbers of people are waiting for improved security before returning. Conflicts between armed groups continue to displace more people. It is vital that all factions work together to protect civilians and ensure the safe access of humanitarian aid.
The approaching winter poses a severe risk to those without adequate shelter. Our annual winterization shelter and warm clothing distributions were halted recently due to increased conflict, but we plan to resume distributions soon. We are closely monitoring the situation and scaling up our response to meet the needs of newly displaced people. Keeping people warm and sheltered is critical as winter temperatures drop below freezing.
In summary, while the fall of the Assad regime offers a glimmer of hope, the situation remains volatile and complex, with significant humanitarian challenges ahead. ShelterBox remains committed to provide shelter and more over the cold winter months.
ShelterBox support from all Rotary Clubs in District 5440 is vital to save lives in Syria and in the 14 other countries where ShelterBox is currently responding. http://www.shelterboxusa.org
Friendship Card sales help to raise funds for serving our neighbors who need financial help. The 2025 Friendship discount cards are on sale at our Club meetings, and can be purchased at the following locations for $10 each:
CABINtique, Country Market, Estes Park Visitor Center, Macdonald Book Shop, Mad Moose, Safeway Guest Services, Quality Inn, and Wynbrier Home/Wynbrier Ltd.
There are brochures that can be picked up with the card, giving the names of the merchants who provide the discounts.
2025 Friendship Card
Moving Day of Duck Race
Storage Locker to Shed
On Saturday, December 28, 7 members worked to move the contents of our Rotary storage locker to an Exodus storage bin on the grounds of the Events Center. Included were Scott Thompson, Scott Robbins, Tim Moore, Isaiah Johnson, Lee and Sandy Lasson, and Annie Slack. We worked for several hours in cold and windy weather but we got it mostly done.
near empty old locker, L to R- Tim Moore
Scott T.'s back and Isaiah Johnson
L to R- Isaiah, Lee, Scott T., L to R- Scott R., Lee, Scott T.
Scott R., Tim Moore
From The Chaplain
Do you know a Club Member who needs assistance? Maybe a ride to meetings, or just a phone call to keep in touch? Please contact Bill Smith 970-420-1033 or billsmithbronx1956@gmail.com.
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