Year 37 Volume 9 (Aug 26, 2018)

BOARD MEETING … Last week's board meeting had to be cancelled due to the serious illness of President Talee Crowe's granddaughter so there was a short board meeting held at the conclusion of this week' meeting. Trust everyone in Talee's clan is on the mend! Note that the October board meeting will be held on the 3rd Thursday (instead of the 4th), October 18, 2018.

CLUB HOLIDAY PARTY … Save the date: Saturday, December 1, 2018!

GATEWAY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES … Join Gateway for their 14th Annual Around the World in 80 Wines! The wine tasting, dinner and live auction takes place on September 21, 2018 at the Wellshire Event Center (3333 S Colorado Blvd). If you are interested in "Pouring for a Purpose to Benefit" Gateway call 303-343-1856 for information and tickets.

RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE … We are preparing and serving dinner on Thursday, September 13 at the Ronald McDonald House. Contact PP Betsy Jansen who is the coordinator. Betsy will need 7-8 volunteers. You need to arrive at 4:15pm and it should wrap up around 7pm. Wear your Rotary aprons!

DISTRICT CLUB TRAINING WORKSHOP … Hugh Radke urges everyone to attend the workshop being held on Saturday, September 15 at Front Range Community College from 8am to Noon. There are three breakout sessions covering several topics including Technology & Social Media, Rotary Foundation, Rotary ABC's, Membership & Marketing Your Club and Mental Health Initiatives. The club will cover the $25 cost of the workshop. If you are interested in participating see Hugh or go to the District 5450 website to register. Hugh will be a presenter for the Rotary Foundation.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY … PP Al Horton has us in the que for an early October Habitat build in the Sheridan area where 53 townhomes are being built. More information including the exact date will be forthcoming.

CLUB OFFSITE VISIT … Vocational Chair Mark Rank has scheduled an offsite visit to the Aurora Firefighter's training facility on October 15. Please mark your calendars and note that we will not be meeting at the Bent Noodle on that date.

CLUB END OF SUMMER CARRIBEAN RUM PUNCH BOWL PARTY … Not sure if this is exactly the long title President Talee Crowe gave for our end of summer celebration but its close and the key word here is Rum. This will be a potluck at no cost to Rotarians so bring yourself and an appetizer to share. It is on Saturday, September 15 beginning at 6pm at the home of PP Mark and Kay Johnson (21993 E Ridge Trail Cir, Aurora 80016). Pictured on the left is our last garden party … unfortunately it did not include Rum, it cost $10 per person and it was not our garden. Fortunately $10 for the garden tour went to benefit the Dumb Friends League (see This Week's Program), the gardens are beautiful and we don't have to lean over to take care of hundreds of potted flowers and tropical plants! This is the garden of Channel 9's Rob Proctor that Kay and I visited on the morning of July 28. You know Rob Proctor is a gardener when everything you see is a planter! Impressive … but oh the work!?! Fortunately Rob has Proctor's Proteges, a team of 9 individuals whose work and dedication keep his gardens in show shape. We have Johnson's Squadron, a team of 2 individuals whose garden gnome keeps us in color year round!

"THE BEST BREAD EVER" … Those were the words of PP Denny Passantino as he enjoyed not one, not two, but 3 pieces of that delicious bread at the Bent Noodle! You can see how Denny carefully placed the last piece of bread on his plate, like a swimmer on the side of a pool getting ready to jump in. We thought he was going to savor the last piece but the camera had to move very quickly to get this shot as Denn

y grabbed and consumed the last piece with the speed of an Italian! The Best Bread Ever turned out to be the highlight for our table as our table was BLANKED in the lottery by PP Sgt-At-Arms Jim Suss. To make things worse, the two winner table sneered us. Someone caught this shot of Jim and PP Craig Essex going through the lotto tickets before lunch probably to make sure our table got BLANKED. Apparently Jim needed help from a computer guy to pull it off.

SGT-AT-ARMS … Sarge PP Jim Suss read a great list everyone should live by … The most destructive habit: Worry; The greatest joy: Giving; The greatest loss: Loss of self-respect; The most satisfying work: Helping others; The ugliest personality trait: Selfishness; The most endangered species: Dedicated leaders; Our greatest natural resource: Our youth; The greatest shot in the arm: Encouragement; The greatest problem to overcome: Fear; The most effective sleeping pill: Peace of mind; The most crippling failure disease: Excuses; The most powerful force in life: Love; The most dangerous pariah: A gossiper; The world's most incredible computer: The brain; The worst thing to be without: Hope; The deadliest weapon: The tongue; The two most power-filled words: I can; The greatest asset: Faith; The most worthless emotion: Self-pity; The most beautiful attire: A smile; The most prized possession: Integrity; The most powerful channel of communication: Prayer; The most contagious spirit: Enthusiasm!

THIS WEEK'S THOUGHT … I've noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind and treat one wound. They aren't determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they're satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world. ROTARIANS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

Dr. April Steele is

President & CEO of the Dumb Friends League (“DFL”). She is an undergraduate of CSU and graduated from CSU’s school of veterinary medicine. April sold her veterinary practice before joining the DFL. The mission of the DFL: Working with our compassionate community, we will end pet homelessness and animal suffering. The DFL was incorporated on September 8, 1910. In addition to the Quebec Shelter, the DFL operates the Solutions Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic, the Harmony Equine Center, the Buddy Center and the Behavior Center. The DFL operates on an annual budget of $20m with 10% of revenues from fees and 90% from donations.

The Quebec Shelter is an open admission shelter, no one is turned away. On average 85 animals per day are euthanized despite the fact the gap between pets received and pets placed has decreased dramatically since 1968. The cost to shelter a pet has increased from about $200 in 2003 to $440 in 2018. For FY2018, the DFL had 20,919 intakes and 18,659 placements (4% of placements are returned to the shelter). The average length of stay for a cat is 20 days and for a dog it is 9 days. The Quebec Shelter is undergoing a $40m renovation ($36m has been raised) and they are one year into the second phase of what will be a 5-phased project.

The Solutions Clinic located on Yuma Street opened in January 2017. It provides no cost spay/neuter and vaccinations services for cats. For FY2018 it performed 10,932 surgeries and 15,992 since opening.

The Harmony Equine Center is located on 168 acres between Franktown and Castle Rock. It has three barns with 87 stalls and two indoor arenas. It is open to horses removed by law enforcement due to neglect and privately owned horses needing to be rehomed.

The Behavior Center performs evaluations of animals to help determine their needs.

Veterinary services are performed by 9 full time veterinarians on staff and 20 relief veterinarians. They perform many services including spay/neuter, dental procedures, first aid, basic medical care and care for illnesses and injuries.

Duty Roster

SHRC Birthdays and Anniversaries

CLUB CALENDAR