CLUB NEWS
"Welcome to Smoky Hill Rotary Club ...
the best place to be at noon on Monday!
Smoky Hill Rotary Club … serving the City of Aurora and the World!"
2018-19 President & PDG Talee Crowe
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THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE … PP Betsy Jansen had a team of volunteers lined up for the RMH on Tuesday (Mar 12) this week to prepare and serve dinner for the residents. By the time you read this hopefully the Rotarians promptly arrived at 4:15PM because a lot of food had to be prepared, cooked and ready to serve at 6PM. With the reputation Smoky Hill Rotary has, the dinner was a complete success!
VISTIT OUR PROJECT IN BEIUS ROMANIA! … While they are not finalized, International Service Chair PP Bev Edwards says the dates are taking shape for the trip to Romania … somewhere in the May 20 to May 29, 2019 timeframe. If you are interested in making the trip, let Bev know so she can include you on communications. So far Bev, Myles Edwards, President Talee Crowe, PE Hugh Radke, PP Betsy Jansen and PP Dave Maxwell have expressed interest in making the trip to see this exciting international flagship project!
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION … Chair PP Lloyd Gottman had the pleasure of presenting some new Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) recognitions to four Rotarians: Susan Michalakes (PHF+1), Pat Pogue who was not present (PHF+?), PP David Maxwell (PHF+4) and PP Clay Fell (PHF+6). Congratulations to Susan, Pat, David and Clay! In connection with the Beius Romania project grant activity, two donations of $100 each (total $200) have been made in the name of each Smoky Hill Rotarian to the Rotary Foundation!.
ROTARY DISTRICT 5450 DISTRICT CONFERENCE … Saturday, April 27th at the Arvada Events Center. Register at Rotary5450.org - registration closes midnight Ap
ril 19. Full Conference fee is $125 per person (9:00 am - 9:00 pm) and there are reduced rates for first time attendees/Rotaract and if you attend the Saturday lunch/program or dinner/program instead of the full day of interactive events. Highlights: Connections Cafe - learn about Rotary from other Rotarians; Rotary Club Presentations - service in action; Tracey Carisch - Making Connections; Andrew Romanoff - Mental Health in Colorado; Hall of Service - show off your club; Up with People - Saturday night speaker & entertainment.
President Talee Crowe would like to see Smoky Hill Rotary highlight the club's fantastic $117,000 Beius Romania hospital project in the Hall of Service. The club has not had a display at a district conference in a number of years.
SMOKY HILL ROTARVARIETY OF NEWS … PP Craig Essex visited his daughter in Jackson, TN and was able to do a make-up by visiting the Old Hickory Rotary Club in Jackson last week. Craig said it is a great group of Rotarians and they put on a pancake breakfast for their annual fund raiser. Craig also reports the leader of our Rotaract Club has stepped down so they are looking for a new leader.
Last week PE Hugh Radke emphasized "This is OUR club" and provided index cards for each Rotarian to take home and write down three words … "Continue", "Stop" and "Start". After giving it some thought, write down your responses to those words (i.e. what you want OUR club to continue, to stop and to start. Hugh will be contacting each member to discuss the responses.
John Palmer announced the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America is holding its 43rd annual Sports Breakfast on April 9 from 7-9AM at the Pepsi Center. The keynote speaker this year is former Denver Bronco Champ Bailey. Table sponsorships are available for $3,500. Contact John if you need more information.
The NAYEN (North American Youth Exchange Network) 2019 Annual Conference is being held from March 14th to 16th at the Westin Hotel in Westminster. They need volunteers for the conference. If you are interested in helping out, go to District 5450's website and look for NAYEN under upcoming District events.
President Talee Crowe extended her thanks to Pauline Ayers-Menk and PP Bev Edwards for filling in as this week's meeting secretary and as board meeting secretary, respectively!
Registration for this summer's RYLA and Young RYLA began on February 15. Young RYLA is for students entering the 8th grade and RYLA is for students entering their Sophomore through Senior years of high school. Contact PP Craig Essex if you have any candidates or for more information.
A VISIT FROM FORMER SH ROTARIAN TIM SWENSON: WINS BIG LOTTO PRIZE UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES … It was great to see Tim and President Talee welcomed him and asked him to share a few words. Tim is a sales manager with Hoffman Weber Construction and lives.JPG)
in Parker. He left the Boy Scouts in 2014. He remembers being one of the youngest members of SHRC and now he boasts a little more gray hair and has a 3-year old granddaughter! Second string Sgt-at-Arms Clay Fell asked Tim to draw three tickets for the Lotto. As seen on the left, your eyes could not follow Tim's right hand as it quickly moved in and out of the jar full of tickets. Tim won the big lotto cash prize and said if this keeps up, or if he can keep this up, he will have to keep attending Smoky Hill meetings! That may happen if the Sergeant(s) continue to let Tim draw the lotto tickets! If things don't work out at the Smoky Hill Lotto, Tim plans to try his sleight of hand tricks at the tryouts for America's Got Talent. Tim, we hope you keep attending and winning the Lotto as long as you ask: Is It Fair to All Concerned?
THIS WEEK'S THOUGHT … "Any definition of a successful life must include service to others." --- George H.W. Bush 1924-2018
THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM
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Khristie Barker from the Public Affairs office of the Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System ("VA ECHCS") gave a presentation on the VA and the new VA hospital in Aurora. The VA is comprised of three divisions: the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) which provides financial and other forms of assistance; the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) which provides health care, the division Khristie works in and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) which provides burial benefits and manages VA's National Cemeteries.
The VA ECHCS region covers more than 44,000 square miles and serves over 94,000 veterans. In 2018 the VA ECHCS supported more than 1,023,000 outpatient visits using 7 community based outpatient clinics and 2 telehealth outreach clinics. The VA ECHCS is academically affiliated with the University of Colorado supporting more than 165 medical residents and training over 400 allied health professionals. Colorado Springs is the largest growth area for VA ECHCS seeing a 15% increase in 2016 and 2017.
You can find all the Colorado VA locations and the services offered, address, phone number, hours of operation by going to the following websites: ECHCS www.Denver.va.gov; Cheyenne VA Medical Center (Ft Collins, Sterling, Loveland) www.Cheyenne.va.gov; Western Colorado Health Care System (Grand Junction VA, Craig, Glenwood Springs, Montrose) www.grandjunction.va.gov and New Mexico VA System (Bent County) www.Albuquerque.va.gov.
The new Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora is comprised of 1.2 million square feet on 31 acres, it has 148 beds and 7 operating rooms, 10 buildings and 3 parking structures. New services at the center include mammography, PET scan, high tech ORs, single patient rooms and a new spinal cord injury and disorder unit opening in 2019. From October 2018 to Feb 2019 it has completed 128,000 outpatient appointments, 2,259 surgeries and on average 81 daily emergency department visits. This spring will be a groundbreaking for the Fisher House, a house for families similar to the Ronald McDonald House for Childrens Hospital.
There are many programs including a compreshensive women's health program at all facilities, the new spinal cord injury and disorder unit with 30 impatient rooms and a homeless program for homeless vets that has a 40 bed domiciliary which opened in November 2018.
ECHCS is hiring nurses, human resource personnel and supply chain managers and currently has 595 vacancies. 30% of ECHCS employees are veterans and 68% of all employees have college degrees.
