Rotary Club member, Dick Lyons has served as a Election Observer, volunteer for the State Department, serving in Europe and Central Asia. He has completed about 15 Election Observation missions in Europe and Russia. Leading into his talk, he offered this disclaimer, "The information shared today is my opinion and does not reflect the opinions of the OSCE”. So who is the OSCE? Dick explained that this organization acts a bit like a “mini-UN” The OSCE is a forum for political dialogue on security issues for the joint action to improve the lives of individuals and communities. The OSCE has 57 participating states in Europe, Asia and North America. Dick guided us through several elements of the election process in countries he served, offering some compare and contrast with US election practices.
Longmont Rotary is raising funds for Polio. It's time to end this disease! Dan Gust announced our club challenge; "If our club raises $5,000, a generous club Rotarian will donate $10,000." Can you help us reach our goal and be a Goal Buster? 
Veterans Village – Paul Melroy of Veterans Community Project
There’s no doubt that Dr. Don Haddad, Superintendent of schools, is proud of his 33,000 students. This is Don’s 21st year in the St. Vrain Valley School District and his 37th year in public education. Don stepped into this position when the district was in need of much repair and attention and now the successes of this district are many. St. Vrain is among Colorado’s top districts, now 7th largest school district and one of only 16 districts nationwide to win a 2012 Race to the Top grant-a $16.6 million windfall to fund programming in science, technology, engineering and math. St. Vrain has some the highest competitive graduation requirements (24 credits to graduate with three years of math) and a drop out rate of 0.%. Dr. Haddad reported he has over a thousand more students than last year, (current total=33K), with a build out plan of 80 thousand students. Academic programs are available for Pre-K (and FT kindergarten) through 14 (focused college programs).
Don added that responding to COVID requirements has been challenging. “Our kids are counting on us and we need to keep them in school. That’s my focus, keeping them in school, advancing their academic growth and allowing them the multifaceted experience of public school life”.
The death toll from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti has risen to more than 1,295, with an estimated 8,000 homes damaged or destroyed and thousands more displaced. The search and rescue to find survivors is the priority right now. The devastation worsens as Haitians now contend with the Tropical Depression Grace.
The ShelterBox emergency response team is in Haiti now, assessing the damage and determining how ShelterBox can best serve the needs of communities, along with the logistics of delivering aid during a pandemic. They are also in active discussions with local partners in Haiti, including Rotary International, Habitat for Humanity, and the IFRC, to understand the shelter needs and how ShelterBox can best respond to help displaced families.
Thank you for your support !
Andy McClure calls his sports announcing a hobby, but its something he does about 300 times a year. Having an education in both broadcasting and ministry, he has worked this "hobby job" in Colorado for two decades. Andy has a long resume of public address announcing work. The opportunity to be a sports announcer for the Tokyo Olympics kind of fell together naturally and he was thrilled to learn he would be working with women's volleyball. The pandemic made the 2020 Olympics rather surreal- No fans or family members were allowed to attend and of course McClure had to undergo quarantine. He could only go to the venue and his hotel, as well as get takeout or convenience store food. Security was also very rigorous. In spite of the challenges, the work was amazing and the experience, "unbelievable". 
Alec Garnett is a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, representing District 2 (Denver). He assumed office in 2015 and his second term ends in 2023. Garnett began serving as House majority leader in 2019 and became the state’s youngest Speaker of the House in January 2021.
Alec grew up in Boulder and some of his family were farmers and others, miners. He studied history in college in Ohio and earned his Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Colorado – Denver. Alec wanted to serve in the public sector because he believes you can have such an impact. As a result of redistricting in 2010, he lived in one of the youngest districts in the state and made the decision to seek election to the House. Key interests for Alec are affordable housing, jobs, education, violence prevention, opportunity for all, to name a few.
Garnett believes Colorado has one of the best systems in the country resulting in one of the most bipartisan. 90% of what the legislature does is bipartisan. As Speaker of the House, he believes he is speaker for ALL of the House. He gave examples of legislation that was accomplished by bipartisanship including balancing the budget. Every member of the House gets to introduce fivebills each session whether they are a democrat or a republican. A new process is being put into place for redrawing the maps in the most non-partisan way; the old process gave the speaker most of the authority but the new process outlined in detail by Garnett will help ensure non-partisanship.
Alec responded to a number of questions regarding voting rights, relieving overhead costs for small businesses, raising caps on personal property taxes, water rights, and campaign finance.
Jackie List, Executive Director, provided a history and complete update on services provided by Safe Shelter of the St. Vrain Valley. For 43 years, they have been helping victims of domestic violence, including verbal, psychological, and physical attacks. Started as a crisis hotline, it soon became apparent that this organization needed space, both for face-to-face interaction and for protection of victims. They have outgrown several facilities over the years, and have been in their present shelter facility since 2004.
Safe Shelter services are free, confidential, available in Spanish and English, and accessible 24/7. They serve all who are facing a pattern of intentional abuse in their relationships. Their programs include: Outreach (safety planning & counseling), Children and Youth (in conjunction with St. Vrain Valley Schools), Legal Services and representation, and Collaborative and Transitional Housing, in cooperation with The Inn Between and Boulder County Housing Solutions. They now have a grant for Emergency Housing solutions.
| 
| ||
 Handing over the Club President's Pin |  | ||
Michelle Bailey presented their club project to bring much needed wheelchairs to the people of Tanzania. The Build-A-Chair project is sponsored by the club: Keystone Rotary International E-Club of District #7280. The Keystone E-Club, along with their Tanzania Rotarian partner, Shedraack Domingo, discussed phase one and phase two of this project. Phase 1, which began is 2020 is now completed and provided 42 locally made wheelchairs to children and adults. Phase 2 will address the continued need to provide individuals with mobility, building another 50 wheelchairs. This phase is also focusing on education and employment opportunities which is facilitated by mobility access.
A sponsorship of $260.00 will provide a custom made wheelchair. The wheelchairs, built locally by people who understand the terrain of the area, also provide any needed repairs, promoting an important sustainability component. For more information follow this link
Service Above Self
Longmont, CO 80501
United States of America