Welcome to our club!
Where Science and Service Meet
Small but Mighty!
We meet In Person & Online
Thursdays at 5:00 PM
Hyatt House Denver/Aurora
12230 E Colfax Ave
Aurora, CO 80011
United States of America
All our meetings are hybrids. We'd love to have you join us in person or virtually. Those meeting in person gather around 4:45PM for fellowship. Join us on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82606519030 Password: AFRC
Home Page Stories
AFRC had a "penguin parade" today. Our penguins, Margaret Ann and Jeff, were aiming to raise funds for scholarships at the Community College of Aurora. We raised almost $1000 (half donated by members and half matched by the club), so our penguins had to parade around the room :) Thanks for a fun evening MA & Jeff!
Our RYLA and young RYLA students came back to visit AFRC this week to share their experiences. They told stories of goofy challenges and meeting other kids from different walks of life. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by clubs.  This year's students mentioned feeling heard and seen while gaining leadership skills with the worst part of the adventure being saying Goodbye. RYLA participation is sponsored the club and offered to high school sophomore, junior, or seniors. Young RYLA is open to current 7th graders. If you know of any kiddos interested in next year's camps, please reach out to AFRC! More information can be found at https://rockymountainryla.org/ 
AFRC was lucky to have a visit from DG Jim Johnston as well as the Assistant DG and Foundation Chair. Member Anni Ansary put together quite the spread and Mair created programs. Maryrose Bisagna Smith received Paul Harris plus two. AFRC is proud to have all members in the Paul Harris Society. Last but never least, Ruthe Gleason and Trig stopped by! We've missed their visits and had to recreate a photo from the last time she saw our littlest future rotarian :)
 
This year's peach day was a great success. This one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and we really appreciate everyone's support!
Please join us on August 31st as members from the Highlands Ranch club speak about their initiative, Colorado Rotary Endowed Fellowship for Pediatric Mental Health. 
We have several exciting speakers at our next few meetings. Visitors and potential new members are always welcome! Please join us if you're interested in being involved in the Aurora Fitzsimons neighborhood or simply networking. Meetings begin at 5PM.
 
July 6-Social at the Modern Market in our regular meeting spot, the Hyatt House Denver/Aurora
12230 E Colfax Ave
Aurora, CO 80011
 
July 13- Club will go dark in anticipation of our annual celebration on July 15
 
July 20 - We will celebrate the partnership of Rotary International and Peace Corps Nepal with a retrospective of member David Addor's service in Nepal 47 years ago, including photos of his time there.
 
July 27 - Jennifer Earp, Colorado Chapter Director of Honor and Remember, an organization dedicated to publicly honor and remember every American fallen service member and the sacrifice of their family. More information can be found at http://www.honorandremember.org/
 
August 3 - Chance Horiuchi, Executive Director, Havana Business Improvement District. On Havana Street runs 4.3 miles along Arapahoe County, in the Denver/Aurora border in Colorado. This global district offers experiences in the arts, shopping, dining, living & MORE.
The club was treated to a tour of the UC Anschutz campus where member Mair Churchill, PhD is a professor and researcher. The tour included a walk around campus, a tour of the old hospital building, a visit to the Polio statue, and concluded with fellowship at the Cedar Creek Pub. As part of the tour, Mair provided the club with historical facts regarding the campus. The old hospital was originally an army facility to treat Tuberculosis during WWI and gathered headlines when President Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack there in 1955.  An AFRC-specific fun fact:  The old hospital building was featured as the club's original logo to signify our first meeting spot. 
 
Eradicating Polio is a critical mission of Rotarians worldwide. The statue pictured commenorates the progress made thus far. Bits of the language from the plaques is provided below.
 
This statue symbolizes the commitment of countless rotarians who are making their vision a reality and the world a healthier place for millions of children. Dedicated to the children of the world April 6, 1995. This monument was made possible through the efforts of the Rotary Club of Denver, the creativity and talent of artist Glenna Goodacre, the generosity of Richard L. Gooding and the vision of Rotarian C. Grant Wilkins. The Boettcher Foundation salutes Rotary International's tremendous efforts to eradicate Polio. The Boettcher Family supported the Boettcher School for Crippled Children, which was operated from 1939 until 1991, to educate children who had been stricken with Polio and other debilitating diseases. The Boettcher Foundation supports biomedical research in hopes of eradicating other life-threatening diseases through its Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Programs. Commissioned for the Anschutz Medical Campus and the citizens of Colorado under the State Public Art Program administered by the Colorado Council on the Arts.
On Friday, members of AFRC assisted Hope's Promise with an update to their Lending Closet. Hope's Promise assists families supporting foster care in Douglas County. The Lending Closet allows families to come and select clothing for any children within their care. AFRC heard the closet needed some new shelving to make the small space more functional and facilitate easier shopping. New wire shelves were purchased by the club and assembled by members Tim Wilkerson, Mike Ely, and Mair Churchill.
During the annual conference for District 5450 our club was recognized with a Bronze award for continued support of Shelter Box. More importantly, our very own David Addor was recognized for his championship of Shelterbox. David has many awards over the years as a Shelterbox ambassador and fundraiser and is known to travel far and wide with his box in tow to educate on Shelterbox. We are so proud to have David in AFRC.
Tonight's meeting was a full house. Trudy came to visit us all the way from Zambia. She is a member of the Lusaka East Rotary Club and came to discuss what their club is up to and how we can collaborate. In addition, Area 2 Assistant Governor Gail Lehrmann and Dave Amen from eClub One came to discuss the District 5450 conference occuring April 29th. Several of our members plan to be in attendance.
Beth Lattone, from the Emergency Medical Services department at Community College of Aurora (CCA) stopped by this week to give the club a taste of administering CPR and using an AED.  CCA is close to our hearts and we appreciate the staff sharing a bit of their knowledge with us.
 
At Thursday's meeting, AFRC was recognized for exceptional giving in the 2020-2021 rotary year. We were top 3 in the district for per capita giving as well meeting as meeting 100% foundation giving and Every Rotarian Every Year, which requires a minimum donation from each member as well as an overall goal for the club. Despite our small size, AFRC is committed to the Rotary Foundation.​​​​​​​ 
On March 2nd, the club celebrated Barb's latest Paul Harris award. The award is granted in recognition of significant giving to the Rotary Foundation. The foundation supports Rotary's initiatives both locally and worldwide. Last year, this included support for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, providing shelter for those experiencing natural disasters, and global immunization efforts.
 
Club members gathered to celebrate our club anniversary with a night at an Aurora favorite, La Cueva. Many of the photographed members have been with us since our initial charter. As a small club, all have also served as club presidents.
We were honored to host DG Curt Harris at our regular Thursday meeting on Sept. 19. Area 2 Assistant Governor Kay Davis also joined Curt.
 
Past District Governor Mike Klingbiel joined us for our Bring a Friend to Rotary social on July 27. PDG Mike said nice (and totally true) things about Aurora Fitzsimons and wholeheartedly encouraged the potential members to join the club. Thanks, Mike!
Upcoming Events
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    May 02, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    May 09, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Rotary Night at the Rockies
    May 12, 2024
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    May 16, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    May 23, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    May 30, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    Jun. 06, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    Jun. 13, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    Jun. 20, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00
  • Club Meeting
    Hyatt House
    Jun. 27, 2024
    4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. UTC-06:00