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.
