I imagine that you, like me, say "thank you for your service" when you learn that someone you meet has served our country. For myself, though, I believe that I need to give the sentiment behind that expressed gratitude deeper thought. It needs to be more fleshed out.

I realize that each service member has their own story and that each story is unique. It occurs to me, however, that what they all have in common is that they relinquished  their own precious autonomy for a period of years, and in some cases, decades.

They prioritized the common good over their individual good and, in essence, traded their own freedom for ours.

This is what sacrifice looks like. This is what I will try to remember when I say those words in the headline above. 

Today is Veterans Day. Below is a list of veterans who are giving their time and treasure to our Rotary Club. We thank them for their service. And we thank them for joining us. 

Heartfelt thanks to:

Jim Kelley     1964-1966    US Army

Zig Berzins    1964-1968    US Navy

Connie Golas 1965-1993    US Army

Bob Martin     1966-1972    US Army

Alan Balfour   1969-1971    US Army

Neil DiLorenzo 1971-1974  US Army

Tom Keyton     1971-2001    USAF

Guy Caves        1972-1978  US Army

Joel Johnson    1977-1979  US Navy

Gary Smith      1974-1988   USAF

Mike Foss         1981-2010  US Army

Mark Brown     1998-2002   USMC

Ray Leacraft    1967-1970    USAF

Richard Scofield 1961-1996 USAF

Thomas White  1954-1956  US Army

While we may not understand all that you have done, we appreciate you, and are most grateful for the sacrifices that you have made.

                       *****

Sunrise Meeting Notes

• From Collette Hepp:
  We welcomed two guests at our Nov 5 meeting -  Shrin Murthy came to share the Christmas cards designed by Children’s Hospital patients (pictured above), with all proceeds going to the family resource center at the hospital. And we enjoyed hearing from Kris Hudson (Mary Kay and Earl’s son) about his visit to Peru with Allies in Youth Development. A very inspiring story!

• We enjoyed getting to know one of our newest members, Guy Hopkins, whose family life is full with exciting pursuits such as Highlands Ranch High School marching band and two Eagle Scouts in the family! Originally from England, Guy and his family have lived in Highlands Rach for approximately 20 years and he is excited to add Rotary Club to his list of community endeavors.

• Our Brent’s Place breakfast service is full on 11/21 and 12/12, but we are looking for volunteers for 1/9/26 and 2/6/26. Please contact Ray Leaycraft if you’re interested in signing up.

• Santa Clothes will be on 12/10 this year at 6:45 a.m., with 16 kids registered to shop. We believe we have enough volunteers signed up but will let Wheel Spinner know if that changes!

• As part of the Sunrise Board update, the group was reminded to begin gathering applications from the organization(s) they champion by January 2026 so we can vote on and distribute our budgeted funds appropriately for the 2025-2026 Rotary year.

                        *****

Noon Meeting Notes

A request: Please bring your gently used or no longer needed blankets to the next 3 meetings for the homeless in the mountains.Terre Cone will drive them up to our fellow district leader, Mindy Hanson, with the Evergreen Rotary Club.  

An Offer: Good news for RCHR via Sees Candies! Ray Anderson has arranged for Sees to give our club 15% to 50% of their profits on various delicious purchases. Here is the link. Sweet!  

https://www.yumraising.com/store/winter-2025-highlands-ranch-rotary-sees-winter-25-fundraiser-bcd5/RayAnd2246