President Arthur presided as we settled in. Nancy Barton was our cheerful greeter this week.
Kim DeCoste offered the Inspiration. The reading she shared is a poem by Linda Ellis called "The Dash".
This little poem is special to Kim because she offered it as a tribute to her late maternal grandmother, Estelle Marie (Alfaro) Wilton, in her eulogy 18 years ago.
The poem is simple and special. It reminds us that what matters most, ultimately, is not the "cars, the house, the cash" but rather, "how we live and love, and how we spend our dash". The Dash refers to the "little line between the years" when a life is remembered.
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Our guests this week were special, as they included our Italian Exchange Student, Filippo. He is doing well and is busy.
We met our first student nominee for the year, Audra Marriott and her parents. Audra is an exceptional high school student. She spoke to the club briefly, highlighting her accomplishments.
Chief among them, she won a national competition by NPR for Youth Podcasts. She is a proud Band Leader and is Section Leader for the High Brass area with her trumpet. That allowed her to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! She is a member of the National Honor Society, and 4H. During Covid lockdown, she played trumpet for her neighbors nightly and organized a Teddy Bear Treasure Hunt and she helped build a school in the Dominican Republic! Clearly, Audra deserves consideration later this year for the college scholarship; she is evaluating colleges now.
Finally, another prospective member named, Elaine.
Elaine has visited before and was introduced to us by Bill Simmermon. Elaine works in Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions. Her daughter is also an Interact student in Highlands Ranch! We are excited to continue to welcome prospective members. (Maybe we can lead the District a second year in club growth? Let's try!)
New members are exciting for many reasons, of course. Please remember that our duty of service in this area only begins with their visits and initial commitment to join. Engaging new member is vitally important.
Our Club is kind and friendly, but we also DO a LOT.
When a person is new to Rotary, there is much to learn. We must understand that driving membership is important, but retention is vital to the long-term success of the Club. Perhaps we can challenge ourselves to continue to think of ways to get to know prospective members and ways to involve new members?
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The Rock will be passed along soon. Our next recipient was not available but has been chosen. Stay tuned! :-)
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What an honor this past week -- our Club welcomed Douglas County Sheriff, Darren Weekly. Some may understand that a Sheriff is different from a Police Chief in that, a Sheriff is ELECTED to office, not appointed.
Further, Sheriff Weekly is an esteemed State of Colorado elected official who does testify on behalf of law enforcement to the State Legislature.
His personal credentials are excellent and include training in Quantico, Virginia at the FBI Training Facilities. He leads 627 employees in our county and he manages and is responsible for those who are detained in our 520 bed jail in Castle Rock.
Sheriff Weekly is quick to admit that he did not like campaigning for his job, but even quicker to remind the audience that (in our case) he reports to US as constituents who live in Douglas County. He does not answer to a Mayor or City Council, as is the case in Denver,Aurora, or Lone Tree.
That also means that he and his team have a huge responsibility. Did you know that he is responsible for a County that is 844 square miles and has 19 districts? They even have deputies responsible for Search and Rescue all the Platt (in the west).
The Sheriff's Department is also a model in the state and nationally for its work specifically to protect children in schools. With 48 School Resource Officers (SROs) in our schools, they are a leader in how to manage all issues related to school safety.
A final point (of many) that we want to highlight is the work that the DC Sheriff's Office does with respect to helping the homeless/unhoused/transient people who pass through the county.
Along with a staff of 3 dedicated people, the department has the H.E.L.P. program to counter panhandling. The signs you may have seen on medians and near highway ramps are there to discourage individual donations for various reasons and to channel that generous behavior through the program. They work very hard to help people in need find appropriate solutions. The number is +303-660-7301 for information.
With approximately $109M in budget, Sheriff Weekly is doing his best to keep us safe and informed. We appreciate his leadership and hard work in his first term.
General Announcements from the meeting:
The BIG Announcement of this week is how our Club dominated the Award Haul this year at District Conference! Holy Cow! I bet there are a few clubs who wish they had Terre Cone to submit such excellent proposals on their club's behalf. Her ongoing devotion to us and to our work is how we are recognized, ultimately.
The following Awards were given:
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Distinguished Service Award
Shrin, Tamie & Debbie
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Public Relations
Debby Leonard and Kari Brown
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Family of Rotary
Caroline Bradish & Committee
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Club Growth Award:
Marion, Elaine & Claudia
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Jim Brook Tireless Rotarian of the Year
Marion *
(*To be awarded in Summit County on 12/19)
Flyin'B will be collecting used mobility devices and shoes. Win will be at our next meeting to collect those items on October 17th.
The WASH Symposium is October 19th. Registration is online now.
The holiday party will be December the 7th.
For Family of Rotary:
Phil Calderbank seems to be improving again. Elaine remains optimistic.
Bob Larson is back in the hospital; we send him our very best and look forward to hearing of his continual improvement. He is missed at lunch!
Please also keep Peter & Ellen Ulrich in your ongoing thoughts as they heal.
Ann Lester is traveling independently and feeling quite a bit better every day.
We also heard the Neil DeLorenzo did have his (hip or knee?) surgery. When he was called upon he could not get to the phone. He was doing his leg lifts! So, we expect he will be tap dancing his way to a meeting any time now! Get well, Neil!
Connie was with us at the meeting and thanked everyone for their concern and offers to help. In haste last week, we falsely claimed she was recovering. It was CLAUDIA we were referring to! Ooops!
Lastly, we heard that Goldie Wilford is going through some challenges and want to send our best to her, as Jerry mentioned it over lunch. We are thinking of you both.
We continue hold these people in our hearts and ask you reach out to them if you are comfortable doing so. We send each of them our very best.
Happy Dollars were awarded, but we cannot remember who the lucky winner was...
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