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Basic Education and Literacy Month

Posted by Rotary International

More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population.

Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults.

How Rotary makes help happen

We take action to empower educators to inspire learning at all ages.

Rotary members make amazing things happen, like:

Opening schools: In Afghanistan, Rotary members opened a girls’ school to break the cycle of poverty and social imbalance.

Teaching adults to read: Rotary members in the United States partnered with ProLiteracy Detroit to recruit and train tutors after a study showed that more than half of the local adult population was functionally illiterate.

New teaching methods: The SOUNS program in South Africa, Puerto Rico and the United States teaches educators how to improve literacy by teaching children to recognize letters by sounds instead of names.

Making schools healthy: Rotarians are providing clean, fresh water to every public school in Lebanon so students can be healthier and get a better education.

When you teach somebody how to read, they have that for a lifetime. It ripples through the community, one by one.

Mark Wilson
Rotary Club member

Rotary Leadership Institute

Posted by Shellie Peterson

Congratulations to Larry McClintock, Sandra Houston and Nick Tallent! All three Rotarians attended the Rotary Leadership Institute (Part 1) in Bayfield last weekend. Part 2 of this training is scheduled again in Bayfield on November 17, 2018, at the Pine River Public Library. You can still sign up for Part 2 even if you missed Part 1. Which I am very glad about as I was one that had to miss Part 1! Registration and breakfast burritos will begin at 8:30 with class beginning at 9 am. There will be a light lunch and session will conclude at 4:45 pm.

Here is a sample of the materials covered during Part 1:

For those interested in learning about the world of Rotary and its benefits.

Leadership – Insights:

As a Rotarian, I am, by definition, a leader. We will explore the characteristics of leadership, motivational techniques, and leadership styles. How do I best lead?.

My Rotary:

I am part of a worldwide organization of like-minded people. We will take time to understand the purpose and structure of Rotary.

Ethics – Vocational Service:

As a Rotarian I am ethical. I recognize and promote ethics in others, and I seek opportunities to serve others through my vocation.

Our Foundation:

Learn about the basic goals and programs of our Foundation.

Engaging Members:

I make my club and Rotary stronger by my active participation. Engaged club members have fun, make friends, and effectively serve.

Service Projects: – I am a vital part of a worldwide organization of business, professional and community leaders meeting needs in communities. I can build, run and promote service.

Rotary Youth Exchange and Youth Leadership Awards Students

Posted by Jim Garrett

Note: your reporter was detained at work and arrived late, regretfully missing the Invocation and song. Accordingly, neither is covered in this report, which commences with the introductions of the new incoming exchange students for this school year.

Lisa Scott introduced Rotary to new exchange students Kata Acuilera, from Chile, and Theodor Bonlokke, from Denmark. Both rose from their seats briefly to tell us their home-towns: Kata is from Santiago, and Theodor, from a community one hour from Denmark. While our visitors’ brief “hellos” left all curious, no doubt we will hear more from them in the coming weeks.

Then the new exchange students got to hear from three of their soon-to-be fellow Pagosa Springs High School students, as they and Rotarians were treated to a presentation from this summer’s local Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) attendees. (A fourth local attendee was last-year’s Exchange Student, Laura Delgado, who had departed with her indefatigable cheerfulness for Brazil prior to last week’s meeting).

According to the Rotary District 5470 website RYLA page, the program was started in Australia in 1959 in anticipation of a visit by a member of the British royal family. It was adopted as a club activity by Rotary International in 1971. Our District’s version is for 10^th and 11^th grade students, though the international program is available for a much broader range of ages, 14-30.

The program this year was held June 22-25 at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs. A description of the program provided to its participants described it as a “Leadership Retreat,” in which they had been invited to participate, “because Rotarians in your community have identified you as a student with leadership potential.”

The description continued, “The RYLA Retreat Weekend is an intensive leadership training program. The teaching staff will lead a program on recognizing your personal leadership strengths, practicing your skills in leadership, and will teach practical skills in how to lead a meeting, event, or organization. There will be both discussion-based activities as well as physical group challenges such as games and ropes courses over the weekend.”

Consistent with usage in RYLA’s birthplace, Australia, the word “Award” in the name is synonymous with “scholarship,” reflecting the Club’s sponsorship of attendance. This year’s local awardees/attendees Emma Happ, Nolan Kay and Piedra Goff, were introduced by Roberta Tolan, our RYLA chairperson.

Their presentation began with recognition of the absent Laura, who, Nolan said, ”Had a pretty dang good time” at the retreat. He added they had not known Laura well beforehand, but they all “clicked,” from the beginning of the weekend. And that seemed pretty representative of the experience: Emma, Piedra and Nolan all commented at various points in their presentation about their enjoyment of the opportunities for making new friends the Retreat provided.

They described a fun and challenge filled, educational, long weekend involving games, team-based events including trying physical adventures and service projects, social activities ranging from movies to a dance, presentations from experienced leaders, and debate-like exercises in communication skills daring them to resolve moral issues and defend their solutions.

Participants were divided into groups for the duration of the retreat and throughout the activities. At first, Nolan recalled, members of his team “butted heads because everyone wanted to be the leader.” That impeded performance he observed, citing his team’s difficulties with the “low ropes” exercise, but, he added, the group “got past that,” and then achieved exciting success through good teamwork.

Echoing Nolan, Piedra commented that the camp taught that followers are just as important to success as leaders. “There are two ways of spreading light,” she observed. “Be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” And similarly, she learned that rather than insisting your own view is correct, the path to moving ahead demands finding a way to “meet in the middle.”

Plus Emma noted the support that can be drawn from a team to achieve what appears too difficult. She being very afraid to go on the high ropes course with her team, but then the pride she ultimately took in having joined them to accomplish it. Through the various activities the team became “very close,” she said, having fun meeting challenges together.

At the other end of the spectrum of activities during the weekend, Nolan described being confronted with hypothetical moral dilemmas, such as which opposing choice to protect one of two deserving individuals from grievous harm would one make in a sudden emergency, similar to the dilemma presented in the movie classic, “Sophie’s Choice.” One “learns a lot . . . [from needing] to defend your views,” he said. “It’s harder than it seems.”

All three of our RYLA attendees said they would encourage other students to participate in future retreats. Emma said others should go, because they will “learn a lot.” Nolan agreed: it helped make him “a new person,” he observed. And Piedra summed the experience up nicely, by saying it taught “new perspectives.”

At the end of the presentation, the students were asked, how they would define leadership?

Their answers had much in common. Emma responded, a leader “includes as many others” as possible. Nolan said leadership involves working with others for “common goals.” And Piedra concluded it means “bringing people together.”

District Governor Chris Peterson

Posted by Jim Garrett

Kenny Rogers of (now) Pagosa Evening Rotary, and our local Assistant Area Governor, introduced District 5470 Governor, Chris Peterson, of Carbondale. Chris had spent an enjoyable social hour organized by Shellie with numerous Rotarians the prior evening at Pagosa Brewing, and was thus already known to several of the group. But for the benefit of all, Kenny noted that Chris owns and operates hardware stores, and for recreation (when he can find time from keeping so many balls in the air with all his business and Rotary obligations), plays golf and does nature photography.

Chris began his talk by recalling that before he joined Rotary, he dreaded public speaking. But a friend encouraged him to join, and since he pretty much already knew all the members in his local chapter, he took the plunge thinking it would be a nice way to see his friends. But, the next thing he knew, he was called upon to stand up, and introduce himself to the club.

Well, he recalled, he didn’t die from the experience, and so he progressively increased his participation in Rotary activities, becoming addicted, he said, to speaking, even before large groups. So when a friend suggested he might be a good District Governor, he decided to apply.

Chris then pointed out that before the group had assembled, he had placed pairs of large nuts and bolts on the tables throughout the room. (After all, he is a hardware man. Your faithful reporter, himself being irresistibly drawn to nuts and bolts and such like objects, would likely have been busy fiddling with same at the time, but for being occupied instead scribbling notes.)

Chris explained his curious handiwork by saying that Rotary could be analogized to the Eifel Tower. It’s a giant structure, he observed, but only stands erect as a monument known world-wide because of the innumerable nuts and bolts that hold it together. So too, he said, Rotary depends on its members to hold it together and support its globe-spanning activities.

Chris pointed out that Rotary is dedicated to service, which he broke into four categories: Community Service, Youth Service, Vocational Service and International Service. Beneficial services of these types, especially when undertaken in partnership with other groups and through use of global grants, he said, brings distinction to local clubs. And, he observed, “You guys do amazing stuff.”

District Governor Cocktail Reception

Posted by Shellie Peterson

Fun was had by all at the Wednesday evening cocktail reception for District Governor Chris Peterson.

Sharee Grazda - 9Health Fair

Posted by Jim Garrett

Sharee Grazda was present at the Meeting to tell us about the annual 9 Health Fair. (The Fair takes its name from the Denver TV station that sponsors it.) The Fair has been held in Pagosa for nearly 40 years, and is now conducted at 100 sites throughout Colorado. It provides various low-cost health screening measures such as kits to help detect colon cancer and blood chemistry tests that can turn up issues like pre-diabetes and high cholesterol.

The Fair was held earlier this year at Pagosa Springs High School, and drew 440 participants served by 150 volunteers. Sharee was present at the meeting to recruit volunteers for next year’s Fair, to help with coordination of supplies and administration of screening procedures. Medical experience is not required. The Fair is to be held April 27, 2019, 7 – 11 am at the High School, she said. Visit the 9 Health Fair website for more information and let Shellie know if you are interested in participating in this effort!

Ralph Maccarone - Who We Play For

Posted by Jim Garrett

Ralph opened his presentations with an explanation of what had brought him to take on the mission of the organization, Who We Play For, and his ability to tell the heart-breaking story without faltering suggests that like Cindi Galabota’s Jerry (see meeting summary), he is a man blessed with extraordinary ability to see the positive and choose to live life fully.

Briefly, Ralph’s son, a gifted athlete, stricken by an undisclosed cardiac defect, collapsed on a Florida high school playing field in 2007 when only a sophomore, and died days later.

Who We Play For is an organization dedicated to providing cardiac screening to students by administering electro-cardio grams (EKG), which are read by volunteer cardiologists. The tests are not administered during routine medical exams such as might be performed by a primary care physician or other health care provider.

Ralph was introduced to the organization by several of his son’s friends, who formed a group following his death they named Play for Rafe, vowing to keep his memory strong. The group committed itself to equipping all youth sports facilities in Florida with Automatic Emergency Defibrilators, and also successfully won passage just last year of a Florida law requiring high schools to offer CPR classes.

Eventually Play for Rafe merged with Who We Play For, and after moving here in 2010, Ralph became a mainstay of the organization in Pagosa. The organization to date has arranged for cardiac screening of 100,000 students nationally, in seven states. 72 students have been found in the screenings to have problems needing immediate attention, Ralph told us. He recalled a girl who was found to have the same issue as his son, and remembered her thanks to him, “for saving my life.”

The Archuleta School District is now on board with the program, Ralph told us. The first student screening was provided at Pagosa Springs High School this past January, he said. Three students were found to have medium risk problems, triggering suggestions that they seek attention within a few months. He said students receive one of three grades based on the screening: low risk, medium risk (about 2.5% are so graded), and high risk (about 0.5% receive this grade) which requires immediate medical attention.

Tonya Hamilton, Undersheriff

Posted by Sam Pittmon

Undersheriff Hamilton opened with her concern with misinformation that circulated on social media about the situation with Archuleta County sheriff office and detention facility. They are now on a campaign to inform the public of what is needed and the plans for the future including a new ballot initiative this November 6. She admitted that the ballot initiative last year was preceded by a “miserable campaign” and that was why it failed to gain public support. This year they have created pamphlets and leaflets with questions and answers to inform voters of the reasons why a new Sheriff Office and detention facility is needed.

Among the main reason that a new jail is needed is the fact that the present jail was closed in April 2015 due to flooding and the detection of toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and methane and mold in the building. This has required that the sheriff’s office be moved to a different location and that arrested persons and prisoners be transferred to another jail facility. Most have been transferred to La Plata County jail and a few to Alamosa. Since 2015, La Plata county has been paid over 1 million dollars to house Archuleta county prisoners. It cost $54.00/inmate/day. Add to that the cost of overtime pay to Archuleta county deputies and transportation cost that includes vehicle maintenance and fuel.

She talked about the reasons why we need a jail in Archuleta County referring to Colorado Revised Statute 17-26-101 that states: There shall be maintained in each county in this state, at expense of the county, a county jail for the detention, safekeeping and confinement of persons and prisoners lawfully committed. Nothing in this article shall be construed to compel the erection of jails in counties having a population of less than 2000 or when the county owns a jail erected in any other place in the county.

She went on to say that there has been a significant increase in the number of people arrested in Archuleta County and has been steadily increasing since 2000. In the past year more than 600 arrests have been made. There have been 10 homicides in 8 years including 4 this year. There have been 14 attempted murders since 2010. The point is that there have been more crime and more serious crimes in Archuleta county during the past 8-10 years and this trend is expected to continue due to several factors including the passage of Amendment 64 (marijuana legalization), the increase in transient population, more vehicular traffic, increase in home and business burglaries, the increase in the number of illegal growers of marijuana as well as increased crimes related to other drugs and alcohol.

Our Rotary Youth Exchange Students Are OFF

Posted by Jim Garrett

Lisa Scott, our own international Rotary Youth Exchange maestro, took the floor. She provided a brief update on the short-term summer exchange, reporting that Jack Foster is now in Italy visiting Mario Rizzo, and that Lousie Mequignon-Lariviere recently returned to France after a wonderful stay with in Pagosa with Sarah Ross.

Lisa also reported that two inbound exchange students for the 2018-19 school year will be here this month, one from Denmark the other from Chile. We will make their acquaintance soon, she reminded.

Lisa then turned to her principle topic for the day, the two Pagosa students outbound for a year’s exchange: Lauren Roland, ticketed for Denmark, and Savannah Vasquez, bound for Romania. After Lisa’s introductions, the two girls took a few minutes to tell Rotarians about themselves.

Savannah went first. She spent the earliest years of her life in Cape Coral, Florida, and moved to Colorado in 2015. She relishes the fact that with the clear air here, one can see great distances, as much as 100 miles from a good vantage point, she said. Local site-seeing, and the 4^th of July Parade are other big highlights cited by Savannah. At the High School, she likes the option to take a variety of electives, and enjoys participating in cheerleading, especially the camaraderie. And she said, the Proms are great, with everybody having a lot of fun.

Lauren, the daughter of a retired US Airforce Master Sergeant, also spent the early part of her life far from Pagosa Springs, moving back and forth between Tucson, Arizona and Germany, as her father’s post of duty changed. With lots of experience of life in different parts of the world, and the associations she enjoyed with families from other NATO member countries, Lauren said she loves to travel. When her father retired, she recalled, her family first moved to Missouri before settling in Colorado. Moving here was a good choice, she said, for which she is thankful. Here her family especially loves camping, and hanging out together (including the dogs, Lauren promptly added).

Lauren’s parents were in the audience, and when she finished her talk, expressed their thanks to Rotary for making it possible for Lauren to have the opportunity to participate in the exchange program.

Lisa then thanked Lauren and Savannah. She told both they have “grown so much” already in the past year, and predicted they will be “great ambassadors.”

Mujtaba Brings Update on Pakistan Emergency Vehicle

Posted by Jim Garrett

Speaker: Rotary Pakistan Project Beneficiary Mujtaba Haider

Internationalist extraordinaire and Rotary Foundation advocate Dave Smith introduced our speaker, Mujtaba Haider, and a guest, Anum Saba.

Dave explained he first met Mujtaba, who was then a member of a group called Pakistan Wilderness, in 2004 in connection with a program then ongoing in a remote area of Pakistan. At the time, Dave added subsequently, Pagosa Rotary wasn’t well versed on interactions with the Rotary Foundation, and he credits Dick Bond with conceiving the plan to gain the Foundation’s support for Pakistani relief projects, and leading the initial effort to raise matching funds.

Dave said that Mujtaba has been active at least since they first met in efforts to bring the benefits of modernization to rural, mountainous Pakistan. This summer, Dave reported, Mujtaba and Anum had come to the United States to attend a course at Harvard University, and had then come to Pagosa for a visit before returning.

Taking the microphone, Mujtaba told us the area of Pakistan where he works is not only remote, mountainous and poor, it is nearly inaccessible with no modern transportation (imagine the days a century and more ago of ox carts and Ellwood pass), no electricity, and no high schools. The population is widely malnourished, without an adequate food supply, and has no access to health care.

But he told us his credo is “always dream for the best.” And so, Mujtaba recalled, in response to a request to Rotary, finally a happy day came when a four-wheel drive truck was delivered to provide the infrastructure of what had til then been only a dream, a mobile medical clinic to carry health care to the area’s population.

The Economic Impact of Seeds of Learning

Posted by Sam Pittmon

Lisa Peters introduced the concept of the economic impact of early childhood education referring to the fact that Seeds makes it possible for parents to be able to maintain a job without worrying about child care. Child care is a top priority of Pagosa's town and county administration. Working parents can drop their kids off at Seeds on the way to work and pick them up on the way home.

She stated that there are about 600 kids in Pagosa that are between the ages 30 months to five years old and these are the ages of the kids served by Seeds. She explained how important early childhood education is for these kids and pointed out that a child’s brain is 85% developed by the age of 5. It’s been shown that kids that don’t have early childhood education fall behind.

A study of 40 year old adults find that those with early childhood education have economic advantages like a reduced cost to society, lower incarceration rates and there is a 7-13% return on investment.

Short-Term Exchange Students from Italy and France

Posted by Jim Garrett

Lisa Scott introduced some very-special guests, the pairs of students participating locally in Rotary’s short-term, summer exchange program.

Codie’s granddaughter Sarah Ross is paired for the program with Louise Mequignon-Lariviere, from St. Martin les Tatinghem, France (north of Paris). Jack Foster, a junior at the High School, is paired with Mario Rizzo, from Catania, Italy (on the east coast of Sicily).

Sarah started the exchange program with a month visiting Louise’s family beginning June 11. Both girls then returned to Pagosa for Louise’s month visiting the Ross family.

Mario began by visiting the Foster family, starting here in late June. The two boys will fly back to Italy this week, for Jack’s visit with Mario’s family.

Louise told us she participated in gymnastics. During her short stay here up to the time of the meeting, she noted having enjoyed Mexican food. In France, she cited crepes as a common food.

Sarah said her visit to France was very busy, and she enjoyed staying with Louise’s family, all of whom spoke English, except for the youngest of her two sisters. She loved the crepes, the bread, the pastry, and (perhaps a little) the wine with meals. She noted also the difference in eating habits, with essentially five small meals daily. In addition, she commented that the ability of teenagers in the US to drive earlier than in France, gave them more independence.

Jack described Mario’s visit as “a blast.” They had done a lot of hiking and water sports, and had a lot of fun, he said. But perhaps the best part was enjoying the opportunity to see Pagosa through the eyes of someone new.

Mario explained that in Italy he lives close to the sea, but also to mountains (Mt. Etna, an active but currently quiet volcano rises on the outskirts of Catania.). He reported he loves to ski in the winter, on slopes with a view of the Mediterranean. Lasagna is a favorite Sicilian dish, but, he added, pizza too. Asked about differences he had observed, with a grin he said the drivers in Italy, “are a bit crazy.”

At the conclusion of their comments, Lisa gave our two charming young visitors Pagosa Rotary banners to take home with them, to the accompaniment of loud applause from the meeting. Then Lisa, herself, received a round of applause, in heartfelt recognition from Rotarians for her outstanding efforts to make the local student exchange program a resounding success.