Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs mourns the loss of longtime member and Past President Mike Vanover.
2025 RYLA in the Rockies attendees. Photo courtesy RYLA in the Rockies
The Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs is now accepting applications for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program, an all-expense-paid leadership experience for local high school students. Applications are open to current 10th and 11th graders and must be submitted by March 13 at 6 p.m.
This year’s RYLA in the Rockies program is built around the theme “Light the Way,” focusing on leadership development, open communication, trust-building, and service. The immersive, hands-on program emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth through experiential learning.
This year’s RYLA in the Rockies program is built around the theme “Light the Way,” focusing on leadership development, open communication, trust-building, and service. The immersive, hands-on program emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth through experiential learning.
By Meg Wempe
Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs
Attention, high school seniors: If you need help funding your education, the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs offers scholarships that could help make your educational dreams a reality.
Each year, Rotary awards scholarships to deserving students, with funding to all winners typically exceeding $20,000 annually. Since the program’s inception, we’ve awarded an impressive $584,125 to 204 graduates — and we’re excited to continue this tradition in 2026.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Festival of Trees such a wonderful success!
Rotarians Lisa Scott and Sandy Douthey stand beside the Rotary Christmas Tree, inspired by Sandy’s vision to highlight Rotary’s spirit of service and its guiding value of Service Above Self. 🎄✨
Thank you to the Bank of Colorado for not only purchasing our tree, but generously donating it back so it could work its fundraising magic a second time. The final winning bid went to Morgan Foster, whose support helped push us across the finish line. Thank you, Morgan!
By JoAnn Laird
Laughter and excitement filled the halls of Pagosa Springs Elementary School this week as members of the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs delivered their annual gift of colorful dictionaries to every third-grade student.
More than 100 books were handed out, with students eagerly signing their names inside the front covers before diving in. Rotarians encouraged the children to look up various words, and it wasn’t long before the students began calling out suggestions of their own—quickly learning how to use their new dictionaries. The smiles on both sides made the day a clear win for everyone involved.
By Lisa Scott
The Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs is currently hosting Wennei Chan, high school sophomore, from New Taipei, Taiwan who arrived in Pagosa Springs August 20.
New Taipei is the second largest city in Taiwan and is in the northern part of the island which is surrounded by the South China Sea. Wennei’s father is an engineer and her mother is an art curator and she has an eight-year-old sister. She and her family live in a suburb community which is away from the commotion of the urban city and has more parks and trees.
Photo courtesy Terri House
Wennei Chan, a high school sophomore from New Taipei, Taiwan, shares insights about her home country with the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs on November 20.
Rotary’s Teacher Mini Grants spark creativity in local classrooms
By Terri House
Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs
Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference. A single sewing machine, a microphone, or even a light box can open doors to creativity, confidence and connection for students across Archuleta County.
That’s the heart of the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs’ Teacher Mini Grant Program, which once again this year proved that small investments can make a big impact in local classrooms.
Photo courtesy Al Myatt
Pagosa’s district-wide music educators collaborated on a Rotary Mini Grant to purchase a house microphone for the high school auditorium and Art Teacher Linda Lutomski received a grant for a creative classroom project. Pictured, back row, left to right — Pagosa Family School (PFS) Interim Principal Sara Blakemore, PFS Elementary Art Teacher Lutomski and PFS Middle School Art Teacher Lisa Kopplinger. Front row, left to right — Rotarians Pat Love and CiCi Stuart, Pagosa Springs Middle School (PSMS) Music Teacher Malinda Burnett, PFS/PSMS Music Teacher Katrina Thomas, Pagosa Springs High School Music Director Leo Baughman and Pagosa Springs Elementary School Music Teacher Anika Borders.
The Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs extends heartfelt thanks
to the following individuals and businesses whose generosity
makes a lasting difference in our community.
Their support fuels Rotary’s outreach programs and scholarships for 2025,
ensuring we can continue to serve where we are needed most.
They embody the very spirit of our motto, “Service Above Self.”
Photos courtesy Al Myatt
Saturday night’s 10th Annual Jewels & Jeans Barn Dance was a great success, celebrating country fun, community spirit, and the heart of Rotary. Proceeds from the event will support local youth programs, scholarships, and community service projects.
Photo courtesy Ed Feragen
Pagosa Springs High School students celebrate the launch of their new Rotary Interact Club, a student-led service organization that empowers teens to connect, lead, and make a difference locally and globally. Pictured, left to right, are Duke Ketchum, Wyatt Carr, Van Halterman, Justin Sewell, Jackson Chaney, Marlie Adams, Kyley Matyniak, Madison DeClark, Adelyn Hittle, Madisen Stretton, Bella Adkisson, Isabela Forster, Leah Blackman and Dawson Iverson.
A new student-led club is taking off at Pagosa Springs High School. Fourteen enthusiastic students came together this week for the very first meeting of the school’s Rotary Interact Club, a youth organization that empowers teens to connect with each other, serve their community, and make an impact around the world.
The Rotary Voices podcast features in-depth interviews with thought leaders, Rotary news updates, and immersive stories from Rotary magazine. Learn more at https://pod.link/rotary.
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