The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club is a diverse group of engaged individuals participating through friendship and camaraderie in opportunities to serve our community and other communities around the world.
Our endless thanks to Evelyn Tennyson and her staff at the Tennyson Event Center!! With the complexities of COVID, we needed a 'home' to get back to meeting in person and the EVENT CENTER certainly took good care of us!!! Both the Event Center and Two Old Crows, the art gallery downtown, were brand new Rotary Sponsors in 2021 and they continue that support in 2022!!
Now....its on to THE DEN!
Shane Lucero is one of the owners of this new business and we are so excited to enjoy this new venue. Byran's email laid out the details but...why don't you order lunch right now?? 970-264-3005. As always, change brings new challenges but we look forward to this new adventure and to supporting this new business along the way! This business is a brand new sponsor for our Rotary efforts as well!
Back in the day, when ranchers and cowboys wrapped up haying and moving cattle to market or warmer climes, the hard work was behind them and they wanted to kick up their heels, socialize and party hardy with their neighbors. Voila! The barn dance was born!
Music that promises to get those boots a-movin' will be provided by Tim Sullivan and his band. So get out those Sunday jeans, embroidered western shirts, bedazzled skirts and come on out to support the Pagosa Springs Rotary Scholarship Fund. All proceeds of this favorite local event will go to providing higher education for our graduating high school seniors. It's a win/win evening for everyone.
There will be a silent auction of things too exciting to mention just yet and libations and food truck meals for purchase. As in years past, a whopping good time to be had. For sure, it will be the best time to be had in Pagosa on an October Saturday night. Tickets may be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce, the Choke Cherry Tree or from any of your fine Rotarians. Tickets are $20 or $25 at the door. Yippe-I-O. You Just Have-Ta-Go.
We are making great progress towards eradicating polio, however recent news reminds us that polio anywhere is a threat everywhere. Polio is being detected around the world in places where it hasn’t been found in decades. In the United States, an unvaccinated man was paralyzed by polio. In the UK, poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples. In Malawi, a child contracted polio. And Mozambique announced its first polio outbreak of wild poliovirus in 30 years.
The time for urgent action is now. A new vaccine has been deployed to stop outbreaks. Malawi, Mozambique, and nearby countries are conducting immunization campaigns to stop the spread of the virus. With our partners and advocates like you, we continue to encourage communities worldwide to provide vaccinations.
As we approach World Polio Day, 24 October, you can help us make an impact and stop the spread of polio. You can take action by:
Raising awareness by sharing content from the World Polio Day Toolkit, which you can find on our World Polio Day webpage
World Polio Day will help us provide the resources needed to protect children from the U.S. to Mozambique and around the world. Join us so that no child suffers the paralyzing effects of polio ever again.
At last week's Rotary meeting, we were honored to present Teri Peterson, Smoken Moe's Unreal BBQ, with a plaque of appreciation! Teri and her crew have been providing delicious lunch selections for our Rotary Club almost every Thursday for over a year!! We so appreciate their efforts.
Be sure to get by and try some of their amazing food! 68 Bastille Dr. Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. You can also call them at 970-731-6637
The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club is currently hosting Agustin Perez Leal, high school junior, from Las Grutas, Argentina who arrived in Pagosa Springs August 28th. Being from a small town on the Atlantic Ocean, he’s enjoying the similarity of a small community and the contrast of the elevation and the mountain scenery. His parents are both business professionals and he has a younger brother. Agus is smart, athletic and loves all sports and trying new things. He is an avid soccer player and is excited to snow ski.
At Pagosa Springs High School, he is enrolled in typical American classes including Math and English in addition to unique electives like Wilderness Skills and Metal Fabrication. He has started playing on the boys’ high school soccer team and participated in the annual team run up Wolf Creek Pass. Agus’s first host family is Jean Garcia and her son Trey, high school junior.
The international Rotary Youth Exchange program has been suspended since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. With the restart of the international exchange program, 19 students are being hosted by Rotary Clubs in the Mountains and Plains District, covering western and southern Colorado. Additionally, 19 Colorado students from this district are spending their year abroad as outbound exchange students.
The Rotary exchange program is always interested in talking with students that are interested in the outbound program and families that are interested in hosting a student. Anyone who is interested in learning more about this opportunity should contact Rotarians Lisa Scott, 970-749-4268 or sranch@centurytel.net; Marianne DeVooght, 970-731-2009; Ronnie Doctor, 920-946-6367; or Granton Bartz, 970-946-2827.
The Rotary Clubs in Pagosa Springs have participated in the International Youth Exchange Program for decades. Students apply for this opportunity through the local Rotary Club and are interviewed and selected to participate in the program. Once a student is placed, they spend 10 months in an exchange country and live with two or three different families during their time abroad. This way, they experience different family environments and meet a wider variety of people.
Pagosa Springs has two Rotary Clubs and Rotary is always accepting new members and invites anyone who would like to explore the opportunity to contact any community Rotarian or the names listed above.
For more than 110 years, Rotary International is an international service organization whose purpose is to bring together dedicated individuals to exchange ideas, build relationships, provide service to their communities and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are over 46,000 clubs and over 1.4 million members worldwide.
There are community service projects that take money and then there are community service projects that simply take effort and the desire to see Pagosa Springs in the most positive light. This project is one that 'just won't stay done'. Rotarians know that it is inevitable that no matter how careful folks are, some of this debris is going to end up back along Putt Hill. So, we will be there to continue to serve.
The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns. While we serve in countless ways, we’ve focused our efforts in six key areas to maximize our impact. These areas encompass some of the world’s most critical and widespread humanitarian needs. Rotary members planning new service projects are encouraged to consider these areas and the many opportunities for innovative projects within them. Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation have adopted six areas of focus as organizational priorities: .....
Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
There are countless ways that Rotary clubs can address these issues both locally and internationally.
For ideas, consult the publication Rotary’s Areas of Focus Brochure (965en) . It s available in a pdf format on rotary.org website.
Economic and Community Development is one such area of focus that Rotary has asked all clubs to focus on , especially in October. What is your club doing?
Here are some ideas:
190 million people are funding their business endeavors through microfinance
Partner with a local microlender to improve access to financial services and provide financial infrastructure in the community.
Develop mobile banking resources in partnership with a microlender. Cell phones, which can be used to make deposits and transfer funds, can increase access to banking systems in developing communities
When supporting service projects in a developing community, purchase goods and supplies locally to stimulate the economy and avoid unnecessary shipping fees
1.4 billion people — nearly half of them employed — live on less than $1.25 a day
Expand vocational training opportunities, including job placement programming, at local nonprofit organizations
Send a vocational training team to teach business leaders in developing communities how to create a business plan and maintain accurate financial accounting.
Partner with a cooperative that provides training, joint economic ventures, and ownership of assets to its members through a democratic structure
Provide equipment or supplies to a cooperative to increase production and sales in the local market
Support entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing communities. The success of local business leaders can multiply employment opportunities in the community
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