Jeff Switzer got the meeting started by offering an Apache Blessing as the invocation:
May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May you walk gently through the world and
know its beauty all the days of your life.
Kim Moore followed by leading the singing of “You Are My Sunshine.”
Visitors included two who regularly share our bon homie: Frank Wylie of Sun Lakes, Arizona, and Kenny Rodgers of Pagosa Mountain Rotary.
Frank travels with humor in his kit bag, as he displayed with the alleged news that Starbucks will be starting to sell alcoholic beverages, since it’s too difficult to sell a $4 cup of coffee to sober customers.
Additionally. Frank reported the impressive news that his home club was sponsoring 23 (count ‘em!) RYLA campers this year. (For context, Sun Lakes is a suburban Phoenix, Az. adult community with a population recorded in the 2010 census of approximately 14,000, located in Maricopa County, home to a population of over 4 million.)
Kenny discussed a local 4-H Club program for certification of 12 – 18 year-olds as baby sitters through a class being provided during the first week of June. Kenny said 4-H is looking for donations to help youths of limited means meet tuition charges.
Pat Love then took possession of the microphone to solicit participation with the Casino Night Decorating Committee, which she said would meet Monday May 13 at 4 pm, in the event venue itself (looking for inspiration, don’t you know!), the PLPOA activities building.
The mike was next passed on to Bob Eggleston, who renewed the request for dealers to staff the various activities to be staged during the June 21 Casino Night event. (Bob did not appear to be a candidate for participation with Pat on the Decorating Committee – the important thing is not décor, but “It’s gambling, you know,” quoth he.)
Remaining on topic, Jo Ann Laird called for a final volunteer (of four needed) to distribute Casino Night Posters throughout the town, and such was her magnetic appeal that she succeeded right on the spot! Posters will go up May 23, Jo Ann said, and reported also that tickets will be available that day, and will then be distributed to Rotarians for flogging to friends, neighbors, assorted passers-by, and any others potential gamblers ingenuity can procure.
Breaking from the Casino Night pattern, Dave Smith then reported that remodeling for the Early Childhood Center is well underway. (The construction of the Center is an outgrowth of the assessment of local need made by the Early Childhood Work Group, sponsored by the Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County.)
The Center will be located in a building that housed a long-closed restaurant off Piedra Road near the airport. Dave reported that plumbing and electrical inspections were recently passed, and the remodeling is now heading toward completion. A Center opening in September or October is hoped for, Dave said. The facility needs a Director, he added, asking for leads to qualified persons who might be interested.
President Shellie Peterson then reminded the meeting of the May 22 Development Luncheon, being hosted by the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corp. (CDC) at the Pagosa Springs Arts Council Building on Navajo Trails Drive (near 1st Southwest Bank). Rotary projects will benefit from the event, set for 11:30 am on May 22, to include a catered lunch and a speaker from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Jeff Kraft. Rotary will provide help with setup the day before, May 21 at 1pm.
Tickets for the Luncheon are only $30 (plus a small processing fee). Go to the CDC website, and click on the event link to buy tickets with a few strikes of your keyboard! Contact the CDC through the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce at the Visitors Center, or Jim Garrett, (412) 508-1060, for more information. Complimentary tickets will be provided by the CDC for eight Rotarians helping with event set-up and take-down.
Livia Lynch next reported that the Scholarship Committee had completed its work and selected 12 high school seniors to share in scholarships totaling $37,000. The winners will be presented at the Rotary meeting next week, May 16, she said.
A reminder was also offered of Rotary’s annual Put Hill cleanup, to be orchestrated by Jann Pitcher with the aid of volunteers, on May 18, beginning at 8:00 am.
Betty Switzer then presided over a session of Sunshine and Showers, producing among other contributions:
- Dave Campbell’s report of a trip with Chris to Moab in a party of 16, which yielded hiking, site-seeing and, by Dave’s report, rollicking dinners;
- Larry McClintock’s weather report for St. George, Utah (80 degrees);
- Shellie’s crossed fingers over the blossoming potential for the well-coordinated sale of her present home with the purchase of a new one (on Antelope Avenue);
- Kim’s surprising, fun encounter during a dreaded phone call for customer service answered at a call-center in Michigan, with a service agent in the person of a Senegalese immigrant, with whom she shared happy reminiscences of his native country;
- CiCi Stuart’s discovery of the meaning of “Pagosa Time,” through her enforced six-weeks of delay in obtaining repair of a freezer; and
- Pat Love’s congratulations to Betty on her successful implementation of a New Year’s resolution to “be kinder;” (Pat did not elaborate, so it is only a guess that the congratulations may have been triggered in part by a highly favorable review Betty gave of a new hair-do sported by Jo Ann Laird).
Exchange students Theo Bonlokke and Cata Acuilera then updated the meeting on their activities. Theo reported he had an RBI triple for Pagosa Springs in a game at Monte Vista, and then even struck a mighty homer (“over the fence”) at the Pirates’ practice. The varsity team hopes to “make states,” he reported. Cata said she was recovering well from being sick, and would be accompanying the High School Choir to Denver for an event. She demurred at an invitation to display her singing talents for the meeting, however, pointing out “in choir we have more people, so you’re not alone.”)
Turning to the Rotary lottery as the meeting ended, Lisa Scott announced the pot was up to $336. Dave Campbell held the winning ticket (it took a while for Dave to discover the number was his, so many tics had he purchased). Alas, Dave pulled a spade from the deck, but not the Ace. Calls from the audience to give the poor man a second chance in view of his mammoth investment in tickets when unheeded by Lisa.
.png){kind=logo}
.jpg)
.jpg)
