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President's Message
Mike Vanover
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(985) 518-7231
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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.
Stories
Hatcher Lake 2021 Ice Melt Contest
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Click this link to purchase tickets!!  https://form.jotform.com/210184282754152
 
 
Pagosa Springs Rotary, as a local, national and international service club, has had a tough time in raising funds in the midst of a year long pandemic. However, the curtain is rising to reveal a brighter tomorrow and Rotary is on the charge again to make life better in ways only they can do. Usher in the Third Annual Ice Melt Contest as their first 2021 fundraiser.
 
This armchair event is based on precise timing, down to the month, day, minute and second. A drum with a clock has been placed on Lake Hatcher and when the ice melts enough for the barrel to drop into the lake, the clock will stop and three lucky winners will be announced.
 
The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club, in conjunction with the Pagosa Springs Property Owner's Association will be awarding $1,000 to the person whose guess is the closest to the time marked on the then useless clock, $750 for second place and $50 for third place.
 
To be counted, entries must be submitted to Rotary no later than midnight, March 17 or earlier if the thawing happens and the barrel plunges to the depths of Lake Hatcher. Tickets for your guesses are $5 each, $20 for five and $100 for 30.
 
Guessing forms are available thru links at www.pagosaspringsrotary.com and www.plpoa.com, the PLPOA Administration Office, PLPOA Rec Center, The Choke Cherry Tree and Ski and Bow Rack.  
 
For insight as to where the funds will go from the Ice Melt Contest, look no further than to your graduating Pagosa High School seniors. All funds raised from this event will go toward scholarships for higher education, be it college or trade. A pandemic didn’t keep Rotary from carrying on an almost four-decade tradition by awarding $27,000 to deserving students in 2020.
 
In addition to the Scholarship Fund, Rotary supplies weekly manpower and food to the elementary school Backpack Program, filling in the need for food left by the gap between Friday's school lunch program and the Monday morning bell. Rotarians pick up highway trash, place benches for those awaiting public transportation, give beautifully crafted dictionaries to every third grader, endow teacher mini-grants to defray their expenses, donate monies and items to the Food Pantry, help fund the GGP Greenhouse Project, host foreign students for the Student Exchange Program plus send local students to study abroad, fund expenses for high school students to attend RYLA, a leadership training program and assist the town with the 4th of July Parade. Rewarding, fun and in some cases, life changers.
 
Internationally, we are the face of eradicating Polio from the world. We're almost there. While Polio still exists in two countries, between Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it only a matter of time before this deadly disease will be forever gone.
 
Your local Rotary also funds educational and humanitarian efforts to Niger and Senegal and donated medical vehicles in Pakistan. Rotary monetarily assists other regional clubs with funds for some of their projects, like the installation of clean water systems and wheelchairs in Mexico and Central America.
 
Rotary’s main fundraisers like Casino Night and the Barn Dance had to be cancelled last year. While Rotary expects to host these two events this year, your participation in the first fundraiser of the year is crucial to Rotary’s success in giving, as we head toward a brighter future. Help us raise the curtain a little higher and buy one ticket or 100. It’s a win/win for someone else and for you.
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Rotary Supports our Teachers
 
 
 
 
 
 
Congratulations to Jillian Cram, Kelly Vining, Heather Rose, Katrina Thomas, Malinda Burnett, Dale Scrivener, Linda Lutomski, Kelle Bruno, Rachael Christiansen, and Karla Parker Choat!
 
The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club Teacher Mini Grant Program is a long-standing annual program for our club and this year was no different.  The mini grant program awards a limited number of grants with a maximum award of $400 for special classroom projects to individual teachers in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Archuleta County.  The mini grant provides working capital to innovative teachers who want to develop new ideas to enrich the student classroom experience.  The mini grants also provide funds to teachers for materials or projects that would not otherwise be available through the school district or for teachers that would otherwise have to use their own money to fund them.  
 
Thirteen applications were received from six different schools and ten teachers were selected.  We are so fortunate to have such innovative and creative teachers with the desire to inspire and expand the learning opportunities for our children.
 
Some of the interesting and fun projects we were able to fund included purchasing microscopes for science classes, reading intervention materials for phonics skills, 3-D wooden puzzles for Art class incorporating science, technology, math, and language, and yes, boomwhackers! Three teachers in the Middle and Family School joined together to apply for this purchase to expand their collection of boonwhackers to teach different aspects of music theory to over 200 students.  Add to that, cameras for learning about digital photography and creating digital portfolios, and an egg incubator to give the students the opportunity to learn about the life cycle of a chicken!
 
To make our available funds go to as many teachers as possible, we choose to partially fund some requests and provide some materials through gathering donations.  For instance, a friend of Rotary constructed an adjustable stand for a grow light for a teacher who wanted to create a tabletop garden. Hand sewing kits for use in teaching life skills are being made through donations by Rotarians along with some seed money to keep them replenished.  Some reading books and materials were requested that we were able to refer to Three Rivers Educational Foundation to provide to the teachers at no cost.
 
The Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs is proud to support our wonderful teachers who have worked so hard, especially this year, to excite and educate our children!
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Rotary Once Again Supports Rise Above Violence
 
Local Rotary Responds to Victims
 
Rise Above Violence would like to recognize the generous contributions of the Pagosa Springs Rotary Club for their continued recognition and support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Rotary members have been especially cognizant of the effects COVID-19 has had on survivors, where victims were further isolated from supportive friends, families and systems, many having job loss due to closures and workplace restrictions.  This has required Rise to provide higher than anticipated levels of support, including financial help for rent, emergency shelter and food, utilities, and legal representation.  The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club has invested in our vital services and support programs, ensuring survivors are fully assisted when the need arises.  Thank you Pagosa Springs Rotary, your progressive and immediate response has been especially timely and impactful.
 
 
Rise Above Violence Executive Director, Carmen Hubbs, reports that the nonprofit is fully operational during the pandemic. When catastrophic events like a global pandemic occur, domestic abuse and sexual assault numbers go up and that is what is happening currently in Archuleta County.
 
The Pagosa Springs Rotary wants to support Rise Above Violence with their increased caseload.

The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club meets weekly via Zoom and information about upcoming meetings can be found on at pagosaspringsrotary.org.
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Bulletin Editor
Shellie Peterson
Speakers
Jul 01, 2021
Ranger with the National Forest Service
Jul 15, 2021
Early Childhood Education in Pagosa Springs
Jul 22, 2021
Hearing Loss - The Silent Epidemic
Jul 29, 2021
Healthy Communities Advocate
View entire list
Be Sure To Thank Our Sponsors
 
Platinum Sponsors
 
       ($5,000)
 
 
Jack & Katie Threet
 
Gold Sponsors
 
    ($3,000)
 
 
 
Silver Sponsors
 
    ($1,000)
Drs. Rhonda & Bill Webb
Mike Vanover
 
Bronze Sponsors
 
      ($500)
  Jim Garrett, Attorney
 
General Sponsors
 
        ($300)
Michael C. Branch CPA

Kevin E. Edwards

Russell Hampton
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Pagosa Springs Rotary meets every Thursday at 12:00 !          

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