Pagosa Springs Rotary ClubThe meeting began with a poetic invocation from Art Benzel, a celebration of our corner of the world, originally from the pen of former Pagosa resident Mark McNown, as follows:
Summers in Pagosa are so fine
Been coming here since ’89,
The mountains and rivers are pure
Seems like all that ails will cure.
The air is fresh, the sky is clear,
The deer and elk have no fear.
Hiking in the wilderness is a gift,
It’s like singing a song and playing a perfect riff.
Let’s all enjoy this special location;
Treat every day like an eternal vacation.
President Shellie Peterson followed with several announcements, including a renewed pitch for the “Club-runner” App for download on cell phones, that provides contact data on all members at your fingertips. Shellie noted that after the App was made available a week earlier, there had been a spike in usage, and offered assistance to anyone who not been present or had issues with the download.
In addition, she reminded the group of the upcoming Rotary Leadership Institute in Bayfield, to be held Saturday September 18 from 9 am to 4 pm. She encouraged attendance by all.
Lassie Olin then announced the Backpack program, resuming soon with the new school year, had received a large donation of Spaghetti-O’s packages for back-pack stuffing, and thus help was needed collecting the bounty from the Methodist Church. She solicited volunteers for the effort, to be made on August 28.