Inspiration:
Joe McCarthy inspired us with reasons why we need each other to unite for good.
Curt Bear introduced guests:
- Kitty Currier - guest speaker
- Mary Jean Currier —speaker
- Susan Groeger – spouse of Andy Groeger
- Saira Hafeez- Rotaract
- Brandy Hodges
- Jeannene Kappell
- Collin Ochwat
- Nadav Shitrit from Israel – guest of Carrie Levy
IDEA (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awareness) Quote: “What’s often ignored is that diversity is not only a pipeline or recruiting issue. It’s an issue of making the people who do make it through the pipeline want to stay at your company.” - Andrea Barrica
Future Programs: Please see the side panel for upcoming speakers and be sure to invite your friends.
Rotary Cares: If you are aware of a fellow Rotarian who is going through a challenging time (i.e., personal or family health, family death, etc.) please let Sara Murphy know Sara.jane.murphy1@gmail.com so we can let them know we are thinking of them and provide whatever support we can.
Announcements:
- A card was passed amongst the Rotarians to sign for Cindy Cloyd who had back surgery
- John Shaw shared that one hundred $10K Raffle tickets have been sold
- Leighanne Alford encouraged Rotarians to sell more tickets to enable us to continue supporting grants like these from the past:
---Book Trust $9,048.75
---Sertoma $5,000 to build a security wall around a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo
---Project Self-Sufficiency $4,000 to underwrite repairs of autos
---Zimbabwe Garden Project $7,500 to deepen the existing well that dried up due to draught
---Shelter Box $1,000
- Bob Melrose reminded Rotarians attending the Ghost Tour to make an appearance between 7:00 and 7:15 at the Fountain at Old Town just south of Walnut Street
- Bob also would like to see our club represented at the Quad Club potluck on March 1. See details in the Feb 14 email.
- Kathy Miner encouraged Rotarians to attend her daughter and son-in-law’s music group, The Realm on March 7 at the Center for Creativity
- Kathy included another opportunity with the Molly Higgins band at Maxline Brewery on March 15 starting at 3:00 pm
- Sara Murphy asked Rotarians to contact her to help Rotary Scholar, Jasi Leonard's who needs help with mock interviews at Polaris. They would like to find 5-6 people to help them out. They have been coached and gone shopping for appropriate clothing, etc. March 12, 9-11 am at Polaris School of Expeditionary Learning
- Phil Murphy needs help with the Food Bank Feb 20, and indicated Rotarians can sign up for events on their mobile ClubRunner app
- Tracy Mead encouraged Rotarians to register to celebrate the Project Self Sufficiency 40 Year Anniversary March 12 at Embassy Suites 6 -9:00 pm
Good News:
- Joe McCarthy was please he could ride for an hour on his training bike
- Dan Saint John was happy that our 8th Judicial District chief judge Susan Blanco is now the new Supreme Court Judge of Colorado
- Bob Waltermire was please he had a great response for volunteers to help review the club’s bylaws. Lauren Brainard, Tim Cochran, Ann Griffith, and Tom Strause will join Bob with the honor of this assignment
- John Hintzman shared that exchange student, Amvi Gupta from Bombay, India will be getting married in 2027
- Phil Murphy thanked John Sheltron for helping him with his flat bike tire yesterday
- Stephen James’s daughter passed her MCATS and was accepted to two schools
Program:
Bob Melrose introduced Mary Jean Currier, mountain lion expert with a PHD in Wildlife Biology from CSU.
- Mary Jean took blood samples, gum measurements, paw prints and weighed mount lions to gather information
- There are about 4,000 mountain lions in Colorado
- Mary Jean was featured in an episode on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom “Women in the Wild Kingdom” in 1978
- She Raised 3 lion cubs born in captivity and was attacked by one of the lions when it was older
- The 3 lions were sent to a zoo when they were 7 years old
- She recommends not running in the forest and not listening to music while hiking to be more aware of your surroundings
- An air horn can be effective in frightening off a mountain lion
- Andy Groeger and Maria Elena Thomas won a drawing for the books “Wolves of Northern America” and “Zoolexicon” respectively
Mary Jean Currier, mountain lion expert:
Mary Jean Currier with cubs in 1977:
