May 1, 2025 Impact Newsletter.1

INSPIRATION: Molly Skold shared a summary of how hospitals allow different worlds to intersect. While the quote has been attributed to Pope Francis - there are no evidence he did indeed make the statement. Molly shared alone we are nothing and challenged all of us to use life as an opportunity to learn. Respect yourself. Respect others.  IDEA THOUGHTS: With the quick sleuth of searching the internet –Molly’s inspiration reminds us all that there are many things we can do and focus on to be good human beings. See the full statement here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-no-pope-francis-020000109.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall (I recognize this is a fact check link – where the pope did not say the things – still I believe there is a lot to think about with the quote).  GUESTS:  Jennifer Whitacre – repeat guest of Laura Jo  Mary Scott – repeat guest of Bob Hau Kiersten Chaven – guest of Laura Jo Zac Larsen – Centennial High School Teacher Josh Gelfeld – Student of the Month Morgan Merriman – guest of John Shaw   GOOD NEWS: Andy C – granddaughter graduating high school and some of the family coming include his twin grandbabies (birthday was on 5/1) Ron C – just returned from Bend, OR where he got some skiing and fishing in before moving his son to Fort Collins. Ron has been working on RYLA and YRYLA interviews and our club was able to fund 10 students from our club and the district accepted all of the applicants! Vic P – his son recently took his boss and families to the Caribbean on a Catamaran. He shared his son had the folks raise the mast manually on Day 1 and showed them the remote control to use on Day 2. He said it was emergency training 😊. Maria Elena – since coming to our club 2 months ago, during the 2nd meeting she was ‘cornered’ and asked to join the FoH committee – she is coordinating the judging of the 3rd and 4th grade essay – Wednesday, 5/7 at 5:00 Joseph V – he and Gina were married 8 years ago in Banff Mark C – thanked those who came and helped with the trail cleanup – in the rain, including the Rotaract’ors. Krishna – glad to be back at Rotary after his Leave of Absence to run his business Curt – LoCo Think Tank – did podcast with Dave and Teres about FoH Teres – last week, met her husband in Texas to be with him on his Southwest Airlines retirement flight Gary T – was in Sawatch, CO visiting his son – had lots of fun activities Scott F – We sang Happy Birthday as his birthday was on May 1st  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 so we can let them know we are thinking of them and provide whatever support we can. Sara.jane.murphy1@gmail.com ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Mike G thanked the volunteers who were able to make it out to pack the High Plains Honor Flight bags – though… the groups before our club were so efficient that there wasn’t much for our Club to do. Mike also shared that new member, Marianne Blackwell’s 90 year old father did 2 air force fighter pilot tours in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, because of his dementia, he wasn’t able to participate in the Honor Flight. Thanks for your Dad’s service Marianne!   Teres - Field of Honor is quickly approaching! Teres reminded us that there are marketing materials for our Club and that spreading the opportunity to promote the Field of Honor is important for our Club. While it is a fundraiser for our Club, it is also a great event for our community. The goal is to raise $40,000 and to use the money to make a difference.  Community Supporters deadline is May 9th. There are window clings, postcards, and posters available to share. Medallion Sales are an opportunity for community members to honor their heroes.  ONLINE SALES – Community Supporters and Medallion Sales – rotaryfcbreakfast.org    PROGRAM: Student of the Month – Dan S introduced Zak Larson – Centennial High School teacher. Zac shared he had nominated Josh Gelfeld because of his love of learning and how he asked for books on things he wants to learn more about. Zac mentioned that Josh also takes things he learns and school and takes the curriculum and applies it outside of the classroom. Josh thanked Rotary and Zak for recognizing him. He said he never thought he would be student of the month. And he thanked us one more time.   USS Colorado Foothills opportunity presented by JD. May 13th at 11:45 am we can join at the Marriott to hear from 1 officer and 3 enlisted individuals about their time on the nuclear submarine, the USS Colorado. The cost is $35.00 per person and non-Rotarians are invited as well. This is not a fundraiser. The monies raised will be paid to the Marriott with $5.00 sponsoring Rotaractors that want to join.   Mary Scott thanked our club for the grant monies which allowed her to fulfill a retreat in Berthoud for veterans. She said that it made real impact to their lives.   New Generations Committee – Steve J shared that 350,000 young people and young professionals are involved in Rotaract, Interact, and RYLA/YRYLA. Our club is sponsoring 10 students where Ron C and Vic P (and our club members) recruit and interview candidates to attend with focus on student outcomes! We believe that our Club has sponsored 100-200 students from our Club since 1998. Presley was an Exchange Student we sponsored last year to Italy and she presented to PSD Counselors that value of Rotary, Interact, and Rotary Youth Exchange. She is excited to help engage next generations of Rotarians. Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) – Connie S is our RYE Officer. RYE started with the goal of peace with 1 exchange at a time. Rotary understood that the more we understand each other, the less likely we are to fight each other. 9000 students are sponsored inbound and outbound each year District 5440: Has 11 exchange students, are sending 9 students out next year, including Kevin Rodriquez’ son, and are bringing in 13 students next year. Connie is looking for host families and will help ensure that our host families are walked through the process of bringing in an exchange student to their home. Next year our exchange student is Dhyanam, a young man from India who likes music, sports, and travel!