October 17, 2024 Impact Newsletter

Guests:
  • Ann Bedient – previous member of our Club
  • Vivian Hoyer – 2024 YRYLA attendee (and her Mom Naomi)
  • Karen Trusler – Assistant District Governor
  • Ben Hargieroad – 2024 RYLA Junior Counselor
  • Allen Zwicke – 2024 RYLA Junior Counselor (and his Father Greg)
  • Sullivan Muller – 2024 RYLA Junior Counselor (and his Mom Laurie Matson – Lynn Matson’s family)
  • Michaela Taylor – 2024 RYLA Junior Counselor
  • Ash Candella – 2024 YRYLA attendee (and her Mom Kristin)
IDEA (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awareness) Quote: You don’t have to agree with what people think to learn from how they think. You don’t have to share their identity to be curious about what shaped it. Adam Grant
 
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:
  • John Hintzman and Joe McCarthy – John shared his kiddos went to RYLA and many of the skills his son learned were highlighted in his CSU Senior year Leadership Class
New Member Project kickoff brainstorming session – Thursday, November 14th at 8:00 am @ Ginger & Baker – They shared there is interest in a New Member Project supported by our Club Foundation and $5,000 to get new members that joined since 2019 to understand the magic of matching funds (i.e, The Rotary Foundation and other Clubs), making an impact, creating connections with the Club, etc. Everyone in the Club is invited to attend.
Michele Marquitz read a Thank you note from past member Heather Gossel: To my friends in Breakfast Rotary – I want to convey my appreciation for the club’s support for my Paul Harris fellow. I value the work of TRF and all of you. Hope all is well – think of you often and miss the club very much!
  • Bob Melrose presented Paul Harris Awards acknowledging members of our Club that have contributed to the General Fund at The Rotary Foundation (TRF). The awards are measured in $1,000 contribution increments (whether actual donation, club point appreciations, contributions made in a Rotarian’s name, etc.)
    • Kathy Miner received her Paul Harris + 2 (Kathy has contributed over $2,000 to TRF).
    • Tom Strause received his Paul Harris Fellow
    • Wendy Lange received her Paul Harris Fellow
    • Jack Bales received his Paul Harris Fellow
Program:
Ron Catterson facilitated a YRYLA and RYLA panel with 2 YRYLA participants and 4 RYLA Senior counselors. YRYLA are between 7th and 8th grade students and RYLA participants are sophomore or juniors in high school. Rotary Clubs pay for participants from district 5440 and 5450 kids to go. When the chosen participants arrive, they are put in a team of 10-12 kids and each team is led by junior counselors. Senior counselors help the Junior counselors, and Ron has participated as a senior counselor several times. As part of the daily activities, there is a debriefing session – what went well, could be better, what can we learn from this and what can we continue to use in the future.
 
Ron shared that is an inclusive, positive, encouraging atmosphere for participants and counselors. Participants expand their comfort zone and learn about themselves while learning and practicing leadership.
 
Our club has a lot of history with 30+ years of experience. In the beginning, RYLA started in Australia with New Mexico being the first US state. Charlie Peterson, while District Governor, traveled to New Mexico to see RYLA. He wanted to bring it back to Northern Colorado and there was a discussion whether women should be included. Charlie’s wife, Susan, weighed in that it seemed like a great program and that women would be accepted. This all happened 2 years before women were accepted into Rotary. Diane Knight was one of the original people to help organize the YRYLA program and we have had many members participate in organizing and senior counseling since then. Plus, many of our members’ children (and grandchildren) have participated as well.
 
Panel
  • YRYLA participants
  • Vivian Hoyer (left) – Made friends and learned more about herself. Her favorite activity was twilight time when they would talk about their day and hear about what everyone had experienced. She learned not to judge people because you never know what is going on
  • Ash Candella (speaking) – It was a positive experience, and she made friends. Her favorite activity was the mid-week review of the week. She learned that she and many others are much less alone than they think
  • RYLA Junior Counselors
  • Allen Zwicke (left) – Allen thanked us for letting him participate. He made some great relationships. His favorite activity was the rap sessions where they talked about what went well, what could do better. He also feels he learned some valuable communication skills that he continues to build on.
  • Michaela Taylor (2nd from left) – Michaela found the experience magical due to connecting with people. Her favorite activity was building a tent blindfolded – requiring trust, communication skills, etc. Her friends noticed a change in her when she returned from RYLA as she is more outgoing and willing to speak up.
  • Ben Hargieroad (2nd from right) – Ben enjoyed talking to people each day. His favorite activity was leading the song – California Girls. He learned that he needs to remain positive and to be nice to people. Upon returning from RYLA he feels that he is able to be more vulnerable around friends.
  • Sullivan Muller (speaking on right) – Sullivan shared that he met many people. His favorite team building event was the Ropes Course (spider web) which brought the team together. He also liked how the 4 way test acted as a guiding principle
Good News:
  • Tom Welsh – glad to be here, literally and so glad for the support of our Club during his health challenges
  • Jim McCambridge – last day as a member of the Fort Collins Breakfast Rotary Club after 12 years. He and his wife have been splitting time between 3 Rotary Clubs while in CO and AZ. They have decided to focus on less and make a bigger impact – we hope to see him when they are in Fort Collins.
  • Gary Turner – and his wife just returned from an amazing trip to Egypt and Jordan. Now is the time to look at pricing for a trip as the prices are very reasonable.
  • Bob Melrose – just celebrated his birthday, enjoyed the District Training with Joe McCarthy representing our Club, and Bob presented Jim with his Paul Harris +3 pin
  • Fran Lefler – shared that we are partner with the Early Education Childhood Center again this year to collect toiletries, diapers, laundry detergent, etc. There will be a collection at our weekly meeting on Thursday, November 7th
  • Walt Grady – is back as he has been gone the last 2 month. He was volunteering and helping in the great state of Colorado and saw many wonderful people and places
  • Teres Lambert – announced the opportunity for us to help at the Lee Martinez Park Treatsylvania event on the weekend of Oct 25-27. Stay tuned for details via an e-mail from Teres
  • Andy Chaffin – excited that Tax Season ended on October 15th and is excited to go visit family in Kansas City – including his twin grandchildren there.