Category — Events

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New Members (l to r back row) Jeremy Behling, Brent Boyer, John Weibel, Bill Kennedy. (l to r front row) Carolyn Bird, Ray Martinez and Michelle Garner.

The Steamboat Springs Rotary Club delivered $30,000 in proceeds to the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association and “Poogie’s Place” last month. The funds represent the lion’s share of the earnings from Rotary’s Community Barn Dance held at Sidney Peak Ranch in September.

Poogie’s Place was named for Margaret “Poogie” Dawes who died suddenly in 2006 and was widely known in the community for her philanthropic activities. It will be part of the Rollingstone Respite House, which is now under construction on Pine Grove Road. Poogie’s Place will provide a place for children of all ages to learn to cope with loss and grief while taking part in creative pursuits, including physical activities, recreational and group art therapy.

Poogie’s Place facilities will also be available for use by Yampa Valley Autism and Colorado West Mental Health as well as offering respite to families of children with special health care needs.

More than 450 adults and children attended the Rotary Community Barn Dance, which will become an annual Rotary event according to event chair Linda Palmer. Each year, the Steamboat Springs Rotary Club will choose a single charity as the recipient of event proceeds.

“We think the success of our first barn dance came from the tremendous amount of support from personal and business sponsors and the hard work and dedication of Poogie’s Posse — a group of Poogie’s friends who raised a substantial amount of money,” Rotary President Mike Forney said.

All of the sponsors were invited to the check presentation held at the Steamboat Grand on Nov. 4. They included presenting sponsor Poogie’s Posse, “Gold” sponsors Steamboat Motors and Steamboat Resorts, “Silver” sponsors Prudential Steamboat Realty, Holloway, Brabec & Karet, Fox Construction, Holmquist-Lorenz Construction, Holiday Inn, TCD, Wells Fargo Bank, Starbucks and Steamboat 700 and “in-kind” donors Sidney Peak, Christy Sports, Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation, Steamboat Fly Fishers, Hewes Quarter Horses and Myriad Springs Ranch.

Rotarian Jamie Morgan with wife Megan and daughters Neva and Ava enjoy a delicious barbecue dinner.

For more than ten years Steamboat Rotarians have supported the Ski Town USA Golf Classic, one of the major fund raisers for the Hospital Foundation of the Yampa Valley.  A portion of the net proceeds have also been allocated to the local Rotary clubs for community grants and other worthwhile causes.

Starting next year, however, the Steamboat Springs and Ski-Town USA Rotary Clubs have agreed to take on more responsibility for the two-day golf and auction event.  Steamboat Springs Club President Mike Forney will chair the event, assisted by morning club Rotarian Jim Swiggert.  “Although Rotary will receive a larger share of the proceeds next year, the Hospital Foundation will still receive substantial revenues from the event,” Forney said.

Nearly 100 volunteers participate in the Golf Classic each year.  In addition to Rotarians, members of the Hospital Foundation board, other foundation volunteers and community members will pitch in to organize more than 200 golfers and some 400 who typically attend the live and silent auction and benefit reception. 

 The event will be organized and directed by a five-person Executive Committee, including, Forney, Swiggert, Yampa Valley Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Karl Gills, Foundation President Marilyn Johnson and Foundation Board chair Diane Tarnoff.

“The real financial success of the event is dependent on the participation of our many sponsors and the results of our live and silent auction,” Forney said.  Sponsors are already being contacted and the search is on for exciting and unusual live auction items, he said. 

Next year’s event will kick off on Thursday, June 18 with golfer registration, followed by two days of golf at Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club and the Catamount Ranch and Club and a gala benefit auction and reception on Friday night, June 19^th. 

Rotary board member Alice Klauzer (l) and past president Sandy Evans Hall greeting golfers at last year’s Ski-Town USA Golf Classic.