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Hundreds of five to ten year old children participated in Bud Werner Library’s reading program “Read 2 the Peak” this summer.  The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs provided a grant used to fund the “celebration” for participants and their parents.

The 8-week program drew 265 youngsters in a reading incentive game, 419 who attended weekly activity programs and 913 who entered a trivia contest to win prizes from local sponsors.

The culmination of the program occurred on the library grounds when 125 children and parents gathered on August 5^th for a Rotary sponsored free dinner of hot dogs, chips, watermelon and lemonade.  The Yampa Valley Boys performed sing alongs and members of the Spellbinders storytelling group told spooky campfire stories.

After the party, 37 youngsters, dubbed “Uber Readers” who read 50 hours or more during the summer, joined 15 parent volunteers for a “sleep over” within the library.  They enjoyed games, crafts, a movie, reading and loads of popcorn.

“Rotary’s contribution made a significant impact on helping the Library’s Youth Services Department encourage, inspire and reward the many young readers of our valley,” Children’s Librarian Sarah Kostin said.  “The Summer Reading Program instills a joy of reading, a value of libraries and a strong sense of community within the minds and hearts of our children,” she said.

Team Rotary on Sunday, August 8th

Rotarians rolled up their sleeves, donned work boots and tackled the new multi-purpose trail building project for the third weekend in a row on August 7th and 8th.

“Frankly, I’ve been amazed at how much of the trail we’ve cleared so far,” Grant Fenton said.  Workers followed behind a Bobcat machine as they cleared a five-foot path through thick brush, edged the sides with Pulaski pick axes, McLeod’s (heavy duty rake/hoes), limb loppers and hand saws, and separated vegetation from the dirt.

Once the trail is cleared hundreds of yards of fill dirt will be required to build up the trail base.

Fenton said that the trail may be finished within six to eight weeks, but he also said that schedule was “pretty optimistic.”

Rotary has teamed with Routt County Riders, a local bicycling group to build the trail, which ultimately will be about five miles long.

“We want to invite others in the community to participate in the trail-building,” Fenton said.  “After all, the trail will be used by a variety of different users.”

For more information about how you can help, contact Fenton at 970-846-1560 or grant@steamboatinvestments.com

Rotarians worked on the new multi-purpose trail Sunday, August first near Cow Creek

Rotarian Leslie Gamel tackles Jeff Steinke and Cam Boyd

the trail

Rex Brice, John and Debbie Aragon and Coleman Cook

Outgoing President Suzanne Schlicht and Rotarian Mignon Stetman congratulate Jane Denning (far right) on her selection of 2009-2010 Rotarian of the Year for the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs.

The selection of Jane Denning as Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs Rotarian of the Year was one of the highlights of the club’s annual Changing of the Guard. ceremonies on June 29th at Rex’s American Grill.  It was a double honor, since Denning also was also inducted into the office of  president of the noon club later on that evening.

‘Jane Denning was deeply involved in all aspects of our club over the past year,” according to outgoing president Suzanne Schlicht.  “One of the toughest jobs your president has is singling out one Rotarian from so many of you who have given so much to our club and our community.  But Jane’s contributions this year really stood out,” Schlicht said.

Denning is an escrow officer at Heritage Title.  She began her term as president on July 1.  She has been active in a wide variety of the club’s programs and activities and recently graduated from the Rotary District 5440 Rotary Leadership Institute.  She also attended this year’s Rotary International conference in Montreal.

Scott Marr assumed the position of vice president and president-elect.  Marr owns the Steamboat Springs Holiday Inn and served for several years as club treasurer.  Bill Kennedy, a retired school superintendent from update New York was named treasurer.  Winnie DelliQuadri, a City of Steamboat Springs employee will serve another year as the club’s secretary.

New board members this year include Steamboat Springs School Superintendent Shalee Cunningham, restaurant owner Rex Brice and attorney James Moylan.   Other board members serving the second of their two year terms include Nancy Spillane, Ed Allbright and Angela Catterson.  Suzanne Schlicht will remain on the board this year as past president.

The Steamboat Springs Rotary Interact Club was named the outstanding Rotary youth group in Rotary District 5440 at the recent gathering of some 450 Rotarians from Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Idaho and Nebraska in Casper, Wyoming on June 5^th.

The award was presented during the Rotary district conference at the Casper Events Center. The local Interact Club includes 40 Steamboat Springs High School students who complete at least two community service projects each year.  Interact members were recognized for their work on two projects with seniors at the Doak Walker Care Center, their canned food drives for the Lift-Up Food Bank and for their participation with local Rotarians in delivering holiday gift packages to more than 100 orphan children in Agua Prieta, Mexico.

Members of the Steamboat Springs High School Rotary Interact Club pose with Rotary president Suzanne Schlicht with the top award they won at the Rotary District Conference.

The three-day conference also featured several national keynote speakers including Jason Ryan Dorsey  a prolific author and recognized authority on the “Gen Y” generation, polio survivor and polio eradication activist Ann Lee Hussey, and cowboy ethics author James Owen.

Neither orange traffic cones nor missing street surfaces stopped the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs from making their rounds once again this year with hefty barrels festooned with brightly colored spring flowers.  187 barrels were delivered by about fifty Rotary volunteers in less than two hours.

Merchants were thrilled to have the flowers delivered this year.  Many feared that Rotary would not come through for the first time in more than ten years.  “The Rotary flower barrels have become a real tradition in Steamboat Springs and we were not about to disappoint,” Lori Elliott, Rotary chair of the event

Rotarians Jeff Steinke and Greg Stetman move one of the heavy flower barrels onto a flatbed trailer for delivery to downtown Steamboat Springs.

said.  Rotary volunteers fill the barrels with fresh flowers, deliver them early in June and pick them up in mid-September.

The City of Steamboat Springs waters the barrels in downtown locations with a small motorized vehicle that also is used to water hanging flower baskets.  “It’s a real community effort to beautify our downtown,” Elliott said.

Local Rotarians traded their cell phones and “business casual” clothing for rakes, hoes, shovels, garbage bags and paint brushes during the Routt County United Way Day of Caring on Wednesday, May 19^th and the Routt County Road Clean-up project on May 22^nd.

“Rotarians really do pitch in on projects like the United Way Day of Caring” according to Dan Hagney, who coordinated Rotary’s participation again this year.  “It’s pretty amazing how much work you can get done in just a few hours with a few hard-working volunteers,” he said.

Rotarian Ashley VanNess organized a team of 20 Rotarians and family members to clean up more than 4 miles of Route 40 near the Milner Land Fill the following weekend.  “It was incredibly windy,” VanNess said.  “But, we persevered and filled a lot of garbage bags with debris.”  Among other treasures the group found:  a full set of automobile tires discarded along the highway.

(L-R) Rotarians Jane Denning, Mike Forney, Cam Boyd and Scott Marr hold up a thank you letter from the children at Holy Name Preschool after the team completed restoration of the playground surface.

In less than 30 minutes last week, Steamboat Springs Rotarians collected more than $6,000 to purchase and dispatch tents and supplies to earthquake-ravaged Haiti through a unique Rotary program called ShelterBox.  Fellow Rotarians in Wyoming and northern Colorado raised another $60,000 in the past several days for ShelterBox purchases.

SRT (ShelterBox Response Team) offload ShelterBoxes from French Red Cross IL 76 Aircraft at PAP airport in Port Au Prince, Monday, 18th January 2010 (Picture by Mark Pearson)

As of Monday, January 25^th, Rotary ShelterBoxes are already providing emergency shelter for more than 20,000 people in Port au Prince and surrounding areas. Hundreds more ShelterBoxes containing disaster relief tents and other life-saving supplies are being sent to the city in the next few days from Miami, Curacao and France.

“Our local Rotarian family responded immediately when we learned that our dollars would be applied almost immediately to helping the homeless in Haiti,” Rotary presidents Kevin Kaminski and Suzanne Schlicht said.

Each ShelterBox costs $1,000 and supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless… Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organizations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide.

On Friday January 29^th, ShelterBox is chartering a 747 aircraft with 1,800 boxes to fly from Stansted Airport to the Dominican Republic where they will be taken overland to neighboring Haiti. It is the second flight chartered by the international disaster relief charity for the Haiti response after a plane loaded with 700 ShelterBoxes and 100 tents flew out of England last week.

A number of ShelterBoxes have also been used at an orphanage and at two hospitals in Port au Prince where tents are being erected to help save lives.

ShelterBox’s Founder and CEO Tom Henderson said: ‘In terms of logistics, the aid operation in Haiti has been ShelterBox’s most challenging in the last decade, with only one airport on the island which has been shut until recently and the port shut as well.

“As food, water and medicines are now starting to get in; the focus now is fulfilling the urgent need for emergency shelter.”

To add to the logistical problems of delivering aid in Haiti, the airfield has only been operating during daylight hours and there has been a shortage of aviation fuel.

Public donations are vital to ShelterBox’s continuing work around the world according to local Rotarians… To make a donation go to www.shelterboxusa.org to donate online and get the latest updates on the charity’s response to the Haiti earthquake.

Rotarians have already raised more than 800 MILLION DOLLARS since 1985 to eradicate polio worldwide.  Now Steamboat Springs Rotarians are joining more than 1.2 million Rotarians to raise another $200 million needed to kill polio forever!

The second annual Rotary Community Barn Dance at Sidney Peak Ranch on September 26th already contributed $1,000 to the effort.  School children throughout the Yampa Valley helped the club raise another $800 during End Polio Now Day Wednesday, October 28th.

Everyone can do their part.  If you want to make a contribution, go to  http://www.rotary.org/en/Contribute/Funds/PolioPlusFund. You may also make a $5 contribution to Polio Plus now by sending a text message from your cell phone.  The text address is 90999.  The message is POLIO.  You will receive a confirmation message within seconds!

See photo of students participating in Purple Pinkie Day at Steamboat Springs High School.  (l-r) Katie Arnis, Rachel Grubbs, Gabrielle Bohlman, Cheyanne Chadwick, Calyx Ward and Sutter Duerst.

On February 23, 2009, Rotary International turned 104 years old.  Rotary International and its local clubs have weathered everything from mild economic downturns to The Great Depression by maintaining an unwavering focus on its core mission of service; service to our community, our fellow man and ourselves.

In 2010, through a combination of volunteerism and fundraising, your two local Rotary clubs continue this ethic of service above self.

Rotarians collected more than $2,500 during the holiday season through “bell ringing” and collections at downtown and mountain locations.  The money will be used to support various senior citizen activities in the community.

In response to the terrible earthquakes in Haiti, Rotarians raised $6,000 in less than 20 minutes at their January 19th meeting.  The money will be used to purchase Rotary “Shelter Boxes” which contain a tent, cooking utensils and supplies that will accomodate a family of eight for up to six months.  Six of the boxes will be shipped to Haiti as soon as possible.

But the giving does not stop at the borders of Routt County.  Six members of Rotary’s Interact Club traveled to Agua Prieta, Mexico in January to distribute gifts to more than 100 orphaned children.  The Interact Club includes some 40 students at Steamboat Springs High School).