Aurora Rotary - A Message from the Club President

Howard attended The RI Convention in New Orleans and heard the new

RI President Kalyan Banerjee the 101st RI president and the third Indian president talk about the theme for 2011-12:

Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.

Howard is proud of the club, the projects underway, the projects completed and is asking each Rotarian to commit to the Rotary ideals.

His goal is to give each member a chance to participate and contribute to the work that still needs to be done.

-

PAST-PRESIDENT LETTER

THOMAS "NICK" NICHOLAS

2010-11

I began my President's year of 2010-2011 with the best Induction event celebrating my Greek heritage under the orchestration of Debbie Lynch and Skip Schlenk and ended with another of their great events with the Induction party for current president Howard Hall.

First, I want to extend to all the members of the Rotary Club Aurora my sincere appreciation for honoring me with an opportunity to represent the Club as a President. It is a role that carries a great deal of acknowledgements, responsibilities and rewards. I can only hope that my term was as enjoyable for the members as it was for me.

Second, the members of this Club really stood up and provided a great amount of support to the many events, activities, and programs that are important to our club, our community, and small villages in Peru. These important events can be summarized by the following sample: Salvation Army Bell Ringing; Shots for Tots; Peru Water Projects; Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for youth; High School Rotary Interact Clubs; Flower Power; International Youth Exchange; Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar; Mayor's State of the City Address; First Responders Award Luncheon; Dictionary Project; School Student Awards; and a great deal more.

Thirdly, one of the most important aspects of weekly meetings, besides teasing the President at the meetings, is the fellowship that this club really enjoys. Happy Bucks, under the leadership of our Sergeant-of-Arms, Ron Maclachlan, revealed the extent to which club members provided great humor, news about themselves and families, and monetary generosity...all to support our International Exchange Student's odd expenses. We must not forget the times we enjoy each other's company at our social events like: General's Park Picnic; Bowman's Chili Bunco; Holiday Party; and our other events.

Fourth, on the heels of all the weekly fun came the weekly program speakers secured by various club members and the efforts and leadership of Skip Schlenk. My term was blessed with some very powerful, funny, heartfelt and informative speakers such as: Club Rotarian Chief Oates: Medical Marijuana; Cindy Kreutz: Leadership Aurora; Club Rotarian and APS Superintendent John Barry: Future Vision Plan; Llakamate Water Project Updates; Heather Ehle: Project Sanctuary for Veterans; Parker Rotarian Ben Martin: The Declaration of Independence; John Walsh, U.S. Colorado District Attorney on Terrorism internationally and locally; Colonel Clint Crosier, Commander of the 460 Space Wing: State of the Base Address; Pam Gilbert: Ecuador Adventure; Peter Binney Purification Plant Rotational; Craig Maraschkey: Homeless Veterans Program; The Raft Pack Grand Canyon Trip; Dorothy Drummond: Holy Land, Whose Land...and many more programs. Being a Rotarian and attending weekly meetings can be a great opportunity to learn about people, places, history, current events and about ourselves.

Lastly, yes finally, the Rotary Club of Aurora was only one of a handful clubs in District 5450 that received the Rotary International Presidential Citation with Distinction, the highest recognition for a club. This could never have been accomplished without the individual and collective efforts, gift giving, and commitment to rotary expressed by the members of the Rotary Club. Thank all of you, my fellow Rotarians, for trusting me and making me a better person, a better Rotarian, and a humble spirit... "Nasekala" ...the best to you.

-

Aurora Rotary

June 30, 2010

Message from Past President Susan Perkins

The 2009-2010 year was another great year for the Aurora Rotary Club. In addition to continuing our work on the projects and areas of service we have established over the years, our club expanded its outreach to the community in a number of ways.

Club Service Director Val Cunningham did a fantastic job on both our August Western family picnic and our elegant Christmas gathering in December! Thank you, Val!
For the first time, the Aurora Rotary Club supported the Second Wind Fund of Metro Denver in its Walk/Run/Ride event in September, 2009. A team from our club helped to make this event the largest event of its kind in support of preventing of teen suicide. Club members also supported a table at Second Wind's breakfast event in May.
We had another successful Dictionary Project under the leadership of Dave Lemon, delivering dictionaries to every third grader in Aurora.
Tom Nicholas led our luncheon in honor of Aurora's First Responders--police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and emergency call personnel. It was a fitting tribute to those who keep us safe.
Howard Hall orchestrated the Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army, which attracted generous support.
Barbara Rowe led our club's ongoing support of Shots for Tots, which insures access to vaccinations at local fire stations.
In January, 2010, the club continued its tradition of hosting the State of the Base in conjunction with the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.
For the first time, club members participated in the 9News Health Fairs at Dick's Sporting Arena and at Aurora Central High School.
As a fitting finale to the year, Debbie Lynch and others coordinated yet another successful State of the City which, thanks to Mayor Ed Tauer, raised thousands of dollars to support service projects in Aurora. Thanks to each of you for your extraordinary service!

Our first Rotational was hosted by the Salvation Army and featured lunch served from the emergency food service vehicle used to support emergency responders. Our second Rotational, hosted by Val Cunningham at Danzport, was a tribute to the beauty, grace and health benefits of ballroom dancing. Our third Rotational was hosted by Howard Hall at Firestone and included a fascinating tour of the production facility.

The club was honored to host Ida Asp as our foreign exchange student this year. Ida is a wonderful example of all that is possible as an exchange student. She participated with great enthusiasm in all that her school, the club, and Colorado had to offer her. We were honored to receive her family as visitors in June, before they embarked on a cross-country trip around the United States. Thanks to the host families and especially to Bob Barrows for also serving as Ida's mentor. Ida, we are glad that you came to be with us and we will miss you! Please stay in touch!

Our club's international efforts were supported by International Service Director Bob Barrows and Jim Rogers. The water projects at Llakamate, Peru, and in India are going strong.

Support of Interact clubs remains high. Special honor goes to Leo Bessera for his faithful support of Aurora Central High School and for his support of a joint meeting with Second Wind to discuss ways to prevent teen suicide followed by an artistic collage session with the students. Leo was honored for his scholarships to graduating seniors. Support of the Community College of Aurora also remains high, with club members participating in the fundraising luncheon and grants from the foundation.

Our club's operations are going strong. Jerry Allen continues to be a masterful webmaster, providing club members with easy access to information. Gene Spanarella keeps a watchful eye on all things secretarial, and Rick Richard was in his element as our excellent treasurer this year. Thanks to each of you. Your support means that our club members can achieve more in service.

Vocational Director Skip Schlenk did a fine job of selecting participants for the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) and for Young RYLA for middle school students. She also presented student awards to students in the Aurora and Cherry Creek School Districts. Vocational talks increased our understanding of the presenting club members.

Members of the club participated in a number of District trainings, the District Conference held in Fort Collins, and traveled to Montreal to attend the Rotary International Conference. In addition, our club foundation awarded funds to a number of groups within the community. Members of the club also gave generously to the Rotary International Foundation and the club's foundation.

Honorees this year include Marci Sis, Flower Power; Dave Lemon, the Dictionary Project; Larry Pisciotta, President of the Foundation Board; and Leo Bessera, Aurora Central Interact Club. I am proud to announce Debbie Lynch as Rotarian of the Year 2009-2010 for a long history of service above self to the club.

As a result of the club's collective efforts, I am pleased to announce that we were again awarded the Presidential Citation. I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as President of the Aurora Rotary Club and look forward to the new energy, perspective and leadership to be provided by Tom Nicholas in the coming year.

Respectfully,

Susan Perkins, President

2009-10

Body Beautiful Collision Repair

Colorado Insurance Professionals

Craig Wagner
Law Firm

Edward Jones
Ev Sequeira Tenaker Pet Care Centers, Inc. The Salvation Army