Welcome to another issue of our weekly newsletter! Find out about our speaker and what we covered during the last weekly meeting.
State of The Base 2019
Last week the Rotary Club of Aurora and the Aurora Chamber of Commerce joined forces to put on the annual State of The Base.
Buckley pumped more than $990 million into the Aurora economy last year, which was some $76 million more than what the base produced in 2017, Brigadier General (select) Troy Endicott(pictured), commander of Buckley’s 460th Space Wing, told a crowd of more than a hundred people at the annual State of the Base address last Wednesday. To read all about the State of the Base presentation please click on link below.
Rotary Club of Aurora President Jim Bickford, Aurora Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Kevin Hougen, Brigadier General (select) Endicott, City Councilman Bob Roth
Hundreds of attendees from the community and Buckley Air Force Base
Announcement from Sandy Mortensen, District Governor
Dear District 5450 Rotarians,
It is my pleasure and honor as District Governor to announce the selection of our District Governor 2021-2022. After careful consideration our District Nominating Committee has selected Rotarian Ray Anderson, member of the Rotary Club of Highlands Ranch since 1997. He served as President in the 2000-01. He currently is the Assistant Governor for Area 5 encompassing the clubs in Castle Pines, Castle Rock, and Highlands Ranch. Ray has served on the District Membership Committee, District Visioning, PETS Facilitator, and a graduate of RLI. Ray is a Paul Harris Fellow and member of the Paul Harris Society. He is proud his two nieces and granddaughter were able to attend RYLA and Junior RYLA.
Ray was born in Chicago and after a short stay in Dallas his family moved to Coral Gables, Florida in 1955. He received a Bachelor Degree in Business from Florida State University in 1972. He and his wife Peggy married in 1974 and subsequently moved from Tallahassee to Williston, North Dakota, where Ray began his career as a Landman in the oil and gas industry. He worked as an independent Landman until joining ANR Production Company/Coastal Oil and Gas Corporation in 1984 at which time the family moved to Littleton. Currently, Ray is the Land Manager for Puckett Land Company in the DTC and a Realtor. He is a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen, Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen, and National Association of Realtors.
Ray and Peggy have two children: Jane, her husband Chris, and daughter Sequoia live in Longmont; and Eric and his wife Jessie live in Centennial.
In accordance with the By-Laws of Rotary International, section 14.020.8, any club in the district which has been in existence for at least one year as of the beginning of that year may also propose a challenging candidate for governor-nominee provided this club has previously suggested such candidate to the nominating committee. A club in existence for less than one year as of the beginning of that year may propose a challenging candidate provided such candidate is a member of that club and the challenging candidate must have been duly suggested to the nominating committee. The name of the challenging candidate shall be submitted pursuant to a resolution by the club adopted at a regular meeting. The club must file the resolution with the governor by the date determined by the governor. Such date shall be not more than 14 days after publication of the announcement of the selection for governor-nominee by the governor. The deadline for this action is Friday, February 22, 2019.
If no challenging candidate is received, Rotarian Ray Anderson will officially become our District Governor 2021-2022 of District 5450 and his selection will be submitted to Rotary International.
Marilyn Udeen from Developmental Pathways was a guest this week at Rotary. She presented a check to the Club for $25,000 to help with completion of the park. Thank you Marilyn and Developmental Pathways for your support. Please see link below for more information about Developmental Pathways.
Member Linda Witulski thanked everyone for their support of the Rangeview dinner. Special thanks to member Regina Edmondson for her efforts with the awesome dinner. The Rangview students involved in the effort will attend a future club meeting to share the fundraising numbers. Also a special thanks to member Roy for his ticket sales at Heritage Eagle Bend.
State of the City - Linda has indicated that 18 tables have been sold. Our goal is 50 tables, so please ask organizations you know to buy a table. The SOC committee will meet next Wednesday at 11am to discuss plans for this event. If you would like to be involved please attend.
Flower Power - Member Sheila Anthony indicated that the event was a success. Our club distributed 300 flowers to Cherry Creek Nursing Home and Shaloam Park Nursing Home. Thanks to Mesa Movers and members George Peck, Doug Anthony, Kristi Kleinholz, John Reid, and students from Rangeview Interact club for your help.
RMYE - Member Kimberly Armitage reminded people about the upcoming Rocky Mountain Youth Exchange conference. She will be needing volunteers and will be sending out a request to members for help.
Inclusive Dance - Members Joel Krushwitz and Kimberly Armitage reminded people about the dance at Grandview High School on 3/30/19. Silent auction donations are welcome and needed. Please reach out to Joel or Kimberly for additional details or to offer auction items.
Poetry Contest - President Jim Bickford announced a Poetry Contest. Please email your original work to Jim. Top entries will be anonymously read aloud for everyone to vote on at our upcoming Golden Globe awards. jim@abclawyers.com
Eagle Award - Members Brad Pierce and Art Wolfe presented the Eagle Award to Fire Medic Bert Herrera(pictured). Bert was nominated by Fire Medic Frank Sanchez, Station 2B. Bert has been involved in fundraising efforts for St. Baldrick's foundation helping families who have children diagnosed with cancer. Bert has raised $3500 this year and $12,000 last year. Bert has also helped raise $10,000 for a local firefighter that was struggling financially. Bert's selfless efforts to raise money for those in need or supporting others with his peer support training embodies the characteristics and criteria of the Eagle Award. Congratulations Fire Medic Bert on all of your efforts and receipt of the Eagle Award.
Our speaker this week was JJ Jordan from Dementia Friendly Colorado. Their goal is to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their families in the Denver area. They are part of the Dementia Friendly America initiative that was announced at the White House Conference on Aging in 2015. This grass roots not for profit project is spreading throughout the US with hundreds of cities participating and more joining every month. Each community is selecting initiatives to implement across a broad variety of sectors including Business, Legal, Financial, Government, Healthcare, Independent Living, Care Communities, Academia, Community Services, and the Faith Community. The effort is ongoing and we invite everyone in the Denver area to participate in initiatives that interest you. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our fellow citizens who are living with dementia and their family care partners.
JJ shared with the group that she has had 3 family members diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, so she is extremely passionate about Dementia and Alzheimer's. A keynote she wanted to make sure everyone understood was that everyone with Alzheimer's has dementia, but not everyone with dementia has Alzheimer's. While approximately 70% of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s disease, the Dementia Friendly Denver initiatives address all forms of dementia, including:
Alzheimer’s Disease
Vascular Dementia
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Mixed Dementia
Parkinson’s Disease
Frontotemporal Dementia
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
Huntington’s Disease
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Two-thirds of Alzheimer patients are women primarily due to living longer. Some conditions might present as dementia, but are reversible. Some of these are:
Emotional Disorders
Metabolic Disorders
Brain Tumors
Dehydration
Sensory loss
Vitamin Deficiencies
Infections such as urinary tract infections
Alcohol, drugs, etc.
JJ made a point that early diagnosis is a key to managing the symptoms of dementia. There is no cure, but many scientists feel that the cure is eminent and could be within the next 3-7 years. Ten warning signs of dementia are:
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
Decreased or poor judgement
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Changes in mood or personality
There are many areas for review surrounding this topic and if interested she would encourage you to go to their website to learn more(see link below). Thank you JJ for sharing this valuable information.
