Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs

End Polio Now Day in Steamboat!

Mike Forney — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:08:02 +0000

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. The next event will involve school children throughout the Yampa Valley for an End Polio Now Day Wednesday, October 28th.

Advertising about the worldwide End Polio Now campaign will be featured on KBCR Radio and the Steamboat Pilot and Today from October 12th to the 24th.

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!

Together, with our Community, we are maintaining an unwavering focus on our core mission of service; service to our community, our fellow man and ourselves.

Michelle Garner — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:30:36 +0000

On February 23, 2009, Rotary International turned 104 years old. While we may get lost in the day-to-day challenges that the current economic climate throws at us, our daily trials and tribulations are given some perspective by considering that in more than a century of existence, 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 2009, through a combination of volunteerism and fundraising, your two local Rotary clubs continue this ethic of service.

Two important local projects the Rotary clubs are undertaking in 2009 include the annual Tango and Cash fundraiser and the Ski Town USA Golf Classic. Each year Tango and Cash raises $10,000 for a charity during a fun filled night of dining, dancing and raffling. Lift-Up Food Bank and Thrift Store has been chosen as the 2009 recipient. Past beneficiaries have included the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurses Association, Partners in Routt County and Horizons.

The Ski Town Golf Classic is a joint effort between your Rotary clubs, the Healthcare Foundation for the Yampa Valley and the Yampa Valley Medical Center. The Golf Classic raises more than $100,000 annually for our community; half of which comes back for healthcare needs and half of which goes towards Rotary-directed granting.

Through volunteerism in 2009 your Rotary clubs are planning to help high school boys put up an outfield fence; help our community hospice center finish much needed projects; advocate and participate in the construction of a new skate park; and fund thousands of dollars in college scholarships for local high school seniors.

But the giving does not stop at the borders of Routt County. Your local clubs will also actively participate in several international projects this year, including fundraising for the final push to End Polio Now; helping an emerging businessman in Ghana develop and grow a window factory that will bring jobs and commerce to an economically depressed community; a water pump project in the Zulu backcountry of South Africa; and another water project in Agua Prieta, Mexico.

Needless to say doing all these things takes an enormous amount of time unselfishly given by all Rotarians. But Rotary does not accomplish all this alone. Without you, our community, graciously stepping up to purchase raffle tickets, participating in the Golf Classic, donating auction items, or simply having fun at any of our other fundraisers, we would not be able to do what we do. In these tough economic times we face it is as important as ever for you to remember the impact that Rotary has on Steamboat Springs and the world at large. Please do not hesitate to help out in any way that you can when a Rotarian comes asking for your help. Your community and the world will thank you.

Rotary’s Polio eradication program gets another boost from Bill Gates—$255 million!

Michelle Garner — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:50:21 +0000

: Rotary International & Bill Gates are making a difference to this little girl and many like her.

After making a $100 million contribution to Rotary’s “Polio Plus” program in late 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an additional grant of $255 million this year. Rotary clubs in Steamboat Springs and sister clubs around the world have agreed to raise another $200 million in matching funds to complement the Gates Foundation gift.

“Rotarians, government leaders and health professionals have made a phenomenal commitment so polio afflicts only a small number of the world’s children,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “However, complete elimination of the polio virus is difficult and will continue to be difficult for a number of years. Rotary in particular has inspired my own personal commitment to get deeply involved in achieving eradication.”

Rotary’s challenge is to raise funds to match the Gates Foundation contribution over the next three years. While each of Rotary’s 33,000 clubs worldwide has been asked to raise at least $1,000, the Steamboat Springs Rotary Club and the Ski Town USA Rotary Club hope to do much more. “The last time we ran a polio eradication fundraising campaign here we raised more than $13,000,” said Rotarian Brooks Kellogg.

Since the first Gates Foundation challenge grant was announced, Rotary clubs have raised $62 million in contributions and $11 million in commitments toward the goal. Their enthusiastic commitment was a major reason the second challenge was made and accepted.

Rotary also invites the general public to participate by visiting www.rotary.org/endpolio to learn about polio eradication and contribute to Rotary’s $200 Million Challenge.

12th Annual Ski Town Golf Classic a Hit!

Mike Forney — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:02:45 +0000

More than 170 golfers converged on Steamboat Springs for the two-day golf tournament on June 19th and 20th. The classic featured rounds of golf at Haymaker Golf Course and Catamount Ranch & Club.

This year’s event was co-sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Steamboat Springs and the Healthcare Foundation for the Yampa Valley.

Rotarians celebrate holidays at the Ore House

Michelle Garner — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:05:04 +0000

Photography 101

Mike Forney — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:41:38 +0000

Hey everybody, here are the slides & resources from the presentation:

Photo sharing:
www.flickr.com

Photo management for Windows:
picasa.google.com

iPhoto Info
Rotary Photog 101 Presentation

ROTARY PRESENTS $10,000 TO LIFT-UP

Mike Forney — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:08:51 +0000

Lift Up Director David Freseman accepted a check from The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs and the Ski Town USA Rotary Club representing proceeds from Rotary’s major fund-raiser each year. This year marked the 12th consecutive year for the event, which always raises $10,000 for a local charity.

Past recipients have included the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurses’ Aging Well program, the Rotary Boardwalk Project, Advocates for Battering and Abuse, South Routt Partners and Rocky Mountain Youth Corp.

“This is our major fund-raiser and one of our most popular activities. Lift-Up has also been one of the primary recipients of Rotary funds for years,” Rotary chair for the event Angela Catterson said. The new Lift-Up center was named after Rotarian Don Lufkin. “We couldn’t have found a more deserving charity for this year’s event, particularly in light of the current struggling economy.”

Sponsors of the event included Feldmann Nagel & Associates, Alpine Bank, B& K Distributing, the Holiday Inn, Steamboat Motors and The Tennis Center.

DATE SET FOR 2009 ROTARY BARN DANCE

Mike Forney — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:15:07 +0000

Save the Date — September 26th, 2009

Dear Rotary Club: Thank you for the dictionaries.

Michelle Garner — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:31:47 +0000

Rotarians Steve Hitchcock, Cam Boyd and Dave Zabel are seen here with Soda Creek Elementary School third-graders showing their very own new dictionaries.

Dear Rotary Club:

Thank you for the dictionaries. And thank you for the sign language in the dictionaries too! I like the longest word at the end. Oh, my favorite is the sea life. Thanks for telling us all the flags in the dictionary. Some of us in our class are doing a report from the dictionary too! I’m wondering if I want to do a report. I might. Anyway, thanks for the dictionaries. I love it! Sincerely, Veda Marshall, Mrs. Schumacher’s Third Grade Class, Hayden Valley Elementary. P.S. Rotary Club Rocks!

Dear Veda:

Thank you for sending us such a nice thank-you note about your brand new Rotary dictionary. Mr. Cameron Boyd from our club has been bringing dictionaries to third grade kids in Hayden, Oak Creek and Steamboat Springs for several years now. I’ll bet you’d be surprised to learn how many other Rotarians helped, like Jamie Morgan, Dave Zabel, Steve Hitchcock, Jane Denning, Holly Rogers, Kerry Shea, Jeff Steinke and Chan Coyle helped. They loved going to third grade classes in Soroco, Strawberry Park, Soda Creek and Hayden to bring kids their own books. We needed them all to help because we had almost 300 to deliver and they are pretty heavy! I’m sending you a picture from third-graders at the Soda Creek Elementary School. We brought them dictionaries too.

Everybody loves looking at the longest word. It has 1,909 letters! We tried to say the word at our Rotary Club and we finally gave up. Maybe all of you in Mrs. Schumacher’s class can do better.

We all loved your letter, especially with the drawings of the big heart around your name and the American flag. You probably didn’t need to use your new dictionary to write your letter because there wasn’t a single misspelled word!

Be sure to have fun this year in school, study hard and keep checking out all of those wonderful words in your very own dictionary!

Mike Forney

Steamboat Springs Rotary Club

Routt County 4-H leaders recognized the Steamboat Springs Rotary Club

Michelle Garner — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:23:31 +0000

Routt County 4-H leaders recognized the Steamboat Springs Rotary Club as a “Corporate Friend” for the club’s contribution to 4-H’s new leadership fund and past support of livestock purchases at the County Fair. The award was presented at the 4-H Achievement Day November 23rd.

]]>