From the left: Rotarian Sue Garwood, Chaparral Student of the Month Emily Meyers, parents Tina and Will Meyers
We were happy to welcome Emily Meyers, the February Student of the Month for Chaparral High School to our February 24 meeting. Emily serves the Chaparral community in a wide variety of roles. She is currently an officer in DECA and FBLA, and serves as a captain of the Speech & Debate team, where she mentors younger students. She is on the Link Crew, with a focus on welcoming and mentoring special needs students. Emily is approaching 400 volunteer hours while at Chaparral! In addition, she recently placed first at the Continental B league diving competition as part of the Chaparral Girls’ Swim & Dive team. As one of her teachers noted, “Emily is an amazing face for Chaparral HS” and another commented that “Emily has an extraordinary ability to empathize with others. Her compassion and commitment to selfless endeavors have made her a source of comfort to many at Chaparral.”
Emily plans to attend CU Boulder to major in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. We wish you the best in your future endeavors, Emily.
For links to other Student of the Month stories, click here.
We have our second evening of sorting medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. on Monday, February 28 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. You can get more information or register online by clicking here, or contact Tricia Fahey at tfahey66@q.com.
Praying Hands Ranch Dinner and Auction -- Sunday, March 13, 2022
Our club has a long-standing relationship in support of Praying Hands Ranch, a therapeutic riding facility east of Parker. Their annual dinner and auction fundraiser is coming up on Sunday, March 13 -- click here to view a flyer for the event.
Second, they will need some volunteers to help move the silent auction items from the ranch to the Douglas County Fairgrounds on the day of the event. This could be two crews of about 4 people each: one crew to load items into donated van(s) at the ranch from about 9:00-10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 13, and one crew to meet the van(s) at the fairground at about 11:00 a.m. and unload. If you can help, click here to go to the club website to register to volunteer, or contact Ron Sorlien at rssorlien@msn.com
We congratulate Mike Parker, the February Student of the Month for Ponderosa High School. Mike joined us for our February 10 Zoom meeting; he was accompanied by Dana Swanson, English teacher and Natalie Munoz-Garcia, Assistant Principal.
Mike is involved in Ponderosa with activities ranging from band/winter percussion to National Honor Society and PeaceJam. He has assumed leadership roles as part of the Ponderosa Activity Cabinet and by helping to plan the 2018 and 2019 Continental League Diversity Conferences. He also cares for his fellow students through his involvement with Sources of Strength and Link Crew. Mike has volunteered at the PACE Center. As one of his teachers noted, “His desire to help and serve others does not supersede his success in academics. Mike challenges himself to be an exceptional student.”
Mike plans to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York City to study photography. Mike shared this self-portrait with us, part of the portfolio he submitted to the School of Visual Arts. We encourage you, Mike, in your goal to use your art to embark on change and mold the upcoming generations!
For links to other Student of the Month stories, click here.
One of the great joys the club has every year is to recognize individuals/groups who have made a significant contribution to Parker during the previous year, in keeping with Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. We present the Parker Impact Awards in conjunction with the State of the Town event, coming up this year on May 12, 2022. Dan O’Neill has agreed to head up the committee to solicit nominations and choose this year’s recipient(s).
Anyone, whether they are members of the club or not, can nominate someone to receive a Parker Impact Award. We encourage you to think of people who deserve this recognition – ask friends and neighbors as well. For more information on the nomination process, click here.
To view past recipients of the Parker Impact Award, click here.
If you have questions or would like to be part of the selection team, please contact Dan O’Neill at odie2450@comcast.net.
We are looking for a club member to coordinate the peach sale fundraiser in August. This involves tasks such as
advertising the peach sales to members (who then go out and solicit orders),
communicating orders to the peach orchard, and
organizing the club volunteers who hand out the peaches on the day they arrive in August.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Alex Doyle at apdhawaii@gmail.com.
Parker Uncorked
Plans are underway for our major fundraiser for 2022: a wine festival called Parker Uncorked on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Right now the committee is focusing on potential wine vendors. If you have contacts in the wine industry or with distributors, please pass those contacts along to Michael Graham-Hyde at mghyde51@gmail.com. This is going to be a terrific event!
Your club service chair, Mike Oldham, is working to get a Dinners for Eight program going again. This is an opportunity for us to meet socially in small groups and get to know one another better! If you were not at the February 24 meeting to sign up on the clipboard, please let Mike know if you'd like to participate (meoldham@msn.com)
New member Erin McMillin
We welcome new member Erin McMillin, who was inducted on February 24. With Erin's father Shawn also a member of the club, this marks the first time the club has had a father-daughter member pair! Please make a point of introducing yourself and getting to know Erin.
Reminder -- If You Miss a Meeting
If you miss a meeting or just want more information on the organization that presented, you can go to the club calendar, click on the meeting date, and get information on the speaker, links to websites, and when possible, a copy of the speaker's presentation. For example, if you missed the February 17 presentation on Martin Luther King, Jr. by the Mizel Museum, you can view the webinar by going to the calendar, clicking on February 17 and then clicking on the link provided.
State of the Town
The reconfigured State of the Town event is planned as a breakfast event at the PACE Center on Thursday, May 12, starting at 7:30 a.m.. The Town of Parker is doing most of the organizing, but we are looking for a chairperson to coordinate the club’s end of the event. If you are interested, please contact Alex Doyle at apdhawaii@gmail.com
Polio Plus
Lew Million reminded us of the annual Polio Plus fundraising campaign. We are tantalizingly close to eradicating polio from the world for good, but there is still work to be done. Questions? Contact Lew at lelmillion@aol.com
Scholarships for High School Seniors
The club is once again offering scholarships for high school seniors from the Parker area who are planning to continue their education in college or a vocational school. Please feel free to notify any interested students/families that you know about the scholarship possibilities, and direct them to our website to get the application and instructions: https://parkerrotary.org/page/scholarships. Applications are due by Friday, April 8, 2022.Selection will be based primarily on need and on community service as befits Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
Learning from Rotary International
Have you ever wondered...? Well, there's a good chance that whatever you have wondered about Rotary is included on the training on the Rotary International website. To check this out.
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