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Centennial Rotary General Meeting, February 6, 2007Our Greeter this morning was Rick Morrissey. A great meal selection was available to members at the Breakfast Bar, including the fabulous waffles. Madam President, Laurie Christensen, brought the meeting to order with a ringing of the Rotary Bell. Paul Horiuchi gave an original and thoughtful invocation. Randy Pote led us in the Pledge, which he had committed to memory. One guest and two visiting Rotarians joined us this morning. Bill Zimmerman is a Financial Planner and prospective member, whose father was a Rotary District Governor. He read about our club in a magazine article coordinated by Mark Gale and written by President Laurie. Lou Webb is a member of the Southeast Denver Club and we were very privileged to have our own District Governor, Frank Sargent as a visitor. Kent Ostedgaard, Rotary Minute Specialist, educated us about make-ups. The attendance requirement in Rotary is 60% and if you miss a meeting, there are 58 clubs in District 5450 which you can attend as a make-up. There is a meeting every weekday morning and noon in the District. We also have in our District, “Rotary eclub one” which allows for a make-up on-line. Our club also counts Board meetings, committee meetings, fund raising activities and social activities as make-ups. President Laurie circulated a Life Publications magazine article about our club. Laurie wrote the article that included a photo of our group at the Light Rail party. The article was very well written and included contact information for prospective members. She reminded us of the Board Meeting, February 7, 2007, at 7:10 am at Cottrell Printing. The meeting is open to all members. We were also reminded of The February 20th meeting when Past District Governor, Tallee Crowe, will provide information about the power of the Rotary International Foundation. Governor Frank distributed invitations to the District Conference which will be held April 20 -22, 2007 at the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs . The conference will focus on youth and will be more economical than past conferences. He encouraged attendance at this fun, informative and celebratory event. Randy & Mary Pote will host a Baby Shower for Ben Digmann and his wife. Please put March 17, 2007 from 2 to 4 pm on your calendars! President Elect, Jennifer Holschuh reminded us of the date for the State of Our City luncheon, which is a significant community service provided by our club to the City of Centennial . The luncheon is scheduled for April 19, 2007 at the Embassy Suites and our Master of Ceremonies will be Grayson Robinson, Arapahoe County Sheriff. All club members are needed to participate that day. If you would like to be involved with the Committee, the next meeting is February 14, 2007 at 11:30 pm at Cottrell Printing. The Committee members reimburse Greg Cottrell for lunch that he purchases, so let him know if you plan to attend. Happy Bucks were given for:Dr. Paul for scooting, Barb Medina for a planned summer trip to Italy , Dan Hoopes for scooting, James Dunn for scooting to catch the light rail and Roxy Hahn for being James ride. Just when you thought that Happy Bucks could not possibly include any more information that you didn’t want to know, Mark Garfinkel welcomed Governor Frank, who is also a doctor of urology, and reminded us that the Governor is a man who has held a lot of testicles in his hand – so be careful when shaking his hand. Governor Frank replied that it was nice to know some of you personally and Lou Webb revealed that he is one of those known personally to the Governor. Randy Pote for a welcome to Governor Frank. Hugh Vallely couldn’t top Mark Garfinkel and settled for complimenting Ken Hope on his purple sweater. Ben Digmann for his wife’s sister’s announced pregnancy. Jennifer Holschuh was glad that #14 choked and the football focus has shifted to the Bears and Ken Hope appreciated last week’s classification talks and he is proud to be associated with such fine club members! Our Speaker was Daryl Bursch, Director of the International Network of Children’s Ministries. Daryl impressed upon us the plight of children around the world. He shared his experiences rescuing girls from slavery in Thailand and helping orphans in the Bangkok Dump. The average lifespan in the dump is 32 years, so children become orphans at a young age. His organization works with a network of 14 orphanages in Thailand . The orphanages have three stages. The purpose of the Stage One orphanage is to provide medical attention and comfort to the traumatized girls. The providers at this orphanage are rescued women. The Stage Two orphanage provides educational assessment and basic education. In the Stage Three orphanages the girls spend from one to five years getting accustomed to the Thai lifestyle and culture and continuing their education. The network hopes the orphanages make a positive mark on these children and that these children can make a positive contribution to change in the Thai culture – “If you want to make a mark in concrete, do it when it is new and fresh.” Mr. Bursch rescues the girls at great personal risk to himself. The girls are purchased by rescuers and transported to the orphanages. The rescuers would be prosecuted as slave traffickers if caught by the authorities. This means certain death. There have been thirty-four rescuers over the years and only four remain today. Benjie was the man who introduced Mr. Bursch to the network and featured prominently in his narrative. It was horrifying near the end of Mr. Bursch’s story, to learn that Benjie has been missing since last November and is known to be dead. Benjie had been rescuing girls for 14 years. Over 1200 children, mostly girls, have been rescued and placed in the orphanages during that time. Benjie was privileged to see the dramatic and positive change in the girls who were rescued 14 years ago. This gave him hope and courage to continue the rescues. Mr. Bursch closed with thoughts on courage and shared literature on how to save a girl for only $600. Tom Buck won the drawing and $10. Sadly, he drew a clear marble! Notetaker – Roxy Hahn
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King Soopers Coupons! Don’t forget to see Kent Ostedgaard for your King Soopers coupons! The club makes 4% on every dollar we spend. Coupons are available in $25 units & are sold at face value. Nearby Club Locations for Makeup's: Tuesday’s: Wednesday’s: Wednesday 's: Thursday’s: 24 Hours: www.rotary5450.org/eclub |
Please join us Tuesday mornings at 7:10 AM at the Embassy Suites Denver-South Arapahoe Road, 10250 East Costilla Avenue, Englewood, CO 80112 |
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