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President's message - John Davis
 
Welcome our exchange student, Elite!
 
Literacy in Rotary
 
New Member Profile - Janet Mabry
 
New Member Profile - Guy Mendt
 
New Member Profile - Nancy Terry
 
Other News
 

It is hard to believe, but only 4 months left in my term as President.  My message for this newsletter is to consider attending some of the upcoming Rotary events.

On April 18th, District 5440 will hold the District Assembly at Little America Resort in Cheyenne WY.  The Assembly will be held from 9:00am – 3:00pm, and will have several break-out and training sessions to help Rotarians learn more about various District 5440, as well as Rotary International, programs/grants/projects and ways to make our clubs stronger and more efficient… also a great way to meet other Rotarians.

The District 5440 Conference will be held in Ft Collins this year June 18th- 20th at the Ft Collins Marriott.  This event will have several speakers, as well as social events, training and break-out sessions over the 2 ½ days.

The last Rotary event I would ask all Rotarians to consider is the Rotary International Convention.  I highly encourage all Rotarians to attend at least one international convention during their lifetime.  For me, it was a very rewarding and inspiring experience to be part of 20,000+ Rotarians from all over the world, all in one place.  The speakers and entertainment were great.  The host city (at least Sydney) did a great job of hosting and making everyone feel welcome.  We were approached several times by local residents and asked if we needed help with directions, if we were enjoying our time, places to see, etc.  This year it will be held in São Paulo Brazil, for 2016 in Seoul South Korea and Atlanta, Georgia in 2017.

Start planning now!

 

G'day rotary club of Fort Collins Foothills, My name is Elite Pyers and I thank you all for giving me this opportunity to stay in this beautiful city of yours, I have just finished year 11 (my junior year) and am 17 years of age. I live in the small country town of Dimboola in the state of Victoria, my town is half way between Melbourne and Adelaide and has about 1600 residents. I have two younger brothers (Che, 11 and Eamon,8) and a younger sister named Rian (6). I have two black labrador/retrievers (Blacky and Star) and a cat named Puddy. My mother is an English/History/German teacher at my school, and my father was the Principal at my school, but now is a Principal of another school out of town 30 minutes away. 

My school has about 200 students. I play basketball in the summer, and football (AFL) in the winter. I have tried skiing in Australian snow but spent most the time on my rear end. I was an exchange student in year nine to Germany for four weeks and we have hosted that same German partner as well as a Japanese student for two weeks. I have traveled to Thailand 5 times, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong, as well as Germany, obviously. I was born in Auckland, New Zealand and moved to Australia at the age of 2. 

Even though we may speak the same language, there are big differences between our countries, we drive on different sides of the road, walk on different sides of the footpath, use different measurements (Australia uses the metric system), we use British English whereas you have your own, different foods, different school systems and grading, and I could go on forever but I won't. I am very excited to be here and to have this new experience and am pumped for the months to come.

Thanks again, Elite.

 

Literacy is a Big Deal in Rotary.  Why?  Because it's a cornerstone for improving society.

Sixty-seven million children worldwide have no access to education and more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.

In 1985, Rotary declared basic literacy to be a pre-condition to the development of peace. Through this organizational emphasis, more than half the world’s 34,000 Rotary clubs address the full range of literacy and mathematical challenges for primary, vocational, and adult learners as well as teacher training.

Our club contributes to this progress in a variety of ways.  We've been involved in the Fort Collins Rotary Club's initiative to distribute dictionaries to every third grader in Poudre School District.  This has been a major beneficiary of our Peach Festival every year.

We have also teamed up with other clubs for Rotary READ Fort Collins.  This encompasses not only the dictionaries, but reading weeks for elementary school kids.  We've supported programs which give books in partnership with Scholastic Books.  We bring in speakers who can help us understand literacy issues in our community and around the world, and supply funding for charities who make a difference in this area.

Your time and your money are making a difference - here and around the world!

 

I’m the youngest of four children and grew up on a dairy farm in Northeastern Colorado.  My early years were spent riding horses, driving tractors, irrigating and not so much milking cows, but feeding the baby calves and making sure all the animals had their supper before any of us did. Surprisingly, as kids we never had any broken bones but had more splinters and blisters than we could count. What fun! My first year of college was at UNC in Greeley, then a transfer to ASU. After graduating ASU, I met and married my husband Paul, a software engineer. We now live in Fort Collins with our son Zane, who is a junior at Fossil Ridge High School.

My work career has been in banking and financial planning. I currently hold the Series 7, 31, and 66 registrations and a number of state insurance licenses with my position at RBC Wealth Management. I spent 7 years working as a Financial Advisor with IDS Financial Services a division of American Express, in Scottsdale, AZ right out of college. Upon returning to Colorado I worked for Home State Bank for 14 years; 10 of which I was a member of the Senior Management Team having concurrent titles of V.P. Treasury Management and V.P. Training & Development. In July 2005 I earned a diploma from the Graduate School of Banking program.  My community activities include: Parishioner at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Board Member for Pretty Brainy STEM and STEAM, Member of The Moxie Exchange, a Poudre School District volunteer and Former Board Member for United Way of Larimer County.  I'm a 1997 Graduate of the Leadership Loveland program and look forward to years of service within Rotary International.   

 
Guy has significant experience in leading high technology service businesses and he is in the process of developing expertise in leading non-profit charity businesses. With deep expertise in service business operations, business management optimization, strategy development, plan-of-record management, operations change management and leadership development, Guy specializes in implementing organizational performance improvements. 
 
Guy's passions include optimizing organizational performance through effective leadership performance, employee engagement focused on driving exceptional business outcomes and innovative problem solving designed to deliver sustainable business improvements. 
 
Guy brings a diverse background including experience in high technology Sales, Consulting, Channels, Marketing, R&D and Support and well as Psychiatric Social Work. He has a strong ability to translate Strategy into Execution and is known for delivering results that fulfill business objectives. His ability to identify obstacles to achieve business objectives and then deliver people, process, and technology solutions to address issues is outstanding.
 
Guy has excellent communication, teaming and interpersonal skills. He projects confidence in crisis situations, is confident and encourages divergent views in order to improve both decisions and relationships. He leads using his head and his heart.   
 
On the personal side, Guy is happily married, has one son and currently lives and plays in beautiful Northern Colorado. Guy enjoys any out-of-doors activity including time at his mountain retreat, snowboarding, fly fishing, golf, distance running and road bicycling. Guy serves as a mentor for disadvantaged youth and is involved with multiple Northern Colorado community groups.

Guy directs all operations of Catholic Charities for the Larimer County Region. This includes fundraising, community development, marketing and communications, program development and staff leadership for Catholic Charities programs in the region.  Guy is accountable to the VP of Shelters and Programs.

 

I moved to Fort Collins in 1977, after graduating from Indiana University. I thought I'd be a high school English teacher, but couldn't find a teaching job at the time and thus began my career in the real estate and lending industry. My parents, two brothers and their families still live in northern Indiana, and I still miss the beautiful fall colors of mid-west hardwood forests. My husband, Bob and I have a daughter, Natalie, who works as a loan officer with me at Premier Mortgage.  I have a step-son, Casey, who also lives in town.

While the kids were growing up we were very involved in their soccer teams and Natalie's 4H horse club.  We've owned many horses over the years and are now down to a herd of one - Cody.  Cody and I trail ride every weekend of the year unless the weather is truly terrible.  Two dogs and a cat round out the family, now that Natalie and Casey have their own homes.  Last year we returned to downhill skiing, after maybe a 10 year hiatus.  It really is like riding a bike...

I’m pleased to be a new member Foothills Rotary.  It’s a wonderful organization with worthy goals and interesting, friendly people. I'm a Board member of our neighborhood HOA. I'm a newer member of Habitat for Humanity's family selection committee, helping choose who gets to experience all the rights and responsibilities that come with homeownership. Another organization I have experience with is Back Country Discovery.  BCD was a non-profit organization that took groups of handicapped adults on wilderness horseback trips into the mountains for week-long camping trips. This amazing outdoor adventure allowed people who had suffered from strokes or MS or were paraplegics access to the wilderness riding on a horse. Thrilling! I was a Board member and guide until skyrocketing liability insurance costs caused the organization to dissolve.


Other News

District 5440 Assembly

The District 5440 Assembly this spring is in Cheyenne at Little America on April 18th. Here's where you can get more information.

This is a fantastic way to meet your fellow Rotarians in person, advance your knowledge, and make progress on larger projects!

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Rotary 5440 District Conference
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Russell Hampton
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