Letter from the President

It has been a busy and active Rotary summer. In early June, Cindy and I attended the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany. It was quite an experience and I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to see and feel the diversity, equity and inclusion that Rotary brings to the world. In my daily exploring of MyRotary.org, I ran across this article on that subject that I would like to share with you.

“As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

A top priority for Rotary is growing and diversifying our membership to make sure we reflect the communities we serve. We're creating an organization that is more open and inclusive, fair to all, builds goodwill, and benefits our communities. We want people with differing perspectives and ideas who will help Rotary take action to create lasting change in communities around the world. Through Rotary, you'll find unique opportunities to get involved. Everyone is welcome in Rotary.”

Let’s go out and as Rotarians, make it a better world!

Yours in Rotary,

Mike

Diversity

Rotary welcomes people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences and identities.

Equity

Rotary strives for the fair treatment, opportunity and advancement of all Rotary participants.

Inclusion

Rotary is working to create experiences where all people feel welcomed, respected and valued.

Evening Group Update

The evening group is focused on hands-on service in our community. We've recently agreed to focus time each quarter on activities where our members can get into the community and be of service face-to-face and at the same time be visible as Rotarian's in action. Our planned activities for the 2019-2020 club year are as follows:

1) Partnering with Putnam School. Activities include contributing tee shirts for Putnam Pride Fridays, contributing expertise to leadership sessions for all 5th graders, a month of reading to kids in February, helping with the Coats & Boots distribution and with the neighborhood meetings this fall, and assisting with the school carnival in early May.

2) Promoting both the Ale Trail and the Foodie Trail at festivals and events in the community.

3) Working on a Habitat Build

4) Volunteering at an Ale Trail beneficiary

5) Adopting Senior Citizens

Guy Mendt

Fort Collins Rotary 2019 Peach Festival

Very Successful Event!!

“ People now understand the Fort Collins Peach Festival is an annual event and they look forward to it every year.” – Carl Cicero, Festival Bands Contact

Highlights:

Net Proceeds exceeding $40,000 !!
Boys and Girls Club to receive more than $10,000 donation !!
More than $30,000 funds going to Fort Collins Rotary Clubs !!
Community Sponsorships and vendor contributions exceeded $85,000 !!
All Volunteer Spots filled by Rotary Club and Local Community Volunteers !!
Great turnout for 5K Race - 700 Adult registered runners + 100’s of children !!
Served 1,000 Pancake Breakfasts !!
Ale Trail Trail Record – 82 Passes & 14 T-Shirts Sold in one day event !!
Perfect Weather - Great Bands - Large and Happy Crowd !!

While the final results are not yet in, the net proceeds generated from the 2019 Peach Festival event will be well over $40,000. With the perfect weather and community interest in the Peach Festival, attendance was strong all day. We sold all the Peaches, we ran out of Peach Cobbler, we sold all the pancake breakfasts, we sold all the Peach Pies and Harry Mueller never got a minute to rest from continuously filling the Peach Margarita machines! Participating food vendors also reported strong food and beverage sales.

We received many positive comments from attendees who enjoyed the great music from the “Foxfeather”, “My Blue Sky” and “Pamala Machala” bands.

The Ale Trail and Foodie Trail booth was a very busy place as there was much interest in the Trail pass programs leading to record sale of Passes and T-shirts for a one day event: 82 Ale Trail Passes and 14 Ale Trail T-shirts.

We are pleased to be able to present a significant donation to Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County who will be receiving 30% of total net proceeds. Having such a well-known and respected beneficiary certainly helped to boost sponsorships. We are very grateful to all the 2019 Peach Festival Sponsors for their generous contributions and to the many generous Peach Festival vendors who contributed through discounts and in-kind donations. Overall, these contributions exceeded $85,000.

Thank you Fort Collins Peach Festival Major Donors !!

ANB Bank

Credit Union of Colorado

Banner Health

Village Inn Pancake House

Elevations Credit Union

Exodus Moving & Storage

Associates in Family Medicine

Brayden Automation

UC Health

Ed Carroll Motor

Brown & Brown

CopperPoint Insurance Companies

BBVA Compass Bank

Blue Federal Credit Union

CTL Thompson

Eye Center of Northern Colorado

Neenan

Pedersen Toyota

20/20 Vision

First Bank

State Farm Insurance

FOOTHILLS ROTARY VOLUNTEERS - We could not have done it without YOU!!

Thank you to the 70 Foothills Rotary Club members and spouses who covered 80 of the Peach Festival volunteer spots on August 17 for generously giving your time. We were able to staff all the volunteer spots with representatives from Rotary and other Community organizations. There was no need to hire outside staff.

THANK YOU FOOTHILLS ROTARY CLUB VOLUNTEERS!!

Michael Allen Doris Gisi Guy Mendt

Jim Barnett Rob Gray Rob Nelson

Artie Bavoso Kathe Haake Jacque Niedringhaus

Imran Bhimani Steve Haake Scott Niedringhaus

Emily Birdsall Deems Hargleroad Chris Otto

Brad Bischoff Bill Hart John Pfeiffenberger

Michael Brown Mike Hohl Lyn Pring

Pete Bullard Rob Holland Jeff Schoonover

Scott Bush Bruce & Lori Hottman Susan Stewart

Curtis Carlson Denise Juliana Garrett Tate

Chris Coley Dave Joyce Nancy Terry

Rich Cress Rip Knight Bobby Jo Tiede

Jennifer Cunningham Ilan Levy Greg Vossetieg

Annie Davies Vince Lubenow Andrea Walrath

John Davis Ed Lueck Laura Jo Washle

Carl Dierschow Ruth Lutes Wynne Washle

Sid Fahscholtz Janet Mabry Bryan Watkins

Mike Fassi Josh McClelland Robin Wick

Terry Fassi Christine McCloud Sue Wood

Dustin Fisher Gary McDonald Scott Woods

Mike Forney Carolyn McDonald Newt & Christy Wyler

Mick Garrett Abby McMahon Marge Yoder

At the end of the Peach Festival on August 17, Emily Birdsall noted that everything had gone perfectly with only very minor issues throughout the day – a much smoother experience than prior festivals. We would like to recognize the 2019 Fort Collins Peach Festival committee for their good work. Special recognition goes to Dave Haase, 2019 and 2020 Peach Festival Committee President, for great leadership in setting the vision and management framework, encouraging aggressive targets, making the hard decisions and always being there to ensure quick resolution of any issues.

Thank you Fort Collins Peach Festival Committee !!

David Haase, 2019 and 2020 Peach Festival President

Sid Fahsholtz, 2019 and 2020 Peach Festival Treasurer

Ann Bedient, President Fort Collins Rotary Breakfast Club

Emily Birdsall, Owner Jolly Events

Paul Birdsall, Fort Collins Rotary Club

Nathan Bush, Peach Festival Volunteer Staffing Chair

Ted Cluett, District 5440 Assistant Governor

Bill Emslie, President Rotary After Work

Tracey Emslie, Pancake Breakfast Committee Chair

Dustin Fisher, Foothills Rotary Club

Zak George, Fort Collins Rotary Club

Mike Hohl, President Foothills Rotary Club

Steve Laine, Past President Fort Collins Rotary Club

Ruth Lutes, Foothills Rotary Club

Robert Marschke, President Fort Collins Rotary Club

Harry Mueller, Fort Collins Rotary club

Phil Murphy, Past District 5440 Governor

Larry Salmen, Fort Collins Rotary Club

Gary Turner, Fort Collins Rotary Breakfast Club

Bob Waltermire, Past President Fort Collins Rotary Breakfast Club

Bryan Watkins, 5K Run Committee Chair

Fun at the Peach Festival

Peach Pies!

Fun at the Peach Festival

Trail Committee Update!

August was a really fun month! We launched the Foodie Trail on August 25^th. What a great party at Panhandlers! The club already has net sales of $2,000 for the Foodie Trail. The Ale Trail had a great August as well, we were at 3 events; New West Fest, Peach Festival, and Old Town Flats. Between the Ale Trail & Foodie Trail we have another $4,000 to give to our great charities!

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make these events successful. If you still need a Foodie Trail or Ale Trail gift card check with a committee member at our club meetings. Also, remind your friends to buy a Foodie Trail as well!

Cheers!

Community Service Committee Update

The Rotary Community Service Committee awarded four grants in the quarter ending June 30th. They were:

WomenGive - $1,000 award for childcare programs for single moms
Turning Point - $1,000 award for training for therapists and staff
Neighborhoods United - $500 for back to school backpacks
Hearts and Horses - $500 for scholarships for participants

The committee has a new chairperson, Annie Davies, CEO of United Way of Larimer County and who is very familiar with the Fort Collins non-profit community.

At the August meeting three grants were awarded to:

Children's Speech and Reading Center - award of $1,000 for assistance for low-income families to participate in the program.
SAVA (Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center) - award of $1,000 for increasing programming and services for youth.
Finally Home - award of $,1000 for Family Strengthening event for grandparents raising grandchildren.

Teacher of the Year Awards Luncheon

We are in planning for our Teacher of the Year Awards Luncheon. This year marks the 23rd annual Teachers of the Year Awards ceremony sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Fort Collins. The award was originated by the Fort Collins Club and the first year and was such a success that the Foothills and Breakfast clubs were invited to participate and have been involved ever since. Each year, schools through PSD are invited to nominate their choice of teacher to be honored as a Rotary teacher of the month. Each of the selected teachers, along with the school principal and guests, are invited to attend a meeting at one of the three Rotary Clubs where they can be honored for their outstanding contributions to their schools and community. At the end of the year, each club nominates one of the teachers to be a Teacher of the Year nominee. All of the Teachers of the Year nominees exemplify what it means to serve others through the giving of their time and talent beyond what is normally expected in their chosen profession.

Please join us on Tuesday, October 1^st at 11:30AM at the Marriott Fort Collins to help the Rotary Clubs of Fort Collins as we celebrate the amazing gift that our teachers give to our community.

10,000 Meals for McBackpack

On June 25th several members of the Evening Group went to an event put together by Generosity Feeds to create 10,000 meals. The event was held at Timberline Church and there were people from across the country that participate in Generosity Feeds events all summer. McBackpack was the recipient of the beans and rice meals. These meals will allow them to supplement what they usually provide to students in Poudre School District during the school year. Many thanks to all who participated.

Do you have something you would like to see included the newsletter?

Do you have content you would like to add to the newsletter? Is there something you would like to see added to the newsletter? If so, please contact Michelle Lahti at michellelahti@comcast.net. The newsletter is sent out at the beginning of every quarter. This is your newsletter so please provide feedback for what you would like to see included in it. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

Michelle Lahti

President

Mike Hohl

Secretary

Jenn Cuningham

Treasurer

Ruth Lutes

President Elect

Karen Morgan

Immediate Past President

Chris Coley

Rotary Foundation Chairperson

Bill Hart

Club Service Chairperson

Janet Mabry

International Service Chairperson

Kathe Haake

Evening Group Chairperson

Guy Mendt

President Elect Nominee

Sid Fahsholtz

Membership Chairperson

Doug DeMercurio

Public Relations Chairperson

Kelly Moll

Vocational Service Chairperson

Pete Thomas

Youth Services Chairperson

Nancy Terry

Director 2017-2020

Kathe Haake

Director 2017-2020

Kelly Moll

Director 2017-2020

Pete Thomas

Director 2018-2021

Dave Armstrong

Director 2018-2021

Nancy Terry

Director 2019-2022

Bill Hart

Director 2019-2022

Janet Mabry

Director 2019-2022

Guy Mendt