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Service Above Self
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We meet Tuesdays at 7:00 AM
The Other Side Restaurant
900 Moraine Ave
Estes Park, CO 80517
United States
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| Posted by Steve Mitchell on Apr 02, 2012
Score Another Victory
By Glenn D. Malpiede
In Llacamate, Peru, high in the Andes, there is a small community of approximately six hundred and fifty people that now has clean drinking water, instead of their usual bacteria-ridden water, traditionally drawn from the river. For this tiny community, clean drinking water means less disease and a better standard of living. Chalk one up for Rotary International and Engineers Without Borders – USA (EWB). In developing their ongoing relationship with EWB, Rotary International has cooperated with the organization to expand its efforts to provide potable water to many who would, otherwise, not be able to obtain this basic need on their own. Llacamate is the latest victory in this fight to assist those in need of this precious resource. This victory was made possible through the contributions of several Colorado chapters of Rotary International, Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary (Sunrise Rotary) being chief contributor among them, combined with grants from Rotary District 5440, obtained through the untiring efforts of Bruce Grant, past Director of Sunrise Rotary’s International Committee, and grants from other contributors, such as the University of Colorado, EWB itself and other engineering organizations. In January, as Director Elect of Sunrise Rotary’s International Committee, I was able to take a trip to Peru to observe first hand the wonderful work being done there, just in time for the completion of the Llacamate project. While there, I met with members of the local Rotary club that sponsored the project, Rotary Trujillo Sur, and also had the opportunity to work with the EWB Peru assessment team, comprised of three University of Colorado students and their mentor/advisor Robert “BJ” Urbiztondo. Together, we visited the site of the first Rotary-EWB joint water project in San Leon (to assess needed repairs), and also visited other potential sites for future joint Rotary-EWB projects. I also had the honor, along with the assessment team, of meeting with Ney Gamez Espinoza, the Mayor of the Municipality of Chao where Llacamate is located. We met to discuss the municipality’s provision of ongoing technical support to the community of Llacamate, once the project was finished. The Mayor committed to providing his full technical support to the community, through its own water department’s engineers. I also had the distinct honor of working with Rodrigo Cueva Escobedo, Rotary International’s Regional Governor of northern Peru. Both of us being business attorneys, he and I worked together to draft the document which empowered the community of Llacamate to take charge of the water project, supported by the Municipality of Chao. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Mar 04, 2012
WHAT MAKES A SUNRISE ROTARIAN?
What makes a Sunrise Rotarian? What makes a Sunrise Rotarian different than those who serve in other service clubs in Estes Park?
Formed in October 1987 to accommodate active, working professionals, Sunrise Rotary holds their meetings at 7 a.m. so their members can work their jobs and still serve their community.
Among its members are the Estes Park mayor and police chief, the superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Estes Park Medical Center administrator, and several town trustees. Dentists and lawyers are on the membership rolls, as are those who work in insurance, the building industry, real estate, photography, architecture, restaurants, banking, computers, hospitality, education, and sales, to name a few. The club also boasts an award-winning classic car owner and a trolley expert.
Women are a driving force in the club, making up more than 25% of its membership. They have served on all the club’s board positions and are the energy that makes many of the club’s fundraisers happen, such as Casino Night and the Memorial Day Arts and Craft Show.
Sunrise Rotary’s membership rolls wouldn’t be complete without its active and involved retirees, who bring a lifetime worth of experience to the club’s local and international projects. The passionate and involved membership raises the majority of its yearly funds in two fundraisers held in September, the Arts and Crafts Show and Autumn Gold.
In 2011, Sunrise Rotary took the money it raised and gave $55,800 to the Estes Park community, including $12,000 to help Crossroads Ministry purchase a walk-in freezer. The club has awarded 15 scholarships to local area high school students and devoted more than $10,000 in grants to the Learning Place, Estes Valley Investment in childhood Success (EVICS), Victims Advocates, Restorative Justice and the Estes Park schools.
In addition, the club has devoted funds and volunteer hours to the Annual Thanksgiving Day Feast, Bright Christmas, After Prom, and RYLA, the summer Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp at the YMCA. If you attend high school sports events, you’ll find Sunrise Rotarians collecting tickets and running the chain gang at football games.
Sunrise Rotary doesn’t limit its energy to local activities. In 2011 the club sponsored clean water projects in Peru and Nepal with the Colorado Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. The club also hosts Jose, a foreign exchange student from Chile and joins Rotary Clubs worldwide in fighting polio through Rotary International’s PolioPlus program.
If you want to be where the action’s at in Estes Park, Sunrise Rotary is your club. Contact a current member to find out how you can join. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Mar 04, 2012
Are Those Popeye's Guns, Jose?
Sunrise Exchange Student Jose shows off his guns with his fellow Estes Park High School classmates at the entrance to town. Did you borrow those biceps from Popeye?
 | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Oct 26, 2011
Sunrise Rotary Recognizes Sponsors At its Tuesday morning breakfast on October 18th, Sunrise Rotary recognized the individuals and business who donated $11,150 in sponsorships and the $10-12,000 in “in-kind” sponsorships for the club two major fundraisers—The Labor Day Arts and Crafts Show and Autumn Gold. For the first time, sponsors were able to support both events, resulting in $3,000 more sponsorships than last year. This unprecedented support allowed Sunrise Rotary to net $60,200 from the two events, a new record. “Estes Park is a great place because of the people,” said Mayor Bill Pinkham, who is also a Sunrise Rotarian. “People are always amazed by what we give back to the people.” The mayor hit the nail on the head. Sunrise Rotary turns around and gives the money it raises from the two events back to the community. “Last year we granted more than $54,000 to community non-profits,” said Sunrise Rotary President Carroll Mock. “This includes fifteen $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors.” In addition to sponsorships, the Labor Day Arts and Crafts Festival raises money from vendor fees while Autumn Gold relies on food and beverage sales and its popular raffle. This year, Phil Murphy, a Rotarian from Ft. Collins, won the grand prize of $5,000 while Cora Lewis, daughter of Sunrise Rotarian Ed Lewis, won the second prize of $2,500. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Sep 27, 2011
One of the Family Waving the red, white and blue Chilean flag, Karen and Mark Hall welcomed Chilean Rotary exchange student Jose into their lives on August 14th. From the day the 16-year-old young man arrived at Denver International Airport, Jose joined right in with the Halls’ normal daily activities like he was one of the family. “Hosting is nothing more than making room for one more in your household,” Karen said. The Halls found Jose a polite, friendly, quiet young man who sings and plays the guitar. He also enjoys golf, swimming and running the hurdles in track. “He has a great sense of humor and is willing to try anything,” Karen said. “His English is excellent.” The Halls had friends who had hosted exchange students and were intrigued about the idea of “experiencing another culture while, at the same time, sharing our own.” “This is an opportunity to experience Estes Park through a fresh set of eyes,” Karen said. Jose joins an active family with long-time connections to the Estes Park community. The Halls moved to Estes Park from Burleson, Texas in 1994. Mark’s family has lived in Estes Park since 1973 with ties going back to the 30s. “We wanted to give our boys the best possible childhood we could,” Karen said of their move to Colorado. Mark commutes to Niwot where he works for Ricoh while Karen is a self-employed personal assistant and an active member of Sunrise Rotary since 2010. Son TJ is a senior football player and swimmer at Estes Park High School, as well as president of the school’s Interact Club, a Rotary-sponsored club for community-minded youth. Older son Zak is now a sophomore at the University of Colorado studying engineering. “I’m proud to say I’m part of an organization that is focused on helping the people of Estes Park and the world,” Karen said. Not only is Jose a member of the Hall family, but he’s become a member of Sunrise Rotary’s extended family, coming to the club’s Tuesday morning meetings and reporting on his week’s experiences. “Estes Park is so peaceful and relaxing. Everyone is so friendly,” Jose told Sunrise Rotary on September 6th. “I love this town and its huge landscape.” Do you have an interest in hosting an exchange student? If so, please contact Joe Ardito, Sunrise Rotary Youth Chair, at joseph_ardito@yahoo.com. Joe will answer or address any of your questions or concerns. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Jul 15, 2011
Stick Horse Ponies Win Marching Prize Congratulations to Sunrise Rotary. We got first place in our category (marching). Thanks again to everyone who helped out. It was a beautiful day and great PR for our club. On days like that I am reminded of what a great club we have and how lucky and proud I am to be a part of it. Thanks. P.S. If you know Terry Joseph, Trisha Wills, Elizabeth Repola, or Jane Mcafee, please thank them for there participation in helping out the Stick Horse Brigade. They are not Rotarians but they helped us out a lot. Karla Van Drie | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Jun 29, 2011
A Year of Accomplishments When one looks back at Sunrise Rotary’s 2010-2011 year, the list of accomplishments jumps out. The club netted more than $50,000 from two fall events—the Labor Day Arts and Crafts Fair and Autumn Gold—and gave away nearly all the money it raised. Outgoing President Harriette Woodard pointed to the bottom line. “We gave $55,800 to the Estes Park community this year,” Woodard said. “We raised more money than ever before.” The club has always focused on supporting Estes Park youth, so it is not surprising that Sunrise Rotary gave $1,000 scholarships to 15 Estes Park High School graduates this spring. In addition, the club sponsored Casino Night, which raised $5,000 for the BAC’ers club to support high school and middle school sports. Last month, Sunrise Rotary devoted more than $10,000 in operating grants to the Learning Place, Estes Valley Investment in Childhood Success (EVICS), Victims Advocates, Restorative Justice and money for technology for the Estes Park schools. Sunrise Rotary chose Crossroads Ministries for its capital grant, donating $12,000 to help purchase a walk-in freezer. “Some people think the mountains are the most spectacular thing about Estes Park,” said Crossroads Executive Director Virgil Good. “I think it’s the people. You really care about your neighbors and friends.” For its service to the community, Sunrise Rotary received the Presidential Citation from Rotary International for 2010-2011 for achievements in all categories. In addition to money, the membership gave their valuable time to Estes Park. The community service team under the leadership of Vaughan Baker manned the ticket booths at the high school football and basketball games and donated money to the Thanksgiving Day Feast, Bright Christmas and the Youth Center, as well as a bench to the Middle School. The international committee under the leadership of Wes Kufeld and Bruce Grant supported water projects in Peru and Nepal and is forming a partnership with Eagle Rock to work with students from an Indian reservation. Sunrise Rotary would not be successful without an active, involved membership. Woodard said the club gained 18 new members this year, the largest number of new members since the club was chartered in 1987. Membership chairman Don Darling said, “We had a stellar year. The membership of this club gives us life.” At the passing the gavel ceremony on June 9 at the Crags Lodge, the club recognized many of its hardworking members. Marcy Predmore received the Service Above Self Award for her untiring efforts with the Estes Park High School Interact Club and David White received the Quiet Rotarian award for his steady work behind the scenes. As a thank you, Sunrise Rotary presented both members with Paul Harris Fellowships. The club recognized Tony Bielat and Sandy Begley, two relatively new members who have taken leadership roles in the club, as co-winners of the Rotarian of the Year award. Bielat and David Krumme spearheaded the club’s use of Clubrunner while Begley took on the role of club treasurer where she made significant changes. Sunrise Rotary is excited about the upcoming year. Joe Ardito has revived the dormant youth exchange program, which is expecting an exchange student from Chile. Hunter Schumaker is the club’s outbound student to Taiwan. This year club members Karla Van Drie and Linda Hardin hosted Maira, the Rotary Club of Estes Park’s exchange student from Brazil. She soon became a favorite at Sunrise Rotary’s Tuesday morning meetings. Sunrise Rotary is looking forward to another successful year under the leadership of incoming President Carroll Mock. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Jun 03, 2011
SUNRISE ROTARY FUNDS GRANTS How can Sunrise Rotary best help local nonprofit organizations in Estes Park? Last year Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary raised significant money from its Labor Day Arts & Crafts Festival and Autumn Gold Festival fundraisers, so President Harriette Woodard formed an allocation committee that distributed $24,836 to local organizations. The committee divided the allocation process into three parts: a capital grant with an award of $10,000, community operational grants worth $1,000 to $2,000, and individual grants from club members up to $200 to a qualifying non-profit organization in the community, which Sunrise Rotary would match. The Sunrise Rotary committee recognized an urgent need at Crossroads Ministries, so it donated $12,000 for the purchase of a walk-in freezer. In addition, the committee donated $10,236.80 to fund four community nonprofits and three Park School District R-3 projects. They included financial need scholarships for the Estes Valley Learning Place and the Estes Valley Investment in Childhood Success (EVICS), youth materials and programming for the Estes Valley Victim Advocates and conference attendance for the Estes Valley Restorative Justice Partnership. Recognizing the importance of technology in our local schools, Sunrise Rotary provided funds to the Estes Park High and Middle School Choirs to purchase a video camera to record performances. In addition, Sunrise Rotary gave money to the school’s science department for microscope repair and the technology department to buy two digital still cameras and two GPS units. Woodard challenged each Sunrise Rotary member to donate up to $200 to a nonprofit organization of their choice. The club would then match the member’s donation. Many members stepped to the plate, resulting in Sunrise Rotary matching donations of $2,600 to Restorative Justice, Harmony Foundation, Crossroads Ministries, Salud Clinic, Healing Waters, Rocky Mountain Nature Association, the Rotary Foundation, the Estes Valley Library Foundation, Bright Christmas, Partners Mentoring and the Estes Valley Land Trust. These grants allocations are in addition to the $15,000 in scholarships Sunrise Rotary gave to 15 Estes Park High School graduating seniors last May. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on May 31, 2011
SUNRISE ROTARY PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIPS Sunrise Rotary presented 15 scholarships to Estes Park High School graduates at the Scholarship Ceremony held at the Estes Park High School Auditorium. Kristi Faraguna, Harriette Woodard and Marcy Predmore gave $1,000 scholarships to Courtney Frasier, Kyra Stark, Audra Sherman, Caroline Miller, Summer Barney, Lesha Moody, Lauren Molle, Torrey Slininger, Daniel Rojas, John Oja, Brendin Perez, Zach Eitzen, Dustin Hays, Jacob Westley and Justin Wahler. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Apr 27, 2011
CLEAN WATER FOR A PERU VILLAGE A glass of clean drinking water seems like such a simple thing. But for the village of Llacamate, a community of 32 families sprawled across the steep mountainous gorges of the coastal foothills in northwestern Peru, clean water is but a dream. Families collect their drinking water from an open ditch that runs through the community. Animals walk through it and drink from it. There’s no electricity, one latrine at the school and very little health care in the village. It’s no surprise that fecal matter contaminates the water and sickens the children with cholera and diarrhea. Estes Park Sunrise Rotary had helped with the San Leon Water Project and was now eager to fund the CU Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) on another project. According to Sunrise Rotarian Bruce Grant, a driving force behind the club’s clean water efforts, Sunrise Rotary supplied $5,000 of the $30,000 grant for the Llacamate project. Thanks to Grant’s untiring efforts, EWB has formed an alliance with Rotary International’s Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG) to fund even more projects. Because Llacamate is located on precipitous hillsides at the same elevation as Estes Park, the team decided to use the village’s steep landscape to their advantage. They designed a gravity fed water system with a catchment box high on the hillside to capture pristine water. The water flows downhill three miles through high density polyethylene (HDPE) piping across two cable hydraulic crossings to a break pressure tank that spills into a water reservoir. From the reservoir, the water travels through 1.8 miles of distribution lines to simple taps, or piletas, outside each home in the village. The team of CU college students, mentors and professionals made several trips to Peru in 2008 and 2009 to find a water source, map the distribution system and design the spring catchment and reservoirs. They began the construction of the spring catchment tank and transmission line piping in the summer of 2010, and returned in December to build the break pressure tank, complete the transmission line, and construct the household piletas and distribution line piping. Team members worked alongside the villagers constructing the system, but the steep landscape made the work challenging. “We had to hike one hour to the location of the break tank,” said team member John Usery. “Donkeys and wagons carried the concrete.” This May, the team will return to construct the reservoir system and test the system. Two monitoring and evaluation trips will follow, with the team hoping to complete the project in 2012. “We have a five year community commitment,” Schmeisser said. “We go back to make sure it’s still working.” Not surprisingly, the team faced many challenges with this long distance project. “It is very difficult working on a project in a different country, especially when we can't communicate with the village via telephone or email, since they do not have electricity,” Schmeisser said. The main supporting member of the project is the Chao municipality, the government entity that oversees Llacamate. Chao provides local technical assistance, project supervision, transportation of personnel and materials, partial funding for materials, construction of the river crossing, and serves as a communication liaison between the EWB-CU team and Llacamate. “The mayor sometimes takes our EWB team up to Llacamate in his personal truck,” Schmeisser said. In addition, the team relied on the Rotary Trujillo-Sur Club for living arrangements and logistics. Rotary members handled the team’s Peruvian bank account, helped purchased materials and provided transportation to the isolated mountain community. To ensure that the water system will continue to work after the team has left, they set up a water committee composed of at least one member from each household in Llacamate. The committee sets costs and responsibilities, monitors the system once it is running, and collects fees from the families. Schmeisser said that all families must help construct the water system and pay a monthly fee of two dollars in order to receive water. “If a family is not paying the water fee, the water committee has the ability to shut off water flow to that household,” Schmeisser said. Working with the community was challenging, but the students brought away an experience of a lifetime. “I only have wonderful things to say about working in the community,” Schmeisser said. “Not only is it a beautiful location, but the people that live there are amazing.” The EWB CU Peru project won the EWB-USA Outstanding Project Award for 2011, making it one of the top eight projects out of 350 EWB projects worldwide. For the villagers of Llacamate, their dream for clean water is becoming a reality. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Mar 24, 2011
SUNRISE ROTARY PRESENTS $5,000 TO BAC'ERS Sunrise Rotary President Harriette Woodard presents a $5,000 check to Corey Pass to benefit the Estes Park BAC’ers Club. Sunrise Rotary raised the money at its annual Casino Night fundraiser on January 29, 2011. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Feb 01, 2011
Casino Night a Big Success Bobcat coaches, faculty, and parents joined members of the community Saturday, January 29, for the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary's Casino Night. The entertaining event raised more than $5,000 for the BACERs, the Estes Park Bobcat Athletic Club. When they walked in the door, each person was handed “free” chips to play Texas hold ‘em, blackjack, craps and roulette, but it wasn’t real cash. All the money raised was through sponsorships and contributions, including the raffling of gift baskets. “I’m thrilled the community came together to support Estes Park kids,” said Harriette Woodard, president of Sunrise Rotary. The club estimated more than 150 people attended the event. One of the highlights of the evening was the exciting horse races. Many of the ladies wore their fanciest “Kentucky Derby” hats for the occasion. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Jan 27, 2011
Your Foundation at Work Your Sunrise Rotary Foundation awards one year scholarships worth $1,000 to Estes Park High School students each year. Last year, the club gave $15,000 to deserving students with another $3,500 distributed from a previous year. Once they receive applications this April, the Foundation Board must make tough decisions. In the past, the club directed scholarships to students attending vocational schools. “This year we’re focused more on the kids rather than where they’re going,” said Board President Kristi Faraguna. “Community service and Interact will be major criteria.” Faraguna admitted that with college tuition reaching $6-8,000 a year, the $1,000 scholarship doesn’t go very far. “At this point the scholarship is recognition,” Faraguna said. She said that the Board will discuss whether to give larger scholarships in the future. Members of the Foundation Board are President Kristi Faraguna, Vice-President Marcy Predmore, Treasurer Don Darling, Secretary Jane Schoen, Director Chuck Levine, Director Bob Alexander, Director Carroll Mock and ex-officio members Sandy Begley and Harriette Woodard. | | Posted by Steve Mitchell on Dec 09, 2010
Become a Paul Harris FellowCongratulations to go to Richard Visintainer, Tim Hull and Harriette Woodard, Sunrise Rotary’s newest Paul Harris Fellows. They join 22 Paul Harris Fellows in the club, nearly one-third of our membership. To become a Paul Harris Fellow, a Sunrise Rotary member must donate $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation. With an additional gift of $1,000, donors may also recognize their spouse or relative as Paul Harris Fellows. Each new Paul Harris Fellow receives a commemorative certificate and a pin. Many members donate $100 a year until they meet their goal, thus becoming Paul Harris Sustaining members. You contribution provides polio vaccines to children through PolioPlus. Help eradicate polio forever through your generous contribution. For more information about how to become a Paul Harris Fellow, contact Eric Blackhurst or Secretary Norm Love. | | Posted by Tony Bielat on Dec 02, 2010
10th ANNUAL ESTES PARK THANKSGIVING GATHERING AND FEAST
Estes Park Mayor Bill Pinkham recognizes Steve Misch and Larraine Darling for their leadership in organizing and executing 10 annual Thanksgiving Community Gatherings and Feasts. How many Sunrise Rotarians can you spot in this video? Click more to see the video.
| | Posted by Steve Mitchell
SUCCESSFUL AUTUMN GOLD FESTIVAL A sun-splashed weekend provided the perfect backdrop for another successful Autumn Gold fundraiser for Sunrise Rotary on September 25-26, 2010. Autumn Gold Chair Bruce Johnston and his wife Sally thanked the club for its participation. “We put the ball on the T,” Johnston said. “You stepped up and hit it.” Sunrise Rotary members gave Bruce and Sally a standing ovation for a job well done. Steve Misch said the event raised $23,000 from sponsorships and ticket sales and more than $24,600 from food and beverages. Misch will have the final figures once the bills are paid. Local favorite Marsha Sypher won the $5,000 first prize from the raffle drawing while Interact member Peter Van Horn won the second prize of $2,500. Marcy Predmore said the Estes Park High School Interact Club raised more than $200 from their pie throwing booth and bean bag toss. They also erected and displayed a Shelter Box. 
| | Posted by Steve Mitchell
LABOR DAY ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW Wind gusts didn’t dampen the success of Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary’s Labor Day Arts and Crafts show. More than 45 Rotarians volunteered to support 111 vendors over the long weekend, and held onto their tents for dear life when the wind whipped through Bond Park on Monday afternoon. “Wind gusts on Monday caused us to shut down three hours early,” said Jane Schoen, one of the event’s organizers. “But overall vendors were very pleased.” Schoen said that the club grossed nearly $34,000 from the event. After expenses, the club netted about $29,000 that will fund youth scholarships and other local and international projects. This is the second year that the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary has sponsored the Labor Day Arts & Craft Show, a fixture in downtown Bond Park for decades. |
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