Roberta Miller accepted the $1500 check on behalf of Carroll Miller who held the lucky ticket for the winning golf ball. Congratulations Carroll and Roberta Miller!

Hope Cassidy introduced our guest speaker this week who was Jim Dougherty who is a retired school counselor. Jim and his wife have dedicated much of their time during retirement to working on schools, water, and latrine projects in Honduras. Money contributed by our club helped fund a portion of Jim's latest project which was the construction of a school in a small village named Union Cedral Honduras. Union Cedral is a rural mountain village located about 20 miles from a larger city named Copan.

The project to build a school in Union Cedral became a priority because the village was currently using two very small buildings to accommodate nearly 120 students. Construction supplies and materials were very difficult to come by and transport because the roads leading to Union Cedral from Copan are built through very rugged terrain making the trip take nearly 2 hours normally and impassable most of the time in the rainy season. The funding from this project came from a coordinated joint effort from Centennial Rotary and Simple Suppers For Kids. Centennial Rotary provided funding for everything that would go inside of the school including desks and school supplies as well as efforts to restore an outdoor bathroom. Simple Suppers For Kids provided funding to construct the building and outer walls. Most of the labor came at no cost because many of the locals were happy to help considering the benefit it would be to their small community. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of Simple Suppers, Greeley Rotary, Jim's family, and many of the local farmers, the students of Union Cedral not only have a clean and sturdy place to meet but many school supplies to aid in their education.

Robert Wideman spoke of his experiences as an Air Force pilot after being shot down over North Viet Nam.  He spent 6 years in the Hanoi Hilton.  He shared this experience of ejecting out of his plane and the injuries and pain of that experience and then being captured by the Viet Cong and transfered to Hanoi.  The initial torture was the worst which he described in some detail.  He said that his last three years there he was treated fairly humanely.  He also shared how hard it was on his parents to not know what was happening to him once they discovered where he was 3 mos. after his capture.  When he returned home, they had aged a lot from worrying about his safety.  It was an excellent presentation.  He went through a lot for all of us.

Fred Brown presented blue badges to Loren Wright and Laurie Beamer at last Thursday's meeting.

Sheriff John Cook presenting the Service Above Self award to Deputy Keith Stephens.

Melissa Gattis, controller at Anderson Business Resources, was inducted into our club on Thursday, May 2nd.  Melissa is the chairperson of the Greeley Young Professionals group and is the daughter of long time Greeley Centennial Rotary member, Scott Gattis.  If you don't already know Melissa, please introduce yourself at our next meeting.

Haley Alberts is our student of the month. She has been actively involved in Interact as an officer, assisting with Trick or Treat Street and the Big Give. She is an outstanding student who represents Greeley West in the community and on the tennis court. She is a positive role model and a kind-hearted person. She’s one of Rachel Hammer’s right hand women who she can trust to get any job done.

Kelly Longacre is our teacher of the month. Kelly has been in education for 16 years, 11 of those in District 6. He is the Agriculture teacher and program director. His involvement in state and national chapters of FFA is to be commended, as his chapter is one of the top ten in the state. Monday he’ll take forty of his students to a state competition at CSU. Nine of his students received their state degree, which is an amazing feat. Kelly’s program is responsible for providing the animals and their care to the Centennial Village museum  for the city of Greeley. Kelly will take students to nationals via road trip to Kentucky in the fall where they’ll include a college visit to the University of Madison along the way. Kelly is a Spartan through and through who makes educating students (who look up to him) his top priority.

Eric Fiedler of Pioneer Press was inducted into Centennial Rotary at our last meeting. Eric works in the sales department at Pioneer Press. Please give Eric a warm welcome when you see him at our next meeting.

This dedication ceremony is one of the physical and permanent ways that our club can honor the goal of Peace Through Service.  Following the Four Way Test in your family, your business and in your relationships throughout the community is the invisible and best way to spread Peace.

History of the Peace Pole: By Karoline Woodruff

A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth," usually in a different language on each side.  The message is referred to as a peace prayer but is not specific to any religion, rather universal to all.  The Peace Pole Project was started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who dedicated his life to spreading the message of peace, in response to the bombings on Hiroshima.

Sine then, more than 200,000 poles have been placed around the world, in over 180 countries on all continents to promote a Culture of Peace.

Peace-Lovers of all faiths have been involved in Peace Pole dedications, including the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, and Coretta Scott King, as well as presidents, mayors, and citizens around the world.

They are in simple places, such as gardens, schools, churches, mosques and synagogues, and extraordinary ones, such as at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Mount Everest and the Headquarters of the United Nations.  They are promoting healing of conflict in places like the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the border between Israel and Jordan and Ground Zero in New York.

By planting a Peace Pole in our community, we are linking with people all over the world who have done so in the same spirit of peace.

We were excited to meet Fer's familly last week at our meeting.  Pictured here is her father, Pepe, her mother, Cukis, their exchange student from Finland, Nora,  her sister, Lili and Fer.

Mike Oaks introduced 3 of the Greeley West Interact club members to us during our April 18th meeting. We were fortunate to hear an update on what the Interact club has accomplished during the last year from co-presidents Andrew Brown and Carley Damgaard along with secretary Alyssa Sheppard. Interact is a Rotary International Service Club designed for young adults ages 12 to 18 years of age and are supported by individual Rotary clubs. With over 200,000 self-governed members, each club completes at least two projects every year.

The Greeley West Interact club has accomplished so much in the past school year and have plans to extend that service through the remaining semester. The largest project that Interact completed this past year was a food drive to prepare and deliver full boxes of Thanksgiving meals to families in need. The club was able to deliver over 100 full boxes of food which consisted of 100 turkeys, 118 cans of gravy, and 374 cans of corn. Because of generous donations from King Supers and our club, Interact was able to purchase more than enough food and have leftover meals that they delivered to the local firehouses and other non-profit organizations in the community.

Interact has participated in many other events including a safe trick-or-treat event for local children inside of the school building that was complete with a haunted house and scary movies with popcorn. We are lucky to have such a large (55 members) and passionate Interact club that has raised so much money for different causes as well as assisting our club in selling golf ball drop tickets.

Michael Fitzsimmons has completed all of the requirements to exchange his red badge in for a blue badge. Congratulations to Michael!

Our speaker for our April 4th meeting was Joey Guerra who is a professional mixed martial arts fighter for the Kickdown Promotion in Denver. Joey is a prime example of somebody who has battled adversity and made his own success through hard work, determination, and faith.

Joey was raised by his single mother in the Denver area. He was blessed with tremendous athletic ability which lead to him receiving a scholarship to play football for the United States Air Force Academy. During his senior year of high school, Joey found himself in a fight which resulted in him losing his football scholarship. He ended up playing football for Sterling College which is a Christian school in Kansas. During his short college football career, Joey broke his neck playing which turned out to be an injury that would end his career. Joey still had the desire to compete so he began fighting and has climbed his way to light-weight champion in his promotion. He is now the highest paid athlete in the Kickdown Promotion. We appreciate Joey sharing his experience with us and we wish him success in the future.

Zach Armstrong is being recognized as this month’s Teacher of the Month. He is a spunky science teacher who has been integrating new technology into his classroom here at Greeley West. He taught teachers and staff about using their smart phone for informal assessments and class activities that would engage all learners. He will co-teach professional development sessions this summer for other district teachers who will benefit from his knowledge of and use of the latest technology. He assisted with the musical “Singing in the Rain,” which was a success. In his spare time (haha) he teaches for Engage Online Academy, an online school within our district. On a side note, Zach recently became a new father to a baby boy named Linus.

Our "Student of the Month" this month is Lindsay Dalton who is a junior at Greeley West. Lidnsay juggles IB and many aspects of music, including the jazz and Dixieland bands, All-state choir, and orchestra where she plays the violin. She is also an amazing pianist which is guiding her toward her college goal of majoring in piano performance. She has enjoyed playing in the pit for the numerous plays at West and also is an accomplished writer. During her free time, Lindsay helps with Relay for Life. Lindsay is able to handle all of these tasks while remaining number one in her class.

The Dugan Scholar of the month for March was Greeley West student, Joel Knepper.  Joel is an outstanding student and dedicated to academia.  He is in the international baccalaureate program and is currently number one in his class.  He is President of the Technology Student Association and has designed his own website and taught himself how to write html code.   He is also involved in Interact, National Honor Society, RYLA and the Greeley All City Band.  He was previously captain of the forensics team. 

Joel enjoys working with people.  He volunteers at Grace Point teaching the residents how to use computers and the Internet.  Joel also volunteers as a tutor and at the Boys and Girls Club.  He currently serves on the Cache Bank and Trust Junior Board of Directors.  After graduation Joel is interested in bio-medical engineering, which will allow him to help deserving people achieve their dreams.  He has been accepted to Columbia University, Colorado School of Mines and University of Colorado in Boulder. 

Past president Tom Miller received a Paul Harris award. Tom is now a Paul Harris Fellow +6.

Lynn Miller also received a Paul Harris Award which makes her a Paul Harris Fellow +1.

Thomas William Ruggles received his first Paul Harris Award.

Joe Laporta introduced our newest member Kylene Baker. Kylene works with Alpha Graphics who is a local printer who specializes in print projects, design, and graphics. Please take a moment at the next meeting to introduce yourself if you have not done so already.

Our Better Schools Better Community Greeley West Teacher of the Month for March is Brian Holmes. Some of your may remember Brain…this is his second Better Schools Better Community Teacher of the Month award. The first was presented almost 5 years ago in April of 2008. Brian is a dynamic health teacher who teaches students not just about the birds and the bees, but also about life. He sets a positive example and is many student’s favorite teacher, because they know he cares about them and wants success for all. He is Greeley West’s baseball coach and is interning with the administrators as a dean of students, working on his principal’s license. Brian pitches in (no pun intended) when there is a need in our school, even when it’s beyond the school day. He seeks to make West a better place for all. Congratulations Mr. Holmes!

Our Better Schools Better Community Greeley West Student of the Month for March is Addison Vergara. Addison is a junior at West and is being recognized as the student of the month for his investment in community service through his school and community. Addison is involved in Interact and was an amazing leader for the Thanksgiving Big Give which provided families in Greeley with meals. He completes service projects through his church by cleaning yards, volunteering at the Guadalupe shelter, and involvement in food drives. He is a Spartan football player who exhibits exceptional character on and off the field. Addison takes his schooling seriously and is deserving of this award because of being such an outstanding young man at Greeley West. Congratulations Addision!

Our Dugan Scholar of the month for March is Nicole Haug from Greeley Central High School.

Roseann Guyette sponsored Lorrie Beamer who is the owner/operator of Skin Transformations here in Greeley. Lorrie specializes in permanent makeup, medical esthetics, and hair services.

Michael Fitzsimmons sponsored Jim Rush who works with Bonell Good Samaritan in Greeley.

Fred Brown combined a joint effort to sponsor Blaine Breit who works with Weld County Garage in their commercial fleet sales.

Please take a minute to introduce yourself and give our new members a warm welcome at the next meeting.

By Daniela Garcia 
Rotary News -- 16 January 2013 

A polio-free India is proof that Rotary is able to tackle the world’s most difficult health challenges, according to Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration at the World Health Organization (WHO).  

Addressing the 2013 International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA, Aylward praised Rotary’s work in bringing the world to the threshold of polio eradication, but reminded the incoming district governors that it will take their leadership to complete the job.

Aylward referred to the recent killing of health workers in Pakistan and said that WHO is working to leverage its broad support in the Islamic community to provide safety for volunteers and aid workers. 

“The eradication program is continuously being put back on track,” he said. “I can assure you that just as we have regrouped and restrategized before, we will continue to do so in Pakistan.” 

Discussing the successes of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — in which Rotary and WHO collaborate with UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Aylward cited India, which has not had a reported case of polio in two years. In February, WHO removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries, disproving the experts who had maintained that polio could not be eradicated there. And if continuing tests of polio cases recorded through 13 January continue to yield negative results, WHO will declare that India has interrupted transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus for the second consecutive year.  

Polio remains endemic in only three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. But because nonendemic countries remain at risk for cases imported from those three, immunization must continue everywhere to ensure that polio is eradicated worldwide. 

Rotary’s chief responsibilities in GPEI include advocacy, an increasingly important role in this latter stage of the campaign. In addition to contributing more than US$1 billion to the initiative since 1985, Rotary has helped solicit over $9 billion in support from donor governments. Such advocacy is crucial to finishing the job, as GPEI faces a funding gap of $700 million this year. 

Aylward emphasized that polio eradication is well within reach, and urged Rotarians to work together to reach that goal. 

“You have been given the greatest opportunity in history to end this disease,” Aylward said. “We can only finish with Rotary's leadership.”

Dr. Arnold Burron, who has been a professor of education at UNC for 29 years, presented his findings on stress and how it directly affects our bodies. Dr. Burron is known for his work as a host for "General Issues" talk radio program in the metro Denver market. He has also been a frequent and repeat guest on local, regional, and national radio and television shows. The topics covered on these programs as well as other books he has written are parenting, parent's and teacher's rights in public schools, and other educational issues.

Dr. Burron gave many real life examples of people who physically suffered greatly as a result of high amounts of stress. One example he used was Roger Maris who began to zero in on Babe Ruth's single season home run record and eventually broke that record by one home run. Maris described that season as one of the worst experiences of his life as he became violently ill and his hair began to fall out. Dr. Burron presented many techniques from his book to reduce stress and minimize it's affects. We appreciate Dr. Burron for his time and extensive knowledge on the topic.

Dr Mendoza will be in Greeley for the Simple Supper program the evening of February 19, and all are invited to attend that no cost soup supper and hear her story.

Centennial Rotary World Community Service committee will host her at 7:00 AM on the 19th at Hope Therapy and Pool Center located at 2780 28th Ave. All who are interested in visiting with this wonderful humanitarian and would like the opportunity to directly interact with her, are invited to attend. Enter the Hope Center via the north door and precede upstairs to the boardroom.

Mike Stieb is being recognized as our teacher of the month. He came to West in 2011 from Heath Middle School. He has served our district for thirteen years. Mike is a Physical Education teacher and coach who motivates and encourages students in and out of the classroom. He brings reading, writing, and math to life through PE. He is a positive role model who pushes students to exceed expectations, as he exceeds the expectations given to him.

Alexis Badial is our Greeley West’s student of the month. She shows outstanding leadership in her school and community. She is heavily involved in Interact, and she helped lead the charge to do Trick-or-Treat Street, a safe Halloween event for kids. Decorating the rooms, recruiting other school clubs to sponsor hallways, getting candy to hand out, and setting up for the evening was what she was in charge of conducting. She also played an integral role in the Thanksgiving Big Give, an initiative to provide local families with a Thanksgiving meal box comprised of donated food from classes. From the marketing to the packing of boxes to the deliveries, Alexis was part of the action. She academically excels in AP courses, and succeeds on the basketball court too. Alexis Badial is one of West’s finest and most deserving of this recognition.

The primary speaker for the meeting was introduced by Pastor Greg Ellard of the Presbyterian Church.  Pastor Ellard introduced Vanna In, who is a Vietnamese man who came to the United States as a refugee with his family. Vanna grew up in an abusive family with very little money. When he was very young Vanna and his family moved to Fresno, California where he experienced a great deal of racial discrimination leaving him contstanty trying to find a place to belong. Vanna found an Asian gang that not only accepted him but also gave him an avenue to generate more money.

After a life of crime and incarceration Vanna found Christianity which quickly turned his life around. With the help of a program that assisted ex-felons, Vanna landed a job which allowed him the opportunity to turn his life around and become a productive citizen. Through hard work and assistance from the program in Fresno, Vanna was able to get his master's degree from a seminary and recently moved to Colorado at the request of Pastor Ellard. The goal pastor Ellard and Vanna have set out to achieve is to develop a program in Greeley just like the program in Fresno that allowed Vanna to become the person he is today. Jobs of Hope is a non-profit designed to help young people who want to leave the "gang life" and land a job that generates legal income.  Vanna helps the young adults see their potential and then tutors them in the concepts and skills necessary to get and keep a job allowing them the ability to support their families.  Vanna's ultimate goal is to give back the opportunity that was given to him.  The Fresno program has helped to change over 2,000 young men and some women over the last 20 years and boasts an 85% success rate. Our best wishes to Pastor Ellard and Vanna In and the success of their program in Greeley.

Sheriff Cook introduced corrections officer Josh Todd for the public service award named for a fallen officer.   Josh started a program to train officers to deal with surprise attacks.  The training program required that officers be able to defend against an attacker for at least two minutes.  Josh also started a program in the schools to teach kids how to identify and protect themselves against potential kidnappers.  Officer Todd has special training to deal with mentally ill prisoners and specific training for managing female inmates as well.  Officer Todd is a huge asset to both the corrections system and sheriff's department. 

Student of the month for January 2013 is Brennan Hettinger from Day Sping.  Brennan taught himself computer programming and often times helps his teachers with their computer problems. Brennan completed a two story press box for his school that cost over $13,000 and was entireley funded by money he raised. The press box project was the final requirement to achieving his Eagle Scout award. Brennan is also a swimmer and has managed to maintain a grade point average of more than  4.0.  His teacher described him with one word... "Servant."

The Student of the month for December 2012 was Garrett Cole from University High School.  Garrett is president of the National Honor Society, holds a student government office, has a GPA well above a 4.0, and is a State Champion 

track star. Garret would like to persue a career in graphic design after graduating from high school.

Scott Gattis received his first Paul Harris recognizing $1,000.00 in giving to the Rotary International Foundation.

Greeley Centennial Rotary honored Adiam Tesfaselassie on January 17th as our Greeley West High School student of the month for January.  Adiam is a shining example of the quality of students who attend Greeley West.   

Greeley Centennial Rotary honored Cindy DeVinny as our Greeley West High School teacher of the month for January. 

4 Paul Harris recipients, The Brown Family, pictured below with President Tanaka at the luncheon in Fort Collins on January 4th.  Fred Brown presented his wife, Barb, and children Andrew and Allison, each with a Paul Harris and Fred himself completed a Paul Harris +3.  Congratulations!

Thank you to all of the members who were able to attend the Rotary International President's Luncheon earlier this month.  Rotary International President, Sakuji Tanaka, gave an inspiring message on peace through service.  Please enjoy the photos below taken by Marlin Frank.

Dennis Oberhelman receiving his Paul Harris Plus 1 Pin signifying $2,000.00 level in the RI Foundation.

Kathy Van Soest  received her very first Paul Harris recognizing $1,000.00 in giving to the Rotary International Foundation.

Amberly Pitts, our outbound exchange student this past year, gave a wonderful presentation about her year in Taiwan at our meeting last week.

Mason Sedlacek was recognized last week as the Student of the Month and Mr. Chad Clark was recognized as the Greeley West Teacher of the Month.  Both of these outstanding individuals make Greeley West what it is today!

Alyssa Shepherd is our Greeley West Dugan Scholar of the Month for November.  Alyssa has an impressive resume from volunteering in her community to her many accomplishments at Greeley West High School.  Alyssa serves on the Cache Bank and Trust Junior Board, volunteers at the Weld Food Bank, in is Interact Club, Key Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Honor Society.  Alyssa's volunteer commitments range from delivering turkeys to 100 families each year in Greeley to creating her own volunteer venture at Fair Acres Manor Nursing home.  Alyssa plans birthday parties for the residents at Fair Acres including buying each of them a personalized birthday card, ordering them a cake, coordinating the entertainment and purchase a small gift, all with her own money.  She has taken several out of state mission trips, all while participating in track, band and being one of the top students academically in her class. 

Alyssa is one of four students chosen to attend AIMS Community College and participate in a medical prep program.  Through this program she will earn her nurse assistant certification.  She would like to become a pharmacist after graduation from high school and plans to attend UNC or CSU after graduation.  Congratulations to Alyssa for all of her many accomplishments!

Ten Ning and Tom Dunn visited the Centers from 107-10/11 that they and Starfish One by One are supporting in a project.  They visited with much of the staff, mentors and students, as well as Rotarians in two clubs.  Tom was also presented with a flag by the Eclub in Panajachel while on his trip.  The last photo is taken at the home of Metropoli RC in Guatemala City, our partner club in the grant.  Tom enjoyed a nice dinner with them.

Val Southworth is our October Teacher of the Month.  Ms. Southworth is new to the Greeley West faculty. She teaches Special Education. She has jumped in with both feet and is helping to revamp programs for students with special needs. She has been going above and beyond in supporting her students in extracurricular activities. She’s originally from Idaho (a Boise State grad) but has been in Colorado for the past seven years. Greeley West is lucky to have her expertise and dedication.

Joaquin Herrera is our Student of the Month for October.  He is a compassionate, confident young man. He seeks to help others in need. He exhibits Spartan pride in class, and is not afraid to speak up for the underdog. Recently he was seen encouraging a student with disabilities in his PE class. He includes everyone and values sportsmanship and diversity. He’s interested in pursuing a career in medicine, and he wants to use his knowledge in a practical way overseas.