RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson's Website
of the Rotary Club of Fort Collins
RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson's Website |
of the Rotary Club of Fort Collins |
|
 Frank Devlyn |
In Mexico, Devlyn was president of the Vecino Vigilante program, a nationwide neighborhood watch initiative sponsored by Rotary and other civic organizations. The program addresses crime through preventative neighborhood coalitions and works with local and national governments to ensure aggressive action is taken when a crime has been committed.
Devlyn has served The Rotary Foundation as trustee and Rotary International as director, aide to the president, district governor and advisor to Rotary's 1996 International Convention Committee in Calgary, Canada. He has acted as Rotary's national advocacy advisor for polio in Mexico and a member of one of Rotary's future planning committees.
Founder of Rotarismo en Mexico, Rotary's national magazine in Mexico, Devlyn has also been a tireless promoter of Rotary's developed-to-developing country assistance program, World Community Service. He created the largest used eyeglass bank in Mexico which today serves as a model for cooperative donation-in-kind efforts between Rotary clubs located in different countries.
He is past president of Mexico's National Association of Opticians and Optometrists
and of the optical section of the National Chamber of Industry, and acts as
national advisor for the Mexican Government's commission on health to the
handicapped and serves on the board of the National Bank of Mexico, Inverlat
Bank, the Mexican Red Cross and Goodwill Industries.
 Rob Cagen |
We sang"We Gather Together"
We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make know.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own.
 Bart Kingman |
 Bonnie Titley |
 Mike Stradt |
Members can find information about all committees by visiting the online list of all of the club's committees on the web at: FC Rotary Club Committees
 Garth McCann |
 Mary Klass |
 Lloyd Thomas |
 Walley Van Sickle |
The theme of this presentation was the power of the small grant to make significant contributions to help reduce the loss of biodiversity of the planet. Wally told us why he started IDEA WILD, gave us lots of examples of the type of grant, indicated the number of grants they give and most importantly, many reasons why small grants are important.
He started IDEA WILD due to a National Geographic article that listed six issues that would affect mankind for the next 1000 years. One of those issues was the conservation of biodiversity. He said that biodiversity includes every single living thing that is on earth and that provides us with everything that supports our existence.
Wally was trained as a wildlife biologist and before starting IDEA WILD described himself as a spoiled biologist. In his projects he had all the tools, helicopters, airplanes, radio telemetry, wheels, snowmobiles, horses; everything a biologist could dream of to help. Since most of the earth's biodiversity is in a zone close to the equator and in generally poor countries, the local biodiversity researchers lack many tools to do their work. Thus the purpose of IDEA WILD is, "to create an organization that works to minimize the loss of biodiversity by empowering people who work on the front line of conservation."
Wally gave examples of the biodiversity researchers that get his organizations grants. They ranged from Madagascar to Mexico to Colombia to the Philippines to Costa Rica and included studies of bats, birds, frogs, mushrooms sloths, etc. The organization gives about 33 grants per month. To date they have made about 1900 grants to researchers he called his heroes and sheroes. Since the equipment is passed on to additional users an average of three times, their grants have helped about 5700 projects.
He emphasized how this large number of small grants can have enormous power. They:
One of those dreams was Wally's which went from the first ten dollar donation to IDEA WILD to the donation by Ray Young, the owner of Natures Own, of the first floor of 201 Linden Street, a constant source of income. He also informed us of our ability to help if we make purchases at Jax Outdoor Gear . Jim Quinlan, owner of Jax and IDEA WILD board member, will donate 10% of any purchase to IDEA WILD if the purchaser indicates they donate to IDEA WILD.
Warren and Genny Garst Wildlife
Collection at CSU Click here or on the "tiger."
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© by Warren Garst, Lannie Boyd and Alan Ashbaugh for the Rotary Club of Fort Collins, Colorado,
November 28, 2007
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