Union Colony Civic Center

We are very pleased this week to welcome District Governor Nancy Pettus and her husband, PDG Bill Pettus. Nancy and Bill are from Jackson Hole, WY. DG Nancy is a member of the Breakfast Rotary Club of Jackson Hole. Bill was the District Governor of 5440 in 2002-2003. DG Nancy is author of her clubs “Adopt a Book Program”. It is clear that the Pettus’ are dedicated Rotarians.

LAST WEEK
Guests last week included Ginny Teal who is visiting clubs in the area. She was involved with Rotary in Corona, California and is interested in continuing her commitment to Rotary. Hopefully, it will be with the Windsor Club.

PROGRAM
Our program for the week was a visit by Mark Briemhorst who presented a video of the coming Season of Stars at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley. You may recall Mark’s visit last year, and some of you know him from his many years at the Lincoln Center in Ft. Collins. The Union Colony Civic Center has put together a diverse entertainment series for the coming year.

It varies from children’s programs, to Broadway productions such as Hairspray and The Producers, to Clint Black and Michael Martin Murphey. Comics include Caroline Rhea, Bill Engvall and Colorado’s own Josh Blue. The diversity of the program assures something for everyone. I have a promotional video if anyone wishes to see it.

QUIZ
The US Capitol was in New York City when George Washington took office. Next Question: How did T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) die?

Peace Corps Visits Club

Thomas Teeter was the guest of Janet Stanley. Siblings Lindsay and Ethan Lack visited the club. They are two of our three representatives to RYLA this year. It was announced that we would be selling beer at the Harvest Festival, September 1-3 as a major fund raiser.

President Ardin Wright announced that in two weeks, July 26, we would be visited by District Governor Nancy Pettis and her husband who is a Past District Governor. Ardin also announced that next year, the District will be hosting both a Group Study Exchange Team and a Friendship Exchange Team from Finland. We will reciprocate and slots are open for the Friendship Exchange trip. The cost for the trip is $2000 per person and provides in-home visits for 18 days in Finland.

PROGRAM
We were honored to have a representative from the Peace Corps as our speaker for the week. Carl Hammerdorfer has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa and served as the director of the Peace Corps in Sofia, Bulgaria. He speaks seven languages and has also worked in Warsaw Poland as the Director of Agribusiness and Trade for the ACDI/VOCA.

Hammerdorfer told us that to date, 190,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps since its inception in the early 1960’s. He said there are currently about 8,000 people in the Peace Corps. The average age is 41, but there is a large group in their 50’s and 60’s. The Peace Corps is actively trying to recruit seniors as well as a broader spectrum of the community. He noted that in countries where the Peace Corps are placed, the image of the US is much higher than in other areas. (We need all the help we can get).

One anecdote of interest is that he and his wife are both musicians, so while in Mali, they wrote and produced a tape of songs about dysentery, and other public health issues. He said it was interesting to hear it played on Male National Radio.

QUIZ
The story I prefer about the origin of the term hitchhike comes from the California Gold Rush in 1849. The story goes that two men would pool their resources and buy a horse. When they struck out across the prairie, one would walk and the other would ride the horse. The one on the horse would ride ahead about a mile, get off and “Hitch” the horse. He would then take off “hiking”. The following man would catch up to the horse, get on and ride past his partner for about another mile and repeat the sequence. All came out ahead as each was allowed a rest several times during the day, yet the progress was significant.

Next Question: Where was the US Capitol when George Washington took office?

Hospice of Larimer County

Last week was a turning point for the club. Ron Clark turned over the gavel to Ardin Wright. Ardin turned over a diamond Past President’s pin and a slightly altered photograph from the 9 Health Fair. We were joined by visiting Rotarian Mike Forney from the Steamboat Springs club.

PROGRAM
Our program for the week was presented by Jean Hall who is the CEO of Hospice of Larimer County. She told us that hospice originally (1700-1800) was a way station for people on a hazardous journey. Today’s hospice is not all that different. Hall told how when her father was dying of lung cancer in 1998, she learned the options that hospice can provide. She determined that that would be her new avocation.

Hall said that the program she runs is a community-based non-profit. She also told us that today’s concept of hospice originated with Dame Cicely Saunders in England forty years ago. The first hospice in the US was in Connecticut in 1974. Hospice has been covered by Medicare since 1983. The Larimer County Hospice was started in 1978. In Colorado in 2005, 48% of all deaths involved hospice.

Hall said that the average time a person is in hospice is 51 days; whereas Medicare automatically programs for six months. Larimer County Hospice is largely funded by patient revenues. Last year Medicare paid 98% of the budget. Medicare pays $135 per day in home care which is much cheaper than hospital charges; therefore, it is a good deal for the government too. Hall said that last year they served 858 patients with an average daily patient count of 118 patients. She said her organization has provided hospice care to infants 2 days old and a centenarian 108.

QUIZ
The person that we all know as the Unsinkable Molly Brown was really Margaret (Maggie) Tobin Brown or sometimes known as Mrs. J.J. Brown. Next question: Although there are several versions of the origin, where did the term “hitchhike” originate? I’ll tell you my preference for an answer next week.