- Passing of the Gavel. When one President breathes a sigh of relief, another one braces for the year ahead. Change is in the air.
- Come on down. You could be the next word monkey hiding behind the keyboard and opining on the things most interesting to you.
- Duck, Duck, Goose. There are no geese, but I couldn't think of a catchier three-word phrase.
I hope to see everyone at the Changeover Dinner (President John Ward will pass the gavel to President-Elect Craig Melville). Not only is this the time to thank our President John for running a darn good Rotary Club, but to welcome President-ElectCraig to his presidency and thank him for a year of herding the speaker cats. These fellas make it look easy, but it's a full-time job. Plus, we get to celebrate at Rob Ittner's Cooking School of Aspen. Details are below. Don't miss it.
Speaker: Joe Bonnett, Regional Director, USA Hockey Regional Development Program. Joe provides nationwide support for USA Hockey's age-appropriate skill development efforts. This model values practice and proper training above all else based on the learning that practice is where a player has the most potential to develop. The goal is to help young hockey players first develop a passion for the game, then start to acquire the puck skills necessary to be good at the game and this model creates an environment in which players can thrive. Maximum development occurs through age-appropriate structure and content. Without developing skills and certain physical and mental attributes at the appropriate time, the long-term prospects of a player becoming elite diminish rapidly.
In 2015, the International Olympics Committee made its boldest statement yet on youth athletic development: "Empirical evidence shows that a diversity of activities in early development is an indicator of continued involvement in more intense activities later in life, elite performance and continued participation in a sport." USA Hockey is an advocate of sport sampling, which encourages children to participate in a variety of sports and activities. Through varied participation, children not only become better athletes, but also suffer fewer overuse injuries and less burnout.
Did you know that kids need more than one hour a day of physical activity to be healthy? It's true, Joe Bonnett said so. Did you also know that physical education classes exist in only 3.8% of American elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools and 2.1% of high schools? Scary, huh?
Following are a couple of videos that better explain talent development and speak to the topics of most importance to USA Hockey:
Ducky Derby Website: Bill Simon demonstrated the Ducky Derby website until the Wi-Fi quit working. We saw the site, we know it exists and we know we've already sold about $1,000 online - probably Bennett sold those. Send the link to everyone you know with a minimum of $10. Ducky Derby Website.
Guests: Shaun Hathaway (Ashton Hewitt); Leslie Curley (Todd Shaver); Amy Barrow (Justin's better half); Chris Peterson, Mt. Sopris visiting Rotarian and District Governor; Gail Schwartz (Jeanette Darnauer); Chase Dillon (member nominee); Jennifer Allen (member nominee).
June 23 - Terri Caine. Summer Advantage USA. Terri will speak about this program that raises educational achievement in its scholars by harnessing the power of summer learning. Focused on both academic and social development, the program offers five weeks of rigorous academic instruction in the morning and afternoon enrichment activities.
**TUESDAY MEETING** June 28 - The Changeover Dinner will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28 at the Cooking School of Aspen. An International-themed buffet will be served and Craig Melville has promised a two-hour speech (but don't let that deter you, he's a very funny guy and a great speaker). John Ward said he has been working on his speech for months - basically since his first day as President, so he'll have some words of wisdom, too. Plus, we'll have a 50/50 raffle for $20/ticket (and rumor has it that our trusty treasurer Mark Favro will have a credit card processing option, so you can buy $1,000 worth of tickets and not need to worry about having enough cash). The winner of the pot will get 50% and the Aspen Camp will get the other 50%, so get the change out of your couch cushions.
June 30 - No meeting, because we're going to see you at the Changeover Dinner.
Wednesday, July 13 - Margo Ulrich's send-off at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. Margo's flight departs at 9 a.m. and more details about the send-off will follow. The RYE committee would love the participation of as many Rotarians as possible.
Saturday, July 16 - Aspen Camp Benefit presented by JAS Aspen Snowmass in Snowmass Village. Gates open at noon and music starts at 1 p.m. with Mack Bailey, Bobby Mason & Rich Ganson; 4 p.m. - Jes Grew; 6:30 p.m. - Special Performance by the Deaf campers of Aspen Camp and the headliner, Pimps of Joytime, takes the stage at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.
Sat., Sept. 17 - Snowmass Wine Festival Grand Tasting hosted by the Snowmass Rotary Club from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. at Town Park next to the Snowmass Recreation Center.
The regular meeting of the board took place at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 17 in the Sister Cities Room. There may or may not have been mimosas. But there definitely was great discussion about The Rotary Foundation, a speaker committee, the Changeover Dinner, membership and whether Craig Melville would bring doughnuts to his meetings as President. He one-upped the current president by offering to host the 2016-2017 board meetings at Mountain Chalet where attendees can eat a real breakfast.
A major topic of discussion was the Aspen Rotary Club's relationship with The Rotary Foundation and our club's desire to be better positioned with regard to receiving matching grants and keeping up to speed with Foundation priorities and initiatives. The Aspen Rotary Club used to be in the top three for contributed dollars in the district, but we have slipped to #30 this year. Part of our slide is related to timing of when donation checks are submitted and how clubs choose to allocate their donation dollars. More to come, but understanding our challenges is half of the battle.
John Engels was recently appointed to serve on the District Grants Committee. This is a district-level committee, and they manage how Rotary Foundation funds are distributed back to individual clubs. Yes, we can now apply for Rotary Foundation grants to use locally!
Steve Wickes noted that the President John Ward should be commended for leaving the club in such a strong place after his term as president. The club is in strong financial shape and functioning well.
The Weekly Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Aspen.
