Speaker:Robin Hamill, President, HaitiChildren. Founded in 1994 by Aspenite Susie Krabacher, HC was formerly known as "Mercy & Sharing." Robin has been president since February 2015.
HaitiChildren’s niche is the care of abandoned, disabled and orphaned children from birth to 18 years of age. Their over-arching objective is to expand care to more children around the country and to ensure sustainability of services for abandoned and disabled children.
Breaking News: On Thursday, the same day that Robin was speaking to our club, the Miami Herald ran a news article about how HaitiChildren is pivoting to respond to a starvation crisis in Haiti's prisons.
"On Wednesday, HaitiChildren, a Colorado-based charity that usually advocates on behalf of orphaned, abandoned and disabled children, announced that it would supply hundreds of thousands of meals over the next six months to feed the 4,200 prisoners inside the National Penitentiary starting Sunday." Read the full story in the Miami Herald.
Guests: Skippy Mesirow, guest of Lori Small.
Memorial Celebration for the Julie Roark
Julie Roark, wife of former Aspen Rotarian Greg Roark died in a bicycle accident in Colorado Springs on April 8, 2017. Julie was the assistant superintendent of Aspen Schools from 2010-2015, and she worked closely with Superintendent John Maloy.
The Memorial/Celebration of Life will be in Aspen on Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. in the District Theater in the Elementary School. There will be a reception to follow in the cafeteria/lobby at the elementary school, with light food and beverages. Everyone is encouraged to wear a splash of red, just as Julie so often did. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Aspen Education Foundation. In the comments box, please note “In Memory of Julia Roark.”
Other Announcements
The Sponsorship Committee of the 2017 Ducky Derby has already raised $30,500! Under the direction of Chair Frieda Wallison, the sponsorship committee works hard and gets amazing results. Who do you know...?
Freshman Rotarian Mike Connolly has generously agreed to serve as "Deputy Duck" in 2017, and "Head Duck" in 2018.
Our District's Annual Conference is in Glenwood Springs this year - this is quite unusual. It is not too late to register, and our club will pay your registration fees! April 21-22.
Please help Mike Hoffman identify host families for our high school exchange student for the 2017-2018 school year. Exchange students normally stay three months with each host family.
PAY YOUR BILL! If you have not paid your 1st Quarter Rotary bill, do it! Kurt Adam cannot give you credit for your Rotary Foundation contributions if you are late!
April 20: Nan Sundeen, Director of Human Services, Pitkin County. April 27: Sarah Nininger, Aspen Local, Founder and Current President of Action in Africa.
May 4: A panel discussion by the owners of all your favorite restaurants in Aspen.
May 9, 2:00 PM, Aspen Institute, The Rotary Club of Aspen's Youth Extemporaneous Speech Competition. Please contact Robin Smith and let her know you will help!
Happy Bucks this week was a rich mix of sadness and happiness. This week's contributions will be donated in honor of Julie Roark. Many Rotarians expressed their fondness for Julie, and their concern for her husband, Greg.
Maurice Emmer was tickled to announce that United Airlines has been hired to capture Bashar al-Assad. Norm Bacheldor is inexplicably happy about mud season. Susan Gomes is looking forward to her step-daughter's upcoming wedding in Florida. Skip Behrhorst may miss a Rotary meeting or two while he backpacks in the Grand Canyon. Todd Brewer, an executive with Vail Resorts, is happy that his company will no longer be known as the only empire builder in the ski industry. Deborah Breen recently returned from spring break in Belize, where she was impressed to see our "Four-Way Test" on a sign in the Welcome Center. Steve Wickes noted that the importance of civic organizations like Rotary was brought up during a recent Aspen Institute Seminar. He immodestly thanked Rotarians for "holding democracy together."
Membership Committee
Former Club Presidents Tom Bracewell and Jane Kelly requested, and were granted "Gold Leaf" status. Cory Lowe's current leave of absence was extended to July. President Craig asked Committee Chair Justin Barrow to explore new categories of membership so that Rotary can attract a wider range of members.
High School Scholarships
President Craig will be handing out lots of money at the upcoming graduation ceremonies at Aspen High School and Basalt High School. President-Elect Scott offered to help.
Ducky Derby Partners
The Board previously agreed to allow the Rotary Club of Carbondale to participate in Ducky Derby. John Engels reported that the Mt. Sopris Rotary Club would also like to participate, and the board approved this. The Rotary Club of Snowmass Village has also been invited to participate, but they have shown limited interest at this point, probably due to the demands of their Wine Festival fundraiser.
The Weekly Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Aspen.