Stories

We held our Annual Chili Cookoff on April 25th at the Stonegate Community Center. Of course, Doug Klich won the grand prize for the best chili AGAIN. However, the seven other entries were fantastic as well. We had a great turnout of members, spouses and guests who enjoyed the various pots of chili, as well as hot dogs and many side dishes/desserts.

30 CCV Rotarians and 3 guests learned how this year's Smokin' Brew BBQ is being organized for Aug 30, 31, & Sept 1.

Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker provides Parker's Labor Day Smokin' Brew BBQ to promote club fellowship, give back to our local community, and fundraise for the wide array of great causes that our Rotary Club supports.  

These causes include appreciating our community police and firefighters with a 9-11 Breakfast each September, gifting and delivery of dictionaries to all 3rd graders in our area, and hosting our Parker community Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet. We also support our local Douglas County Support Center, sponsor our local Interact Club at Legend High School and the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards for summer leadership camps, and sponsor our international student exchange student. We support our troops by contributing to Operation Sanctuary and Homes for Our Troops.  Internationally, we sponsor water projects and encourage contributions to Rotary's End Polio campaign.  

Bring your family & friends!  Enjoy the Smokin' Brew BBQ!  Enter the Cow Pie Bingo!  You'll have fun and you'll be contributing to some really great causes.

29 Rotarians & 6 guests find out about amazing local resources.

There are more incredible resources at Douglas County Libraries than you might know!  

Andrew Roth, Adult Services Librarian at Douglas County Libraries' Parker branch, presented all about a new resource at our local library: Foundation Center's Funding Information Network, "full of free resources for nonprofits and individuals seeking grants". To learn more about this new resource, inquire at Parker Library.

Other Douglas County Library staff members also at Parker Library Derrick, Linda, Joelle and Peggy of the Fusion Lab team, encouraged us to make an appointment to explore, learn about, and use the new FUSION Digital Creativity Space (a lab with 5 digital stations including a green screen and video camera as well as a station for digtal music editing and another station for digital video editing).  Bring your own DVD+R if you are converting VHS to DVD.

Note: In 2 weeks, our May 28 meeting will be held at the PACE.

30 Rotarians and 5 guests heard a very memorable story today

Rotarian Andrea Wyant introduced her father, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tom Logan, and her mother, Rochelle Logan, Associate Director of Support Services at Douglas County Libraries.  Col. Logan spoke about his part in the U.S. mission to capture Gen. Noriega in Panama on 20 December 1989.  As an Air Force liaison to the Army’s 3^rd Ranger Battalion, then Major Logan discovered he would be parachuting from a C-130 plane rather than what he was primarily trained for: flying the F-16 fighter jet.  What a story!  From the secret onset of the mission, through the tightly packed 7-hour transit with very heavy packs, to the extremely dark jump into enemy fire, and through all the confusion of the fighting on the ground, we felt we were seeing the battle first hand.  Noriega was captured and Americans lost far fewer soldiers and airmen than had been expected.  Col. Logan got to come back to tell the story, along with a very humorous addition thanks to his Rotarian daughter’s teenage antics some years later.

Rotarian Win Pendleton reported his experience at the District 5450 Conference this past weekend, where he manned a booth about the 4-Way Test.  He put together a great packet about the 4-Way Test history and teaching activities.  Get one while they last!  

CCV Rotarians Becky Hoeck and Tamera Krause hosted a most impressive and enjoyable Charter Ceremony for their Interact Club at Legend HS.  Our club enjoyed our regular lunchtime meeting in a room at the school set up and decorated in Rotary blue.

 After welcoming greetings, we enjoyed the slide show of Legend HS Interact members' four community service activities (including their Hat Day that collected supplies for Colorado flood victims to their work making blankets for babies in Cambodia).

The formal ceremony included Legend HS Principal Corey Wise's encouragement to the new club, Becky Hoeck's presentation of Interact pins to each of the 17 club members, plus officer pins to the club officers.  Rotarian Win Pendleton presented a 4-Way Test banner to the Interact Club's treasurer and secretary.  Rotarian Gary Bristow presented a beautiful Interact Club banner to the president and vice-president.  CCV Rotary Club President Courtney Howey then presented the Interact Club president with a gavel and beautiful bell for calling future meetings to order and closing.  

Enthusiastic fellowship conversations followed with the Interact Club members warmly expressing their appreciation for our sponsorship and charter ceremony.  What a wonderful event!    `

29 Rotarians and 2 guests enjoyed K. Hausmann's inspirational moment from The Rotarian (story of water projects in Bolivia)

Please help us keep this website up-to-date!  Make a note of anything important you want posted (events, updates, & photos) and get it to Joy Collins (JoySCollins at comcast dot net).  

You are requested (with rewards offered by Mike Waid & even a penalty suggested by our Sergeant-at-Arms) to log into the member section (see "login" at top right corner).  If you have trouble, please contact Mike at MikeWaid dot com (or other club officers who most likely can assist you as well).  He'll be holding us accountable on this at our May 7 meeting.  

CCV Rotary will be using Dropbox.com to store & share club photos.  Look for a handout at an upcoming meeting on how to use Dropbox without it automatically downloading all our contents to your personal computer.  It's a great resource.

CCV Rotarians are continuing volunteer tutoring and vocational instruction for our local Support Center.  The latest session just began with Win Pendleton's team implementing a new approach for teaching the Four-Way Test.

Denver Southeast 26-yr Rotarian Abbas Rajabi came to invite us to his club's Veteran's Breakfast on May 24 at Wings Over the Rockies Museum.  He spoke from his heart about the importance of honoring our nation's veterans. 

May 28 is our kick-off meeting for this year's Smokin' Brew BBQ.  You won't want to miss it!

30 Rotarians and 5 guests attended

Parker locals Jan and Joe McDaniel own and personally operate the BookCrafters publishing house right here in Parker.  For $35 per hour they will help by printing anything you want in book format, setting up your photos, artwork, and text as well as getting your ISBN.  Their website at Bookcrafters.net features many of the books they have published, which you can order or use as a reference to think about your own book. Contact the McDaniels to discuss your ideas and be sure to ask them for a copy of their small yet very helpful Self-Publish-Your-Book Handbook.

Our Club will hold our regular meeting at Legend HS on Wed. April 30 to present the Interact Club with their charter membership, along with their banners, Interact bell, etc.  Becky Hoeck and Tamera Krause say this will be a very exciting event because Legend HS is our first Interact Club and the charter members are super wonderful!  Lunch will be catered, so be sure to get your order placed with Gary Bristow.

Please join us May 1 (5-7 pm) as we encourage a group in Lone Tree to get their Rotary Club started.  The meeting will be at The Hyatt Place at Park Meadows, 9030 East Westview Rd, Lone Tree, Co 80124.

32 Rotarians & 1 guest present for our Club Assembly today

Inspirationally, Mike Waid announced that the Parker team he was on to raise $5K this past weekend for St. Baldrick's actually raised in excess of $17K which goes to help fund research for curing childhood cancer.

Club President Courtney Howey, asking us to 'think of the ways we currently contribute to our club activities, led the Assembly train of Committee Chair reports. Select "More..." at the end for more details.

In a fond farewell to George Lewman, we sang Mike Dunkel's version of "So Long", shared memories and thanks, and enjoyed some cake.  Best wishes, George!  Be sure to come back and visit us.

Upcoming events: April 30 meet at Legend HS for lunch Charter Mtg of our Interact Club; May 1 (5-7pm) meet at Lone Tree Hyatt to support efforts to establish a Rotary Club in Lone Tree; June 25 evening Change of Command Dinner at Pradera; August 9 CCV Rotary Picnic at Stonegate. 

27 Rotarians & 4 guests said pledge & 4-way test and sang "When April Showers May Come Your Way"

Our own Andrea Wyant, Youth Librarian at Parker's Douglas County Library, shared an inspirational story about a family discovering their grandfather's recorded interview about war-time stories he had never shared with his family.  This inspired Andrea to record her favorite stories about her life and children, and so she strongly encouraged us all to record our favorite stories for posterity any way we can.  The library has resources for assisting in preserving those stories.  

Debra Wilcox, Co-Founder at The 3d Printing Store, Department Head Advanced Technology for Transportation at Cleantech Fellows Institute, and Principal at Alex Air, shared a broad glimpse at all the amazing projects coming through her store (from inventors' prototypes to biotech customizations - like a splint for a baby's trachea - to replacements for an out-of-date carburetor part) and showed us how a desktop 3d printer makes a chain with all the parts interlinked.  Check out this short video!

Parker Mayor Mike Waid showed up with pink- and purple-dyed hair and reminded us that this goofy fun is all to help raise funds (along with several other Parker soon-to-be-bald-for-a-great-cause citizens) for St. Baldrick's Foundation's efforts to Conquer Childhood Cancers.  Please donate whatever you can online or in person and come cheer them on this Saturday April 5th 2pm at the PACE!

Our Rotary District 5450's Regional Assistant District Governor Lin Miklas (Castle Rock High Noon) visited our club meeting and announced her enthusiasm for the upcoming 2014 District Conference: May 2-4, within easy reach at the Embassy Suites Hotel (14th & Stout, Denver).  Register online for one or more days! 

Steve visited us from the Castle Rock Morning Rotary to invite us to participate in their Ducky Derby fundraiser.  He also offered a friendly hand to pitch in and support our fundraisers!  Please support their Ducky Derby Saturday June 7th, a whole town event from 11am-5pm.  Ducky entry tickets are available online (see the left side tabs at www.crduckyderby.com) and you don't need to be present to win (but of course it would be more fun to be there).

26 Rotarians & 9 guests opened with Pledge, 4-Way Test & "Here Comes the Sun"

Ron Redd from Parker Water & Sanitation presented information on Parker's water partnerships, water sources, and current status of the Rueter-Hess Reservoir.  Lots of great information and photos!  Tours are available by reservation every other Friday afternoon.

Paul Harris Fellow Pins were presented to Gary Fields (1st blue stone) by Christian Plummer, and to Rich Foerster (1st PH pin) by his wife & fellow Paul Harris member Donna Foerster with PE Amy Holland officiating.  Gary Fields encouraged all of us that with consistent giving and dedication to Rotary over a lifetime of years, it is not difficult to earn Paul Harris Awards.

Ralph Martin shared that our club is sponsoring a new Rotary club forming in the Lone Tree area.  More of our Rotarians are needed at a May 1st meeting, location TBD.  Let Ralph know if you are interested in helping.

Don Mack and Joy Collins received Rotary "blue" badges, duly earned!

Mike Waid reminded us that next Saturday, April 5th, is his Shave the Mayor event: 2pm at the PACE!  Donate at http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/shavethemayor2014/

Parker Adventist has a very impressive Cancer Center!  Our club enjoyed a tour of the facilities this week during our regular meeting time.  See more about it at their Oncology and Cancer Care website.

32 Rotarians and 2 guests attended; we sang "When Irish eyes are smiling".

Our own Dr. Win Pendleton, USAF-Retired, shared the history of The Four-Way Test and then challenged us to apply the test to various scenarios he handed out to small groups. Each group had time to reflect and then one person from each group had one minute to explain how the group applied The Four-Way Test to work through the moral dilemma. Thank you, Win, for challenging us to use The Four Way Test in our lives, to share with others involved how we thought through the problem, and to share with our Rotary group how we applied The Four-Way Test.  

Congratulations to Sheryl Scripter and Rob Christy who received their Rotary "blue" badges, duly earned!  

Kevin Hausmann gave us an update on the Sand Dam project in Kenya that our club learned about from UK Rotarian Roy who visited our club from Rotary District 1140.  Funds matched by Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) and Britain's Department for International Development have practically tripled our club's contributions. Excellent Development is the organization helping local people in Kenya and other countries build the sand dams; here's a short video explaining how the sand dams being built in Kenya work.  More information is presented in RIBI reports from June 2013 and August 2013 as well as Excellent Development's 2013 Annual Report.

Stephen McSpadden, architectural engineer and real estate adviser, presented his research on the history of money and encouraged us to look into how money, the Federal Reserve, and the world banking system really work.  He suggested we start by watching a film on YouTube called "Money as Debt."  For more information, get in touch with Stephen McSpadden!

George Lewman and Dan Barnes have invited us to help set up for, attend, and help take town the tent and food at Homes for our Troops' Key Ceremony for Marine Sgt. Gabe Martinez and his family.  This home is in Parker; let's welcome him to our community!  For all the details on this event, checkout the website at https://www.hfotusa.org/gmartinez.

US Rep Cory Gardner spoke, sharing his personal history from Yuma, CO and giving us lots of data about the extensive 4th congressional district of CO.  His modus operandi is "Don't just complain, work on a solution!" and he encouraged all of us to know that change really happens from the ground up.  He encouraged us to go to town meetings, get on our senators and representatives' websites, get on their mailing lists, know what they are doing, communicate our thoughts and ideas to them, hold forums, and hold debates. 

Ralph Martin, who is transferring his Rotary membership from CA and before that from HI where he served as club president, shared his personal history and why he loves Rotary.  Welcome to our club, Ralph! 

It's almost Caucus time, Don Willson announced that as a great way to get involved.  Just check your party website for Colorado precinct caucus locations; they start at 7 pm on Tuesday, March 4th.

Josh Duncan, development director for MountainChild (www.mountainchild.org) spoke to us about this organization's work in Nepal.  Did you know...? (Click on More... below to see what we learned.) 

End Polio: See www.rotary.org/en/end-polio and contribute however you can!  Our club is working to exceed our funding commitment.  See Chris Plummer to contribute funds via check to Rotary Foundation.

Exchange Students Dora (from Croatia) & David (from Switzerland) with the 2009-10 Rotary Exchange in Parker and Cherry Creek came back for a visit to CO.  Great to see them!

Parker Library has a program to help you get your photos into digital format and VHS tapes changed to DVD.  Check it out!

http://youtu.be/7XyrkeqJzFIWe met today to celebrate the Broncos season and to show our support for them!  We also had fellowship and enjoyed the company of our fellow Rotarians.

The song maestro wrote a gem to the tune of Home on the Range!

President Courtney presented Rotarian Mike Waid with a Certificate for donating 12 months of space at the PACE Center to hold the Rotary Board Meetings.  Thank you Mike.

Guest speaker was Amy Shoemaker, topic was Increasing Employee Productivity with BEER.  If you were not in attendance you probably think she was referring to an alcoholic beverage – not the case.  Good presentation with a lot of information on constructive feedback and “How To” coaching sessions with employees.  I couldn’t help but think as I listened to the material that this would work on our kids too.

Next week’s meeting will be held at the PACE Center.   Rotarians need to let Gary Bristow know what they would like to eat, catering provided by Sweet Lorraine’s.

33 Rotarians and 7 Guest were in attendance.

Our guest speaker today was Marcella from SECOR (South East Christian Out Reach) which is a food bank located within South East Christian church in Parker, CO.  They have a great organization and give back a lot to the Parker community as well as the surrounding counties!  16 Rotarians from our club are contributing to their Christmas Outreach program that collects gifts for kids of families that do not have the ability to buy gifts for their kids.  Its a great program and we are always looking for more people to contribute!

This was our last official meeting before Thanksgiving.  Linda Ganz not only inspired us, but also gave us some Thanksgiving trivia.  We were entertained with a musical program presented by the Douglas County Support Center.  A rendition of what they are learning with the guitars CCVR helped purchase.  It was a pleasure to have the entire support center join us.

25 Rotarians in attendance as well as a host of guests.

Our meeting on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 was a very productive meeting. President Kyle provided an overview of our Smokin’ Brew BBQ to the members that described the event to our newer members and brought all of us up to date with the latest happenings. Courtney Howey, BBQ    Chairman then provided more details involved with the BBQ. This is our signature fund raising event and CCV members in attendance were asked to see if they can find sponsors for the event.

We had 24 Rotarians in attendance and six (6) guests

At todays meeting, Linda Ganz, who is associated with South Metro Fire and is also a member of our Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club presented.  Linda spoke to us about the importance of CPR, gave us a presentation, and updated us on new information regarding CPR.  It was a great presentation and very informative!

South Metro Fire hosts CPR classes and also sells some safety equipment at a discount.  Contact South Metro Fire for more information.

Today's meeting was one of the most interesting formats that we have.  Today, we were pleased to listen to four Red Badge members tell their life story.  Its always nice to learn more about our fellow Rotarians, their lifes path, and their families.  Thank you to the Red Badges that shared your stories and we look forward to hearing more life stories from other Red Badges and from established members.

We welcome guests to our meetings as well, so please come check out one of our meeting and get involved with the community!

We started the meeting today with a Paul Harris award to John Diak.  Congrats John!!!

Today we had a club assembly formatted meeting where each of the Service Directors spoke about what we have accomplished this year and what we have left to do.

Dr. Jon Kredrowski presented his incredible and inspirational message to the Rotary club at today's meeting.  Dr. Kredrowski was the first to camp overnight on all 58 of Colorado's 14,000+ foot mountain peaks and has also climbed Mt. Everest.  He emphasized to set goals and be prepared for the hard work to meet those goals.

 For more information on Jon and his message, visit his Website here.

Our meeting on December 19th was the last of this calendar year. Andrea Wyant and Joeanna Jaeger provided their 'Life Stories' and then Andrea presented a very insightful program on the Parker Library and what the Douglas County Library system has to offer. Please remember that we will not have a meeting on December 26th and the January 2nd meeting will be a 'Fellowship' meeting at the hospital conference center. Come and share what you got for Christmas and enjoy a great lunch with your fellow Rotarians.

It was a great day for our Parker Rotary group... not only did Mike Waid win the nomination for Parker's next Mayor, John Diak and Josh Rivero were elected for Town Council, and we had our song maestro is back!

Josh Rivero also gave his vocational speech along with John Brokken and Shelly Rosnick received her red badge.

Its was a bittersweet club meeting since Anges is now joining a Rotary Club closer to her new home.  We hope to have her visit soon!

CCV Rotary's Club Service Director Gary Bristow set up another great fellowship opportunity at Parker's fun Elevation 5900

CCV Rotarians gathered to share stories and some resolutions for the new year.  We also recognized that 2014 was a very good year with many opportunities to learn and share our blessings with others in our community and beyond.  We had a great time together.  Here's to your health and happiness in 2015!

CCV Rotarian Kevin Hausmann encouraged the rest of us to join him in contributing gifts to the SECOR Christmas Outreach.  It was a lot of fun to contribute to, and many members were also in attendance to help wrap presents during this week's meeting.  As it turned out, the presents were all wrapped, but our club enjoyed a tour of the SECOR Food Bank anyway.  Here are a couple of looks at the gifts contributed by the Parker community at Southeast Christian Church.

CCV Rotarian Ralph Martin spoke to about 75 Legend HS students and parents on "Now I Can Drive...Can I Stay Alive?"

23 Rotarians and 3 guests enjoyed Sydney Crewe's inspiring presentation about her adventures volunteering in Antarctica!

Sydney showed us wonderful photos of her southern hemisphere summer stint in Antarctica (Nov-Feb 2010).  She also first introduced us to the basic topography and political situation in Antarctica, where about 30 nations share the continent.  We enjoyed learning about Sydney's adventures and learning about the pioneering spirit of the scientists and support staff who live and work in Antarctica.

Special thanks to Sydney Crewe and to CCV Rotarian Don Willson who encouraged her, his son's sister-in-law, to come talk with us!

Parker's RCC - Rotary Community Corps - will be celebrating its 5th anniversary on January 20th (6pm) at Parker United Methodist.  There are just a few tickets left!  See CCV Rotary President Emily Strunk for more information.

Congratulations to Paige Westerheid for earning our recognition as Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker's Student of the Quarter from Legend High School!

CCV Rotarian Tamara Krause shared another exciting program at Legend HS: the Big Idea Project in which students work with local business sponsors to develop and complete a project for the community.  Please consider serving as a project sponsor or perhaps even a judge for the final competition in May 2015. For more information, please see the flyer posted in our Club's "Documents to Open & Print" section in the left-most column of this website.

30 Rotarians and our young guests enjoyed fellowship and the sharing of stories.

The Nov 19 Area Assembly was a great time at the Parker Arts Culture & Events Center!  CCV Rotarians learned more about the Peaceful Schools program that the Douglas County Rotarians at Work have been implementing.  We discussed how we can get involved, too. 

Lots of good reports were shared by various CCV Rotarians who delivered dictionaries to our local 3rd graders.  Almost every CCV Rotarian was involved with this project.  Great job, everyone!  Special Thanks to CCV Rotarians Rich and Donna Foerster for taking and sharing some photos of this project again this year.

Dec. 1 is our club's next Board Meeting.  All of our members are welcome!  We look forward to hearing from our District Governor at this meeting about our helping launch a Rotary Club in Lone Tree.  

CCV Rotarian Kevin Hausmann shared gift tags for the SECOR Christmas Outreach.  If you missed getting a tag, pick one up at our regular meeting on Dec. 3rd.  Please deliver your gift(s) unwrapped with the tag attached by Dec 14 or sooner.  

At our Dec. 17 meeting we will be wrapping gifts for the SECOR Christmas Outreach, so note the adjusted location in our calendar!

Participating in Rotary International's drive to support literacy, CCV Rotarians visited 13 Parker Elementary schools to deliver over 1230 dictionaries to 3rd graders this year.  Rotarians asked each student to write their name in the dictionary to know that these are gifts to each child - for them to have and use as their own resource.  Then, we challenged the students to look up and report meanings for words like "clue" to help them get practice right away.  We hope this is the beginning of expanded fun with words for our Parker 3rd graders!

22 Rotarians attended this working meeting.  

CCV Rotarian Walter Borfitz received recognition as a Paul Harris Fellow for his contributions to Rotary.

CCV Rotary President Emily Strunk prepared our committees for the year's plans and asked that each committee meet once a month or no less than every six weeks.

Cherry Creek Valley Rotarians of Parker joined forces with Parker Station and many local merchants (see the list of sponsors on our full event website) to share a fun & safe Halloween street party with all the costumed young-at-heart participants who showed up.  We've been told there may have been as many as 12,000 there this year!

To give you the best possible remote-experience of this year's Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet, here's a wonderful video that the great folks at Parker Station shared with us.  Check it out to see what your favorite shops, inflated Halloween creatures, and costumed characters are. Enjoy!

32 CCV Rotarians and 5 guests enjoyed our Song Maestro Mike Dunkel's words for this week's song (to the tune of "The Monster Mash").

Transferring Rotarians Michele and Brett Boyer shared their life stories including projects they enjoyed with their Rotary Clubs in Iowa.

CCV Rotary President Emily Strunk confirmed all our volunteer sign-ups for our Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet event this Friday and called for more volunteers where needed.  We are expecting about 6,000 children with their parents.  It's going to be a really great event!  Many thanks to CCV Rotarian Brandi Shapiro for all her energy organizing this event for us this year.

CCV Rotarian Jim Dvorak reported that the dictionaries we will deliver to all local 3rd graders are ordered and scheduled to arrive soon.  We will need volunteers, including friends and family, to help place a sticker in each dictionary during the first two weeks of November.  Stay tuned for location, times, and signups for this fun project.  Thanks also to everyone who has already signed up to help deliver the dictionaries the week of November 17th.  Stay tuned for more details!

30 CCV Rotarians and 5 guests (including Rotarians from near and far: Parker Morning, Southlands Aurora, Hawaii, and England) sang America the Beautiful and were inspired byCCV Rotarian Tamara Krause's thoughts on living into the seasons of our lives.

CCV Rotary President Emily Strunk shared a video from Rotary International President Gary Huang about World Polio Day on Friday, October 24. Follow the link, see the video, and be part of this exciting work!

Parker Morning Rotarian Michael Oldham, who helped us establish our club and who has been a very good friend to us over the years, shared how he got involved with Respire Haiti School for Orphans, how he helped the school acquire solar-powered security lights last year, and how he is now working on a grant proposal and fundraising to help the school acquire solar-powered electricity school-wide since the electrical grid in Haiti is very unreliable and disruptive to the major efforts at the school compound.  Michael also explained to us how the Rotary Foundation Global Grants program has new requirements for a Rotary Club near the project site to become the sponsoring organization to oversee project implementation and for each grant to include courses for the local community.

CCV Rotarian Win Pendleton reported on the successful Four-Way Test Kick-Off event at the Douglas County Support Center.  Rotarian Doug Young once again gave a most impactful introduction to the Four-Way Test and 10 CCV Rotarians were on hand to interact with the students in small groups to discuss various scenarios and apply the Four-Way Test.  Everyone enjoyed this great opportunity!

CCV Rotary President Emily Strunk called for all members to sign up online (or email her if necessary) to help with our upcoming Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet.

Stay tuned for notes on this meeting which occurred during Fall Break, when many - including this story writer - were out of town.

25 Rotarians and 1 guest were inspired by CCV Rotarian Mike Dunkel's song words set to "On Top of Old Smokey" and his inspirational moment.

Red Badge member Eric Dyer shared his personal story.

Club President Emily Strunk shared this Rotary video about Farmers Feed the Children & the Heifer Project in Romania.

Farmers Feed the Children from Bespoke Video Production on Vimeo.

Smokin' Brew BBQ  - to continue or not?  Mike Dunkel presented a history of our BBQ:  about the 2nd year of our club's existence Dave Hickey recommended that we hold a competitive BBQ; Courtney Howey and Kyle Medigar joined our club to help make this event happen. Lots of energy has been dedicated by these leaders along with Don Willson, John Diak, John Howe and several others.  The event has grown to include music and the Cow Pie Bingo.  It's a big event for us to host and we need to make sure we are totally dedicated to it if we are going to do it again.  This will take a culture change in our club to get everyone involved, not just in the volunteer time spent during the event but also and especially throughout the whole year in preparation.  Every club member will need to serve on a committee if we vote to keep the Smokin' Brew BBQ.

We must have a new chairperson for the Smokin' Brew BBQ!  If you are interested in serving as BBQ Chairperson, contact Club President Emily Strunk.  We would also need this many signed up for each of the following committees by the end of October: 6 for Fundraising, 3 for Cow Pie Ticket Sales, 3 for Permitting, 3 for Entertainment, 3 for Advertising/PR, 3 for Judging, 4 for Competitor & Vendor Relations, 3 for Beverages, 3 for Site, 3 for Logistics, and 3 for Manpower.  Which committee would you be willing to commit to?

If you did not vote at today's meeting, watch for an email from Emily Strunk.  You will need to vote right away, since the votes will be tallied and results announced at next week's meeting.

Our Fundraising Committee will meet Monday October 20th 5-6 pm at Parker Station

Four-Way Test training at DCSC is Wednesday October 22 8-10 am at the Support Center.  See the map in our online calendar (at right).

Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet is Friday October 31 2-9 pm.  Sign up online to help out!

The Dictionary Project (deliveries to elementary schools) will be happening Nov 17-21.  Stay tuned for more details, but mark your calendars for the deliveries and for the dictionary sticker-labelling (1st two weeks of November).

CCV Rotarians and their families gathered at the Parker Adventist Hospital Kitchen on Sept 10th to create breakfast burritos for delivery the next morning.  As you can see it was an efficient and fun experience, led by CCV Rotarian Josh Rivero.

Various Cherry Creek Valley Rotarians warmed up the burritos and delivered them with orange juice to a station they had requested.  

A huge "THANK YOU!" to the brave and dedicated forces in our Parker Police Dept and in all the South Metro Fire Stations and the Franktown Volunteer Fire Dept.  We appreciate you and not just this one day of the year but all days of the year.  

28 Rotarians & 5 guests were inspired by John Brokken's inspirational moment.

Welcome Sandi Aguilar, Colleen Bowe, Eric Dyer, and Steve Prichard - new members of our Club!

CCV Club President Emily Strunk showed us a video about South Africa Rotary Family Health Days and asked anyone interested in serving Rotary in overseas projects to get in touch with her.

The history of our club was presented in photos and stories.  Our current Club President had prepared a video of club photos from previous years that we enjoyed seeing.  Emily and CCV Founding Club President Mike Dunkel also told stories from the club's inception, from the Charter Dinner on June 7, 2006 and the Club's first service project (guiding car parking at Parker's then newly opened Double Angel Ballpark) to the development of the Club's sponsorship of Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet in Parker and the list of our Club's previous presidents (Mike Dunkel​, Mike Waid, Gary Bristow​, Emily Strunk​, Doug Klich​, Don Willson​, Kyle Medigar​, and Courtney Howey).

Announcements focused on the BBQ Review meeting (Thurs. 7pm at Parker Station), volunteers needed for the 9Health Fair Oct 4 & 5, our Four-Way Test training session for the DC Support Center Oct 22 8-10am, sign up online for helping at Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet 10/31 2-9 pm, our Dictionary Project will be happening in November, sign up for the Rotary Foundation meeting, and our club's next board meeting will be Oct 6 at 5pm at Parker Station.

34 CCV Rotarians & 3 guests were inspired by Josh Martin's "let go of your stresses" story.

CCV Rotary Club President Emily Strunk shared a video This Close on how close we are to eradicating polio in the world.  Emily asked us to share this video on FB and make a donation at EndPolioNow.org.  Stay tuned: World End Polio Day 2014 is October 24! 

Rotary Workday - Detroit from Rotary International on Vimeo.

We also got inspired by another video about how a Detroit Rotary Club did a local business Make Over.

Emily Strunk asked for stories of service and why we joined Rotary.  We heard inspirations from CCV Rotarians Kyle Medigar and Becky Hoeck​ (about Legend High School Interact Club's new project Jeans for Teens)

Rotary needs you to serve as a leader of a committee and as a participant on a committee, as a contributing thinker and as someone who takes action.

Our current club directors are listed along the left-hand column of this website.  Talk with them about serving on their committee and about leading a project.

New members in the last 3 years are being asked to sit on the Fundraising Committee.  This committee will meet Monday October 20th 5-6pm in the Parker Station Conference Room.

Everyone needs to fit in on more than one committee and project.

On Wed Oct 22 8-10am, CCVRotarians are welcome to join a super team at the Douglas County Support Center to help students practice the Four-Way Test.

Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet is looking for any additional sponsors no later than Monday, October 6 - please get those to CCV Rotarian Brandi Shapiro.

CCV Rotarian Jim Dvorak needs help with the Dictionary Project.

25 CCV Rotarians and 5 guests were inspired by CCV Rotarian Ralph Martin's story about writing in sand and on stone.

Club President Emily Strunk led with these 3 short videos on Rotary clubs around the world:  

• Rotary Toronto's "100 Years In the Spirit of Rotary"
• "In Sydney, Thousands Walk to End Polio Now"
• "Rotoract Doing Good in Ukraine"

Emily hopes these will inspire us to reflect deeply on what projects we want to work on in the coming years.  Current and new projects are welcome for consideration.

CCV Rotarian Becky Hoeck shared useful information about RYLA and Young RYLA and then presented the CCVR-sponsored awardees.  Becca shared photos of RYLA hikes and friends made at RYLA in Estes Park.  Matt shared an overview of each YRYLA Camp day with photos.  Both proved that these Awards change lives in a positive direction.

A huge "Thank You!" to Parker Adventist Hospital for providing space and supplies and also to CCV Rotarian Josh Rivero for coordinating and leading the 9-11 Breakfast for South Metro Firefighters and Parker Police!  CCV Rotarian Mike Waid requests that all photos and videos taken from this event be loaded into the Dropbox folder labeled "9-11 Breakfast-2014" inside the "CCV Photos 2014 folder".  Contact MIke if you have any questions or difficulties with this process.

CCV Rotarian Win Pendleton announced the Four-Way-Test Seminar for the Douglas County Support Center students will be held Wed., October 22 starting at 8 am.  Please attend!  See the calendar for more details.

CCV Rotarian Brandi Shapiro announced that our 2014 Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet now has a Facebook page.  Please follow the link and "Like" our page!   

Rotarian Melanie from the Parker Morning Club announced the signups of volunteers for the Douglas County Rotary Clubs' 9HealthFair at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital (this location only), jointly sponsored with that hospital.  The 9Health Fair will be held Sunday October 5 (from 6 am - 1 pm) & you can pre-register online.  Non-medical volunteers are needed for that day as well as for the day before: Oct 4 (11 am - 1 pm: manpower help is needed; 1-3 pm detail work is needed).  Sign up at next week's meeting!

Club President Emily Strunk announced that our Club Board meetings occur on the 1st Monday of each month at 5 pm in Parker Station.

25 Rotarians and 3 guests were welcomed warmly by our Sergeants-at-Arms Doug Klich and Jim Chincholl.

CCV Rotarian Donna Foerster's Inspirational Moment reminded us that "Rotary is About Service!" and encouraged us to "Be the Light and Light Up Rotary 2014-2015!"

CCV Rotarian Kyle Medigar presented local Parker resident Deb with a check for $10K for having purchased the winning ticket in the 2014 Smokin' Brew BBQ Cow Pie Bingo fundraiser.  Deb said, "Wow!  I've never won anything before."

We are all grateful to each person who contributed to our CCV Rotary Cow Pie Bingo fundraiser so that our winner could receive the full $10K and so that our club can use the other $10K for our community service projects. We've started applying those funds already to our 9-11 Breakfast for Parker Police and all South Metro Fire Stations and planning for our upcoming English Dictionaries to All Local 3rd Graders, Trick-or-Treat on Mainstreet, and other projects this year that will be documented on this website.  Thanks for participating & contributing!

CCV Rotary Club President Emily Strunk presented these linked slides on Rotary Service Arms: Club Structure and Operations.  Emily says, "There is plenty of room to serve!" and encourages each one of us to get involved in about 5 areas of service.  Check out the HISTORY OF ROTARY VIDEO, too!  From the video, see if you can answer these contest questions.  Our meeting winner, CCV Rotarian Josh Rivero, received a $20 gift card to Parker's Indochine Restaurant. 

28 CCV Rotarians and 6 guests including 3 visiting Rotarians 

CCV Rotarian Mike Waid shared an inspirational moment about keeping in mind that hard work does make a positive difference.

Immediate Past Club President Courtney Howey announced the resignation of Amy Holland and the stepping up of Emily Strunk as our Club President, endorsed by eight past Club Presidents.  

Welcome to Cherry Creek Valley Rotary of Parker, Rotarians Bret Boyer and Michele Boyer! 

CCV Rotarian Gary Fields, a retired intellectual property attorney whose career spanned from Washington, DC and New York to Colorado, spoke about "Adventures with Patents and Trademarks" touching on a wide array of fascinating stories from the history of patents and trademarks in the USA.  

Gary commented on the current case of the Washington Redskins' trademark dispute, told the fascinating story of actress Hedy Lamar and her joint U.S. patent on "Frequency Switching Spread Spectrum Technology" (under her legal name Hedy Kiesler Markey) with musician George Antheil, showed us copies of the actual patents on everything from the sewing machine and cotton gin to Morse Code and President Lincoln's vessel bouyer.  

Gary wrapped up with the first patent in American history, for the making of potash and pearl ash, and showed us a copy of that original patent document which was signed by President George Washington and Thomas Jefferson who was Secretary of State at the time (August 1790).  

Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker provides Parker's Labor Day Smokin' Brew BBQ (food, music, and fun) to promote club fellowship, give back to our local community, and fundraise for the wide array of great causes that our Rotary Club supports.  

 On the far left is Tim Grant from True Bud BBQ having just been named Smokin' Brew BBQ's Grand Champion and at the far right is Johnny Trigg with Smokin Triggers, named Smokin' Brew BBQ Reserve Champions 2014!  Congratulations to ALL our winners and competitors.  See our Smokin' Brew BBQ page on Facebook for more news, photos, and videos.

34 Rotarians and 6 guests attended today's meeting

CCV Rotarian Don Willson led the Smokin' Brew BBQ Committee reports on readiness.  We heard all tasks accomplished by teams led by CCV Rotarians Kyle Medigar, Kevin Hausmann, Dave Hickey, Greg Rodolph, Jim Chincholl, John Diak, John Howe, and Chris Plummer.  Don acknowledged great contributions by these leaders as well as by James Edwards, John Howe, Donna and Rich Foerster, and Mike Waid.  

Special thanks to all our sponsors for Smokin' Brew BBQ: 

Peer Source, One Point, and JDS Professional Group are our Title Sponsors.  Xfinity is our Stage Sponsor.  Parker Station is our Tent Sponsor.  Additional sponsors are the Town of Parker, Traeger Wood Pellet Grills, Affiliated Real Estate Group, Rollens, IREA, Insurance Advisors, Summit Lending Group, Rocky Mountain Real Estate Advisors, International Bank Southlands, Berkenkotter Motors, Synergy Home Care, The Dean Massey Family,  Citywide Banks, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, FCI Constructors Inc., Land Title Guarantee Company, Search Parker Magazine, Columbine Label Company, Schultz's Gourmet, Lowes, Waste Management, Hampton Inn & Suites, Budweiser, Pepsi, Parker Payless Liquors, and Certified Balance.

CCV Rotary President Amy Holland asks us all to extend our appreciation to our Club Admin Gary Bristow for all his work this summer leading the organization of our successful Rotary fellowship events: the Change of Command and more recent Club Picnic.  Thank you, Gary!

We welcome Bret Boyer as a member of Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker.  

Colorado's Distinguished Young Woman of 2014, Legend HS 2014 graduate, and first President of Legend's new Interact Club - Miss Bailey Baker - along with Colorado's Distinguished Young Woman of 2013 - Miss Katelyn Pyfer - explained the process and benefits of learning about, aspiring to, and applying for the scholarship opportunities associated with the Distinguished Young Women program (formerly known as American Junior Miss).  

We are proud to have Colorado represented at the national competition level by our very own Interact Club's first leader!  These young ladies encouraged us to help spread the word about this program (as it helps students work to maintain high academic goals and develop interview skills as well as physical fitness, an on-stage performance, and the ability to think and communicate clearly).

The motto and character development program of Distinguished Young Women is "Be Your Best Self." College scholarships for this program are raised on a state-by-state basis and must be continually refunded and ideally further developed.  The Colorado competition will be held in Castle Rock in January 2015. For more information, please see the DistinguishedYW website. 

30 CCV Rotarians and 6 guests were present

Gail Hamilton opened by singing her rendition of the beautiful opera aria 'Nessun Dorma' which ends with the dramatic "Vincero!" ("I will win!").  She sang this as part of her run for Ms. Senior America 2013, in which she represented Colorado!  Check out her gorgeous photo and book for order on her website Wings to Fly.  As a bonus, don't miss Gail's inspiring experiences 'walking where the sun shines' described by a friend on her Core Reflections page!

Though completely blind from the age of 11, Gail was inspired by her grandmother's love and her voice teacher's encouragement.  She clung to a quote from Jonathan Livingston Seagull: "Break the chains of your thoughts and you break the chains of your body."  

Gail's turn around from the low point of her life was inspired by Lynn Grabhorn's book Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting.  She decided to write a book and become famous.  She applied for a Habitat for Humanity house and helped build it; she has been living in her Habitat house now for 6 years.  When we asked about her next dream, she replied: "To share my story with as many as I can" - through her book and speaking engagements.

Gail wants us to live our lives of greatness by using action-plus-attitude to support the vision we each dream of.  

CCV Rotarian Josh Rivero announced that we will be delivering breakfast burritos to 7 Parker-area firehouses and the Parker Police Dept on the morning of September 11 after getting together the night before at Parker Adventist Hospital kitchen to make the burritos.  Show up to help that night & sign up to be on the delivery teams.

CCV Rotarian Win Pendleton is looking fellow Rotarians to attend the Four-Way Test Seminar for the Douglas County Support Center on October 8 (tentative)​.  He sure could use more tutors for the students at the Support Center.   Please pitch in - it's fun and rewarding!

CCV Rotarian Dave Hickey says "Come down to the Smokin Brew BBQ booth in the Taste of Colorado at the Douglas County Fair Grounds 5-8 pm tomorrow Thursday,  August 21."  Please visit our commissary source, Pegasus in Castle Rock and say Hi & Thanks! to John there for this support. 

30 Rotarians and 8 guests sang "Oh, You shouldn't do a task without a laugh" to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Greg Giesen, developer of The Laughing Leader^TM, spoke about making lasting change in leaders, leading from a sense of purpose and passion guided by core values that transcend into all facets of your life so that what people see on the outside is what you are on the inside. The process requires self-reflection, self-evaluation, and a willingness to change to be who you need to be.  "Leading From Within" is Greg's a 3.5-day workshop at a ranch near Bailey. 

CCV Rotarian Josh Rivero is coordinating our Sept 11 breakfast delivery to our firefighters and police.  On Sept 10 evening we'll meeting to roll burritos at the hospital, then those delivering them the next morning can take them home and heat them up before delivering.  Be prepared to sign up next week.

It's a lot of fun to sell Cow Pie Bingo tickets with fellow Rotarians.  Sign up for our booth at the Parker Farmers Market!

Our club picnic is this Saturday!  Bring your family, beverages, & the dish you signed up to bring along with serving utensils.

Go online and order your peaches and pears!  The deadline for ordering is August 15. They'll be delivered in front of Hobby Lobby on Saturday August 23 (from 12 noon to 1 pm).

29 Rotarians and 5 guests (including a little one) missed our Song Maestro this week. Thanks to our Sergeants-At-Arms for all you do!

CCV Rotary Co-Secretary Tish Shade announced our District Assembly Nov 18 from 5-7pm.  Please plan to attend!  We want our Club well represented, plus it will be a lot more fun with us all there.

 Kate "Heartsong" Sanks presented her encouraging message "Get Out of Your Own Way!" 

CCV Rotarian Gary Bristow reports about 70 people are already signed up for our Fellowship Picnic on Sat. Aug 9.

CCV Rotarian Donna Foerster is offering spots at the Parker Farmers' Market on Sundays in August (the 3rd - 24th) at our Cow Pie Bingo ticket sales booth.  Let her know if you want a slot from 7:30-10:30 am or 10:30 am - 1:30 pm.  Bring your own tickets, keep track of your sales, & turn them in to Chris yourself.  Special thanks to Donna and Rich Foerster for taking and sharing photos of our CCV Rotary meetings and events!

CCV Rotarian Rob Christy announced that Ronald Sega, NASA Astronaut and Under Secretary for the USAF, will be the keynote speaker at a fundraiser dinner for the Boy Scouts in Parker.  RSVP by August 1 for this Aug 23 event.

Register online for the Sept 13 5K Race to End Polio being organized by Rotary District 5450.  

Rotary Institute will be held September 11-14.  This is a great opportunity to learn a lot more about Rotary.  Let our Club President Amy Holland know if you are interested in attending this year.

31 CCV Rotarians and 1 guest Rotarian sang Mike Dunkel's Parker Summer version of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and responded to Dean Massey's inspirational moment.

CCV Rotarian James Edwards, 2014 Smokin Brew BBQ Steering Committee Chairman, kicked off our various directors' progress reports.  We heard from Amy Holland (for Courtney Howey) on Permitting, Kyle Medigar on Site Coordination, Kevin Hausmann on Beverage Coordination, Dave Hickey on Vendor Relations, Greg Rodolph on Competitors, Jim Chincholl on Judging, John Diak on Entertainment, John Howe on Fundraising, Donna & Rich Foerster on Cow Pie Bingo, Chris Plummer on Ticket Sales and Banking, and Tish Shade on Manpower.

Congratulations and special thanks to Becky Hoeck and Tamara Krause on receiving a 2013-2014 Rotary International President's Citation today for the newly established Interact Club at Legend High School.

Contact Mike Dunkel about assisting him with Rotary Peach and Pear Sales!

Support Parker Arts!  Join the Family Circle so you can get advance tickets before August 1st.  You won't want to miss this chance to see Clint Black, Rosanne Cash, the Russian National Ballet's Swan Lake, Bruce Hornsby, the Parker Symphony Orchestra, among many others - right here near home at our Parker Arts Culture and Events Center.  For more information, see the Parker Arts website and call 303-805-6800.

22 Rotarians and 7 guests enjoyed a presentation about "Unlimited You" by Scott and Debra Johnson on overcoming obstacles to live the best life. 

RYLA Camp starts this week at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park and Young RYLA has two week-long camps going on this month in Larkspur.  Best wishes to all the participants and leaders!

Smokin' Brew BBQ is looking for a few last sponsors and plans to finalize those opportunities in the next week or so. 

27 Rotarians and 5 guests including 2 young athletes, 2 Rotarians recently moved here from Iowa, and our speaker

Local writer and historian Sandy Whelchel shared stories and photos of early Parker buildings(including the Creamery, Barber Shop, School, and the Rhode Island Hotel where we now have a flower shop and a coffee shop), the early train route and the train itself, and photos of Parker's early buildings.  Learn more about Parker history on our town's website.

Stay tuned:  Soon we will have peaches and pears direct from Colorado orchards to share with our neighbors!

28 Rotarians and 11 guests rang in the new Rotary year & July with a round of "Yankee Doodle"

Rotarian Donna Foerster introduced Jill Lorentz, Manager of Denver's Walk to End Alzheimer's sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association.  She told us that Alzheimer's is a deadly disease for which there is not yet a known cure​.  The Association is the largest provider of dollars raised for Alzheimer's research in the world, supporting 324 labs ​in 22 countries, ​which are all seeking a cure​.  

The Alzheimer's Association trains doctors, nurses, and care communities about Alzheimer's and all types of dementia. The Alzheimer's Association of Colorado has 7 regional offices, ​which cover every county in Colorado, and 94​ support groups throughout the state. All services are free to the public and depend completely on fundraising.  

Denver's Walk to End Alzheimer's is the major fundraiser.  This year's event will be Saturday, September 20 at Denver City Park; registration starts at 7 am and the walk begins at 9 am.  Register today at www.coloradoalzwalk.org!

The Alzheimer's Association Colorado Chapter is also hosting an "Education Symposium & Early Stage Forum" on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.  Registration is open at www.alz.org/co.  

About 60 Rotarians and guests enjoyed dinner together at The Club at Pradera

​Our fun Year in Review video of highlights was compiled by Andrea Wyant. Service Chairs were recognized for their leadership work.  A few special awards were presented for specific outstanding service.

The 2014 Rotarian of the Year was presented to Mike Dunkel for his long-term contributions to our club and community.

New member Joe Cino was welcomed by Jim Chincholl and John Howe.  John Brokken received his first Paul Harris Award pin.

Outgoing CCV Rotary Club President Courtney Howe handed the gavel to incoming President Amy Holland who invited the new board members to come up and be pinned.

A note from Mike Dunkel: "To all of my fellow Ratarians at the CCVRC I want to express my thanks for the recognition as Rotarian of the Year.  Any such recognition is never the result of a single person's efforts, and that is true in my case.  For example, if Jim Chincholl and John Howe and Doug Klich had not stepped up to get involved with the Sargent at Arms duties, I would not have been able to tackle the membership job.  This is only one example of how we continue to support each other in our actions to put service above self.  I am proud to represent such an outstanding group of folks as your RofTY."

Special Thanks to Rich and Donna Foerster for the great photos!

18 Rotarians and 4 young guests enjoyed club fellowship today

Rotarian Win Pendleton stepped up to share an inspiring story from his recent experience at Rotary Community Corps.

Rotarian Chris Plummer announced that parking at Parker Days was a success and thanked everyone who helped especially fellow Rotarian Win Pendleton for also making sure the tent went up and came down each day.    

Outgoing CCV Rotary Club President Courtney Howey reminded us all that next Wednesday June 25 is our Change of Command Ceremony at Pradera, then she closed the meeting with a final peal from the club's bell.  Thank you for your leadership this year, Courtney!

31 Rotarians and 7 guests heard an encouraging announcement about how the "RCC" Rotary Community Corps works​

Rotarian Rob Christy spoke about his experience with Boy Scouts of America.  He reported that 3% of all Boy Scouts earn Eagle Scout rank.  Douglas County has the highest number of Scouts in the Denver Metro area who achieve this rank each year.  Douglas County had 96 boys achieve Eagle Scout in 2013.  

Rob also shared about 2 activities available through the BSA: Venturing (a self-directed youth development program for boys & girls ages 14-21 who design their own adventures and fundraisers) and Exploring (a program for boys & girls to investigate career opportunities such as public service, engineer, aviator, and more - for which participants do not have to be scouts). 

29 Rotarians and 3 guests heard a great Rotary International invocation and other inspiring stories

Donna and Rich Foerster shared their success stories and strategies on how to sell our annual fundraiser Cow Pie Bingo tickets.  After encouraging us to brainstorm our own great ideas for selling our tickets as well, we shared the top ideas from each table.  If you didn't get an email from Donna with a compilation of all our ideas, please double check your membership information.  This most hilarious and unusual fundraiser is a ton of fun and not to be missed on Sunday, September 1 at 2 pm in downtown Parker, Colorado!

The Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club presented our inaugural 'Parker Police Officer of the Year Award' for the 2013-2014 fiscal year to Officers Dawn Cashman and Casey Cashman in a special luncheon presentation at the P.A.C.E. Center on Wednesday, May 28th.

To honor Parker Police officers for their dedicated service to the Parker community and the State of Colorado, CCV Rotary asked the Parker Police Department to select an officer most suitable for the award.

This award recognizes true commitment to excellence in line with Rotary's motto "Service Above Self".  Normally, the CCV Rotary Club would honor only one officer each year. However, since both husband and wife were at the top of the nominee list this year and each was recommended for outstanding dedication and performance, the Club decided to inaugurate this first annual presentation by honoring both officers together. Gratitude and congratulations for their service go to each of the Cashman officers!

The calendar week during which May 15th occurs was designated as "Police Week" (with May 15 being "Peace Officers' Memorial Day") as signed into law on October 1, 1962 by President John F. Kennedy.  

Although most observances occur nationwide during Police Week, the CCV Rotary Club of Parker plans to present the Parker Police Officer of the Year Award some time during the month of May each year, allowing some flexibility for various potential scheduling challenges.

If you’ve been wondering if Parker is doing anything for Halloween this year your wait is over.

Trick or Treat on Mainstreet was made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Parker Adventist Hospital

Trick or Treat on Mainstreet is happening October 31, 2012

October 31, 2012 4:00 -8:30 p.m. in O’Brien Park & Mainstreet