Announcements/Business
- Board Meeting:
- Reviewed the budget in light of loss of income. No Home and Garden Show, No St. Pat’s, Likely no peach crop this year, perhaps no Summer Music Festival. We will hold the money we have not spent for next year. If you have concerns, please contact Dean for clarification. The Board invites members to consider other means for raising money, be creative!
- Lesley is going to contact Bonfils Blood Bank to see if we can sponsor a blood drive in our area.
- We now have the option to pay our club dues online, in addition to the way we have always done it. Lee added a club dues payment window to our website homepage and Cathy will be adding a message about paying our DUES online via Credit Card or PayPal. If you choose to use the online option, there will be a small fee added to cover the PayPal fee.
- Face Mask report from Lenore and her team: 1,648 have been created and delivered to area health care workers and others, including in the Back Pack food bags.
- The St. Pat’s silent auction is still on line via Janine. If you have bid on items, please use the online Donation button to pay up. We have made over $400 so far.
- We will start our virtual meetings at 8 a.m. starting next week.
- Last month, Platte Canyon High School Interact Club delivered hundreds of coats and blankets to Halo’s Closet on West Colfax- a result of their collections in the Bailey area!
Program: Making History on Puget Sound
A project called: Credimus (to believe, to trust in)
Kip Otteson and Steve Hanford
Kip and Steve are Platte Canyon High School (PCHS) teachers who wanted to give their students a hands-on learning experience and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. They chose the Seventy48 boat race on Puget Sound, Washington, sponsored by the Northwest Maritime Center. The Seventy48, https://seventy48.com/, is a 70-mile boat race from Tacoma to Port Townsend, WA that must be completed in 48 hours.
They assisted the students at PCHS in building a 40-foot out-rigger that carried 17 students and adults, a hands-on learning activity. The kids learned how to calculate and draw lines, cut wood, and use various tools. The best builders were the girls, because they followed instructions.
They were featured on Channel 9; from this they got a volunteer gentleman from Denver who created hand-written punch lists for the kids to use and was able to guide them---always better to have an “outside” adult.
They started in January last year and had the craft ready to go to Dana Point, California for "sea trials" by Spring Break. In California, they developed into a team, learning how to paddle on the ocean and to be safe. Paddling in ocean swells gave them a clear idea of how the boat was going to do. Half the kids had never seen the ocean. As a bonus, they had dolphins and whales that swam with them from time to time. They also did some nighttime training in Colorado before they departed for the race, since the race is an overnight event.
They got amazing support from the students' families, many of whom traveled to Seattle to cheer them on. The parents had trackers and during the race they would follow along the shoreline, cheering, and encouraging them. At the end of the race their supporters treated them like celebrities!
They came in 17th out of 129 boats and finished in only 17 hours! That was an average of 4 miles/hour, 30-40 strokes/minute. They were the ONLY student-built and -operated boat in the race. The Maritime Group in Washington loved them and gave them tremendous support for their amazing feat.
Coming into this adventure, these kids had dreams and aspirations; and after this experience, they knew they would be able to do whatever they could dream. They all grew tremendously.
This year they have been converting the boat into a paddleboat. It will be a STEM project and will expand the educational experience. Their plan is to win the race. Unfortunately, COVID-19 cancelled this year's event so they will do it next year.
For more information and photos do a web search on: Platte Canyon Yacht Club.
Guests:
Curt Harris, District Governor, Dick Bryant (former Conifer Rotary member, past President and former Principal of Fitzsimons Middle School in Platte Canyon School District)
New Member Induction: Salesa Hancock, welcome to the club!