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Teacher of the Month

Bonnie Titley introduced the September Teacher of the Month, Kathi Frasier. Kathi teaches third grade at Laurel Elementary School. Kathi started by saying she had a hard time accepting the award because she had a rule that she would not speak to any group where the members were taller than she. Kathi thanked our Rotary Club and Rotary Clubs for honoring teachers, for members volunteering to read at schools and for the dictionary program. She described how excited the students were to get the dictionaries and how they used them during the year before taking them home at year end.

On the questionnaire that teachers fill out for Rotary, one of the questions us about the proudest moments of the teacher. Kathi said that there were many small moments and she gave the club several examples. Her examples ranged from past students remembering her to challenging students that she helped overcome weaknesses.

Student of the Month

Jamie Grim introduced Meredith Wheeler, a senior at Poudre High School, as the September Student of the Month. Meredith has lived in Fort Collins all of her 16 years. She said that her life has been dominated by two themes, internationalism and service. Those values were first instilled in her by her parents. From a young age, her mom would take her to the food bank and other non-profits. When younger, she said that she did not appreciate the value of service and would roll her eyes when her mom would insist she volunteer. She begrudgingly joined National Charity League (NCL), a mother daughter service organization, in the eight grade, but in high school NCL has been one of her primary focuses. She has had the opportunity to volunteer for a variety of organizations, but her primary commitment has been to the Fort Collins Museum. This year as president of the NCL council, she hopes to share her excitement for service with younger students and help them form lasting connections with local non-profits.

Meredith describes to us other service experiences and why and how living in Fort Collins has been such a benefit to her passions. She told us she was thinking about taking a year off from school to volunteer with a group called “City Year.” Then she expects to study Arabic and Hebrew to go along with her language skills in Spanish and German.

ROTC Cadet of the Month

Professor of Military Science (PMS), Lt. Col. Andy Groeger introduced Justin Kuhlmann as Cadet of the Month. An Eagle Scout and track participant at Greeley West high school, Justin carries a 3.2 grade average, majoring in Political Science at CSU and is a member of Ranger Challenge. He participated in the LDAC, Leader Development and Assessment Center, this summer and attained an Excellence Rating. He is in charge of detachment fund-raising, with 12-15K to his credit. The detachment is in charge of setting up and tearing down Ram Town at each CSU football game and Justin is in charge of this task.

Justin then thanked the Club, his PMS, other cadets, and his parents for their recognition and support. He is a senior at CSU, hoping to become an aviation officer upon commission. He plans to get his Master’s and teach ROTC at a university.

Classification Talk

I am Jerry Kennell and my classification is Foundation - Fundraising. President Jan, members of the club and, especially, Jean Griswold, who extended the invitation, thank you for this opportunity to be part of the Rotary Club of Fort Collins. There are many paths to service. Let me tell you a little about mine.

I was raised on a farm in Illinois. I am married, since 1972, to Leonor Constantin, the child of immigrants from Puerto Rico and Cuba. She grew up in the South Bronx and is currently a bilingual special educator at Irish Elementary. We have an adoptive family of five and three grandchildren.

I have spent the last 33 years working for nonprofit organizations. I have served on many boards, including chairing the founding board of Ten Thousand Villages Fort Collins and current service as board chair of Village Earth. In January, I opened the Western Regional Office for MMA affiliated with the Mennonite Church. We help people – anyone – connect their faith and values with their financial decisions.

The connecting thread of my career has been a passion to build and improve organizations dedicated to service. Needless to say, I am pleased to sit at table with hundreds of people who demonstrate that same passion by their participation in the Rotary Club of Fort Collins. Thank you for the privilege of your company.

More detail will be placed on the Classification Talks section of the Members Area.

CSU Student Athlete - Special Performance

Shelly Godkin introduced Larry Kerr, the Defensive Coordinator for the CSU Football Team, to introduce the player of the week for the football team, Mike Pagnotta. Mike is a senior safety on the team and is from Cave Junction, Oregon. In last weeks game versus the University of Houston, Mike had a sack of the quarterback, a tackle for a loss and a intercepted pass. Mike was spotlighted on the CSU Athletic Department Web Site for his performance. The information can be found at: Safety Mike Pagnotta.