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Programs:
REVISED: Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine
To take hear a very topical issue, Rajiv Mehta has graciously re-scheduled his talk for March 29th and this week RCFC will host Tony and Natalie Sundermeier, Wednesday noon, February 8, at the Lincoln Center.
On a Tuesday, a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Tony Sundermeier was watching the war on television when the phone rang. It was a friend seeking advice on converting an old Romanian manufacturing warehouse into a distribution hub capable of delivering humanitarian aid across the border into Ukraine. On Wednesday Tony booked a flight, and on Thursday he flew to Romania where he spent the next nine months supervising the delivery of aid that included food, medicine, clothing, baby supplies, household items and electric generators across the border into the hardest hit and hardest to reach areas of Ukraine.
Tony’s wife, Natalie joined Tony in April and spent six weeks at the warehouse providing everything from administrative tasks to packing donated supplies for shipment. Their story provides a glimpse into the lives of the Ukrainian refugees who work at the warehouse, the development of a network to help a war-torn country and the resilience and resourcefulness of everyone involved.
Tony and Natalie Sundermeier both graduated from CSU. Tony then spent nearly 20 years at Intel, included leadership positions in Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing, Strategy, Operations, and Human Resources. He also had international assignments with AT&T, McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), Intel, Apple, and Raymour & Flanigan retiring as Vice President of Operations and Sales.
Natalie Sundermeier’s career started in information systems with Wang Laboratories. She evolved into an HR professional after earning her Masters degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development. As an HR executive she worked for Informatics, Carborundum (British Petroleum) Allied Signal and Honeywell before forming the Sundermeier Group, providing Human Resources Consulting to small and medium businesses. In 2005 she diversified into real estate investment and property management while scaling back her HR consulting practice. Semi-retired, Natalie continues to manage the Sundermeier Group’s investment properties and is a budding General Contractor.
RECAP: A DEI Journey: Local and International (Lunch Meeting)
For our meeting on February 1, in a presentation thankfully not challenged by technological issues, club member and past club president Del Benson outlined for us his Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) journey through life. He started out with two visual aids: a black and white T-shirt that emphasizes the fact that DEI is not black and white but rather has all the shades of gray; and a preserved cow patty which he received on being awarded his PhD, emphasizing the fact that DEI requires looking at people in all levels of society and all levels and types of economic activity. He then set the tone for the rest of the talk by recalling the World-War-I story of the spontaneous one-evening “armistice” on Christmas eve when all of the soldiers on both sides laid down their arms and celebrated the spirit of the season by fraternizing between the trenches; this was terrible for fighting morale because the men of both sides got to see the face of the enemy. READ MORE...
On February 8th, the History Fellowship will meet immediately following the noon meeting at the Lincoln Center. Our topic this month will be: 'What have we learned from the war in Ukraine? How do you think it will end?' All viewpoints and all opinions will be welcomed.
Announcements
District Conference Registration Now Open!
This year’s District Conference, June 8-10, in Estes Park provides us a unique and wonderful opportunity! We will be able to:
Celebrate your successes over the year
Learn and reinforce skills from the breakout sessions
Participate together with others in a meaningful service project
Reconnect with the young future Rotarians
Network with like-minded Rotarians from around the district
And have a GREAT TIME!!!
Nestled in the majestic mountains, Estes Park is an idyllic location for an inspirational gathering and to bring together all of the above activities.
We are looking forward to the Service Above Self event on April 26th in the evening. The Fellowship Committee is busy planning a great event, so please save the date!
The awards committee is now accepting nominations and appreciates your input! We will be awarding 5 awards at the event, and a few others during regular meetings. If you know of a Rotarian that should be considered for an award this year, please click here and let us know using this online form! Thanks!
Invoice reminders for past due invoices and pledges are went out today. If you received an email reminder from Quickbooks, please pay or contact our treasurer, Steve Kane, if you have any questions about the invoice. If an invoice is overdue by 90 days, a member of our Finance team will be contacting you for resolution. If still no resolution, the Finance Team will refer those members to the Board to consider terminating their membership in Rotary. Please do not ignore the emails, as they are automated and will keep coming weekly until resolved.
(The date on the invoice corresponds to the quarter. For instance, invoices dated January 1st are for the quarter January 1st to March 31st)
You can help promote peace in the world by encouraging peace and development leaders in your community to apply for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. Each year, Rotary awards fully funded fellowships for peacebuilders from diverse backgrounds to study at one of our peace centers located at premier universities around the world. This year, 50 peace fellows will be selected to study in the master’s degree programs and 40 fellows to earn a professional development certificate.
But Rotary needs your help finding candidates. Rotary and Rotaract members can get involved by:
Taking the All About the Rotary Peace Fellowship course to learn about the qualification criteria, eligibility restrictions, the application process, and more
Forwarding the fellowship announcement to your contacts and including it in club and district communications
Using our referral form to tell us about potential candidates so we can contact them
Sharing a PowerPoint presentation about the fellowships with your club members and community
For our meeting on February 1, in a presentation thankfully not challenged by technological issues, club member and past club president Del Benson outlined for us his Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) journey through life. He started out with two visual aids: a black and white T-shirt that emphasizes the fact that DEI is not black and white but rather has all the shades of gray; and a preserved cow patty which he received on being awarded his PhD, emphasizing the fact that DEI requires looking at people in all levels of society and all levels and types of economic activity. He then set the tone for the rest of the talk by recalling the World-War-I story of the spontaneous one-evening “armistice” on Christmas eve when all of the soldiers on both sides laid down their arms and celebrated the spirit of the season by fraternizing between the trenches; this was terrible for fighting morale because the men of both sides got to see the face of the enemy. 
Invoice reminders for past due invoices and pledges are went out today. If you received an email reminder from Quickbooks, please pay or contact our treasurer,