On August 15, Dave Boon, member of the Fort Collins Rotary After Work club and Past President of the Rocky Mountain Youth Leadership Board of Directors gave an interesting presentation on the History of RYLA/YRYLA and the current status, followed by short talks by two recent awardees.
RYLA was started in Queensland, Australia in May 1960, and brought to the Rocky Mountain region in 1987. At a formation meeting in District Governor Charlie Peterson's house, apparently Susan Peterson, overhearing a conversation regarding who would attend said, "I think this is a fabulous idea to have a RYLA, Charlie, but you WILL allow girls!" RYLA and YRYLA have been coed since the start, and were so 1 year prior to Rotary inducting it's first woman.
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) includes 11th or 12th grade students; Young RYLA (YRYLA) targets students entering the 8th grade, and RYLA+ focuses on physically challenged students. Rocky Mountain RYLA's current $300,000 budget provides camp for 372 RYLA participants, 283 Young RYLA participants, and 9 RYLA+ participants. The three groups run 5 conferences each summer, facilitated by 143 volunteer Senior (Rotarian) and Junior (past participant) Counselors donating 20,000 + hours.
Rotary's annual Peach Festival is August 18 - don't miss out on the fun! Volunteers still needed, urgently! To sign up, go to http://signup.com/go/rbRPOoJ
President Steve Laine announced the establishment of two new scholarships, funded by Ada Chen. The scholarships, named in honor of Ada's late husband, Dr. Yung Hai Chen, will provide yearly $3000 scholarships to CSU and $2000 scholarships to Front Range Community College. Both scholarships are funded for 5 years by a generous gift of $30,000 from Ada. Ada told an emotional story of coming to the USA and CSU, the many blessings she has received since, and recounted how much Yung Hai loved Rotary. Ada received a standing ovation for her comments. Thanks for your leadership and caring, Ada. Editor's Note: In a previous version of this story, Dr. Yung Hai Chen's name was misspelled. We apologize for the error.
Last week we were treated to the soothing and familiar radio voice of Neil Best, President and CEO of Community Radio for Northern Colorado, when he presented a topic on everyone's mind, "Fake News" and it's history in the US. Perhaps there is comfort when we consider the problem is not new. George Washington told Alexander Hamilton in 1796 he was leaving office primarily because of the effects of a hostile press. In the 18th century it was clear that reporting in the NY Sun was designed for the sole purpose of increasing circulation. In the early 19th century the terms "yellow journalism" and subsequently "tabloid journalism" were needed to describe the current journalistic content. Totally fabricated stories persist: fast forward to gunshots fired because of "the child slavery ring run by Hillary Clinton and associates out of a pizza shop", and we were reminded such misinformation can have "real world" consequences.
Locally, the fight for subscribers and survival lead to "yellow journalism" in the 1920's when the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News fought for reader share. Next, Neil highlighted the importance of the economics of the news business and it's influence on what we hear and read. Staff have been cut at most news outlets as the internet supplies information at lightning speed. News organizations debate whether readers are "citizens" or "consumers". A pivotal change in our view of the validity of federal government supplied information took place during the Vietnam War and the Nixon administration. Journalists could no longer take such information at face value and became more investigative.
We were given some tools to use to search through the "information" for the "knowledge". For example, we can check to see if the material has been edited. We can look for the "center" when we see extremes in reporting (think Fox vs MSNBC). It behooves us all to do the work to find the facts and teach our children and grandchildren to navigate the morass of information that bombards us daily from so many sources. Finally, in his only political comment, Neal stated "we (journalists) are not the enemies of the people". The "newsroom" is most often staffed by dedicated honest people; some are giving their lives in this cause.
Rotary Club of Fort Collins was chartered August 1, 1918, and this year celebrates 100 Years of Rotary In Fort Collins.
Club Information
Welcome to our Club!
Meetings: Wednesday Noon
Drake Center (Lunch)
802 West Drake Road
Fort Collins,
CO 80526 United States
RCFC's Announcements Editor is traveling. Please send all announcements to Stacyplemmons@msn.com
The Rotary History Fellowship will meet in the foyer immediately after the regular meeting. Our topic this week will be: 'Sports Issues: Questions about college athletics locally and nationally and what about taking a knee in the NFL?' All members and all opinions are always welcome at our fourteen year old fellowship.
Bill Schaffer urges participation in Fort Collins Read Aloud. For information, go to Fortcollinsreadaloud.org.
Ralph Smith has 2019 calendars available for $14, $5 of which comes to the club. He presented a check for $120 to the club from last year's sales.
Don Eversole renewed his plea for volunteers to drive courtesy carts at the hospital. See him for information.
Henry Weisser urged members to enroll in OSHER, CSU's life-long learner classes, and left catalogs at the front desk.
Melanie Chamberlain asked members to pick up directories and to buy Matsushima’s RCFC Centennial Memorial book for $25.
Dave Stewart will be traveling to Mexico in November, and urged members to consider a visit to the orphanage we have helped. See him for details.
Sally Lee announced King Soopers now requires credit card for reloading more than $100. Checks no longer taken. Our club earned $358 this month.
Marty Bachman reminded all to report special occasions/events/illness that the Care and Recognition Committee should acknowledge. Call Marty, Melanie Chamberlain, or JeanneFangman.
On August 15, Dave Boon, member of the Fort Collins Rotary After Work club and Past President of the Rocky Mountain Youth Leadership Board of Directors gave an interesting presentation on the History of RYLA/YRYLA and the current status, followed by short talks by two recent awardees. 
RYLA was started in Queensland, Australia in May 1960, and brought to the Rocky Mountain region in 1987. At a formation meeting in District Governor Charlie Peterson's house, apparently Susan Peterson, overhearing a conversation regarding who would attend said, "I think this is a fabulous idea to have a RYLA, Charlie, but you WILL allow girls!" RYLA and YRYLA have been coed since the start, and were so 1 year prior to Rotary inducting it's first woman. 
Rotary's annual Peach Festival is August 18 - don't miss out on the fun! Volunteers still needed, urgently! To sign up, go to 
President Steve Laine announced the establishment of two new scholarships, funded by Ada Chen. The scholarships, named in honor of Ada's late husband, Dr. Yung Hai Chen, will provide yearly $3000 scholarships to CSU and $2000 scholarships to Front Range Community College. Both scholarships are funded for 5 years by a generous gift of $30,000 from Ada. Ada told an emotional story of coming to the USA and CSU, the many blessings she has received since, and recounted how much Yung Hai loved Rotary. Ada received a standing ovation for her comments. Thanks for your leadership and caring, Ada. Editor's Note: In a previous version of this story, Dr. Yung Hai Chen's name was misspelled. We apologize for the error.
Bill Timpson introduced Lindsay Pointer, who has been studying Restorative Justice in New Zealand on a Rotary Peace Fellowship. 
