ATTENTION: OUR MEETING ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28^TH WILL BE HELD AT THE WHITMAN SCHOOL 248 SOUTH 4^TH STREET. PASS THE WORD ALONG TO OUR FELLOW KIWANIANS. 

This particular Thursday was a gray day outside but the high energy inside Two Rivers Convention Center was absolutely invigorating.  We were greeted by Alan Watkins and Jeff Freeland with warm smiles and handshakes.  President Kristin opened our meeting by welcoming all Kiwanians and their guests. Jeannie played as we sang “God Bless America” under the direction of Rich Emerson and Terry Wakefield.  That was a special treat.  Blaine Scott delivered a beautiful and fun invocation and with that we were off and running.  Thank you all for your contributions to our meeting. 

 This week Rich Emerson introduced Mike Paronto as his guest.  Rich has been working for about a year with Mike to encourage him to join our club and we all think that it’s about time he made the commitment.  Bruce Isaacson brought the smartest man he knows as his guest this week; his name is Lloyd and he is Bruce’s son-in-law.  The smartest man label is due to the fact that Lloyd married Bruce’s daughter.  Paul Miller introduced Doug Carpenter as his guest for the last time.  Doug was inducted this week as a member of our club.  Eric Field introduced Dan Sykes as his guest; Bev Troester introduced John Hildebrand as her guest for the last time.  John was inducted as a Kiwanian this week.  Steve Thompson introduced his beautiful sister, Terri as his guest and last but not least was Doug Stack’s guest, Mike Archibald. 

Members of this week’s birthday club are Mark Ryan, Lynne Sorlye and Tom LaCroix.  Happy Birthday to all!! 

Happy J Bucks this week were paid by Terry Wakefield, Shaunalee Wall, Bob Colony, Toni Heiden-Moran, Lloyd Unfred, Larry Beckner, Dave Kearsley, Rich Emerson and Roxie Denning.  Fines by President Kristin were assessed on Kristi Adams because of an ad in the Business Times that features Kristi; Bruce Hill was fined and he wasn’t even at this week’s meeting; Shaunalee Wall was recognized without a fine due to the fact that she mentioned our club in an article in the newspaper; Bob Stratton was fined for the article in the Business Times about Habitat for Humanity’s new store; and Roxie Denning (that’s me) was fined because of an article in the Business Times about all of the volunteer hours and money that American National Bank has given back to the communities that we live in.   

Our “Young Women of the Month” Program was presented by Kristi Adams.  Tracey Clayton from Palisade High School was recognized this month.  She introduced her parents, Tony & Nancy Clayton and her teacher David Carlow.  Hannah Moesser from Fruita Monument High School was honored by our club and brought her mom, Debbie and her grandmother with her. Hannah’s sponsor spoke about all of her achievements.  Natalie Bamford from Grand Junction High School was recognized as our last young lady.  Natalie introduced her parents, Rick and Kelly Bamford and her teacher, Mark.  All of these young ladies were recognized because of their outstanding achievements and contributions to our community.   

Rich Emerson and Kristin Winn inducted our newest two members this week.  John Hildebrand was sponsored by Bev Troester and Doug Carpenter was sponsored by Paul Miller.  John and Doug spoke well to the members of our club and told us a little bit about their life and why they wanted to be Kiwanians.  

Shaunalee Wall reported on the Board meeting of February 20^th. President Kristin read the thank you letter from Habitat for Humanity for our help on their last workday.  Dennis Durmas is this year’s chair for Pancake Day.  He needs a lot of help from us with the Kick-Off, the sale of Corporate Sponsorships, etc. Please see Dennis soon as June is right around the corner.  Larry Beckner is in need of four team members for the Knowledge Bowl that will take place on Saturday, April 12^th from noon-3:30.  So come on all of you intelligent people call Larry today!!  

Blaine Scott delivered a very funny story about the newest member of his family; their 1200 pound 16 hand high colt.  There was an electric fence involved in the story and you had to be there to appreciate it.  It was GREAT!! 

Gifts for President Kristin came from Terry Wakefield, Greg Schafer and Bob Hansen.  On a recent visit to New York City was Terry sang on the stage of Carnegie Hall, he returned with a Carnegie Hall t-shirt for Kristin.  Greg’s trip to Maui, for his daughter’s wedding, rendered a beautiful shell necklace for Kristin.  Bob returned from his Antarctica Cruise with an adorable penguin for Kristin.   

Cathy Staten was our raffle winner this week and walked away with $34.00.  Congratulations, Cathy!! 

Our “Thought of the Day” was delivered by Toni Heiden-Moran and with that President Kristin adjourned our meeting at 1:15.  

Until next week…..Roxie Denning, Bulletin Editor