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District Governor Visit and other August Happenings

This August held five Tuesdays, which provided the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club with five opportunities for meetings, with quite a bit of variety.

The KCK Rotary Club was pleased to host District Governor Stephanie Meyer for her official club visit and welcomed her to the Ballroom at Memorial Hall in downtown KCK. DG Meyer shared her personal story as well as her vision for District 5710. Luckily, DG Meyer left behind some of her infectious enthusiasm for this Rotary year!

The Club also welcomed a couple of writers this month: local author Michael Kolich one week and Monique Hammond, a researcher and author from Minnesota, another week. Mr. Kolich shared that his book was inspired by his time growing up in KCK, and he encouraged members to write their own story. Ms. Hammond is a Rotarian from Minnesota who has spoken to numerous Rotary Clubs across the US and other English-speaking countries. As a result of her loss of hearing as an adult, Ms. Hammond has been inspired to conduct extensive research on hearing loss and prevention of hearing loss to carry out her mission to “keep people of all ages hearing better, longer.”

Taking advantage of a lovely and atypical August evening in Kansas, the Club hosted a tailgate at Legends Field prior to a Kansas City Monarchs game. The tailgate provided a great opportunity for visiting with fellow Rotarians and their family and friends. Closing out August, Erin Stryka, the Executive Director of Rosedale Development Association, spoke to the Club about RDA’s goals and wonderful impact in the community.

Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club: Focus on Education

The past few weeks this Spring, the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club had been busy with a focus on education. And, for the first time in more than two years, we were able to welcome local high school students and educators in person!

As part of its annual Student Scholarship Competition, the Club hosted outstanding high school students from Wyandotte County schools. One female and one male student from each school were nominated by their respective school’s staffs to compete for $1,500 college scholarships. All the students exemplify the highest academic, service and character standards in our community. We can all be proud of these Wyandotte County students, and we are excited about their bright futures.

Pictured below are the students who competed for a scholarship from The Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Presidents’ Foundation.

Pictured from left to right: JaKayla Brown (Sumner Academy), Alexis Gerber (Piper High School), Jazmin Romo (Bonner Springs High School), Luna Marin-Rodriguez (Wyandotte High School), and Asma Haji (J.C. Harmon High School)

Pictured from left to right: Emmanuel Madrid (J.C. Harmon High School), Luis Aguilera-Fernandez (Wyandotte High School),

Alexis Corral (Sumner Academy), Langston Bassett (Piper High School), and John Barger (Bonner Springs High School)

During National Teacher Appreciation Week, the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club also honored some very deserving local educators. On National Teacher Day of that week, we presented the KCK Rotary Club’s Educator of the Year Awards. Educators from Wyandotte County high schools were introduced by their respective principals who provided background on each honoree and the reasons behind that individual’s selection as Educator of the Year.

Pictured from left to right: Elizabeth Villanueva (J.C. Harmon High School), Angela Diaw (Wyandotte High School), Amy Adam (Piper High School),

Magan Harrell (Bonner Springs High School), Tyler Heying (Bishop Ward High School), Tracy Carver (F.L. Schlagle High School),

Jennifer Manger (Turner High School), and Elizabeth Bergman (Sumner Academy)

Finally, this past month the Club also received word about from the Hispanic Development Fund announcing the 2022 Class of HDF Scholars. This year’s class of 415 scholars, the largest class in the history of the HDF Scholarship Program, was awarded a record of $896,450 in total scholarships. Through our members and The KCK Rotary Presidents’ Foundation, we raised $4,000 which was matched through Cambio Para Cambio donor funds for a total of $8,000. Because our HDF KCK Rotary Club Scholars attend educational institutions which also provide matching funds, an additional $5,500 in scholarships will be available to the students, bringing the total award for the six newly named HDF KCK Rotary Club Scholars to $13,500!

Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club Honors Sheriff Donald Ash

On September 14, 2021, the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club honored Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald “Don” Ash, who spoke to the Club that day.

Prior to the Club meeting, Todd Jordan, KCK Rotary Board Member, presented a Paul Harris Fellow and a plaque to Sheriff Ash, who is not running for re-election as Wyandotte County Sheriff this fall. Sheriff Ash was especially honored with being named a Paul Harris Fellow.

The inscription on the plaque states:

The Rotary Club of Kansas City, Kansas

recognizes

Sheriff Donald “Don” Ash

on the occasion of his retirement,

with appreciation and thanks

from a grateful community for

many years of dedicated service

September 14, 2021

Todd Jordan, KCK Rotary Board member, and Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash

A lifelong Wyandotte County resident and Washington High School Class of 1971 alum, Sheriff Ash began his career in law enforcement as a Police Cadet for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department in February 1972, serving in many different roles until his retirement from the KCKPD in December 2006.

In 2009, Sheriff Ash was elected for his first term as Sheriff of Wyandotte County, Kansas. He was re-elected in 2013 and again in 2017, making him the first person to be elected to three terms as Wyandotte County Sheriff. With his decision not to seek re-election in 2020, Sheriff Ash will be leaving the office after more than 12 years of service as Sheriff and more than 47 years of service in law enforcement.

With this conclusion of his many years of dedicated public service, the KCK Rotary Club wishes Sheriff Ash all the best in his retirement!

Helping Friends of Kaw Point Park

The rain and storm on Friday made weeding at Kaw Point Park a lot easier on Saturday morning, August 21, 2021. We picked up trash and removed as much crabgrass as we could from the native gardens with volunteers from Friends of Kaw Point Park. It was the first time Fernanda, Matt and Melody had been to the park. For our long time members, who knew KCK Rotary member Mike Calwell, you know how tirelessly he and Laura worked to transform and maintain this park. This year Rotary International officially added Protecting the Environment as one of their areas of focus. Helping to maintain this special piece of land in our community is a great way to contribute to protecting the environment and honoring the legacy of Mike. Thanks to Ken Davis for continuing to encourage all of us to be a part of this magical place in our community. We hope to see you on Saturday, Sept 25th for the next clean up.

Visit with new District Governor, Vern Henricks

New District Governor, Vern Henricks, was the speaker for our first in-person meeting on Tuesday, August 3, 2021. Vern shared about his experience in Rotary over the years and the goals he has for District 5710 this year. It was nice to be able to host our event in the lobby of Memorial Hall. After the meeting, we gave Vern a short tour of this historic building.

Cross Lines Service Project

In lieu of a regular meeting on July 27th, Club members gathered at Cross-Lines Community Outreach for a volunteer opportunity. Beginning at Noon, while the food pantry is closed, Club members packed commodities boxes for 27 families and seniors, packaged baked goods for the pantry market, restocked the pantry market shelves, helped reorganize food for the pantry, assisted shoppers, and sorted and restacked cases of food in the warehouse area. Lots of great work accomplished in just a couple of hours!

Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club Educators of the Year for 2021

During the month of May, the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club continued its focus on education by honoring some very deserving local educators.

On May 4^th, National Teacher Appreciation Day, we recognized outstanding educators from eight Wyandotte County high schools. This annual program of the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club honors teachers in the county who represent the best of our community. The teachers were introduced by each respective school’s administrator, and the Club learned of each teacher’s unique contributions to the individual schools. Each educator received a certificate and a gift card to show our appreciation for their work during this particularly difficult year. We are grateful to these teachers who give so much of themselves to educate and prepare our youth for the future.

Top Row: Bret Klankey, Turner High School; Shawna Stevenson, Bonner Springs High School; Carol Grubbs, Piper High School; and Jasmine Lowe, Wyandotte High School

Bottom Row: Katie Johnson, Sumner Academy; Hillary Klein, J.C. Harmon High School; Michael Boyda, F.L. Schlagle High School; and Maria Belaustegui, Bishop Ward High School