Newsletter - Current  Mar 1, 2010

print this page

Students of the month honored with parents

Students of the month for February -- Taylor Roberts, a senior at Jefferson City High School (seen on the left with parents), and Cole Twehous, a senior at Helias High School (on the right with mother) -- were honored along with their parents by the Jefferson City West Rotary Club on Feb. 26.

    Taylor is a member of the National Honor Society, winner of the Athletic and Academic Excellence Award, and is up for the Scientific Seal of Excellence Award. He is a member of the JCHS Student Council and a section leader of the Jay Baseline Band, which recently was named the best in state competition. Taylor plans to attend the University of Arkansas to do his pre-veterinary training. He is the son of Paul and Leah Roberts.

    Cole is active at Helias in football and track, a Student Ambassador, and plans to attend the University of Central Missouri. He is the son of Randy and Sharon Twehous.

    Club President Steve Houser, center, provided Student of the Month certificates to the honorees and thanked their parents for being involved in their school life. The students attended JC West Rotary meetings (when there weren't conflict with such things as tests) and gave Rotarians a run-down on events going on at their respective schools.

Program Highlights: Runge Nature Center

Kathy Cavender, manager of the Runge Nature Center, a Department of Conservation facility, said the goal of the nature center is to help make an "emotional connection" between the public and our state's natural resources in order to increase stewardship of our environment.

    Located in Jefferson City, Runge is one of five centers around the state and attracts some 90,000 visitors a year. It features 100 acres with trails and is not just for kids.

    "There are many programs just for adults," Kathy noted. She brought along with her the shell of a 100-pound alligator snapping turtle that once was an attraction at the St. Louis Zoo. The Runge Center has had to change its hours of operation due to staff cutbacks. It now operates five days a week, and is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Program Highlights: Angel Flight Central

Bill "Chip" Gentry, a Jefferson City lawyer with a penchant for flying airplanes, gave an overview of the Angel Flight organization which involves more than 1,000 volunteer pilots in the Midwest who help those who have medical emergency needs. In the Midwest alone, Chip said more than seven million hours of flying time is donated by Angel Flight pilots to help wherever an emergency need exists - mostly involving flying to nearby airports to receive medical aide when other resources are not available.   

    "There are 3,000 private airports in Mid-America, so we can just about reach any medical facility there is," Chip said.

    The organization also has hundreds of ground volunteers to take patients from an airport to the medical facility. Those involved in the Angel Flight program donate their time and the cost of flying to help others.

    "We like to fly. This is a great way to have a reason to get up in the air and do something good for our fellow man," Chip said.

Future Programs

March 5 - New member bios

March 12 - Karen Enloe, JCPS Foundation

March 19 - Mark Schreiber, "Old Prison Update"

March 26 - Mayor John Landwehr

Rotary Conferences coming up!

Here are three key Rotary conferences and special events coming up soon. Put them on your calendar.

March 26-27: PETS/SETS Training for club presidents-elect and secretaries-elect, at Capital Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City.

April 15-17: All-Missouri Rotary Conference, involving all four state Rotary districts, at Springfield, Mo. This will be a fun event for all family members!

April 23: Rotary Trivia Night, sponsored by the JC West Rotary Club, 5:30 p.m. at Capital Ritz, a fun fund-raiser for the Samaritan Center. Open to the community.