September 23, 2024

 

       

Announcements: Jim Callender announced that the GRMC Foundation Board is having a fundraiser on October 25th at the Murray Hotel. There will be an internationally known psychic, an Italian dinner catered by Savory Kitchen and a silent auction; all included in the $35 ticket price. It starts at 4:30 pm, dinner at 5 pm followed by the psychic at 6.
Tom Bates stated that the special projects committee will be getting together next week to come up with a couple of projects for the club to work on.
Maggie Callaway reported that we are at $2100 in donations to Indian Springs Ranch Retreat. She also mentioned that Fairgate is pretty well covered but have one more slot to fill.
Mark Richard reminded us of the polio concert on October 26 at Light Hall.
Art said that on October 1 we are tentatively scheduled to meet at the golf course in the grill for a social club meeting. He then introduced April Crosby, our speaker.

 

Program: April told the story of the Gila Valley Library in which Rotary is a hero. In 2004 Phyllis Richie decided the Gila needed a library and she and some of the residents decided to make it
happen. The first library was in a Quonset hut and soon became an accredited library serving the communities of Gila, Buckhorn, Cliff, Riverside, Mule Creek and pushing up toward Glenwood. It soon began to outgrow its space. HMS offered the library a building they had just moved out of for $1 a year rent. This created the need for fundraising so the building could be renovated and made into a library. The community turned out in a big way to help with painting and plastering. Diana Ingalls Leyba brought her mural project out, and a mural was designed based on stories from old- timers in the Valley. Special emphasis was placed on children’s
programs. Third graders come out each year to get their first library card, listen to story hour and leave the library with their very first books. They have a clay school, public theater event,
and educational events. This year the kids wrote and published their own books. The library has an internship program for junior and senior high school students who are hired to work every summer during the six week science camp. The children’s room was outgrown and needed to be added onto. Mark Richard designed the addition and $30,000 was needed to build it. Rotary gave $9,000 towards building the addition, the first lead gift to get the fundraising going for which April was very appreciative. In 2020 the addition was completed.
April showed pictures of the new addition and the rest of the building. A shade structure and landscaping was also added. There are adult programs as well offered in the evenings. April
reintroduced Esti Gutierrez and Mary Kate Fowler and shared the expertise that they are bringing to the library.
April invited us to celebrate their 20th anniversary with them on October 5 from 10am to 2pm. There will be special events, refreshments, select free books, giveaways and raffles.

 

After a question and answer period, Art presented April with a thank-you gift and the meeting was adjourned.