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The sidewalk leading to the Rotary Playground at Delta West Park has been completed. The city paid the entire cost, so the Roswell Rotary Club now can use the $7,000 budgeted for the sidewalk to buy trees and otherwise enhance the playground. Part of the funds came from a Rotary District 5520 grant.
We are delighted to see Covid numbers dropping in our District and in most of the country. It bodes well for all of us beginning to get back to some form of normal life. The reopening of the Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) is one example of that hope.
District 5520 members have the opportunity for two different RFEs this year. The first will be with District 7255, which covers Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens, New York. A description of the district is shown at the end of this note.
Please respond by email as soon as possible if you are interested and willing to host the district’s inbound team for 2-3 days in May, or if you wish to travel outbound to their District in August.
Details:
Request for host families/clubs for incoming Rotarians from District 7255 and for those interested in traveling to District 7255
• We need 6 host families in 3 different host clubs/communities for 2-3 days each during May 10-20. Multiple clubs in a given area may share the hosting of the guests between the clubs. If you are willing to host the incoming group, please notify me as soon as possible by email at pedaceabq@aol.com.
• If we can provide enough host homes for this incoming group from District 7255, we will send a return group to their district from Aug. 2-12, 2022. If you are interested in traveling to District 7255, please notify me as soon as possible by email at pedaceabq@aol.com.
Reservations to travel will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Travelers will be asked to provide a $100 check (made out to Rotary District 5520) to hold your reservation. The check will be torn up when you depart on the RFE. Should you cancel and we are unable to fill your spot, the check will become a donation to our district.
Please let me know if you have any questions about RFE, or this specific trip at (505) 349-8850 or pedaceabq@aol.com
Description of District 7255 – Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens
Our Rotary District 7255 covers the geographic area of Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. It is approximately 115 miles long from Brooklyn and Queens at the western end, to Montauk at the easternmost point. At its widest, the island is approximately 20 miles from north to south. Long Island is the longest and largest island and the most populated island in the United States and 18th in the world. It houses approximately 8 million people.
Long Island is noted for beautiful beaches along Long Island Sound on the North shore and the more famous South Shore, which is home to Atlantic Ocean waves and white-sand beaches. The North Fork is also home to many wineries, farms, and culinary outlets. Other attractions include the North Shore harbor towns such as Port Jefferson, Huntington Village, Stony Brook, and Northport, where a variety of eateries and small businesses thrive in a bohemian atmosphere.
Tourists can swim at any of the great South Shore Ocean beaches, splurge at the many shopping malls, dine at famous eateries, and partake in the exciting nightlife that Long Island is known for.
History is all over Long Island. To mention a few sites:
• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where DNA was first discovered.
• The Oheka Castle listed on the coveted National Register of Historic Places has been devoted to the art of entertaining since 1919.
• Sagamore the former home of Theodore Roosevelt with a museum, nature trails, and beaches.
• Montauk Point Lighthouse offers scenic views and a museum at the historic 1776 lighthouse authorized under President George Washington.
• The Cradle of Aviation Museum, an aerospace museum located in Garden City commemorates Long Island’s part in the history of aviation.
• The famed musician Louis Armstrong’s home along the Queens Jazz Trail is fun to visit.
• The Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum is a remarkable sight.
• The wonderful Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the famous Brooklyn Bridge and the gorgeous 85-acre waterfront park offer history and beauty all wrapped up in one.
New York City (Manhattan Island) is about 30 minutes to 2 hours away by car or train, depending on the Long Island location you would be traveling from. New York City is famous for its sights, museums, shopping, eateries, and theaters. Many Long Island tourists visit New York City during their stay and get to enjoy all the fun and exciting attractions both islands have to offer. New York City is not part of District 7255, though we do provide some sightseeing excursions there for our Inbound Friendship Exchange Teams.
In August you can enjoy the warmest season and dig your toes into our beautiful white sand beaches, shop and dine at quaint seaside villages and tour world-class wineries. The weather averages around 83 degrees Fahrenheit and is perfect for swimming and outdoor sightseeing.
The Roswell Rotary Club board has voted to cancel today’s meeting because of snowy, icy weather and road conditions.
The Roswell Rotary Club has found a new home!
“We will be meeting at the Roswell Country Club starting tomorrow,” said Bianca Cheney, club president-elect.
The Country Club’s address is: 2601 Urton Road, Roswell, NM
Since reinstituting in-person meetings in the latter stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the club has moved its weekly lunch meetings to various locations. Members were asked to vote on a permanent meeting site last week.
The Roswell Rotary Club’s program to collect plastic bottle caps for conversion into park benches has received special mention in a Rotary International online publication.
Last summer a writer for the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) interviewed club president-elect Bianca Cheney for the article.
To read the article, click on this link: https://www.esragplastics.org/a-bench-grows-in-new-mexico/
By BIANCA CHENEY
JP and I recently attended the winter South Central Rotary Youth Exchange conference in Tulsa.
The SCRYE is our multi-district organization for the youth exchange program.
Some 100 people attended the conference from 34 districts. The Board meeting was on Friday afternoon and many wonderful breakout sessions were held on Saturday, covering all topics relating to the program.
JP was prepared to make one breakout presentation and, after we arrived found out another presenter was not able to attend, JP happily agreed to lead a second presentation. He does a great job and always receives good feedback from attendees.
I am on the Management Committee and a member of the Training Committee, responsible for selecting topics for each conference, as well as confirming speakers.
SCRYE conferences are held twice a year — winter in Tulsa and the summer conference at various locations throughout the SCRYE member districts. The July conference will be in Albuquerque. You are welcome to join us to learn more about this fabulous program.
District 5520 had seven representatives at the SCRYE Conference in Tulsa.
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Attending conference are (from left) Richard Haas, Las Cruces; Melissa Metcalf, Los Alamos; Rob Metcalf, Los Alamos; Laura Gonzales, Los Alamos; Cassidy Gardner, past exchange student to the Netherlands from Los Alamos; Bianca Cheney, Roswell; and JP Cheney, Roswell.
Historian Dale Ek will speak on “If they could only talk — some can!” at this week’s Rotary Club meeting at the Roswell Civic Center.
He said his presentation “will feature selected items from my collection that enlighten the beholder of its place in history.”
Ek, who was raised in Orchard Park, graduated from Dexter High School. He is a Marine Corps veteran and is a graduate of Texas Christian University and the University of Texas School of Law in Austin.
History — specifically military and New Mexico history — has been Ek’s lifelong interest and for more than 45 years he has collected historical items. He is a member of the Historical Society of New Mexico, the Albuquerque Historical Society, and the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico.
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Rotarian Steve Henderson (left) and Dale Ek attend earlier dedication of historic sign marking the World War II “Roswell Prisoner of War Camp” at Orchard Park near Roswell.
