Lawrence Central Rotary

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Kelley Hunt Inspires Singing!

Kelley Hunt got Lawrence Central Rotarians on their feet and singing! Her encouragement and the lyric “We let the light shine over us” inspired members to join the chorus. Hunt also peformed the title song from her most recent of six recordings, “Beautiful Bones.”

Hunt’s website describes her sound as a “refined blend of blues, soul, and R&B and root music.” A singer and songwriter, piano player and guitarist, Hunt was born in Kansas City and earned a degree in music from KU. Although she considers Lawrence as her home base, her band comes out of Chicago, and she tours and performs all over the country. Hunt will perform at the Cider Gallery on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

Hunt described being fascinated with the piano as a child even before she could see the keys. Her mother always listened to her compositions and admonished her to think for herself in the face of setbacks and criticisms. Hunt’s success in a male-dominated industry comes from the self-assurance that that encouragement bred into her. As Hunt says, I was willing to “show up as who I am.”

January 20, 2018
Masks: Mystery and Beauty

Carla Hanson, curator of a traveling exhibit called “Spirit of the Mask,” shared her collection of masks and their stories. Masks can cover the face, head, and even the entire body, as demonstrated below by Rotarians Bob Swan and Jim Peters as they tried on masks and garments associated with the plague in medieval Europe. Created using all types of materials, masks play a role in dance forms, storytelling, ritual, and celebration.

Hanson’s collection includes masks from more than 45 countries and cultures of the world. She brought examples from Native American tribes, Peru, Nigerian, Guatemala, Tibet, Bali, Russia, and more. Many were renderings of animals, reptiles, or the faces of spirits. In addition, there were Santa Claus costumes and Halloween masks familiar in the United State and a mask of a “nisse,” a white-bearded creature from Nordic folklore.

Hanson will be teaching a course about masks for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Olathe and in Kansas City this spring .

January 11, 2018
Focus on Rotary Foundation

LCR member Janis Bunker is a passionate advocate for PolioPlus, Rotary Foundation’s drive to eradicate polio in the world. When she attended the 2017 Rotary International conference in Atlanta last June, she joined roundtable discussions about the effort. Beginning in 1979. Rotary International began its fight against polio with a multi-year project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. Over the past decades, Rotary has partnered with the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fund and implement the project.

Today, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic. Although there were only 17 cases reported during 2017, work to ensure that the virus does not emerge once again will continue for ten years after the last case is reported. Even as monitoring for new cases continues, the infrastructure of laboratories and immunization clinics works to manage outbreaks of new diseases in the world.

Michael Steinle, chair of the Foundation Committee for Lawrence Central Rotary, outlined the six areas of focus that define the work of Rotary Foundation. They are (1) promoting peace; (2) fighting disease; (3) providing clean water, sanitation, and hygience; (4) saving mothers and children, (5) supporting education; and (6) growing local economies. Contributions to the Foundation support projects aimed at these initiatives. The Foundation is proud to be known for delivering 91% of each contribution dollar to help these efforts.

December 26, 2017
Kressig and LaClair Welcomed into LCR

Kevin Kressig and Chip LaClair are new members of Lawrence Central Rotary. President Fred Atchison inducted the two during the November 30 club meeting. Sponsors Steve Lane and Jim Evers participated in the ceremony.

Standing left to right in the photograph: Atchison, Lane, Kressig, LaClair, and Evers

November 30, 2017
Ramsdell and Meyer Inducted into LCR

Bob Ramsdell (left) and Kade Meyer (right) were inducted into Lawrence Central Rotary on Wednesday, November 15. After the brief ceremony, President Fred Atchison asked both men to tell the group more about themselves.

Bob Ramsdel l said that before earning a law degree at KU, he spent 21 years as an artillery officer in the Army. He then worked eighteen years in a local law partnership. In July 2017, Bob set up a solo law practice in Lawrence focusing on estate planning, probate, trusts, wills, and elder law. He and his wife are originally from Maryland; they have two adult children who live in the area. Bob was drawn to Rotary because he has many friends who have been involved in the organization. He selected Lawrence Central Rotary Club because it is small enough for friendships and big enough to get things done. In his free time Bob likes to read history and biography and enjoys photography.

After a six-year stint in the Army Reserves, Kade Meyer returned to Topeka where he and his two siblings had grown up. He followed his father’s lead into the insurance industry and currently works as an insurance account representative in Lawrence, specializing in life insurance. As Kade launches himself professionally, he knows he needs to connect to the community. Joining a Rotary club has been an ideal way to do so, but he has also gotten involved with a number of other groups and initiatives in both Lawrence and Topeka. Kade chuckles as he acknowledges he chose Lawrence Central Rotary because of our reputation as “the fun group.” In his free time, Kade enjoys listening to podcasts and to a variety of other media.

November 18, 2017