On August 20 at the Morning Meeting for All Del Sol Rotarians, Preston Dennard was the speaker.  Preston played football at UNM and for nine seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL, mostly with the Los Angeles Rams.  In 1980 he went to the Super Bowl with the Rams.  He also played for the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills.  After leaving the NFL he lives and works in Albuquerque.  He donates his time as a Motivational Speaker and helps APS with Athletic Fundraising.   He has raised over $1.5 million for APS sports programs.  

 

His talk to Del Sol Rotarians was "Invest in Yourself".  He said he has learned that our biggest challenge is believing in ourselves.  Preston told us how as a youth he had a terrible problem with stuttering.  His father encouraged him to become involved in sports and through that he overcame his stuttering.  Preston urged us not to "invest in pain, hate or color of skin".  He said that we need to see that we can make a difference if we give people a chance to grow.  He asked us to ask ourselves, "What is your life journey  to be", "What is your passion".  RDS members were inspired by Preston's talk.

 

On August 17, Christine Glidden led a group of Rotarians  and helpers as they made a project Hope delivery to the Acoma Pueblo. Present were Christine and her husband Jim,  Tina Garcia from the Albuquerque Club and Acoma volunteers including former Lt. Governor Ray Concha.  The team delivered 28 boxes of  baby diapers, 10 boxes of adult diapers, toothpaste and shampoo.  In addition they delivered food items including vegetable oil, flour, bread and peanut butter.  

 

The next trip will be to the Chaco area.  

 

The Hope project has become a very big deal and Christine needs more help.  A Committee with representatives from Del Sol, Del Norte and Albuquerque has been formed to help Christine.  Members from Del Sol are Ron Hensley and Herman Haase.  The Project Hope alternates between trips to the Navajo Reservation and trips to Rio Grande area Pueblos.  Drivers and helpers are needed so please sign up on the events calendar or call Christine or Chris Van Dyck, Service Chair to sign up.

 

The Health Care Heroes Project is going full steam with drivers needed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Steve Reynolds is doing a  great job at Jimmy's Cafe preparing the Breakfast Burritos and Cinnabons that mean so much to front line health care workers who are risking their lives during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Jimmy's is serving breakfast and lunch outdoors with social distancing and in the nice weather  it is a great way to get out of the house for  an excellent meal.

 

All members are invited to attend Satellite Meetings especially since during the Covid-19 Pandemic we are only having Morning meetings twice a month.  Jeff Weinrach, Satellite Co-Chair has sent  a link to attend the ZOOM meeting to all Del Sol Rotarians.