Events

July 1st marks the beginning of a new Rotary year! Thank you to Ed Frey for his leadership as our 2024–25 Club President and our Board of Directors for their service this year.

We will have a recap today of our activities this past year presented by our Committee Chairs, followed by our Past Presidents passing the gavel up through the years to this year's Club President Mindy Wagner.

THE BUFFET LINE WILL OPEN AT 11:45am THIS WEEK!

Hal Ottoway is a collector of historical items, including the lowly postcard. He reminds us that the postcard was an important means of communication before telephones and telegraphs. Postcard art often captures the time and place of a community's significant people, buildings, and events. He will look at the history of Wichita through his extensive collection of postcards.

The RITE (Rotary Intercountry Teacher Exchange) program was started in our District by Ralph and Armida Hight in 1996. It began as a joint project of the Rotary Clubs of West Wichita and West Sedgwick County–Sunrise and has grown to involve additional clubs in our District. In 2010, Dalia Hale (WSC-Sunrise Rotarian) and Shelli  Kadel (former WW Rotarian) took on the responsibility of organizing this program. The Inbound portion of the project includes receiving teachers from Panama and Argentina for 4 weeks mid-January to mid-February and involves lining up host families, planning activities and school schedules. The Outbound portion involves selecting and sending teachers from the Wichita area to Panama for 4 weeks during their summer break.

Today, our Outbound teachers will share about their experience in Panama this summer.

Ms. Katie Brinkman has been serving as a Spanish teacher at Wichita Southeast High School since 2018. She holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Kansas State University. In addition to her academic achievements, Katie is an avid traveler and lifelong learner. Her travels have taken her to Panama, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, London, Switzerland, Belgium, and Mexico. For three consecutive years, Katie has excelled as a RITE teacher in David. She has played a crucial role in maintaining continuity in the teaching program and has contributed significantly to the seminars. Her creativity has enabled her to make the most of her time with teacher participants, showcasing her talents effectively. These experiences have honed Katie's Spanish language skills to a proficient level, allowing her to excel in various contexts related to Rotary, teaching, and relationships with teacher participants. Furthermore, her expertise has empowered her to support teachers beyond the RITE seminar.

Ms. Gaby Amparan is an English Teacher at Wichita North High School. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Emporia State University. Gaby began her educational career in the Wichita Public Schools at Hadley Middle School and moved to North High after a year teaching 8th grade English classes. She now teaches 9th grade English which includes some classes with high-needs students. She brings another asset to North High as she is a fluent Spanish speaker.  This allows her to use her Spanish skills to help communicate more clearly with parents. Gaby led a seminar in David with teachers of English in the area schools along with some who teach in the Comarca (reservation). This experience has allowed her to improve her skillset as a teacher.  Being a RITE teacher has allowed her to improve her teaching toolbox. She wants to reach beyond her home building and push forward to help inspire students and other educators.

Dr. Sondra Stieber has a PhD in Education and a PhD in Physics. As an Educator and Inspirational Speaker, she will share her experiences teaching math and physics in unique educational environments, including war zones and prison schools in developing countries. Following a near-fatal injury that resulted in her becoming an amputee, she emerged as an advocate and, interestingly, the world’s second known cyborg. Currently, she travels across the country to speak about upper limb prosthetics, particularly to disabled veterans and researchers. Sondra leverages her educational expertise and personal history to support at-risk youth by organizing summer science camps for underprivileged children in various locations throughout Kansas.

Denise Vann serves as the Program Director for the Alzheimer’s Association – Central & Western Kansas Chapter. In this role, she leads the chapter’s efforts to provide education, outreach, and support for individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. She also collaborates with healthcare systems and oversees the planning and implementation of the Annual Kansas Conference on Dementia.

Denise has been with the Alzheimer’s Association for over a decade and has more than 20 years of experience working directly with individuals living with dementia in long-term care settings. She is a Certified Nurse’s Aide (CNA), Certified Activity Director (ADC), and Social Service Designee (SSD), with certifications from Butler County Community College. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration with an emphasis in Long-Term Care from the University of Phoenix.

Denise is deeply committed to improving the lives of those impacted by dementia across Central and Western Kansas through advocacy, community partnerships, and education.

Rev. Andy Houltberg has served as CEO of Breakthrough Episcopal Social Services in Wichita since March 14, 2022. Ordained in the Episcopal Church in 2021, he holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and training in trauma-informed spiritual care. Formerly Executive Director of Ashby House in Salina—where he implemented strategic planning, partnership-building, and operational stabilization—Andy has also served as pastor of Emmanuel Foursquare Church and Field Director for Prison Fellowship in Kansas City.

At Breakthrough, he promotes the Clubhouse model, encouraging member-centered recovery and community integration. As Chair of the Coalition to End Homelessness, Andy plays a key role in coordinating regional efforts to provide housing stability and supportive services for individuals in need in Wichita and Sedgwick County.

Morgan Rogers serves as the Victim Services Specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Sedgwick County and Western Kansas. In this role, Morgan provides free, confidential support and advocacy to victims and survivors of impaired driving crashes, helping them navigate the emotional, legal, and financial challenges that often follow. With a strong commitment to prevention and community education, Morgan works closely with local partners, law enforcement, and families to raise awareness and to help end impaired driving.

Dalia Hale has been a member of the Rotary Club of West Sedgwick County – Sunrise since 2007 and has coordinated the Rotary Inter-country Teacher Exchange (RITE) Program since 2010, assisted by former West Wichita Rotarian Shelli Kadel. The RITE Program facilitates teacher exchanges between the United States, Panamá, and Argentina to support English education. This program is financially supported by the West Wichita and Sunrise Rotary clubs and involves host families from our area Rotary clubs.

Retired from a long career in education — including classroom teaching, administration, and adjunct faculty work — Dalia has also served as a RITE outbound teacher in 2016 and 2019 where she conducted teacher seminars for English instructors. In 2025, she traveled to Panamá with our outbound RITE teachers to implement program improvements.

Today, Dalia will share a report on her recent visit and discuss the future of the RITE Program.

Paige Koeppen is the Chair of the Rotary Satellite Club of West Wichita - Service.  She worked as a counselor at Clark Davidson Elementary School in Goddard, KS for 33 years.  While there, she started Grandparent’s Luncheon, she was a mentor to young teachers, coordinated many different social emotional programs, and ate lunch with every child in the school throughout the year. She learned every name of all 500 students by October of every year.  The "7 habits of Effective Kids" were one of the programs that was taught to teach children kindness, perseverance and many other important qualities. She is thrilled to continue making the world a better place through her membership in Rotary. 

Our club’s first Soup Luncheon took place on April 25, 2000, with the goal of raising funds and awareness for Hunger Plus, Inc., a non-profit relief agency dedicated to providing food and essential supplies for emergency situations and, for longer term projects, to improve food security — a project supported by Rotary International. The money we saved by not eating lunch at RHCC for that meeting was directed toward sponsoring shipments of dehydrated soup from the Breedlove Dehydrated Foods facility in Lubbock, Texas.

Initially, we prepared bags of the dehydrated soup for our luncheon, which, although nourishing, lacked flavor. To enhance the experience, John Mosley proposed a Soup Contest for the following year, inviting members to bring their own creative soups using the dehydrated mix as a base. By 2006, we evolved our approach, allowing our talented “chefs” to showcase their favorite soups without the mix.

Over the years, this event has transformed from a simple soup cook-off into a full-fledged soup, chili, and dessert competition with members casting $1 votes for their favorites, raising a few extra dollars for the project. In 2017, we decided to shift our donations from Hunger Plus, Inc. to local organizations, such as the Lord’s Diner and Paxton’s Blessing Box. Another recent recipient has been ShelterBox who is focused on disaster relief and have now become the established beneficiary of our proceeds, largely due to the fact of our close connections since they are a Rotary International Project Partner.

Come help us raise funds for a good cause. Bring one dollar bills to cast votes for your soups & desserts.

A big thanks to Mindy Wagner & Christy Barnett for organizing this project again this year and to all of our chefs:

Crockpot of Soup: Jodi Barnwell, Jacob Beckman, Meliss Hamilton, Paige Koeppen, Colin McKenney, Rick Oglesby

Crockpot of Chili: Ed Frey, Lesley Hazleton, Misty Jack, Colby Reynolds

Dessert: Roger Bowles, Meliss Hamilton, Carol Molz, Sondra Stieber, Lori Taylor, Fe Vorderlandwehr

Bread, Rolls or Crackers: Bob Beumer, Gregg Greenwood, Vern Klassen

If you signed up to bring a food item, please arrive  by 11:45am so we can get it all arranged to start the buffet line at noon. Don’t forget to bring a serving utensil.