Events

The Friends Concert Choir, under the direction of Rolaine Hetherington, will perform songs to usher in the holiday season!   

Our buffet line opens at 11:45 today. 

The Christmas Wish List for four Lawrence Elementary families was emailed to our members over the weekend. To sign up to purchase a gift, go to: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BIEcBH6Zj1n-y2g-h1-3TGUlkbRjcsj2dcZPUj3y2NU/edit?usp=sharing

Choose the gift(s) you would like to purchase and type your name on the line in the "Rotarian" column. Once you've typed in your name, close the browser tab and the information will be saved automatically so we will have a running record of what gifts are left to purchase. Be sure to write down the gift information so you will have it for shopping. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AFTER YOU'VE PURCHASED THE GIFT:

1. Wrap your gift(s) without a bow

2. Securely attach a gift tag with the recipient's name and the Gift # on the package.

3. Bring the gift to our meeting at RHCC on December 12 or 19 and mark it off the list. 

Plan to sit with your committee when you arrive to make plans for the last half of this Rotary year!

Florencia (Flor) Zappia is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Flor has been an English teacher since 2013.   She has taught students in elementary, high school and adult levels and strives to be innovative to help them acquire English skills. Flor’s goal for being a RITE teacher is to learn new strategies and enhance her professional experiences while exchanging teaching ideas with other educational professionals. She plans to share them with colleagues and students. Flor trusts her experiences in the U.S. will further enhance her knowledge in planning lessons, new strategies in teaching and classroom management and naturally applying them to her skill set. She represents the Rotary Club of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires. Flor has traveled to the U.S., England, Scotland, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Bolivia, and Perú.

Gimena (Gime) Rios is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gimena is a teacher in a teaching preparation hybrid program. This experience has allowed her to work across all grade levels for the last three years. Gimena’s goal as a RITE Teacher is to create connections among new colleagues to share with co-workers about the U.S. American culture. She sees her experiences life-changing and filled with comprehension to enhance her teaching skills to use with students and share with other teachers. Gimena traveled to England, Italy, and Spain in two different multiple-weeks study and cultural trips. She has vacationed in France.  Gimena is a volunteer enthusiast and helps people in need of health services and food resources.  She also has volunteered in animal shelters. She represents the Rotary Club Once in Buenos Aires.

Iván Guerra- David, Chiriquí, Panamá. Iván has been a teacher of English for 23 years. He currently teaches grades 1st-3rd in the David area. He also teaches indigenous students who come from the Comarca (Reservation). His experience has allowed him to work with university students and is the English program coordinator of 11 teachers in his school. He hopes to acquire new teaching techniques and methodologies to teach English more effectively. He is excited to participate as a RITE Teacher because Rotary Clubs in Wichita and David help teachers grow and to be helpful to their students. He hopes to continue to motivate his students to better English students by learning new techniques while in the Wichita area schools. Iván has traveled Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Salvador, and Honduras as a tourist. He came to Pennsylvania in 2017 for two months to study English as part of the Panama Bilingüe Program. He represents the Rotary Club of David. 

Ingrid Villamonte is from David, Chiriquí, Panamá. Ingrid has been a teacher of English to elementary students since 2013. Her first 3 years were spent in a private bilingual school. She moved to public school and is currently teaching English to K-6 students in a small school in David. Ingrid is excited to be a part of the RITE program due to its unique opportunity to experience the U.S. educational system while practicing her English-speaking skills.  She hopes to learn new teaching strategies to enhance her skill set. She wants to share her new knowledge with colleagues and students when she returns. She also teaches future teachers of English at the university level. She is representing the Rotary Club of David. Ingrid is involved in her community through water projects and other resources to help those in need provided by non-profit organizations.  Ingrid has traveled to Costa Rica and to Washington D.C.. Her time in D.C. included two months at American University to study English as part of the Panama Bilingüe Program.

Gene Taylor was named the Director of Athletics at K-State in April 2017, and in six years under his leadership, the Wildcats have recorded championship performances on the field and in the classroom, in addition to continued fundraising success and immediately improving the facility infrastructure to enhance the experience of all Wildcat student-athletes.
  
Highlighting Taylor’s tenure competitively has been back-to-back Big 12 Outdoor Women’s Track and Field championships, five football bowl appearances, a football Big 12 Championship and a Big 12 Championship and two Elite 8 appearances from the men’s basketball team, while Taylor and staff fundraised and have begun to implement a department-wide facility master plan that will benefit all Wildcat teams.

Taylor’s strategic plan for the department places an emphasis on the student-athlete experience, while his leadership helped navigate the COVID-19 crisis, in addition to enhancing the department’s already-strong diversity and inclusion program, has been well documented.

Serving as Deputy Athletic Director at Iowa from 2014 – 2017 after having a very successful run at North Dakota State and rising through the ranks over 15 years at Navy, Taylor started his career in Athletics at Arizona State and SMU. 

Taylor and his wife Cathy, have one daughter, Casey, and a son, Jared.

In January 2023, a sponsoring committee made up of over 50 faith communities began laying the foundation for a permanent justice ministry organization in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Over the course of the year the sponsoring committee elected interim officers, adopted bylaws, and approved a formal process for membership in Justice Together, DART’s newest affiliate. 

DART’s mission is to engage congregations in doing justice.

Samantha Goodell is a local midwife. Her career started as a surgical/trauma nurse and eventually moved into labor and delivery. She had around 7.5 years of labor and delivery, postpartum, and NICU experience prior to becoming a midwife. In August of 2022, she graduated from Baylor University with her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with her specialty being midwifery. She initially joined a small practice in Winfield, KS but after an unforseen closure, she joined Born Midwifery's practice in May of 2023. At that time she started a hormone optimization company as well. In December or 2023, with support from Born Midwifery, she made the decision to expand her hormone management company to include all aspects of care that midwives can offer. She owns and manages Miracle Moments Midwifery where she provides routine and non-routine gynecological care, hormone management, infertility treatment, prenatal care, lactation support, and out of hospital births. Her goal with her clinic is to empower women to make informed choices about their healthcare and ensuring the space is one where they feel their choices are respected.  Outside of work, Samantha is a very outdoorsy person and enjoys fishing, hiking, snowboarding, and relaxing on a beach. She doesn't have kids herself but shares her house with two very sweet cats!

Project Description
The Northwest Water Treatment Facility is a new water treatment plant that will serve the City of Wichita, surrounding communities, industries, and wholesale customers. The new plant will provide 120 million gallons per day of drinking water and will replace the aging Main Water Treatment Plant. The purpose of the project is to replace aging infrastructure to provide reliable delivery of drinking water.

Project Benefits
Replaces an 80-year-old drinking water treatment plant at the end of its useful life which will increase reliability and reduce risk of failure.
Includes innovative treatment strategies and robust design standards which are focused on meeting current and future water quality standards.
Allows the project to begin 7 years earlier than it would without WIFIA funding.
Saves the City of Wichita ratepayers an estimated $97 million by financing the project with a WIFIA loan compared to a bond issuance.
 

Adam Tannehill’s journey with LANGE began in 2021 when he joined Lange Real Estate as an inside sales representative. He quickly gained valuable experience in understanding client needs and providing exceptional service. His dedication and enthusiasm quickly caught the attention of the team, which brought him into the role of creative sales and marketing in the summer of the same year. This opportunity allowed him to combine his creative mindset with his sales expertise, contributing to the growth and success of Lange Real Estate.

His experience with LANGE eventually led him to the position of networking officer for LANGE Companies, taking on a strategic business development role. A natural connector, this role gives Adam the opportunity to leverage his networking skills while he establishes valuable connections with key stakeholders in several industries. He thrives on cultivating partnerships and identifying growth opportunities for the company. With his invaluable expertise in cultivating opportunities, fostering growth, and driving business development, he has been an asset to the LANGE team.

Adam attended Midland University, focusing on commercial art and advertising. Before joining LANGE, his professional pursuits combined his love of sports, entrepreneurship and marketing. He has a knack for staying ahead of market trends and adopting innovative strategies.

Beyond his professional life, he also finds time for golfing, volunteering, running his business, and some artistic pursuits. He’s been married since October 2019 to his wife, Nicole. They have two dogs named Mia and Piper.