Events

Marsha Potvin is the Founder and CEO of Footprints ICT, a 501c3 non-profit here in Wichita.

Marsha grew up in Manhattan, Kansas but moved to Wichita in the mid 70’s. During her career, she helped manufacturing companies build their products faster, better, cheaper as a business systems consultant. She and her husband retired in 2016 and traveled the country in their motor home, but settled back down in Wichita when they missed their granddaughter too much.

Marsha’s sister started working with a non-profit out of Denver collecting NEW socks for those in-need in Manhattan. Marsha liked the idea, and was affiliated with the same Denver non-profit for a short time. In 2019, she decided she wanted to be able to make her own decisions, so she started her own 501c3 and called it Footprints ICT.

Marsha had no idea how huge the need in Wichita was for something as simple as a pair of NEW socks. She started with one outreach event in Riverside Park and put a sock drawer in the first Title 1 School in 2019. Four short years later, Footprints ICT now furnishes NEW socks at multiple outreach events, has sock drawers in over 80 schools, and has distributed over 43,000 pairs of NEW socks.

When she’s not handing a pair of socks to someone in-need, she enjoys traveling with her husband Michael and their beagle Sofie.

Join us today at Venue 3130, 3130 W. Central (don't go to RHCC!) for our Annual Soup Luncheon to raise funds for ShelterBox. Bring dollar bills to cast your votes for your favorite soups & desserts.

ShelterBox Mission: We provide shelter, essential items and technical assistance to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people recover and rebuild their homes after disaster. We listen and adapt our support to the needs of each community, working together with those affected by disaster, alongside our supporters and partners.

ShelterBox and Rotary officially became project partners in disaster relief in 2012. This partnership is instrumental to Rotary's disaster response strategy. One of the most important elements of the relationship is the opportunity for Rotary members to serve countries affected by disasters. Ed Frey is our Rotary District coordinator for ShelterBox.

Thanks to the following members for volunteering to bring a food item:

Soup or Chili: Jacob Beckman, Rick Oglesby, Randy Bowles, Colby Reynolds, Mindy Wagner, Sharon West, Colin McKenney, DeAnn Sullivan & Lori Taylor.

Dessert: Christy Barnett, Roger Bowles, Paul Blissett, Joe Terick & Lori Taylor.

Bread, rolls or crackers: Suzy Chapman, Vern Klassen & Annie Pfeifer

For those bringing a food item: Please arrive by 11:45 to get it arranged on the table before the buffet starts at noon. Don't forget to bring a serving utensil.

It is this desire in each of us to research, educate, and just learn how things operate or were made. This has been the way I approach learning.

My name is Eileen Kludt and I moved to Wichita in the summer of 2011 after the passing of my husband, Francis, in 2005.

I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, graduated high school and entered Nursing school.

Nursing was a profession I enjoyed but always felt someday I would go back to school.  I was accepted to Texas A&M University after my younger daughter graduated from A&M and graduated in 2005 with a Business Degree and a minor in Horticulture.

I am the proud mother of three beautiful children, all of whom are Aggies and six grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter is a junior at Kansas State and a proud member of the KState Wildcat Band.

4-H was a big part of our family and as a result I was appointed to the State 4-H Clothing Board and received the Award for Gray County 4-H Volunteer of the Year.

Eileen is a member of East Wichita Rotary, two-time Paul Harris Fellow and received Rotarian of the Year in 2013-2014.

Eileen has spent the last two years learning everything there is to know about The Hillcrest.

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.