By: Jim Cox
Palisade Sunrise Rotary began in 2008. Former Palisade Chamber Director and now winery owner, Juliann Adams, and Palisade Co-Op’s Mark Liff met at the Wine Country Inn and decided a Rotary Club was needed at the East end of the Grand Valley.
Early members were Sean Brunelle, Joan Grumley, and Holly Dewarwick. They began meeting at the Dos Hombres in Clifton in the early morning before the restaurant opened. Bob Delevan was a sponsor.
After a few meetings, they decided to find a different place to meet. Since Juliann then worked at the Wine Country Inn, the owners, Jean and Richard Tally, offered to let them meet there. 20 members are required to establish a new Club. They had 18 people signed up. Dennis Baker from the Downtown Rotary Club offered to be #19, and convinced his wife Arlene to join, making 20 members. On June 11, 2010, the Palisade Sunrise Rotary was chartered!
Since then, many community organizations have benefitted from being chosen by the Club for projects. Some examples are:
- The flagpole and some landscaping were paid for at the new Fire Dept.
- Combined with a Rotary District Grant, Emergency Beacons were purchased for the Palisade Fire Dept.
- A District Grant was secured for a heart monitor in an ambulance.
- For Child & Migrant Services, Rosetta Stone programs were provided for their computers; paperwork in Spanish was provided with legal information for renters, and recently a District Grant was secured to paint the CMS building.
- Money was provided to the Palisade Historical Society for coloring books.
- Rotary members volunteer each Thursday at the Food Bank of the Rockies.
- Rotary members also volunteer quarterly to pick up trash at Exit 42 ramp areas.
- We bought an Adaptive Bike For Strive.
- We also paid for water filters for a project in Afghanistan.
Palisade Sunrise Rotary now boasts 26 members and in addition to its other projects annually, hosts a JUCO team.
Rotary means Service to our community and the members of the Palisade Sunrise Rotary live by this creed. Rotary International has, for decades, been committed to eradicating polio worldwide and is getting close to this significant goal!
We meet every Tuesday, starting at 0730 at the Wine Country Inn. Stop by for any meeting. You are always welcome!
