Meet the New Governor and His Lady

After three years of moving up the ranks of leadership in Rotary’s Utah District 5420, Gilbert Trujillo of the Bloomington suburb of St. George, has been inducted into the state’s top spot as 94th District Governor overseeing the activities of Utah’s 44 clubs and more than 2000 members.

As the fifth district governor selected from among the nearly 90-members of St. George Rotary Club, Trujillo will direct Utah Rotary District 5420 to meet the goals of Rotary International as he encourages all Utah Rotarians to more fully engage in service in their club, community, state and in the world. He also hopes to coordinate an international project involving all 44 clubs working together for greater impact; develop a workable plan for the active recruitment of young men and women leaders into Rotary clubs around the state; continue in support of RI’s global partnership goal to eradicate polio in the world; and, encourage Rotarians throughout the Beehive State to dig deep into their pockets to fund water projects to bring clean drinking water to many of more than 2.6 billion people in 3rd world countries who currently live without this precious commodity.

Trujillo also wants to promote micro-credit programs in impoverished populations worldwide enabling people to make a living with an investment of as little as $30; and to continue supporting literacy programs in the state and worldwide.

“The problems associated with illiteracy affect those in developing counties as well as wealthy nations with universal education,” notes Trujillo. “Literacy is a stepping stone out of poverty and can help people provide an income to improve their lives and the lives of their children.”

The Utah District Governor’s Rotary career began in 1989 as a charter member of the Delta Rotary Club where he served as president (1990-91) and hosted Rotary youth exchange students from the Philippines, Brazil and France.

After retirement from General Telephone and Telegraph (now Verizon Wireless) in 1992, Trujillo and his wife Patricia relocated to St. George where he was recruited for membership in the St. George Rotary Club, also coming up the ranks of leadership, including service as president. He also served as team leader for a Group Study Exchange to Argentina, a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for people in the early years of their professional careers.

In recent years as Rotary has grown statewide, the 72-year-old Bloomington resident was selected to serve as an Assistant District Governor which gave him experience and the courage to throw his hat in the ring for his new role as District Governor.

As District Governor, he has the option of having his home club host the annual Utah Rotary District Conference which is expected to bring approximately 500 Rotarians and spouses to the area for three days in May, 2010.

Trujillo is a native of Taos, New Mexico. In addition to his legendary Rotary mindset of “service above self,” Trujillo enjoys cooking international cuisine. Gil and his wife Pat are parents to seven, grandparents to 19 and also have 3 great-grandchildren. The bilingual former Marine’s 30-year career with GTE took him and his family to live in faraway places around the world, including Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece. Currently, he is the owner/manager of Rent-A-Video in downtown St. George.

Our Greatest Snow on Earth!

Snow Canyon State Park, with its splendidly eroded red and white Navajo sandstone contrasted by large masses of black lava, has been a favorite backdrop for Hollywood movie hits such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Electric Horseman, and Jeremiah Johnson and for countless TV commercials.

Named for Erastus and Lorenzo Snow, two early settlers to the area - rather than for the fluffy white precipitation which rarely falls there - Snow Canyon State Park also attracts hikers, rock climbers and photographers to its extinct cinder cones, lava tubes, and lava flows where the terrain is easy to climb and provides numerous vantage points for photography. In addition, sand dunes are scattered around the edges of the valley, and several locations on the enclosing cliffs have examples of ancient Indian petroglyphs. Discovered in 1850 by local cattle ranchers and originally named Dixie State Park, the canyon was designated as a Utah state park in 1959.

Wildlife in Snow Canyon includes three endangered species: the Gila monster, peregrine falcon, and desert tortoise. Small fences to keep the ground-dwelling creatures from accidentally wandering onto roads can be seen across Snow Canyon and along many highways in the St. George area. Other notable wildlife include the giant desert hairy scorpion, coyote, Mojave sidewinder, red-spotted toad, Utah banded gecko, and the side-blotched lizard, among many others.

Located only a few minutes from downtown St. George, Snow Canyon State Park is one of Washington County’s most popular tourist attractions and a must-see for Rotarians visiting the area during the week of the Utah Rotary District Conference on May 13-15, 2010.

America's Favorite National Park

In 1882, Clarence Dutton, an associate of explorer John Wesley Powell, wrote, "Nothing can exceed the beauty of Little Zion Valley. In its proportions it is about equal to Yosemite, but in the nobility and beauty of the sculptures, there is no comparison. No wonder the fierce Mormon zealot who named it, was reminded of the Great Zion, on which his mind was bent - 'of a house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens'."

In 1909, the designation of Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Howard Taft, came as a big surprise to most Washington County residents. The name of Mukuntuweap was unpopular locally and hard for visitors to say, so in 1918, the acting director of the newly created National Park Service changed the park's name to Zion and in 1919, the U. S. Congress changed the monument to a national park. Thus began a process which would eventually give Dixie its international reputation for scenic beauty and its largest industry - tourism.

Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, Zion National Park's unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 types of reptiles inhabit Zion’s 229-square miles (145,598 acres) of desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest.

Zion National Park also includes the 1.1 mile Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel which was constructed in the late 1920's. At the time the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel in the United States. The Zion Tunnel's purpose (along with the Zion Mount Carmel Highway) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.

In June 2009, a survey by TripAdvisor named Zion National Park as the #1 favorite national park in the country. The travel group questioned 3,000 vacationers all across America about their favorite parks and they put Zion on top.

Even if your plans will not allow you to spend extended time in Zion National Park, consider driving through on your way to or from the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010. It may be a little out of your way, but is well worth the effort!

The Desert Blossoms as the Rose

The story is told that Wilhelmina Cannon, a homesick young pioneer woman and new bride, longed for the green hills and trees of her home in the eastern U. S. As she prepared to leave her home and husband behind in the harsh desert of SW Utah, David Cannon begged her to reconsider. "Show me one thing of beauty in the whole area and I’ll stay," responded Wilhelmina. David delivered on that challenge with a handful of sego lilies, plucked from the sparse, dry terrain around St. George. Wilhelmina’s heart was softened and they remained to become leaders in the community and parents of a prominent family.

Finding beauty in an area known for its "brackish water, blowing sand, pesky insects and unbearable heat" has been, over nearly 150 years, a challenge for many. But seemingly as a reward for perserverance, every spring and summer, the unforgiving desert produces a splendid show of wildflowers and for a short period, perennials are in brilliant color!

The normal colors of the desert - with little rain and extremely high temperatures - are browns, mauves, pastel greens and grays; but during the springtime, the dull desert palette becomes filled with brilliant shades of orange, magenta, yellow, white and red.

Although it is an annual event, the desert’s wildflower season is never the same from one year to the next based on weather conditions. If the winter has too much or little rain, or if the temperature is too warm or cold, the seeds of desert annuals will remain dormant or bloom in fewer numbers. Only when the conditions are near-perfect will the desert produce a spectacular show. A decade may pass with less than fruitful wildflower displays, but when the conditions are just right, the wildflowers fill the landscapes in a phenomenal riot of color.

You may have to look closely when visiting during the Utah Rotary District Conference May 13-15, 2010, but take a minute as you pass through our magnificent desert to find "just one thing of beauty." You may be pleasantly surprised at what you'll see all around you.

Meet One of Our Most Famous Residents

If you have wondered why the countdown clock (above) on the Utah Rotary District Conference blog features a tortoise on the golf course, here is the explanation!

Washington County, as an environment, is both blessed and cursed as the unique circumstances of the terrain find three ecosystems converging in this, the state’s most southwestern county. Where the Mojave Desert, Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau come together, there is a large array of plants and animals, some found nowhere else in the world and many which are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

The most famous of these protected species is the desert tortoise, able to live in temperatures exceeding 140 degrees because of its ability to dig underground burrows to escape the intense heat. At least 95% of its life is spent in burrows which also create a subterranean environment beneficial to other reptiles, mammals, birds and invertebrates.

The gentle and unassuming Gopherus agassizii, native to the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, was at the center of a political fire storm in the mid-1990's when the federal government mandated Washington County to protect both the animal and thousands of acres of its habitat. After several years of controversy, land swaps and millions of dollars spent on both sides of the issue, a Habitat Conservation Plan was finalized and approved, which called for the creation of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

The reserve is 62,000 acres of protected red rock desert where hiking, biking, horseback riding and other activities are allowed, but which protects the tortoise and other desert critters and prohibits forever the development of this spectacular land.

While it is unlikely you will actually see a desert tortoise during the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 . . . you may hear an occasional reference to one of our most famous residents so we wanted you to be familiar with his name and face!

Hike, Bike and Enjoy the Red Rocks

When he first saw the terrain in and around what is now St. George, early Mormon scout Parley P. Pratt was stunned and reported to LDS Church President Brigham Young that the area "shows no signs of water or fertility . . . a wide expanse of chaotic matter presented itself, huge hills, sandy deserts; cheerless, grassless plains, perpendicular rocks, loose barren clay, dissolving beds of sandstone . . . lying in inconceivable confusion - in short, a country in ruins, dissolved by the pelting of the storm of ages, or turned inside out, upside down in terrible convulsions in some former age."

Famed Utah author and historian Juanita Brooks noted, "it looks like the good Lord took everything left over from the creation, dumped it here, then set it on fire!"

Most visitors to this area already know to bring a camera, but if you enjoy the experience of exploring on foot, our red rock country is also a hikers - and bikers - paradise! There are worldclass hikes in Zion National Park (the #1 favorite national park based on a recent nationwide poll), Snow Canyon State Park, on Pine Valley Mountain and in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. For those who want to get outside, exercise and enjoy our exquisite red rock terrain, but don’t want to work too hard for the pleasure, the area is also famous for miles and miles of paved or natural trails which intersect and connect at a variety of locations.

As you prepare for your visit in St. George on May 13-15, 2010 remember to bring walking or hiking shoes, sunblock, a hat and bottled water because hiking or biking in Washington County is certain to be another high point of your Utah District Conference weekend.

". . . But, It's A Dry Heat!"

It is well documented that the three modern innovations responsible for the world’s discovery of St. George as a great place to live and raise a family . . . or to retire are: (1) the I-15 freeway, (2) golf, and (3) air conditioning.

OK, we admit it! It gets plenty HOT here in July and August! J. Golden Kimball, an early Mormon church leader expressed it best after a visit to the area when he told local residents, "if I had property in St. George and property in Hell, I’d sell my property in St. George and live in Hell." In fact, we hold the state’s record high temperature set July 4, 2007 when the thermostat hit an official 118 degrees - but it also gets cold (although we don’t get much sympathy from our friends to the north). The lowest temperature on record for St. George was -11 degrees in 1937, but usually the area boasts mild winters and infrequent traces of snowfall which rarely stays on the ground for more than a day (and NEVER needs to be shoveled off the driveway).

In the summertime - beyond that frequent and irritating question . . ."is it hot enough for you?" - local residents don’t complain much about the weather because in this semi-arid climate, we enjoy 300 days of bright sunshine, low annual precipitation (our low humidity makes our high summer temperatures almost bearable), clean air and a wide daily temperature range.

In the month of May, Utah Rotary District Conference attendees should find the weather comfortably in the mid-80 degree range during the day, dropping to a mild 65-70 degrees in the evening. If its warmer than that during your visit on May 13-15, 2010 . . . just remember, it’s a dry heat!