Music On the Agenda for Rotary Conference

If you have been a Rotarian for awhile, you probably already know singing in Rotary is a long standing tradition. Harry Ruggles, a Chicago printer and Rotary member #5, detested off-color language, malicious innuendo and classless humor and argued in club meetings for clean language. When the speaker at an evening meeting in 1906 began telling a story Harry had heard and knew the off-color ending was not appropriate for the club he had helped form, he jumped up in the middle of the joke and yelled, "C’mon boys, let’s sing!" then led the club in a boisterous rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart!"

Not only was this the first time Rotarians had ever sung together, it was apparently, the first time a group of businessmen had ever sung together in a meeting of any kind! Harry Ruggles apologized to the embarrassed speaker but from that point on, it was decided all subsequent Rotary meetings should be conducted so any woman could attend without being embarrassed. This has been the unwritten rule ever since, just as the tradition of singing has endured.

You can be certain there will be lots of music at the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 in St. George, including a performance by the soon-to-be world-renowned Dixie Rotary Choir made up of members of the five southern Utah Rotary clubs (Cedar City, St. George, Dixie Sunrise, Red Rock and Hurricane). You won’t want to miss a single note!!!

Displays Wanted for District Conference

Has your club done a special club, community, international or vocational service project this year? Have you had exceptional media coverage? Have one - or several - of your members, your Youth Exchange student or Rotaract / Interact club been recognized in the community, the state or the world? The Utah Rotary District Conference will be the perfect time to show off your club and its accomplishments by bringing a display or a scrapbook. Organizers of the upcoming Rotary District Conference in St. George encourage each of Utah’s 44 clubs to show off all the "service above self" your club and its members have given. Tables will be available . . . all you need to do is bring your display to the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 in St. George!

DSC Gardner Center Ready for District Conference Attendees

The Gardner Center at Dixie State College, named for a large family of Dixie pioneers and current community leaders, is a 16,000 square foot student center complete with snack bar, food court, a large ballroom, breakout rooms and DSC Food Services. Located about a mile from the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, the Gardner Center at Dixie State College has hosted countless college and community events since it opened in 1994, thanks to the generosity of the descendants of Kenneth N. Gardner and will provide a comfortable and easy-to-access locale for the Utah Rotary District Conference scheduled for May 13-15, 2010.

Rotary in Southern Utah: Red Rock Club

Red Rock Rotary Club, with Lil Barron as 2009-2010 president, has already made a name for itself in the community and in the world and has accomplished a great deal of "service above self" in its short seven year history.

Club #62221, Washington County’s 4th Rotary club was chartered in 2003 when the Dixie Sunrise Rotary Club voted to share their territory. Somewhere along the way, the "morning" designation was dropped, but the club’s now 39 members still meet at 7:30 a.m. every Wednesday at the Gardner Center on the Dixie State College campus.

Red Rock Rotary Club sponsors and supports the Dixie High School Interact Club. In 2007, members of Red Rock Rotary Club traveled to Mexico with 18 Interacters, where for a week they worked side-by-side at an orphanage building and painting benches and beds, and pouring cement. In their off time, they faced off with children from the orphanage for an impromptu soccer game. The score? Americanos 1 - Mexico 0. "One day we hope to go back to see if we can keep our record," states Lil. Everyone involved with the Mexico trip found it to be "a remarkable experience for us and these amazing teenagers".

Red Rock Rotary Club has also, over a period of two years, raised and distributed grants of between $500 and $1000 each - a total of $12,000 - to children’s charities in Washington County. The current list of recipient organizations includes Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Dixie Reads, the Assistance League of Southern Utah, Diamond Valley Elementary School, Hope Pregnancy Care Center, Leadership Academy, Sunset Elementary School, The HOPE Organization and the School of Life Foundation.

Most recently Red Rock Rotary Club became the proud sponsor of the Red Rock Music Festival held annually on Mothers Day weekend, to provide a venue for the singers and songwriters of Southern Utah to showcase their talents. Money raised during the festival benefits children in Washington County and internationally.

You'll meet members of the Red Rock Rotary Club at the upcoming Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 in St. George. Come on down!

Southern Utah Golf

Someone once said, "Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic." Despite the frustration, if you enjoy the game at all, St. George is the place to play it! With eleven outstanding courses and another half dozen within 50 miles, there’s a course in southern Utah for everyone from the novice to the pro!

Golf is one of the three things which put St. George "on the map" along with air conditioning and the I-15 freeway. It was in 1931 (coincidentally the same year St. George Rotary was chartered), when a brief article appeared in the local paper. It didn’t generate a great deal of interest at the time, but in retrospect, it was prophetic, noting: "A golf course is the first step toward making St. George a winter resort. Our climate is unexcelled and there are many places in the valley which could be made into a first-class golf course. If we had a golf course [vacationists] . . . would remain a few days and, as the town becomes better known, would almost certainly establish winter homes here!"

Currently eleven courses - Green Spring, Red Hills, Sky Mountain, Southgate, St. George, Sunbrook, Bloomington, Coral Canyon, SunRiver, The Ledges and Entrada (where Disney’s "High School Musical 2" was filmed) - are in play year round no matter the temperature.

Bring your clubs and plan to get out and enjoy to beautiful weather . . . and your pick of eleven beautiful courses. Come early or stay after the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13 - 15 and watch for upcoming information on a Rotary Golf Tournament on Thursday, May 13, 2010!

Brian Regan Appears at Tuacahn During Rotary District Conference

Brian Regan - appearing at Tuacahn Center for the Arts May 14 - 15, 2010 - is a "clean" stand-up comedian whose observational humor reflects on everyday events with frequent references to childhood. His off-center humor has been praised by critics and contemporaries alike. This "dorm room favorite" enjoys a fanbase ranging from teens and college students to middle-aged adults and beyond; and is respected in the comedy community for being a "universal comic." Critics and peers agree, Brian Regan has distinguished himself as one of the premier comedians in the country. The perfect balance of sophisticated writing and physicality, Brian has sold out many theaters nationwide - including three nights in 2009 at Tuacahn.

Releasing two critically acclaimed hour Comedy Central specials and DVD's in as many years – 2008's "The Epitome of Hyperbole," and 2007's "Brian Regan Standing Up" – Brian has set a standard of excellence others continually try to follow.

With his first appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" in 1995, Brian solidified his place on the show and recently made his 20th appearance. He is also seen regularly on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Tickets for any of Brian Regan’s three Tuacahn performances are now available through the Tuacahn box office at a cost of $34 - $44 per person. For more information on this or other shows at Tuacahn, call 652-3300 or tollfree to 1-800-746-9882. Tickets may also be purchased online at http://www.tuacahn.org./

Of course, you won't want to miss any of the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 . . . but you can sure plan to see Brian Regan on Saturday night AFTER the Utah Rotary District Conference!

Cats Come Alive at Tuacahn in 2010

Back by popular demand, Tuacahn Summer Theater presents, "Andrew Lloyd Webber’s astoundingly successful musical comes to life once again on the outdoor amphitheatre stage in an event for the entire family.

A junkyard marks the setting for the annual reunion of the Jellicle cats at the Jellicle Ball as the eldest of their special breed of cats, Old Deuteronomy, seeks to select which of the many cats in the neighborhood will be reborn to begin another life. Each of the potential cats, such as Jennyanydots, Rum Tum Tugger, and Bustopher Jones pleads his or her case to Old Deuteronomy. Ultimately, it is Grizabella’s plea for a new life that wins the old cat over. This moment marks one of the show’s highlights when Grizabella sings 'Memory,' one of the most popular and most-recorded songs in the world, to express her determination."

Don’t miss the return engagement of this enchanting tale to Tuacahn as performed by a talented cast of professional dancers and singers. The costumes and settings promise to be nothing short of spectacular.