Conway Morning Rotarians Work
to Restore Historic Cadron Park
by Fred Petrucelli
The Conway Morning Rotary Club believes that a creative spirit and a good deal of muscle power will yield the impetus for enriching the environment at Cadron Settlement Park. With that credo taking hold, the club is in the midst of working toward sprucing up the grounds of the historic park and nurturing good ideas to restore the beauty of the landscape. With the city's parks and recreation department cooperating in the effort, the work involves incorporating new flower beds, other kinds of plantings and flower arrangements while rearranging sections of the park by trimming and adding trees in hopes of creating a showplace of sorts, said Don Walizer, the club's president.
"The Conway Morning Rotary Club has recently adopted the preservation of the environment in our community as its principal focus," he said. "This is one of the club projects that is built around doing more than merely giving lip service to the greening of the earth. The Cadron Settlement Park is an ideal place to encourage this vision." This park area was where many Native Americans sojourned during the infamous "Trail of Tears" after being forced to travel from the east to what is now Oklahoma. To say that it is historic goes without saying.
This historic fact, along with an innate wish to preserve and give a gift of beauty, gave this group of Rotarians the desire to volunteer their time. A special work day took place Saturday morning [October 18, 2008], with Rotarians refurbishing two existing plant beds and creating two new beds. Recently the club held retreats to decide on a new focus to begin this year. The discussions led to the acknowledgement that protecting the environment was an effort that will help ensure a safe and healthy community and world for today and for the future. Part of the program is intended to involve the youth of the community and to encourage others to identify ongoing needs and to develop strategies to meet those needs. The club believes sustaining these efforts is important for the purpose of strengthening our local and global community.
The Cadron Settlement project is just one part of the Rotarians' ongoing effort. A recent program featured a panel of representatives from several groups already involved in recycling and other environmental efforts. At each weekly meeting, Service Project Chair Lillian Petrucelli conducts a "Green Moment" in which an unsuspecting club member, whose name is drawn from a green bucket, is asked to tell a new way to recycle, conserve energy or water, or cut back on waste.
November will see the beginning of their new program, "I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas." Members will share ways to cut back on gift-wrapping and other environmentally harmful holiday preparations. This project will culminate in December with a humorous skit performed by club members designed to reinforce the message. Plans for the new year include a county-wide recycling emphasis, an energy conservation project, neighborhood cleanups, programs including youth groups like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, a school poster contest, and a cleanup day of the Cadron Creek.
"We believe that our new focus is a perfect way to exemplify the motto of Rotary International: Service Above Self," Walizer said. As part of Rotary International, the Conway Morning Rotary Club is also involved in numerous international projects including Polio Plus which seeks to eradicate polio from the world, placing more water wells in Africa, Ambassadorial Scholarships, and the Group Study Exchange program.
"The Conway Morning Rotary Club has recently adopted the preservation of the environment in our community as its principal focus," he said. "This is one of the club projects that is built around doing more than merely giving lip service to the greening of the earth. The Cadron Settlement Park is an ideal place to encourage this vision." This park area was where many Native Americans sojourned during the infamous "Trail of Tears" after being forced to travel from the east to what is now Oklahoma. To say that it is historic goes without saying.
This historic fact, along with an innate wish to preserve and give a gift of beauty, gave this group of Rotarians the desire to volunteer their time. A special work day took place Saturday morning [October 18, 2008], with Rotarians refurbishing two existing plant beds and creating two new beds. Recently the club held retreats to decide on a new focus to begin this year. The discussions led to the acknowledgement that protecting the environment was an effort that will help ensure a safe and healthy community and world for today and for the future. Part of the program is intended to involve the youth of the community and to encourage others to identify ongoing needs and to develop strategies to meet those needs. The club believes sustaining these efforts is important for the purpose of strengthening our local and global community.
The Cadron Settlement project is just one part of the Rotarians' ongoing effort. A recent program featured a panel of representatives from several groups already involved in recycling and other environmental efforts. At each weekly meeting, Service Project Chair Lillian Petrucelli conducts a "Green Moment" in which an unsuspecting club member, whose name is drawn from a green bucket, is asked to tell a new way to recycle, conserve energy or water, or cut back on waste.
November will see the beginning of their new program, "I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas." Members will share ways to cut back on gift-wrapping and other environmentally harmful holiday preparations. This project will culminate in December with a humorous skit performed by club members designed to reinforce the message. Plans for the new year include a county-wide recycling emphasis, an energy conservation project, neighborhood cleanups, programs including youth groups like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, a school poster contest, and a cleanup day of the Cadron Creek.
"We believe that our new focus is a perfect way to exemplify the motto of Rotary International: Service Above Self," Walizer said. As part of Rotary International, the Conway Morning Rotary Club is also involved in numerous international projects including Polio Plus which seeks to eradicate polio from the world, placing more water wells in Africa, Ambassadorial Scholarships, and the Group Study Exchange program.