Alice Dryer, Board President of the Emporia Senior Center, presented to our Rotary Club. The Emporia Senior Center on East 12th Avenue was started in 1983 by the Blue Key National Fraternity. Their current director, Ian Boyd, started in 2018, and has been busy creating policies and procedures to protect the organization. Ian has industriously been creating a new image as a busy community center for those 50 and over. Prior to the current pandemic, activities have included Bingo (as their main fund raiser), friendship meals, tax services, legal clinics , social and recreational activities, a senior disc golf league, health classes, card players, an exercise group, and pool players. Meals on Wheels served food at the center until the pandemic began. Ian helped the Senior Center sponsor Seniors Without Food from a Kroger grant that provides food and medical help to those in need. In January of 2020, the center replaced their walk-in cooler. A Christmas Gala in December 2019 netted $16,000. After the pandemic began, the center has mostly been closed to the public with ongoing improvements as help has been available. One example of their volunteer help has been Justice Painting volunteering their time to painting and cleanup work as they can. Watch for future new activities to take shape once the current pandemic environment allows. Their goal is to create a relaxing atmosphere with lots of activities for learning and visiting. It sounds like they are well on their way.
Please welcome Jason Kuehl as our newest Rotary Club member. Jason is an Emporia State University accounting major. Ed Bashaw sponsored Jason. Thanks for joining our club, Jason.
Emporia State University Men's Basketball Coach "Cowboy" Craig Doty said at our Rotary Club meeting that "COVID has consumed our lives as coaches to the point in which we are spending most of our time as logistics managers." At this point in their season, Coach Doty's team is 3-0, all to MIAA opponents. Coach Doty received his recent nickname after organizing the ESU teams to wear cowboy hats at a game at Hays when they tried mixing it up to create a different atmosphere on the road to liven things up in a COVID-laden atmosphere. 
Adapt and press forward is the theme these days on Emporia State University's Women's Basketball team according to Toby Wynn, in his third year as head coach of the team. They are working at maintaining a sense of positivity with each other on the team while keeping their circle small in order to try to stay healthy. The team has weekly COVID testing every Monday. Toby himself tested positive with no symptoms, and has to be quarantined for fourteen days. Kyle Unruh stepped in and coached the last game that the women played. One player recently tested positive and the whole team ended up being quarantined for fourteen days. This created a longer break from play than was anticipated. Now there are no more games until after the Christmas break. 
