The 2007 Team

LeRoy Benham
As the co-chair of the World Community Service committee of the Newberg Rotary Club, LeRoy acts as the primary project organizer and leader for the Guatemala service trip. He describes his role as planning “logistics” and setting up and maintaining dental equipment, but this belies the complexity of his job; in short, LeRoy is the go-to man who keeps the whole thing together. His Rotary involvement has also gotten him knee-deep in the Roto-dent organization, which has provided much of the dental equipment used in the El Hato and Vuelta Grande clinics. LeRoy’s previous Rotary service has lead him to Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica; beyond that he’s traveled throughout Europe, to South America, the Middle East and Japan. In preparation for this particular trip, LeRoy offers this simple advice: “Make an effort to relate to the people even if you don’t speak their language.”

Paula Benham
Two years in a row Paula has acted as a dental assistant during the Rotary dental clinics. She has traveled with husband LeRoy throughout Latin America.

Amy Caruso
Her role as primary translator for the dental clinic has made Amy one of the most popular figures in the Guatemala clinics, where she also acts as general manager, taking medical histories, ushering patients in, describing post-treatment care, and – most importantly – handing out gifts.

Mike Caruso
As co-organizer for the Rotary Guatemala project, Mike shares LeRoy’s job as go-to guy keeping the clinics in operation. From transporting and setting up equipment to running errands for supplies, it’s Mike’s behind-the-scenes efforts that make everyone else’s jobs possible.

Orvin Erickson
Orvin’s Rotary involvement has brought him to Guatemala before, where he worked with a team bringing electrical wiring to the schools and homes in El Hato and Vuelta Grande. Though now enjoying retirement, Orvin spent years in the bank business; based on this experience, he offers the following investment advice: “Save lots and spend little.”

Kathi Futornick
Two years ago Kathi, an environmental scientist, spear-headed a project investigating, and improving, the accessibility and quality of the water available to the residents of El Hato and Vuelta Grande. She trekked all over the mountain-side looking at water sources and various states of piping. Her findings (high levels of bacteria in the water) led to the Rotary’s water-quality improvement project, which she will lead on this trip. She's been with the Guatemala project for three years and can't imagine a year without working on an international water project.

Auggie Gonzales
Auggie’s role as interpreter in Guatemala keeps him hopping all day long. Auggie enjoys a unique popularity among the village school children, who he says remain at the heart of his fondest memories of his service travels and “are so open and full of love.” Scarcely a lunch break goes by without a little girl (or two or three) working up the courage to approach and tease Auggie, and their peals of delighted laughter are enough to brighten anyone’s day.

Auggie got involved with the Guatemala project early on and remains integral to the planning, coordinating and execution of the work. This will be his fifth trip to Antigua, and he says he is “still highly moved by the work our club supports.”

Ben Gonzales
Ben is a dental student at Oregon Health Science University. This will be his first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.

Laura Gonzales
A Communications major at Portland State University and daughter of Auggie and Maureen, Laura is finally getting the opportunity to partake in the Guatemala projects she’s heard about for years. Previous travels have taken her throughout Western Europe, and she’s even studied in Barcelona, Spain, as well as Germany. Here at home Laura is a member of an indoor soccer team, which should make her quite popular among the village children.

Maureen Gonzales
Physical therapist by day and superhero by night, Maureen has kindly offered skills from both occupations during previous travels in Guatemala. While she has mostly participated as the cheerful dental assistant to Dr. Allen, Maureen also rolled up her sleeves and gave some physical therapy to several residents at Transitions last year.

Mike Harper
This will be Mike’s first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.

Kyle Hoffer
As a pre-dental senior at the University of Oregon, Kyle is hoping to get some valuable hands-on experience on this, his first trip to Guatemala. He became connected with the project through family-friend Auggie Gonzales. Past travels have taken him to Europe, Morocco and the US Virgin Islands, and he uses his infrequent spare time to ski and whitewater kayak.

Maggie Manly
This will be Maggie's first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.

Renae Merle
Renae was a student in Antigua during the last Rotary trip to Guatemala; she was studying Spanish there at the behest of her employer, the Washington Post. After meeting Auggie and Maureen Gonzales and learning about the project, she joined the team for a day at the El Hato clinic and lent her freshly-honed language skills. This year she’ll be joining the team for the whole week.

Dr. Allen Methven
The boisterous backbone of the dental team keeps patients moving through the clinic in quick succession with his deft dentistry. Quick with a hearty laugh, or an extraction, Dr. Allen has been with the Rotary project since its inception. Outside of the clinics he knows how to find and enjoy the finer foods and wines Antigua has to offer.

Jill Methven
After hosting the post-Guatemala-trip party in her home for the past two years and seeing the pictures and hearing the stories, Jill will finally be making the trip herself. Her being married to Dr. Allen speaks volumes of her good humor, patience and ability to handle childlike adults, characteristics that will make her a strong asset to the team.

Andrea Olson
Andrea’s short career working for a non-profit organization has sparked an interest in investing, fueled largely by solicitations for advice. Over the past two years Andrea has mastered the art of managing the sterilization of the dental equipment; this year she returns in that capacity. She is also the project’s blogger.

Alia Paquette
The medical team determined to keep files on the patients that came through the clinic last year, and to provide a copy to the patients, and the job of keeping those charts fell to Alia, who also learned to take medical histories.

Asher Paquette
This will be Asher's first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.

Dr. Jan Paquette
Last year Dr. Jan headed up the medical clinic facet of the Rotary project in Guatemala and found herself doing everything from providing pain medicine to performing surgery. This year she’s eager to return more fully prepared and hopes to, if possible, integrate the medical and dental clinics and streamline the flow of patients through both.

John Paquette
John’s military medic training served him well last year when he took on the task of triage and preliminary examination in the medical clinic.

Dr. Jim Ransom
This will be Dr. Jim’s second trip to Guatemala. Last year he proved indispensable to the dental team after demonstrating proficiency in both dentistry and Spanish. This time around he’s looking forward to wandering the streets and open air markets of Antigua, and particularly in figuring out the recipe for the “cojito’s” offered at the Sky Bar. Dr. Jim has taken full advantage of his Hood River home location, partaking in everything from snowboarding to windsurfing.

Bradley Richards
Bradley started working with the Mentor Network just over a year ago, and currently serves people with Acquired Brain Injury and Developmental Disability. Through this work he became connected with Maureen and Matt Welsh, who told him about the trip to Guatemala. He "was elated" and signed on. Bradley's previous travels have taken him to the mountain regions above Hiroshima, Japan, wherein he "discovered quickly I wanted to see more of the world." In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor sports -- from climbing to sledding -- as well as beer brewing, philosophy, classical guitar and Frank Zappa.

Gavin VanHouten
This will be Gavin's first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.

Walter Want
Spanish-speaking Walter heads up the electrical team for the Rotary project. Like Auggie, Walter enjoys a particular popularity among the children who are an eager audience for his easy-going, goof-ball manner.

Matt Welsh
Matt first went to Guatemala two years ago with his mother, Maureen, to visit Transitions, which the two became involved with a few years ago. They have opened their home to two young Transitions patients recovering from surgeries here in Portland. When not working as a courtesy clerk at the Westmoreland QFC, Matt enjoys bowling, music, video games and movies.

Maureen Welsh
As a registered nurse working in outpatient orthopedics, Maureen has worked with the Antigua-based organization Transitions, organizing and facilitating surgeries. It was through this work with Transitions leader John Bell that she became connected with LeRoy and the Rotary Guatemala project. This will be her second trip to Guatemala, her first with the Rotary project, and she will be working with the medical clinic.

Trista Whitehurst
After a year-long exchange program to Brazil sponsored by Rotary, Trista became connected with the Newberg Noon Rotary Club and learned about the clinic projects in Guatemala. When she then became employed by the Newberg Graphic, the two organizations converged to provide her the opportunity to join the Guatemala team as the official reporter for the Graphic. Outside of work, Trista plays the piano and enjoys hiking and camping.

Casey Winder
This will be Casey's first trip with the Rotary Guatemala team.


Other VIP's without whom the project would be impossible:

Ervin Aspuac is a school teacher in El Hato. The Rotary assisted Ervin in pursuing his teacher’s education and he has returned the favor by helping support and organize the Guatemala projects.

John Bell is the master and commander of the Antigua-based Transitions organization, which provides wheelchairs to Guatemalans. In addition to the chairs, the organization provides additional medical care, therapy and often educational opportunities or technical training. John and his organization have been highly valuable assets to the Rotary Guatemala project, offering their knowledge, physical help and even storage space.

Flor Caniz is a member of the Antigua Rotary club who has worked closely with the Newberg Rotary in managing the Guatemala project. She also works with Transitions.

Alma Olson is the president of the Antigua Rotary club and, as such, has been tremendously helpful in the preparations for this trip. Alma had a career in education, but now she and her husband work in real estate developing up-scale homes in Antigua.

This list is by no means complete; the Rotary project is the result of the work of many, many people and each contribution is a valuable one. Thank you to each and every person, named or un-named, who has made this trip possible.