https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85900479873
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210 United States of America
Our hybrid meetings are held weekly on the 1st thru 4th Thursdays of each month. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to include all, whether attending virtually or in person.
If you have not yet registered for participating in this field trip, members can CLICK HEREto access the sign-up link through the calendar on our website. Non-members (seasonal visitors) may need tosend Colleen an e-mail.
Mesa West members and seasonal visitors enjoyed the opportunity to prepare, serve, and clean up following the Friday evening meal at Paz de Cristo in Mesa. Some thought it was so much fun, they should make it a regular event!
Opening and Welcome to Meeting - President Colleen Coons
Mike Lutcher offered the invocation
Ray Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance
President Colleen thanked
Penny May for serving as greeter
Jeanie Morgan for handling check-in
Mike and Ray for leading the invocation and pledge
Ed Koeneman for handling the technology
John Pennypacker for handling room set-up
Olivia for bringing delicious cookies to sell to raise funds to support her Youth Exchange train trip
Introduction of Guests
Ted Williams introduced his guest, Reed Hittle
Jessica Payne was acknowledged, but would be introduced later as our speaker
Penny May was visiting from Alaska
Andy Bradford introduced his wife, Kim and their children, Ellie, Quincy, Zeke and Ike.
Joe Sweeney was visiting from the Prescott Rotary Club. He introduced Lizzy Barron who he knew from their both being members of the Santa Clara Rotary Club in California where they worked together as Rotarians. He's known her for 10+ years.
Polly Cady introduced Joe Sweeney as District Governor Nominee Designee. She also introduced Youth Exchange student Olivia and Carla Rowe-Malcolm., her host mom who is a member of Gilbert Rotary Club. There were still some cookies left at that point.
John Pennypacker introduced Gerry Paulus and Charlie Brown who were visiting from the Mesa Rotary Club.
Jeanie Morgan introduced Jenaya Rockman a visiting Rotarian from Hawaii - the big island.
Announcements
Diane Ware, Mesa West Treasurer, experienced the loss of her father on February 14.
Melodie Jackson asked Colleen to announce there would be a memorial celebration of life for her husband Randy on March 9 at 2:00 in the afternoon at The Landing at Falcoln Field..
Jack Rosenberg was in the hospital.
Induction of Four New Members
Polly Cady was excited to give Eric Silverberg his new member packet. She has learned a lot about Eric. She said Allan had attended a District meeting in District 5500 and learned that when Eric was in that district he was someone who if you asked him to handle something, you could count on it getting done. A Rotary accomplishment he was proud of was a Peace Pole project. A Rotary Moment for him was when he heard a presentation about a Rotary International project in Bangladesh where women teach other women how to teach kids to read and write.
Allan Cady introduced Justin Failner. Justin is married. He has a 10-year-old daughter named Grace and a 3-year-old son named JJ. He was previously with Manheim Auto Auctions, handling shipping for them. He is now an account executive with Clearent - a payment processing company. He also has a background in refereeing football and wrestling. Allan believes Justin will be good for our club. He is youthful and has a background working with young people. He has a desire to serve.
Steve Ross, who was subbing for Jack Rosenberg who is the sponsor of Andy Bradford introduced Andy. Andy is the chairman of the HOA in the neighborhood where he and Jack live. Andy shared that he is a realtor with Realty One - Be The Good. He and his wife promote blood donorship "Pints for Goose" to keep their daughter's memory alive. She lost her life to Leukemia. Before she passed, she had 113 blood transfusions. Be the Good looks for ways to make a difference. It ties in with Rotary. "There is no need to recreae the wheel."
John Pennypacker introduced Liz Paulus. Liz was a Lt Col with the Arizona National Guard is now retired. Liz said her husband Gerry found Mesa Rotary through someone who was very gregarious in the National Guard. Liz said it was a good marriage - Rotary and Gerry. After she met Colleen through Mesa Leadership, she was inspired to jump on board with some of the initiatives of Mesa West - and she and Gerry would have twice as many Rotary friends.
The new members were welcomed by the club. Eric and Justin were pinned by their sponsors, and Liz and Andy were pinned by their spouses, Gerry Paulus and Kim Bradford. All four new members were welcomed by the membership with a standing ovation.
District Friendship Trophy Presentation
President Colleen invited Charlie Brown, President of Mesa Rotary Club to come forward. He presented Colleen with the District Friendship trophy. They had met at PETS and became friends. Charlie really respects Colleen and Mesa West Rotary. He likes the idea of the clubs working together. They came on board to help with McKinney Vento and will look at other ways to combine efforts. Colleen was told she would have to wear gloves when accepting and handling the trophy so it would stay spotless. Gerry Paulus helped with the presentation and the proper handling of the trophy.
Program - Kids Need to Read - Jessica Payne
Jay Stuckey introduced Jessica Payne who is the Executive Director of Kids Need to Read. She said it is her fourth year in that role. She loves her job. She said there is something new to deal with every day.
People who look at the world with rose-colored glasses think all children have access to books and can readily discuss the classics. The fact is that is simply not true. When she was first teaching. she went into a classroom where books had been tossed on the floor. She was not about to throw them away. She built bookshelves and organized them and slowly replaced the worn books with newer ones.
Even when libraries do exist, in many cases, there are no sidewalks for kids to walk on to get there safely. Some children have no time to read at home because of responsibilities with younger siblings or other chores.
There goal at Kids Need to Read is to help kids who live in a book desert to have access to books. She said with some of her presentations where she reads as "Cactus Rose" have made her a celebrity among kids who have heard her. They mostly serve Arizona, but have provided books for 105,000 children in nine states.
One of the solutions to a book desert is to supply teachers with a classroom library. She was appalled when she learned the Tolleson school library had zero new books in ten years.
She said 60% of children who live in low-income communities have no access to books. Teachers are funding their own classrooms.
It's important. Where literacy is strong, the community is strong. More people vote and participate in their community.
Children need access to the written word. Studies have shown that reading retention is lower when reading on an electronic device.
In poor communities, income is a factor. Food is a priority over books when funding is limited.
In the Show Low area, there are eight communities sharing one library. Some have to travel 30-45 minutes to get there.
Book drives can be held. Volunteer efforts need to be coordinated. It takes teamwork to make the dream work.
Sponsor Program - Steve Ross
Steve had some handouts on the tables. He hopes all members will get on board to get donations for our Mesa West Rotary Foundation which is used for all our charitable endeavors. The late Al Mabry was a mentor to Steve and many others in our club - he said Rotary was a bunch of do-gooders. Our foundation helps us do more good. The five team Captains are all Trustees of our foundation. Steve had some sample letters which have since gone out electronically to all members to invite new or prior donors to give. A few weeks ago, Allan Cady announced he had already received a $6,000 donation. The goal has been set at $50,000. He encouraged the teams to come up with a team name and have some fun competition.
Andy Bradford is an Arizona native. He was born in Mesa, Arizona and has been a resident 39 years. He was the fourth of four children with two older brothers and one older sister.
He has visited two other countries - Mexico and Canada, but is not fluent in any language other than English.
As a teenager, Andy dreamed he would one day be a pastor. Today he is a Team Leader/Realtor with Be the Good Group//Realty One Group. He has been in his current profession for 8 years.
Andy has been married to Kimberlee "Kim" for 18 years. The have two sons and four daughters.
His favorite vacation was spent in New England in the fall.
When asked about his most rewarding volunteer experience, Andy replied, "We have hosted blood drives for the last ten years in honor of our daughter who passed away from Leukemia. Seeing the selfless acts of our donors and understanding the impact they have on those in need of that blood has helped us keep our daughter's memory alive."
In the collage of photos we were able to gather, you will see Andy and Kim, their children, and a family photo. The bottom photo was taken of little vehicles they gathered for the Phoenix Children's Hospital ChildLife toy drive.
Justin Failner was born in Provo, Utah. He is the oldest of five children with one younger brother and three younger sisters. He has been an Arizona resident for seventeen years. In addition to Utah, Justin has previously lived in Florida and Georgia.
As a youth, Justin always believed he would be in a service-based profession. He is currently an Account Executive in the payment processing profession with Clearent. and has been in that profession for the last eleven years. Prior to that, he was involved in car shipping for Manheim where he was a top sales performer.
Justin also has an avocation. He has been a football referee for nine years, wrestling referee for ten years, and for three years has refereed NCAA wrestling. He enjoys "all things sports."
Liz and Justin have been married five years. They have one son and one daughter, and really enjoy spending quality time together.
When asked about his best vacation, he said it was in Tampa, Florida in the spring.
Liz Paulus started her life in Cleveland Ohio. She was number four in birth order, and had four brothers and two sisters. She has been an Arizona resident for forty-five years. In addition to Arizona and Ohio, Liz has resided in Illinois and Washington.
We have learned that Liz is well-travelled. She has visited China, South Africa, Scotland, Bahrain, Malta, Greece, Croatia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, France, England, Germany, and Luxembourg. She is not fluent in any foreign language.
As a teen, Liz dreamed of becoming a scientist. She has retired from two careers - both as a scientist and US Military.
Liz has been married to Gerry Paulis for twenty-two years. She has three sons, and four daughters. She also has four grandsons and six granddaughters.
When asked about her favorite vacation memory, it was an October cruise on the Mediterranean.
Her most rewarding volunteer experience has been the founding of College Bound with her husband to provide college opportunities to low-income families.
Liz was inducted into Mesa West Rotary February 15. She transferred from Mesa Rotary Club. She first became a Rotarian In November of 2020.
The collage of photographs we were able to gather, show Liz as she currently appears in our ClubRunner app directory tool, Liz and Jerry in Cambria, CA, Liz with James, Drew and Samantha with their children, a photo of grandchildren taken during the Christmas season, and a photo of Liz, in uniform, riding on the back of a convertible during a parade.
Eric Silverberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the third in a family of four brothers and no sisters. He and his wife, Dara have been married 39 years. They have one daughter.
Eric has been an Arizona resident for the past eighteen years. In addition to Massachusetts and Arizona, he has also lived in Florida, California, and Texas. Now retired, Eric spent 31 years as a Court Administrator.
Eric has had the opportunity to visit a number of foreign countries: Australia, Bahamas, Belgium. Canada, Costa Rica, France, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain. and Switzerland.
When asked about his favorite vacation, he said it was in November, 2023. They took a Viking Cruise visiting Bali, Australia. and New Zealand.
He said his most rewarding volunteer experience was a Rotary Peace Pole project with his former club.
Eric was inducted into Mesa West Rotary February 15. He as been a Rotarian since 2012. He was first a member of the Sierra Vista Sunrise club, joining in 2012. While in that club he served in several leadership roles, including Club President 2017-18. In 2019 he moved his membership to the Tucson Presidio Rotary Club. While there, he served as Membership Chair one year and Club Secretary the year after that. His most recent membership was in the Tucson Sunset Rotary Club. In 2021-22, Eric served as an Assistant Governor in 2022 in District 5500.
In the photo collage, Eric is shown with Dara and their daughter in a photo taken in Boston. Another photo is of Eric with kangaroos on their vacation last November, and another taken in New Zealand with a sign aptly pointing out his new status.
Mesa West Rotary Club operates two separate legal entities. Our Rotary Club is a 501(c)(4), which is not a tax-deductible charitable organization, but is exempt from income tax. Our club operations income from dues, most happy bucks (unless otherwise designated), raffle income, etc. is used to pay for the cost of operating the club - our meal expense, supplies, education of our officers, etc.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
For the past several years, rather than have major public events to raise funds, we have quietly gone to our friends, family, current and past business associates, etc. and simply asked for sponsorship donations. We have averaged about $50,000 each year in revenue from our sponsorship drive. So our members will be better acquainted with those who are involved with the MWRF Board of Trustees, each of the five Trustees will be team leaders this year. CLICK HERE to down load a list showing who is on each Trustee's team. Traditional fundraising events are very time and effort intensive and rarely yield the kind of results this effort has produced. The Sponsor Drive has allowed Mesa West Rotary Club members to focus their Rotary effort on service projects. The other advantage is that our donors can be assured that their donation will go entirely to charity as there are no cost-of-fundraising expenses.
Sometimes donors hesitate to give to a fundraising dinner where names of sponsors are published because they don't want others knocking on their door asking for more money. There are probably many people we know who admire what we do that would like to be a part of it, but cannot afford the time to be involved. More people would admire what we do if we bragged about it outside of Rotary more often. You might be surprised that someone would offer to donate if you bragged about the fact that we don't waste our time and resources putting on lavish events. Some of those donors may have the opportunity to have their gift matched by their employer.
Have fun telling why you are proud to be a Rotarian, and get your "ask" in gear.
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
There are many different nonprofit organizations that AZ recognizes as authorized recipients of these tax funds. Mesa West sponsors the Interact Club at Westwood High School, and they are a qualified recipient of these tax credit funds in the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) category. Here's how you can donate up to $200 as an individual or $400 as a couple filing jointly and deduct that amount from your state tax burden.
If you have children currently enrolled in Mesa Public Schools, you can use your existing login information. Otherwise, it's easy to setup a guest account.
Once you are logged in, select 'Items At All Schools'under the 'Shop/Donate' list on the Home page.
On the next page select 'High Schools', then select 'Westwood High'
Select the link for 'ECA Tax Credit', and then 'Programs G-K' on the following page.
Interact - ECA is under code 8646. Enter a dollar amount in the box, and click the Add button. That dollar amount should then appear in your cart (highlighted in green at the top of the page).
You can then proceed to the Checkout process and pay with a credit card. You will receive a receipt that you can print out and save for when you do your taxes.
Thank you for supporting Westwood Interact and all of our youth programs.
As Rotarians, we are regularly exposed to opportunities to support various causes with our time, talent and treasure. Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the information and decide where we are going to use our available financial resources.
It would be wonderful if every Arizona Rotarian would make the following BIG FOUR their Rotary charities of choice and support every one of them every year, we could make a bigger difference than we are making today.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund - The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world." Giving a small amount each month adds up. CLICK HERE to download a form you can use to sign up for Rotary Direct, electing "Annual Fund - Share" for your recurring donation.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Polio Plus - Rotary's commitment to eradicate polio is so well known and respected that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations $2 for $1. To take advantage of this opportunity to multiply the effect of your giving, CLICK HERE and download a second Rotary Direct form, this time electing electing "Polio Eradication" for your recurring donations. Those who donate $100 or more annually to Polio Plus qualify in District 5495 as Polio Plus Society Members. If you would like to make that commitment, CLICK HERE to download the commitment form.
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA) provides vocational education grants to Arizona Residents who meet specific low-income guidelines. The grants enable the recipients to lift themselves out of poverty, benefitting themselves, their families and the economy of our state. TRVFA is a 501(c)(3) charity. They also are a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona Tax Credit Donations. Their QCO Code is 20698. Many Arizona Rotarians say giving to TRVFA is a "no brainer." If you can help someone lift themselves out of poverty and it won't end up costing you anything why would you not do it? Mesa West Rotary has the highest number of members who have signed up for automated monthly recurring donations by electing that option on the "Donate Now" button on the TRVFA website. Click the image to learn more or CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:
Community Service
International Service
Vocational Service
Youth Service
The process isn't quite automated at this point in time, but we hope it soon will be. For now, you can email our executive secretary who can help you work out a recurring donation plan should you wish to make that arrangement to support our own club's charitable activity.
Sponsor Program - Steve Ross
Justin Failner was born in Provo, Utah. He is the oldest of five children with one younger brother and three younger sisters. He has been an Arizona resident for seventeen years. In addition to Utah, Justin has previously lived in Florida and Georgia.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:.png)
