Before the meeting was called to order, Polly Schumacher was complimented on her patriotic red, white, and blue apparel.  She said she knew she was a few days late but was still celebrating the Memorial Day holiday.  Our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student, Marcella Sousa was welcomed.  It was a pleasant surprise to have Erwin and Joan Reimann in attendance.  Erwin explained that there had been an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in South Dakota, and - on advice of their doctor - they decided to wait at least a couple of weeks before heading to the Black Hills for the summer.

 

President Jim called the meeting to order, and asked John Pennypacker to offer the invocation.  John chose to share the following Scottish Blessing titled "If There is Righteousness in the Heart:"

 

If there is righteousness in the heart,

there will be beauty in the character.

If there is beauty in the character,

there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home, 

there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

there will be peace in the world.

So let it be.

 

Allan Cady was asked to share a patriotic moment.  In light of the recent Memorial Day holiday, Allan challenged Rotarians to teach their children and grandchildren ten things:

Allan also shared they had enjoyed a Zoom meeting with their family the evening before, and it helped them feel close though they are far apart.  He said he would commit to work on teaching the ten things he listed to his grandchildren.  He feels very fortunate to be in our country - even during adverse times.

 

Allan and Polly Cady were on a lake.  Allan wanted to fish, so had all the gear on the boat, but decided he should attend a Rotary meeting.  Polly chose to stay on the lake.  After Allen left, Polly rowed out into the lake and put the anchor down, got out her book and started reading.  Before long a fish and game officer came along and told her he would have to cite her for fishing in a restricted area.  Polly explained she wasn't fishing, and that she was just enjoying her book.  The officer said that there was evidence to the contrary and he would have to take her in and charge her.  She had all the necessary equipment and for all he knew she could obviously start fishing at any moment.  Polly said she would go along with the officer, but only if he arranged to have law enforcement at the station to meet them.  He asked why, and she said she was going to request that he be charged with attempted rape.  He said, you know nothing like that happened.  Polly said, "You have all the necessary equipment, and for all I know..."  The officer left without citing Polly.

 

We are told Angel Hernandez cried after the parade of Rotarians left his house. He said he was very surprised and very grateful for all Rotarians do. Also, he really wanted to give each person in the parade a hug but knew he couldn’t because of the social distance rules. Rotary holds a place in his heart. He hopes he can visit Mesa West while he is studying at ASU.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clara found a love for service through Interact club at school by volunteering at a football game concession stand three years ago. Since then, she has been a dedicated member of Interact and two other service clubs at school. Clara is an International Baccalaureate student who spends her free time riding horses, drinking lots of coffee, and collecting way too many stickers. She played varsity badminton at Westwood and was a team captain in the 2019-2020 school year. She graduated with the Service-Learning Seal on her diploma as part of the top 20 students in her class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah Mason is a girl on the go.  While at  Westwood she was a student in the International Baccalaureate program, a two-year Varsity tennis player, three-year member of NHS and a four-year member of the Warrior Marching Band, where she served the last two years as a drum major. However, it was her experience through Westwood's Interact club that impacted her the most.  She joined Interact her Sophomore year and was selected as one of the Club's 2018 RYLA delegates.  Her experience at RYLA was transformative and she came back not only as a committed member of the 'Rotary family' with a new found passion for service, but also with a vision of what she wanted to do after high school. She was elected as an officer for Interact the last two years, including this past year as President, and did her best to lead amid dynamic personal challenges in the Fall and the unprecedented events of this past Spring.  She also has served as an Assistant Governor in the Interact District Council  for two years and was accepted as a 2019 District 5495 Interact Ambassador to Kenya.  She found the trip to Kenya to be life-changing and further focused her career ambitions.  She is still debating between two universities, but in both cases aims to study nonprofit management and public policy with an emphasis on international service.  Her goal is to graduate with her Master's within 6 years then serve the next two in the Peace Corp, hopefully returning to Kenya.  

 

 

 

Mia is a recent graduate from Westwood High School and their International Baccalaureate program. During her time at Westwood, she was actively involved in badminton, Model United Nations, National Honors Society, and Interact club. In her free time, Mia enjoys reading, writing about her favorite music, and playing the guitar. She will continue her education in the fall at Arizona State University to study journalism and mass communications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naomi Sellers will attend Yale University this fall to pursue a global studies degree. In addition to excelling academically and being named the Arizona International Baccalaureate DP Student of the Year, Naomi invested a lot of her time and energy to clubs and extracurricular activities during her high school years. Aside from participating in Westwood High School’s Interact club and the service opportunities it promoted, Naomi was a co-founder and Executive Team Member of the Young Athena club and President of Little Warriors, a monthly afterschool program at Emerson Elementary School. Naomi also served as the secretary for the National Honor Society. Naomi participated in Westwood’s Link Crew to help new students acclimate to Westwood and was selected to represent Westwood as the school’s student liaison to the District School Board. Naomi loves to dance and was a member of the Dance Production Team her senior year. Naomi also loves working with children and co-led a children’s program at her church for two years. Naomi is also an active participant her church’s youth group. When not studying, dancing, serving, or playing with kids, Naomi enjoys being outdoors, hiking, playing board games, working on any kind of creative project, and snuggling with her dog.

 

 

 

 

 

To see an album of photos taken the day the gifts were delivered to these and six other Westwood High School Interact 2020 Graduates CLICK HERE.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rotarians worldwide who have similar passions and interests can connect through Rotary Fellowships.  The photo at right is one that was downloaded from the International Skiing Fellowship of Rotarians and was taken at a 2019 gathering in Telluride, Colorado.  To see the variety of fellowships currently available, CLICK HERE.