Opening of Meeting and Welcome - President Pam Cohen
Acknowledging the coming Memorial Day holiday, for the Thought for the Day, Pam shared the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lifed, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you fro failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall no sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Before asking Warren Williamson to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Pam noted there was no flag in the room. Dick Myren said he had a US flag pin on the collar of his shirt - one he has worn since 9-11. All present turned toward Dick while reciting the Pledge. Pam thanked Diane Ware for serving as greeter. Since it was National Wine Day, Pam gave Diane a bottle of bubbly.
Introductions:
- Ray Smith introduced Erica Williams a members who rarely is available to attend our meetings, but will be sharing information about her involvement with the Guaymas Gift of Hearing project later in the meeting.
- Frank Rosenberg introduced Warren Haeussler a longtime friend of the club.
- Kayla Mudge introduced her mother, Angelia Long who was visiting from Peoria, Illinois. Angelia will return in July to care for Kayls's dog while Kayla is in Africa with the Interact Ambassadors. While Angelia is in the area in July, she will plan to attend another club meeting.
- President Pam introduced a new server-in-training - Adella.
- Harry Grossman from the Sedona Village Rotary Club was introduced by Ron Thompson. Harry presented a banner from the Sedona Village Club. He also told about his grandson in Minneapolis who will be going on a Rotary Youth Exchange to the Winter Sports Capital of Sweden. His grandson is a cross-country skier, so it should be a really good fit.
- Bob Jenson introduced Rodolfo Fernandes from the Alamos Rotary Club. Both were attending via Zoom. Rodolfo is involved in the Mexican contingent setting up mini clinics and working with us on efforts to make the Guaymas hearing nission sustainable.
- Also attending via Zoom were Ed and Debbie Koeneman who were in Melbourne, Australia to attend the Rotary International Convention.
- Shelly Romine, Bob Zarling, and Pai Bethea were also attending via Zoom.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
- Ron Thompson drew the winning ticket which was held by Jeanie Morgan.
- After briefly shuffling the cards, the card Jeanie drew was the Nine of Hearts.
Happy Dollars - Ron Thompson
- Jeanie Morgan contributed $20 on behalf of Wayne General who wanted to remind members of the fact that the hotel prepares a meal for the club each week that we meet not knowing whether 25 or 40 will be in attendance. They also store a considerable amount of material for us and get it delivered to where we meet each week. She also contributed her raffle winnings to Mesa West Rotary Foundation to be credited to her sponsor program team.
- Lu General was going to be fixing dinner that evening for three first cousins (herself included) She recently found one of the cousins through 23andMe. Lucinda not only knew his mother, she was Lucinda's aunt and godmother now living in Texas.
- Ray Smith was happy to report that Marc Hunt who was introduced to Mesa West Rotary by the late Jeane Crouse had recently sent a $1,000 donation to the sponsor campaign to Ray. Ray was going to contribute $25 himself - thankful for the help Jay and Melissa Stuckey provided when he had a friend in need of finding assisted living accommodations.
- President Pam was happy Lola McClane was back from her trip and taking pictures at our meeting. She was concerned that Ed wasn't there to manage the technology with the subject of our program so central to our club.
- Ron Thompson was happy to see Warren G at our meeting.
- Jim McGown said this would be his last meeting for about four months. They will be heading east stopping in Pennsylvania for a high school graduation and travelling on to New York where they will spend the summer. He said the food bank where he has been volunteering has been the source of the mobility device donations he has been getting to Interact with Ed's help. They have a Hoyer Lift that has been given to them which they need to find a home for. He said the food bank needs drivers to drive the pick-up routes for food being donated to the food bank.
- Ron Thompson corrected himself. He was happy to see Warren H at the meeting. Warren G is a rapper.
- Polo Santiago enjoyed a very rewarding volunteer experience at La Paz De Cristo the day prior to the meeting. They serve 2-300 free meals to people each day. He helped prepare and serve food for 300. Polo was also happy to see Rudolfo. They were roommates during the Guaymas mission last fall.
- Dick Myren contributed his traditional $2. He also was happy to have travelled to Boston for his grandson's graduation. While there he witnessed the wildest driving he'd ever seen. With six stop/go signals, how in the world does anyone know which one is theirs.
- Harry Crossman explained that what we call roundabouts in the west are called rotaries in New England. He said the Sedona Village Club sells raffle tickets about four times each year to help the veterans living at the home in Prescott. He said they really don't sell that many tickets. The tourists just give them money and don't want the tickets.
- Allan Cady was happy his stepson graduated from Harvard. Colin Nagle, his and Polly's long-time friend who is the father of a former youth exchange student had recently informed them that he had purchased a place in an assisted leaving facility. Colin is a little older than Allan and it made him wonder if Polly was ready to have Allan placed in a facility. He was glad that when he asked her she said she was not. In actuality, the difference in Allan's and Colin's ages - if heard correctly - is just days or weeks.
- Polly Cady was glad to know it was National Wine Day. She was also happy to have Mesa West make a good showing at Rotary Leadership Institute May 20. Lu General and Jim Schmidt were facilitators. Wayne General attended Session I, Kayla Mudge attended Session II, and Carla Krcmarik attended Session III and graduated. Allan Cady served as Polly's assistant and chauffeur.
- Angelia Long was very generous. She had a $200 donation from her and her husband for Kayla's sponsor campaign team. She contributed an additional $100 cash saying it was a really big move when Kayla moved to Arizona. Angelia was very appreciative of the way Mesa West Rotary has embraced and welcomed her only daughter into their Rotary family. She was enjoying putting names of people Kayla had told her about with faces as she met Rotarians at the meeting. Angelia will be back in July to take care of Kayla's dog while Kayla is in Africa with the Interact Ambassadors mission.
- Kayla Mudge was very enthusiastically appreciative of the custom cutting board Ed Koeneman crafted for Kayla's only nephew's wedding gift.
- Chuck Flint was happy to have recently traveled to Puerto Lobos with former youth exchange student, Jorn Linnewedel, who now makes his home in Hamburg Germany. Jorn was happy to have caught two fish on the trip.
- Pam is visiting other Rotary Clubs promoting our 50th Anniversary Celebration. Mesa Rotary Club was our sponsoring club when we were founded. They are a little disconcerted because we are out performing them in Polio Plus and Rotary Foundation giving.
Lu said they had a "backlog" of auction items accumulated from several trips. She said there was a unique array of items. Among them was one edible, something for someone with low mechanical skills, and cautioned there was no alcohol. The successful bidder was Jim Erickson with his $50 bid to benefit the sponsor program.
The item with low mechanical skills was a cloth candy or cookie dish. There were two had-cut pillow covers, towel clips for a beach chair, something historic, and air conditioning in a bottle - cooling lotion to apply after a day at the pool.
John Pennypacker - The Rotary Foundation 
Sarah Dixon, the Area Booking Manager for Donor Services with the American Red Cross Blood Services Arizona Region sent the following note of appreciation to Mesa West Rotary Club President, Pam Cohen about our May 11 blood drive at the YMCA:
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)
Transforming Communities, Creating Opportunities, Impacting Youth
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210
United States of America