President Chris Krueger called the meeting to order with Dick Myren offering the invocation and Pam Cohen leading the Pledge of Allegiance. John Pennypacker had served as official greeter making everyone feel welcome. Ray Smith led those present in singing Jingle Bells, including the verses.Several guests were present including a membership prospect, Tom Bradford. Seasonal visitors included Tom Mellen from Maine, Rick Bouse from Alaska, and Joan and Erwin Reimman from South Dakota.
Drawings
Karen Chavez won the attendance drawing. Chuck Flint announced that the winner of the weekly raffle would win $30, and if they were lucky enough to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck, they would receive an additional $231. Chris Krueger's ticket was drawn, but the card she drew was the five of hearts. Chuck Flint also explained the club's Buck Board - a way we keep The Rotary Foundation on members' minds, and raise money for TRF in the process.
Happy Dollars
John Pennypacker received a surprise package delivered by Sergeant at Arms on behalf of some Mesa West members who were aware that John suffers from insomnia and sends messages during times he is awake in the middle of the night. The package included some sleep-aid supplies - tea, honey, and a (hopefully boring) book full of home remedies. Jeanie Morgan paid happy dollars for the therapeutic effect of Salvation Army Bell Ringing. Karen Chavez also contributed as a recent bell ringer. Dollars were given in honor of the Bob and Ray Guaymas Show. Bob Jensen was the organizer and Ray Smith was the herder. Dan Coons announced that Caiu is now in their home. He thanked Rotarians for the effort made by club members to ensure Caiu has a positive experience on his inbound Youth Exchange adventure. He has already been to California three times. Melody Jackson contributed for an event of Mesa Leadership at the Mesa Center for the Arts. Warren Haessler was happy to have won the Chili Cook-off and said it was nice to have Youth Exchange represented that evening.
Auction Item
John Pennypacker had an auction item from the Rotary Institute he had recently attended in Reno. He wanted the proceeds of the auction to benefit ParadiseStrong.org which will help families in the Paradise California community who lost everything in the November fires. He had brought a poem written by a Paradise resident to share. If you missed seeing it in last week's Messenger and did not get a printed copy at the meeting, click here. After learning that John planned to match the highest bid, the bidding got more animated. Chuck Flint won the beautiful centerpiece that was auctioned with his bid of $50.
Trivia Question
Chris Krueger eliminated those that actually went on the Gift of Hearing Mission to Guaymas in November, and asked members if they knew how many had been served on that mission. Karen Chavez won because knew the correct answer was 370. She knew because she had read the report about the mission in the Messenger.
Decision about When to be Dark for Holidays
President Chris let the members decide which two dates we would be dark for the holidays. There will be no meetings on December 27 and January 4.
Announcements
- A multi-club social with visitors from our district from Naivasha was to be held Thursday, November 29 from 5:30 to 8:00 at Zips in Gilbert.
- Don LaBarge announced that at the Salvation Army Kettle Night Kickoff, Pam Cohen was the Mesa West bucket runner going around the room collecting donations. She was the winner because her bucket contained $5,287. (Someone had put a check for $5,000 in her bucket.) Don also announced the bell ringing season is longer this year. Westwood High School interact is filling a gap left when a problem came up with boy scouts not being allowed to ring the bell in their scout uniforms. They are working to resolve the resulting question as to whether they can get credit for service hours when ringing the bell out of uniform. Don announced some open time slots and had a sign-up sheet available at the meeting.
- If Polly Schumacher had been able to attend the November 29 meeting, she had planned to make an announcement about the Fifth Annual Holiday Concert presented by the House of Broadcasting. She will be unable to attend the December 6 meeting also, so asked to have the concert information available to members. CLICK HERE to download the flyer. The concert will feature Mike Chamberlin & Friends, and be held Friday, December 7 at 7:00 PM at Central United Methodist Church, Kendall Hall, 1875 N Central, Phoenix. Tickets are $15 per person and will be available at the door.
Our regular Alaskan seasonal visiting Rotarian, Penny May has been sharing information about their recent 7.0 earthquake and resulting aftershocks on her facebook page. 
Warren Haessler and his wife, Debby, were among the first Mesa West Rotary family to ring the bell, collecting red kettle donations for Salvation Army donations in front of Bass Pro. They had an afternoon shift on Friday, November 23 - the first day of our commitment for the 2018 bell-ringing season..jpg)
On November 16, Bob Jensen wrote a brief e-mail thanking the volunteers who travelled to Guaymas, Mexico November 7-11 for the annual Gift of Hearing mission, which is a signature international service project of Mesa West Rotary. .png)
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The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
