The May 14 meeting of Mesa West Rotary was brought to order via Zoom technology with Jim Schmidt introducing himself as Mesa West's Lame Duck President.  He was feeling more lame than is typical during the final months of a Rotary year after the incoming officers have had their training at President Elect Training Seminar (PETS) and Club Leadership Academy (CLA).  The added sense of being a Lame Duck President was due to the social distancing response to COVID-19 when he doesn't even get to meet in person with his Mesa West friends and club members.

 

Ed Koeneman was prepared with some patriotic thoughts to share about some significant historical dates, Rotary and People named Ed who have made a difference.  With Rotary's involvement in health and immunizations inspiring some of his findings.  He said that Smallpox dates back to 10,000 years BC in NE Africa.  Egyptian mummies show evidence of skin lesions 1500 BC, including Pharaoh Ramses V.  Smallpox was introduced to Europe between the 5th and 7th centuries and was frequently epidemic during the Middle Ages.  The first stages of the decline of the Roman Empire (AD 108) coincided with a large-scale epidemic: the plague of Antonine, which accounted for the deaths of almost 7 million people.

 

During medieval times, herbal remedies, as well as cold treatment and special cloths were used to either prevent of treat smallpox.  Dr. Sydenhan (1624-1689) treated his patients by allowing no fire in the room, leaving the windows permanently open, drawing the bedclothes no higher than the patient's waist, and administering "twelve bottles of small beer every twenty-four hours." (This was a treatment Ed thought he might have been willing to try.)

 

In 18th century Europe, 400,000 people died annually of smallpox with fatality rates estimated at 20 to 60% and 1/3 of the survivors went blind.  It was common knowledge that survivors of smallpox became immune to the disease; survivors of smallpox were called upon to nurse the afflicted.  Inoculation was common practice in Europe and the U.S.  Colonies in the 1700's.  In the 1721 smallpox outbreak, half of Boston's 12,000 citizens contracted the disease.  It was 12% fatal for non-inoculated people, 2% fatal for inoculated people.

 

In 1766 George Washington's troops could not take Quebec due to a smallpox outbreak among the troops.  

 

Fast forward to 1796...

Edward Jenner had heard the tales that dairymaids were protected from smallpox naturally after having suffered from cowpox.  Cowpox is similar to, but much milder than smallpox.  On May 14, 1796 Jenner administered the first cowpox inoculation to an 8-year-old boy using the pus from a fresh lesion from a dairymaid.  By 1800 this type of inoculation was common in the US and Europe.

 

In 1967, a global campaign was begun under the guardianship of the World Health Organization and finally succeeded in the eradication of smallpox in 19777.  On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly announced that the world was free of smallpox and recommended that all countries cease vaccination.

 

Rotarians will likely not have to wait so many centuries to see Polio eradicated from our Globe. Because of our involvement in immunization and disease control, it only makes sense that we are leading the way by staying safe with social distancing while at the same time supporting and engaging in collaborative efforts to address COVID-19 threats during our current pandemic.  Rotary will definitely make a positive difference.

 

Ashley Ferguson was in attendance.   She is the incoming President of the Rotaract Club at Grand Canyon University.  Ashley is studying Business Management at GCU and plans to to on to specialize in Non-Profit Management at ASU.  Samantha Cattrell was also in attendance.  She will serve as Rotaract Club Secretary at GCU next year.  AG Lee Holmes was also in attendance.

 

Donna Goetzenberger shared the following thought for the day:  With love, we can be more selfless.  It is a recipe for good values, which result in feeling good.  As we reduce stress and its complications in ourselves and others, altruism in our society improves.

 

John Pennypacker spoke about the District 5495 Council on Legislation (COL), which is an annual meeting to elect officers for the district and review the Bylaws.  the COL is typically held at the district conference.  This year, it is moving to e-vote.  With the cancellation of the Rotary International Convention and the District 5495 Convention, a backup plan had to be put in place.

 

A communication to club presidents communicated a deadline for proposing amendments to the bylaws of April 1.  On April 29, clubs were also charged with submitting names for delegates.  He is disappointed how few names had been submitted at the time, but the number on Thursday, May 14 was three times what it had been on the previous Monday.  Club Presidents received an agenda which listed the voting items.  The final ballot will go out to delegates on May 20, with a return deadline of June 20.

 

At the 2019 COL, having quorum present to vote was an issue.  It was possible to reconvene at a later time during the conference, when a quorum was finally present.  Combined with the pandemic-related social distancing, it was clear an alternative plan involving electronic voting needed to be formalized.  No-one in district leadership had actual experience in such a practice.  The Bylaw Committee sought input from RI.  One company they were referred to indicated that all votes from the same club would have to be the same.  Split votes would not be allowed.  

 

Governing documents in District 5495 allow for temporary policies to be put in place.  The temporary policy would need to be circulated among all District Chairpersons and the District Governor Line to be recommended to put forward.  Their recommendation will be able to be used only for the 2020 COL, unless the vote at the COL to make the electronic voting process a permanent option is affirmed by the majority of the delegates voting.  The wording has been carefully crafted.  It will be a straight up or down vote, it will be all or nothing.  If voted down, the changes will not be permanent.

 

The amazing thing about this year's COL is that only two amendments were put forth.  One will increase the size of the Nominating Committee from six to nine members with three terms ending each year, and stipulating that the current District Governor cannot serve the year following the end of their term as one of the members added to the committee.  

 

COL delegates from Mesa West Rotary will be Jim Schmidt, Dan Coons, and Bob Zarling.

 

Our Past President Allan Cady is serving as Assistant Governor in Rotary District 5495.  The clubs he has worked with this year are Phoenix Arcadia, Phoenix East and Phoenix 100.

 

The Phoenix 100 Club has elected to have their virtual meetings at noon on Thursdays (they normally meet at noon on Friday).  Allan's AG responsibilities took precedence over his desire to attend our club meeting when they conflicted on May 14.  He was able to find a funny t-shirt in his collection to fit their theme for the meeting - Funny T-Shirt Day.

 

 

Awards events for seniors being honored this year have taken on a very different appearance.  As was announced in a previous Messenger, Hannah Mason who served as the 2019-20 President of the Interact Club Mesa West Rotary sponsors at Westwood High School, was selected as one of eighteen under the age of 18 students in the State of Arizona to be honored this year by Junior Achievement.

 

The awards presentation, like our Rotary meetings of late, took place via the internet on Friday May 15 at 4:00 PM.  Following is a link to the presentation:  

 

We are very proud of this outstanding young lady and hope she stays in touch as she moves on to create the next chapters in the story of her life.

 

The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary that enables the amazing work we, as Rotarians, are all proud to be a part of.  Every Rotarian is strongly encouraged to support TRF every year by donating to the General Fund of TRF.  The target gift is $100 per year per member.  That has been the target for a very long time and in the US the average family income has multiplied a few times since that target was set.  Many Rotarians who have the means to do so have set their personal target at the $1,000 per year mark making them eligible for the Paul Harris Society level of donor recognition. 

 

The End Polio Now campaign is a separate fund to which gifts are matched two-for-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Many Rotarians choose to support both the general fund and the fight to end polio.

 

No matter what level you decide to donate, please support the Foundation by giving through Rotary Direct.  CLICK HERE to get answers to commonly asked questions about this program.  DOWNLOAD A FORM to authorize your Rotary Direct donations.  By giving through Rotary direct, the opportunity for human error is eliminated and recognition credit for the Rotarian and their club is much more accurate and timelier.

Donations to The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona made through April 15, can be used to qualify for the

Arizona's Credit for Contribution to a Qualifying Charitable Organization for the 2019 or 2020 tax year, but not both!  Their QCO Code is 20698.

 

When everything starts to settle after our current pandemic-related business slow-down is history, some things may never to back to the way they were.  There may well be a shortage of workers that require vocational certifications available to those in low-income groups through TRVFA grants.  Your gift today may help someone have a better tomorrow!  CLICK HERE to donate on-line or CLICK HERE to download a mail-in form.