Highlights of April 11, 2019 Meeting

President Chris Krueger opened the meeting by asking Daryl Bethea to offer the invocation, and Dick Myren to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  

 

Erwin Reiman introduced their grandson, Tony Smoragiewicz.  Tony is the son of Erwin and Joan's daughter.  Jeanie Morgan introduced Vanessa Kagai, an applicant for a vocational education grant from The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona.

 

President Chris asked Vanessa to draw a token to determine the winner of the weekly attendance drawing.  She drew Jeanie Morgan's badge number.  Vanessa also drew for the weekly raffle winner.  Dr. Ron Thompson was the lucky holder of the ticket drawn, but his luck did not hold out.  Rather than draw the ace of clubs from the cards remaining in the deck, he drew the nine of hearts.  

 

John Pennypacker contributed.  He was happy that he was awakened by a friend at 4:38 AM on the 10th.  The friend had called to wish John a Happy Birthday.  With that awareness, everyone wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" to John, but it wasn't the club's best effort at singing...  John went on to mention his pleasure at being invited to the No Ball Ball on May 11 and turned in his RSVP and check for $100.  Pam Cohen contributed.  She and Chuck had hosted youth exchange students Caio (hosted by Mesa West) and Gabriel (who is being hosted in Prescott) for a weekend of Skiing in Flagstaff.  In addition to skiing, they enjoyed the hot tub and pool at Pam's time share, and enjoyed a jeep tour in Sedona on the way home.  Dick Myren paid his normal happy buck honoring Rod Daniels' tradition of paying for being happy to be a member of Mesa West Rotary.  He was sad he would be leaving early but very glad that the end of tax season was less than a week away.  Lola McClane contributed.  She was happy her daughter and granddaughter had the opportunity to take the trip of a lifetime to Bangkok Thailand.  She was happy that they got to go, but even happier that they were now home after safe travel.  Jack Rosenberg was happy to be back at Rotary with his son, Frank.  Bob Zarling fined himself for arriving later than planned when he was scheduled to serve as greeter.  He also contributed and made an impassioned sales pitch for using the forms on the table to sign up for Rotary Direct donating to Polio Plus, the Annual Fund or both.  CLICK HERE to download a copy of the form.  Daryl Bethea wanted to thank Chris and Mike Krueger for inviting the club to their home for the Steak and Beans No Ball Ball event. Greg Okonowski paid happy dollars for some time he recently spent playing Mr. Mom with his kids, saying, "It's Been Fun!"  Chris Krueger contributed saying the meeting was her 3rd Rotary Club meeting of the week.  She attended a Chandler Club meeting Tuesday at Noon and attended a meeting of the soon-to-be formed Gilbert South Club where she heard their speaker, Kathleen Wynn, discuss Sex Trafficking.  

 

Chris invited Bob Jensen to share a brief update about the hearing mission to Guaymas.  Bob said that it seems they always fall short of hearing aids before finishing the mission.  This past year one individual who was very disappointed had traveled 8.5 hours on a bus to be there.  Bob tried to get the person served at another Rotary audiology mission, but they were unable to accommodate as their grant was restricted to citizens of Mexicali only.  Last month, Bob traveled to Guaymas with twenty hearing aids.  The Caborca Rotary Club paid for bus transportation to get the patients to the clinic.  On that trib, Bob was finally able to get the person who had been disappointed after traveling so far last fall taken care of.  When asked how many devices the team was short in 2018, Bob answered, "At least 30."  Bob said that Jim Schmidt found someone who offered $2,500 to avoid being short again in 2019.  That individual has now expanded that offer to "up to $5,000 match."  Pam Cohen quickly pledged $100, but Bob told the club that he and a colleague have each already committed $2,500 to ensure they get the full $5,000 for the 2019 mission. 

 

In a warm-up to his grandson's program, Erwin Reiman said that at age three, Tony was already a really fast runner and was well known for his speed in his early years in school.  At age eight, Tony added swimming to his athletic skills.  Eventually he started competing in triathlons where he had to add cycling to his expertise.  In addition to being a fine athlete, Tony was also an excellent scholar, graduating in the top 3 in his class.  Two years ago, Tony graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Aeronautical and Space Engineering. 

 

Tony provided some interesting facts about the 2020 Olympics.  It will be the first time there will be mixed gender events in the games.  There will be 53 men and 53 women from fourteen countries.  It is quite a process to get the field narrowed down to the top 140 in the world.  The top eight Olympic test events will be held in the summer of 2019.  There will be a qualifying event in Japan this summer.  There will be an event next May in Yokohama.  He will need to have a best score in twelve events between May 2018 and May 9, 2020.  The starting lists for the events are not finalized until thirty days before each event, so the athletes have to be flexible.  He will likely visit twelve countries and participate in twenty-five races.  Tony believes he will be here or in South Dakota approximately 1/3 of the time.  When he is not in one of those two places, he will be traveling to or participating in races.

 

Tony talked about his equipment.  He has to pack for all climates and pack light.  He has become very efficient at packing.  It has to be a minimal list.  The bikes used in the triathlon weigh only fifteen pounds and are mostly carbon fiber.  His shoes have Velcro fasteners and elastic laces and magnetic buckles.  When he described the process of removing a wet suit, putting on his bike gear, and mounting and taking off on his bike without stopping moving, most in the room were in awe.

 

In describing his training regimen, Tony said that he does machine sports on Mondays and Wednesdays.  He said Tuesdays and Thursdays are harder.  On Fridays, he swims in the AM and is on the track in the afternoon.  On Saturday, he swims at the lake.

 

When asked about the events he has traveled to, his favorites were those held in small communities where the triathlon race is their signature event.  He said that the streets are lined with spectators, clearly showing how much their citizens love everything about the race.  When traveling with a team, there is little time to see sights.  Since Tony will be competing more on his own to win a spot in the 2020 competition, he will have more of an opportunity to enjoy his changing surroundings.  

 

Tony was asked about his diet.  He really has few restrictions since he burns so many calories.  In fact, sometimes, he consumes things intentionally that have high caloric content so that he won't start burning his own necessary tissue.  

 

Some sponsors that Tony truly appreciates are:  Specialized Bikes, Sanford Health, USA Triathlon and his grandparents!