President Kayla Mudge opened the meeting, John Pennypacker led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Dick Myren gave an Invocation. Today’s raffle was won by Chuck Flint himself! He had Brian Harvey draw a cards on his behalf, and Brian drew the Ace of Clubs! Chuck won the large pot of $85.
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Next, the April Rotarian of the Month was awarded to Dick Myren.
Andy Bradford then collected Happy Bucks:
- Joan Reimann announced that this is their last meeting for this year, and they will be back in January
- Jeanie was happy to announce that additional checks for the sponsorship program arrived in the mail and the sponsorship program has now surpassed its goal
- Pam was sad that Erwin and Joan would not be back until January
- John Pennypacker was sad about the wildfires in Georgia
- Dick Myren contributed for himself, Rod Daniels, and Don LaBarge
- Harry Grossman was happy that his building’s air conditioning unit had been replaced
- Brian Harvey was happy to be here, and that we live in a free country
- Chuck was happy to donate to the MWRF towards scholarships
- Jim McGown was happy to have found some walkers and crutches for a good deal
- Don Boucher was sad that his mother passed away last month, and happy that Mesa Police officers were in attendance
- Warren Williamson was happy to tell his weekly joke
Kayla Mudge made other announcements:
- May 1- from 3:00-5:00 pm at the District Conference is a community volunteer opportunity.
- Month of May - we are collecting twin-size bedding for Sleep in Heavenly Peace
- May 30– Rotary Connections (formerly RLI), all sections, will be held in Anthem
Today’s speakers were Sergeant Vanessa Imperial and Detective Grit Canton from the Mesa Police Department. They spoke to the club about the Aspire Academy program, which teaches and provides experiences for teen girls about career opportunities as first responders. Currently, only about 6-8% of first responders are female.
The teens spend an entire cellphone-free weekend at the Aspire Academy so they can experience various activities and challenges related to police, fire, and other first responder careers. It includes classroom learning and hands-on activities. Activities include firefighting, riding along in a police car on an obstacle course, checking out fire trucks, police helicopters, gun safety, physical fitness, rappelling, and lots of fun.
Based on their experiences, many of the teens have pursued careers as first responders.
