Opening and Welcome to Meeting - President Colleen Coons
President Colleen thanked the following individuals:
- Steve Ross for serving as greeter
- Ray Smith for offering the invocation
- Warren Williamson for leading the Pledge of Allegiance
- Jeanie Morgan for handling check-in
- Pam Cohen for serving as Chief Technology Officer
Introduction of Guests
- Marilyn Klingler was introduced for the last time as a guest, as she had a membership application pending. She said she hoped her fortune cookie would let her know that her wish to become a member would come true.
- Liz Paulus introduced her guest, Lisa Rivera, Director of Development with College Bound.
- Harry Grossman was introduced as our newest "member in waiting" as he turned in his membership application when he arrived for the meeting.
- Harry Short, a regular visiting Rotarian from Seattle was introduced.
- Ray Smith introduced the leadership team from the Guaymas Hearing Mission - members Bob Jensen and Erica Williams. Ray also acknowledged Rodolfo Fernandez who was attending online from Mexico and Polo Santiago who has been a huge help with the mission since joining Mesa West.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained that the person whose ticket was drawn would win the weekly winnings of $25. They would also win the opportunity to draw a card from the cards remaining in the deck. Should they draw a joker, they would win an additional $20. If they were really lucky, and were to draw the Ace of Clubs, they would win the accumulating big pot with was up to $471. He asked Machel Considine to draw the winning ticket which was held by Shelly Romine. Chuck watched while Shelly seriously shuffled the cards and made a choice. The card she drew was the Seven of Hearts.
Acknowledgement of Zoom attendees:
- Rodolfo Fernandez
- Deb Koeneman - Deb was asked if their son was still sleeping in a closet in Poland. She said his situation has not changed, but indicated he might be coming home soon.
- Pai Bethea - who many know as Daryl Bethea - uses his phone when he attends via Zoom and is not visible to those at the meeting in person. Colleen explained that she had learned that Pai is the father-in-law of our recent speaker, Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury, Colleen had learned that the nickname of Pai was given to him when he was in Brazil. The Brazilians started calling Daryl Pai (which means Father) and was a loving way to make him feel part of the family and how he now chooses to be called. Another Pai coincidence is that when Colleen went for her eye appointment with Dr. Hostetler at San Tan Eye Care (who is Allan Cady's eye doctor as well) she found he was retiring and her new doctor would be his partner, Dr. Jonathan Wold. Jonathan Wold is Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury's brother, so Pai is Dr Wold's father-in-law, as well. Both know how much Pai values Rotary - he is always inviting them to join.
Happy Bucks - Sgt At Arms Ron Thompson
- Pam Cohen was happy to have been flown to McMinnville, Oregon to spend four days.
- Bob Jensen was happy to be attending in person. He thanked Erica, Jim Schmidt, Polo Santiago, Chuck Flint and others present who had participated in the Guaymas Mission(s) in the past.
- Ray Smith was happy to report that Honorary Member Wendell Jones had made a Sponsor Program donation of $500 dedicated to the Guaymas Mission.
- Shelly Romine was happy to have spent some quality time with extended family in San Diego recently. One nephew was seventeen the last time she saw him. He is thirty-seven now.
- Gerry Paulus contributed. He was happy because he had finished teaching his class at MCC on the Origins of the Moon. The class talked about prevalent theories and ended with his theory.
- Harry Grossman was happy to have submitted his membership application. He was also happy because in doing so, he discovered he qualifies for E-85 membership because his age and years in Rotary total more than 85.
- Harry Short was happy to have enjoyed having lunch with an old friend. Their friendship goes back to a time when they were both less than age twenty - he guessed around eighteen.
- Jim Erickson was happy to celebrate forty-seven years of perfect attendance in Rotary. To celebrate, he pledged $250 to Polio Plus and $250 to the sponsor campaign.
- Warren Williamson contributed to share a story about a business owner who was having a difficult time finding good employees. One young applicant for an electrical technician position (probably a Gen Z or millennial) had a two page resume of prior jobs and the reason for leaving all of them was that he had been fired. When asked what positive quality he would bring to the job, the applicant said, "I'm no quitter."
- Pam Cohen ended up enjoying the benefit of tickets Melodie Jackson intended to be auctioned at a meeting, but time ran out. The tickets were to a Fleetwood Mac Tom Petty Tribute Concert. Pam pledged $100 to Melodie's Sponsorship Campaign team.
- President Colleen pledged $400 to her team - the Pennypacker team - because of the benefit she has enjoyed as President of Mesa West Rotary Club. The benefit being getting to know the members as individuals and all the many things she has learned about Rotary and life. She said it's been an impressive blessing and thanked everyone.
Announcements
- President Colleen said that she was asked by the District if Mesa West would like to home host a group of six Rotarians traveling from Kenya to attend our District Conference. Colleen made one phone call. Liz and Gerry Paulus agreed to host them all. In fact they also agreed to host a barbeque Sunday afternoon, April 28 at their home from 2:00-5:30 so members would have an opportunity to meet the delegation.
- Frank Rosenberg's celebration of his graduation from his Master's program will be held at his home Friday, May 17 (see a separate announcement in this newsletter). Members are invited to join in the celebration.
- Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will be held May 18 at Benedictine University in Mesa.
- A new member gathering will be held Saturday, June 8.
Program - 2023 Guaymas Mission Report - Erica Williams, PhD and Robert Jensen, MS
Eric Silverberg introduced our speakers, Bob Jensen and Erica Williams, both members of Mesa West Rotary. In doing so, he listed a number of honors which have been presented to Bob over the years the Guaymas Hearing Mission has been in existence. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Coveted Rotary International Service Above Self Award, and at our 50th Anniversary Celebration in June of 2023, he was presented a People of Action Award for the many years of commitment to the Hearing Mission.
Erika Williams shared some slides providing details about the mission. CLICK HERE to view her slides. She first shared some statistics about the economically challenged community this program serves. 44% of the residents in Guaymas live in poverty - less than $4 US per day. They do not have access to good healthcare which is concentrated in large cities. Guaymas and the surrounding communities lack Audiology and Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) services.
Bob first participated in a fact-finding trip in 1992. The first mission was in 1993. College students were added to the mission team in 2003. It was a great opportunity for students who became involved.
The mission typically takes place in October or November of each year. November is preferred. It is cooler there then and past hurricane season.
The team includes audiology professionals, students, ENTs, translators, and Rotarians handling logistical crowd handling challenges. During the COVID pandemic, missions did not happen. When they resumed, there were many challenges to overcome. The mission includes triage to determine needs, ENT care, hearing tests, hearing aids, counseling. Care has even included placement of pressure stabilizing ear tubes.
The volume of people needing service has been overwhelming. Rodolfo Fernandez, has enabled us to fill that gap by having mini clinics throughout the year. It is not possible to get a global grant through Rotary International because the lack of audiology professionals in the area keeps the mission from being sustainable on a long-term basis without our current approach.
In 2023, the budget to actual expense was very close. The budget was $30,000. The actual amount spent was $30,544.46/
Bob shared that in the past, the Guaymas Rotary Club was able to afford hotel rooms and bus transportation of our team, but their club is much smaller now, so we are needing to pick up more of the housing and transportation costs.
Bob is trying to get hearing aids donated for this year. The value of the services provided is huge. In 2023, 137 adults and 95 children were seen. 193 earmolds were made and 150 hearing aids were fit. The US equivalent value of our $30,544.46 investment would be $219.210.00. It is not possible to see all those who have needs. The mini clinics provided by Rudolfo through the rest of the year help bridge that gap for this underserved geographic area.
Over the years, a volunteer who was unable to attend the April 25 meeting, Jim Armstrong, has provided and calibrated quality testing equipment to be used in the clinic. Jim was able to obtain the equipment to donate to our mission when large institutions were upgrading theirs.
The social and functional and health impacts of hearing loss is measurable. This mission has improved the quality of life for those treated as well as their families.
If you did not do so at the beginning of this story, you are urged to CLICK HERE now to view the excellent slides prepared by Erica.
This is a unique point of pride for Mesa West Rotary Club. We are glad that Erica is the heir-apparent to carry on the legacy of the program Bob started in the early 90's. She is picking up more and more of the planning details, for which Bob is very thankful.