Opening of Meeting - President Colleen Coons
- Shelly Ross offered the invocation.
- Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance
- Steve Ross was thanked for serving as Greeter, welcoming members and guests as they arrived for the meeting.
Introductions
- Sam Rosenberg was proudly introduced by Frank Rosenberg as an outbound Rotary Exchange Student who will - in the relatively near future - be departing to spend the 2023-24 school year in Denmark.
- Machel Considine was introduced as our soon-to-be-inducted newest member.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck announced that the large pot was up to $690, and the small pot was $25. The holder of the winning ticket would automatically win the small pot, and the opportunity to draw a card from the deck. The joker would be worth $20. The Ace of Clubs would entitle the winner to receive the large pot. Chuck asked Sam Rosenberg to draw the winning ticket, which was held by Dick Myren. After shuffling the cards, the card that Dick drew was the 2 of Hearts.
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
- Dick Myren made his traditional contribution plus a little extra - happy that he and Rod Daniels were associated with the Ace of Clubs and happy to have won the raffle.
- Steve Ross pledged $42 to the Mesa West Rotary Foundation for his and Luin's 42nd wedding anniversary on July 4.
- Shelly Romine was thankful for all the members who helped prepare for the very nice 50th Anniversary Celebration - she knew Pam, Jeanie, Ed and Lucinda had each put in countless hours.
- Jeanie Morgan contributed. She had been to see her cardiologist for feedback from recent routine screenings. Her doctor told her that she had three leeky valves in her heart - each with very minor leekage. He told her her heart muscle was very healthy and hoped when he was 80, his heart would be in as good of shape as hers is.
- Ed Koeneman was glad the prep work for the anniversary celebration was finally done!
- Warren Williamson enjoyed the big get-together. He was glad to see Wendell Jones. He welcomed Colleen as our new president. He gets a kick out of her frequently saying how lucky she is to have Dan. During Happy Bucks, she often commits his money. One night when Colleen and Dan were sitting on their patio enjoying some wine, Dan heard Colleen say, "I love you!" He asked her if she was talking to him. She answered, "I was talking to my wine."
Announcements
- Colleen expressed her appreciation for all who had provided support as she prepared for her presidency. Many fellow members are responsible for enabling her to serve the club.
- PDG John Pennypacker was attending via Zoom from the Doubletree in Edinburgh, Scottland. To prove where he was, he held up the familiar bag containing a chocolate-chip cookie. He pledged $5 in happy bucks saying it was not tea in the glass he held up.
- Colleen encouraged members to attend regularly.
- On July 13, we hope to be inducting a new member.
- July 20, Colleen will officially be installed as our new President.
- July 27, the new leadership team will be sharing their vision and there will be auction items from Colleen's recent trip to Mexico, and - if Dan remembers to shop while in Africa - there will be items from Kenya as well.
Program - Denise Carter - Overflow Mission
Jay Stuckey introduced our speaker, Denise Carter. Denise is a native of New York, but currently lives in Arizona with her husband of 26 years and her two adult children. Denise is an employee at Bridgecrest Corp. She has been with them for fifteen years She is a customer relations specialist. Her main focus is deescalating and problem-solving customer complaints.
Denise has a passion for helping others. As a result of this passion she started a non-profit - Over-Flo Missions. Their mission is to help the homeless population and individuals and families with food insecurity by providing them with emergency food boxes, snack bags, personal care items and their resources to help them during their time of need. The name of the non-profit was inspired by her mother-in-law, Florence "Flo" and Psalms 23:5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." The charity does not have a brick and mortar facility.
They collect what they can. They are currently having a "clean-out-the-pantry food drive". She knows lots of people - herself included - stock up on items when they are on sale thinking they will use them someday then never do. The clean-out-the-pantry drives to increase what they have to give away and free up pantry space for the donors.
CLICK HERE to see the slides Denise shared while making her presentation.
One recent goal is to enable those in need to have the tools and knowledge necessary to connect with job opportunities and other resources. They are collecting laptops to be used for that purpose.
When it comes to food, they do not limit who they help to those with low income. Because life changes can cause an unfortunate impact on someone's ability to meet their monthly obligations even though they have an excellent job, they help anyone who needs help. People like that often pay their bills first, then have no money left for food.
Denise said they give away about 2500 food boxes each month. In their feed-a-meal project, they feed 150-200. Anyone who wants to find out ways they personally can help can call 480-606-2049. Their website is: https://overflomissions.com/ One easy way members and readers can help is to choose Over-Flow Missions to receive a donation when checking out a grocery order after shopping in Fry's.
Announcements:
- Shelly Romine announced we would be doing a service project the Last Tuesday of July - July 25 - at 5:30 PM at Midwest Food Bank. She will be sending e-mail to members with link to sign up, but anyone can sign up on the Midwest Food Bank website, as well.
- Jay Stuckey announced that the July 13 Speakers will be Elena and Summer from Foster 360.
- Dick Myren shared a story he heard about a couple of weeks ago on the news. A family was trapped in a second floor apartment in a burning building. They were saved by two young homeless men.
- Colleen Coons shared a bit of her past that many members might not be aware of about how her life changed drastically several years ago. The details won't be shared in this electronic newsletter, but it was clear she could relate to the good accomplished by an organization such as Over-Flo Missions which helps those in need regardless of how good things might look to an outsider.