When Rotarians and guests arrived for the June 20 meeting, it was clear a group of Rotarians were engaged in a very serious discussion surrounding one of the tables in the room. Participating in the discussion were members of the planning committee for the 2019 Gift of Hearing Mission to Guaymas, Mexico. This was the initial formal planning session for the trip that will take place November 6-9, 2019.President Chris Krueger called the meeting to order asking Daryl 'Bethea to offer the invocation and Jeanie Morgan to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Guests
Jeanie introduced Sabrina and Francelia who were attending the Mesa West meeting as guests. Francelia was interviewed prior to the meeting and Sabrina stayed following the meeting to interview for Mesa West sponsorship of grants from The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona to attend the Phlebotomy Technician Program at East Valley Medical College. Club sponsorship does not require a financial commitment from the club. TRVFA partners with Rotary clubs to do the interviews for grant applicants to ensure that the applicants are truly motivated and likely to succeed with their chosen career path. Both young ladies see phlebotomy as a beginning step into the medical field and have aspirations to go on to even bigger and better medical careers with the additional required education a realistic goal with their increased earning potential as phlebotomists.
Also present as a guest was Bob Salinger, A Rotarian from Walnut Creek, California. Bob recently attended the Rotary International convention in Hamburg, Germany.
Drawings
The attendance drawing was barely won by Don Boucher on the third draw which was announced as he was walking through the door on his late arrival to the meeting. Chuck Flint announced the weekly raffle winnings would be $35. If the lucky ticket holder were to draw the ace of clubs, they would win $169. Steve Ross was holding the winning ticket for the threesome that pool their tickets. He let his buddies, Jack Rosenberg and John Benedict, down when the card he drew from the dwindling deck was NOT the ace of spades.
Happy Bucks
Don Boucher was happy to be at the meeting. Dick Myren contributed his traditional dollar honoring Rod Daniels' habit of being happy to be a member of Mesa West. He also noted that Don Boucher was not only late, he was not wearing his name badge. Warren Williamson made a contribution in honor of Son Hee's birthday next week. Steve Ross contributed announcing that his son would be leaving that very day to go to Washington DC and on to the Congo until Christmas. He had mixed feelings. He did not want to see him go, but was glad this is the final required time for his son to spend in the Congo in his doctoral program. Aubrey was happy to have celebrated her birthday the prior Monday. Lola McClane was happy to report her granddaughter had been cast as Ola in Frozen. Joan Reimann was happy to report Erwin received good news relating to his recently installed pacemaker at his June 19 visit to the doctor. Polly Cady was sad she would miss the installation celebration. She will be in San Diego on June 29. Allan Cady was happy to have enjoyed the opportunity to pick up Judge Tommy Webb and host him while he is in Arizona to speak at the District Conference. Pam was happy she was going to attend the District Conference and encouraged fellow members to visit the hospitality suites on Saturday night. Ray Smith was happy to have held a successful Guaymas Committee kickoff meeting. Ron Thompson contributed $5 happy dollars. He was happy to be a member of Mesa west, but he was happier to report that his 31-year-old son picked up the tab - for the first time - when they were out to eat on Father's Day. He was also very happy for his wonderful wife, Toni. Chris Krueger was happy to report she would be leaving after the conference to go to Omaha. She was required to be there for work-related meetings, but the bonus of seeing her grandbabies had her looking forward to the trip. She was happy to have been privileged to lead Mesa West, but a bit sad that it was her last official meeting as President.
Program
President Chris presented the program about her recent trip to the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany. There is a nine-hour time difference between Arizona and Hamburg. She and Mike travelled a week early. Prior to the convention, they spent time in Amsterdam. When they arrived, a sign in the airport welcomed Rotarians. One evening during the convention, they attended an Arizona district dinner including both Arizona districts. She could not believe the very generous quantities of meat on each platter. Each platter was intended for a table of five to share. These were large quantities seen through the eyes of a Nebraska girl. The servings must have been enormous!
Chris was very impressed with the flag presentation which was handled by Rotary Youth Exchange Students. 241 countries were represented. Until she attended the International Convention, the vastness of the size and influence of Rotary had not seemed as amazing to her as it truly is. She was very impressed with the number of 45 million volunteer hours reported which have an economic value of at least $850,000,000. She was also impressed that in 2018-19 at the time of the convention, $339.9 had been raised by The Rotary Foundation this year.
She said that by 2023, Rotary has a goal of women comprising 30% of the membership. That goal does not sound impressive until we realize that in many cultures, Rotary Clubs are still all male. The goal is to encourage diversity, inclusion, and equality. This year, the first two women will serve as Directors of Rotary International. It could be true other places, but it is known that in Japan and in Mexico, there are some all-women Rotary clubs. Johrita Solari who spoke at Mesa West earlier this year, is one of those first two female Directors. Chris said there was a very long standing ovation when Johrita's name was announced as she was introduced to those in attendance. One of the sessions, Teaching for Tomorrow, which Chris attended was led by Michael McQueen. The world is changing, and Rotary must change with it. A quote Lao Tzu was illustrated with a photo: "Resisting change is like holding your breath. Even if you're successful, it won't end well." He said a top career likely not to be taken over by robotics in the future is that of a hairdresser - "Would you want a machine wielding scissors that close to your ears?"
Chris enjoyed making new Rotary friends at the convention. One such friend was Tammy Denny from Salem, Oregon. They ran into each other several times throughout the convention. Both have a love of wine and both joined the Rotary Wine Fellowship. She and Mike also ran into Ed and Debbie Koeneman several times at the convention. Ed likes beer better than wine and he joined the Rotary Beer Fellowship. Now Ed and John Pennypacker have one additional thing in common as John is also a member of that Rotary Fellowship group.
There was an End Polio Now Lego donation activity where legos could be purchased to be used in a Rotary wheel display that was under construction at the convention.
Chris enjoyed spending time in the House of Friendship at the convention. There were hundreds of booths featuring products and projects making the scope of what Rotary accomplishes in the world more real while at the same time staggering. There were opportunities to fellowship with Rotarians from every continent.
At one session, Chris met a young man who truly "thinks outside the box." He had a book for sale which read sideways. He has a company which sells bottled water. 100% of the profit is used to create skin care and health and sanitation products for baby care as well as education for mothers. Profits from the sale of the book will be used to fund the next product. The price of the book is "Pay whatever you want." One woman paid $50,000.
While in Germany, Chris had the opportunity to connect with a childhood pen pal and go with her to visit a nearby community where Chris's grandmother was born. Chris has only recently begun to fully appreciate the courageous act of her grandmother who left everything behind and moved to the United States with no job, and not knowing English. Chis has learned that her grandmother was abused after her mother died when she was only four. Her stepmother made her work in another household but kept all the wages. The employer saw what was happening and helped her escape. She held back on paying what the labor was worth and saved it for Chris's grandmother. Those funds were what financed the new beginning in the US. Chris said her pen pal spoke excellent English. English was a requirement in 5th through 10th grades. The grandmother's childhood home is still in the family - the stepmother's family.
At the end of her presentation, Rotarians and guests gave Chris a standing ovation, a small token of the club's large appreciation for her year of service as President of Mesa West Rotary.
To see more photos taken at the Rotary International Convention by Chris Krueger and Ed Koeneman, CLICK HERE.