President Pam Cohen opened the meeting by introducing herself
- Ron Thompson offered the invocation
- Shelly Romine led the Pledge of Allegiance
- Steve Ross was thanked for doing double duty - serving as greeter while selling raffle tickets . Jack Rosenberg was thanked for assisting with the greeter responsibilities after he arrived and noted the vacancy.
- Ed Koeneman was thanked for never complaining about managing the details of the AV equipment at every meeting.
Introduction of Guests
- John Benedict introduced his wife, Jane Benedict.
- Polly Cady introduced Fanny's current host parents - Jeff and Holly Andersen. Jeff is Darl Andersen's son.
- Fanny introduced her host-family siblings: Izzy, Finn, Jack, Josh, and Levi Andersen.
- Frank Rosenberg introduced his daughter, Sam Rosenberg who will be an outbound Youth Exchange student to Denmark next year. He also introduced his stepfather, Phillip Skirboll.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Steve Ross
After explaining that the large pot was up to $515 and the daily pot would be $40, the ticket that was drawn belonged to Ray Smith. Ray said that it was the first time in sixty-five years that he had purchased a winning raffle ticket. His luck did now hold out. When he attempted to draw the Ace of Clubs, he instead drew the Jack.
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
- Ray Smith contributed. He was happy to learn of Jack Rosenberg's ability to raise money for Rotary even when in the hospital and recovering at home. He garnered one cash donation for the sponsor program and some on-line donations to TRVFA from family and friends who wanted to tangibly wish him a speedy recovery.
- Shelly Romine contributed a US $1 coin. While on the Galapagos Islands and in Ecuador, they found that credit cards weren't accepted, but that US currency was. If getting change back during a transaction, the smallest paper bill was a $5, One dollar in change was always a US $1 coin.
- Warren Williamson told a priceless story about Allan Cady as an enterprising young man.
- John Pennypacker contributed happy/sad dollars, He was happy to be about to start his round-the-world adventure, but sad that he would miss nearly two months' of Mesa West Rotary Club meetings.
- Ed Koeneman contributed happy dollars because he and Debbie will be traveling to the RI Convention in Melbourne, Australia. He was also happy they have volunteered to host an inbound exchange student from Spain this fall. He was happy to see Fanny. The Westwood High School Interact Club held their last meeting for this year. Some of their members will be Interact Ambassadors to Kenya and Mexico this summer.
- Allan and Polly Cady were happy to be back from their California trip so they could hear Fanny's Youth Exchange Presentation.
- Allan Cady contributed. He and Polly attended the Yuma Rotary Club Noon meeting Tuesday the 16th where Allan made a TRVFA presentation. They had about 55 in attendance. Allan is trying to get Yuma up and running with TRVFA.
- Jim McGown volunteers at a local food bank. Often, mobility devices are donated. Because they really don't need them and they tend to accumulate, Jim is getting them to Ed for the Interact Ambassador missions. He also bids ridiculously low prices online for wheelchairs and when he is the successful bidder, he gives those devices to Ed as well.
- Pam Cohen was happy to meet this part of the Andersen family. There are sixty family members in all - forty of them are grandchildren. She pointed out the flyer on the tables with data from the recent blood drive. - 25 donors, 8 of whom were first-timers, and 9 were type O donors, were responsible for 24 units being collected. One blood donation can help save more than one life. Member support of this project was appreciated.
- Jim Schmidt said to fine him $10. He had made an appointment to donate blood then had to miss everything going on at the YMCA on the 11th.
John Pennypacker - The Rotary Foundation John hoped members had taken time to read the EREY article in the May 17 Messenger. (CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED IT)
John was very pleased that Jane Benedict was present to see John Benedict receive his Paul Harris Plus Four recognition pin for his generous support over the years of the good work being done in the world through The Rotary Foundation.
John suggested that even if a member had read the EREY article, they might want to read it again...
Auction - Shelly Romine
Shelly had some non-alcoholic, crafty ornamental items and treats from Galapagos and Ecuador to auction. The ties were the colors of the flag of Ecuador. Ron Thompson was the successful bidder with his top bid of $45.
A bag of popcorn bought to benefit Fanny's cheerleading fundraising efforts was auctioned. Ray Smith paid $40 cash.
Announcements
- Ed Koeneman reminded members to dig deep to find old photos of favorite Rotary moments at events and activities. He needs them for the visuals to be shown during our 50th Anniversary Gala.
- Shelly Romine has paper invitations for members to use to hand out or mail.
Rotary Youth Exchange Report - Fanny Lienard
Polly Cady introduced Fanny and suggested Fanny pronounce her last name correctly for all to hear. It sounded like "LEE enn Arr," to this writer. Dan and Colleen Coons were Fanny's first host parents. She then stayed in the home of Dan and Jessica Lanborn, before moving on to Frank and Amanda Rosenberg's home and finishing her exchange in the Andersen household. While here, Fanny has participated in some activities not available in France like cheerleading and dance.
Fanny's home is in a small town in northern France. Lille is the "big city" near her home, with about 235,000 population, lots of shops, universities, and restaurants. That is where her brother and sister study. Her own community has a big church, and two elementary schools. At her home in Auchy-Lez-Orchies (with about 1,500 residents), they have a large garden. The view from her bedroom window is very green. She said it is very green at her high school, where there are about 1800 students. They have 31 hours of classes each week plus options. Fanny said her parents have been a couple since high school. Charles, her brother, is 28 and her sister is 24. She said every Sunday they get together as a family and play board games and talk. She said her grandma talks alot!She said for nine years her family has hosted youth exchange students. They came after her siblings were at University. One student - Regardt - was from South Africa, and they travelled to South Africa for his wedding. Hosting the youth exchange students made Fanny want to go on an exchange.
Fanny's favorite place in France is the South of France with the sea and the beautiful views.
Fanny's home Rotary Club is the Rotary Club of Templeuve en Pévèle, in District 1670. They are a relatively new club, started in 2011. The club meets twice a month on Monday or Tuesday evening at the home of one of its members and they organize a restaurant evening one Monday each month. Fanny's father joined the club in 2017.
Fanny said she arrived in Arizona in July, 2022. She tried out for and joined the cheer team. She went to Big Bear for inbound Youth Exchange orientation. She attended RYLA Ponderosa. She said she didn't want to leave and remembers crying because she knew she had to.
She was in Disneyland on the 17th birthday with Colleen Coons She enjoyed a Lake Havasu weekend of boating fun. She was in Las Vegas on December 20 with other Youth Exchange students. She attended RYLA Pinerock with 6 other Youth Exchange students and cried lots again. She went to Flagstaff with Frank and Amanda. She attended the Interact District Conference in February. She had the opportunity to attend a Taylor Swift concert and went to Puerto Peñasco Mexico with Jeff and Holly where she saw a beautiful sunset and enjoyed some good tacos and churros.
Fanny went to Flagstaff again with Frank and Amanda. She participated in a dance concert at her school, and went to prom with some of her friends. Next week is graduation, then Fanny will be off to enjoy the Rotary Youth Exchange train trip up the west cost and across the nation ending up in Washington DC. She will return to Arizona before heading home to France.
Fanny will have one more year of high school after returning home. She said school in France is a lot different. They start at 8:00 AM and finish at 5:30 PM. She said it is very stressful. Fanny said she has understood English since she was in elementary school because she watched movies and shows in English. Everyone who met her when she first arrived were amazed about how perfect her English was. She said the most unexpected thing was the Arizona summertime heat. When asked about the "right of passage" from high school in France, she said she would take a really big exam at the end of her senior year. If she passes, she'll get a diploma. There is no prom, no graduation ceremony. Fanny misses the cheese and bread in France and misses her mom's cooking.John Pennypacker shared AMC with Fanny - Attitude, Motivation and Commitment, and gave her a gift to remind her of AMC - the traits required to be successful. Josh Andersen asked about her blue jacket. Fanny explained that her home club gave her the jacket and told her to order 150 pins to exchange with other exchange students while she was in the United States. She doesn't have a favorite pin. She likes them all. They each have a different meaning.
Fanny and President Pam exchanged Rotary Club banners at the end of Fanny's presentation.The program May 25 will be about the Gift of Hearing Mission in Guaymas. Our member, Bob Jensen, has been doing this project with love and passion for 30 years. Erica Williams will be present and Bob will be participating in facilitation of the program via Zoom. He has recently welcomed two new grandchildren - one in April and another in May.