[Click on "Highlights of September 4 Meeting" above photo or "Read more" below to continue.....]
President Kayla Mudge called the meeting to order, Deb Koeneman led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lucinda General gave the Thought of the Day. She reflected on the origins and observance of Labor Day, which was established to celebrate the contributions of American workers and to advocate for improved working conditions.
Today’s guests included Rory Gilbert RYE host parent, Seongjun An RYE student from South Korea, John and Susan Colucci from The Verdes Club, and Joe Sweeny District 5495’s DGE.
Today’s raffle had a small pot of $40 and a large pot of $100. Ed Koeneman’s ticket was drawn, but he drew the King of Diamonds so he did not win the large pot.
Jack Rosenberg was named Mesa West’s Rotarian of the Month for August and Deb Koeneman won the Partner in Crime award for August.
John Pennypacker presented Colleen Coons and Donna Goetzenberger with their Paul Harris Plus 3 pins.
Upcoming events include
- Sept 13th – packing and delivering vital supplies for the City of Mesa (part of the National Day of Service -9/11)
- Sept 20th - Mesa West Experience & Chili event.
- Sept 25th – Jim Schmidt DG club visit
- Nov 1st – Life Skills event
Andy Bradford was back from his travels to collect Happy Bucks
- Ed Koeneman was happy that the Rio Salado Rotaract club has connected with the Naivasha Kenya Rotaract Club and will help them with a project to help teen mothers. He asked for everyone to dedicate Happy Bucks to this project
- Harry Grossman was happy that the Cardinals season officially begins this Sunday
- Dick Myren was happy to donate his usual for himself and Rod
- Eric Silverberg happy to have guests at meeting
- Pam was happy to donate to the Rotaract project
- Colleen was happy that John & Susan Colucci and Joe Sweeny were here today and also thanked the club for their donations to the McKinny Vento students.
- Connie Bunyard happy to donate to the Rotaract project
- Machel was happy to have spent time on vacation with grandchildren
- Joe Sweeney was happy that he Laughlin with Jim Schmidt and was really blown away by Jim’s Rotary poem
- Rory Gilbert was happy to be at today’s meeting
- Donna Goetzenberger was happy that RYE student Seongjun An arrived and said that the District is looking for outbound RYE applicants.
- Deb Koeneman was happy to donate to the Rotaract project
- John Pennypacker donated and educated the club about what a TIA is – transient ischemic attack; he had one but is okay because his family knew to call 911 immediately
- Warren Williamson was happy to donate to the Rotaract project and told his weekly joke
Following Happy Bucks, Kayla invited Seongjun An up to the front to introduce himself and to give him some Rotary pins. He and Kayla exchanged flags.
This week’s speakers were Judge Balon and Danica Sanchez from Mesa Community Court. They shared some stories about homeless persons who have been encouraged by Court Navigators to accept treatment and support services, which have helped many of them to gain employment and housing, and overcome addiction issues. They explained that Community Court replaces punishment with a collaborative approach to break cycles of homelessness, addiction and arrest. This system was created in Mesa in 2018 to enable better options for people who experience cycles of homelessness, addiction, and poverty. The City of Mesa has a Veteran’s Court offering similar services and other unique court options tailored to specific situations such as domestic violence or persons with serious mental health conditions.
