Highlights of September 9 Meeting

President Dan Coons opened the meeting with the 2021-22 Rotary International Theme - Serve to Change Lives.  He followed that by reciting the Rotary Vision Statement:
Together we see a world where people unite and 
take action to create lasting change - 
across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.
 
President Dan then asked Ron Thompson to offer the invocation, and Chris Krueger to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
Rotary Minute - Dick Myren - Rotary Fellowships
 
Dick thought that members - especially our newer members - should know that Rotarians are as committed to having a good time as they are to service.  He explained that there are many Rotary Fellowships which can be found when exploring the RI Website.  He spoke mostly about a fellowship that he has been involved with since the early 1980's - the International Golfing Fellowship.  In the early 90's a new group was formed and Dick was one of the organizers of the US Golf Fellowship.  It is now the US & Canada Golf Fellowship.  He has travelled to many places to golf with Rotarians - Florida, California, Oregon, Idaho - to name a few.  
 
On September 9, 2001, Dick was hosting a golfing event for the fellowship which was being held in Prescott, Arizona.  There were 100 Rotarians participating.  As they were at breakfast on September 11th, they saw the 9/11 attacks as they were being reported on television.  A member of a local Rotary club in Prescott saw that all those in attendance at the golf fellowship tournament had a way to get home.  Several of the participating Rotarians came to Phoenix and rented vans to drive home together.  Rotarians stepped up to help one another.  Since then each person received a flag pin.  Dick has worn his every day for twenty years.  In 2022, Greg Podd, a Past District Governor of District 5510, will be in charge of planning the US & Canada Golfing Fellowship event.  Dick will keep the members informed of details.
 
College of Knowledge - Jeane Crouse
 
Instead of sharing a word, Jeane shared the following:  
 
Rosh Hashana (The Jewish New Year) celebration of Hebrew Year 5782 began on Monday, September 6, and ended on Wednesday, September 8.
 
 
 
 
Introduction of Guests
  • Ed Koeneman introduced his guest and long-time friend, Jim Hinsey.  They can both trace their roots back to the American Revolution.
  • President Dan noted that member Bob Jensen was attending via Zoom.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
 
Chuck explained that the holder of the winning ticket would automatically win $40.  They would also win the opportunity to try to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck.  If they were successful in drawing the Ace of Clubs, they would additionally win $385.  Chuck asked Ted Williams to draw the winning ticket.  It was jointly by Jeane Crouse, Wendell Jones, and Ray Smith.  Jeane drew for the trio.  The card drawn was the Jack of Clubs.  They donated their $40 winnings to The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona.
 
Happy Bucks - Greg Okonowski 
  • Bob Jensen pledged $72 to support the Gift of Hearing project to celebrate his birthday
  • Dave Brauchler reminded Rotarians he still had one empty slot in his foursome for the Midwest Food Bank Golf tournament to be held September 16 at The Biltmore.
  • Ted Williams contributed - He and Susan recently celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary.  Susan's daughter Brittney had a relapse after Ted's recent announcements that she was recovering from COVID.  It was touch and go for a while.  She was flown to the hospital where they have the largest COVID unit in Utah.  Ted and Susan went up there. Brittney is, with baby steps, slowly getting better.
  • Bob Zarling announced that The House of Broadcasting would have a display of artifacts from the radio era on display from September 9 to October 20 at HD South - Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum.  The museum is located at 10 South Gilbert Road in Gilbert.  As many Mesa West members will recall, former member Polly Schumacher is a very active member of the House of Broadcasting.
  • Warren Williamson paid to explain to his fellow members the difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.
  • Wendell Jones contributed for a trip to Las Vegas where they saw David Copperfield and really enjoyed the show.
  • Ted Williams added that while they were in Utah, they went out to dinner with family on their anniversary and Susan's ex-husband paid picked up the tab.  He was not apparently aware of the fact it was Ted and Susan's anniversary. 
  • Chris Krueger contributed.  They had attended the Alice Cooper event.  She said it was great to hear live music.  When asked how old Alice Cooper is, Chis answerd, "OLD!"
  • Dick Myren contributed a $1 each for himself and Rod Daniels for the privilege of being associated with Mesa West Rotary.   He also suggested members might want to attend the 80th anniversary celebration of Falcon Field on Saturday.  Chuck Flint added he would be at a booth for Experimental Aircraft at the event. 
  • Jim Crutcher noted that legendary Mesa West Rotarian Alan Ramsdell passed away September 11, 2001 after sixty years in Rotary.
  • Steve Ross pledged $50 to Polio Plus and $50 to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund in appreciation of the beautiful glass art Jack Rosenberg created for Steve's wife, Luin Ross.
  • Jack Rosenberg contributed.  He was happy to be at the meeting.
  • Greg Okonowski pledged to donate $500 to The Rotary Foundation celebrating that his COVID isolation was behind him and happy to be able to attend our meetings again.
  • Frank Rosenberg announced he would be at the Falcon Field celebration and it sounded like he might make some flights available...
  • Pam Cohen pledged $50 to her Paul Harris Fellow celebrating that fifty years ago, John Lennon's Imagine album was released.
  • Dan Coons corrected a couple of things from the September 8 Messenger.  Colleen had pledged $69 to celebrate Dan's 69th birthday.  Jeanie had given him back ten years when she published $59.  Dan had experienced some confusion when he read something about President-elect Pam Coons, which obviously should have read Pam Cohen.  Dan's first wife's name was Pam...
Announcements
  • Dan Lamborn reminded members that the service project for September is a bedding drive for Sleep in Heavenly Peace.  Members are asked to donate new twin-size sheet sets or twin-size blankets.  Since the bedding will go to children, fun images and colors are in order. 
  • President Dan announced that he received information that nominations are being accepted for District Governor of District 5495 to serve in 2024-25.  Any member who is a Past President who is interested in serving in that capacity should get in touch with Dan.
  • Pam Cohen announced the Child Crisis Center Brunch for Love to be held October 1, 2021  Pam bought a table for ten, and as of the meeting only had four seats filled.  Anyone interested in attending the event should email her by CLICKING HERE.  See another article in the September 15 Messenger for more information about the event and/or to register to attend virtually.
  • Pam Cohen announced that there is a possibility the musical interlude planned for September 30 will be moved to a different location.  Stay tuned for more information on this planned fun event.
 
Program - Cindy Ornstein, Executive Director, Mesa Arts Center
 
Melodie Jackson arranged for the program, but asked Pam Cohen to introduce the speaker since Melodie could not be present.  Pam was very happy to do so.  Cindy Ornstein joined the City of Mesa as Director of Arts and Culture and Executive Director of the Mesa Arts Center (MAC) in July, 2010.  In addition to leading MAC, Arizona's largest arts center encompassing four theaters, 14 performing and visual arts studios and the five galleries of Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, she oversees the i.d.e.a. Museum and the Arizona Museum of Natural History.  In addition, Cindy is a faculty associate at ASU's Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts, teaching a master's level class, Leadership in the Creative and Cultural Industries.
 
Prior to coming to Mesa, Cindy was President & CEO of the Flint Cultural Center Corporation in Flint, Michigan, Associate Director of the Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA and Executive Director of Mayfair Festival of the Arts, Allentown, PA.  Before entering arts administration, Cindy was the director of Corporate Communications at Rodale Press, Inc., a leading book and magazine publisher, and worked in the public relations agency business in New York and Atlanta, including holding vice presidencies at the world's two largest public relations firms.  She began her career as an advertising copywriter and a journalist, and also worked in theater as an actor and director in Chicago and New York.
 
Currently, Cindy serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the US Urban Arts Federation, on the Executive Committee of the Southwest Maker Fest (of which she is a co-founder), and participates in the monthly AZ Cultural Leadership roundtable.  She was appointed by Michigan's Governor to two terms on the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and served on the Executive Committee of the board of ArtServe Michigan (now Creative Many Michigan).  Cindy earned a B.A. in English from Vassar College and an M.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in American Culture from the University of Michigan.
 
Cindy began by saying she is a former Rotarian, but her current schedule would prevent her from being an active member at this time.  She indicated it was fun to "feel the vibe" again.
 
The Mesa Arts Center (MAC) existing many years before their nice new facility existed.  She is tankful that community leaders recognized that it would be good for the development of Mesa to develop their current seven-acre campus.  It is the largest facility of its kind in the entire Southwest USA.  She said MAC has been recognized twice as the Arizona Governor's Arts Awards Community, an award which recognizes a nonprofit arts organization or a school that has demonstrated significant support for or participation in activities fostering excellence in, appreciation of, or access to arts education in the State of Arizona. 
 
Ten years ago MAC was recognized by their international association. Other centers which have been so recognized are the Kraft Center and the Sydney Opera House.
 
Cindy shared that 2020 was a tough year.  They created some virtual programs, and some low-touch or no-touch activities.  While the center was closed, seats, carpet and flooring were replaced.  When they reopen in October, it will look brand new again.  The upgrades were paid for from their restoration fund - accumulated funds from a surtax on tickets sold.  For live performances, they have venues ranging form 99 to 1600 available seats.  They will host 40-60 shows this year featuring national and international performing artists.
 
This fall, there will be two very special activities - Wonderland featuring fantastic, beautiful happenings, and in late October Day of the Dead will again be celebrated.  Last year, that celebration was held virtually and they had the largest number of participants they had ever experienced.
 
The art studios feature art from national and international artist featuring thier visionary art.  Their changes of exhibits are staggered with three major openings each year.
 
They have fourteen visual and performing arts classrooms.  In a normal year, they have about 5,000 individuals taking classes.  This fall, they sold out with nearly all of their classroom offerings. They figure they touch about 450,000 lives in a normal year between visits to the center and their outreach programs.
 
One of Cindy's favorite of their many offerings are their National Geographic Live presentations featuring amazing videography combined with some good narrative story telling.  Another favorite is "Classical Music Inside Out" breaking down the barriers to enjoying classical music.
 
Cindy provided handouts for the members present.  There is something for everyone available at the Mesa Arts Center.  CLICK HERE to view the slides of the 2021-22 season preview.  MESA ARTS CENTER should be added to your "favorites" in your search engine.  The site is enjoyable on its own, but the countless ways their offerings can enrich your quality of life is a treasure.