Opening and Welcome - President Jay Paulus
President Jay asked Machel Considine to offer the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Al Nunez.
Mesa West Rotarian of the Month RecognizedPresident Jay expressed his appreciation of the great job Andy has done as Sgt at Arms collecting happy bucks at our meetings all year. He has also stepped up to help with technology during our meetings whenever that kind of assistance was needed.
When the idea was suggested that we might want to start a satellite club in the southeast area of Mesa near the Gateway Airport, Andy stepped up to lead the effort. The first "recruiting meeting" was held in April and a second meeting was scheduled to take place Tuesday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m. at the Barrio Cafe near the airport.
Recognition for Support of The Rotary Foundation
Our Foundation Chair, John Pennypacker, truly leads by example. When one of his Rotary friends loses a loved one, John typically makes a donation to The Rotary Foundation in their memory. On special occasions, like his recent 80th birthday, John makes significant donations to TRF. They accumulate to his major donor account which is join with his late wife, Betsy, so it is one way of continuing to celebrate his love for her. His recent donations combined with past generosity has resulted in his achieving Major Donor Level 3 status. Level 1 is $10,000 in accumulated donations, Level 2 is $25,000, and Level 3 is $50,000. Jeanie Morgan had the privilege of presenting John with his Major Donor Level 3 recognition pin.
Introduction of Guests
- Mark Brinton introduced himself as a former member of Mesa Baseline Rotary Club. He had attended a community event earlier in the day and rather than sit with "old white guys" with stories similar to his own, he chose to sit with a group from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community . He felt their President, Martin Harvier, could benefit from having a Rotary connection and wanted to try to facilitate an introduction to Mesa West Rotary..
- Jim Erickson introduced his wife and chauffer, Maryanne Erickson. Jim has recently injured his shoulder and Maryanne is driving him everywhere he needs and wants to go.
- Connie Bunyard introduced Karl Ernsberger as a potential new member. Karl had met Liz Paulus at a Mesa Rotary Club meeting, and she invited him to visit Mesa West.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained that the small weekly pot was $35 and the large, accumulating pot, was up to $1,085. He went on to say there are only 27 cards left in the deck. The person whose ticket was drawn would win the small pot plus the opportunity to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck. Should they be so lucky, they would win the large pot. He asked Jim McGown to draw the winning ticket which was held by Connie Bunyard. After shuffling the cards, the card Connie drew was the Four of Spades.
Happy Bucks - Sgt at Arms Andy Bradford
- Jim McGown said he had recently travelled with his wife to her class reunion in Dallas. It took them two days to get there and two days to return. He said nobody knew him or seemed to care that they did not...
- Lizzy Barron said to bill her $100 for the sponsor program to celebrate the nice brunch she enjoyed on April 27 at her home with women from Mesa West. The weather and the ambiance was wonderful. The stories shared helped her know her Rotary family better. She also celebrated the fact that a recent prom dress purchased for her daughter should be the last really expensive dress she has to buy for a while.
- Connie Bunyard contributed saying what a wonderful hostess Lizzy had been at the luncheon.
- Eric Silverberg contributed saying he had participated in the Queen Creek Rotary 5K. He said he didn't run, but praised their great group. Their signature cause is teen mental health and suicide prevention.
- John Pennypacker contributed - he was happy to see two Jims seated side-by-side at our meeting.
- Machel Considine was also happy to praise the nice brunch at Lizzy's home.
- Chuck Flint wondered if President Jay had gotten his money's worth during his recent hair cut. Chuck wondered if he'd been scalped. Jay said the barber told him his hair grew fast enough that in two weeks, no one would know the difference. Chad Reid said that was what his last barber told him, as well.
- Harry Grossman was happy about a recent fabulous shindig.
- Dick Myren made his traditional $2 contribution - happy that he and honorary member Rod Daniels are associated with the Ace of Clubs.
- Don LaBarge was happy that Levi Slocum - the Bass Pro Manager - was finally able to be at our meeting. Don said Levi has more duties than most store managers.
- Mike Lutcher thanked Ed Koeneman for facilitating the Westwood High School Interact Clubs packing of hygiene kits. He also enjoyed the tour of the music side of the high school which might result in a bank quartet or singing group coming to a Salvation Army event.
- President Jay confessed that he and Liz would be leaving for Cabo Sunday after the District Conference. That trip was going to be followed by a cruise and a trip to Harvard. He said he would be gone most of the month of May and that Pam would be leading some meetings and John Pennypacker and Polly Cady would be helping out as well. Since he was going to be gone so much, he did a recent makeup in Prescott.
- Warren said that SonHee had recently celebrated by buying her first American made car. She had been driving an Audi - a German car made in Mexico. Warren said he got a new belt. Warren made a $10 contribution to tell a joke. A minister had gotten new dentures from his dentist. The first Sunday with the new dentures, his sermon was only 8 minutes long. The next week, the sermon lasted 10 minutes. He said the fit of the dentures was causing pain when he talked too much. The next week, his sermon lasted 2 1/2 hours. He said he had put in his wife's dentures by mistake and couldn't shut up. Some might think $10 wasn't enough for that one.... Just sayin'
Program - Levi Slocum - Bass Pro
Don LaBarge introduced Levi saying that we couldn't do as well as we do collecting funds for Salvation Army at the Red Kettle located at their store exit during the holiday season if it weren't for the awesome support provided by the Bass Pro staff. He said Levi has the right to refuse to have the kettle there at all, but he instructs his staff to provide canopies if it is raining, secure our buckets overnight, etc. Levi has been with Bass Pro 18 years. He has had two assignments at the Mesa Store. When he was first out of college, he worked at the Rancho Cucamonga store in California. He came from a family who enjoyed hunting and fishing, so they were excited about the employee discounts they might be entitled to as family members until he moved on and got a "real job." This is his second stint in Mesa. He was here for a while, then in 2012 sent to San Jose. He's been back in Mesa since 2017.
Johnny Morris started Bass Pro in Springfield, Missouri. They are known for their Tracker boat, motor and trailer combos. They are known for their hospitality, their club card (credit card) and he was proud that 10% of their profit is donated for conservation.
The things they are driven by are kids, youth and family. Last year, they served 1300 hot dogs in four hours. They currently have 237 employees in the Mesa store. They only sell wants - no needs! What they really sell is fun! Johnny Morris' philosophy of management is that he wouldn't ask anyone to do anything he wasn't willing to do himself, and that philosophy has a trickle-down effect. Because Johnny's family is involved in management of the company, he anticipates it will continue to be a privately owned company for a long time.
It was clear from some of the questions that the Restaurant that closed during COVID is missed. Levi said several options for use of that space have been considered, but the right combination of timing and idea have not yet occurred. He is hopeful that something will be decided in relative near future.