At our Mesa West Zoom meeting on September 24, Erica Williams will present an Update on the Guaymas Gift of Hearing Mission.
She has travelled with Bob Jensen and his team for the last several years to Guaymas, Mexico to help with the largest on-going international project with which Mesa West Rotary Club is involved.
This past July Bob Jensen was awarded the coveted Rotary International Service Above Self award for his long commitment to giving the gift of hearing to underprivilege, underserved residents in the Guaymas and surrounding communities in Mexico.
Erica has been a member of Mesa West Rotary since February, 2018. Plan to attend the Mesa West Zoom Meeting September 24 to hear Erica's presentation. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Carolyn Ann Jones passed away peacefully from a long stretch with Alzheimer's on September 17, 2020 in Mesa, Arizona at the age of 85.
Carolyn led a very happy, active life filled with so many family and friends. Carolyn regularly attended Mesa West Rotary Club Meetings as Wendell's guest until she became an active member of the club herself on June 27, 2018.
She was an amazing seamstress, loved baking, cooking and being the perfect hostess to anyone she met. She and Wendell were the best traveling companions going to Canada, Guatemala, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and all over the United States. In fact she wouldn't go anywhere without him.
All those who knew her thought her to be a most unbelievably kind, caring and loving person. She is survived by her husband, Wendell Jones; son Mike (Jettalee) McKinney, two grandchildren Brad and Tracy and three great grandchildren; daughter Linda (John) O'Donnal, eight grandchildren David & Eugene (deceased) Natalie, Juan (deceased), Sarah, Maggie, Emily, Zach, thirteen great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren; daughter Susan (Paul) Chapman, four grandchildren Josh, Brittney, Ben, Preston and six great grandchildren; and Wendell's children Darce' (Lehi) Montierth, Krystal (David) Hall, Sherrine (Wes) Hayward, Travis (Julie) Jones, Cameo (Cooper) Johnson, Arianne (Dave) Jenson, and family of twenty-eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
After being an only child while growing up, and not wishing that on anyone, she finally became a sister and leaves a brother Curtis Jernigan. A viewing which is open to the public will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building located at 2549 N. 32nd Street in Mesa, Arizona at 9:30am on Friday, September 25, 2020. The viewing will be followed by a funeral open only to family members which will be held at the same location starting at 11:00am. The funeral will be available for on-line viewing at:
President Dan Coons followed his recent practice of opening the Zoom meeting platform at 11:15 enabling Mesa West Rotarians and guests to have an informal conversation.
President-Elect Bob Zarling held up his little plastic man received along with a district directory, Rotary mask, and a thank you note from District Governor Elizabeth Mahoney. Bob wasn't certain of the purpose of the little man, but after some discussion, it was decided - because there is no direction the little man could not be moved, he epitomizes the flexibility District 5495 Rotarians and members of Rotary worldwide are demonstrated during all the COVID challenges of 2020.
Lucinda shared a recent bit of real-life humor. She and Wayne had some roof-repair work done on their home. Because it was done well at a fair price, Wayne arranged for his mother to have the same roofing company do some repair work on his mother's roof. Wayne and Lucinda received a referral thank-you check from the contractor in appreciation of them referring his company's services to their daughter.
The editor's notes aren't clear who shared the story about the husband from a couple going through couple's therapy to strengthen their relationship. The therapist suggested the husband might improve his relationship with his wife by occasionally buying flowers. The husband responded he hadn't been aware his wife sold flowers...
Opening the Meeting - President Dan Coons
The meeting was opened with Dan introducing himself and welcoming all in attendance. He then repeated the Rotary Vision Statement. Lola McClane was prepared with a thought for the day:
An optimist is someone who figures that
taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster.
It’s more like a cha-cha.
So live, love, laugh and dance like no one is watching.
Moment of Silence
President Dan announced that he had received sad news from Wendell Jones prior to the meeting, "My honey passed away this morning." President Dan asked everyone to observe a moment of silence in loving memory of fellow-Rotarian, Carolyn Jones. Following the moment of silence, several members shared loving remembrances of Carolyn:
Chris Krueger knew that Carolyn had lived with dementia, but it had not stopped her from being cheerful and delightful. She marveled at her sense of humor noting that her husband Mike Krueger is known for his sarcastic wit and dry humor and that Carolyn could take it and dish it out on a pretty even par with her interactions with Mike.
Pam Cohen remembered Carolyn's sense of humor as well noting that she kept up, tit for tat, at the club's annual gatherings for Spring Olympics. She also remembered how caring and tender Carolyn had been with Aubrey Luma's children the year they attended the Spring Olympics. Carolyn treated them as lovingly as she would have treated her own grandchildren.
Lola McClane noted that she had not had the pleasure of knowing Carolyn very long, but Carolyn was always so welcoming she made Lola feel special.
A viewing which is open to the public will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building located at 2549 N. 32nd Street in Mesa, Arizona at 9:30am on Friday, September 25, 2020. The viewing will be followed by a funeral ay 11:00 AM. Ray Smith explained that because of COVID-related distancing requirements, attendance at the funeral following the viewing would be limited to family-members only.
Introduction of Guests - John Pennypacker
Erika Yost - John noted this could be the last time Erika would be introduced as a guest since her membership application is out for review.
Serena Christianson - Visiting from the Rotary Club of Tempe Rio Salado.
Emily Vedder - Also visiting from the Rotary Club of Tempe Rio Salado.
Bill Peters - Commander Peters, who would be introduced later in the meeting as our speaker, was introduced as the Current Club President of the Rotary Club of Mesa Sunrise.
Rotary Minute - John Pennypacker
I had the privilege of attending two Zoom meetings this past Tuesday, 15 September. As a PDG you get to do a lot of things you never dreamed.
The first meeting was hosted by Past RI Director, Steve Snyder with RI General Secretary John Hewko as keynote speaker.
Our own Zone 26/27 Zone Director, Johrita Solari hosted the second Zoom call, a Conversation with PDGs, with a surprise guest speaker coming in on the end.
PRID Steve has frequently invited his DG classes 14-15 and 15-16, to attend zoom meetings; this one was special in that RI GS/CEO John Hewko was asked to enlighten us on all things currently happening with Rotary. There were 41 PDGs in attendance.
General Secretary / CEO John Hewko oversees a staff of 750 in Evanston and 100 in 7 worldwide locations. A few notes on John’s background:
Bachelor’s degree in Government/Soviet Studies from Hamilton College in NY
Law degree from Harvard
Master’s degree from Oxford University where he studied as a Marshall Scholar
You can read John’s bio on the RI website.
During 2004 - 2009 John was VP for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a USG agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries. He also served on a Pandemic Workshop in Davos, Sweden, where they explored what would need to be done in case of another pandemic/epidemic such as Polio or Ebola.
Because of these experiences, when COVID burst onto the scene, John quickly organized a taskforce in RI HQ in January 2020. Soon thereafter, he sent the entire staff home to see what needed to be done for RI to work efficiently as a virtual organization. By March 2020, RI was fully virtual.
MEMBERSHIP
This is the hottest topic at RI. The staff was tasked to study membership trends for the past 115 years. The greatest decrease in membership worldwide was 5% following the great depression.
Currently a 1% drop in membership equates to an $800,000 loss in revenue. John sees membership fluctuating + 2% for the next few years. Membership worldwide has been flat for 20 years. The recent drop of 14,000 members mostly from the US, CA, UK and AUS with the US dropping 12,000 members. The US is only 25% of Rotary membership.
John Hewko ended his presentation by stating that we have a “Membership Crisis”.
Questions from attendees:
Q. Will RI ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
A. Most deserving and should happen through Polio Eradication Initiative
Q. Has RI been recognized as a 501.C.3 as was recommended at the 2019 Council on Legislation?
A. RI still a C.4. Negotiations with IRS ongoing. Very complicated.
Q. Has there been any cultural pushback on the naming of Jennifer Jones as RI President Nominee?
A. None – only positive words
Q Can the Polio Eradication infrastructure help with the distribution of COVID vaccine similar to Ebola?
A. Yes, ready to do so for the hard to reach populations
A conversation with PDGs hosted by RID Johrita Solari attended by 163 PDGs from DG classes 78-79 through class 19-20.
As you can imagine, Membership topped the list of subjects. Johrita announced that RI has a “Grow Rotary 5 Year Quest”. Our own RI Director Elect, Vicki Puliz is heading this for our Zone 26/27 and is working directly with RI staff.
The Zone Institute slated for this November 12 – 14 will be virtual. You should check the Zone website to see who some of the terrific speakers will be, and also see what subjects and who is participating in the concurrent Rotaract Institute. All of this will be virtual. The cost is $49.
As you can imagine with the vast number of fires on the west coast, the impact of these fires in our Zone has been devastating. Over 500,000 people in Oregon have been evacuated. Multiple Disaster Relief Grants have been processed and award by RI.
This brings to question, does AZ/District 5495 need a taskforce to explore what needs to be done should we ever need to activate such a plan?
It was mentioned that a template for such a plan from the Paradise, CA fire was available. This template was used in Colorado in District 5470. The POC there is rotarypaulette@gmail.com
Surprise Guest Speaker
I have said many times, if you ever hear that Past RI President Cliff Dochterman is speaking, drop whatever you are doing and RUN to hear him. You will be inspired.
In his usual raspy voice, this 94-year young gentleman captured our attention immediately. The gist of his talk centered on why Rotarians always ask why Rotary is not mentioned in news stories or publications.
He simply said, “Get out there; Rotarians are our own Public Relations organization. No one is going to hear us if we don’t speak up”.
Happy Bucks - Bert Millett commented, prior beginning to collect, about how impressed he always was with the many ways he observed Wendell show his love for Carolyn. Wendell set an example worthy of being followed.
Allan Cady pledged $10. $5 because he was happy to have known Carolyn. The other $5 was for the military helicopter which flew over the harbor in San Diego where they keep their boat. It reminded him of John Pennypacker's service to our country and how fortunate we are to be citizens of The United States of America.
Polly Cady pledged $5. She was happy to have had the opportunity to get better acquainted with Erika Yost whose acceptance into Mesa West Rotary as a member is currently pending. In addition to Polly and Erika, Lucinda General (who is sponsoring Erika's application) was present for a delightful three-hour conversation. Erika has not been a Rotarian in the past, but she worked for our current Zone Director, Johrita Solari and her husband in California before moving to Arizona. As a result of knowing them, Erika is very familiar with Rotary.
Chuck Flint pledged $5 to get the answer to whether Bob Zarling had been to a barber, hairdresser or sheep-shearer for his new haircut..
Geoff White pledged $10. He was very happy their kids were back in school and were getting into a good routine.
Greg Bouslog pledged $5. He was happy to be celebrating his one-year anniversary as a Rotarian.
Lola McClane pledged $15. She was happy to be attending from Fort Worth, Texas where she is visiting her daughter and Jeff. She was sad to report her oldest granddaughter who is studying at the University of Arizona had tested positive for COVID. Lola has learned they have a quarantine dorm on campus.
Colleen Coons pledged $25 from her and Dan. Colleen had not realized Carolyn had dementia. She was always so happy and spreading joy at club events.
Jack Rosenberg pledged $5 just because he was happy.
Allan Cady pledged $5 more to round the family total for the day up to $20. Polly had arranged a Zoom birthday celebration on September 26 to celebrate Allan's 75th birthday. Allan persuaded his oldest son to lead the rest in singing happy birthday to him. Allan said his son is no Ray Smith.
John Pennypacker pledged $25 for Allan Cady's reminder of how he drove the boys to work. He was also very happy with his new carpet, and the fact that his daughter had finally returned to work after a year. He was also happy to have two visitors at the meeting from Tempe Rio Salado Rotary.
Pam Cohen pledged $10 remembering how watchful Wendell was at the club's holiday gathering. Carolyn was on a gluten-free diet and was attracted to all the cookies and other tasty items that would make her ill. Wendell was very watchful and ensured she didn't get a chance to eat all those goodies because he would take them and eat them himself.
Serena Christiansen pledged that she would donate $5 at their Rio Salado meeting that evening because she was enjoying seeing everyone in Mesa West Rotary.
Bob Zarling pledged $7 - a dollar for each inch of hair his barber had removed. He also was happy to have known Carolyn who always had a smile and hello, making him feel special. Bob had news about Salvation Army bell-ringing. There will be COVID protocols this year. The bell-ringing season may start sooner and last longer. Their national organization is working with larger national retail chains to see which will allow bell-ringers this year. More later.
Jeanie Morgan pledged $25 for the Gift of Hearing, which is not close to a dollar for each time Carolyn told her what "beautiful blue eyes" she had. She was especially moved by the obvious love Wendell always displayed for Carolyn.
Allan Cady pledged another $25 - this time for the Gift of Hearing, fondly remembering during his term as Club President, when Carolyn was not yet a member, Wendell always proudly introduced Carolyn as his guest, in some way saying she was much more than his better half.
Announcements
Dan thanked Bert for a great job collecting Happy Bucks
Dan announced some special upcoming programs
Guaymas Gift of Hearing Update - September 24
C-Span - October 15
At September 15 Board Meeting, the board voted to approve one inbound and one outbound youth exchange student for the 2021-22 school year. That sounds like a long way off, but we need to identify an outbound student to nominate in the very future.
The board also approved Erika Yost's membership application so it could be forwarded to members. If there is no objection from any member on or prior to September 23, Erika will be officially elected to membership, and plans to induct her into the club will move forward.
Club Leadership Academy Part 2 would be available Saturday, September 19 at no cost. The learning experience is open to any interested Rotarian and is not limited to those in leadership positions.
Colton Cagle is leading the way to the first-ever virtual RYLA in our district. It will be held October 9-10. Members need to identify sophomore, junior, or senior students who would benefit from participating. Since it is virtual, there will be no cost to participate. CLICK HERE for the registration site.
Program - Conversation with Commander Bill Peters
John Pennypacker introduced Commander Bill Peters and - in the interest of time - referred members to the biographical information that had been published in the September 16 Mesa Rotary Club Messenger.
One of the first things that Commander Peters shared was that of the 904 officers he works with, only five have been with the Mesa Police Department longer than he has been.
He is very passionate about his work, and feels extremely fortunate to work in a police department which enjoys the support of the Mayor, City Council and City Management. In addition, he says the support from the community is very heart-warming. Because of COVID, walk-in traffic at the command center is limited, but there are regular knocks at the door with citizens delivering meals for the officers, or snacks from kids. He is very thankful to enjoy working in an environment with that kind of support.
Commander Peters encouraged questions. In response to a question about the lack of prosecution that is frequently reported in the news, he indicated that there is some frustration because the fears of jails becoming a hotbed of COVID contamination, those who are arrested are frequently released pending court action and too often go right back to committing crimes.
When asked about institutionalized racism, the Commander indicated that we all come with our own baggage and see the world through our own lens. He said he doesn't see it being a problem in Mesa. He has had to deal with working through internal affairs queries during his tenure with the department, but none have been related to racial issues. He feels they have a positive culture within the department.
Colleen Coons had been surprised to hear the Commander mention gang issues and asked if gangs presented a serious issue in Mesa and surrounding communities. He responded that there are, indeed, serious gang issues in Mesa, where Hispanic, black, white and Hells Angels gangs all exist. He said may of the gangs are generational.
Colleen also remarked about how clean the city is. When she lived in California, she saw graffiti everywhere, but rarely sees it in Mesa. He responded that the City of Mesa has an outstanding graffiti control program. If an officer or citizen takes a photo of graffiti and sends it to that department, within hours a clean-up team will be out with paint and other repair materials to make it look like new again.
He said there is a prevention program to help improve student accountability. The program involves parents who in too many cases lack necessary parenting skills to foster an atmosphere of accountability. The prevention program "Making Every Student Accountable (MESA)" is a structured program, following which there is a graduation. He said the program has ben very successful.
Bob Zarling asked if recruiting qualified, competent officers is a problem in today's environment. Commander Peters ansered that throughout the nation it is becoming a problem. He said that in Mesa in August they had 900 applicants for 32 police academy positions. Recruitment is going very well here. Many of the applicants are "legacy" applicants - sons, daughters, nieces, nephew, and grandchildren of officers.
Warren Williamson asked if child trafficking is a problem in Mesa. He responded it is a significant enough problem that they have a squad dedicated to finding and arresting those who are involved. In fact, they had a successful sting in Mesa recently. He said that one thing that has changed during his career is that prostitutes in his early year were arrested and treated like criminals. Today, they are often treated as victims and get help in getting out from under the control of their pimp and getting their life back.
Commander Peters said that the department works aggressively in various forums to try to hear from the entire community. They have only had one protest. There was one Black Lives Matter protest with approximately 500 protesters at Mesa Police Headquarters.
Allan Cady said that one of the days he felt best about during his tenure as Club President in 2017-18 was the Law Enforcement Day where several current or former officers were recognized. He expressed his deep appreciation for what the force does.
Chuck Flint remarked that in view of the Commander's answer to Colleen Coons when she asked about gangs, the department must be handling that issue very well since the average citizen has no awareness gangs present a concern in the community.
Your help is needed! Volunteers are required for the following event. Click on Sign Up to view available slots and book yourself directly online.
Event: Emergency Food Bag Build -
United Food Bank Date: Oct 14, 2020 at 5:45 PM - 8:00 PM
Chair: Shelly Romine
Location: United Food Bank 358 E Javelina Mesa, AZ
We will be building emergency food bags for United Food Bank. It’s an assembly fashion of placing food into bags and getting them ready to ship out to their agencies. Everyone must wear closed toed shoes, wear masks and gloves
You can sign up directly on the Mesa West Rotary Club website by clicking here. We appreciate your participation and look forward to making this a great event together!
The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary that enables the amazing work we, as Rotarians, are all proud to be a part of. Every Rotarian is strongly encouraged to support TRF every year by donating to the General Fund of TRF. The target gift is $100 per year per member. That has been the target for a very long time and in the US the average family income has multiplied a few times since that target was set. Many Rotarians who have the means to do so have set their personal target at the $1,000 per year mark making them eligible for the Paul Harris Society level of donor recognition.
The End Polio Now campaign is a separate fund to which gifts are matched two-for-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Many Rotarians choose to support both the general fund and the fight to end polio.
No matter what level you decide to donate, please support the Foundation by giving through Rotary Direct. CLICK HERE to get answers to commonly asked questions about this program. DOWNLOAD A FORM to authorize your Rotary Direct donations. By giving through Rotary direct, the opportunity for human error is eliminated and recognition credit for the Rotarian and their club is much more accurate and timelier.
At our Mesa West Zoom meeting on September 24, Erica Williams will present an Update on the Guaymas Gift of Hearing Mission.
Carolyn Ann Jones passed away peacefully from a long stretch with Alzheimer's on September 17, 2020 in Mesa, Arizona at the age of 85.
President-Elect Bob Zarling held up his little plastic man received along with a district directory, Rotary mask, and a thank you note from District Governor Elizabeth Mahoney. Bob wasn't certain of the purpose of the little man, but after some discussion, it was decided - because there is no direction the little man could not be moved, he epitomizes the flexibility District 5495 Rotarians and members of Rotary worldwide are demonstrated during all the COVID challenges of 2020.
Introduction of Guests - John Pennypacker
Your help is needed! Volunteers are required for the following event. Click on 
