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The Rotary Club of
Mesa West
Stories
Your Rotary "To Do List"
 
______Ed Koeneman has asked us to gather as many Rotarian magazines this month’s edition as possible.  It features the 50th Anniversary of Rotaract.  Bring yours to March 22 meeting.
______Please give Jeanie Morgan your business card or to send her a digital image of your card, CLICK HERE.
______If you have not yet been featured in a "Know Your Fellow Rotarian" article, see the article in this newsletter and use the links to download the questionnaire so you can complete and send it along with with your photo to Jeanie.
______Turn in (or mail) your club survey which was distributed at March 8 meeting. 
March 15 Meeting Highlights
Pam Cohen, Acting President, opened the meeting inviting Wendell Jones to offer the invocation and Jim McGown to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  In the spirit of major league baseball spring training happening throughout the Valley of the Sun, Ray Smith led everyone present in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
 
There were several guests present.  Among them were Samantha Rosenberg (Jack's granddaughter and Frank's daughter); Colton and Sandra of the Westwood High School Interact Club; Bob Yates from Calgary, Canada; Mike Grandjean, a former member now living in the State of Texas; Carolyn Jones; and Dan Coons introduced his wife, Colleen, her sister, Juday, and her brother-in-law Bob Roller.
 
Wendell Jones won the attendance drawing on the third try.  Owners of badge number 16 and 8 lost out as their numbers were drawn prior to Wendell's.
 
Robert LaBarge handled the weekly drawing.  Colleen Coons won the small pot of $51, but did not draw the Ace of Clubs so the large pot, now at $1,026, will continue to grow.
 
Next week will be the Club Assembly.  March 29 and April 5 do not yet have speakers confirmed.  Steve Ross would appreciate any suggestions and/or help making contact with potential speakers.
 
Bob Zarling paid happy bucks for receiving ten tickets for the Tuesday, March 20, Phoenix Suns basketball game against the Detroit Pistons.  He gave them to the Gilbert High School basketball team in appreciation for their service as referees at our annual spring olympics and Salvation Army bell ringing shifts they worked for us at Bass Pro last November-December.  
 
Announcements:  
  • Don LaBarge reminded members that throughout our district, when it comes to community service, we are known as "the ditch digging club."  He has an event coming up in April to plan fifteen trees at the Save the Family facility in Mesa.  Volunteer help is needed and lunch will be provided.  Westwood High School Interact students will help.  Volunteers who have appropriate tools should bring them.
  • The Club Leadership Academy is coming up April 21.  The club will pay the cost of registration for anyone who wants to attend.  That offer is extended to all club members, and is not restricted to the 2018-19 leadership team.
  • The April 19 program will be about the Arizona Museum of Natural History located in downtown Mesa.  Members are urged to attend and learn about the museum as we will be hosting our Sponsor Appreciation Night at the museum on the evening of April 25.
  • May 5 is a date that needs to be reserved for our annual Spring Olympics, which will also be a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the home of John and Jane Benedict.
Dan Coons had an auction item from a trip to Springfield, Illinois.  Bob Jones from Canada was the most generous bidder.  He was delighted with the first gift he pulled from the bag - reading "Four score and seven years ago..." from a mug from the Lincoln museum.  There were a number of interesting mementos, one of which held one of Bob's favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln, "The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."  He chose not to read the copy of the Gettysburg Address, which was among the treasures.
 
Pam turned the program over to Ed Koeneman for our annual Youth Programs Day.
Ed began by saying that a year ago, he was the only Mesa West Member with official youth program duties.  This year, he has had the help of Dan Coons and Donna Goetzenberger to support our involvement in Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Interact, Rotaract and Youth Exchange.  Our club has been very involved with RYLA for a long time.  We are co-sponsoring the Grand Canyon University Rotaract Club since its formation last November.  Mesa West has a long history of supporting Rotary Youth Exchange.
 
Donna had travel plans which had been made prior to the scheduling of the Youth Day program.  Dan Coons talked about our exchange students.  
  • Takuma Fujiya from Japan is a very enjoyable young man.  He is attending school in Scottsdale.  He will be residing with the same family all year.  Dan and his wife Colleen have involved Takuma in several of their activities and encouraged other members to do the same and invite him to participate in large or small family activities.
  • Nicholas Dell'Olio, Dan's son is spending this school year in Taiwan.  He is spending six hours per day learning Mandarin - a very difficult language.
  • Bryan and Donna's daughter, Emilee, is spending the year as a youth exchange student in Belgium.
  • They are hosting Lissa Bergner from Austria, who is sponsored by another club in our District.
  • Next year, our club is sponsoring Yordi Miguel from Westwood High School who will be spending the 2018-19 school year on his exchange trip to Brazil.
  • After learning that the reciprocal inbound student is not required to attend Westwood High School, Dan Coons and Frank Rosenberg, who both live in the same school district, have committed to host the inbound student which will be sponsored by Mesa West Rotary.  They hope to find a third host family to complete the ideal situation where the inbound  students are immersed in three different family settings while they are in the US.
Ed Koeneman talked about the GCU Rotaract club sponsored last November.  They have been participating in two service projects each month and held a purple pinky fundraiser recently to raise funds and awareness of Rotary's End Polio Now efforts throughout the world.  Their President, Scarlett Zinggeler, and Secretary, Isabelle Clausen, are both former Interact Club members.  They meet every other Wednesday evening at the university.  Rotarians are urged to attend.  The members would enjoy opportunities to be mentored by Rotarian professionals as they work toward their goals.
 
In the United States, Interact is primarily in our high schools.  Internationally, it is found in middle schools as well.  The Westwood High School Interact sponsor, Andrea Murphy, is a member of Mesa West Rotary.  Ed introduced their President, Colton, and Secretary, Sandra to talk about their RYLA experience and their Interact Club.
 
Colton explained that he would probably not have gotten as involved in Interact if he had not attended RYLA as a sophomore.  Sandra attested to the fact that RYLA is a "life-changing experience."  She also attended as a sophomore and has applied to be a counselor this year.  She is anxiously waiting to hear if she has been accepted.  Their Interact club raised $853 with their Purple Pinky fundraiser and were happy that that amount would be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  They ranked 2nd in the state for their effort. 
 
Their main project is one they are participating in with the District 5495 Interact Council - Crutches for Africa.  The goal for the council is to raise $30,000 to transport the crutches and mobility devices they are gathering for for delivery and distribution in Kenya.  Colton has been selected as one of the Interact ambassadors who will travel to Kenya in June, 2018 to participate in the distribution.  
 
Donation information to support the Crutches for Africa project:
 
Anyone who wishes to donate, especially larger amounts, and plans to "itemize" and take a deduction for federal income taxes, should mail a check made out to the Rotary Club of Prescott Foundation, with the memo:  "for Interact C4A Project," and mail it to 100 E Sheldon, Suite 105, Prescott, AZ 86301.  Although Interact will have fees deducted from on-line donations, for the sake of convenience, donations can be made on-line by CLICKING HERE.
 
Megan, who was Interact President at Westwood High School last year, is attending ASU, and sent her appreciation to Mesa West Rotarians for the $1,000 scholarship she received from the Mesa West Rotary Foundation.
 
It was noted that host families do not necessarily need to have school-age children in their household.  Living with empty-nesters can be very beneficial when mature perspectives are shared with the exchange student and the hosts have more time to enjoy the cultural enrichment their guest will bring to their home.
 
Read more...
Community Service Project - Help Needed
Hi everyone,
 
We are doing a Community Service project at Save the Family located at 125 E. University on April 13th & April 14th. Both days at 9am.  We will plant approx 15, 5 gallon trees.  I need 2 teams each with 6 people, April 13th will be prep, easy job, raking away stones and marking the spot, digging down far enough to put water in the hole etc. April 14th will be the big day as the trees will be delivered at 9am and we will dig the planting hole and mix the dirt with compost and plant. As everyone should know the President of RI has made part of his goal to plant trees around the world by Rotarian's and the tree planting is part of the "Presidential Citation" and has to be completed by April 21st.
 
Obviously digging a hole takes some skill, but we have other jobs not as tough like planting the poles to hold up the tree and installing the wire guards, raking the stone landscape back in place, Lunch will be served, so please sign up with me by e-mail. I have also asked the Interact kids to help but they have school on the 13th. 
 
Don LaBarge
 
CLICK HERE to send Don an e-mail.
 
Know Your Fellow Rotarian - Please Submit Your Profile!
Many members have commented on how much they have enjoyed this series.  We have now finished publishing profiles of all the leadership team.  It is time to move on to the general membership.  To keep the profiles somewhat consistent, we have had everyone respond to the same questions.  If you would be willing to let your fellow members know a little more about you, please CLICK HERE to download the list of questions.
 
You can send your answers to JEANIE MORGAN along with a head and shoulders photo of yourself.  Selfies from smart phones work and can be texted to 928 486 4328.  Please provide your name when texting so she can add you to her contact list.
 
If she receives multiple profiles, she will publish them in the order received.  If she receives these at the same meeting, she will publish them in the order of time in Rotary - longest to shortest.
 
This article will reappear in the Messenger anytime there is not a waiting list of profiles to be published.  
Business Networking Project
Business networking is something President Allan Cady is passionate about.  He has asked Jeanie Morgan to work on putting together a business directory of our members.  We will be able to have the directory available as a download on our website, but since we will be adding new members regularly, it will be maintained electronically so it will be current at all times.  The photo shown is a reduced size sample of what each person's listing might look like.  To do this so it is a quality product, Jeanie will need digital images of your business card as well as a close-up, current photo.  CLICK HERE to send yours to her.
Today's Chuckle
Teacher:  Cindy, do you say a prayer before eating?
 
Cindy:  We don't need to.   Our mom is a good cook.
March is Water and Sanitation Month
  • $24 is all it takes to provide one person with safe water
  • 23 million people now have safe water because of Rotary
  • 21 million people have access to sanitation and hygiene thanks to Rotary projects
  • 2030 is the year Rotary hopes to finish providing everyone with safe water, sanitation, and hygiene
Upcoming Events
RYLA Camp Ponderosa
Payson, Arizona
Apr 06, 2018 – Apr 08, 2018
 
Save The Family Tree Planting Project
125 E University
Apr 13, 2018
9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
 
Save The Family Tree Planting Project Day 2
125 E University
Apr 14, 2018
9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Board Meeting
Mesa Hilton - Room TBD
Apr 18, 2018
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
 
Club Leadership Academy
Black Canyon Conference Center
Apr 21, 2018
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
 
Sponsorship Appreciation Night
Arizona Museum of Natural History
Apr 25, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
 
Spring Olympics - Cinco de Mayo Celebration
Home of John and Jane Benedict
May 05, 2018
6:00 PM – 9:30 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Board Meeting
Mesa Hilton - Room TBD
May 16, 2018
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
 
Speakers
Mar 29, 2018
East Valley Partnership
Apr 26, 2018
Banner's Grief Recovery Program and More
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Dick Myren
March 3
 
Erica Williams
March 31
 
Join Date
Wendell Jones
March 1, 1989
29 years
 
Warren Haeussler
March 3, 2001
17 years
 
Michael Whalen
March 9, 1995
23 years
 
Kurt Klingenberg
March 17, 1994
24 years
 
Jack A. Rosenberg
March 26, 2009
9 years
 
Executives & Directors
President
 
Immediate Past President
 
President Elect
 
Presidential Advisor
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Club Service Chair
 
Community Service Co-Chair
 
Community Service Co-Chair
 
Foundation Chair
 
Fundraising Chair
 
International Service Director
 
Membership Chair
 
Public Image Chair
 
Vocational Service Director
 
Youth Services, Interact/Rotaract Chair
 
Youth Services, YE Co-Chair
 
Youth Services, YE Co-Chair
 
Sargeant at Arms
 
Speaker Coordinator
 
Speaker Coordinator
 
Newsletter Editor
 
Executive Secretary
 
Bulletin Editor
Jeanie Morgan
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