banner
Club Information
Welcome to our Rotary Club of Mesa West!
Mesa West
Transforming Communities, Creating Opportunities, Impacting Youth
Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Via Zoom or in-person
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210
United States of America
Our hybrid meetings are held weekly on the 1st thru 4th Thursdays of each month. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to include all, whether attending virtually or in person.
District Site Icon
District Site
Venue Map
Venue Map
Stories
Post Holiday Celebration 
CLICK HERE or on the photo to see a YouTube video of nearly 100 photos taken at the event.
Huge thanks to Toni and Ron Thompson for opening their home for a wonderful evening.
Tempe Downtown Rotary Centennial Anniversary
Save the Date - June 29, 2023
This is a REALLY big year for Mesa West.
 
We will celebrate our 50th Anniversary June 29, 2023 at the Doubletree where we regularly meet.
 
The details for this event are evolving.  Please say "yes" if you are asked to help!
 
SAVE THE DATE!  You won't want to miss this celebration!
Highlights of January 19 Meeting
Welcome and Opening Remarks - President Pam Cohen
 
  • The invocation was offered by Dave Brauchler.
  • John Pennypacker led the Pledge of Allegiance
Introduction of Guests
  • Shelly Romine introduced Penny May, a very welcome seasonal visiting Rotarian from Alaska.
 
 
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
 
 
Chuck explained that the holder of the ticket drawn would automatically win $45.  They would also win the opportunity to try to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck.  Should they be so lucky, they would additionally win the big pot which was up to $275.  Jim McGown offered to draw the ticket saying he could be fair since he had not purchased a raffle ticket prior to the meeting.  The card he drew belonged to Ed Koeneman.  After verifying the Ace was in the deck and shuffling the cards, Ed laid them out neatly and carefully selected a card, which he held up to show - the Three of Hearts.
 
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
 
  • Ed Koeneman was happy to report two or three of the Interact Officers would be attending the post-holiday celebration on the 21st.  He was also happy that the Interact Club members assembled WaPI's (Water Pasturization Indicators) at their club meeting this week.
  • John Pennypacker let the members know he had the opportunity to spend time visiting with the incoming Rotary International President, Gordon McInally, when he attended the Zone Institute in Salt Lake City last fall, and found him to be a very pleasant individual.  He is from Scotland and, like Ron, is a dentist.  John had a trivia prize for anyone who had paid enough attention to recent Rotary International news to know what the 2023-24 theme would be.  The theme will be "Create Hope in the World."
  • Dick Myren contributed his traditional $2 for himself and Honorary Member Rod Daniels having the good fortune to be involved with Mesa West Rotary Club.  He was also happy that Chuck Flint is again handling the raffle.
  • Ted Williams said he was going to go broke if his grandchildren didn't stop giving him things to brag about.  His oldest graduated from ASU with an Engineering Degree.  Another was in a high school wrestling tournament and placed 3rd in his weight category.  It is his father who Ted has been keeping the club informed about some significant health challenges.  The latest news on that front was more encouraging.  Apparently the surgeon was able to go back in and make some repairs and Ted's son-in-law is "doing really well now."
  • Brian Harvey was happy to report three of their grandchildren would be arriving for a visit next week.
  • Tom Yuzer is happy to participate in Rotary with both his Arizona and Minnesota connections.
  • Chuck Flint contributed saying he would be happy to show anyone videos of Ace, his black lab, having a blast playing in the snow.
  • Polly Cady was happy to report Donna Goetzenberger was at the state legislature attempting to get some changes made that would make the school enrollment of inbound Rotary Youth Exchange students a more flexible process.  If the changes Donna and others are seeking were to be enacted, it would have a favorable impact on the ability to find host families and get more clubs involved in the YE program.
  • Bob Zarling was happy to report he had not had any interactions with any police department in the last three months.  He discovered his registration had expired.  He got that handled the morning prior to the meeting.  He was thankful he noticed the problem before a law enforcement officer brought it to his attention.
  • Pam Cohen contributed some frustrated cash.  Apparently there was a family occasion involving a brother-in-law and ex-husband where Pam was not included and felt like she would like to have still been.
National Popcorn Day Recognition - President Pam
  • Penny May was presented with a large bag of popcorn to celebrate the occasion.
 
 
 
Paul Harris Fellow Recognition - John Pennypacker
 
  • Brian Harvey was invited to the front of the room.  He was recognized for having achieved his first Paul Harris Fellowship recognition, which represents $1,000 in giving to The Rotary Foundation.  After presenting Brian with his certificate and pin, John thanked Brian for his generosity enabling good to be done in the world through TRF.
Announcements
 
  • Dave Brauchler - Community Service Chair
    • Saturday, February from 11 10:00 AM to Noon Valentines Party at Child Crisis Arizona.  We will provide pizza and help the children at the center do a craft project - possibly creating boxes in which to gather Valentines.  The number of volunteers to participate in this project is limited to seven.
    • Dave reported on the Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bed Build project which took place January 14.  Five members plus three family members represented Mesa West.  They participated with other volunteers in building 85 beds.  The project took place in Avondale, Arizona.  In April, there will be a district-wide bed build project during Rotary Week of Service.
    • Dave is looking into doing a project with Sunshine Acres.
  • Shelly Romine - Club Service Chair
    • Shelly reported over fifty have registered to attend the post holiday celebration on the 21st of January.  Participation in the gift exchange is optional.  The cost of each gift should be $25 or less (but don't be too stingy).
    • Spring Olympics may happen in the spring - still in the talking/planning stages
    • Thursday June 29 - 50th Anniversary Gala and first annual People of Service Awards Dinner.  Nomination forms will be out in February for non-Rotarians to be nominated.
  • Girl Scout Cookies - Sean Green
    • ​​​​​​​Sean could not take his little girl scout out of class to present her cookies, so with President Pam's help pulling the wagon, Sean made her cookies available to interested Rotarians in the club.
Program - Allan Cady 
 
Polly Cady introduced Allan, saying he would be talking about his 39-year career in the car business, starting in Kansas and ending up in Phoenix, with his direct involvement in 80 Nissan Dealerships.  She said it was Allan's job to make them profitable.  She said he was able to do that because he was ethical and had good people skills.
 
Among the interesting things that happened along the way was the Dos Equis beer bottles that appeared at a special event honoring Allan by naming Allan Cady as the "Most Interesting Man in the World."
 
Allan found out about Rotary from Polly.  In 2010 he became an honorary member of Rotary, and was first named a Paul Harris Fellow.  He became a full member in 2017 and soon after that was elected to be President.  He is on the Board of Directors of The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona and serves as their Fundraising Chair.  He also serves as the President of the Rotary District 5495 Charitable Fund.
 
Allan thanked Polly for her introduction.  He said he was going to talk about three things - his career in the car business, Mesa West Rotary's Sponsor Program, and TRVFA.
 
The Car Business
Allan moved to Independence, Missouri in 1976 to go to work for the Independence Sanitarian Hospital.  He worked there two years before he hooked up with Larry Van Tuyl, who hired Allan to be his Comptroller Trainee.  With that change, Allan moved to Hutchinson Kansas.  He relocated to Phoenix in 1982 where he would still be with Larry and oversee 3-4 dealerships.  Over time, the Van Tuyl holdings grew.  Six years ago, he sold 84 dealerships to Warren Buffett.  It was the largest independent (not public) dealership in the nation.
 
Among the perks of working for that large of an organization, was the opportunity to fly anywhere Allan chose on a Citation.  The Citation flew at 50,000 feet, which is above the turbulence and travelled at 700 mph.
 
Allan hired and trained comptrollers at each dealership.  He was in charge of planning their annual meetings.  He worked with the external auditors and supervised the internal audit team.  He negotiated all pricing of goods and services as well as master agreements with providers such as UPS.  He was able to save $millions.
 
He had one unique responsibility.  Larry disliked firing General Managers.  Allan got that responsibility.  It was always for cause or poor performance.  Because Allan did it, he had a reputation.  An Atlanta General Manager called Allan the "Angel of Darkness."  Allan one went to a Peoria Nissan dealership where the lady who was their manager had done something really good.  He wanted to recognize her with a bottle of wine.  His appearance at the site created an undercurrent.  When he finally found Teresa and presented her with the bottle of wine, she meekly said "Thank you."
 
Allan shared a story about a time when he was in Atlanta on the Hugh Norris Freeway, which is especially difficult.  Traffic was moving slow.  He noticed the gas tank was close to empty.  He looked for a place where he could pull off to get gas.  When ever they came to an access road, the could see no stations.  Finally, he saw a gas station sign over the next hill.  They ran out of gas at the crest of the hill.  The little guy who was with him got out to push.  Allan had his window down hollering encouragement to him.  When they finally got to the station, the little guy begged Allan to stop at the closest pump.
 
For fun, Allan asked which of four areas members thought were most profitable for dealerships:
  • Financing and Insurance
  • New Car Sales
  • Used Car Sales
  • Service and Parts
When Allan was in the business.  They are listed in 1, 3, 2, 4 order of how they performed while Allan was still in the industry.  Much has changed since COVID.  They have no inventory.  Profits are good.  There is no need to advertise.,  Flooring costs are down.  Used cars and financing and insurance both do well.  When Allan retired, they were making more on financing and insurance than on sale of vehicles.
 
Sponsor Program
When John Eagleston was President in 2017-18, John came up with the idea of the sponsor program and asked Allan to handle it.  All donations received in the sponsor program go into The Mesa West Rotary Foundation (our club's 501(c)(3) charity) as restricted or non-restricted donations.  Allan is in the process of dividing the club into six teams with a captain assigned to each team.  Letters will be sent to past and prospective donors.   Members will be provided with prospect ideas.
 
In the four years we have done the sponsorship program, we have averaged $50,000 each year.  This year, he is increasing the goal to $60,000.  During COVID the goal was reduced to $35,000.  The program actually brought in $56,000 that year.  80% of members have either made a personal donation or solicited outside funds.  38% of members have successfully brought in outside donations.  
 
The pitch is to help us continue to grow and support all our club's charitable causes.  There is no overhead - no cost of fundraising - all funds are available to be used for good purposes.
 
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA)
TRVFA was started in 1990.  The goal is to provide vocational education grants to Arizona citizens of any age.  Their income cannot exceed 150% of the poverty level.  Jeanie Morgan is the current President.  Bryan Goetzenberger interviews the applicants who are referred to Mesa West Rotary Club for the required Rotary Club sponsorship screening interview.
 
TRVFA is a Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO).  Most Rotarians have owe personal income tax to the State of Arizona when they file for taxes each year.  TRVFA has a goal of bringing in $350,000 this year.  As of January 6, they were at $131,000.  Mesa West is the tob giving club with $26,000 given to TRVFA so far this fiscal year (July 2022 - June 2023).   Up to $400 given to a QCO can be used as a credit to offset Arizona state income tax for an individual tax payer.  Up to $800 can be given to a QCO by married couples filing jointly.  There are additional tax credit options also available - public school, Qualifying Foster Care Organizationis, etc.  Allan feels that too many Rotarians are in need of a clearer understanding of how much liberty we have in Arizona state to choose what good can be done with the tax obligation we each owe to the state.  
 
Allan shared a math exercise.  There are roughly 3,400 Rotary Club members in the two Arizona Districts.  If 40% didn't have to pay personal income tax to the state, that would leave 2,000.  If half of those each gave $400, that would bring in a total of $400,000.    
 
Read more...
Something to Ponder
The secret of successful living is to spend your life on something that will outlast it.
--Original source unknown
Today's Chuckle
Generation Gap
A mom texts, "Hi! Son, what do IDK, LY and TTYL mean?"
He texts back, "I don't know, love you and talk to you later."
The mom replies, "It's OK, don't worry about it.  I'll ask your sister.  Love you too."
--Laughfactory.com
The Big Four - Ways to Support Rotary in Mesa West
As Rotarians, we are regularly exposed to opportunities to support various causes with our time, talent and treasure.  Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the information and decide where we are going to use our available financial resources. 
 
It would be wonderful if every Arizona Rotarian would make the following BIG FOUR their Rotary charities of choice and support every one of them every year, we could make a bigger difference than we are making today.
  1. The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund - The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world."  Giving a small amount each month adds up.  CLICK HERE to download a form you can use to sign up for Rotary Direct, electing "Annual Fund - Share" for your recurring donation.  
  2. The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Polio Plus - Rotary's commitment to eradicate polio is so well known and respected that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations $2 for $1.  To take advantage of this opportunity to multiply the effect of your giving, CLICK HERE and download a second Rotary Direct form, this time electing electing "Polio Eradication" for your recurring donations.  Those who donate $100 or more annually to Polio Plus qualify in District 5495 as Polio Plus Society Members.  If you would like to make that commitment, CLICK HERE to download the commitment form.
  3. The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA) provides vocational education grants to Arizona Residents who meet specific low-income guidelines.   The grants enable the recipients to lift themselves out of poverty, benefitting themselves, their families and the economy of our state.  TRVFA is a 501(c)(3) charity.  They also are a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona Tax Credit Donations.  Their QCO Code is 20698.  Many Arizona Rotarians say giving to TRVFA is a "no brainer."  If you can help someone lift themselves out of poverty and it won't end up costing you anything why would you not do it?  Mesa West Rotary has the highest number of members who have signed up for automated monthly recurring donations by electing that option on the "Donate Now" button on the TRVFA website.  Click the image to learn more or CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW.  
  4. Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club.  It is a 501(c)(3) charity.  We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events.  Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation.  Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club).  Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:
    1. Community Service
    2. International Service 
    3. Vocational Service
    4. Youth Service
The process isn't quite automated at this point in time, but we hope it soon will be.  For now, you can email our executive secretary who can help you work out a recurring donation plan should you wish to make that arrangement to support our own club's charitable activity.
 
Speakers
Jan 26, 2023
Arizona's Water Challenges
Feb 02, 2023
Amarok Society
Feb 09, 2023
RYLA
Feb 16, 2023
Feb 23, 2023
Retired Kansas City Chiefs Kicker
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Membership Dir "23
 
Director '23
 
Director '23
 
Director '24
 
Director '24
 
Public Image Co-Chair
 
Public Image Co-Chair
 
TRF Chair
 
Executive Secretary
 
Upcoming Events
PETS
Mariott
Feb 03, 2023 11:00 AM –
Feb 05, 2023 11:00 AM
 
Mesa West Rotary Board Meeting
Via Zoom
Feb 21, 2023 5:30 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Board Meeting
Via Zoom
Mar 21, 2023 5:30 PM
 
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
David Brauchler
January 1
 
Ted Williams
January 3
 
Geoff White
January 4
 
Steve Ross
January 10
 
Jay Stuckey
January 11
 
Andrea Murphy
January 19
 
Sharon Spane
January 19
 
Colleen Coons
January 25
 
Spouse Birthdays
Lynn Brauchler
January 4
 
Jay Stuckey
January 11
 
Kevin Fleege
January 25
 
Join Date
Bryan Goetzenberger
January 1, 2017
6 years
 
Donna Goetzenberger
January 1, 2017
6 years
 
Pam Cohen
January 1, 1992
31 years
 
Warren Williamson
January 1, 1990
33 years
 
Daniel Becker
January 18, 2022
1 year
 
Rotary District 5495 Links
District Links
Arizona Rotaract
Rotary District 5495
Rotary Interact District 5495
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA)
Rotary Youth Exchange
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards - RYLA
RYLA Service Project Support
Bulletin Editor
Jeanie Morgan
Please add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your safe sender list or address book.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
 
ClubRunner
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
Advertisement for Russell Hampton
Advertisement for ClubRunner
Advertisement for ClubRunner Mobile

THE FOUR WAY TEST of the things we think, say or do

first  Is it the TRUTH?
second  Is it FAIR to all concerned?
third  Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
fourth Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?