Please read this direct quote from Paul P Harris, January, 1911:
"If anyone tells you that it is reprehensible to make a dollar or two for the wife and babies from club associates in straightforward business transactions, tell that person that some foreign substance has gotten into his carburator."
I would say that is very much on point, wouldn't you? In my seven-year association with Mest West Rotary, I've seen some business networking but frankly not much. We want to breathe more life into this aspect of our associaiton one with another. In the days ahead, we plan to develop a display outside our meeting room, help you create a 7 x 7 ad with the help of Jim Crutcher's graphic specialist, and call on many of you to tell us about your business.
I hope you can see the opportunity this represents. As this is a work-in-progress, please submit any thoughts/ideas you may have on the matter.
Ray Smith upstaged our President to lead the members in a harmonious rendition of Happy Birthday to celebrate Allan's birthday. Dick Myren offered the invocation, and Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The members welcomed a number of guests at their tables. Among the guests were: visiting Rotarian from Hawaii, Mike Polley, has recently purchased a home in our area made another repeat visit; PDG John Pennypacker who is visiting our club for the second week in a row; Penny May, a regular seasonal visitor, now back from the north; our inbound exchange student, Takuma Fujiya; Dan Pierce, who was the guest of Jane Pierce, and Colleen Coons. Lucinda General's badge number was drawn making her the winner of the $5.00 attendance drawing. The large pot has grown to $323.00. Christy Citterman's ticket was drawn again this week for the weekly drawing, but she did not draw the ace of clubs, allowing the large pot to continue to grow.
Dr. Ron Thompson served as Sgt at Arms. Dan Coons paid happy bucks and encouraged members to take time to meet our exchange student. Penny May contributed, telling about clubs she visited and related adventures enjoyed during her summer travels. She shared flags from two of the clubs visited.
Jim McGown told a story on himself as an "out-of-breath heart patient," whose cousin (who is an EMT) realized from symptoms Jim had described that he likely had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung). Jim went to the ER, and told the staff that was what he thought he had. Much to their dismay, he was right. They were able to treat it--problem solved! He paid happy bucks for his cousin's knowledge and for his restored health. This is a great illustration about how we all should listen to our body's signals and accurately report changes to medical professionals, and be persistent in getting answers that make a difference.
Jack Rosenberg told about a summer of medical challenges. Early in the summer, he had a pacemaker installed and as that was being handled, discovered his kidneys were not functioning correctly. A mass was found in his right kidney and subsequently removed. As of two weeks ago, he is cancer-free.
Chuck Flint explained our Buck Board for the sake of visitors in attendance, and gave members and guests the opportunity to buy $10 squares on the board.
Lucinda General had a bag to be auctioned containing east coast memorabilia gathered during a recent vacation. Chris Krurger made the winning $50 bid. Jim McGown had a gift from the Fly Creek Cider Mill. Our speaker for the day made the winning $30 bid.
Allan Cady reported on the volunteer project at the food bank. He also reminded members of the October 7 Chile Cook-Off and Fireside Chat. A sign-up sheet was circulated at the meeting.
President Allan provided an update on the Sponsorship Program. An additional $2,500 has come in. We are now over $15,000, making progress and taking us more than half way to our $30,000 goal.
A number of members were recognized for perfect attendance: John Benedict, Pam Cohen, Dan Coons, Jim Crutcher, Rod Daniels, Chuck Flint, Lucinda General, Wendell Jones, Carole Kralicek, Don LaBarge, Jim McGown, Jack Rosenberg, Ray Smith and Warren Williamson. John Eagleston was also recognized in absentia.
Chuck Flint conducted the induction of Jane Pierce, sponsored by Don LaBarge. Jane was accompanied by her husband, Dan, who pinned her as she pledged to fulfill the obligations of membership, and Dan pledged to support her. During the induction, Chuck provided Rotary education, reminding members that The Rotary Foundation was begun with $26.50 left from the Kansas City Rotary International Convention, and from that humble beginning has given over $3 Billion to support causes worldwide. TRF holds a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and over 91% of funds donated are used to do good in the world.
The speaker, Denise McCreery of D'Vine Gourmet, was introduced by Dick Myren. Denise's business was awarded the Micro Business of the Year recognition by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce in 2015.
Denise told of a life-changing Rotary experience when she was a high-school student. She had heard that there was a scholarship supported by the Wilcox Rotary Club for the Rodeo Queen at the annual Rex Allen Days Rodeo in their community. She was originally from Boston, had moved west with her family during elementary school. Her father owned a local drug store and she did not know how to ride a horse, but needed money to achieve a dream to tour Europe with Up With People. A boyfriend taught her to ride a horse. She did not win, but was selected as the Rodeo Princess. When the queen got sick, Denise had to fulfill the duties of the Queen and got the scholarship and achieved her dream after all. The Up With People Experience gave her a world view and changed her life.
She told of how a fluke over 14 years ago, when she decided to try making jelly with wine that was accumulating in their household into jelly, resulted in selling 100's and 100's of jars of the wine jelly in a single weekend. The original plan was just to sell it at farmer's markets, but instead as they evaluated what their potential might be and who they wanted to be, they decided they wanted to be a business that sold the wine jelly and other Arizona-made products.
In the D'Vine Gourmet shop, located at 4955 S Alma School Rd Suite 4 in Chandler, they have a kitchen on-site. They encourage others who are thinking of starting similar small businesses to first refine and test marketing their products in the D'Vine Gourmet facility. In addition to local gourmet food items, they have a lot of local art displayed in their shop. Denise firmly believes that "a rising tide lifts all boats," and encouraged those in attendance to shop local merchants. Statistics show that for every dollar spent locally, twice that amount stays in the local economy. As part of their business, they can create custom gift baskets. They have a wine cellar, and host wine tasings once each week. She had brought a gift basket with her, which was auctioned to those in attendance. Colleen Coons purchased it and planned to give the basket to our exchange student, Takuma.
Carole Kralicek was born on a farm in northern Minnesota in a log cabin and learned to read by a kerosene lamp. The oldest of two in her French Canadian family, her parents adopted her mother's sister's seven children when Carole
was two. French was their first language. An eighth brother was adopted later.
Her parents first wintered in Aizona when she was eight and Arizona has always felt like home. Four years ago, she became a permanent resident.
Married 44 years to three men, who are now deceased, she has two children, their spouses and two granddaughters.
Through business and Rotary interests, Carole has visited or worked in 50 countries and traveled to 48 states, having lived in three. Each journey was a vacation.
During high school, Carole decided to become a physician but was told "girls aren't doctors so be a nurse". While working in a hospital, she learned she enjoyed the business world and has been a business owner continuously since age 17. Her retirement business is appraising antiques and conducting estate sales.
Carole has conducted fifty two Antique Appraisal Show fundraisers for non profits. All volunteer experiences are rewarding, but it was a surprise when the Lions of Minnesota honored her with their annual Helen Keller Award.
Dan Coons has generously offered to print business cards for Mesa West Rotary Club members at the nominal cost of $12.00 per box of 500.
They are available in two designs, as shown, and should be ordered by Thursday, October 12 by members who wish to take advantage of this pricing opportunity. The initial orders will be printed in a single batch, making the cost savings possible. The business cards will be useful in many ways as we network within our own club, invite potential members to join us as guests at our meetings, promote our sponsorship program, etc.
To order your cards, CLICK HERE to send an e-mail to provide Dan with the details of how you wish to have your cards printed. If you choose Option A, you will need to provide a digital head-and-shoulders photograph with your e-mail. If no photo is included, cards will be printed in the option B format. Cards can be ordered with fewer than four detail lines, but additional lines cannot be added.
If you miss the deadline, cards can still be ordered, but the cost will be $20.00 per 500. To keep the bookkeeping as simple as possible, the cards will be paid by the club and available at the sign-in table. When you pick up your cards, you can pay cash to Aubrey or have her bill your account for the cost of your order.
When we show up to have fun at Chuck Flint's at the end of this year's Sponsorship campaign for our club's charitable foundation, will you be eating steak or beans? You will be eating steak if your team has raised the most in donations, or if EVERY member of your team has brought in at least one donation. If your team hasn't met either of these criteria, you are encouraged to come for the fellowship and to celebrate those who have worked at helping us make the funds needed to do the work we want to do in our community and the world, but Chuck Flint suggests you may want to bring some Gas-X.
"If it is to be, it is up to me," should be each of our attitudes. If you don't know what team you are on, CLICK HERE to download the team roster.
The donations are not supposed to come from us, it is hoped we will each give our personal Rotary "elevator speech" to friends, neighbors, associates, neighbors who might be too busy to join a Rotary Club, but who would be happy to help us make a difference, if asked. Just ask! Download our Sponsorship Brochure to give (or send) to those you ask.
Let's not try hard to make this program work, Instead, let's each try very hard to make it fun! (and pray you're not on a team of vegans)
Bob Zarling, Matt Rotty, and Allan and Polly Cady responded to the call for volunteers to report for work at the Midwest Food Bank Saturday morning, September 9. They helped stack goods to go to Texas the next morning for the flood victims. The boxes contained everything from personal hygiene items to paper goods to cleaning supplies. Others were packing boxes with canned goods, water, tea, coffee, and fresh dates.
Greg Okonowski and his family also were at the food bank to work Saturday, representing Mesa West Rotary,but were not available when this photo was taken.
Midwest Food Bank has a new and wonderful facility where they provide a marvelous service. Polly wrote, "It was heart warming to know our efforts are actually doing good in benefiting the victims of hurricane Harvey."
Midwest Food Bank is an organization that collects non-perishable food items from vendors throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. These food items are collected using Midwest Food Bank trucks, brought to the Midwest Food Bank warehouse, repackaged by volunteers like us, then redistributed into Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe. Our club will be participating the second Saturday of the month for the remainder of 2017. One thing that makes this project worthwhile is the ability to play a vital role in feeding our community. Another reason is that the work is simple; we repackage bulk items (crackers, chips, and so forth) into smaller quantities for out-going delivery. We are asking that at least 12 people attend each of the remaining three Saturdays. You are free to attend for whatever amount of time is convenient. Members are encouraged to mark their calendars, and encouraged to bring their spouses, significant others, and friends because they need all the help they can get. Matt Rotty, who identified this volunteer opportunity says, "Thank you very much in advance!"
RLI is an excellent way for Rotarians, especially those already moving up into leadership roles, to learn more about the larger world of Rotary. The institutes are held three times each year in various locations throughout the state. Each institute has all three sessions available. To graduate from the program, Rotarians need to attend all three of the sessions. The next institute is scheduled for October 7 in Prescott, Arizona. The cost is $60 per session. CLICK HERE to download a registration/information form.
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Mesa West Rotarians -
Ray Smith upstaged our President to lead the members in a harmonious rendition of Happy Birthday to celebrate Allan's birthday. Dick Myren offered the invocation, and Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance..JPG)
Dan Coons has generously offered to print business cards for Mesa West Rotary Club members at the nominal cost of $12.00 per box of 500.
When we show up to have fun at Chuck Flint's at the end of this year's Sponsorship campaign for our club's charitable foundation, will you be eating steak or beans? You will be eating steak if your team has raised the most in donations, or if EVERY member of your team has brought in at least one donation. If your team hasn't met either of these criteria, you are encouraged to come for the fellowship and to celebrate those who have worked at helping us make the funds needed to do the work we want to do in our community and the world, but Chuck Flint suggests you may want to bring some Gas-X.
RLI is an excellent way for Rotarians, especially those already moving up into leadership roles, to learn more about the larger world of Rotary. The institutes are held three times each year in various locations throughout the state. Each institute has all three sessions available. To graduate from the program, Rotarians need to attend all three of the sessions. The next institute is scheduled for October 7 in Prescott, Arizona. The cost is $60 per session. 
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