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Opening and Welcome - President Jay Paulus - Marilyn Klingler led the Pledge of Allegiance
- Dick Myren offered the Invocation
 President Jay invited Shelly Romine to come forward to say a few words since this would be her last meeting before moving to the State of Washington. Shelly said that she has loved being a member of Mesa West Rotary, saying our club is very special. She anticipates coming back to visit, and will definitely stay in touch. She plans to follow us in Facebook. As our Community Service Chair, she worked right up to the last minute coordinating the Mesa West volunteer crew for the Girl Power SIHP Bed Build February 8.  Ed Koeneman encouraged members to help decorate on Feb 11 for the February 12 Senior Prom - Glamour Gala, and/or attend the event and help chaperone the prom and clean up afterward.  John Pennypacker was very happy to present Joan Reimann with her Paul Harris Fellow Plus 7 Recognition Pin. She said she didn't remember how much she'd given. John went on to say he had been on a zoom call regarding The Rotary Foundation. They have a goal of having $2,025,000 in committed bequests by the year 2025. Of the money that has been received in bequests, only the interest earned is used for RI projects. He said there were simple instructions on the tables telling how to make a bequest, or regular donation. On that same call, he also learned that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has renewed their commitment to match dollars donated to Polio Plus $2 for $1. Introduction of Guests - Visiting Rotarian Penny May was visiting from Anchorage, Alaska.
- Melodie Jackson introduced her long-time friend Carrie Noonan.
- Harry Grossman introduced his guest and potential member Donna Knopf.
- Blaise Vitale, a visiting Rotarian from Grantsburg, Wisconsin introduced himself.
- Alisha and Aaron Hammond were guests invited by Andy Bradford. They are interested in learning more about Rotary and possibly being a part of the Satellite Club Andy is working on helping form in the Gateway Airport vicinity. There is a lot of promise with all the businesses that are settling into that area as well as the residential communities surrounding it.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint After explaining how the raffle works, Chuck asked Exavier King to draw the winning ticket, which was held by John Benedict and his buds. After the weekly winnings of $55 were delivered, John shuffled the cards, then tried to draw the Ace of Clubs hoping to win the large pot which was up to $700. Sadly (for John) the card he drew was the 7 of Diamonds. Happy Bucks - Sgt At Arms - Andy Bradford  - John Pennypacker contributed $10 saying he was wearing the theme tie from the 2006-07 Rotary Year when Bill Boyd from Australia was the Rotary International President. John said Bill Boyd had passed away January 22 at the age of 91. John had the pleasure of serving as his Aide at a Rotary event in Santa Barbara.
- Allan Cady who was attending via Zoom asked to be billed for a $10 pledge. He was proud of the wonderful RLI presence of Mesa West Rotary at the January 25 session of Rotary Leadership Institute. Polly also pledged $5. She was proud of our recent Mesa West RLI grads - Dick Myren and Melodie Jackson.
- Don LaBarge was happy to report that he is still receiving donations to add to our Salvation Army kettle income for this year. He received another $40 this week.
- Dick Myren contributed his traditional $2 for having the privilege along with Honorary Member Rod Daniels of being associated with the Ace of Clubs. He was glad he finally arrived at the Museum for the meeting the prior week.
- Jack Rosenberg contributed saying he would be rooting for the Eagles during the Superbowl on Sunday.
- Ed Koeneman was thankful for the tech crew, and happy for Marilyn Klingler's help with Interact. Ed was also happy to know his son was okay. Two of the sergeants in his unit were involved in a rollover accident.
- Penny May recently traveled to her "happy place," Rarotonga. She went home to Alaska just long enough to wash her clothes and repack before traveling to Arizona. While in Rarotonga, she attended a Rotary meeting and learned that suicide by hanging is a problem. One of the problems is that the population is small - only about 8,000, so there is no anonymity. Everyone is related - a common term is "cuzzybro". They are looking for solutions to helping those who are troubled to have a safe place to turn.
- Colleen had State 48 shirts which she promised Dan she would help him sell. There are several different designs. Members held them up for all to see. There is a separate article in this newsletter telling how to buy them.
- Erica Williams told about an idea she had that was implemented. A 30' inflatable ear canal tunnel educates those who pass through it about the ear.
- Harry Grossman donated $1 for complying with a request to be on good behavior.
- Jim Schmidt pledged $10 for the Mesa West Rotary Foundation to thank Pam and Lucinda for helping him host a district event for his incoming Presidents.
- Ted Williams said that the Museum we visited on January 30 was where he attended 1st through 5th grade. When he was in 6th grade, he attended the Junior High. Clarence Giles was the principal. He wondered if anyone else's elementary school was now a museum.
- Blaise Vitale said he would be rooting for the Chiefs. One of their players was from his little town in Wisconsin.
- Mike Lutcher thanked the club for the kettle workers. He was one of the few units which met its kettle goal. They also gathered $220,000 worth of toys.
- Pam Cohen pledged $100 for Polio Plus to honor Shelly Romine's tenure with our club.
- Andy Bradford contributed $21. His daughter was going for her "five-month" appointment. He is on his way to being a grandpa.
- Jay Paulus was looking forward to a great game Sunday.
- Warren Williamson told a story about his school days. In his sophomore year of high school, he took his required one-year of Latin. They leased their books from the school and returned them at the end of the year. Sometimes previous students left notes in the books. The book he had contained this lament: Latin is a dead language. It's as dead as it can be. First it killed the Romans And now it's killing me.
Program - The Guaymas Hearing Project - Erica Williams and Lizzy Barron Erica has been involved with the project for eleven years or so. Bob Jensen, who started the project before becoming a Rotarian, is actually moving toward actually retiring from the project. Lizzy Barron participated for the first time in the project this past fall. She is already working with Erica to share ideas about how to modernize some of the processes and improve volunteer training and workflow. Up to now all the charts are paper charts, and sometimes they are not readily available when needed. Moving to electronic records would streamline some of the processes. The time spent travelling by bus to the project could be utilized for learning about the tasks the volunteers will be responsible for. A third hearing booth has been donated. It will be a logistical challenge to get it to the school and installed. Erica's day job is Directing a hearing clinic at ASU and as a Doctor in the associated education program. Looking at how to improve our program is her "jam" right now. Ideally, there could be multiple triage stations. There has always been a lot of waiting. Finding ways to engage the children who are waiting productively is a challenge. Lizzy is in charge of business operations at Thunderbird School of International Management. She is focused on how to make our project sustainable. She observed a lot of eagerness from the Guaymas club which is rebuilding. They used to be all men. Now there are more women than men. She observed a lot of potential synergy through partnering with them. A pre-meeting would help. Providing training ahead of the actual clinic. She was touched by the emotional aspect. She observed many with tears in their eyes when they would hear something for the first time or they would observe their child when they first heard sounds that are familiar to those of us who hear well. She has an emotional tie - Guaymas is her mother's home town. Old hearing aids can be donated. If they are too old, they can be turned in for salvage credit. The club might want to do a hearing aid drive. In the triage process, patient history is a time consuming process for the doctors from Mexico. They thought perhaps Frank Rosenberg could be moved to triage duties next year. Custom ear molds are made on site. That was a surprise for President Jay when he was there. Some of the Guaymas Rotarians may be at our February 20 meeting. We have developed a relationship with Mesa Sister Cities. Some of their members went down. Lizzy's language skills were very helpful. There are possibilities of other joint projects. Establishing a consistent presence and common practices will help non-medical volunteers serve as runners. Sustainability involves trying to have continued care for patients who need it. There is a non-surgical alternative to Cochlear implants where the device can be installed in a headband to be worn by the young patients. Lizzy said she gives a lot of credit to Erica. She observed her pass on information in Spanish to local volunteers and was able to do so very effectively. She does a fantastic job. Pam noticed when she participated in the past that sign language is not universal. Jay had a gift for each of our speakers. He said Dale Gray is working on a global grant to help get the newly donated hearing booth installed. He also praised Lizzy for stepping up in a big way. She has also agreed to be a club representative on the Microcredit project. Jay reminded members that the Club Leadership Academy is coming up March 8. Members who register and attend can have a credit for their registration fee on their April 1 dues invoice. |
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Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet. 
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
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: