Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet.
Westwood Interact's first service project this year will be making dog chew toys for a local animal shelter. They make these dog toys out of old t-shirts. So, dig way back into your closet, or that drawer where all your old stuff is, and bring a shirt or two to lunch this Thursday.
We are excited to announce the 5th Annual Pursuing Peace Conference will be on Friday, September 16th! We have an amazing slate of guest speakers who will be sharing their peacemaking experiences. The primary topic for this year's conference is "Creating Peacemakers Around Us." Speakers include:
Chuck Fitzgerald – Conference Founder & Host
Elizabeth Gamarra – World Rotary Peace Fellow serving at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Larry Horton - Retired Phoenix Police Officer & current Rotary District Governor
Lisa Jernigan – Co-Founder & President, Amplify Peace
Dr. Sanjeev Khagram – Director General & Dean, ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management
Scott Martin – Mediator & Conflict Coach, Mediators Beyond Borders International
Rev. Eve Nunez – Founder & President, National Latina / Latino Commission
Dr. Clyde Rivers – Founder & President, iChange Nations
The conference will be a one-day hybrid event; we will be streaming online, and we will be "in person" at the new campus of ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a series of three one-day educational sessions to learn about Rotary beyond the Club Level. All three sessions are held in the same place on the same day enabling car-pooling for participants no matter which session they plan to attend. The location where the sessions are held can move around, promoting a little Rotary tourism. Whether you are a relatively new Rotarian or a seasoned Rotarian who finally has time to get more involved, members are encouraged to sign up and participate.
At their August 16 Board Meeting, Mesa West Rotary Club officers and directors approved making one of the recent visioning session ideas become a reality. The club will cover the registration cost for those who register and attend RLI going forward.
The next RLI is scheduled to take place in Flagstaff Saturday, September 24, at the Flagstaff Art Leadership Academy, 3401 N Valley Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Check-in will start at 8:00 AM and the sessions will start at 8:45 AM. Lunch will be served at noon followed by a graduation ceremony for those attending Session III. The sessions will resume at 1:00 PM and end by 4:00 PM.
Members who wish to register can e-mail Jeanie Morgan, letting her know which session they are ready for. They are taken in order - Session I, II, or III. Registration is open for the September 24 RLI. If someone has Jeanie pay for their registration but fails to attend, they will be invoiced for the cost of their registration.
Our own Polly Cady is the current RLI Chairperson. She will be glad to answer any questions about RLI.
Hi Mesa West - Dan and I had the opportunity to meet with Fanny’s teachers at CVHS. This is not a surprise - every teacher loved her. She asks great questions, studies and does all her work on time. Her schedule is Exploring the Corporate World, English, Dance, American/Arizona History, Ceramics and Algebra 2. Plus - our very own Steve Ross’ nephew is her English Teacher, Mr. Merritt.
Wednesday Lunch: Every Wednesday - Fanny and I go to lunch. Last week - Fanny was impressed with Pita Jungle!! This week, Polly will be joining us - perhaps Mexican this time - Serranos?
Cheer Update - First CVHS Football Game is August 31 at 5:30 pm. Please let Dan or Colleen know and we will purchase tickets.
Fanny made a terrific carrot cake for Dan and his 70th Birthday. It was one of the best cakes ever.
Lastly, PDG John Pennypacker’s grandson Ty, was in a golf tournament at Lone Tree Golf Club. John invited Fanny to attend the tournament with them. I heard Ty had a birdie on a Par 5. Fanny had a wonderful time and THANK YOU.
This past weekend Lolita nd Hans Wiesner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Many of you will remember Lolita as a regularly visiting Canadian Rotarian at our meetings. They both were welcomed at many of our social activities. They have traveled the world attending Rotary conventions and participating in Rotary Friendship Exchanges.
Because Pam likes to start the meeting with something light and fun, she decided to celebrate National Couples Day by mentioning a few Rotary Couples:
Beth and Jim Hoban - visiting Rotarians from Hawaii
Allan and Polly Cady - attending via Zoom
Bryan and Donna Goetzenberger
Dan and Colleen Coons - in the room
Wayne and Lucinda General
Jay and Melissa Stuckey - in the room
Erwin and Joan Reimann vacationing in the Black Hills and doing well
Introduction of Guests
Pam introduced introduced Jim and Beth Hoban. Both are Rotariansvisiting from Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club.
Jodi Corrales from GCU Rotaract to be introduced more fully later as speaker.
John Pennypacker introduced Polo Santiago.
Sean Green introduced a Rotarian from Foxboro Massachusetts who was visiting via Zoom.
Shelly Romine shared a through for the day, Life is an Echo by Zig Ziglar. Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance.
President Pam thanked John Pennypacker for serving as greeter, welcoming Rotarians and guests to the meeting.
Rotary Minute - John Pennypacker
Following up on the summary of the PDG Fellowship meeting article in the July 17 Messenger, John shared some information about the case of Polio recently diagnosed in Rockland County, New York. The 20-year-old male was NOT vaccinated against polio. He is paralyzed.
Across the USA, the polio vaccination rate is 93%. In Rockland County, the vaccination rate is 37%. In nearby Orange County, New York, it is 33%. This information was briefed by Peter Salk, the son of Dr. Jonas Salk. He also pointed out that the polio virus had been detected in the sewers of London and Jerusalem. Through DNA testing of these viruses, scientists can accurately state the type of virus and its origin.
As Ann Lee Hussey, who is a polio survivor, noted, polio is only a plane ride away. PRIP Ian Risely added that we must not let up in our quest to rid the world of polio.
It was noted that this PDG finished presenting his Rotary Minute in less than a minute.
Loss of a Rotary Friend
Pam shared the sad news that Fred Scott, a Rotarian from Salmon Arm Canada, who was a frequent winter visitor to Mesa West Rotary died August 12. He had experienced a very rough year. His children and his wife, Billie, were with him when he passed The photo at right was taken March 5, 2020 during his last visit to Mesa West.
Fred was a Barrister by profession, but an accomplished woodworker and carpenter as an avocation. He enjoyed and told some great jokes. He was a great guy to be around. One year, he dressed up as Santa for a Mesa West holiday celebration.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Steve Ross
Steve asked our speaker to draw the winning ticket which was held by Jim Hoband, making him the winner of $35. When Jim attempted to draw the Ace of Clubs, he drew, instead, the King of Clubs, so he did not win the $65 now accumulated in the big pot.
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
Dan Coons pledged $100 toward his next Paul Harris in appreciation of all the support recently shown for his Youth Exchange daughter by club members.
Colleen Coons expressed appreciation for the club members who enabled Fanny to be cheerleader. She was excited to hear Jodi's presentation about GCU Rotaract Club. She added that she had Fanny's event-planner with her at the meeting and encouraged members to choose a date to do something special with Fanny.
Dave Brauchler donated the last dollar in his wallet to remind members to bring travel-size toiletries. Ed Koeneman added that he had ordered some travel-size toiletries on Amazon. They will arrive in time to donate at the August 25 meeting. He announced the Y had asked for help moving rocks Saturday, and set Saturday, September 24, as a tentative date. The help the chef project at Salvation Army will continue on Wednesday mornings during August, September, and October. At the club's August 16 board meeting, it was decided to ask the Mesa West Rotary Foundation to enable the purchase of $1,000 worth of water to be delivered on pallets to the Salvation Army. The board also approved making a request to the foundation for funding of a $300 sponsorship donation to support Fanny's fundraising responsibility as a member of the cheer squad.
Warren Williamson gave Colleen an additional $30 to fund the balance of his match of the Allan Cady "Daddy Warbucks" donation to Fanny's cheerleading support campaign.
John Pennypacker contributed. He likes music - especially country music. He likes Luke Holmes' Better Together. When asking young people about one of the lyrics "like a needle in a groove," he has found that they have no idea what that is referring to.
Dick Myren contributed his traditional $2 for himself and Rod Daniels. He contributed another $5 remembering Fred Scott. He also mentioned - along the same line as what John had just shared - that a contestant on Jeopardy had no idea how to respond to a question about the rpm of a vinyl record.
Allan Cady made a pledge celebrating the fact that his graddaughter in Charlotte started college Tuesday at Auburn. She pledged Delta Gamma and will be in the honors college as an incoming freshman.
Polly Cady made a pledge saying the meeting was her 5th Rotary meeting in ten days - 2 with Mesa West, 1 at the Port Loma Yaught Club and 1 at La Jolla. The fifth meeting was the Mesa West Board meeting on the 16th.
Ed Koeneman was glad that Polo decided to visit our club again. He had enjoyed visiting with Polo folloing the August 11 meeting. He was also happy Sean Green would be filling in for him managing equipment during the hybrid meeting on August 25 while Ed is attending the Star Trek convention.
Jodi Corrales was happy on summer break.
Shelly contributed $3 - August is birthday month in her family. Her dad, oldest sister, that sister's oldest son, and her middle sister all have birthdays in August.
Pam Cohen contributed. 32 years ago her daughter was born. She has the cutest little 2-year-old son - "the cutest child to ever walk this earth."
Announcements
5th Thursday event will be a fireside Chile Cookoff at Pam Cohen's home on Thursday, September 29. Shelly will be coordinating sign-ups for competitors and attendees. Logan will do a soft rollout of the visioning program.
An organization chart was available on the tables and will be available at the greeter table going forward.
With Robin Harris having to step out of the President-Elect roll for health reasons. Pam is working with the nominating committee to fill that vacancy.
The rock-moving project at the Y needs volunteers, travel-size toiletries continue to be needed to donate to Salvation Army. Help is still needed for the Help the Chef project at Salvation Army on Wednesday mornings from now through October.
Polly reminded members of the next RLI to be held in Flagstaff September 24. See the article in the Messenger for details. The Doubletree seems to have the best room rate for anyone wanting to attend RLI and want a place to stay. She said the next RLI is potentially slated for November 19 in Laughlin.
Ed Koeneman said last week the Westwood HS Interact had their first officers planning meeting. Friday was recruitment day on campus. They used the Rotary magazines members have donated as recruitment tools. On August 17, they had their first club meeting. At the end of 2020, they were down to four members. Last year, they got up to 10 members. They had 40 in attendance at their meeting on the 17th.
Program - Jodi Corrales GCU - Rotaract
Ed Koeneman introduced the speaker after he shared that the Rotaract Club at GCU was formed in 2018 when he was on faculty at GCU. Jodi Corrales is about to start her 2nd year as Club President.
Jodi shared that after graduating high school in the spring of 2020 she entered GCU that fall. There was a lot of turmoil as she finished high school and started college during the height of the COVID pandemic.
This year, the club will be meeting in person. Jodi is from Merrillville, Indiana. She said their Rotaract club is still mall with ten active members. They hit five of seven areas of focus with projects last year. The provided pencils and sent out ten blankets to a women's shelter. Their favorite project was Project Angel Tree. At a Title I school, they adopted ten students whose parents could not get presents for them. They shopped for them on Amazon. They distributed lunch bags at a homeless shelter.
The club's slogan is "Reach the Unreached."
A challenge for the club is transportation. Jodi is the only member with a car. They are glad to help with projects, but need transportation to get there.
They are hopeful that sponsoring Rotary Clubs will donate $750 to support their fundraising efforts. They hope help with fundraisers and projects will be reciprocal between them and their sponsoring clubs.
Sometime in November or December, they will have the opportunity to work with the Phoenix Suns on a fundraiser. They will have a set number of tickets to sell and will get $5/ticket back. They will have an opportunity to speak during half time. They hope to raise $500.
They hope the Rotaract members can enjoy career mentoring and support from Rotarians.
Rotaract can be community-based, but GCU Rotaract is university-based. In addition to their commitment to service, they enjoy the opportunity to network and learn from each other about job opportunities. They hope that aspect will be enhanced by having Rotarian speakers at their monthly meetings.
They hope this year to get their membership up to twenty or more members. They plan to do two service projects each month. They definitely plan to do the Angel Tree project again. That was a highlight for their members. A park cleanup is something they hope to coordinate. Colleen asked if they were interested in doing a park cleanup in Mesa.
A candygram project is another possible project in planning stages.
Rotary International has asked each Rotaract Club to set a goal of sending $100 each year to The Rotary Foundation. To accomplish this, they plan to use happy dollar donations for that purpose as well as set aside a percentage from their fundraisers to go to TRF. Pam donated $5 for the club's Happy Bucks Jar.
Polly Cady announced that an anonymous donor from the Four Peaks Rotary Club has made a donation to cover the cost of Jodi's registration to attend RLI.
CLICK HERE to cast your vote for Child Crisis Arizona in the third round of voting. There is one vote per device per person during each round. They are now in the third round of voting which began August 15. If you first voted in either of the prior two rounds, you can vote again. In fact, you can vote a few more times. They are in the third of five rounds of voting, and you can vote using each of your devices once each round.
Mesa West Rotary has a long history of supporting Child Crisis Arizona. Your vote(s) will help propel them to the next level in this competition. They were sitting in second place the last time we checked.. The voting link gets updated for each round. We will try to keep the current link available to our members by updating this article
Just before the 2021-22 fiscal year ended, Mesa West Rotary Foundation sent a $2,000 donation to Child Crisis Arizona. CLICK HERE to read the letter of appreciation received from Child Crisis Arizona. You may want to have a tissue box handy...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Community Service
International Service
Vocational Service
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.
Club Information
Welcome to our Rotary Club of Mesa West!
THE ACE OF CLUBS
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.
Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet. 
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a series of three one-day educational sessions to learn about Rotary beyond the Club Level. All three sessions are held in the same place on the same day enabling car-pooling for participants no matter which session they plan to attend. The location where the sessions are held can move around, promoting a little Rotary tourism. Whether you are a relatively new Rotarian or a seasoned Rotarian who finally has time to get more involved, members are encouraged to sign up and participate.
This past weekend Lolita nd Hans Wiesner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Many of you will remember Lolita as a regularly visiting Canadian Rotarian at our meetings. They both were welcomed at many of our social activities. They have traveled the world attending Rotary conventions and participating in Rotary Friendship Exchanges.
Loss of a Rotary Friend
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:
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