Colton Cagle, a Junior at Westwood High in Mesa, and a 2-year veteran of the Interact District Council, has been selected to lead our 93-club Interact District 5495 next year as District Governor. He has named Ryan Gentry, the other very qualified DG candidate this year, to be his Executive Assistant Governor. Ryan is a Junior at Hamilton High in Chandler. Both Colton and Ryan will be serving on the AZ Interact Ambassadors Team that leaves for Kenya on June 29.
Rounding out Colton’s extremely strong executive leadership team for 2018-19 will be District Secretary Gabby Alessio, a Junior at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, and PDG Loralli Johnson, this year’s successful DG, who is a Junior at Perry High in Gilbert.
Colton is a visionary leader with an engaging personality and a strong commitment to advancing Interact in Arizona and around the world. His goals include working toward making Interact Crutches 4 Africa, which has been pioneered by Interact D5495, and has become the signature project for this district and its clubs, to become the signature project for Interact clubs and districts worldwide. Where Rotary has focused on eradicating Polio, Colton and his team believe Interactors worldwide need to be focused on giving the gift of mobility to those in Kenya and other African countries, for whom Rotary’s 2 magic drops arrived too late, and who have been crippled for life by the devastating disease. “Interact has the incredible power to do this.” says Colton. “Our Interact clubs in Arizona, Needles and Laughlin have been collecting and shipping to Kenya thousands of crutches, canes, wheelchairs and other devices, as well as sending teams of our top Interactors to help our partners in Kenya with the distribution of this life-changing mobility equipment.” Colton’s personal goal is to get Interact’s C4A Project featured on the cover of The Rotarian Magazine.
Twenty-four top high school Interactors from around the state have submitted their applications to serve as Assistant Governors for Interact District 5495 next year. As did the two DG candidates, they will be undergoing individual online interviews with the selection committee during the week of April 30. Those who are selected to serve will join Colton and his leadership team, along with District Interact Chair Ken Kelley and his Interact Committee, for an intensive annual Interact District Council Retreat, to be held at Camp Pinerock in Prescott, July 20-22. This mandatory leadership training and planning retreat serves as the “boot camp” for the Interact district leadership, as the team bonds, sets their goals, develops their plans and assigns responsibilities for the challenging year ahead.
Each Assistant Governor, like their Rotarian counterparts, is assigned a group of clubs to coordinate and support during the year — including holding a Cluster Club Training Day for the student and adult leaders of their clubs. In addition to the valuable CCTDs, a unique club leadership training program developed by Interact D5495, the Interact District Council, which continues to meet online monthly throughout the year, also annually plans and leads for the clubs a Fall Leadership Conference and their biggest event of the year, the Interact District Conference, which is always held the last Saturday of February.
Expect great things from this international pace-setting Interact District 5495 next year, under the leadership of Colton’s dynamic team. The district added three new clubs this year, and already has several more in the formation stages to launch next year. Colton can be reached at (480) 797-4221 or at caglecolton@gmail.com
Click on the photo at left to go to a seven minute video featuring all the photos taken by Wayne General at the Donor Appreciation Reception held at the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
It was a lovely setting and an inspired way to thank those who donated a combined total of $40,000 to support the charitable work that Mesa West does and supports in our community and the world.
Thanks to all who helped make the evening possible - Pam Cohen who coordinated the catering, Lucinda General who coordinated the venue and put together an informative slide presentation and Wayne General who took the photos seen in the video.
President Allan supported by his wife and Club Secretary, Polly will always appreciate and never forget the support from donors and club members, especially the sponsorship team captains. They made the dream of Immediate Past President, John Eagleston, to seek sponsorships to fund the work of the club a reality.
President Allan Cady opened the meeting asking Ray Smith to offer the invocation and Immanuel Beeson to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Several guests were present. Tim Troy introduced his wife Angie and their children, Kylee and Adam. John Eagleston introduced his son, Asher, and Frank Rosenberg introduced his daughter, Sammi. Polly Cady introduced her long-time friends and members of Yuma Rotary, Mark and Diane Hansberger. She noted that Mark was wearing a very special Rotary pin - a coveted Service Above Self pin - which represents Rotary’s highest honor. Each year up to 150 Rotarians worldwide who have demonstrated their commitment to helping others by volunteering their time and talents are honored with this recognition.
President Allan thanked Lucinda and Pam for their work on the Sponsor Appreciation Reception, which was attended by more than 60 Rotarians, their guests and donors.
Chuck Flint announced that the weekly raffle winner would receive $58, and if they were to draw the ace of clubs, would additionally receive $1,294. Chris Krueger's ticket was drawn, so she was a little bit lucky, but not lucky enough. She drew the nine of hearts, much to her disappointment but everyone else was celebrating that the accumulating pot will be even larger next week.
Greg Okanowski collected happy bucks. Tim Troy donated $100 toward his Paul Harris. He and his wife had spent the weekend away from their kids at a shredding conference. Dan Coons thanked Lucinda and Pam for the appreciation event and asked Lucinda to thank Wayne for the photos. Chris Krueger was happy to have won the $58. Her grandkids are coming to Arizona and want to swim with the dolphins (which is very expensive) while they are out west. Warren Williamson paid lots of happy dollars for the nice appreciation event. He was especially happy because his name tag for the event didn't fall off. Steve Ross donated $100 to The Rotary Foundation. Pam paid happy dollars to support Red for Ed. Don LaBarge paid happy dollars for the appreciation event. Daryl Bethea paid happy dollars because he appreciates all the many things that Chuck Flint does to support the club. Dick Myren paid happy dollars to honor our Honorary Rotarian, Rod Daniels. Polly Cady paid happy dollars to explain that she and Allan were going to lunch with their long-time friends after the meeting.
John Pennypacker paid happy dollars celebrating the fact that he had received confirmation that a gentleman had been given notice that he would be allowed to propose to John's niece at Wrigley Field. He also told of his recent trip to Virginia. On April 18, he attended the dedication at Arlington National Cemetery of the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Member Memorial. He said it was a beautiful ceremony and well attended. Monday, April 23 marked the 43rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. Fifty years ago, on April 26, John flew missions out of Camp Evans in UH-1H. In June, 1968, all his unit's helicopters were destroyed in a rocket attack and ammo dump explosion. There were 11,827 helicopters from all services used in RVN. 5,086 helicopters were lost in the conflict. Over 5,000 crewmembers from all services were killed in action. John suggested some members might want to watch a video about the helicopter pilots - God's Own Lunatics by Joe Galloway. John says, "For those who have fought for it, life has a flavor the protected shall never know."
John had a bag of goodies from his trip to be auctioned. After some competitive bidding, John Eagleston's son was the successful bidder. Pam Cohen had centerpieces from the appreciation reception to auction. Dr. Ron was the top bidder at $35 for one large and one small centerpiece. There were others available at that same price.
Chuck Flint and Mark Hansberger invited Polly and Allan to the front. Mark told of Polly joining Yuma Rotary in 1991. Today there are seven clubs in Yuma, where the summer population is about 120,000. Allan Cady was a Paul Harris Fellow before he joined Rotary. Allan and Polly were honored by Chuck who presented them with recognition materials from The Rotary Foundation. More details about this recognition will be in a full article in the May 9 Messenger.
Announcements:
Mesa West was represented by 10 members at the Club Leadership Academy on April 1
Reminder of Spring Olympics on Saturday, May 5
President Allan introduced Bob Solis, founder of Open Arms Home for Children in South Africa. Bob is a member of Sun City Rotary Club.
Bob said that in South Africa, his name is Bobo. He complimented Mesa West, saying we are an excellent club, setting a high bar of excellence in the District.
Bob and his wife went to South Africa in 2005. They saw homes without electricity, water, or sanitation. At that time, 9,000 were dying every day from AIDS/HIV creating orphans. He and his wife used money they had been saving to pay off their home to purchase 70 acres with a house and two cottages. That beginning has grown into a home where children can be raised to adulthood. They live very much like families in cottages with 7-8 kids and permanent house mothers who provide quality care. He showed pictures of two brothers who were 9 and 3 when they arrived at Open Arms. The older boy asked for supplies to shine his shoes the night before his first day of school. He understood that education is a privilege.
One little girl was HIV positive from birth. She was six months old when she smiled for the first time. She is now in sixth grade and wants to be a teacher. Medication that is available today keeps her HIV under control and she is able to be fully integrated into her school activities.
In 2008, they were full with 35 kids. Bob knew there were so many more children needing their help. He decided to take a long walk for children. It took him about 30 days to walk about 720 miles across South Africa. He was welcomed to stay in the homes of Rotarians as he made this journey. He raised $250,000. They built four new cottages. He says prayer works better when the players are big - Rotary Clubs, Rotary Grants, and individual Rotarians.
In 2010, they installed an industrial kitchen with a $66,000 matching grant. Since then, they have spent $37,000 installing an electric security fence for safety. They now have 57 children and about 30 adults living on the property. Two years ago, a new van was purchased. They have planted a 56-tree fruit orchard.
A matching grant currently in process, when fully funded, will equip a new laundry building that has already been constructed. One of the heartbreaking things, that has to be done, is saying "No," when asked if a child can be placed there. It is an unfortunate fact that the need will likely always exceed their capacity. They are currently licensed for 54 and have 57 children. Some of the younger children do get adopted. There is no program for US adoptions of the orphans. Older children have difficulty finding placements.
Bob actually spends about three weeks a year at the site. They have an eight-member board of directors in the United States. Open Arms Home for Children is a United States 501(c)(3) and is licensed in South Africa. Their land is owned by their corporation. They raise about $800,000 each year to support the orphanage. They have 43 local staff. The unemployment rate in South Africa is 50%. The jobs at Open Arms rarely turn over. They pay 13 months wages for 12 months of work.
Each year, they have five Notre Dame graduates from the US go to Open Arms and stay for a year helping with homework, etc. There is a local dentist who visits once every three months and takes care of dental needs of the children for free. President Allan and Polly attended the ten-year anniversary of Open Arms. At first, there were no smiles. Now, there are lots of smiles. A favorite memory of preparing for the celebration were the lines of very white tennis shoes that had been cleaned by the staff for the occasion and were drying along the roadway.
Open Arms has recently produced a drone video of their grounds. CLICK HERE to see it.
John and Jane Benedict will again host our Annual Spring Olympics Saturday, May 5. Practice will begin at 5:30. A Mexican buffet from Café Rio will be served at 6:00, and the games will begin at 7:00. The Gilbert Basketball Team will keep the competing athletes honest. CLICK HERE to download the event flyer.
Mesa West member, Ed Koeneman spent several days last week with The Thunderbolts Robotic team (from Grand Canyon University) in Louisville, Kentucky at the VEX Robotics World Finals. If you follow Ed on Facebook, you know he did some sightseeing while he was there.
In a wrap-up facebook post, he said "What a week! The Thunderbolts finished 36th (in a field of 90 world class competitors). Our record was 2-7-1. So proud of what the entire team accomplished in our first year competing in the VEX Robotics league. Looking forward to next year."
CLICK HERE to see other photos in Ed's facebook album from the event.
Next time he can attend a meeting if he doesn't have some Louisville memorabilia to auction, some significant happy bucks would probably be in order.
Mesa West Rotary is sponsoring an inbound Youth Exchange student from Ecuador for the 2018-19 school year.
Carlos will arrive in Phoenix in late July, 2018. He will be a Junior at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert. His interests include: band, soccer, and American football.
We need at least one additional host family. The goal is the have each inbound student have the opportunity to reside in three different households during their stay to optimize their ability to see how different families function. The Frank Rosenberg and Dan Coons families have already agreed to host Carlos, and we are looking for a third host in or near the Campo Verde campus.
If you are interested in becoming a host family, it will be a three-month commitment. The responsibilities include providing room and board, sharing your culture and home, and treating Carlos as if he were part of your family. CLICK HERE for more information about hosting. You could also contact the inbound coordinator, Kaley Gilmore, at 480 993 4628 or via e-mail at 5495inbounds@gmail.com.
Rotary helps develop future leaders through several activities Mesa West is actively involved with: Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, and Youth Exchange
Other less familiar ways Rotary is involved in developing future leaders are: Rotary Peace Centers, Rotary Community Corps, Rotary Fellowships, and Rotary Action Groups.
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.
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.
Colton Cagle, a Junior at Westwood High in Mesa, and a 2-year veteran of the Interact District Council, has been selected to lead our 93-club Interact District 5495 next year as District Governor. He has named Ryan Gentry, the other very qualified DG candidate this year, to be his Executive Assistant Governor. Ryan is a Junior at Hamilton High in Chandler. Both Colton and Ryan will be serving on the AZ Interact Ambassadors Team that leaves for Kenya on June 29..png)
President Allan Cady opened the meeting asking Ray Smith to offer the invocation and Immanuel Beeson to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
John and Jane Benedict will again host our Annual Spring Olympics Saturday, May 5. Practice will begin at 5:30. A Mexican buffet from Café Rio will be served at 6:00, and the games will begin at 7:00. The Gilbert Basketball Team will keep the competing athletes honest. 
Mesa West member, Ed Koeneman spent several days last week with The Thunderbolts Robotic team (from Grand Canyon University) in Louisville, Kentucky at the VEX Robotics World Finals. If you follow Ed on Facebook, you know he did some sightseeing while he was there. 
Mesa West Rotary is sponsoring an inbound Youth Exchange student from Ecuador for the 2018-19 school year. .jpg)
Rotary helps develop future leaders through several activities Mesa West is actively involved with: Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, and Youth Exchange
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. 
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 
