banner
 
Stories
Highlights of May 23 Meeting
Pam Cohen opened the meeting, filling in for President Chris Krueger, who was unable to attend.  Members and guests had been greeted by Greg Okonowski.  Dick Myren offered the Invocation.  Don LaBarge led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Ray Smith led all present in singing God Bless America, which sounded awesome, even though members singing looked pretty somber as they sang.
 
Guests
Aubrey Luma had both of her daughters with her as their school was having a half day.  Don LaBarge introduced Donna McGuire who serves as the administrative staff and general manager for our speaker, Jesse McGuire.  Jack Rosenberg introduced his wife, Cindy.  Another guest was Mark Smitzlein who has recently moved to our area from Tucson.  He is not currently a Rotarian, but is interested in possibly joining. 
 
Drawings
After three attempts without a winning token, the $5 will roll over to the May 30 meeting, when it will pay $10 to attend Rotary.  The recent change in the weekly raffle was explained again by Chuck Flint.  There is now a joker in the deck.  The holder of the winning ticket will automatically win the weekly winnings (which was $25 for this drawing) and have a chance to draw the ace of clubs to win the accumulated winnings in the roll-over pot.  If on their draw the weekly winner were to pull the joker, they will have a choice of taking $20 or forfeiting the $20 and trying a second time for the ace of clubs.  Aubrey's family was holding the winning ticket, but the card her daughter drew was the seven of diamonds.
 
Happy Bucks
Greg Okonowski contributed for himself before collecting from others.  He was looking forward to the program.  He heard Dr. McGuire play at a wonderful retirement celebration for one of his friends.  Lucinda contributed $100 to The Rotary Foundation.  John Pennypacker was happy to have attended his grandson's Bar Mitzvah.  It was the first he had enjoyed the opportunity to attend.  He enjoyed the conversation he had with the Rabbi and was very impressed with the way she handled this special event in their family.  He also wanted to welcome Dr. McGuire.  Dan Coons contributed, happy that Caio had the opportunity to go to see an impressive collection of planes and autos on Saturday May 18 with Greg Okonowski.  Don LaBarge thanked Dr. Jesse and Donna McGuire for fitting our meeting into their busy schedule.  Boz Zarling was happy to report that his eye surgeries in recent months had been very successful and he would no longer be driving like Mr. Magoo.  Aubrey was happy to have her girls with her - and happy they won the weekly drawing.  Ed Koeneman was looking forward to seeing Billy D. Williams at Fan Fusion 2019 (new name for Comic Con) being held at the Phoenix Convention Center Memorial Weekend.  Ed will not see us at Mesa West again until after he and Debbie return from the Rotary International Convention in Germany and he has recovered sufficiently from the knee surgery which will happen soon after they return from Germany and he and Debbie get moved into their new home.  Steve Ross was happy to have memories of a very enjoyable trip to Europe.  He and Luin and their son backpacked all over Europe together and had a wonderful time.  He apologized for not having a gift to auction, but because of the backpacking nature of their trip, they had to travel very light.  He said it was the most time he has had the opportunity to spend with his son in many years.  He said backpacking was challenging in Amsterdam where it was 40 degrees, but it was very nice in Barcelona.  Dick Myren contributed his and Rod's traditional dollar for being happy to be a member of Mesa West.  Steve Ross had money to contribute for the trip Chuck Flint was taking to Mexico to deliver clothing and household items.  Ed Koeneman forgot to mention his recent birthday.  He contributed $100 to TRF and another $100 to the Mesa West Foundation. Dr. Ron was happy to have his neighbor (Dr. McGuire) at our club.  Ron's mom lives across the street from the McGuire's home in Phoenix.  Pam Cohen contributed sad dollars.  She was supposed to have enjoyed the Lake Powell boat trip with some other club members, but was unable to go and have fun with everyone else.  She was happy however, that she was not sporting purple hair at the meeting.  It was mentioned that Dr. McGuire would have CD's of some of his music for sale after the meeting.  Allan Cady reported that he and Polly have several concurrent trips coming up.  They were going to get to go to the Indianapolis 500 this year.  Polly has a brother who lives outside Indianapolis and they were going to attend with him.  From there, they will travel to Atlanta for a wedding, and go on from there to Charlotte North Carolina and Hilton Head South Carolina.  Allan also explained Lucinda's purple hair.  Lucinda will appear at any Rotary event in Arizona in purple hair if the person inviting her to the event commits to donate $100 or more to The Rotary Foundation.  Allan made that commitment for her to wear her purple hair at our May 23 Mesa West meeting.
 
Program
Greg Okonowski introduced our Speaker, Dr. Jesse McGuire.  who is an American trumpeter who makes his home in Phoenix, Arizona.  Famous for his execution of the Star-Spangled Banner, he has performed for three US presidents and at many major sporting events, including the 2000 Daytona 500, game 7 of the 2001 World Series, and the 2014 NFL Playoff game between the Panthers and 49ers, as well as at the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Parade.  He was lead trumpet for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra of New York City and for the band Tower of Power.  He toured worldwide with many acts including Tower of Power and Wynton Marsalis.
 
For 30 years, Jesse's home was Ypsilanti, Michigan.  His motivation to relocate to Phoenix came when his car broke down on Interstate 30 at 3 AM when the outside temperature was minus thirty degrees.  His wife and children moved to Phoenix ahead of him as he had some performance obligations he needed to meet before he was free to move.  When he finally arrived in Phoenix on August 2, 1988, he thought the move might have been the worst decision of his life. 
 
Once in the Phoenix area, doors opened up for him.  His boss, Donna was the wind under his wings.  They have three children, two of them completed medical school.  Their son graduated from Loyola Marymount and went on to the Marquette School of Dentistry.  When Jesse was playing in the River Room, every night on the way home as he passed Xavier College Prep, he prayed his daughter would attend school there.  Instead, she graduated a year early from Mountain Point High School.  Xavier couldn't challenge her.  She now has a dream job as a doctor.  Jesse has written a book - Raising Doctors on a Local Musician's Salary.  
 
Jesse and Donna's third child is a banker.  Jesse likes being near his adult children and their families.  He likes to visit their homes so he can eat up all their Captain Crunch.
 
Jesse always wanted to be a speaker and has tried to be a role model in his community and neighborhood.  The people he most wanted to reach, he reached with his performances from ballfields.  When he performed at the Nascar Circuit, he would play for 100-150,000 people at a time.  He considers many of the Winston Cup Series drivers his friends.  He met Donald Trump once long before he was President and before he was married to Melania.  He performed with Frankie Valli.  He has played the Star-Spangled Banner at every major sport in this country - even the U.S.Open.  
 
In 1989, he heard that they were auditioning for individuals to perform the Star-Spangled Banner for Phoenix Suns basketball games.  He called to schedule a time to audition and was told he was a day late.  After some impassioned pleading, he was told if he could get a tape to Stan Richards by 5:00 PM that evening, Stan would listen to it and let him know if he could make an exception.  Stan's office was on Missouri and Jesse's home was in South Phoenix at the time near 16th Street and Roeser.  It was getting close to 4:30 in the afternoon.  He didn't have quick access to a recording studio so he improvised.  He quickly cleared everything out of the bathroom so that the hard walls would create ambient sound, he put a blank tape in a huge ghetto-blaster, and began playing the Star Spangled Banner.  He didn't have time to listen and perfect his tape.  He quickly removed it from the machine and took off driving to Stan's office.  He said he probably broke every traffic law imaginable on the way.  When he arrived, a man was walking out of the office.  Jesse asked if he was Stan Richards and after confirming that it was, he gave him the tape with his name and phone number.  After he left, he doubted he would ever hear anything after his frantic effort.  When he got home, his phone was ringing.  It was Stan Richards.  He asked, "Can you play like that all the time?"  Jesse was given the opportunity to play at 7:00 the next night for the Suns/Pistons game.  That performance began a rich history of performing at sports events.
 
Jesse related how his life was changed in 2001.  He and some others who were very familiar with the Twin Towers in New York decided to go visit ground zero not long after the September 11 attack while the rubble was still smoldering.  The smell of death and jet fuel was heavy in the air.  There were people everywhere quietly holding onto each other.  He had his trumpet with him and asked a security guard if he could play God Bless America for those who were at the site mourning.  The guard allowed him to do so requesting that the performance be very respectful.  Jesse did perform and he and many others were moved by the performance.  He was approached by someone who asked that he repeat the performance so it could be on national news, and he declined saying he did it for those who were mourning - not to bring fame to himself.
 
He tries to perform all the time honoring veterans with his music being his "Thank you!"  He wants to honor all who have served whether in the military or our brave first responders.
 
When asked how he got started playing, Jesse said that his school would provide instruments for children who wanted to be in band.  He was nine years old when he took an interest in playing.  The only instrument that was left was a trumpet. 
 
One member mentioned they had heard Jesse play at Trattoria D'Amico's Italian restaurant at 4902 E Warner Rd, in Phoenix, and asked if he was still playing there.  He answered he would be playing there the first Saturday evening of every month this summer. 
 
Following the meeting, John Pennypacker had a conversation with Jesse about the rings Jesse was wearing during his presentation.  John had his photo taken wearing one of the rings while shaking hands with Jesse.  The ring John is wearing on his left hand is the Diamondbacks World Series ring.  A photo of that ring was downloaded from Jesse's Facebook page so it could be shown at right.  The ring Jesse was wearing on his right hand is his Arizona Rattlers World Championship ring.
Read more...
Today's Chuckle
May is Youth Services Month
Interact
 
Rotaract
 
Youth Exchange
 
RYLA
(Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)
 
Rotary Programs open the world for our youth, while our youth light up the lives of Rotarians!
Upcoming Events
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jun 06, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jun 13, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Board Meeting
Webinar
Jun 19, 2019
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
 
Rotary District 5495 - District Conference
DoubleTree Paradise Valley, Scottsdale
Jun 20, 2019 7:00 AM –
Jun 22, 2019 9:30 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jun 20, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jun 27, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jul 04, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jul 11, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jul 18, 2019 12:10 PM
 
Mesa West Rotary Weekly Meeting
Mesa Hilton
Jul 25, 2019 12:10 PM
 
View entire list
Speakers
Jun 06, 2019
Life as a Teacher in Pinon, Arizona
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Spouse Birthdays
Cindy Rosenberg
June 10
 
Son Hee Williamson
June 24
 
Anniversaries
Warren Haeussler
Debby
June 2
 
Ryan Ellis
Patti Ellis
June 22
 
Join Date
Robert LaBarge
June 15, 2012
7 years
 
Carolyn Jones
June 27, 2018
1 year
 
Colleen Coons
June 27, 2018
1 year
 
Rotary District 5495 Links
District Links
Rotary Interact District 5495
Rotary District 5495
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA)
Rotary Youth Exchange
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards - RYLA
RYLA Service Project Support
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Club Service Director
 
Service Projects Director
 
The Rotary Foundation Director
 
Membership Director (480) 213-1617
 
Public Image Director
 
Executive Secretary
 
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
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
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?