President, Allan Cady opened the meeting with Daryl Bethea offering the invocation and Jim Crutcher leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Among the guests, were John Pennypacker, Cindy Rosenberg, and Dawn and Mike Polley. 

 

Jim Crutcher won the attendance drawing. 

 

President Allan made the following announcements:

Tim Troy held the lucky ticket making him the winner of $34 in the weekly drawing, but did not draw the ace of clubs, so the $394 in the larger pot will continue to grow.

 

Chuck Flint circulated the Buck Board, continuing to raise funds which will go to The Rotary Foundation making the next winner the recipient of a Paul Harris Fellowship.  For each $10 donated, members and guests who purchase squares on the board will have a one in one hundred chance of being the lucky winner.

 

We had two drawings:

 

Darl Andersen was re-inducted into Mesa West Rotary.  Darl is a Past President of the Club.  As part of his induction, Darl was introduced by his sponsor, brother-in-law, and long-time friend, Daryl Bethea.  CLICK HERE to read a copy of the impressive bio of this re-membered Rotarian.  When Darl was first a member of our club, he was sponsored during the club's first year by member and past district governor, Ted Williams, who was a charter member of Mesa West.  Darl and his wife, Kaye, enjoy spending time with their nine children and 39 grandchildren all living in the east valley.

 

President Allan introduced our Program, a Kickoff of a Business Networking focus for our club.  When Rotary first started in 1905, networking was one of the primary goals.  Later, in the evolving history of Rotary, networking fell out of favor for a few years.  It is currently encouraged again in Rotary, worldwide.  Allan has a vision of having a second table at our greeter station with ads displayed and business cards and information available for our Rotarian's businesses.  Jim Crutcher's in-house ad person will help develop a 7" x 7" ad for any member who would like that assistance. 

 

Jim Crutcher gave a personal narrative of his history in the automotive industry, which led him to his position as General Manager with Berge Ford.  It was apparent that Jim takes a great deal of pride in the way Craig Berge has led the Ford dealership, making employee pride and satisfaction a priority which results in outstanding customer service.  Berge Ford has 273 employees and do over $200 Million in business per year.  They sell 4,000 new/used vehicles each year, and sell $1.5 Million in parts each month.   They deliver 300 parts on a typical day, and service an average of 350 service customers daily.  He is proud that the dealership has won the Ford's Presidents Award for the 3rd year in a row.  300 of these awards are given each year in our nation.  They also won the Ford Elite Presidents Award three years in a row.  Only 30 of these awards are given annually.  They are not the cheapest - they get a fair profit which enables them to retain good employees, and deliver good service.  The average employee has been there 8.5 years.  They have over 50 emlpoyees who have been with Berge Ford for 25 years or longer. 

 

John Eagleston told of growing up as the youngest of eight children (but only five minutes younger than his twin).  His dad started an insurance company in 1968.  His business grew and he held licenses in all 50 states, doing a lot of business over the phone.  Until John was in college, he really had no idea what his dad did.  In 2001, John's brother went to work for their dad.  After John graduated from college in 2004, he and his wife were living in Utah.  When he let her know that he had been invited to join his father's business, he was surprised when his wife enthusiastically supported the move.  Being in a family business can be challenging.  Their dad was reluctant to support the investment in technology John and his brother both felt was needed for future development.  They broke off from their father's business and started their own.  It rocked their relationship with their dad for about a year, but eventually the relationship healed.  He and his brother had a vision of being an insurance hub, with the ability to serve all insurance needs of their clients.  They are still growing.  They have 1100-1200 clients in all 50 states.  They shop the market for their clients.  They were pleased that in seven years, they accomplished the goal they had set when they started.  They are continually growing and are having fun!

 

Before the meeting adjourned, Rod Daniels announced that he was stepping down from his District Position as Polio Plus Coordinator, but that the position will stay in Mesa West Rotary with Bob Zarling stepping up to do so.

 

 

 

Matt Rotty was born in Tucson, Arizona, and has been an Arizona resident his entire life, 34 years.  He is the oldest child in his family and has one sister.  Matt has been married to Emily for seven years.  They have three children; Wyatt 4 1/2, Lizzie 3, Autumn 9 months, and are expecting their fourth child in March.

 

Matt has visited two foreign countries - Taiwan and Peru.  English is the only language in which he is fluent.

 

In his teens, Matt dreamed of being a race car driver.  In his current occupation, he has been both a private investor for over a year and a Real Estate Agent for five months.

 

Matt's most memorable volunteer experiences took place in Peru.  "Peru was third-world, which offered a new perspective on how blessed I am in America."

 

 

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.

Please sign up to bring a chili to share, another side dish of your choosing, dessert, an appetizer, or just condiments for the chilis. For those who don’t have time to cook – we will also need paper/plastic bowls and tableware, napkins and the like. Carole will provide non-alcoholic beverages – so feel free to BYOB or favorite adult beverage.
This event is a fun way to meet our newest members and help to engage them in our club. There will be short presentations by several Rotarians on various aspects of Rotary and how it relates to the club, its members, our community, and the world.
Don’t miss this opportunity to mingle with club members and crown the newest Chili King or Queen!
Please RSVP to Pam Cohen – pam.cohen@cox.net – (602) 989-5677 cell

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)

Click HERE or on image to register.