Perseverance finally paid off for John Pennypacker who finally was able to schedule an appointment to get his first COVID-19 immunization Tuesday, February 2. He already has his second immunization scheduled.
Never losing an opportunity to promote Rotary John wore his "End Polio Now" shirt to silently let the crew working the site know that he strongly supports immunizations for disease prevention.
Saturday January 30 Mesa West Rotarians arrived on a foggy morning at St. Vincent De Paul's Urban Outdoor Garden.
Allan and Polly Cady
Dan and Colleen Coons
Jeanie and her son Dan Morgan
Erwin and Joan Reimann
Shelly Romine
As the sun slowly cleared the fog, the crew gladly cleared weeds from the garden beds, did some pruning, and wrapped up the morning with harvesting some of the vegetables which will be used in the St. Vincent dining hall or in food boxes.
It was a good day among Rotary friends. Hats off to our Community Service Chair, Shelly Romine, for arranging quality opportunities to safely make a difference in our community.
President Dan Coons opened the Zoom platform at 11:15 so members arriving early could enjoy some casual conversation before he called the meeting to order. Dan Lamborn, who was attending as a visitor for the second week joined the group and shared a bit about himself. He works for Intel. Dan's father-in-law, who resides in southern Utah is a Rotarian. His wife spent eleven months in France as a Rotary Exchange Student. They have three daughters. From 2018-2020, while Dan had an extended work assignment in China, the entire family lived there. They were in northeastern China across the bay from Beijing. Their daughters attended an international school and were not immersed in the culture as his wife had been as a youth exchange student in France.
This led to a lot of back and forth conversation about the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Tom and his family have purchased a home in Mesa and will be moving into it at the end of March. The home is located in the Village of Apache Wells.
Lucinda General served as recorder for a Rotary Zone activity January 27. While serving in that capacity she heard of a Zoom mystery dinner party. She is going to look into details. Erwin and Joan Reimann were welcomed back after missing some meetings. On January 14, they missed the meeting as they were at State Farm Arena getting their COVID immunization. On the 14th, they just got involved with other stuff and missed the meeting.
At Noon, President Dan called the meeting to order and recited the 2020-21 Rotary International Theme - Rotary Opens Opportunities. He then recited the Rotary Vision Statement:
Together we see a world where people unite and
take action to create lasting change -
across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.
Thought for the Day - John Pennypacker
Remembering Rotarian Lynn Gustke and others in District 5495 who have recently lost their lives to COVID-19, John recited the following from anunknown poet:
I thought of you today,
But that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday
And the days before that too.
I think of you in silence,
I often speak your name.
All I have are memories and
Your picture in a frame.
Your memory is a keepsake
From which I'll never part.
God has you in His arms,
I have you in my heart.
Introduction of Guests
Dan Lamborn, who several members met prior to the meeting was introduced as a guest who is hoping to join a local Rotary Club. He and his family moved to the Valley of the Sun about nine months ago. They are currently residing in Gilbert. His oldest daughter is a student at NAU. One daughter is in high school and their youngest daughter will be in high school next fall. Dan's father-in-law is a Rotarian in Cedar City, Utah. Dan is an Engineering Manager with a fourteen-year tenure with Intel. Dan is hoping Rotary will provide an opportunity to be more involved in the community and form new friendships.
Rotary Minute - Rotary Leadership Institute - Polly Cady
Our Rotary Club is a fantastic and magnificent Rotary Club! However, it is only one Club out of 35,000 + Rotary Clubs worldwide. Keeping Rotary Clubs vital, interesting and active requires a key ingredient: Leadership Beyond the Club. One of the best ways to develop leaders for Clubs is to enroll members into the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI).
RLI is a grassroots coalition of Rotary districts implementing a leadership development program for “potential” leaders of Rotary CLUBS.
RLI has become a worldwide organization with divisions in every Continent of the world.
RLI is not an official program of Rotary International and is not under its control but has substantial support of RI Presidents and current, past and incoming RI Directors. Its curriculum is upgraded every 4 years.
RLI believes that excellent CLUB leadership (all types of club leaders) is essential to the future of Rotary in our complex and fast-changing world. Most Rotarians have not been exposed to the great scope of Rotary around the world and have not considered what leadership skills are necessary to move Rotary forward.
RLI strongly believes that a good Rotary Club leader must know the evolution of Rotary – its current status and activities in the world and have a vision for what Rotary can be in the future. That said, RLI normally holds 3 one-day Sessions in both Rotary knowledge and leadership skills.
The mission of RLI is to have Clubs identify those members with the potential for future Club leadership (not necessarily to become Club president) and to send them to RLI courses at the Club expense. Any interested Rotarian may attend RLI.
The overriding goal of RLI is to create ENTHUSIASM for Rotary and showing the great potential of Rotary service and how with excellent leadership in Clubs, the world will benefit.
People often ask what the difference is in RLI.
RLI is a general education program. Most Rotary International training programs are “job-specific”. RLI is not PETS, CLA or any other District training program. Graduates of RLI generally bring an enhanced background in Rotary when they do attend programs such as PETS or CLA.
Members of Mesa west have been involved with facilitating RLI sessions. Pam Cohen, Chris Krueger and . . .Allan Cady. . . have facilitated in the past and Jeanie Morgan will be a co-facilitator for session II on February 27.
This February 27, 2021, RLI will hold its 3 Sessions via Zoom from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 noon. If you would like to register for RLI, which is not necessarily only for leaders, please send your name, to my email, pcady2@cox.net.
This virtual RLI on February 27th is FREE! Please email me with any questions you may have.
Following Polly's presentation, President Dan reminded everyone about the February 21 Rotary Minute when Tom Yuzer asked for those in attendance to share the moment when they went from being a member to being a Rotarian, and Lola McClane had responded that she met Lucinda General and everything else is history. Lu thanked Dan for repeating what Lola said the prior week.
Happy Bucks - Greg Okonowski
Polly Cady was fined $10 for the long hesitation before she remembered that Allan Cady had been an RLI facilitator.
Jack Rosenberg pledged $10 because he was sad to have learned of the loss of Lynn Gustke as well as his sister-in-law who recently passed.
Allan Cady pledged $15 - $5 for each of his sons' birthdays. They are now 43, 49, and 47.
Pam Cohen pledged $5 - she was happy to have received her first COVID vaccination January 27 and was fining herself because she was going to have to leave the meeting a couple of minutes early.
Lucinda pledged $20. She announced that RI President Holger Knaack has put out a worldwide email announcing that the RI Convention in Taipei is going to be virtual. Those who have registered should not contact RI about their refund. Refunds will automatically happen. Lucinda asked fellow-members to help her if they could. Her father moved to Arizona in May. In November, he was in a very serious t-bone vehicle accident. A week prior to the meeting, her father tested positive for COVID. He was admitted to a local hospital and has been released to skilled nursing. The COVID part is not that severe, but with other issues going on, he will move from skilled nursing into assisted living. Lucinda asked for one or two people to help her package things in his apartment. She has recently hurt her hip and cannot do much lifting and twisting which prompted her to ask her Rotary friends for help.
John Pennypacker made a $100 undesignated pledge to the Sponsorship Campaign.
Announcements
January Service Project - Members were reminded that Saturday, January 30, openings were still available to work at St. Vincent De Paul's Urban Garden from 8:00 AM to Noon.
Hand Sanitizer Distribution - Jim Crutcher's nephew donated a lot of hand sanitizer to Mesa West and Jim arranged to have the sanitizer delivered on our behalf to Midwest Food Bank, United Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Child Crisis Center.
Lola McClane introduced Anne Feller, Head of Learning and Development, with Televerde. Anne stated that Televerde is a leader in revenue generation. They are able to target prospects, engage buyers, develop qualified leads and opportunities for their clients to close deals. The Coronavirus has actually been good for them. As big logos have downsized, they are growing.
They are bold thinkers. They use a connected approach with an evolutionary outlook combined with human focus which results in client success.
One of Anne's favorite things about her position is the opportunity to do good as an essential part of her professional life. Televerde provides incarcerated women with a second chance. They have facilities in Perryville here in Arizona, and they also work with another facility in the US in Indiana. The women who work for them experience positive changes in their lives. Their new skills prepare them to be ready for their second life. Televerde hires and suggests hiring of their "graduates."
Televerde has been working with the Perryville facility for twenty-five years. The business model came out of two prison ministries. They got the model running and found people to invest in it and it became a business. They are expanding to a prison in Homestead Florida. They also work with Her Majesty's prisons in Scotland.
Some of the qualities that evolve for the women working in their program are motivation, product knowledge, efficiency and professionalism. Social skills teach them now to change their emotional intelligence. Karen Hellman, Division Director of Inmate Programs & Reentry with Arizona Department of Corrections says, "The Televerde Effect' goes beyond the marketable skills and career opportunities the company gives these women. It translates directly to safer prison yards. Televerde is a coveted, high-status employer and the opportunity to work for the company instills women with incentive to stay out of trouble and make good choices. This sentiment is felt across Perryville and is a testament to Televerde's way of doing business."
74% is the average statewide rate of recidivism. With Televerde graduates, the recidivism rate is only 5.4%. When they leave prison, they have marketable job skills and some have jobs waiting for them when they leave. Their graduates have a 94% employment rate. They earn four times the annual salary of others leaving prison and 81% leave prison college-educated.
Televerde is a company built on second chances. They practice their belief that thru training, education and jobs, they can help people reach their potential.
Televerde's foundation and strategic goals:
ESTABLISH best-in-class prison to professional workforce programs that can be replicated and expanded to support other incarcerated communities.
BUILD effective marketing, business development, grant-writing, revenue models and fundraising programs necessary for independent growth/expansion.
CREATE the programs, processes and technology necessary to deliver meaningful programs and measurable outcomes.
EXPAND and support Televerde's expansion to other disempowered communities.
They have six areas of focus:
Mentoring
Personal Wellness
Workplace Readiness
Financial Literacy
Professional Development
Lifelong Learning
Mentors are assigned when participants leave prison. Some mentors come from within Televerde, others are successful graduates and people who have heard of the program and want to help. Some mentors are a result of Televerde's partnership wtih ASU.
To work in a Televerde center within the prison, the inmates go through a hiring process including an interview. In response to a question about pay, Televerde is a third party vendor for the prison. They have no control over how much the prisoners are paid. All they are allowed to pay is $5-7 an hour. On the yard - no one is better than anyone else. It is a very different world from the one we live in. When asked about apparel, Anne responded that when they come to the classroom or workspace, they are in prison garb. They can never be "on camera." They are trained on professional skills including writing skills. When they are preparing to leave prison, Televerde has a dress for success program and connects them with non-profits which help by providing professional work apparel.
Anne finds it amazing how much the prisoners want to change their lives, adding they "should not be judged forever on the decision made during the worst day of their life."
CLICK HERE to view Anne's entire PowerPoint presentation.
Mesa West Rotary's February hands-on service project will be packing food for the United Food Bank. See the details and sign-up information below.
Volunteers need to wear closed toe shoes and masks. Children five and hp can help as long as they bring their parents!
Your help is needed: Volunteers are required for the following event. CLICK HERE to view available slots and book yourself directly online.
This United Food Bank Food Packing Event will take place February 24, 2021 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the UFB facility located at 358 E. Javelina Ave., Mesa, AZ 85210.
Shelly Romine asked that we publish this event in our newsletter. Many we know and some of our Mesa West Rotary members are family caregivers. Please share this information with them. Registration for the event is open. CLICK HERE to register.
Nominations are still being accepted for the David Besst award for contributions to caregiving in Arizona. The David Besst award is presented to an individual and/or organization that has made a significant contribution in family caregiving. The award honors the awardees but also David Besst, who untiringly worked to establish resources and respite for family caregivers. Nominations are due on January 31, 2021 and a selection will be made in February. Honorees will be recognized with a plaque at the Family Caregiver Day at the Arizona Capitol on March 11, 2021. To nominate an individual or organization, CLICK HERE to complete the form providing details on your nominee.
If you or a friend, family member or associate would like the convenience of electronically contributing to the Sponsorship Campaign, EMAIL JEANIE
Please provide the dollar amount to be donated, the name and email address of the donor if it is not yourself, and tell Jeanie whether the funds should go to:
Community Service
International Service
Youth Service
or
UNDESIGNATED - TO BE USED WHERE MOST NEEDED
Jeanie will e-mail an invoice from Mesa West Rotary Foundation which can be paid electronically using debit or credit card or bank-to-bank transfer.
The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary that enables the amazing work we, as Rotarians, are all proud to be a part of. Every Rotarian is strongly encouraged to support TRF every year by donating to the General Fund of TRF. The target gift is $100 per year per member. That has been the target for a very long time and in the US the average family income has multiplied a few times since that target was set. Many Rotarians who have the means to do so have set their personal target at the $1,000 per year mark making them eligible for the Paul Harris Society level of donor recognition.
The End Polio Now campaign is a separate fund to which gifts are matched two-for-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Many Rotarians choose to support both the general fund and the fight to end polio.
No matter what level you decide to donate, please support the Foundation by giving through Rotary Direct. CLICK HERE to get answers to commonly asked questions about this program. DOWNLOAD A FORM to authorize your Rotary Direct donations. By giving through Rotary direct, the opportunity for human error is eliminated and recognition credit for the Rotarian and their club is much more accurate and timelier.
Perseverance finally paid off for John Pennypacker who finally was able to schedule an appointment to get his first COVID-19 immunization Tuesday, February 2. He already has his second immunization scheduled.
Saturday January 30 Mesa West Rotarians arrived on a foggy morning at St. Vincent De Paul's Urban Outdoor Garden.
President Dan Coons opened the Zoom platform at 11:15 so members arriving early could enjoy some casual conversation before he called the meeting to order. Dan Lamborn, who was attending as a visitor for the second week joined the group and shared a bit about himself. He works for Intel. Dan's father-in-law, who resides in southern Utah is a Rotarian. His wife spent eleven months in France as a Rotary Exchange Student. They have three daughters. From 2018-2020, while Dan had an extended work assignment in China, the entire family lived there. They were in northeastern China across the bay from Beijing. Their daughters attended an international school and were not immersed in the culture as his wife had been as a youth exchange student in France.
Rotary Minute - Rotary Leadership Institute - Polly Cady
Polly Cady was fined $10 for the long hesitation before she remembered that Allan Cady had been an RLI facilitator.
Lola McClane introduced Anne Feller, Head of Learning and Development, with Televerde. Anne stated that Televerde is a leader in revenue generation. They are able to target prospects, engage buyers, develop qualified leads and opportunities for their clients to close deals. The Coronavirus has actually been good for them. As big logos have downsized, they are growing.
Mesa West Rotary's February hands-on service project will be packing food for the United Food Bank. See the details and sign-up information below.
Shelly Romine asked that we publish this event in our newsletter. Many we know and some of our Mesa West Rotary members are family caregivers. Please share this information with them. Registration for the event is open. 
Please provide the dollar amount to be donated, the name and email address of the donor if it is not yourself, and tell Jeanie whether the funds should go to:
