The Chili Cook Off and Fireside was a huge success! The Troy’s home was a perfect venue! With Pam Cohen’s and Carole Kralicek’s planning and coordination, everything went very smoothly and was a lot of fun. Not only was there good food and beverages, the whole evening was all about fellowship.
I’m not sure what the highlight was: The induction of PDG John Pennypacker, conducted by Chuck Flint, the Chili Cook Off and food, or the Fireside Chat.
Having known PDG John Pennypacker for a long while, Chuck conducted the induction with a glowing background of John’s military career and Rotary career. John said a few words and praised the Mesa West Rotary Club and let us know how happy and privileged he is to be a part of it.
There were eight participants in the chili cook off. First place winner (again) was Chuck Flint. Second place went to Tim Troy and third to Polly Cady. The prizes were very appropriate: Chili’s (the restaurant) gift cards! The gift cards were placed on a stick with real red chili’s attached – very creative. As it turned out, Chuck offered to raffle off his gift cards so Polly joined him. Tim Troy was the bidding winner – another plus for the Club’s service projects’ coffers!
Carole Kralicek had a great idea of how to facilitate the Fireside Chat. She had the new members who were there ask questions on Rotary subjects they were not quite sure about. Donna and Bryan Goetzenberger asked how District Governors are selected. Robert LaBarge, having been on such a committee, answered. He let us know that there is a committee which consists of District Governors, Past District Governors and a few people who are selected at random. They review all nominees and come up with an appointed District Governor. Actually, they appoint a District Governor Nominee who then becomes a District Governor Elect and then District Governor. Another question was asked by Bob Zarling. He wanted to know if all Rotary clubs are supposed to conduct meetings with the same format. Between PDG John Pennypacker and Chuck Flint, he got the answer that Rotary clubs are all different and conduct their meetings differently. One more question had to do with where the happy bucks money goes – answer: service projects unless specified to another fund such as Paul Harris, Polio Plus or the Rotary Foundation.
Carole then asked President Allan “What makes a good Rotary club”. Allan mentioned, of course, Mesa West is the best Rotary club due to its members. Mesa West has the most giving . . . excellent projects . . . strong meetings with good speakers . . . . attendance is at 36-45 members each week with good involvement . . . strong board . . . . creative group with a variety of ideas. After Allan shared his ideas, he called on several Rotarians to give their thoughts on what makes a good Rotary club.
The invocation was given by Jeanie Morgan, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Bob Zarling. Ray Smith led everyone in singing "He Has the Whole World in His Hands."
Among the guests were Carlos Sotos, from Argentina and an aspiring youth exchange student who was attending with his mother. Carole Kralicek won the attendance drawing. Warren Williamson was the holder of the lucky raffle ticket, winning $33 in the weekly drawing, but failed to pull the Ace of Clubs. The growing pot is up to $427.
The happiest donor of happy bucks was Polly Cady because she and Don LaBarge have finished a peanut butter project they have been working on. Apparently, they now know more about how to make the best deal in large quantities of both creamy and crunchy spreads than they ever imagined they would want to know. The also discovered that when purchased in large cartons, the weight and space were both overwhelming surprises.
Don LaBarge delivered a District Grant check for $2,000 which will be matched by a like amount from the Mesa West Rotary Foundation for United Sound - a total grant of $4,000. Earlier this year, new members were asked to submit grant requests for worthy projects. Our member, Julie Duty, who is Executive Director of United Sound, submitted the winning request. Rather than posing for a photo receiving the check, she wanted a photo of the members of Mesa West Rotary, so United Sound can give them credit in their PR communications.
Chuck Flint circulated the Buck Board after briefly explaining the background of The Rotary Foundation and Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
Bob Zarling announced that October 24 is Polio Plus Awareness Day and encouraged members who had time to attend the webinar that RI will host that day. He brought a Polio Plus Trick or Treat bucket, which was circulated for donations.
President, Alan Cady made the following announcements:
When attending Andrea Murphy's Induction at Westwood High School Interact meeting, the Interact Club was given permission to attend our October 10 meeting, raising Polio Plus awareness with a Purple Pinkie Day.
He reminded members of the Fireside Chat and Chile Cookoff to be held October 7 at Tim and Angie Troy's home.
He also reminded members of the Guaymas Sendoff being planned at 7:00 AM, November 8. Mesa West will be hosting a light breakfast for members who can attend to support the team headed for Guaymas that morning. The entrance to Red Mountain Campus of MCC is found on McKellips between the 202 and Power Road.
He also announced that the Sponsorship is nearly up to $19,000 including pledges and the deadline for the steak and beans competition has been extended through October.
Volunteers are still needed at the Midwest Food Bank the morning of October 14 from 9 to Noon.
PDG John Pennypacker reminded members to sign up to attend the Foundation Dinner and to take time to read the items to be considered at the Council on Legislation which were recently distributed.
Steve Ross announced upcoming speakers prior to announcing the program which was presended by Dr. Scott Russell on Arizona Indian Tribes. Dr. Russell is an anthropologist who has been an instructor at MCC for 30 years.
Dr. Russell shared some recent news articles showing "a month of news about Native Americans in Arizona. Some of the information highlighted:
Native Americans represent 4.5% of Arizona's population, but reservations represent 25% of Arizona's land.
25% of tribal children attempt suicide. The challenge as cultural identity erodes is "Who am I? How do I fit in?"
Pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of a situation that will impact health costs by letting tribes own their patents on new medications. Because the tribes are sovereign nations, those medicines would never be able to be duplicated by generics.
Economic development on reservations is by necessity more socialistic than in the US as a whole, since the reservations are owned by the tribes, not by individuals.
Worldwide, indiginous people are not treated well. Statistically, an average of two cultures are disapearing each week from our planet. Native languages are disappearing. With no land base, cultures disappear.
Coal mines on reservations create a challenge. If they go away, jobs go away. If they stay, energy production is more expensive.
Monument valley is beautiful and tribes are doing well there, but tribal people do not want tourism.
Tribes along the Mexican border do not want a border fence. Their people go back and forth regularly.
Some tribes are in the pot business
Diabetes among Native American population is highest in US.
Dropout rates are higher than in rest of state and performance of our schools is worst in nation. Lowest teacher salaries result in inability to keep talented educators but also indicate a poor priority of education in state budget planning.
Alcoholism being high is an overstated myth, but there is a tendency to binge drink. Most Native Americans do not drink at home.
Mesa West Rotarians – at the present time, we have $17,068 in donations and another $1.400 in pledges for our Sponsor Program. That means we are 62% of the way towards our first goal of $30,000. On our Steak and Beans Team competition, Team #7 – Steve Ross has the highest dollar amount of donations while Team #2 – John Eagleston has the greatest member participation with 5 of 9 team members participating.
When John Eagleston presented the Sponsor Program concept to his board during his term, the thought was that if each Mesa West Rotarian secured one donation we could easily surpass our goal. At present, we have 16 Rotarians participating which is 1/4 of our club.
If you are numbered in the sixteen, many thanks. If you have tried but had no success, still thanks. If you haven’t tried, please give thought to one person or business owner that you can approach for a donation. As you know, we extended the program through October 31, so you have plenty of time. Remember all contributions make it possible for Mesa West Rotary to make a difference in the lives of those in our local and international communities. Thanks for your dedication to Mesa West Rotary.
Midwest Food Bank is an organization that collects non-perishable food items from vendors throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. These food items are collected using Midwest Food Bank trucks, brought to the Midwest Food Bank warehouse, repackaged by volunteers like us, then redistributed into Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe. Our club will be participating the second Saturday of the month for the remainder of 2017. One thing that makes this project worthwhile is the ability to play a vital role in feeding our community. Another reason is that the work is simple; we repackage bulk items (crackers, chips, and so forth) into smaller quantities for out-going delivery. We are asking that at least 12 people attend each of the remaining three Saturdays. You are free to attend for whatever amount of time is convenient. Members are encouraged to mark their calendars, and encouraged to bring their spouses, significant others, and friends because they need all the help they can get. Matt Rotty, who identified this volunteer opportunity says, "Thank you very much in advance!"
Mesa West is proud to introduce Andrea Murphy as our newest member. She is the faculty advisor for our Interact Club at Westwood High School and truly embodies the Four Way Test. Andrea was inducted to Mesa West Rotary at the Westwood High School Interact Meeting on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.
John Eagleston was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the youngest of eight children. He has a twin brother, but John is youngest by 15 minutes. He has been an Arizona resident for twenty-seven years. The only foreign country he has visited to date is Mexico. John is fluent in Spanish. He has resided in three states - Arizona, Utah and California.
As a teenager, John aspired to be a professional baseball player. He is currently an insurance agent and has been in that profession for eleven years.
John has been married to Nicole Eagleston for thirteen years. They have five children. Their oldest passed away at birth, so have four living children. His favorite vacation memory is of a Disney cruise to the Bahamas with Nicole and their children.
John says his most rewarding volunteer experience was raising money as a college student for the "We Care Center." This was a day care center which was free to single mothers who were going to get a college education. The mothers would drop off thier kids so they could go to class and get their degree.
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.
One of the requirements of the district grant that was awarded to United Sound and announced at our October 5 meeting is that members of Mesa West Rotary Club participate in a work project related to the grant. The mission of United Sound is providing musical performance experiences through peer mentorship for students with special needs.
The grant funds, which were matched by the Mesa West Rotary Foundation for a total of $4,000 will cover printing of the curriculum/music books the participating students use. The work project will utilize Rotarians and their guests and participating family members to assemble and customize the curriculum books adding colored stickers to aid the special needs students in transferring what they see in the book to more easily play correct notes on their musical instrument(s).
A work project/social event will be held at the home of United Sound Executive Director and Mesa West Rotary Member, Julie Duty, on Friday evening, October 20, at 7:00 PM. Wine and snacks will be provided.
The 2017-18 Rotary Calendar shows Economic and Community Development as the focus for October. This is one of the six areas of focus of The Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation invests in people to create measurable and enduring economic improvement in their lives and communities by:
Strengthening the development of local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities
Developing opportunities for decent and productive work, particularly for youth
Building the capacity of local organizations and community networks to support economic development
Supporting studies related to economic and community development
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)
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The invocation was given by Jeanie Morgan, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Bob Zarling. Ray Smith led everyone in singing "He Has the Whole World in His Hands." .JPG)
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Midwest Food Bank is an organization that collects non-perishable food items from vendors throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. These food items are collected using Midwest Food Bank trucks, brought to the Midwest Food Bank warehouse, repackaged by volunteers like us, then redistributed into Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe. Our club will be participating the second Saturday of the month for the remainder of 2017. One thing that makes this project worthwhile is the ability to play a vital role in feeding our community. Another reason is that the work is simple; we repackage bulk items (crackers, chips, and so forth) into smaller quantities for out-going delivery. We are asking that at least 12 people attend each of the remaining three Saturdays. You are free to attend for whatever amount of time is convenient. Members are encouraged to mark their calendars, and encouraged to bring their spouses, significant others, and friends because they need all the help they can get. Matt Rotty, who identified this volunteer opportunity says, "Thank you very much in advance!"
John Eagleston was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the youngest of eight children. He has a twin brother, but John is youngest by 15 minutes. He has been an Arizona resident for twenty-seven years. The only foreign country he has visited to date is Mexico. John is fluent in Spanish. He has resided in three states - Arizona, Utah and California.
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.
One of the requirements of the district grant that was awarded to United Sound and announced at our October 5 meeting is that members of Mesa West Rotary Club participate in a work project related to the grant. The mission of United Sound is providing musical performance experiences through peer mentorship for students with special needs. 
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.
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