https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85900479873
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210 United States of America
Our hybrid meetings are held weekly on the 1st thru 4th Thursdays of each month. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to include all, whether attending virtually or in person.
Sammy Rosenberg (top left in the above photo taken in Guaymas during the hearing project last fall) is graduating from high school. Her grandfather-Jack, father-Frank, and mother-Amanda Rosenberg are members of Mesa West. Sammy and Frank are both former Rotary Youth Exchange Students.
Friday, May 23, at 6:00 p.m., Frank and Amanda are inviting Sammy's Mesa West Rotary family to attend Sammy's high school graduation celebration at their home.
Thursday, May 29, we will not have an in-person meeting. Instead, we have the opportunity to tour the Alcor cryonics facility which we heard about at our February 13 meeting. CLICK HERE to register online if you plan to attend
Tempe South Rotary Club has invited Mesa West Members to attend the dedication of the placard being placed in the Rose Garden at MCC acknowledging the renovations made possible by a District Grant this year. Following the dedication, participants who wish to do so will walk across Southern to Los Sombreros Mexican Restaurant to enjoy some Mexican food and social time with each person paying for what they order individually.
In order for the Restaurant to reserve plenty of space for Rotarians and their guests to be seated together, please respond by May 25 if you plan to attend.
CLICK HERE or on the image of the placard to register to attend.
Pam asked Ron Thompson to offer the invocation. Polly Cady was asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Pam thanked Steve Ross for serving as greeter, and Ed Koeneman for managing the technology allowing those attending via Zoom to participate in the meeting.
Pam apologized for the "green screen."
Pam noted that in addition to Pai Bethea, who regularly attends via Zoom, Exavier King had some guests on-line as well: Chaundrissa Smith, Kama-Charmange Mott, Benjamin King and Patricia Oyeshiku.
Introduction of Guests
Chuck Flint introduced his long-time friend Reid Douglas, who had travelled from Massachusetts to help celebrate Chuck's 80th birthday.
Bill Peters, was a visiting Rotarian from the Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club. He was attending with a purpose. He spoke about the partnership between Law Enforcement and Special Olympics. His own club had agreed to help sponsor a conference to prepare for all the various activities associated with Special Olympics by donating $1,000. Bill was hoping that Mesa West would match their pledge. Bill has been with the Mesa PD for 35 years. He says that those working in law enforcement see a lot of things that pull them down. They are "hooked" on the positive things they see in their partnership with Special Olympics. It's not just about the games. Participants of all ages grow in leadership, social skills, self-confidence and overall health. The conference at the San Marcos in Chandler is what he was fundraising for.
Exavier King introduced his best friend Nolan Saddler and his mother's long-time friend Liz Rothwell who were attending in-person and thanked his entourage who were attending online.
Machel Considine introduced her husband Tom who was an Eagle Scout Scoutmaster.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained the large pot was up to $1,155 and that there were 25 cards remaining in the deck.
He asked Caby Cutlip to draw the winning ticket, the stub of which was held by Ron Thompson.
After shuffling the cards, when Ron attempted to draw the Ace of Clubs, he instead drew the Eight of Clubs. Next week the large pot will be even larger and there will only be 24 cards remaining in the deck.
Happy Bucks - Sgt at Arms Andy Bradford
Ron Thompson was happy to support Special Olympics' funding request.
Connie Bunyard was happy to report she was looking forward to a trip to California to visit her 91-year-old father. Her daughter and granddaughter would be going with her.
John Bunyard was unhappy - he does NOT recommend food poisoning!
Polly Cady was happy to be at the meeting.
Harry Grossman reported that he lives in a six-story building with about 60 apartments. They were notified Monday that their hot-water system would need to be replaced, and hot water would not be available from 8:00 AM until the job was done. He said he had made arrangements to get a shower elsewhere before the Mesa West Experince on Saturday if the system had not been restored by then.
Dick Myren made his traditional $2 contribution - happy he and Rod Daniels are associated with the Ace of Clubs.
Pam Cohen was unhappy about a flat tire she recently had to deal with.
Jeanie pledged $100 to Ray Smith's sponsor program team. Ray had called her to try to get a handle on where his team stood. During that conversation, Jeanie learned that Ray is currently lovingly living the "in sickness and in health" part of his marriage vows. Vickie recently tripped in their home and broke both shoulders. They weren't compound fractures, so no surgical repair was needed, but she has both arms in slings and can do virtually nothing for herself.
Warren Williamson told about a couple of men who were neighbors. Charlie had a little boy named Timmy and Timmy was very fond of his pet rabbit named Fluffy. Joe had a hunting dog named Ruff. One day, Joe looked out his window and saw something in Ruff's mouth that looked to be about the size of Fluffy but was a mess. He went outside and was able to get Ruff to release his treasure. Sadly, it was Fluffy and Fluffy was obviously no longer alive. Joe bathed the little bunny and blew it dry. He snuck over to Charlie's back yard and carefully put fluffy in the rabbit hutch. The next time Joe saw Charlie, he asked him how everything was going. Charlie said, "Timmy found Fluffy dead in the hutch and we helped him grieve over his loss and helped him bury Fluffy. Then it got worse. Some sick person dug Fluffy up, cleaned him up and put him back in the hutch. Our poor little Timmy is having to go through all the grief again."
Announcements
The Mesa West Experience to be held at Pam's home Saturday May 17 was announced.
Ed Koeneman announced that following the event at Pam's volunteers were encouraged to caravan over to his house to help sort through four pallets of books which had been purchased to be used for various purposes.
Our May 22 speaker will be our outbound exchange student from last year - Danielle Hansen
Members were reminded about Sammy Rosenberg's graduation celebration to be held at Frank and Amanda's home Friday, May 23.
Connie Bunyard announced the May 29 5th Thursday tour of the Alcor facility in Scottsdale
Pam Cohen announced the May 30 placard dedication at 6:00 PM in the evening in the Rose Garden at MCC
RLI will be held in Anthem on Saturday, May 31.
Jim Schmidt will be installed as District Governor on June 14. To encourage member to register to attend, they were told we would not have a lunch meeting on June 12, and full dues members who register and attend the installation will get a $25 credit on their July 1 dues invoice.
The Mesa West Rotary "changing of the guard" celebration of 2024-25 and installation of Kayla Mudge as our 2025-26 President will take place Thursday, June 26.
Auction - Bag from Melodie Jackson's most recent travel experience
Pam Cohen made an $80 bid to go to the Sponsor Program to honor Chuck Flint's 80th birthday. Nobody topped her bid. She asked Deb Koeneman to open the bag and describe the items found in it, which were placed on a table at the front of the room and those in attendance were encouraged to leave money on the table if they wanted any of the items found in the bag at the end of the meeting.
District Governor Michelle Holcomb did a great job of promoting the Rotary license plate that is now available when she made her official visit to our club September 26. Mesa West Rotary members often lead the way. We want to encourage our members to get their plates purchased so we can be known for having the highest percentage of members displaying the Rotary license plate on their car(s). To that end, we have two incentives to offer:
The first Mesa West Rotary Club member who can honestly tell a story about how they met someone who showed interest in Rotary because of their plate AND that conversation resulted in an approved membership application into Mesa West Rotary or any other Rotary District 5495 club will get one free quarter of their Mesa West Rotary Club dues.
CLICK HERE or on Michelle's photo to go to the order form on the MVD website, scroll down alphabetically and get yours ordered.
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
There are many different nonprofit organizations that AZ recognizes as authorized recipients of these tax funds. Mesa West sponsors the Interact Club at Westwood High School, and they are a qualified recipient of these tax credit funds in the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) category. Here's how you can donate up to $200 as an individual or $400 as a couple filing jointly and deduct that amount from your state tax burden.
If you have children currently enrolled in Mesa Public Schools, you can use your existing login information. Otherwise, it's easy to setup a guest account.
Once you are logged in, select 'Items At All Schools'under the 'Shop/Donate' list on the Home page.
On the next page select 'High Schools', then select 'Westwood High'
Select the link for 'ECA Tax Credit', and then 'Programs G-K' on the following page.
Interact - ECA is under code 8646. Enter a dollar amount in the box, and click the Add button. That dollar amount should then appear in your cart (highlighted in green at the top of the page).
You can then proceed to the Checkout process and pay with a credit card. You will receive a receipt that you can print out and save for when you do your taxes.
Thank you for supporting Westwood Interact and all of our youth programs.
As Rotarians, we are regularly exposed to opportunities to support various causes with our time, talent and treasure. Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the information and decide where we are going to use our available financial resources.
It would be wonderful if every Arizona Rotarian would make the following BIG FOUR their Rotary charities of choice and support every one of them every year, we could make a bigger difference than we are making today.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund - The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world." Giving a small amount each month adds up. CLICK HERE to download a form you can use to sign up for Rotary Direct, electing "Annual Fund - Share" for your recurring donation.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Polio Plus - Rotary's commitment to eradicate polio is so well known and respected that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations $2 for $1. To take advantage of this opportunity to multiply the effect of your giving, CLICK HERE and download a second Rotary Direct form, this time electing electing "Polio Eradication" for your recurring donations. Those who donate $100 or more annually to Polio Plus qualify in District 5495 as Polio Plus Society Members. If you would like to make that commitment, CLICK HERE to download the commitment form.
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA) provides vocational education grants to Arizona Residents who meet specific low-income guidelines. The grants enable the recipients to lift themselves out of poverty, benefitting themselves, their families and the economy of our state. TRVFA is a 501(c)(3) charity. They also are a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona Tax Credit Donations. Their QCO Code is 20698. Many Arizona Rotarians say giving to TRVFA is a "no brainer." If you can help someone lift themselves out of poverty and it won't end up costing you anything why would you not do it? Mesa West Rotary has the highest number of members who have signed up for automated monthly recurring donations by electing that option on the "Donate Now" button on the TRVFA website. Click the image to learn more or CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:
Community Service
International Service
Vocational Service
Youth Service
The process isn't quite automated at this point in time, but we hope it soon will be. For now, you can email our executive secretary who can help you work out a recurring donation plan should you wish to make that arrangement to support our own club's charitable activity.
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Opening and Welcome - Past President Pam Cohen
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Auction - Bag from Melodie Jackson's most recent travel experience
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service: