Thank-you to all the Rotarians for supporting Fanny in her Campo Verde Cheer program.  As you may know, there is nothing like American Cheerleading in France - so she is truly getting an American High School experience.

 

This past week has been really busy.  She has cheer practice on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  On Saturday, she injured her elbow.  Monday's practice confirmed her pain so Fanny was able to visit our Urgent Care system and an Orthopedic doctor. She is fine and now back to practice.

 

Fanny has been handing out with our Crutches 4 Africa kids making tote bags and this past Sunday, making tote bags again with the Youth Exchange outbound and inbound students.

 

Hamburgers and S'mores are becoming favorite foods.

 

The last two photos were taken at Argitopia in Gilbert, where Fanny and I were enjoying lunch. I take Fanny out to lunch every Wednesday as Fanny gets out of school an hour early at 1:30 but has to be back for Cheer Practice at 4:45.  We enjoy a quick lunch between school and practice and would gladly welcome anyone who wants to join us.  

 

This is a reminder about our August project to support the Salvation Army's homeless assistance efforts.  Please bring the following supply needs to our club meetings during the month of August:

They do NOT need feminine hygiene supplies.

 

Bring donations to our Mesa West Rotary Club meetings and I will arrange transport.

 

Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a series of three one-day educational sessions to learn about Rotary beyond the Club Level.  All three sessions are held in the same place on the same day enabling car-pooling for participants no matter which session they plan to attend.  The location where the sessions are held can move around, promoting a little Rotary tourism.  Whether you are a relatively new Rotarian or a seasoned Rotarian who finally has time to get more involved, members are encouraged to sign up and participate.

 

At their August 16 Board Meeting, Mesa West Rotary Club officers and directors approved making one of the recent visioning session ideas become a reality.  The club will cover the registration cost for those who register and attend RLI going forward.  

 

The next RLI is scheduled to take place in Flagstaff Saturday, September 24, at the Flagstaff Art Leadership Academy, 3401 N Valley Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001.  Check-in will start at 8:00 AM and the sessions will start at 8:45 AM.  Lunch will be served at noon followed by a graduation ceremony for those attending Session III.  The sessions will resume at 1:00 PM and end by 4:00 PM.

 

Members who wish to register can e-mail Jeanie Morgan, letting her know which session they are ready for.  They are taken in order - Session I, II, or III.  Registration is open for the September 24 RLI.  If someone has Jeanie pay for their registration but fails to attend, they will be invoiced for the cost of their registration.

 

Our own Polly Cady is the current RLI Chairperson.  She will be glad to answer any questions about RLI.

 

I attended a Zoom call of the Fellowship of PDGs 15 August 2022 hosted by Ann Lee Hussey with guest speaker Past RI President Ian Riseley. There were 52 participants form US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Africa. PRIP Ray Klinginsmith and PRID Johrita Solari were notable attendees.

 

PRIP Ian started the conversation with the opening topic of Membership. He noted that over the past 15 years RI membership has decrease < 2.5%.

< 33% down in UK

< 27% down in US/Canada

Large increase in India, Philippines

 

He suggested that when pursuing potential new members, we should consider “what’s in it for them”. This subject continued as he outlined “why good people should want to be members of a Rotary Club”. 

 Friendship

 Personal development

 Business opportunities

 The opportunity to make a difference in the world or local community

 

Ian provided several personal examples for each item above. A question was posed: “could the inability to make a difference be a reason for someone to leave Rotary”? An interesting question to ponder when pursuing a new member or trying to retain one. According to Ian “Retention” is key.

 

Over the past several years Rotary has maintained 1.2 M members and has brought in 1.3 M new members. At the same time Rotary has lost 1.3 M members. Perhaps they reasoned in their judgement “the time spent did not meet their needs”. 2

 

Ian also encouraged members to participate in the programs of The Rotary Foundation and the 7 Areas of Focus. Specifically, he commented on:

 Polio

 Peace Centers

 Global / District Grants

 Environment

 Annual Fund

o He wants us to encourage more personal donations

 Ukraine - $15.3 M was amassed in only a few days – simply amazing what Rotarians can do when motivated

 

Ann Lee Hussey opened the next subject discussing the uptick of recent polio cases. She commented that there have been 19 cases so far this year. Ian added that the discovery of polio in the sewage in New York and in the UK, that this makes Polio a relevant topic again. He was amazed that scientist could pinpoint the origin of the DNA of the germ from sewage. As we all know “polio is only a plane ride away”.  Many children in this country and others are not getting the polio vaccine with the normal newborn inoculations.

 

On a brighter note, Ian stated that a Polio Fundraising Golf Tournament will be held prior to the start of the RI Convention on Friday 26 May 2023 at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

 

The Endowment goal of $2.025 B in 2025 is on target and he is very optimistic it will be met.

 

A questioned was asked if RI was developing an educational program concerning “Global Warming”.  Ian was not aware of any and felt the subject was “tremendously political”.

 

A new Peace Center will be announced in October/November, which will be built in North Africa or the Middle East. Funding has been provided by an anonymous donor – no cost to RI.

 

Ian further encourages members to calculate their “Rotary Footprint” when donating to The Rotary Foundation and to consider:

 How many children will be saved from the polio virus

 How many meals can be feed to the needy

 How many beds can be made – Sleep in Heavenly Peace

 Education – RYE

 

Another question was asked about development of Rotary in Cuba and Vietnam. Ian suggested looking to RIP Jennifer Jones to answer this.

 

FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRESFIRES

Yes, this is a HOT subject that definitely caught my attention. When Ian was RI President 2017 – 2018, he challenged Rotarians to plant 1.2 M trees – 1 for every Rotarian. Over 3 M were planted.

 

A question was posed concerning the recent uptick in FIRES in the US, Canada, and the UK. Did he think another tree planting challenge be worthy of discussion?

 

In casually discussing this topic with Pam Cohen, she mentioned DGE Kevin Pitts who has had up close and personal experiences with FIRES in the Prescott area. We all remember the tragic Yarnell Hill FIRE that kill 19 firefighters on 30 June 2013.

 

What better way to commemorate this 10th Anniversary than to have Rotarians kick off a tree planting as we begin a new Rotary year on 1 July 2023 and do it all over the entire state of Arizona. I will pursue this with DGE Kevin with the intention of including Rotarians in District 5500.

 

Pam indicated August 11 is National President's Joke Day.  She celebrated by sharing, "What does a duck say when it buys lipstick?"  It says, "Put it on my bill."

 

She thanked Colleen Coons for serving as Greeter welcoming members and guests to the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ron asked Polo Santiago to draw the winning raffle ticket, which was held by John Benedict.  Since the big pot had been won the prior week,  the large and small pots were equal at $30 each. After shuffling the cards, the card John drew was not the Ace of Clubs, so he won the small pot.  The large pot will keep getting bigger and bigger each week until a lucky ticket holder eventually draws the Ace of Clubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to cast your vote for Child Crisis Arizona in the third round of voting.  There is one vote per device per person during each round.  They are now in the third round of voting which began August 15.  If you first voted in either of the prior two rounds, you can vote again.  In fact, you can vote a few more times.  They are in the third of five rounds of voting, and you can vote using each of your devices once each round. 

 

 

Mesa West Rotary has a long history of supporting Child Crisis Arizona.  Your vote(s) will help propel them to the next level in this competition.  They were sitting in second place the last time we checked..  The voting link gets updated for each round.  We will try to keep the current link available to our members by updating this article

 

Just before the 2021-22 fiscal year ended, Mesa West Rotary Foundation sent a $2,000 donation to Child Crisis Arizona.  CLICK HERE to read the letter of appreciation received from Child Crisis Arizona.  You may want to have a tissue box handy...   

 

A priest buys a lawn mower at a yard sale. Back home, he pulls on the starter rope a few times with no results. He storms back to the yard sale and tells the previous owner, “I can’t get the mower to start!” “That’s because you have to curse to get it started,” says the man. “I’m a man of the cloth. I don’t even remember how to curse.” “You keep pulling on that rope, and it’ll come back to you.” —Submitted by Rose Mattix to Reader's Digest

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 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.