Following a delicious buffet dinner, District Governor Michelle Holcomb welcomed all the attendees to the Mesa Country Club.  She made it clear she really didn't want to give up the role of DG.

 

 

In fact, there was a brief trial held to see if Jim Schmidt was fit to hold the office of District Governor.  PDG Jim Erickson was the presiding Judge, PDG David Simmer presented the case against Jim and Mesa West Rotary President-Elect, Kayla Mudge, successfully defended Jim.

 

 

Jim and Rosalyn's eight adult children were in attendance.  Four of their spouses and twelve of Jim and Rosalyn's grandchildren were also able to attend.  The younger children had spent the dinner hour in a different room, but the entire family made a grand entrance after the trial skit.  They were carrying blue and yellow balloons.  The Rotarians and guests attending the installation were invited to stand and for a few minutes they enjoyed batting balloons back and forth around the ballroom with the Schmidt family.

 

 

There were some special moments.  When Michelle turned the meeting over to Jim, they shared a warm hug.  Pam Cohen gave a beautiful bouquet to District 5495's new "first lady."  Claudia Dozier was one on of the backup singers when her husband, Mark Dozier, incoming President of Scottsdale North, sang a song he had put together for Jim.  Linda Sweeny was another backup singer.

 

 

After Jim shared his vision for his year presiding over our District, several projects were featured.  They were presented by:

 

Past District Governor Elizabeth Mahoney handled the formal installation of Jim Schmidt as our 2025-26 District Governor.  Jim handled the swearing in of Interact District Governor Darrick Boateng.  Jim then swore in his district leadership team. Assistant Governors and incoming Club Presidents. 

 

How are marriages like algebra?

 

When you look at your X,

you can't help but wonder Y.

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:

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.

Go to https://westwood.mpsaz.org/page/eca/ and click on the link to pay on the district's website. 

Or go straight to https://mpsaz.sites.thrillshare.com/o/mpsaz/page/pay-donate  in lower right, click on Pay Online

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.