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.
Lola McClane, who typically takes photos during our meetings will be out of town on May 15 and 22. We are looking for one or two volunteers to take photos during those two meetings. Please email Jeanie Morgan if you are willing to take responsibility for one or both meetings.
CLICK HEREor on the invitation above to register to attend.
Whether you’re brand new to Rotary or have been part of the Mesa West family for years, The Mesa West Experience is your invitation to reconnect, recharge, and celebrate what makes our club so special.
This fun, casual gathering is part orientation, part storytelling session, and part social — designed to give everyone a fresh look at the heart, history, and culture of Mesa West.
Come meet the people behind the projects, hear inspiring stories that define who we are, and rediscover the spirit of service and friendship that makes Mesa West one of a kind.
New members will get a deeper glimpse into the Rotary experience, while longtime members can reflect, share, and connect in new ways.
It’s all about the people, the passion, and the purpose that drive us forward — and we can’t wait to see you there!
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.
President Jay asked Machel Considine to offer the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Al Nunez.
Mesa West Rotarian of the Month Recognized
President Jay expressed his appreciation of the great job Andy has done as Sgt at Arms collecting happy bucks at our meetings all year. He has also stepped up to help with technology during our meetings whenever that kind of assistance was needed.
When the idea was suggested that we might want to start a satellite club in the southeast area of Mesa near the Gateway Airport, Andy stepped up to lead the effort. The first "recruiting meeting" was held in April and a second meeting was scheduled to take place Tuesday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m. at the Barrio Cafe near the airport.
Recognition for Support of The Rotary Foundation
Our Foundation Chair, John Pennypacker, truly leads by example. When one of his Rotary friends loses a loved one, John typically makes a donation to The Rotary Foundation in their memory. On special occasions, like his recent 80th birthday, John makes significant donations to TRF. They accumulate to his major donor account which is join with his late wife, Betsy, so it is one way of continuing to celebrate his love for her. His recent donations combined with past generosity has resulted in his achieving Major Donor Level 3 status. Level 1 is $10,000 in accumulated donations, Level 2 is $25,000, and Level 3 is $50,000. Jeanie Morgan had the privilege of presenting John with his Major Donor Level 3 recognition pin.
Introduction of Guests
Mark Brintonintroduced himself as a former member of Mesa Baseline Rotary Club. He had attended a community event earlier in the day and rather than sit with "old white guys" with stories similar to his own, he chose to sit with a group from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community . He felt their President, Martin Harvier, could benefit from having a Rotary connection and wanted to try to facilitate an introduction to Mesa West Rotary..
Jim Ericksonintroduced his wife and chauffer, Maryanne Erickson. Jim has recently injured his shoulder and Maryanne is driving him everywhere he needs and wants to go.
Connie Bunyard introduced Karl Ernsberger as a potential new member. Karl had met Liz Paulus at a Mesa Rotary Club meeting, and she invited him to visit Mesa West.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained that the small weekly pot was $35 and the large, accumulating pot, was up to $1,085. He went on to say there are only 27 cards left in the deck. The person whose ticket was drawn would win the small pot plus the opportunity to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck. Should they be so lucky, they would win the large pot. He asked Jim McGown to draw the winning ticket which was held by Connie Bunyard. After shuffling the cards, the card Connie drew was the Four of Spades.
Happy Bucks - Sgt at Arms Andy Bradford
Jim McGown said he had recently travelled with his wife to her class reunion in Dallas. It took them two days to get there and two days to return. He said nobody knew him or seemed to care that they did not...
Lizzy Barron said to bill her $100 for the sponsor program to celebrate the nice brunch she enjoyed on April 27 at her home with women from Mesa West. The weather and the ambiance was wonderful. The stories shared helped her know her Rotary family better. She also celebrated the fact that a recent prom dress purchased for her daughter should be the last really expensive dress she has to buy for a while.
Connie Bunyard contributed saying what a wonderful hostess Lizzy had been at the luncheon.
Eric Silverberg contributed saying he had participated in the Queen Creek Rotary 5K. He said he didn't run, but praised their great group. Their signature cause is teen mental health and suicide prevention.
John Pennypacker contributed - he was happy to see two Jims seated side-by-side at our meeting.
Machel Considine was also happy to praise the nice brunch at Lizzy's home.
Chuck Flint wondered if President Jay had gotten his money's worth during his recent hair cut. Chuck wondered if he'd been scalped. Jay said the barber told him his hair grew fast enough that in two weeks, no one would know the difference. Chad Reid said that was what his last barber told him, as well.
Harry Grossman was happy about a recent fabulous shindig.
Dick Myren made his traditional $2 contribution - happy that he and honorary member Rod Daniels are associated with the Ace of Clubs.
Don LaBarge was happy that Levi Slocum - the Bass Pro Manager - was finally able to be at our meeting. Don said Levi has more duties than most store managers.
Mike Lutcher thanked Ed Koeneman for facilitating the Westwood High School Interact Clubs packing of hygiene kits. He also enjoyed the tour of the music side of the high school which might result in a bank quartet or singing group coming to a Salvation Army event.
President Jay confessed that he and Liz would be leaving for Cabo Sunday after the District Conference. That trip was going to be followed by a cruise and a trip to Harvard. He said he would be gone most of the month of May and that Pam would be leading some meetings and John Pennypacker and Polly Cady would be helping out as well. Since he was going to be gone so much, he did a recent makeup in Prescott.
Warren said that SonHee had recently celebrated by buying her first American made car. She had been driving an Audi - a German car made in Mexico. Warren said he got a new belt. Warren made a $10 contribution to tell a joke. A minister had gotten new dentures from his dentist. The first Sunday with the new dentures, his sermon was only 8 minutes long. The next week, the sermon lasted 10 minutes. He said the fit of the dentures was causing pain when he talked too much. The next week, his sermon lasted 2 1/2 hours. He said he had put in his wife's dentures by mistake and couldn't shut up. Some might think $10 wasn't enough for that one.... Just sayin'
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.
Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet.
Westwood Interact Club will again be making dog chew toys for a couple of animal shelterswhere the Paws For Peers program rescues and trains dogs to work as therapy animals with teachers within Mesa Public Schools. .They make these dog toys out of old t-shirts. So, dig way back into your closet, or that drawer where all your old stuff is, and bring a shirt or two to lunch at one of our Thursday meetings this September.
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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Mesa West Rotarian of the Month Recognized
Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet. 
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: