There was a full agenda for the balance of the meeting. With District Governor Elect David Simmer assisting with recognizing, Bob Zarling, one of our newer members, who joined Mesa West in March, 2017, as he received his first Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Michael Polley was inducted as the club's newest member. He formerly was a member of the Mother Club in Hawaii where he was one of over 400 members. He said that Rotary connections work. Through Rotary connections, he found Frank Rosenberg who helped him find his new home in Mesa, and sponsored Michael's application for membership in Mesa West. John Pennypacker orchestrated a very nice recognition ceremony recognizing members of Mesa West who have qualified for the Paul Harris Society - members who have given $1,000 per year to The Rotary Foundation. John noted that 7% of Rotarians worldwide qualify for Paul Harris Society. He went on to say that same 7% of Rotary members donate 45% of the total contributions received by TRF. District Governor Jim Erickson and District Paul Harris Society Chair, PDG Barb Feder participated by giving out the recognition materials and being photographed with each of the honorees who were present: Allan and Polly Cady, Pam Cohen, Jim Crutcher, Terry Diedrick, Chuck Flint, Wayne General, Chris Krueger, Jeanie Morgan, Greg Okonowski, Frank Rosenberg, Ron Thompson and Bob Zarling. Members who qualified, but were not present were: Karen Chavez, Matthew Rotty and Michael Whalen. The finale of this recognition event was the recognition of Jim Crutcher and his wife, Cheryl (who was unable to attend) for reaching or exceeding Major Donor Level I status. To qualify for this status, an individual or couple must have given $10,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation. Jim accepted the beautiful crystal, his pin and Cheryl's pendant. Jim also spoke about what a worthy charity The Rotary Foundation is. It is recognized as one of the best in the world for doing good while maintaining very small overhead costs. He explained how half of what we give comes back for the District to manage, giving voice to Rotarians who want to be involved in determining how some of their donations are used. Jim told how he, personally, had worked on a district scholarship program for several years where they identified students to study abroad in the Ambassadorial Scholar program. There are other scholars attending Peace Centers located at major universities in various parts of the globe. Students in the Peace Centers study peace and conflict resolution. Click on the photo accompanying this story or CLICK HERE to go to the Facebook album of all the great photos taken by Lucinda General during this memorable meeting.
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