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Club Information
Welcome to our Rotary Club of Mesa West!
Mesa West
THE ACE OF CLUBS
We meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Mesa, AZ
United States of America
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Stories
Message from our President

The 80/20 RULE.  We all know what it means - In any organization 20% of the people do 80% of the work.  It’s not my favorite expression, especially when it comes to Rotary.  First, I believe everyone in our Club contributes something.  Some contribute their time by serving on the board, committee chairs, club activities, etc.  Some contribute financially by monetary contributions to the Club, the Mesa West Foundation, and/or the Rotary Foundation.  Some contribute by in-kind donations based on their professions, hobbies, etc.  Some contribute by their connections that are used to get things done.  And some contribute by  their smile when the enter the room (or Zoom) and the Club remembering the rich history of all that they have done in the past to enhance the Club.  And some do all of the above.  Everyone adds value.

I also believe that many would like to be more involved if they were simply asked.  As such I have asked each committee chair to put together an organizational chart for their area breaking down the various tasks that need to be done for a successful Rotary Club.  The goal is to get nearly every club member involved in some aspect of the Club.  If you have a specific area of interest please reach out to that committee chair.  (Near the bottom of the Messenger you will find a list of committees and the chairs.)

Let’s all enjoy the #1 Rotary Club in the world.

Highlights from July 9 Zoom Meeting
Dan Coons opened the meeting introducing himself as the new Mesa West Club President and indicating he felt full of thanks for all the wonderful leaders who preceded him.  He was especially thankful for a couple of people with the same nickname - AJ - Awesome Jim and Amazing Jeanie.  He was also very thankful for the support of his wife Colleen. 
 
Guests
  • John Stenacher - a visitor who wants to learn more about Rotary.  He is a regional manager for a company which can help with emergency cash infusions for small companies.
  • AG Lee Homes
  • Colton Cagle - our speaker
Dan told of a time when he was seven or eight years old.  His dad signed him up to play in a baseball league.  He played for the Springfield Termite Control team.  They had one kid who had a fast ball, and they had a good catcher.  They were pretty much the only ones who scored points as well as keep their opposing team from scoring.  They won city, state and third place nationally.  Four years ago Dan moved his Rotary membership to Mesa West to become part of our team.  He indicated he may not be the best player, but he really knows how to pick a team.
 
Dan asked Ray Smith to offer the invocation to get the meeting started. 
 
President Dan told about something he had learned about on the District President's call Wednesday evening, July 8.  Step Up for Rotary - a fundraising idea organized and managed by District 5495 - is an on-line program where individual Rotarians or groups of Rotarians can sign up to raise money for The Rotary Foundation for Polio Plus or the Annual Fund, Interact Ambassadors, or their own club.  See more details in a separate article in this newsletter.
 
Dan acknowledged that in 2019-20 Past President Jim typically told an accounting joke.  Dan said he didn't have any accounting jokes, but he did tell a story about shopping for a Barbie doll last Christmas.  He saw a traditional Barbie that was $19.95, a Barbie in a business suit which was also $19.95, and a Barbie dressed in a sports outfit for the same price.  Then he saw one more Barbie priced at $149.  Amazed at the difference in price, he asked a clerk what the difference was and was told that was "Divorced Barbie" she came with Ken's Car, Ken's house and lots of other stuff.
 
Shelly Romine made an announcement about the Food Distribution project at the United Food Bank July 29.  She has six volunteers and still needs six more.  See  more information in a separate article.  Warren William has donated a beautiful scarf made by Son Hee to auction with the proceeds of the auction supporting this community service project.  Bob Zarling announced that the community he lives in would be donating cases of water for the project.  Bob will be leaving town before the project, but Shelly or Dan will pick up the water from Bob before he leaves. Pam Cohen showed a Mesa West apron for use at community events.  She recently found a box of them at her house.  Since the meeting, Donna Goetzenberger arranged to purchase two of these aprons for a total of $50 to support the project.
 
Assistant Governor Lee Holmes announced that Rotary Leadership Academy is accepting applications for people interested in increasing their Rotary knowledge.  It is all being done online at this time so there is no cost.  CLICK HERE to view information available on the District website.
 
Bob Zarling and Lee Holmes are both planning to participate in another trip to South Africa in March, 2021.  More information to come about that.
 
Program
Colton Cagle was introduced to present our program.  His first introduction to Rotary was through the Interact Club Mesa West sponsors at Westwood High School.  He attended RYLA.  In the summer of 2018, Colton traveled to Kenya as an Interact Ambassador delivering mobility devices.  He served as Interact District Governor in 2018-19.  In 2019-20, Colton studied in The Netherlands as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student.  He would prefer to tell all about his exchange when the club is again able to hold in-person meetings.  Instead, for this Zoom meeting, he wanted to make it a story time about the craziness surrounding his coming home.  The alarm started with the first case of COVID-19 in Selberg - then it started to spread.  His school was shut down the last two weeks he was there.  All planned Youth Exchange events were cancelled.  His coordinator in The Netherlands at first allowed the students to decide for themselves whether to go home or stay in place.  A few decided to go home.   
 
Colton received a text that he was to go to a meeting at the home of his first host family.  His current hosts were apprehensive, and thought it would be best if Colton went home.  He had a short train ride (about 45 minutes) to get to the meeting.  His mom warned him via text that they were likely gong to require him to leave.  While enroute, Colton communicated with Donna Goetzenberger (a member of Mesa West Rotary and current Youth Exchange Chair for District 5495).  Colton said Donna was wonderful and noted it was very early morning in Arizona when they were communicating.  Both of his host dads were at the meeting.  They were both very stubborn - which was not surprising - as stubbornness is a common trait in the Dutch culture.  Colton felt like he handled himself well.  They respected his argument.  Colton was told the last host family had dropped out.  He was told he could work with the lead coordinator to try to find a new host family himself.  Colton contacted everyone he could imagine and at the last minute did find a family which was willing to host him.  A lot of host families were contacting the lead coordinator (Donna's equivalent in The Netherlands).  The decision was made that all Rotary Youth Exchange Students in The Netherlands would be sent home.  
 
Colton found the news of having to leave devastating, but he knew he had put up a good fight, knew he had made a valiant effort and he is okay with that.  Like most Youth Exchange students, Colton admitted he had a rough patch with homesickness in the middle of his school term, but he said he came out of that and was thriving.  Many of the kids had a few days to get ready to leave.  Because Colton was in the hub, his flight was booked for the next morning.  He had twelve hours to pack his "whole life."  His closest friends came over to say goodbye while he was packing.  Coming home was very emotional.  He was very happy to see his family - especially his mom, but because of the speed with which he had to leave, he did not feel he had "closure."  He is safe, happy, and healthy and knows he is fortunate.  Most exchange students have culture shock when they arrive in their host country.  He said for him the reverse culture shock of coming home was very rough.  He coped by pretending he was somewhere else.  He has good friends here too and some of them are going through the same thing.
 
Colton has found through his experience in the Dutch culture, that is it good to express how he feels.  He tries to look on the positive - and look for solutions for challenging things in our lives.  It is important to know that we don't need to fake it and pretend all is well when it doesn't feel that way at all.  When Colton was first home, he took the quarantine very serious.  He didn't leave home for two months.  He has seen his best friend in person only once.  Facetime helps.  He enjoyed having time to think about his future.  He enjoyed choosing his own entertainment - specifically mentioning Barbara Streisand.  
 
In June, Colton went back to work at Starbucks.  It has been nice to have something consistent and familiar.  He is starting to save money for college.  He was accepted into a school in Iowa but has decided to stay in state and will be starting in January.  At Starbucks he sees a lot of people and is part of their lives.  He has noticed customers are less friendly than before his exchange.  He believes most people are frustrated and scared.  He sees his job as an opportunity to be kind and show kindness.  When he starts school in January, Colton will transition into Rotaract.  He is "here to stay" with his Rotary connection.  He knows at this time that Rotaract clubs in our District is not as connected as he experienced in Interact.  He would like to see that District connection evolve because it would allow bigger projects.
 
In response to a question from Ed Koeneman, Colton explained that the superficial way clerks greet customers in the US would seem fake in the Dutch culture.  There, store staff are more distant which might seem harsh to us first, but allows customers to look around in peace.  Colton would like to take what he learned about saying what you mean and meaning what you say and marry that frankness with kindness.  He also wants to learn to take better advantage of opportunities to listen.
 
Following Colton's presentation, Dan announced that Wendell Jones would appreciate speaker suggestions for our Zoom meetings.  Dan's first mistake was noted - he had forgotten happy bucks.  Maybe that was strategic, because there were lots of happy bucks to wrap up the meeting.
 
Happy Bucks - while meeting virtually, unless specified otherwise, Happy Bucks will be designated to Community Service Projects
  • Donna Goetzenberger pledged $10 because Mesa West has a history of being very supportive of Youth Exchange, mentioning outbounds, Emilee, Nicolas, Ryan, Paige and Colton.  She said Youth Exchange is on hold for 2020-21 because of COVID-19, but they are already interviewing outbound YE candidates for 2021-22.  The age range for Youth Exchange is 15½-19.  Mesa West Rotarians who have proven themselves to be very strong in their commitment to Youth Service are John Pennypacker, Chuck Flint, Pam Cohen, and Allan and Polly Cady.
  • Wendell Jones pledged $10 for the nice finish Jim created for his year by writing a poem that mentioned most if not all Mesa West members.
  • Jim LeCheminant pledged $50 as he was happy about the wonderful family reunion with his family as they gathered to celebrate his and Michelle's 50th wedding anniversary.
  • Polly Cady pledged $10 for missing the installation and another $10 congratulating Jim for a good year "Dan has big shoes to fill."
  • Colleen Coons pledged $45 - plus $5 she is "getting back from Dan" for the coming 50 weeks he has left to serve as Mesa West President.
  • Dan Coons pledged $10 sad dollars because Steve Ross pay happy bucks about his and Luin's July 4 wedding anniversary.  Apparently Steve's happy bucks have enabled Dan to remember his and Colleen's July 5 anniversary in the past.  July 5, 2020 was Dan and Colleen's 7th anniversary.
  • Pam Cohen pledged $10 as she was heading to Flagstaff to spend time with Wilder.
  • Shelly Romine pledged $10.  She is enjoying working with Colleen on a community project partnering with UPS.
  • Jim Schmidt pledged $10 welcoming Dan as President and saying that he and Rosalyn had a good time at home on their 43rd wedding anniversary rather than in Hawaii as originally planned.
  • Lola McClane offered $10 to celebrate her birthday.
  • Greg Okonowski pledged $5 saying he was inspired by Colton.
  • John Pennypacker pledged $10.  He has no pain two weeks after his surgery.  He has to wait four more weeks before he can dance, and ten weeks until he can play golf.
  • Steve Ross pledged $39 for his and Luin's 39th anniversary.
By the time the meeting closed, the bids for Son Hee's scarf had reached $50.  Bidding will continue through our July 23 meeting.
Call to Action - Community Service Project
Hello Rotarians.  If you have been listening to President Dan you will know we are going to be having monthly volunteer opportunities to demonstrate that we are truly people of action.  Our first opportunity is with the United Food Bank at a food distribution event.  The details are below:
 
Date: Wednesday July 29th
Time: 5-8:30 pm (could end sooner if food runs out)
Location: Wells Fargo Bank 1860 E University Drive, Mesa AZ 85203
 
This is an outdoor event so if you are heat sensitive you may wish to consider a small cash contribution instead of attending.
 
Masks, gloves and closed toed shoes are required.  They will provide latex gloves but if you have a latex allergy you would need to bring your own gloves.
 
They would like us to have a minimum of 12 volunteers for the evening, so I need to let them know ASAP how many volunteers to expect.  Please let me know if you will be attending by Friday.
 
Please let me know if you have any questions.
You can CLICK HERE to email me or call me at 480.299.4533
 
Thank you!!
Shelly Romine
Step Up For Rotary - Get Your Game On
With COVID-19 restricting, fundraising can be a challenge.  District 5495 is offering an innovative way for Rotarians to raise funds as individuals by walking - running - dancing - rowing - or whatever they enjoy doing and getting pledges for their activity from their friends, family, and associates.  The funds can be designated to:
 
  • The Rotary Foundation for Polio Plus
  • The Rotary Foundation for the Annual Fund
  • Interact Ambassadors
  • Your Club - If your club is designated, when those funds are distributed to your club in your name, you can ask that they be used for the project of your choice or given to a charity of your choice.  CLICK HERE or on the image to learn more.
Today's Chuckle
Something to Ponder
"If you cannot feed 100 people, feed one."  Mother Teresa
The Most Efficient Way to Support The Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary that enables the amazing work we, as Rotarians, are all proud to be a part of.  Every Rotarian is strongly encouraged to support TRF every year by donating to the General Fund of TRF.  The target gift is $100 per year per member.  That has been the target for a very long time and in the US the average family income has multiplied a few times since that target was set.  Many Rotarians who have the means to do so have set their personal target at the $1,000 per year mark making them eligible for the Paul Harris Society level of donor recognition. 
 
The End Polio Now campaign is a separate fund to which gifts are matched two-for-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Many Rotarians choose to support both the general fund and the fight to end polio.
 
No matter what level you decide to donate, please support the Foundation by giving through Rotary Direct.  CLICK HERE to get answers to commonly asked questions about this program.  DOWNLOAD A FORM to authorize your Rotary Direct donations.  By giving through Rotary direct, the opportunity for human error is eliminated and recognition credit for the Rotarian and their club is much more accurate and timelier.
Support TRVFA
Donations to The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona made through April 15, can be used to qualify for the
Arizona's Credit for Contribution to a Qualifying Charitable Organization for the 2019 or 2020 tax year, but not both!  Their QCO Code is 20698.
 
When everything starts to settle after our current pandemic-related business slow-down is history, some things may never to back to the way they were.  There may well be a shortage of workers that require vocational certifications available to those in low-income groups through TRVFA grants.  Your gift today may help someone have a better tomorrow!  CLICK HERE to donate on-line or CLICK HERE to download a mail-in form.
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Public Image Director
 
Club Service Director
 
Service Projects Director
 
Director
 
Foundation Director
 
Executive Secretary
 
Upcoming Events
Monthly Board Meeting
Jul 21, 2020
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Jul 23, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Service Project - United Food Bank
Wells Fargo Bank
Jul 29, 2020
5:00 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Jul 30, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Aug 06, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Aug 13, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Monthly Board Meeting
Aug 18, 2020
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Aug 20, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Aug 27, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
Weekly Club Meeting via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
Sep 03, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
 
View entire list
Speakers
Jul 23, 2020
Arizona Bus Club
Aug 06, 2020
Mercy Care in People's Lives
Aug 13, 2020
Why Arizona should reject legalization of Marijuana
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Donna Goetzenberger
July 3
 
Lola McClane
July 3
 
Erwin Reimann
July 26
 
Spouse Birthdays
Donna Goetzenberger
July 3
 
Kelli Millett
July 13
 
Mike Krueger
July 15
 
Erwin Reimann
July 26
 
Anniversaries
Sharon Spane
Ron L Spane
July 2
 
Steve Ross
Luin Ross
July 4
 
Dan Coons
Colleen Coons
July 5
 
Brian Harvey
Marsha Harvey
July 19
 
Join Date
Darl Andersen
July 1, 1974
46 years
 
Chuck Flint
July 8, 2004
16 years
 
Tim Troy
July 17, 2008
12 years
 
Rotary District 5495 Links
District Links
Rotary Interact District 5495
Rotary District 5495
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA)
Rotary Youth Exchange
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards - RYLA
RYLA Service Project Support
Bulletin Editor
Jeanie Morgan
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