President Chris Krueger opened the meeting with Allan Cady offering the invocation and Dan Coons leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance Drawing
Greg Okonowski's badge number was on the token that was drawn making him the lucky $5 winner of the attendance drawing.
Weekly Raffle
The weekly raffle was back to normal proportions with all 52 cards in the starting deck of a new quest for the ace of spades. Allan Cady's ticket was drawn, making him the winner of $27.00. He did not draw the elusive ace of clubs so the new accumulating winnings will begin with $27.00 rolling over to next week.
Happy Dollars
Several Rotarians paid happy dollars. Allan Cady paid $10 to share information about a club he and Polly visited in San Diego while vacationing there. It was club number 33 - one of the oldest clubs in the nation. They have 500 members with 200 attending most weeks. When they arrived, they went through a receiving area where they selected from three lunch options and were given a chip to put on the table so the wait staff would know what to serve. The cost of the meal was $33.00. Bios were shared of some of the Rotarians featured at the meeting - a good way to engage members in such a large club. The meeting lasted from noon til 1:30 p.m. They have club foundations with balances totaling over $1,000,000. Their expected annual giving per member was $350.00. Polly got to use the last of the ten happy dollars Allan paid to tell that they won the prize for visiting Rotarians who had traveled the longest distance to attend the meeting. She received a t-shirt and a bottle of wine. Polly did not offer to auction either of those gifts. Dan Coons paid to warn Rotarians that his youngest son would soon be on the road as he is soon getting his driving permit. Chuck Flint was happy to have spent time recently in Greer, Arizona with friends. Dick Myren contributed $1 to honor Rod Daniels' tradition of being happy to be a member of Mesa West Rotary. John Pennypacker contributed for local temps less than 100°, which is apparently when he finds it cool enough to wear long pants. Pam Cohen paid sad dollars for the passing of the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin.
Guests
Visiting Rotarian, Miniandi, from India, presented a book to President Chris. His son was attending with him. Melody Jackson proudly introduced her boyfriend (her husband of 35 years - Randy). Aubrey Luma was happy to have her mother, Susan, and both of her sons with her. Jeanie Morgan introduced Cay Humphreys, and author and professor, who was visiting our club at the suggestion of a friend who told her that they believed her values were closely aligned with those of Rotary. Pam Cohen introduced our speaker, Jamie Podratz.
Announcements
President Chris was happy to announce that, after a project spanning several years, updated Bylaws and Constitution documents to govern our club have been distributed to members via e-mail for their approval. Members were asked to review the documents received as attachments to their e-mail, but only need to respond if they have questions or concerns about the documents. A nil response will be considered a vote for approval. Chris offered her sincere thanks to Lucinda General, Greg Okonowski, Aaron Huber, Jim Schmidt and the entire board for their diligent work to get these to this final stage.
To optimize the experience of our inbound Youth Exchange Student, Caio, Chris wants club members to engage him. Dan Coons is going to coordinate a list of things Caio hopes to do while in Arizona, enlisting hosts for those activities from our membership.
Chris Krueger attended Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) in Flagstaff the weekend of August 11-12. The session she attended was about member engagement.
Darl Andersen told about a trip to Hermosillo, Mexico where Mesa West is involved as a international partner club with a Rotary Foundation micro credit grant. The Hermosillo Rotary Club is the local partner club. Fin Reg. a business which manages the project, hosted the group that rode nine hours each way on a bus to learn about the process where small loans are made to disadvantaged local residents. 98% of the loans are to poor women enabling them to start small business ventures to provide income for their families. The repayment rate of the loans is 98%. The funds roll over as they are repaid to be available for new borrowers. One of the things that Darl learned was that Hermasillo has four Rotary Clubs, and one of them is all women. Pam Cohen and Gloria Lara (Mesa West's newest member) also participated in the informational trip.
Program - Jamie Podratz, Marketing and Outreach Manager with Save the Family Foundation of Arizona
Pam Cohen was introduced to our speaker by Wayne Risch. Jamie Podratz joined Save the Family in 2018 after relocating to the area from Minneapolis-Saint Paul. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa State University and a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law. Podratz has spent her entire career working in philanthropy and nonprofit organizations, serving as development officer and later as program officer for a national Native American organization for seven years. There, she worked with tribal nations across the country in reclaiming reservation lands and launching land-based development projects aimed at restoring the economic base to Indian Country. Before moving to Arizona, she led a small youth-focused environmental education nonprofit in Minnesota. She is passionate about human rights and social justice.
Jamie is new to Save the Family, but was prepared with an excellent PowerPoint Presentation to help her inform members and guests about their programs. Their mission is to equip families to address poverty, overcome homelessness and achieve self-sufficiency. The organization was founded in 1988 to address the growing problem of family homelessness in the East Valley. Their goal is to keep families together.
In the nation, Arizona ranks 49th for availability of affordable housing. For every 100 families seeking housing, only 20 affordable housing units are available. It is important to find affordable housing in safe areas with available public transportation.
Of the families they serve, 60% have experienced domestic violence. The first priority is to get the family into safe housing, then go on to them in obtaining food stamps, tutoring, counseling services, and job training, with day care on site. They have rapid rehousing with their long-term shelter. At their Valor facility, they have supportive services for women veterans and their families. They have 50 units at that facility, 45 of which are low income housing. All together they have 310 housing units. In 2017, they served 688 families.
They have a case management method that is a best practice model for prevention of recurrent homelessness. Their primary support services are Career development, children's programs, financial literacy, parenting and life-skills classes, food and clothing, fees for after school and summer programs for children, and access to additional community services. These services are provided by paid staff and volunteers.
There are many ways to support, the the best way is with actual funds, which can be used where the need is greatest. Basic need donations are always needed and welcome, such as cleaning supplies and towels, air mattresses and bedding, clothing for children and adults, and kitchen essentials. They have a big need for non-perishable food items. School supplies and school uniforms are also needed. Items can be donated at their office of at the donation site on Country Club Drive.
Volunteer groups clean and refresh the living units for each new move-in. School supplies needed to be given out at their annual Back to School Bash. They have an adopt-a-family Thanksgiving drive, and opportunities to sponsor a family for Christmas. Jamie said that the families' wish lists are often for things like socks or other daily needs, rather than for elaborate toys or electronics. Sponsors or patrons are needed for their annual Hearts of Gold Gala held each February near Valentine's Day. They host a family success night where successes of beneficiaries are celebrated.
John Benedict pointed out that Mesa West Rotary las been involved since their beginning. See a separate article in this Messenger with more information about this part of Mesa West history. Dr. Ron Thompson reminded members that his dental practice provides free dental benefits to those being served by Save The Family.
Through my association with Save the Family Foundation of Arizona as a board member and board president for many years, I was able to connect Mesa West Rotary to them for several projects. Over the years, members would help to rehab vacant units for SFFA and we also assisted them in starting their Thrift Store. We secured racks and fixtures from a closing department store and provided the labor in retrofitting the interior of the building to function as a retail store. One of our members even provided concrete and manpower to pour an additional slab for them to expand with a storage facility.
Our main project was the rehabbing of one of their family homes. They had one 3-bedroom house in Tempe that HUD had loaned to them for a period of one year. After that year, they would need to either purchase the house or vacate it. Since they didn't have enough funds for the purchase, I approached my employer, Wells Fargo Bank, with the purchase option. After going through proper channels, it was approved, and SFFA had their 3-bedroom house. Next, Mesa West Rotary took on the job of rehabbing the house. Through community donors, we were able to secure a new block wall fence, AC unit, reshingle the roof, new kitchen cabinets, new flooring, and even a swing set for the backyard. Members stepped up to provide manpower to remove old flooring, put in new desert landscaping, interior painting, etc.
The project was completed in 1997 and received Wells Fargo's annual Volunteer Service Award for that year.
John Benedict was born in Tucson, Arizona. He is a third-generation native Arizonan. He was the youngest of two brothers in his family. As a teen, John dreamed of a career in the cattle business.
Although John has never resided beyond Arizona's borders, he has visited ten foreign countries: Mexico, Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.
Instead of being a cattle baron, John ended up distinguishing himself as a retail banker. During his forty years of service as a banker, John excelled in personifying the "community reinvestment" requirement of banks. He fully understood that in order for a bank to thrive, the community it serves must also thrive. In choosing where to invest his time as a volunteer, he selected programs with the capacity to make a tangible difference in the lives of those served. In 1997, John was awarded the Wells Fargo Volunteer Service Award. Although now retired from banking, his passion for community service still thrives.
John has been married to Jane for forty-seven years. They have two daughters and one grandson. For several years, John and Jane have welcomed Mesa West Rotarians to their home for our annual Spring Olympics.
John says that his favorite vacation memory was a trip their family took to Nice, France in the summer of 1995 where they attended the Rotary International Convention. Following the convention, he and his family traveled through Europe together.
John's most rewarding volunteer experience was the years he served on the boards of the Child Crisis Center - East Valley, Save the Family Foundation of Arizona, and Mesa Senior Centers.
Mesa West's inbound Youth Exchange Student, Caio, participated in the District-hosted orientation held Saturday, August 18 at Washington High School in Phoenix.
In the top photo, Caio is participating in a telephone game, and in the bottom photo, he is attempting to accomplish an icebreaker activity of getting a cookie from his forehead to his mouth without using his hands.
Recently returned outbound students from District 5495 assisted Rotary Youth Exchange volunteers in welcoming our inbound students and helping them begin to get acquainted with each other.
Mesa West members who want to invite Caio to participate in a family activity should e-mail Dan Coons, who will be coordinating club member engagement with our inbound student.
On February 1 of this year, Mesa West Rotarians heard a compelling program delivered by Buey Ray Tut from Aqua Africa. He shared his story of the early years of his life when he lived in Sudan. His mother, like other women in their village, walked three hours each way several times each week to get water from the Nile for the needs of her family. Buey remembered a time when his life changed dramatically when a well and water system was installed in his village. Two specific things were very different. His mother was available for her children nearly all the time. The other difference was that chronic stomach ailments were no longer a part of his "normal" life.
Through a series of events, Buey and his family eventually relocated to the United States as refugees. He received his college degree in economics and political science at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He teamed up with a childhood friend from Sudan, and formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit to change lives in Sudan by providing the water systems for other villages in his native country.
On August 14, President, Chris Krueger, hosted an initial meeting in her home to begin planning for a fund-raising event to take place this Rotary year. The goal will be two-fold. The primary purpose will be to raise funds to support Aqua Africa's next project. The secondary purpose will be to raise awareness of the life-changing impact access to clean water will have for the village where the system will be installed.
More information will be provided as a date is confirmed and plans begin to evolve. There will be lots of volunteer opportunities. It is hoped other Rotary clubs, Interact and Rotaract members will join Mesa West Rotarians in supporting the event. For those who want to know more about Aqua Africa, CLICK HERE to visit their website.
August is Membership and New Club Development Month, and that’s the perfect time to celebrate you — the pillar of Rotary. You continue to show the world that Rotary members are people of action — people who are doing good in communities all over the world. For that, we thank you. CLICK HERE or on the image to Watch RI President Barry Rassin's message on strengthening Rotary.
President Chris Krueger opened the meeting with Allan Cady offering the invocation and Dan Coons leading the Pledge of All.jpg)
John Benedict was born in Tucson, Arizona. He is a third-generation native Arizonan. He was the youngest of two brothers in his family. As a teen, John dreamed of a career in the cattle business..jpg)
Mesa West's inbound Youth Exchange Student, Caio, participated in the District-hosted orientation held Saturday, August 18 at Washington High School in Phoenix..jpg)
On February 1 of this year, Mesa West Rotarians heard a compelling program delivered by Buey Ray Tut from Aqua Africa. He shared his story of the early years of his life when he lived in Sudan. His mother, like other women in their village, walked three hours each way several times each week to get water from the Nile for the needs of her family. Buey remembered a time when his life changed dramatically when a well and water system was installed in his village. Two specific things were very different. His mother was available for her children nearly all the time. The other difference was that chronic stomach ailments were no longer a part of his "normal" life.
