As Rotarians and guests were gathering on the Zoom meeting platform, at least one helpful hint was shared. Putting liquid soap or vaseline on light bulbs will make them easier to remove without risk of them cracking or breaking.
At Noon, Club President Dan Coons opened the meeting by introducing himself and asking Jim LeCheminant to offer the invocation. Lucinda General introduced her guest, Erika Yost. Erika had been referred to Lucinda by Bruce Solari, RI Director Johrita Solari's husband. Several years ago, Erika and Bruce worked for the same company in California.
Rotary Minute
John Pennypacker announced a historic decision had been announced earlier on August 6. Jennifer E. Jones, a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, had been nominated to become Rotary International's president for 2022-23. If her nomination is confirmed, she will be the first woman to hold that office in Rotary's 115-year history. She will officially become president-nominee on October 1 if no other candidates challenge her.
As the first woman to be nominated to be president, Jones understands how important it is to follow through on Rotary's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement. "I believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion . . . begins at the top and for us to realize growth in female membership and members under the age of forty - these demographics need to see their own reflection in leadership," Jones said. "I will champion double-digit growth in both categories while never losing sight of our entire family."
Jones is founder and president of Media Street Productions Inc., an award-winning media company in Windsor. She was chair of the board of governors of the University of Windsor and chair of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has been recognized for her service with the State University's Peacemaker of the Year Award, a first for a Canadian. Jones holds a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Jones has received the Rotary International Service Above Self Award and the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. She and her husband, Nick Krayacich, are members of The Rotary Foundation's Arch Klumph Society, Paul Harris Society, and the Bequest Society.
A current Rotary Foundation trustee, Jones has been a Rotary member since 1997 and has served Rotary as RI vice president, director, training leader, committee chair, moderator, and district governor. She played a lead role in Rotary's rebranding effort by serving as chair of the Strengthening Rotary's Advisory Group. She is the co-chair of the End Polio Now Countdown to History Campaign Committee, which aims to raise $150 million for polio eradication efforts.
There were seventeen members of the Nominating Committee for the 2022-23 President of Rotary International. They represented half of the zones in the Rotary world. Jennifer served as Master of Ceremonies last September at the Zone Institute in Denver when our current District Governor Elizabeth Mahoney was presented.
Happy Bucks
Greg Okonowski served as moderator officiating over the collection of happy bucks.
Erwin Reimann announced that he and Joan would each pledge $100. On July 26, Erwin celebrated his 78th birthday, and Joan's birthday is coming up on August 29. He wasn't going to mention Joan's age, but did say she was born the same year he was. They were both happy about the new pacemaker Erwin had received a week prior, replacing the one which had been causing health challenges for him. He was happy to announce he could already see a huge improvement.
John Pennypacker pledged $10 to celebrate Jennifer's nomination.
Lucinda General pledged $10. She was happy to announce it is okay to go to Las Vegas, but said it is pretty boring to go to Las Vegas where they currently have very rigid COVID-19 precautionary measures in place, but she added, "I love my husband and we had a great time."
Dan Coons pledged $10 celebrating Jennifer Jones' nomination.
Shelly Romine pledged $10 for the great service project July 29.
Lee Holmes pledged $10 reminding members that he and Bob Zarling will be leading a group to the Blessman International project in South Africa March 11-23, and they are looking forward to other local Rotarians joining them. Wednesday August 12 Superstition Mountain Rotary will have a Zoom meeting featuring Blessman International speakers joining the meeting from South Africa. Lee will be sending a link so Mesa West members can attend that meeting.
Jeanie Morgan pledged $10 to celebrate Jennifer Jones' nomination and because she was happy when John Pennypacker said "Yes," when she called to ask him to make the historic Rotary Minute announcement.
Announcements
Dan Coons is pretty sure his term is experiencing historic highs in generating Happy Bucks revenue.
Members were reminded of the Step Up For Rotary fundraising opportunity where Rotarians can sign up individually or as groups to raise money during these challenging times. See a link in the District Event section of this newsletter.
Dan thanked Shelly for doing a great job putting together a great first service project of the year.
Dan announced that he has been looking into alternative meeting options.
The Salvation Army has a large room where enough round tables could be set up for our club to meet and have the required separation of only three people seated at each table. Lunches would be served "to go" style but could be eaten there. Something to consider, but will continue meeting via Zoom at least through August.
Possible mini meetings in addition to Zoom meetings where small groups of members could meet and socialize in homes practicing social distancing precautions
Starting next week, Dan will open the Zoom meeting at 11:15 to allow members to chat with each other before the meeting is called to order.
When cooler weather arrives, more options might be available.
Lucinda announced that she had found an opportunity on Facebook for Rotarians to attend another club's meeting that looked like it would be very interesting. She will send the link to sign up to attend the meeting so Jeanie can publish it in the Messenger. The meeting will be August 20 in the evening and will feature Sello Hatang who is the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The topic of the presentation will be "Living Mandela's Legacy and Acting Against Poverty in the Time of Covid."
Chris Krueger arrived late and started to announce Jennifer Jones' nomination to serve as the RI President 2022-23. She wasn't allowed to finish before she was basically told it was already "old news" and she was fined $10 for being late.
Polly Cady announced it was only nine days until the next Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) which will again be held on-line with no fee to attend.
John Pennypacker announced the My Rotary function of the Rotary International website is currently offline being updated.
Program
Lola McClane introduced Paula Krassel from Mercy Care, a non-profit arm of Aetna Insurance.
Paula explained that the mission of Mercy Care is to try to keep people with mental illness out of prison. People are encouraged to reach out to seek medicaid funded health and behavioral health services available through ACCHS. Funding for services comes from Federal and State dollars to purchase health care coverage if they meet the income eligibility requirements to receive benefits. Mercy Care is one of the contracted agencies providing services available through that network.
During her presentation, Paula utilized a PowerPoint presentation, which is available to view - CLICK HERE to access the presentation. She has a team of nine working in the Maricopa County area where Mercy Care advocates for the patients who have difficulty doing that for themselves because they have been diagnosed with serious mental illness or are dealing with substance abuse issues. Their goal is to manage the comprehensive health care needs of those they are responsible for serving.
There are special courts they work with with the primary goal of keeping these individuals out of the penal system where their care needs cannot be met. Inevitably, there will be individuals find themselves incarcerated. The Mercy Care team has a "reach in" program where they try to arrange for those individuals to be seen by a primary care provider or a behavior mental health provider within seven days of being released. They also provide follow-up to ensure they are able to get their required medications, check in with their parole officer and participate in peer support programs. A housing specialist also works with the members to find adequate housing following release.
Paula realized she had covered a lot and encouraged members to reach out to her if they have questions. Her contact information is on the first page of the linked PowerPoint presentation.
Lola McClane was happy to announce following the presentation that Paula was her daughter and that she was very proud to announce that Paula had earned a Doctorate in Behavioral Health.
Vello - serve as a virtual reading tutor for a 1st-3rd grader
Last month the club was introduced to a program called Vello which is virtual tutoring in reading to a 1st-3rd grader. The program is organized through the Valley of the Sun United Way. The Rotary Club of Mesa West currently has 6 volunteers and UPS will provide another 15 or so volunteers to tutor one class.
We hope to add another class but need more Rotary participation. The commitment would be for 30 minutes a week OR every other week for the school year.
The scheduling is done on line so you would get to choose from time slots that would work for your schedule rather than having a set time weekly. You are provided the tools and the training to sit and read with a child virtually - you are at the location of your choice and they are in the classroom.
United Way is gearing up to kick off right after labor day with this current school year. The partnership with UPS is not only to share volunteer hours but the company is also providing a grant to cover the $3,500 fee per classroom that is required. Partnering with UPS on this project also allows additional opportunities to apply for grant money UPS offers for future projects.
This is a perfect opportunity for a professional that has some time during the week to volunteer but can not necessarily commitment to a set time weekly, being virtual it also saves commute times that you would typically experience with volunteer activities. It is also perfect for some of our more mature club members or those who live with vulnerable people and are trying to limit exposure. Everything is done virtually so you don't have to leave the house and put on a mask to participate ;) We will discuss this opportunity this Thursday at our regular zoom meeting or you can visit the website vello.org to learn more about this exciting opportunity to help kids be successful in school
Food Packaging at Feed My Starving Children
Your help is needed!
Our Service Project for August is Food Packaging for Feed My Starving Children.
I am looking for at least 10 people to help with this project. This is an indoor event with sanitary protocols and social distancing. Click on Sign Up to view available slots and book yourself directly online.
Event: Food Packing at Feed My Starving Children Date: Aug 27, 2020 at 5:45 PM - Aug 27, 2020 at 8:00 PM
Chair: Shelly Romine 4802994533 Location: 1345 S. Alma School Rd Mesa, AZ United States of America 85210
Rotary Leadership Institute: The College of Knowledge for everything Rotary. This is for ALL Rotarians, not just those in leadership! Flyer is attached or Click HERE
September 18 – 9:00-12:00 noon
Pursuing Peace Conference: The conference is designed for those who want to understand how institutions become platforms for peace.Click HERE
September 19 – 9:00-12:00 noon
Club Leadership Academy-Virtual: Join us to learn about your favorite Rotary topics and meet friends from around Arizona. Click HERE
Happening Now!
Fundraising Opportunity for All: Step up for Rotary! Visit www.stepupforrotary.com. Choose between The Rotary Foundation, PolioPlus, YOUR CLUB, or the Interact Ambassadors Project. Let’s get moving and raise money for ROTARY! Click HERE
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
This meeting will feature Blessman International staff and employees joining the meeting from Limpopo, South Africa
PDG Lucinda General suggested: "Living Mandela's Legacy and Acting Against Poverty in the Time of COVID"
The Rotary Club of Peninsula Starlight will welcome Sello Hatang as part of our speaker series on Thursday, August 20, 2020, at 7:30 pm, (Pacific Daylight Time). He will speak about "Living Mandela's Legacy and Acting Against Poverty in the Time of COVID". This meeting will be conducted via Zoom, and we welcome guests and Rotarians from other clubs to join us for this special event. This event will be moderated by Brian Rusch and co-sponsored by the Rotary Club for Global Action.
Sello Hatang is the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Prior to his appointment to this position, he previously was the Head of Information Communications and spokesperson for the South African Human Rights Commission.
Hatang participated in the post-1994 transformation of the National Archives, including providing archival support for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and is a former Director of the South African History Archive (SAHA) at Wits University.
Hatang serves on the boards of the Open Democracy Advice Centre and Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC). He is a member of the editorial team for Nelson Mandela’s book Conversations with Myself and co-editor of Nelson Mandela: By Himself: the Authorized Book of Quotations. He is a 2014 Archbishop Tutu Fellow. He recently successfully summited Mount Kilimanjaro twice as a fundraiser to help keep girl children in school.
Sello Hatang lives in Johannesburg, South Africa with his family.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. We look forward to seeing you all for this special evening
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.
As Rotarians and guests were gathering on the Zoom meeting platform, at least one helpful hint was shared. Putting liquid soap or vaseline on light bulbs will make them easier to remove without risk of them cracking or breaking.
