This meeting was an Interact takeover.........
Click on the blue "Read More" to the right & below the line!!
The Westwood High School Interact President, Amyla Buckhannon, ran today’s meeting in place of President Kayla Mudge. Ray Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance, and John Bunyard gave an invocation.
Guests were introduced, and there were many!
- Bridget Buckhannon (Amyla’s mother)
- Faith Johnson (an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student)
- Kristen Johnson (Faith’s mother)
- Augustine Tessier (Rotary Youth Exchange student from France)
- Seongiun An (Rotary Youth Exchange student from South Korea)
- Michelle Kari Compudot)
Chuck Flint then did the raffle, which was won by Chad Reid. Unfortunately, he did not draw the Ace of Clubs, so the large pot carries over.
Michelle Kari was presented with a $1,000 donation from the Mesa West Rotary Foundation to help Compudot continue empowering youth and the community.
President Kayla Mudge presented Don LaBarge with his belated “Sunshine Squad” paper plate award since he missed the meeting where the award was announced.
Next, a gift bag from the Garlic Capital of the World (donated by Colleen Coons) was auctioned, and Kayla Mudge won with a $40 bid.
After announcements, Andy Bradford collected Happy Bucks:
- Connie Bunyard donated and asked for donations to the Guaymas hearing project to pay for sandwiches for those who wait for many hours and sometimes all day
- Eric Silverberg was happy to donate to the Guaymas hearing project, and he became a grandfather last week
- Melodie Jackson donated in gratitude and told how the Pearl Harbor Rotary Club will help military families with household essentials during the government shutdown
- Allan Cady was happy that Westwood HS has a great Interact presence
- Polly Cady was happy to be at today’s meeting
- Colleen was happy Gaby and the youth exchange students were at the meeting and was thankful for Mesa West members who will be participating in Rotary Leadership Academy
- Chad Reid was happy to make an announcement about tools rented for pennies on the dollar, so the club would be aware
- Gaby was happy to be at the meeting and announced that she received a promotion at work
- Don LaBarge was happy to be turning 78, that many relatives are coming to visit for his birthday, and that Pam Cohen is taking over the Salvation Army bell-ringing scheduling
- Dick Myren was happy to donate for himself and Rod Daniels and made a motion that all Happy Bucks from today be donated to the Guaymas hearing project; Ed Koeneman seconded the motion, and the whole club was in favor!
- Kayla Mudge was happy that so many youth were at meeting, and said hi to her mom on Zoom
- Bridget Buckhannon was to see Amyla running the meeting and was thankful for the club’s support
- Ed Koeneman was happy that Amyla and her mother were at the meeting
- Warren Williams was happy to tell his weekly joke
Today’s speaker was Amyla Buckhannon, who gave a presentation about the Interact Ambassador’s Program. This is a District Program where Interactors and Rotary members collect mobility devices to be shipped to Kenya for distributed to those in need. Once a year, a large shipping container is filled up, and then it is shipped to Kenya.
Amyla said that it was an incredibly inspiring trip which taught her more about empathy, compassion, gratefulness, and how to speak and connect with other people who may be from very different walks of life. She also shared with the club information about the Interact Ambassadors to Mexico. That group teams up with ALEM (which stands for “Autonomia Libertad de movimiento”, or in English, “Autonomy Freedom of movement”). ALEM is a group of people with disabilities that repairs and makes wheelchairs.