Opening and Welcome - President Jay Paulis
After everyone present recited the Pledge of Allegiance, President Jay asked Dick Myren to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introduction of Guests
- Exavier King introduced his grandparents, Jesse and Liz Rothwell. He went on to introduce Patricia and Anthony Oyeshiku and Nolan Sadler.
- AG Dan Coons introduced himself and announced some District news including the sale of State 48 t-shirts which is featured in a separate article in this newsletter. Club Leadership Academy is coming up Saturday, March 8. Incoming directors and officers are encouraged to attend so they can be better prepared for their year of club leadership. Registration is available on the District Website.
- Andy Bradford introduced visiting Rotarian Blaize Vitale, and Blaize shared a few words about himself.
- Andy then introduced his friend and neighbor, Joe Whitfield. Joe also shared a bit about himself. Joe is a potential member of the Satellite club being formed targeting businesses and residents in the vicinity of the Gateway Airport.
- Ed Koeneman introduced three Interact moms who had attended and helped with the Senior Prom:
- Katie Comeno - Jazmine Comeno's mother. Katie shared her appreciation for the impact Interact has had in Jazmine's life.
- Tara Keator - Tara expressed her appreciation for being at the Senior Prom, saying it was "amazing at all levels."
- Wendy Meadow said she played baseball on a Rotary team when she was in about 3rd grade. She was telling her parents about the Senior Prom and her dad reminded her he had been a founding member of a Rotary Club in Incline Village, Nevada near Lake Tahoe. She said it was wonderful seeing how well the event was put together. Corsages for all, in a room that was decorated to be festive. She said it was magical seeing the teens dancing with the seniors.
Recognition for a great Senior Prom - Glamour Gala
President Jay shook hands with the moms, thanking them for supporting their Interactors. He thanked Ed Koeneman, and Marilyn Klinger who were both instrumental in getting the event put together. He said Marilyn was like the Energizer Bunny.
Paul Harris Fellow Recognition - John Pennypacker, Foundation Chair
Bryan Goetzenberger was given his Paul Harris Fellow Plus 2 recognition pin.
Wayne General was recognized for achieving Paul Harris Fellow Plus 8 status.
Paul Harris Fellow recognition is achieved when someone has donated - or someone has donated in their name - a total of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund or Polio Plus. Each additional $1,000 earns a "plus..." recognition.
New Member Induction - Exavier King
President Jay explained that Exavier's membership application, which was sponsored by Ed Koeneman was reviewed and accepted following the Mesa West Rotary Club bylaws. He is being welcomed into an International Fellowship of members who believe in the Rotary Vision Statement - Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. The Rotary motto is "Service Above Self" and we foster this ideal in our club, our families, and in all our endeavors. AG Dan Coons pinned Exavier. The members present gave Exavier a standing ovation to welcome him as a member.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained that the proceeds of raffle ticket sales are split 3 ways, A third goes to the club operating account. A third goes into the weekly pot, which was $40. The final third is added to the large, accumulating pot which was up to $740. He asked Ron Thompson to draw the winning ticket, which was held by Dick Myren. After delivering the $40 weekly pot to Dick, Chuck gave Dick the cards remaining in the deck, so that Dick could shuffle them face down before attempting to draw the Ace of Clubs, which would entitle him to the large pot. The other way Dick could win a little more would be to draw the Joker in which case he would get another $20. Unfortunately, for Dick, the card he drew was the Four of Spades which was then destroyed. On February 20, the large pot will be bigger and the odds of winning it will be better.
Happy Bucks - Sgt at Arms - Andy Bradford
- Dick Myren celebrated winning the raffle by increasing his traditional donation from $2 to $5 each celebrating the fact that he and Honorary Member Rod Daniels are affiliated with the Ace of Clubs.
- Harry Grossman was happy that when he tried on an old pair of jeans that were still too large after he made the belt he wore with them as tight as possible. It seems he's lost several pounds. He said anyone who finds them is welcome to keep them.
- Jim McGown has a new truck. It only had one key fob. He learned that a second fob would cost $500. He's since learned he could have one made for $250.
- Ted Williams contributed because he has a new F250 Ford pickup.
- Wayne General donated $20 to show his appreciation for Jim McGown bringing a walker for Wayne's mother and not letting Wayne reimburse Jim for it.
- Allan Cady donated $2. He was thankful to have been at the Four Peaks Rotary meeting that morning to hear his friend, Judge Tommy Webb, speak. He said the club meeting started at 6:45 AM.
- Polly Cady contributed $5 - she was happy to be in Mesa West. She was also at the Four Peaks meeting with Allan. We're pretty certain one of the reasons that she likes Mesa West so much is that we meet at noon.
- Ed Koeneman contributed $5 for failing to introduce Braly when he introduced the guests at his table earlier. Braly was a McKinney Vento student and Interactor last year, and is not a Rotaractor at Benedictine University. Ed was also happy with Exavier joining, there is now another scouter in the club. He was also happy that Erwin Reimann gave him a very fine piece of plywood to use in his shop. The final thing he was happy about was that he has been selected to be an adult advisor to the team of Interact Ambassadors who will be traveling to Kenya this summer on the Interact Crutches 4 Africa mission. He said it was a really tough interview. He was happy to see so many friends at the Gala.
- John Pennypacker enjoyed dancing at the Glamour Gala (Senior Prom). He also enjoyed delivering a valentine surprise to his friend's mother who he'd help celebrate her 103rd birthday last December. She was married to Elvis.
- Pam Cohen who was also at the Gala gave a shout out to Ed's posse. She said Liz Paulus looked stunning at the event. Pam was also very happy to have Exavier in our club.
- Jay remarked about all the girl power he'd witnessed in the past couple of days. He reminded members of the March 27 Ignite Innovation event (see separate article in this newsletter). He said the baseball game had 78 already signed up.
- Ted Williams shared a story about his coincidence of sharing a name with a famous ball player. When Ted was 14 he was on the Mesa Allstars baseball game. They went to San Diego for the Western Division. They stayed in the homes of locals. Other kids were asking him to sign their baseballs. They won the tournament. He remembers it being great fun.
Program - James Arrowood, CEO Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Eric Silverberg introduced James Arrowood. James Arrowood started working with Alcor in 2015 as outside General Counsel and has helped Alcor successfully navigate through various complex legal and related business matters. James served for several years on the board of directors for a major local non-profit and as the public relations chair. He has served in various other public relations/press information positions over the decades. James has appeared numerous times as an expert on emerging technologies, both in print articles and television news appearances, including segments on PBS and all the major television networks. He taught the Arizona State Bar course on emerging technologies and is a published author on medical-legal issues. James has his Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame (2002) and several undergraduate degrees from the University of California, Irvine, as well as numerous professional certifications and bar admissions.
Because her background enabled her to have a clearer grasp of the presentation, Deb Koeneman was asked to write the following about the presentation:
James Arrowood, the president of Alcor Cryonics was today’s speaker. He wanted to dispel any misconceptions that cryonics of human bodies is a “done science” at this
time. While Alcor has studied cryonics for over 50 years, this field of science is very much in the research stages. Alcor’s research is devoted to several areas of cryonics,
including more near-term potentials such as organ preservation for transplant and using cryonics technology to help buy more time to get severe trauma patients to a
hospital. Longer-term research includes brain and whole-body cryonics. Cryopreservation differs from freezing in that a special solution (cryoprotectant) is injected into the
organ or body to allow tissues to cool to an ice-free state at very low temperatures. Achieving an ice-free state is important because ice creates tissue damage. If you have
ever made ice cubes in an ice-cube-tray, you know that the frozen cube is larger than the initial volume of water. The cryoprotectant that Alcor uses is similar to that in fish,
which allows the fish to survive being frozen in shallow bodies of water in the winter. Alcor is also looking to the future and, when possible, incorporating new technologies.
A potential example of this is using artificial intelligence (AI) to study and improve cryopreservation.
time. While Alcor has studied cryonics for over 50 years, this field of science is very much in the research stages. Alcor’s research is devoted to several areas of cryonics,
including more near-term potentials such as organ preservation for transplant and using cryonics technology to help buy more time to get severe trauma patients to a
hospital. Longer-term research includes brain and whole-body cryonics. Cryopreservation differs from freezing in that a special solution (cryoprotectant) is injected into the
organ or body to allow tissues to cool to an ice-free state at very low temperatures. Achieving an ice-free state is important because ice creates tissue damage. If you have
ever made ice cubes in an ice-cube-tray, you know that the frozen cube is larger than the initial volume of water. The cryoprotectant that Alcor uses is similar to that in fish,
which allows the fish to survive being frozen in shallow bodies of water in the winter. Alcor is also looking to the future and, when possible, incorporating new technologies.
A potential example of this is using artificial intelligence (AI) to study and improve cryopreservation.