President Pam Cohen Welcomed Members and Guests to the Meeting
Shelly Romine offered the invocation:
In a world where many are lonely
We give thanks for friendship and community.
In a world where many are despairing
We give thanks for hope.
In a world that many find meaningless
We give thanks for faith.
In a world where many are hungry
We give thanks for this food.
In a world full of needs
We give thanks for Rotary and the opportunity to serve
Amen
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Warren Williamson. President Pam thanked Steve Ross for serving as greeter, welcoming members and guests as they arrived.
Melodie Jackson and Bob Jensen who were attending the meeting via Zoom were welcomed to the meeting.
Introduction of Guests
- Before introducing guests, Pam welcomed member Erwin Reimann back from his summer travel.
- President Pam introduced Beth and Jim Hoban, visiting Rotarians from the Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club. They will be heading back to Hawaii before we meet again, but plan to return to Mesa early in 2023.
- Carla Krcmarik introduced her mother, Cindy Baier.
- Steve Ross introduced his guest, Corey Poore. Steve met Corey at LA Fitness. Steve apparently goes there to hang out while Luin works out. Corey knows Pam. Pam put in a plug for him. Corey handled a property of hers as a short-term rental and did a fabulous job.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Dick Myren
After explaining that the holder of the winning ticket would automatically win $40 plus the opportunity to try to draw the Ace of Clubs from the deck of cards, which would net them another $332, he asked Corey Poore to draw the ticket. Lu General was the lucky winner. After very purposefully laying out the cards face-down on the table, the card she selected was the five of clubs. There will be one less card in the deck next week and the large pot will be larger.
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
- John Pennypacker made an offer he hoped would inspire a generous donation to Child Crisis Arizona. He had attended their annual Lunch for Love October 26, and saved a very delicious-looking cookie to give to the person who committed to the donation plus he got up on a chair to model the unique Child Crisis Arizona socks he had purchased at the event, saying the donor could have the socks, as well. There were a few groans. No one seemed to want the socks until they were certain they'd been laundered...
- There were no happy bucks commitments from the Zoom attendees.
- Dick Myren contributed his traditional $2 for himself and Honorary Member Rod Daniels, happy they both have the privilege of being associated with Mesa West Rotary.
- Polly Cady shared her brief Rotary Moment during Happy Bucks. They had been out of town and she nearly forgot to get something ready. She shared a fact from The Rotary Foundation focus on Community and Economic Development. She said nearly 800 million people on our planet live on less than $1.90/day, adding Rotary members are passionate about providing sustainable solutions to poverty. One solution - one which Mesa West is involved with in Mexico - is micro-credit. Another is skills training. She encouraged members to learn more at rotary.org.
- Erwin Reimann was happy to be back. He said that Joan had recently had a light case of COVID, but thought it best, even though she is recovering, to stay away from the meeting.
- Shelly Romine was pleasantly surprised that, after the rushed rescheduling of the Chili Cook-Off, there were already 40 signed up to attend the October 29 event. It is shaping up to be not only well-attended, but a lot of fun.
- Beth Hoban paid Aloha dollars saying she was happy they found Mesa West and will definitely be back when they come again to visit family in Arizona. President Pam added a comment of her own saying she wants to visit their club in Honolulu
- Warren Williamson shared a story about a socially awkward young engineer's interaction with am attractove young woman sitting on the grass strumming a guitar in downtown Scottsdale many years ago. Those who want to know more will need to ask Warren. Your editor's notes did not adequately capture the essence of the story.
- Lu General challenged Don LaBarge to solve a mystery, since it is common knowledge that Don has an answer for everything. She has been seeing spinning things on buildings. There is one on the front of the Hilton. Some businesses have lots of them. Before Don could answer, Mike Whalen suggested the "spinning things" were pigeon deterrents. Don confirmed that he believed Mike was correct, so Lu paid up.
- President Pam thanked Carla Krcmarik and Kevin Flegge for handling the club's Pints for Polio obligation on Saturday, October 22.
- Bob Jensen pledged $5 happy bucks - one for each of the Mesa West Rotary Club members who would be traveling to Guaymas to help with the first hearing mission since COVID: Chuck Flint, Ray Smith, Jim Schmidt, Polo Santiago, and Erica Williams.
Paul Harris Fellow Recognition - John PennypackerJohn invited Erwin Reimann to come forward to be recognized for his generous giving to support The Rotary Foundation. Erwin received his Paul Harris Fellow Plus Six recognition pin. John said that it would be hard to find a better organization to support. Erwin said he and Joan both contribute. President Pam explained the math. Paul Harris Plus Six represents a total of $7,000 having been given.
Program - Laird of Glencoe, John Pennypacker, Presenting Rotary International
Council on Resolutions (COR) and Council on Legislation (COL)
John shared information about something he is involved with in Rotary. Rotary worldwide is divided into Zones, and within each Zone, are Districts. Every three years, each district elects Primary and Alternate Representatives to represent their district at
- Council on Resolution (COR) - which meets yearly online
- Resolutions are requests to the Rotary International (RI) Board or the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation (TRF)
- Adopted Resolutions are considered by the RI Board or TRF Trustees
- Some Resolutions are requests by the RI Board to be considered for "Urgent Enactment" When adopted, these would result in a change to the RI Constitutional Documents. "Urgent" means these enactments must be adopted before the next COL.
- Council on Legislation (COL) - which meets in-person every three years in Chicago. In recent years a Zoom option has been added enabling participation by those representatives who cannot travel to Chicago.
- Representatives from each District review and vote on Enactments, which are proposed changes to the legislation that governs Rotary. They consider enactments, which change Rotary's governing documents, and position state of the RI Board.
John Shared some lists for members to get an idea of the kind of decisions the representatives are asked to decide. They are shown here with the results below each item considered.
- 2021 Council on Resolution
- 21R-05 To request the RI Board to consider replacing the annual presidential theme with the permanent theme of "Service Above Self.
- Rejected Yes:181 No: 296 (John had voted "yes" thinking of the cost savings, but understands why it was rejected)
- 21R-14 To request the RI Board to consider ensuring that at least 30 percent of Future Rotary Foundation Trustees are women, and set a goal to have a female chair of The Rotary Foundation.
- Rejected Yes: 185 No: 289
- 21R-16 To request the RI Board to consider setting an upper age limit of 35 for membership in a Rotaract Club.
- Adopted Yes: 263 No: 213
- 21R-17 - To request the RI Board to consider changing Rotary Youth Leadership Awards to Rotary Youth Leadership Academy.
- Adopted Yes: 357 No: 118
- 21R-19 - To request the Trustees to consider amending the fourth area of focus to include senior health.
- Adopted Yes: 261 No: 213
- 21R-30 - To request the RI Board to consider ensuring the Rotary brand is adequately protected and that there is no association of the brand with firearms or ammunition.
- 21R-05 To request the RI Board to consider replacing the annual presidential theme with the permanent theme of "Service Above Self.
- Council on Legislation 2022
- 22-13 - from United States - Removed requirement that a member must work or reside in the locality of their club.
- Adopted Yes: 402 No: 75
- 22-18 - from the RI Board of Directors - To state that Rotaractors may be members of RI committees.
- Adopted Yes: 393 No: 79
- 22-27 - from the RI Board of Directors - RI Board is permitted to remove "past officer status" with 2/3 vote of board.
- Adopted Yes: 295 No: 164
- 22-46 - from the RI Board of Directors - Enactment was to increase member dues to maintain 55% reserve level. This enactment was preceded by a lengthy presentation of the RI budget.
- Adopted Yes: 285 No: 205
- 22-44 - To establish a two-term limit for the general secretary
- Rejected Yes: 173 No: 304
- 22-45 - To establish a four-year term for the general secretary with a two-term limit
- Rejected Yes: 142 No: 328
- 22-93 - To set qualifications and a compensation limit for the general secretary
- Rejected Yes: 135 No: 336
- 22-13 - from United States - Removed requirement that a member must work or reside in the locality of their club.
- Council on Resolution 2022 - voting was still underway, so final decisions were not yet available
- 22R-01 - To request the RI Board to consider encouraging senior members to increase their level of engagement with new members
- 22R-04 - To request the RI board to consider allowing retired professionals to add the word "retired" to their classification in Rotary's member database.
- 22R-07 - To request the RI Board to consider eliminating the logo and pin of the RI President
- 22R-08 - To request the RI Board to consider relaxing the qualification requirements for assistant governor and granting districts the discretionary authority to make their selections fo this role based on local conditions.
John shared a little bit about the protocol at the in-person meetings where these decisions are rendered. He showed the laminated cards they could hold up - Green indicates a "yes" vote
- Red indicates a "no" vote
- Yellow indicates the holder wishes to ask a question - questions are limited to a single sentence.
- The striped card indicates the holder wants to end the discussion and effectively "call for the question."
It was clear that our club members have not yet learned how to ask a question in a single sentence. Since most of the elected representatives are Past District Governors, it is speculated that it is difficult for them as well. They can be cut off if their questions is too long. When club members voiced concern that perhaps there was too little information to make a sound decision, John held up a three-ring binder with close to half a ream of paper in it with pro and con comments on the various items being considered.