.jpg)
President, Chris Krueger, opened the meeting by asking Dick Myren to offer the invocation and Wendell Jones to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.There were several guests president. Jeanie Morgan introduced her guest, Patty Bahoshy, and Dr. Kelli Ward who was visiting from the Lake Havasu City Rotary Club. John Pennypacker introduced the guests at his table: District Governor, Jim Erickson; District Governor Elect, David Simmer; Past District Governor, Barb Feder. Other guests present were Dr. Mike Ward, Sammi Rosenberg, and Jim LeCheminant, a previous Mesa Baseline Rotarian.
Chuck Flint provided a little information about the weekly accumulating raffle, which has now rolled into its second year with no big winner. The small pot was at a record high of $125 at this meeting, and the large pot is now $1,971. The ticket drawn was not immediately claimed. It was found on the floor and determined to belong to Jim LeCheminant. There were only five cards remaining. To win the large pot, the ace of clubs had to be drawn. Jim did draw an ace, but from the wrong suit. On July 19, there will only be four cards remaining and the large pot will likely be over $2,000.
Dr. Ron Thompson collected happy dollars. John Pennypacker contributed for a delightful dinner he enjoyed and added a bit more for successful eye surgery. Jim LeCheminant was happy about winning the small pot and was also happy about the swimming success of one of his granddaughters who was the state champion in freestyle swimming competition and her team also placed very high in relays. Polly Cady was happy about the good time they enjoyed at the RI convention and was also happy to have her dining room table back - it is no longer loaded with Rotary paperwork from Allan's Presidency. Don LaBarge had quite a tale about storm damage in the back yard of his home that was not apparent from the front. A tree had split and was laying on the roof, and nearly everything loose had been relocated. Don LaBarge was the winner of the attendance drawing. Polly had a gift for Chris from the convention. It was a scarf that conveniently went perfectly with the outfit Chris was wearing. There were other gifts purchased, but they did not make their way to Arizona. Polly did have a bag of edibles from the Toronto convention. President Chris's bid at the cap of $45 make her the lucky auction item recipient.
President Chris held a brief club assembly. She introduced members to the organization chart that shows how the officers and directors will stay in touch with all the support committees. She noted that there are some empty assignments that will be managed by the director above them until the positions are filled. She encouraged members to get in touch with the appropriate director if they have a passion for any of the vacant responsibilities and would like to volunteer to fill that void. Lucinda General complimented Chris for her effort in organizing the club's management structure this way and complimented the club on growing to the point that we can have this much depth of commitment working together for good. To download a copy of the organization chart, CLICK HERE.
There was a full agenda for the balance of the meeting. With District Governor Elect David Simmer assisting with recognizing, Bob Zarling, one of our newer members, who joined Mesa West in March, 2017, as he received his first Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
Michael Polley was inducted as the club's newest member. He formerly was a member of the Mother Club in Hawaii where he was one of over 400 members. He said that Rotary connections work. Through Rotary connections, he found Frank Rosenberg who helped him find his new home in Mesa, and sponsored Michael's application for membership in Mesa West.
John Pennypacker orchestrated a very nice recognition ceremony recognizing members of Mesa West who have qualified for the Paul Harris Society - members who have given $1,000 per year to The Rotary Foundation. John noted that 7% of Rotarians worldwide qualify for Paul Harris Society. He went on to say that same 7% of Rotary members donate 45% of the total contributions received by TRF.
District Governor Jim Erickson and District Paul Harris Society Chair, PDG Barb Feder participated by giving out the recognition materials and being photographed with each of the honorees who were present: Allan and Polly Cady, Pam Cohen, Jim Crutcher, Terry Diedrick, Chuck Flint, Wayne General, Chris Krueger, Jeanie Morgan, Greg Okonowski, Frank Rosenberg, Ron Thompson and Bob Zarling. Members who qualified, but were not present were: Karen Chavez, Matthew Rotty and Michael Whalen.
The finale of this recognition event was the recognition of Jim Crutcher and his wife, Cheryl (who was unable to attend) for reaching or exceeding Major Donor Level I status. To qualify for this status, an individual or couple must have given $10,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation. Jim accepted the beautiful crystal, his pin and Cheryl's pendant. Jim also spoke about what a worthy charity The Rotary Foundation is. It is recognized as one of the best in the world for doing good while maintaining very small overhead costs. He explained how half of what we give comes back for the District to manage, giving voice to Rotarians who want to be involved in determining how some of their donations are used. Jim told how he, personally, had worked on a district scholarship program for several years where they identified students to study abroad in the Ambassadorial Scholar program. There are other scholars attending Peace Centers located at major universities in various parts of the globe. Students in the Peace Centers study peace and conflict resolution.
Click on the photo accompanying this story or CLICK HERE to go to the Facebook album of all the great photos taken by Lucinda General during this memorable meeting.