Ray Smith upstaged our President to lead the members in a harmonious rendition of Happy Birthday to celebrate Allan's birthday. Dick Myren offered the invocation, and Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance.The members welcomed a number of guests at their tables. Among the guests were: visiting Rotarian from Hawaii, Mike Polley, has recently purchased a home in our area made another repeat visit; PDG John Pennypacker who is visiting our club for the second week in a row; Penny May, a regular seasonal visitor, now back from the north; our inbound exchange student, Takuma Fujiya; Dan Pierce, who was the guest of Jane Pierce, and Colleen Coons. Lucinda General's badge number was drawn making her the winner of the $5.00 attendance drawing. The large pot has grown to $323.00. Christy Citterman's ticket was drawn again this week for the weekly drawing, but she did not draw the ace of clubs, allowing the large pot to continue to grow.
Dr. Ron Thompson served as Sgt at Arms. Dan Coons paid happy bucks and encouraged members to take time to meet our exchange student. Penny May contributed, telling about clubs she visited and related adventures enjoyed during her summer travels. She shared flags from two of the clubs visited.
Jim McGown told a story on himself as an "out-of-breath heart patient," whose cousin (who is an EMT) realized from symptoms Jim had described that he likely had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung). Jim went to the ER, and told the staff that was what he thought he had. Much to their dismay, he was right. They were able to treat it--problem solved! He paid happy bucks for his cousin's knowledge and for his restored health. This is a great illustration about how we all should listen to our body's signals and accurately report changes to medical professionals, and be persistent in getting answers that make a difference.
Jack Rosenberg told about a summer of medical challenges. Early in the summer, he had a pacemaker installed and as that was being handled, discovered his kidneys were not functioning correctly. A mass was found in his right kidney and subsequently removed. As of two weeks ago, he is cancer-free.
Chuck Flint explained our Buck Board for the sake of visitors in attendance, and gave members and guests the opportunity to buy $10 squares on the board.
Lucinda General had a bag to be auctioned containing east coast memorabilia gathered during a recent vacation. Chris Krurger made the winning $50 bid. Jim McGown had a gift from the Fly Creek Cider Mill. Our speaker for the day made the winning $30 bid.
Allan Cady reported on the volunteer project at the food bank. He also reminded members of the October 7 Chile Cook-Off and Fireside Chat. A sign-up sheet was circulated at the meeting.
President Allan provided an update on the Sponsorship Program. An additional $2,500 has come in. We are now over $15,000, making progress and taking us more than half way to our $30,000 goal.
A number of members were recognized for perfect attendance: John Benedict, Pam Cohen, Dan Coons, Jim Crutcher, Rod Daniels, Chuck Flint, Lucinda General, Wendell Jones, Carole Kralicek, Don LaBarge, Jim McGown, Jack Rosenberg, Ray Smith and Warren Williamson. John Eagleston was also recognized in absentia.
Chuck Flint conducted the induction of Jane Pierce, sponsored by Don LaBarge. Jane was accompanied by her husband, Dan, who pinned her as she pledged to fulfill the obligations of membership, and Dan pledged to support her. During the induction, Chuck provided Rotary education, reminding members that The Rotary Foundation was begun with $26.50 left from the Kansas City Rotary International Convention, and from that humble beginning has given over $3 Billion to support causes worldwide. TRF holds a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and over 91% of funds donated are used to do good in the world.
The speaker, Denise McCreery of D'Vine Gourmet, was introduced by Dick Myren. Denise's business was awarded the Micro Business of the Year recognition by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce in 2015.
Denise told of a life-changing Rotary experience when she was a high-school student. She had heard that there was a scholarship supported by the Wilcox Rotary Club for the Rodeo Queen at the annual Rex Allen Days Rodeo in their community. She was originally from Boston, had moved west with her family during elementary school. Her father owned a local drug store and she did not know how to ride a horse, but needed money to achieve a dream to tour Europe with Up With People. A boyfriend taught her to ride a horse. She did not win, but was selected as the Rodeo Princess. When the queen got sick, Denise had to fulfill the duties of the Queen and got the scholarship and achieved her dream after all. The Up With People Experience gave her a world view and changed her life.
She told of how a fluke over 14 years ago, when she decided to try making jelly with wine that was accumulating in their household into jelly, resulted in selling 100's and 100's of jars of the wine jelly in a single weekend. The original plan was just to sell it at farmer's markets, but instead as they evaluated what their potential might be and who they wanted to be, they decided they wanted to be a business that sold the wine jelly and other Arizona-made products.
In the D'Vine Gourmet shop, located at 4955 S Alma School Rd Suite 4 in Chandler, they have a kitchen on-site. They encourage others who are thinking of starting similar small businesses to first refine and test marketing their products in the D'Vine Gourmet facility. In addition to local gourmet food items, they have a lot of local art displayed in their shop. Denise firmly believes that "a rising tide lifts all boats," and encouraged those in attendance to shop local merchants. Statistics show that for every dollar spent locally, twice that amount stays in the local economy. As part of their business, they can create custom gift baskets. They have a wine cellar, and host wine tasings once each week. She had brought a gift basket with her, which was auctioned to those in attendance. Colleen Coons purchased it and planned to give the basket to our exchange student, Takuma.