https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85900479873
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210 United States of America
Our hybrid meetings are held weekly on the 1st thru 4th Thursdays of each month. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to include all, whether attending virtually or in person.
Saturday, May 18, Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) was held at Benedictine University in Mesa. Mesa West's own Polly Cady is the RLI Chairperson for the district. Allan Cady always serves as her able assistant. They are not shown in the photo, but seven of our members were participants - learning about Rotary beyond the club level, and Jim Schmidt was one of the facilitators. The seven participating members were: Jay Paulus, Melodie Jackson, Kayla Mudge, Connie Bunyard, Lizzy Barron, Andy Bradford and Wayne General. At least one of our members experienced some virtual reality, as well!
Long-time members of Mesa West Rotary enjoyed watching Sam Rosenberg grow up as part of our Rotary family. She frequently attended meetings with her dad (Frank Rosenberg) or her grandfather (Jack Rosenberg). We haven't seen her this year, as she has been an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Denmark. CLICK HERE or on the image to see the YouTube video of Sam's recent presentation when she shared her Youth Exchange journey with her host club.
Opening and Welcome to Meeting - President-Elect Jay Paulus
Jay shared a preview of the 2024-25 Rotary Theme - The Magic of Rotary. He said DG to be, Michelle Holcomb has a sub-theme - Rotary Means Business. He shared an adage - Change the life of one individual and you will change the world.
Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance,
Shawn Buntin offered the invocation
John Pennypacker led everyone in singing the Rotary Four-Way Test. He was embarrassed when, at his first official visit as District Governor, he was asked to lead the 4-Way Test, and his mind went blank. He found that it was easier to memorize if he sang it.
Introduction of Guests
Pai Bethea is a member, but is rarely in town and available to attend our meetings.
Warren Williamson introduced his guest, Bhargav Bala Babu from India. Bhargav is in the ASU Rotaract Club and was in Rotaract in India before coming to the USA to study. He is in need of an internship in mechanical engineering this summer.
Polly Cady introduced Carla Malcolm-Rowe, a member of the Gilbert Rotary Club who was Olivia's former host mom.
John Bunyard was attending as the guest of his wife, Connie Bunyard. John was a huge help in preparing the pool deck at the YMCA for our Rotary Week of Service project. Having the surface as clean as possible should enable the new finish our volunteers installed hold up much better.
Attending via Zoom were Bob Jensen, Machelle Considine, and Lizzy Barron.
Paul Harris Giving Recognition
J. Daryl "Pai" Bethea was invited to come forward by Foundation Chair John Pennypacker. Pai said he joined Rotary in 1972. He said his wife loves to travel so they do a lot of that. He said they would be in London the following week.
The nickname "Pai" was given to him when he was in Brazil. It means "Daddy." He liked that term of endearment better than one meaning Grandpa.
Pai was presented with his Paul Harris Plus 2 recognition pin.
New Member Induction - Polly Cady
Harry Grossman was introduced by his sponsor, Pam Cohen. When Harry first joined Rotary in 2010, he joined the Sedona Rotary Club. A few years ago, some members of that club, along with Harry, spun off to form the Sedona Village Rotary Club. His kids want him to live down here in the Phoenix metro area. He will continue to engage with the Sedona Village Club but "no heavy lifting." Harry said Mesa West is the largest metro club he's been a part of, and said "Not everything different is better, but everything better is different."
Harry earned his Bachelor's Degree at the University of Miami in 1961. He earned a Master's of Business at Bradley University in Peoria, IL in 1966. He did post-graduate studies at the University of Illinois in Springfield, and served on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois from 1967 to 2004. He was a commissioned officer in the U. S. Army Quartermaster Corps from 1962-1964.
Harry's favorite hobby is model trains. His first exposure was in Mesa at Roy's Train World. His email address introduces new acquaintances to his fun personality, "thelittlegiantaz@gmail.com."
Pam met Harry in Sedona and when she learned he had a second home in Scottsdale, invited him to visit Mesa West. He has been a regular visitor since they met.
Polly then formalized the induction with the Rotary Vision Statement, the Motto and Object of Rotary, and Pam officially pinned Harry and presented him with his new Mesa West Rotary Club membership badge, allowing him to keep his permanent visitor badge to wear when he visits Sedona Village. Harry was welcomed into the club with a standing ovation of those who were present.
Sgt at Arms - Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson mentoring Andy Bradford
The first lesson was - you make sure the raffle happens first so there is at least one person to target...
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
The raffle ticket drawn was held by Pam Cohen. Since she had won the raffle the prior week, she gave her stub to our exchange student, Olivia. Chuck explained that Olivia was automatically the winner of $30. She would have the opportunity to draw a card from those remaining in the deck. Should she draw a joker, she would win an additional $20. Should she be lucky enough to draw the Ace of Clubs, she would win the accumulating large pot of $556. After shuffling the cards face down, the card Olivia selected was the Nine of Clubs.
Sgt At Arms - Continued - saying they do not target children...
Dick Myren contributed. He was glad to be back after missing the prior week. He contributed his traditional $2 thankful that he and Honorary Member Rod Daniels are members of the Best Club - the Ace of Clubs.
Jack Rosenberg contributed. He is very proud of his son Frank's earning his Nurse Practitioners License. He encouraged everyone to join in the celebration at Frank's home Friday evening from 6-10.
Mike Lutcher was happy to have spent three weeks visiting children and grandchildren in Virginia, New York and Kentucky. He invited anyone who could to take advantage of a free lunch at the Salvation Army in Mesa Friday, May 17 at 11:30 AM. He contributed $10 to cover Olivia's share of happy bucks.
Harry Short was celebrating some of his grandchildren's scholastic achievements.
Chuck Flint asked to be billed $100 for the sponsor program to celebrate his new age - 3.95 score. Often his birthday happens during the District Conference. He barely avoided that this year.
Jim Schmidt asked to be billed $10. His oldest grandson graduated from college in Boulder. Jim announced he would be leaving Sunday to attend the Rotary International Convention in Singapore.
Polly Cady was happy to announce seven Mesa West Members would be attending Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) Saturday. She was also happy that Olivia would be going on the Youth Exchange train trip in June and that she would graduate - and get to walk with her class - Thursday, May 23.
Allan Cady said he had ways of knowing Chuck's age to be 79. He added that Harry Grossman is a giant - he is nearly the same height as Polly!
Ron Thompson contributed, complimenting Andy on the great job he was doing as Sgt at Arms in Training.
Don Boucher celebrated National Police Week. Three of our members are former police officers - himself, Don LaBarge, and Jim McGown. "To the Boys and Girls in Blue - We thank you!"
Lu General explained that the reason she looked the way she did was because she proved her head is softer than a granite slab. Her encounter with the slab resulted in seven stitches. With regard to Rotary Service, she encouraged members to "do what you like, and do it well." She urged people to serve beyond our own club. She is currently serving as District Treasurer. She complimented Kayla Mudge who is involved with the Interact Crutches 4 Africa program and has brought the program out of the dregs - they are keeping their bills covered. Donna Goetzenberger, another of our members has served the past several years as the District Youth Exchange Chair.
Harry Grossman contributed but was told he'd already had his share of mic time.
Warren Williamson contributed to explain why we can be assured God has a sense of humor. God's message was that a man could find a good and obedient wife in any corner of the earth, then made the earth round.
Auction to benefit Sponsor Program - John Pennypacker. John held up a Rotary shirt from the District Conference and said he had a bag of goodies to go with it. Ron Thompson started the bidding at $25. Kayla Mudge's top bid of $50 made her the lucky winner.
Pam Cohen contributed. She had a contact list of Chuck's mutual friends that she kept informed through all Chuck's medical challenges over the past several months. She helped them arrange a surprise birthday lunch for Chuck. The friends came through Rotary connections.
Pai Bethea contributed thanking Jeanie for reminding him to do his part in supporting Rotary charities.
Jay Paulus thanked Jeanie and Pam for helping him work on budgets for the 2024-25 year.
Andy Bradford contributed announcing that they were having a blood drive in his neighborhood in memory of their daughter they lost to leukemia. Before she passed, she had 113 blood transfusions in six months. He and his wife organized the blood drive - Pints for Goose - May 19 from 1-5 in front of their house. (They called their daughter "Lucy Goosey.") They still had 20 spots available. Many of their friends and neighbors have developed a habit of donating blood
Frank Rosenberg reminded members they were invited Friday evening to help him celebrate and shared his address.
Announcements
May 30 - no in-person meeting at the hotel. Instead there will be an opportunity to preview virtual technology at the Mesa Public Library. Harry Grossman asked if lunch would be provided. Pam Cohen made an executive decision and said box lunches would be provided.
Connie Bunyard announced there would be a Casino Night fundraiser June 29 to benefit the House of Refuge. She thought some members might be interested in supporting the event.
Program - Rick Mucci - Metabolic Syndrome X
Pam Cohen introduced our speaker. He is also a Rotarian from the Verrado Rotary Club near Buckeye. She said Rick is a year younger than Chuck. He attended medical college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He married in 1969 and worked as a general, vascular thoracic surgeon in California. After losing his first wife, Rick remarried in 2004.
The information Rick shared about Metabolic Syndrome X was very detailed. CLICK HERE to see the informative slides he used during his presentation.
At the May 21 Board Meeting, Mesa West Rotary club officers and directors approved a recommended increase in all levels of dues effective July 1. This recommended change is primarily due to the fact that Rotary International and District per-member dues will be increasing. The good news is that the full-dues option is still less than the $250/member we were paying prior to the COVID pandemic.
Dues Options 2024-25
$360/Quarter
Corporate Dues – One person registered as the active member
(Includes meals for member or their designated representative from the same organization)
$240/Quarter
Full Dues – Includes all meals at meetings
$90/Quarter
Members electing following options will be charged $25 for each in-person meeting attended.
E-85 – Age plus years in Rotary equals 85 or more
(includes members in Rotary 20 or more years)
Family of Rotary – Second member of family
Rotary Service – Participation in Service Projects
(includes local and international service projects)
Zoom Only
(intended for members who cannot attend in-person due to health or other accessibility limitations, but who wish to be actively engaged in Mesa West Rotary Club)
When 2024-25 Budget is approved, this document will become an Addendum to the Bylaws of the Rotary Club of Mesa West adopted in December 17, 2020
Mesa West Rotary Club has recently become a member of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. Members are encouraged to CLICK HERE to go to the Chamber website where you can click on a link "Email List" to subscribe to their e-newsletters. As a business member, our club members are able to take advantage of educational and networking events held by the Chamber which you will learn about via their electronic newsletters.. The QR code in the image above will take you to their Facebook page.
George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matthew McConaughey get together to make a movie. Clooney says, “I’ll direct.” DiCaprio says, “I’ll act.” McConaughey says, “I’ll write, I’ll write, I’ll write.”
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
There are many different nonprofit organizations that AZ recognizes as authorized recipients of these tax funds. Mesa West sponsors the Interact Club at Westwood High School, and they are a qualified recipient of these tax credit funds in the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) category. Here's how you can donate up to $200 as an individual or $400 as a couple filing jointly and deduct that amount from your state tax burden.
If you have children currently enrolled in Mesa Public Schools, you can use your existing login information. Otherwise, it's easy to setup a guest account.
Once you are logged in, select 'Items At All Schools'under the 'Shop/Donate' list on the Home page.
On the next page select 'High Schools', then select 'Westwood High'
Select the link for 'ECA Tax Credit', and then 'Programs G-K' on the following page.
Interact - ECA is under code 8646. Enter a dollar amount in the box, and click the Add button. That dollar amount should then appear in your cart (highlighted in green at the top of the page).
You can then proceed to the Checkout process and pay with a credit card. You will receive a receipt that you can print out and save for when you do your taxes.
Thank you for supporting Westwood Interact and all of our youth programs.
Mesa West Rotary Club operates two separate legal entities. Our Rotary Club is a 501(c)(4), which is not a tax-deductible charitable organization, but is exempt from income tax. Our club operations income from dues, most happy bucks (unless otherwise designated), raffle income, etc. is used to pay for the cost of operating the club - our meal expense, supplies, education of our officers, etc.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
For the past several years, rather than have major public events to raise funds, we have quietly gone to our friends, family, current and past business associates, etc. and simply asked for sponsorship donations. We have averaged about $50,000 each year in revenue from our sponsorship drive. So our members will be better acquainted with those who are involved with the MWRF Board of Trustees, each of the five Trustees will be team leaders this year. CLICK HERE to down load a list showing who is on each Trustee's team. Traditional fundraising events are very time and effort intensive and rarely yield the kind of results this effort has produced. The Sponsor Drive has allowed Mesa West Rotary Club members to focus their Rotary effort on service projects. The other advantage is that our donors can be assured that their donation will go entirely to charity as there are no cost-of-fundraising expenses.
Sometimes donors hesitate to give to a fundraising dinner where names of sponsors are published because they don't want others knocking on their door asking for more money. There are probably many people we know who admire what we do that would like to be a part of it, but cannot afford the time to be involved. More people would admire what we do if we bragged about it outside of Rotary more often. You might be surprised that someone would offer to donate if you bragged about the fact that we don't waste our time and resources putting on lavish events. Some of those donors may have the opportunity to have their gift matched by their employer.
Have fun telling why you are proud to be a Rotarian, and get your "ask" in gear.
As Rotarians, we are regularly exposed to opportunities to support various causes with our time, talent and treasure. Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the information and decide where we are going to use our available financial resources.
It would be wonderful if every Arizona Rotarian would make the following BIG FOUR their Rotary charities of choice and support every one of them every year, we could make a bigger difference than we are making today.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund - The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world." Giving a small amount each month adds up. CLICK HERE to download a form you can use to sign up for Rotary Direct, electing "Annual Fund - Share" for your recurring donation.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Polio Plus - Rotary's commitment to eradicate polio is so well known and respected that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations $2 for $1. To take advantage of this opportunity to multiply the effect of your giving, CLICK HERE and download a second Rotary Direct form, this time electing electing "Polio Eradication" for your recurring donations. Those who donate $100 or more annually to Polio Plus qualify in District 5495 as Polio Plus Society Members. If you would like to make that commitment, CLICK HERE to download the commitment form.
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA) provides vocational education grants to Arizona Residents who meet specific low-income guidelines. The grants enable the recipients to lift themselves out of poverty, benefitting themselves, their families and the economy of our state. TRVFA is a 501(c)(3) charity. They also are a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona Tax Credit Donations. Their QCO Code is 20698. Many Arizona Rotarians say giving to TRVFA is a "no brainer." If you can help someone lift themselves out of poverty and it won't end up costing you anything why would you not do it? Mesa West Rotary has the highest number of members who have signed up for automated monthly recurring donations by electing that option on the "Donate Now" button on the TRVFA website. Click the image to learn more or CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:
Community Service
International Service
Vocational Service
Youth Service
The process isn't quite automated at this point in time, but we hope it soon will be. For now, you can email our executive secretary who can help you work out a recurring donation plan should you wish to make that arrangement to support our own club's charitable activity.
Saturday, May 18, Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) was held at Benedictine University in Mesa. Mesa West's own Polly Cady is the RLI Chairperson for the district. Allan Cady always serves as her able assistant. They are not shown in the photo, but seven of our members were participants - learning about Rotary beyond the club level, and Jim Schmidt was one of the facilitators. The seven participating members were: Jay Paulus, Melodie Jackson, Kayla Mudge, Connie Bunyard, Lizzy Barron, Andy Bradford and Wayne General. At least one of our members experienced some virtual reality, as well!
Paul Harris Giving Recognition
Program - Rick Mucci - Metabolic Syndrome X
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:.png)
