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.
Thanks to all who made March 16 a special treat for those who attended:
Ed and Deb Koeneman for the warm, welcome enjoyed by all, and for making their home available
Members who provided delicious appetizers and desserts
Shelly Romine for her great organization and attention to detail.
Pam Cohen for using her hospitality skills to ensure that everyone had what they needed when they needed it in the way of food service and leftover distribution
Ed Koeneman for emceeing and coordinating the games from explanation to celebration
Countless others who pitched in where needed to set up and clean up
New Member Induction
President Colleen presided over the induction of Connie Bunyard. Connie's husband John Bunyard was beside her during her induction and participated by being the one to pin her with her first Rotary pin.
Some who attended the event did not participate in the games. Those who did had an opportunity to practice the various skills before the actual competition began. Prior to 2023, the medals distributed had the year of the competition on them and the winners were able to keep them. In 2023, the medals presented did not have the year on them, but they were all turned back in (at least a couple at the VERY last minute) so they could be re-used this year.
Those who did plan to compete formed teams of two. At each event, two teams competed and wrote down the scores of their competitors. Attending with Dan and Colleen Coons were Masa, a Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Japan, and his mother, Magumi. Both of them participated in the games.
In the men's competition,
Logan Harper won the gold medal with his score of 4600
Jim Schmidt won the silver medal, scoring 4500.
John Bunyard received the bronze medal with his score of 4350.
In the women's competition,
Luin Ross won the gold medal with her score of 4000.
Megumi's score of $3000 made her the silver medal winner.
President Colleen's score of 2500 made her the bronze medal recipient.
In the team competition,
Logan Harper and Polo Santiago won the gold with their combined score of 8300.
Luin Ross and Masa's combined score of 7900 made them the silver medal winners.
Dan Coons and Eric Silverberg's combined score of 6650 entitled them to the bronze medals. Eric had to leave early and was not present for the photos.
The bottom photo is of all the medal winners who were still there to celebrate.
The medals were collected from the winners before they left to go home so they would all be ready to be presented at the Mesa West Spring Olympics in 2025.
Your Messenger editor really misses Lola McClane (and her photographic skills) when she isn't present. I was having such a good time at the Cubs' Spring Training Game on March 14 that I didn't think to take any pictures. Apparently, everyone else who went was also having a great time, because nobody sent me any photos taken at the game for publication in this week's Messenger.
I can report that the Chicago Cubs won the game against the Oakland A's by 3/1. There were no errors on the scoreboard for either team. Those who attended had the opportunity to see some fine baseball skills displayed.
I can also report that it was really pleasant spending time with Rotary Club members of our own club as well as the Mesa, Mesa Sunrise, and Gilbert clubs. There were some Prescott and Prescott Frontier Rotary Club members in attendance as well. It was fun watching he Youth Exchange students and Masa's parents, who also attended, as they enjoyed the game.
There was plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages to be enjoyed by all. It was nice to have that benefit included in the price of the tickets.
All-in-all it appeared the consensus was that we should have a repeat of a day at the ball park! Next time, I might remember to take photos...
Start your Rotary journey HERE! Registration for Rotary Leadership Institute - 1 (RLI-1) is now open! (RLI-1 is being offered in conjunction with the Club Leadership Academy)
The Where & When: March 23, 8:30 - 4:00 at the Desert Willows Conference Center in South Phoenix; 4340 E. Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85040
Registration: Click HERE & Select “RLI; full day, lunch included”
Why Attend Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)?
Explore the wide world of Rotary
Learn from fellow Rotarians how, through Rotary, we change lives — including our own!
Share experiences with members from across northern and central Arizona
Come interact with fellow Rotarians about:
The Basics of Rotary
Rotary’s Impact Worldwide
Community Service Ideas
Leadership Styles that Work
Rotary’s Core Value - Ethics
Engaging Members
RLI is a world-wide organization that some refer to as Rotary’s “College of Knowledge”. RLI gives participants a ranging tour of the world of Rotary. The Institute consists of three one-day Sessions to give participants an overview of the reach of Rotary and what and how we accomplish life-changing projects worldwide….all in an environment of friendship, fellowship and fun!
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
