The Guaymas Mission to provide hearing aids and medical treatment is planned for November 9th through November 12th.
We invite Rotarians to go on the trip and provide support to the medical team as they provide services. Anyone who speaks Spanish would be most helpful to the project.
Please contact Ray Smith to express your interest, questions, etc. 480-766-0565.
UPDATE - Midwest Food Bank still needs our help. They are having a food drive soliciting donations of specific items. Each week, we will focus on collecting a different item on their list.
September 15 - please bring canned ravioli, tuna, or chicken to our Mesa West Rotary Club meeting.
Help the Chef - Salvation Army heat relief project
Wednesday mornings 8-10 August 31 through October 26
We are excited to announce the 5th Annual Pursuing Peace Conference will be on Friday, September 16th! We have an amazing slate of guest speakers who will be sharing their peacemaking experiences. The primary topic for this year's conference is "Creating Peacemakers Around Us." Speakers include:
Chuck Fitzgerald – Conference Founder & Host
Elizabeth Gamarra – World Rotary Peace Fellow serving at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Larry Horton - Retired Phoenix Police Officer & current Rotary District Governor
Lisa Jernigan – Co-Founder & President, Amplify Peace
Dr. Sanjeev Khagram – Director General & Dean, ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management
Scott Martin – Mediator & Conflict Coach, Mediators Beyond Borders International
Rev. Eve Nunez – Founder & President, National Latina / Latino Commission
Dr. Clyde Rivers – Founder & President, iChange Nations
The conference will be a one-day hybrid event; we will be streaming online, and we will be "in person" at the new campus of ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a series of three one-day educational sessions to learn about Rotary beyond the Club Level. All three sessions are held in the same place on the same day enabling car-pooling for participants no matter which session they plan to attend. The location where the sessions are held can move around, promoting a little Rotary tourism. Whether you are a relatively new Rotarian or a seasoned Rotarian who finally has time to get more involved, members are encouraged to sign up and participate.
At their August 16 Board Meeting, Mesa West Rotary Club officers and directors approved making one of the recent visioning session ideas become a reality. The club will cover the registration cost for those who register and attend RLI going forward.
The next RLI is scheduled to take place in Flagstaff Saturday, September 24, at the Flagstaff Art Leadership Academy, 3401 N Valley Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Check-in will start at 8:00 AM and the sessions will start at 8:45 AM. Lunch will be served at noon followed by a graduation ceremony for those attending Session III. The sessions will resume at 1:00 PM and end by 4:00 PM.
Members who wish to register can e-mail Jeanie Morgan, letting her know which session they are ready for. They are taken in order - Session I, II, or III. Registration is open for the September 24 RLI. If someone has Jeanie pay for their registration but fails to attend, they will be invoiced for the cost of their registration.
Our own Polly Cady is the current RLI Chairperson. She will be glad to answer any questions about RLI.
The competition is fierce andnot for the faint of heart!
Please sign up to bring a chili to share, another side dish of your choosing, dessert, an appetizer, or just condiments for the chilis. For those who don't have time to cook, we will also need non-alcoholic beverages.
This event is a fun way to meet our newest members and help to engage them in our club. There will be an update on our Visioning process and how it relates to the club, its members, our community, and the world.
Don't miss this opportunity to mingle with club members and crown the newest Chili King or Queen!
Homecoming week. Game days are Wednesday and Friday. Please let us know if you want to see Campo Verde Football in action. Really, the excitement is watching Fanny and her amazing skills!
This weekend was RYE Inbound Orientation. Fanny left Friday morning to Big Bear with Donna and the rest of the RYE. Donna is amazing as ever, as Fanny said how much fun she had. She made two new close friends - one from the South of France and the other from Belgium. Fanny will see them on the Train Tour!!
I am having a great time in Spain and can’t thank your club enough for sponsoring me on this awesome adventure! Things are very different here, but I am learning Spanish quickly. I also started a blog if you wanted to read it https://www.jayleeinspain.com/blog . I will send some of my photos too. Again, thank you so much and I can’t wait to share all of my adventures with your club when I return home!
CLICK HEREto cast your vote for Child Crisis Arizona in the final round of voting. There is one vote per device per person during each round. They are now in the final round of voting which which will end September 18. If you first voted in any of the prior four rounds, you can vote again. In fact, you can vote a few more times. They are in the fifth and final round of voting, and you can vote using each of your devices once.
Mesa West Rotary has a long history of supporting Child Crisis Arizona. Your vote(s) will help propel them to do very well in this competition. The voting link was updated for each round. We have tried to keep the current link available to our members by updating this article.
Just before the 2021-22 fiscal year ended, Mesa West Rotary Foundation sent a $2,000 donation to Child Crisis Arizona. CLICK HERE to read the letter of appreciation received from Child Crisis Arizona. You may want to have a tissue box handy...
Invocation was offered by Dave Brauchler, and the Pledge was led by Warren Williamson. The Greeter was PDG Jim Erickson.
Rotary Minute - PDG John Pennypacker
John placed on all of the tables the following:
Don’t focus on getting numbers;
instead, start a relationship, tell your Rotary story and
by doing so you invite that person
to come on the journey and
buy into the Rotary Dream.
You don’t want numbers, you want Rotarians.
Introduction of Guests
There were no guest at the meeting, but member Geoff White, who has been unable to attend several recent meetings was welcomed and treated like a guest.
Ace of Clubs Raffle
The raffle was won by Mike Whalen who drew the 2 of clubs.
Happy Bucks - Ron Thompson
Ed Koeneman for International Star Wars Day and the contribution of old shirts he received from the club that were used for dog toys by the Westwood HS Interact Club
Ron Thompson, in Dick Myron’s absence, contributed $2
Shelly Romine for Ray filling in for Pam
Allan Cady for a great fish story
Polly Cady for clarification ad elaboration of Allan’s fish story
Announcements
Allan Cady who is chair of the club’s office nominating committee indicated club openings for the next Rotary year are President, President-Elect, Treasurer and three directors at large. If anyone is interested in any of these positions and would like to nominate someone please contact Allan.
Shelly Romine reminded us of the club’s chili cook off/visioning session on September 29th at Pam Cohen’s home. Shelly also announced an event yet to be described at Dan and Colleen’s home on October 15.
Program - Elaine Poker-Yount - Visiting Angels
Elaine Poker-Yount, CDP, Director of Dementia Care and Community Education with Visiting Angels was introduced by Ed Koeneman as our speaker.
Visiting Angels provides seniors and adults with the needed assistance to continue living at home. Their mission is to maintain the independence and familiar surroundings for those in need of care.
They are a national company but the local offices are individually owned and they provide non-medical living assistance services. Some of the services they provide are
Companionship,
Take to appointments,
Medication reminders,
Meal preparation,,
Light housekeeping,
Laundry,
Personal care assistance -
dressing,
grooming,
bathing,
toileting,
Respite,
Transitional care,
Support to hospice and home health.
Elaine also covered several of the signs that someone might need non-medical home care. Some of these are
Lack of mobility,
Not eating or being able to operate the oven or microwave,
Incontinence issues,
Prescriptions not being taken,
Pets being ignored,
Basic safety issues.
Her emphasis was on paying attention to those around us who may need help and asking questions about how we can help.
On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" after witnessing the American flag flying over the Maryland fort following a night of British naval bombardment during the War of 1812. He was an attorney and only an amateur poet. His poem is now know as the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner, which we know and love as our national anthem.
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.
Club Information
Welcome to our Rotary Club of Mesa West!
THE ACE OF CLUBS
Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Via Zoom or in-person
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3748672091
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.