Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will next bew held at the Anthem Civic Building, 3701 W Anthem Way, Anthem, AZ 85086 on Saturday, January 25, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  All three sessions will be offered.  CLICK HERE or on the logo to register.

 

Registration fees for Mesa West Rotary Club members in good standing will be refunded through their dues account.  The only stipulation is that their attendance be confirmed.

 

This is Naliyah. She is a very sweet soft spoken Junior at Dobson High. Her father lives in California and her Mom wasn't very interested in parenting so she was left with her older sister. She is doing OK in school but struggles with math but is getting tutored. She is in the dance program at school and is interested in becoming a hair stylist after high school. She's a girly girl and loves pink. She asked for a Hello Kitty Comforter for her bed and hot pink room decor. She was very excited the items from the club that she opened and wanted to save some things to open later with her family. She is very excited to attend RYLA next month to make new friends and gain some confidence.

 

 

Omran is a Red Mountain student and is on the wrestling team as well as studying to be a mechanical engineer.  He wants to go to ASU.  Food gift cards were his favorite gifts - Chik-Fil-A and Pizza.

 

Gabby Duran shared her experience with Allison

 

She is doing phenomenal in school, missing only 2 days this quarter.

I love that I can speak to her in Spanish, which is her primary language. She is working on learning English and when I spoke to her about RYLA she was hesitant to attend due to language barrier. I let her know that would not be an issue and then proceeded to speak Colleen about having her speak with Braly, which she did and this past Friday.  When I saw Allison she had registered for RYLA and thanked us for connecting her to Braly who gave her the confidence and courage to attend even though English is not her biggest forte yet.

I took my oldest daughter, Jocelyn (19) to present Allison with her Christmas wish list and you could tell she was so happy and excited but also nervous about the experience- as I can imagine any teen would be with a "stranger" presenting her with gifts. Nonetheless I let her know that I was here to make her feel comfortable and that her hard work and her outstanding personality deserves to be recognized and this was just a small token to show her that she is deserving and should feel nothing but happiness to know she is cared and valued.

She then proceeded to tell us that she wanted to open all of them and each gift brought a new emotion and excitement that only in that moment can you really soak in and keep forever in your heart. Her eyes opened up when she saw her Sephora gift card and in Spanish said, "Oh! Para mi maquillaje" "Oh! for my makeup!" and looked up at me and my daughter with such joy.

 

Needless to say the wireless headphones make her smile from ear to ear. She opened up her shoes and said, "mis Converse! oh muchas gracias ya tengo zapatos!" "my Converse! thank you so much, I now have shoes!"

Mind you, in between all this we were talking about life, school, RYLA, if she had done her appointments to get clothing from Helen's Chest and a little bit of everything. Getting to know her more and making her feel comfortable to open up gifts in a classroom setting. 😀 I also presented her with her stipend for which she was so surprised and very grateful.

The biggest emotion, which gave my daughter and I that beautiful knot in your throat filled with emotion, is when she opened up the Apple pen and I asked her what is that for and how is used, as I had no knowledge of this. She proceeds to tell us that it's used for an Ipad and you can write with it draw and all sorts of things. I asked her if she had an Ipad since she asked for the pen, she let us know that she does not but her cousin does and at times can use it. We already knew what the next gift was-- it was NOT on her Christmas wish list but as Melodie said--- "What good is an apple pen without an Ipad?"

She went to grab the last gift---- which oddly enough the way she opened them led to this exact moment- not planned by me nor did I place the gifts as such- it just happened that the last item was an Ipad.

BOY did her eyes light up and did her voice scream WOW!!!! NO!!!!! NO!!!! An Ipad!!!!!!!!!!! My very own Ipad!!!!!!!!!!!! She thanked us pretty much the rest of the time we were there but that joy, that unexpected Christmas spirit and magic that happens when you make a child's dream come true----- it's like nothing else and I say child because these students are still kids! They are minors and they deserve to for a moment not feel the stress of life that they might encounter and live day in and day out. To know that their only responsibility is to go to school and learn and unfortunately our McKinney Vento students not all get to just be kids and be loved like they should and to have that magic of Christmas and know that what they ask for they will receive.

I told her to keep up the good work she is doing and the club is here for her and that we want to see her succeed and do amazing things.  Thank you! Thank you for letting me be a part of something bigger than me and for bringing the joy of Christmas to these students.

 

 

 

President Jay welcomed District Governor Michelle Holcomb to the meeting.  He asked Eric Silverberg to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Ray Smith to offer the invocation.  He then asked Ray to lead those in attendance in singing Jongle Bells.  Before doing so, Ray reminded everyone of the story that everytime you hear a bell ring, an angel gets their wings.

 

Jay reminded eveyone that the 2024-25 Rotary International theme is "The Magic of Rotary."  Our District Governor has her own theme:  "Rotary Means Business."

 

 

 

Chuck explained that the small pot of $45 would go to the person whose ticket was drawn.  That person would also win the opportunity to try to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck.  Should they be so lucky, they would win the larger, accumulating pot which was up to $480.  The other way they might possibly win would be to draw the joker in which case they would win an additional $20.

 

Chuck intended to have our newest member, Gary Whitehill draw the winning ticket, but our District Governor took the hat and started throwing tickets on the floor until she finally handed one to Chuck saying it was the winning ticket.  It belonged to Nick Cady.  After Chuck presented the $45 winnings, Nick shuffled the cards face down, then drew a card.  The card he drew was the Four of Clubs.  Chuck said the $45 winnings might cover the cleaning fee for the tickets strewn about the floor of the meeting room.

 

 

 

Lu General explained that she thought she heard her credit card going "ding, ding, ding" every time they made a purchase as the conversion took place from dollars to pounds or Euros.  She said the assortment of items in the bag did not have a theme, and that the bag did not contain any alcoholic beverages.  The bidding began at $50, but quickly ended after Chris Cady bid $100, saying to put it on his dad's account.  Chris let his wife, Shannon, go through the interesting array of items in the bag which included a book about the Eifel Tower, some coasters from Paris, and some political pins from the House of Lords.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jay wanted to formally recognize the effort that John makes every week putting up the banners and getting the meeting room ready.  He presented a Certificate of Appreciation to John for his Foundation fundraising efforts, for being a mentor to Jay, for exemplifying the true spirit of Rotary.  Jay was deeply grateful for John's service.

 

 

 

Michelle presented an award to Jay for the club having exceeded the average of $25/member in giving to Polio Plus in the 2023-24 Rotary year.  She urged the club to "keep up the good work."

She said Mesa West was amazing, and are a tough act to follow.  The whole club sets the bar high.  She said she would be back in the spring for an "each one reach one" activity and urged members to start thinking about who they might invite.

 

 

 

Colleen introduced Sage Pena Roman who was one of our McKinney Vento students last year. She attended one of our meetings with Braly last spring, but did not graduate.  Colleen asked Sage to share a bit of her story.

 

Sage said she was kicked out of her parents home.  She was living with her older sister and reminded pretty much every day that she was a burden.  She was attending Dobson High School.  She was not eating much.  She would go to school and had a bunch of friends.  One of her friends introduced her to Lisa Grant.  After that, she never felt alone.  She felt she had an emotional support line.  Colleen working with Lisa by providing the stipends helped her eat.  As a kid, she was taught to "stand and be quiet."  Her nature is to be social.  Sage fought being tearful during her brief presentation, but she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes.  Our program gave her a lot at Christmas last year.  She has now graduated.  

 

Colleen presented a graduation gift bag to Sage, as well as present her with the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh The Places You'll Go."  She told Sage Mesa West would be her home and assured her we would always care.

 

 

 

Colleen Coons invited the visiting Cady family to come forward.  She welcomed them and their shared values:

Colleen said that their contribution to our Mesa West Rotary Foundation allowed Mesa West Rotary to develop our Rotary Builds Bridges program which enables McKinney Vento students to realize their potential.  It is difficult to express what a significant impact their generosity has had on our club and our community.  Last year, eight out of nine of our students graduated.  We are mentoring twelve students this year.  

 

We are glad that Allan and Polly's cherished values were passed on in a way that made you want to honor them with a charitable legacy.

 

Some additional individuals were brought to the front of the room:  John Pennypacker, Jay Paulus, Michelle Holcomb, Dan Coons and Jim Erickson.

 

Jim was asked to help with this special day when the entire family would be celebrated.  First, Nicolas and Caroline were each presented with Paul Harris Society recognition certificates and pins.  Four Way Test coins were also given to both Nick and Caroline.  Their mother, Shannon Cady was then presented with her Paul Harris Fellow pin and certificate.  Chris Cady was not only presented with his Paul Harris Fellow pin and certificate, he also received a pin for Paul Harris Plus 8 recognition.

 

With all four members of the family together, because of their generous gifts to The Rotary Foundation, they were presented with a beautiful crystal.

 

Chris Cady asked for the microphone.  He thanked the club for being a meaningful part of his dad's life.  When Allan retired at 71 from a high-demand job in the automobile business, the family wondered what he would do with his time, passion, and energy.  Soon after retiring, Allan found another pursuit - Mesa West Rotary.  It has been a center point of their existence allowing his dad to use his drive to accomplish good work.

 

 

 

The regular meeting was adjourned.  Those who were guests who needed to leave were advised they could do so.  

 

 

~Agnes Repplier

What’s a good winter tip?

Never catch snowflakes on your tongue until all the birds have flown south for the winter.

Well, maybe NOT the shirt off your back, but instead some old t-shirts out of the back of your closet.  

 

Westwood Interact Club will again be making dog chew toys for a couple of animal shelters where the Paws For Peers program rescues and trains dogs to work as therapy animals with teachers within Mesa Public Schools.  .They make these dog toys out of old t-shirts.  So, dig way back into your closet, or that drawer where all your old stuff is, and bring a shirt or two to lunch at one of our Thursday meetings this September.

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.

Go to https://westwood.mpsaz.org/page/eca/ and click on the link to pay on the district's website. 

Or go straight to https://mpsaz.sites.thrillshare.com/o/mpsaz/page/pay-donate  in lower right, click on Pay Online

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.

District Governor Michelle Holcomb did a great job of promoting the Rotary license plate that is now available when she made her official visit to our club September 26.  Mesa West Rotary members often lead the way.   We want to encourage our members to get their plates purchased so we can be known for having the highest percentage of members displaying the Rotary license plate on their car(s).  To that end, we have two incentives to offer:

CLICK HERE or on Michelle's photo to go to the order form on the MVD website, scroll down alphabetically and get yours ordered.