Opening of Meeting - President Dan Coons
President Dan opened the meeting by thanking Penny May for serving as Greeter. He thanked the members for the gift of being able to serve as Club President He then reminded Rotarians and guests of the Rotary International 2021-22 theme - Serve to Change Lives - after which he recited the Rotary Vision Statement:
Together we see a world where people unite and
take action to create lasting change -
across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.
Invocation and Pledge
Dave Brauchler offered the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Bob Zarling.
Introduction of Guests
- John Pennypacker introduced Jo Wilson, a member and Past President of the Mesa Rotary Club, and her guest, Kate. Kate is a student at the Benedictine University campus in Mesa. She is attending the University on a volleyball scholarship and is studying one major and two minors. She is from Russia and has been impacted by the war in Ukraine. She can no longer receive financial support from her family in Russia, and at this time would not be able to travel home if she wanted or needed to do so. A sports injury required knee surgery.
- Penny May introduced her son, Patrick May.
- Colleen Coons introduced Dora Le from ASU Rotaract.
- Bob Zarling introduced Erica Henderson who was attending via Zoom. He also introduced AG Lee Holmes and Roberta Holmes, President of Superstition Mountain Rotary Club in Apache Junction.
Happy Bucks - Greg Okonowski
- Dick Myren pledged $150 to the sponsor campaign - $86 in honor of his team captain, Kayla Mudge, $52 is for each of the years since he originally became a Rotarian in 1970, and the balance if $12 is because he and Rod Daniels are both happy to be associated with the best Rotary Club in the world.
- Bob Zarling was happy Erica Henderson was able to attend in person. Erica is a Rotary Peace Fellowship candidate being sponsored by Mesa West Rotary. Bob first met Erica when he travelled to South Africa a few years ago to visit the work being done there by Blessman International. Bob is happy Mesa West members will have a better understanding of the Peace Fellowship program offered through The Rotary Foundation after hearing from Tony Cerato and Erica during the program. He was also glad to contribute the $5 he would have spent for a raffle ticket - he had talked to Rod Daniels recently and Rod may attend a Mesa West meeting in the near future.
- Ron Thompson contributed - happy to be at the meeting
- Ray Smith contributed. This close to the end of tax season, he is half awake and half asleep. The money he contributed was for the right to share a poem from Dr. Seuss:
I'm happy to be here. I am. I am.
I'm the happiest slave of the Firm, I am.
I love this work, I love these chores.
I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job - I'll say it again.
I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who've come today,
in clean white coats to take me away!!!!!
- Colleen Coons was able to have her own money to contribute since she didn't get to buy a raffle ticket. She was happy Dora was at the meeting with her.
- Chris Krueger was happy that they've accepted an offer on the sale of their home in Mesa. It is scheduled to close May 2 and they will be heading for Omaha in early May. She is sad to leave so many wonderful Rotary friends behind, but looking forward to being close to family - especially the grandbabies.
- Polly Cady was happy to announce that guest, Dora Le, as a Rotaract member, is a graduate of Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI). She was also happy that Ray Smith called to sing "Happy Birthday" to her on her actual birthday.
- Allan Cady contributed to celebrate the 4th day of Polly's birthday month. He said they would be celebrating through the 30th.
- Kayla Mudge was happy to have a $100 check from her mom for our sponsor campaign. She said she has been using Facebook to try to get donations from family and friends.
- Shelly Romine reported that Dan Coons had printed greeting cards from Mesa West to insert in the bedding kits we will be preparing for our Rotary Week of Service project. The Westwood High School Interact Club members will write unique uplifting messages in each of the cards and have them ready to be inserted in the bedding kits.
- Erwin Reimann contributed - happy to be in Rotary and especially happy to be in Mesa West. He told of being on a Rotary Friendship Exchange to New Zealand. One of the homes they stayed in was the home of a Maori couple. His host's father had been the first Rotarian in New Zealand from the Maori Indigenous people. At a Rotary meeting the question was asked how many at the meeting had Scottish blood in their veins, and Erwin's host raised, who was known for his sense of humor, his hand. When everyone looked more than a little amazed, he reminded them that his ancestors had been cannibals...
- Jim Schmidt was happy to have gotten acquainted with Tony Cerrato, our speaker, at RLA. Hearing Ray talk about tax season reminded him how happy he is to be retired, especially because the last day of tax season this year is April 18.
- Pam Cohen was happy to see so many at the meeting, but sad to know Chris and Mike will be on their way back to Omaha in the near future.
- Jo Wilson was happy to be at our meeting to introduce us to Kate.
- Penny May announced that she and Patrick would be leaving in a week to travel back to Alaska. Patrick will be moving there so they will be on the road with Patrick driving a UHaul. She said she would be back in January.
- Ed Koeneman contributed hoping everyone had fun and enjoyed the Tacos at the Keeper's Workshop tour and demonstration March 30. He announced he would be auctioning the pen he made during the demonstration later in the meeting. He also pledged $200 to the sponsor program to celebrate a bunch of family birthdays and anniversaries this time of year - including his and Debbie's 25th wedding anniversary. He also put $1 in the hat to celebrate that it is only 625 days until the next Star Wars movie is released.
- Jim McGown contributed. A house in his neighborhood went on the market for $599,000. With competitive bidding, the first offer presented was for $630,000. The final offer that was accepted was $770,000. Jim is happy to know he made such a wise real estate investment when they purchased their home years ago.
- John Pennypacker contributed - he was happy to have Jo Wilson and Kate at the meeting.
Paul Harris Fellow Recognition
John Pennypacker recited the Rotary Vision Statement to remind everyone that we are able to effect positive change in the world, in our communities, and in ourselves through our support of The Rotary Foundation.
- Kayla Mudge was invited to receive her first Paul Harris Fellow recognition. She took a moment to share a few words expressing that Mesa West Rotary is one of the best things that has happened to her since moving to Arizona, and she was very happy to be able to be at the meeting and receive the recognition. She hopes to be able to be present at more meetings in the future.
- Chris Krueger and Ron Thompson were each recognized with Paul Harris plus six recognition.
Auction of Pen from Keeper's Workshop Tour and Demonstration March 30
The bidding for the pen was lively. With the proceeds to go to the Mesa West Foundation sponsor campaign, it didn't take long for the bids to exceed the normal retail value of the pens. Chris Krueger really wanted it. She is moving away. She saw it being made. Her dad, seated in his wheelchair, was close enough to the demonstration to get man glitter (sawdust) on him. Jim Crutcher outbid her with his bid of $200, but said the pen would go to Chris. Robin Harris outbid Jim Crutcher with a bid of $210 and said the pen would go to Jeanie Morgan (who was completely taken by surprise because she had not been bidding.) Ed struck a deal. Robin and Jim would each contribute $200 to the sponsor campaign with Ed's team being credited with the donations and he would make another pen for Jeanie. It has already been delivered and is shown below the photos from the auction. Jim Crutcher received a "thank you" hug from Chris.
Program - Rotary Peace Scholar Program - Tony Cerrato and Erica Henderson
Bob Zarling introduced the program. He said he had learned more about the Peace Scholar program at a District Conference when he heard PDG Nancy Van Pelt talking about it. He said he immediately thought of Erica Henderson, who he had met when she was working at the Blessman project in South Africa.
He said that Tony Cerrato, our speaker, was selected by District 5495 as our district's Peace Champion last year. He is a member of Phoenix Rotary 100 and has served twice as Assistant Governor. He has also served as Foundation Chair for a couple of Rotary Clubs. He is a Major Donor Level 2 to The Rotary Foundation and both of his sons are Paul Harris Fellows.
Tony was glad that Erica was able to be in attendance at the meeting. He had had the opportunity to spend 90 minutes with her in Colorado Springs, where she currently resides, a week earlier.
Tony was complimentary about the Mesa West Rotary Week of Service Project partnering with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. He was obviously very impressed with our signature project - the Gift of Hearing mission in Guaymas, Mexico.
CLICK HERE of on the image above to view the slides Tony used in his Presentation. They will contain more detail in a more appealing presentation than this article could cover.
Mesa West will not have a financial obligation in sponsoring Erica's studies if she is selected. She will be fully funded by The Rotary Foundation. To qualify for the Peace Scholar programs, candidates cannot have family members who are Rotarians. It is acceptable for clubs to sponsor candidates who do not reside in their area.
Being selected is a competitive process. If more Rotarians spread the word about it, the number of applicants would grow and the competition would be greater, allowing the final candidates selected to be a very select group of highly motivated individuals. Many of the candidates already have 5 to 10 years of experience in the specialty and just want to build on that experience with a higher level of knowledge and expertise.
There are two types of programs - Master's programs and Professional Certification Programs. The scholars bond and learn to collaborate with each other. They must apply for a program in a country other than their own country of residence.
Erica indicated that her first choice would be Bradford. They have an emphasis on the African region. She remembers meeting Bob and Lee while she was working there. She feels quite at home with the Africa region.
Her second choice would be Uppsala in Sweden They focus more on emergency conflict environments.
Erica was very animated and excited about the prospect of being accepted. She is currently employed by a Christian Nonprofit organizations. She spoke about a relatively recent experience in Haiti and later attended a conference for Latin America and she was asked to make a presentation about the Haiti trip.
For her future, she sees herself being committed to peace and the people-serving industry. If she is selected as a Peace Scholar, she will be better equipped for the rest of her life. At some point, she might want to become a professor so she can "replicate" herself through others.