President Dan Coons welcomed all in attendance, introducing himself and expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to serve as President of such an awesome club. He reminded everyone of the 2021-22 Rotary International theme - Serve to Change Lives. He then 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
The invocation was offered by Robin Harris and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ed Koeneman.
Introduction of Guests
- Lucinda General introduced her father - Anthony J. "Tony" Rose, Jr. Anthony J. Rose was Lu's grandfather. He was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Simsbury Connecticut. Her dad replaced him as a member of that club when her grandfather died at the early age of 56. Her dad wouldn't let the club get him his own badge. He used his father's.
President Dan expressed appreciation for Carla Krzmarik's service as greeter, welcoming members and guests to the meeting.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Steve Ross
Since Jim Schmidt had not purchased a ticket. Steve asked Jim to draw the winning raffle ticket which was held by Carla Krzmarik, making her the lucky winner of $40.00. The did not have the good fortune to draw the Ace of Clubs, so the big winnings will continue to grow.
Happy Bucks - Logan Harper
- Shelly Romine contributed. She was happy to be back after missing three meetings. Twice she was vacationing in Idaho and once because there was a lot of catching up to at work after being gone two weeks.
- Lu General announced that Wayne General had sent $400 to The Rotary Foundation, with $100 each to be credited to the donation accounts of four Mesa West members who helped with relocating Wayne's mother to her new home at a beautiful assisted living residence. The four beneficiaries of Wayne's gifts of appreciation are: Pam Cohen, Colleen Coons, Chuck Flint and Tim Troy.
- Allan Cady pledged $76, and expressed disappointment that Chuck Flint was not at the meeting. He wanted to celebrate the one day each year when he and Chuck are the same age.
- Allan Cady requested prayers for Jimmy Cline, the general manager at Allan's oldest son's dealership in Charlotte North Carolina. Jimmy has COVID along with heart and lung issues. CPR has had to be administered twice.
- Polly Cady contributed celebrating Allan's birthday and reminded members she had added a delicious birthday cake to the already plentiful dessert bar at the meeting. Ray Smith led everyone in singing Happy Birthday to Allan.
- Dick Myren contributed his traditional $1 each for himself and Rod Daniels. He also shared that he would miss the next meeting. He will be traveling to Iowa and Illinois to visit family. He will be visiting a brother who has some very serious health challenges. He may not get to see his seventeen-year-old granddaughter and her family because the granddaughter has recently been diagnosed with COVID.
- Ron Thompson contributed. He was happy when his son recently asked for Ron's advice. His son works for American Express had had been offered a choice of two promotion opportunities. He asked Ron if he should accept the one in New York or the opportunity in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- Jeane Crouse contributed. Over the prior weekend, she had cared for a veteran from the war in Afghanistan - a service dog trained to stay with wounded until they could be transported. She was happy she would have the opportunity again the coming weekend.
- Pam Cohen was happy to report that the reason Dave Brauchler, Dan Lamborn and John Pennypacker were not present at the meeting was because they were playing in the Midwest Food Bank golf tournament at The Biltmore.
- Lu General thought Shelly Romine should receive extra accolades for not missing a beat in performing her Community Service Chair responsibilities even though she had been out of town a couple of weeks following which she was buried at work.
Rotary Minute - Don LaBarge
Don began by expressing that giving just a minute to speak to a past district governor was pretty rough on them. He quoted Rotary Legend Cliff Dochterman: "Past District Governors are like old shoes. Their sole is worn out, but their tongue is in perfect shape."
For many years, the number of Rotarians in the World has stayed pretty much the same - about 1.2 million. Each year around 10,000 join and 10,000 leave. He said that Rotarians who stay three years are far more likely to remain Rotarians indefinitely. The more Rotary education new members receive, the more likely they are to stay. Don encouraged members to attend training opportunities held by the District like Club Leadership Academy (CLA) or Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI). Members are welcome to attend Mesa West Board meetings. They wouldn't have a vote, but they would be able to ask questions to gain understanding of club business. (Board meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM. They are currently being held via Zoom. Members interested in attending could ask President Dan to send them the link to the meeting). Don tried to make the board meetings sound more exciting by saying that Rotarians may seem nice at the meetings, but there have been fist fights at Rotary board meetings.
When they did an exit interview with one person who had left Rotary, they were told that they enjoyed all the nice people they met at Rotary, but they were too busy to have the only Rotary-related thing they did was eat with nice people on a regular basis. They had joined because they had a passion for service, but that wasn't happening in the club the member had left.
Another useful suggestion for new members was to find a seasoned Rotarian to be their mentor. Several members of Mesa West are active in Rotary beyond the club level, and are known for the service they provide throughout the District. Don said that more than once he has been talking with Rotarians at district events who asked him what club he was in, and when Don answered "Mesa West," they would respond - "Oh, you're in Pam Cohen's club."
Auction - Edibles from Idaho - Shelly Romine
Bidding was fairly brisk, but Shelly cut it off after Polly Cady's bid of $35. Polly became the lucky owner of some Huckleberry Pancake Mix along with Huckleberry Syrup.
Announcements
- Shelly Romine asked that a video be played of a Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build where they built 90 bunk beds which would get 180 youngsters into beds who had been sleeping on the floor. Shelly had spoken with Andrea Murphy who said they have a current wait list of 100 kids needing beds. The bedding we are currently collecting at our meetings will be provided to be used by those children. First responders see the need when they are called to homes and find residents with no beds for the children residing there. There is no approval process required to receive a bed.
- Shelly Also announced that volunteers are still needed for the Midwest Food Bank hands-on service project to be held Tuesday, September 28 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Volunteers will be repackaging bulk food. See a separate article in this newsletter for the signup link.
- Wayne General will be taking portrait photographs of Rotarians prior to and after the September 23 meeting. He will try to be set up around 10:00 AM and stay after the meeting until 2:00 or so.
- President Dan reminded members that District Governor Bret McKeand would be making his official visit to Mesa West Rotary September 23. He will be the featured speaker. He would like to meet with new members (new within the last year) at 11:30, and stay following the meeting to meet with Mesa West Rotary board members for thirty minutes or so.
- Pam Cohen requested that members participate in the October 1 brunch benefitting Child Crisis Arizona. She had room for two more at her table. It is also possible to attend virtually. If Pam's table is full, and you would like to attend the event virtually, CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Be sure to click on Pam's name as your host when you register. Child Crisis Arizona responds to the needs of families in turmoil.
- Pam Cohen requested that members respond to Jeanie Morgan if they plan to attend the Musical Interlude social at Allan and Polly Cady's new home on the evening of September 30. CLICK HERE to download the flyer. She said that planned timing for the event is a social time from 6:00 to 6:30, performance at 6:30 followed by more social time. They are still getting settled, so there might be a work party afterward. Help with cleanup is always appreciated.
- President Dan had recently printed a membership directory and announced he had a few copies available at the meeting for anyone who wanted to take one.
Program - Oakwood Creative Care - Sherri Friend
Jay Stuckey introduced Sherri Friend. Sherri is the President and CEO of Oakwood Creative Care. Sherry has dedicated her career to finding creative solutions to enriching the lives of individuals with perceived obstacles, and filling those lives with purpose and meaning. As a passionate advocate, she has become an effective business strategist with the proven skills needed to grow and develop non-profit organizations, enabling them to expand their reach and impact into the community. Sherri has developed an understanding of effective management of nonprofit organizations and how to effect positive change.Sherri began her career with an internship in the United Kingdom where she had the opportunity to work in a cutting edge program for adults with developmental disabilities. Upon her return to the United States, she gained additional experiences leading home and community based nonprofits throughout Arizona. Sherri has been recognized through her leadership as 2015 Nonprofit of the Year by Mesa Chamber and received the Amazing Women Award in 2016 from National Bank of Arizona and was the Phoenix Suns' 2019 Piper Trust Fellowship Recipient.
Her leadership extends through chairing several committees such as the Sun Lakes Creative Engagement Partners, The Arizona Dementia Caregiver Alliance, and the Mesa Health Care and Aging Committee. Sherri's leadership has led to initiatives such as establishing Mesa as a Dementia Friendly City.
Sherry is a fellow Rotarian - she is a member of the Mesa Rotary Club.
One of her primary goals is to enhance quality of life for those with cognitive and/or physical impairment
The organization she leads was established in 1975. They provide adult day care for adults with cognitive or physical challenges. The organization's former name was Sirrine. 2012 was a very challenging year for them. They were located in the 35th largest city in the United States. They were not really engaged - not making it personal. If they didn't change something, there was a strong likelihood they would eventually have to close.
Sherri shared a short video of her grandmother's wishes during the latter part of her life. She hoped people could keep living the way they had been and enjoy themselves. People of all ages thrive when they have the opportunity to be with other people. Nobody wants to be just a body with an old face.
They looked at what they were doing and knew they had to make radical changes. Bringing in an "activities" director to keep people busy for a short time doing stuff that was not really fun for the visiters to their facility. Most of the activities did not resemble anything they would have chosen to do on their own. They needed to replace those activities with things that would either make their visitors feel useful, productive or offer some creative engagement. At first, they were criticized because the tools they were allowing their visitors to use (like hammers and saws) were dangerous.
The goal of what they were attempting to accomplish with their change initiative was to enable their visitors to find joy. That is much easier to do if you treat your patients and staff well. They worked on initiatives in that area as well.
Employing their practices has actually resulted in fewer falls and injuries, and they are now being looked at as a best-practice model of creative adult daycare..
Sherri has willingly shared the slides she used during her presentation. CLICK HERE to download the file.
