Posted by Ed Mystery on Mar 04, 2019
President CHUCK opened our meeting with a moment of silence for the passing of ROBIN STODDARD’s father and a moment of reflection in support of TOM ANDREWS and his family.  Past President CLIFF BOWMAN offered the inspiration (not, as he hinted, in honor of Salpointe, but eloquent nonetheless.)
 
New member JENNY VOLPE of Make Way for Books led us in the Pledge and Song (“God Bless America”) accompanied as always by the talented GARY HIRSCH. New member SARA GAAR EHRENS introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians, many of whom are just starting to thaw out from the Midwestern winter snows.
 
We had two Birthday Rotarians:
 
KANDY HIRSCH is a family member who has completed 40 triathlons in addition to founding an all women rock band. KANDY shared a great poem by Mary Oliver: “Green, Green is my Sister’s House”.  DREW VACTOR is an expert web designer and former proprietor of the Tack Room who is celebrating his 50th year of marriage. DREW thanked his sponsor BILLY JOE VARNEY for 33 years of Rotary experience and perfect attendance.
 
President CHUCK introduced our newest Honorary Member, CHUCK FREITAS husband of Past President MARIANNE FREITAS.  CHUCK and MARIANNE resurrected Falcon Pools and built it into one of the largest pool builders in Arizona.  Every year since inception, CHUCK has assisted in numerous ways with the Car Show and other Rotary events.
 
The Dynamic Duo of Past President CHARLOTTE HARRIS and President Elect BOB LOGAN made another round of Paul Harris Presentations, complete with lovely green St. Patrick’s Day hats and matching glasses:
 
BRETT STEIN is a graduate of the best high school in town (Rincon) who among other past lives sold pay phones in Las Vegas for a short while. BRETT now works for Northwest Mutual and appreciates Rotary because it allows us to give back to our community.
CONRAD PLIMPTON received his Paul Harris plus two in addition to degrees from Harvard and two degrees from University of Chicago.  CONRAD is a founding member of Desert Angels, a venture capital group that identifies promising new technologies and appreciates Rotary because it helps him teach 18 grandchildren the importance of service above self.
BOBBY LARSON received his Paul Harris plus four. BOBBY is a graduate of Illinois, former baseball coach at the University of Arizona and the founder of Innovative Senior Living which creates humane environments for seniors with memory impairments.
 
We had the following announcements:
 
JAN GREEN made a Blue Badge presentation to STEVE MARTEN – past president of the Sunrise Rotary, recipient of four Paul Harris awards, Navy intelligence veteran and astronomy lover.
DARRELL STEWART reminded us of the upcoming Replacement Mixer on 3/27 and Home Hospitality the week of 4/14.  We are looking for hosts for the week.
DAVE GALLAHER let us know about the upcoming Triangle Y Work Project.
MARGARET HIGGINS announced the deadlines for the Orville McPherson and 4 Way Test Awards.
Past President ROGER HARWELL spoke about the upcoming SARSEF science fair – sign up to be a judge or just volunteer!
…and finally, Car Show Chair JASON GRABOSCH spoke about the new simplified leadership format and announced our upcoming Chair:  the ever-reliable Past President CLIFF BOWMAN! Good luck to both Chairs!
 
Everyone’s Principal PAT LENNAN introduced our speaker Donald G. Jorgensen the Southern Arizona Ambassador to Shelterbox International.  Mr. Jorgensen is a member of the Marana Rotary Club, owner of Human Factor Consultants and a recipient of the President’s Service Award for his work with Shelterbox.  According to Mr. Jorgensen, at any one time there are as many as 85 million displaced persons in the world. Shelterbox is helping in nine countries currently using an approach that has evolved to fit the needs of particular situations (for example, different types of tents depending on weather conditions and a new solar light originally featured on “Shark Tank”.)  Shelterbox operates out of eight warehouses around the world and can respond in 48 hours to disasters.  Shelterbox is a four-star charity where 88% of donations go directly to the response effort.  Thank you, Don for an inspiring and impressive presentation. 
Mr. Jorgenson signed a book for our lending library: “Reading Makes You Feel Good”
 
President CHUCK ended our meeting with a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Even with all our technology… it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we're still at the mercy of nature.”
Sponsors