Our first Informal Breakfast at Cup’s Café drew six Rotarians plus the return of Chris Shippee. Cup’s continues to offer a fabulous breakfast menu with lots of different entrée choices. Come join us at 7:30 a.m. this week. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!

Jim Brock provided us with his annual Coachella Valley real estate update. Jim reminded members that every home and development is different so you really need a visit by a real estate professional to come up with an accurate value for your property. In general, desert home prices continued to rise from a year ago and inventory remains low. Sales, however, are slowing. According to Jim, more homes are sold in the desert during the summer months than in the winter. Also last week, we continued to dedicate our Happy Dollars to our Xavier College Prep lunch table project and Kim Hardee was a lucky $3 winner in the Rotary Raffle. This week will mark the final Raffle until the fall so please plan to buy tickets…..you can’t be a winner unless you’re a buyer!

Last week we heard from Jenna LeComte-Hinely, PhD, chief executive offi-cer of HARC (Health Assessment and Research for Communities). HARC is dedicated to providing research and analysis to communities to facilitate better decision making regarding health and quality of life. HARC is in the middle of conducting its fifth telephone health survey here in the valley. Calls come from Kent State University (area code 330) and Jenna estimates it will take 80,000 to 90,000 calls to get random interviews with 2,500 households. Once complete, survey results will be compiled and made available to interested parties. Also last week, Ricardo Loretta was on hand to accept a check on behalf of the Dr. Carreon Foundation for our annual scholarship donation. Our $500 contribution will be matched twice to provide a $2,000 scholarship to a deserving senior. Finally last week, Jim Brock made it two raffle wins in a row when he pulled a face card for a $20 win. He let it ride so buy tickets this Wednesday!

Joining us last Wednesday where three of our six RYLA representatives from Xavier College Preparatory High School. These high school juniors were selected to attend our district’s Rotary Youth Leadership Academy with the expectation that they will develop leadership skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Joining us were Michael Barajas, Henry Lee and Makai Quintana. Each of these young leaders brought their parents along and each told us a little about their RYLA experiences. All said the camp helped them become more outgoing and Henry Lee, a South Korea native, said his RYLA experiences was the “best time I ever had.” Our other representatives who did not attend our meeting were Isabella Ginex, Pryscilla Sanchez and Serina Zhang. Thanks to Margaret Claggett for working so hard on our RYLA project! Jerry Kress was a lucky $20 winner in our Rotary Mega Raffle.

Jennifer Montgomery, general manager of The Lighthouse Dispensary in Coachella, was our speaker last week. Jennifer has started an outreach program to educate the public about cannabis and its many uses. Jennifer told us that customers at her dispensary are about equally divided between those seeking products rich in THC (to get high) and those seeking products containing CBD for the claimed medicinal benefits. CBD products are available in topical creams, oils and tinctures as well as edibles Judging by the number of questions, there is a great deal of interest in cannabis. The Lighthouse Cannabis Boutique is located at 84160 Avenue 48 in Coachella. Also last week, Steve handed out rack cards for his Tuscany Manor in Palm Springs. This all suite resort is perfect for your out of town visitors. Finally last week, Doug Walker drew an 8 and took home $8 in the Rotary Mega-Raffle. Buy tickets!

Last week was devoted to housekeeping chores as we sorted and labeled our supply of children’s books. Several bags have gone to the Read With Me program and we have a large stockpile of books for future speakers to sign. Also last week, we were visited by Desert Symphony President Nancy Tapick who promoted the Symphony’s 30^th Anniversary Gala featuring Tony Danza. The Gala is planned for this Thursday, April 4, at the McCallum Theatre. Nancy is most proud of the Symphony’s concerts to introduce Coachella Valley school children to music. Tickets for the Desert Symphony’s 2019-2020 season go on sale April 26. Finally last week, we bid farewell to Sojourner Harry Helliesen, who has returned home to Washington and to member Martin Kubelik, whose winter with us has come to an end. We’ll miss you both! Sojourner Ray Roth was a lucky $7 winner in the Rotary Raffle. Buy tickets this week!