Feb 24 Meeting
Our final meeting of Feb 2015 was BIG, with 32 in attendance, including guests Joyce Zwick from Canada, our exchange student from France Jeanne with friend Danny Fuell, Michael Goldsmith and daughter Lilly, Alice’s friends (and now ours) Goose & Arturo, our District 5500 Membership Chair Joe Hinges from Dove Mountain Rotary, Myron Donald from Tucson Sunrise Rotary, and Dallas Johnson (Tori’s Dad). Our very special guests were District 5500 Governor Sally Montagne and PDG Ernie Montagne.
The meeting was conducted by incoming President (2015-2016) Alice Rigney. PDG Randy Brooks announced, with great sadness, that our current President, Kathleen Debiak, had been forced to resign due to health and financial issues. We all wish Kathleen the very best and know that her health will return. We look forward to her returning to Rotary.
Randy then gave our s.jpg)
peaker, Ernie Montagne, a rousing introduction. Ernie served as District Governor from 2010-11. He served as Future Vision Transition Coordinator for the district in 2011 to 2013, and currently serves as District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair for 2013-16 and is a member of the Arizona Tri-District PETS Committee. He received The Citation for Meritorious Service in 2011. As a member of the Rotary team, Ernie recently completed the 104-mile Ride to End Polio / El Tour de Tucson, raising thousands of dollars for PolioPlus. Ernie and current District Governor Sally participated in a Polio National Immunization Day in West Africa in 2005.
peaker, Ernie Montagne, a rousing introduction. Ernie served as District Governor from 2010-11. He served as Future Vision Transition Coordinator for the district in 2011 to 2013, and currently serves as District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair for 2013-16 and is a member of the Arizona Tri-District PETS Committee. He received The Citation for Meritorious Service in 2011. As a member of the Rotary team, Ernie recently completed the 104-mile Ride to End Polio / El Tour de Tucson, raising thousands of dollars for PolioPlus. Ernie and current District Governor Sally participated in a Polio National Immunization Day in West Africa in 2005. Ernie retired from the US Army in 1981 after serving in Germany, Greenland, Vietnam, and Korea. He subsequently retired from a second career as a defense analyst responsible for test and evaluation of military weapon systems.
Enthusiastic supporters of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Ernie and Sally are members of the Arch Klumpf Society, Bequest Society Members, multiple Paul Harris Fellows, and members of the Paul Harris Society.
Randy recalled that when he joined Rotary he found a new way of looking at the world, and that Rotary became his family and Ernie his brother.
Ernie talked about the opportunities that Rotary gives all of us, and how Rotary’s five core values form our identity as Rotarians. The five core values are:
Service
Fellowship
Integrity
Leadership
Diversity
As an example of Service, Ernie talked about a planning trip to West Africa with Sally in which they encountered a village with a desperate need for clean water. Women walked for miles carrying 50 lb. jars of water on their heads, and, even then, the water source was contaminated with pigs and cattle. Ernie made “a rash statement” on the spot and vowed to do everything in his power to bring clean water to the village. After rec
eiving support from 88 clubs and 12 Rotary Districts in 7 countries, clean water was brought to over 50 communities in Togo and Niger, changing lives forever.
As an example of the core value of Integrity, Ernie described the story of the Four Way Test. In 1932, during the Great Depression, the president of Alcoa Aluminum in Chicago, Rotarian Herb Taylor, was searching for ways to keep the company afloat. He wrote the Four Way Test for his own personal use, to provide guidance and inspiration. He credited its use with the company’s turn-around and survival. When Herb became Rotary President in the early 1950’s he gave the Test to Rotary. For many of us, the Four Way Test was a major factor in attracting us to Rotary.
Alice recalled her first meeting with Michael Harris, who founded the Rotary service/fundraising event with the Tour de Tucson, when she and husband George first came to Tucson and were house-hunting. She reminded all of us that, to be in Rotary you have to have the heart to help people. She highly recommends the book “A Century of Service: The Story of Rotary International” by David C. Forward, which is available at shop.rotary.org and also on Amazon. David is said to be writing another book in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation in 2017.