Rotary Club of Marana
 
                                                                            
The first meeting of April 2018 began with a "Welcome back Don" shout out to Mr Jorgensen. Bet you thought I was going to say it started with the Pledge.
Maeve asked for a song but alas, being a no song month she was denied. She "threatened" the club with a Johnson/Dooling duet next week. The fear was palpable in the room.
 
GREAT ATTENDANCE at 90%! Even Jason showed up. If we can get Clint, Mark and Jason at the same meeting I am donating an extra $20! Although Jorgensen and Mack both indicated they will be on the road again in the coming weeks it was good to see both. Javier was out on a father/daugher event, but Nana capably filled his shoes.
 
Thought for the day came from Mr Richard Benner. Basically it was "Don't worry. Be Happy". Space limitations on the internet prohibit the full recitation of the thought.  
 
Odds and Ends
The winner of one hundred dollar early bird Tour de Cookie sign upper is Roger somebody. Randy said he probably knows him and took the money.
Club members all participated in the culling of poorly made ceramic cookies from the hundreds dumped on each table. Made for our club by Quail Run School as part of the Tour de Cookie fund raiser, we learned that not all ceramists ages 7 to 11 are created equal. Truth be told a some at our table were damaged by the CFO who tested a few for possible school lunch inclusions. Anything to save a dime at MUSD, right Dan? Thanks Quail Run.
Board Meeting Thursday 5:30P start. John's office. All welcome.
Thanks to Randy, Deb, Bob and Jo for working The Loop and getting out the word about Tour de Cookie.
More Tour de Cookie-This Sunday 9A at the Farmers Market Rillito Park one last get the word out  before the big event 4/14/2018.
 
DID I MENTION TOUR DE COOKIE? OUR MAJOR FUND RAISER OF THE YEAR REQUIRES ALL HANDS ON DECK. To paraphrase  Uncle Sam "WE NEED YOU!" With Don and Peter out of town and Tony getting married all those remaining in town need to make a concerted effort to be available. Friends, family and kids welcome to help.Thank you, the management.
 
Party Time! May 29th is a 5th Tuesday and Mr An's will be where we gather for a fun filled evening. Maeve and Lynne are promising to have a rice flinging contest if Harold and John Z promise to be their open mouthed targets. This promises to be more hilarious than their "Battle of the Jokesters" skit we have come to loathe. (that is sarcasm)
Speaking of this lovable duo Maeve spoke of poop maps and Lynne of IRS audits. Knee slapping hilarity. Oh my. Tears are running down my cheeks as I relive the moment. Ahem, moving on.
Jo congratulated Maeve on her anniversary...........................six months early or late, we're not sure.
 
Happy Bucks
Dan-Pocketed a cool $202.25 at his garage sale and gave the club one half of one percent of the profit
Peter-Visiting his father soon and then off to Chile for months
Don-Here and gone
Randy-Sold a tee shirt for $3 and made the buyer feel like a  cheapskate. Seriously, Randy was happy about this, I kid you not.
Mary-Only Denise and Tony who were sitting at her table know the reason for her happiness
Bob-Wife returning to Tucson after short absence
Denise-Sorry, I missed it. My ears exploded while trying to amplify Mary's reason for happiness 
Thanks to all who donated.
Tony-Got five bucks out of him after last week's "zero". Headed to Flagstaff for a wild and crazy kind of time. Kind of like Vegas only NOT.
Bob "Lucky" Bishop pulled the 4 of hearts. The sadness displayed by his fellow Rotarians at his misfortune tugged at this writer's heartstrings. Sniff.
 
 Kimberly Ward, mother of two Eagle Scout's, friend of Richie Benner and Scholastic Book rep was our speaker. A few of the numerous points she made about reading are:
1. 85% of your brain growth is over at age 3
2. Reading to young'uns three times a week improves their ????????by 25%.
3. The wealthier the family the more words/vocabulary a child is exposed to
4. 61% of low income families have no books in the home
5. If you enter school two years behind your peers in learning you may never catch up
Kim read Malcome Mitchells "The Magic Hat" to us. My interpretation of the story is the magic hat is like a library. So many wondrous books on so many wondrous topics await you once you are inside. Open the cover and let your imagination loose.