Marana Rotary Club
January 11, 2022 weekly meeting
This week’s meeting was held completely virtual given the ongoing Omicron situation.
Randy asked for assistance in arranging our speakers. Bob Bishop, who is slated to handle speakers the next quarter, agreed to move up his assignment to help out.
The Tour de Cookie event needs support during the coming weekends to put out signs promoting the event. Dan and Peter volunteered their able hands to help out.
Beckie asked for assistance seeking sponsors for the Tour de Cookie booths.
Don announced that we have approval from Harkins Theatres to hold the next shredding event on Saturday, April 16.
Happy Bucks
- Harold was “just happy”. Was having breakfast with John Z. following our meeting. All passed on their wishes and condolences to John for his recent loss.
- John D. was happy, the family is well and life is good.
- Cindy reported that she was also happy, and very busy in her new rotary roles.
- Carol (guest, and soon to be member?!) has had the cast removed on her hand and reported that surgery went well.
- Don was happy to be going to southern California to visit friends and family?
- Bob was in Virginia doing some babysitting while his stepson continued to recover from a tough bout with COVID
- Cathy had a great weekend with family from Chicago.
- Sulee reported Jim was status quo having gone four days with no visits to the hospital.
- Denise said her son was isolating in home with COVID. She was happy to have found stuffed bears for the “More Than a Bed” campaign.
- Randy was likely happy, but his computer keeps freezing, so we didn’t get to hear exactly why.
- Dan was happy that Green Bay had a week off during the playoffs, confirming who he is rooting for!
- Beckie was missing her grand daughter after visiting during the holidays.
- Mary reported that she was being extremely careful with the month leading up to her surgery. Hence her usual enthusiastic volunteering persona will be put on pause for the month. We all wish her the very best outcome.
- Peter was excited for the successful launch of the JWST Telescope. He shared some fascinating facts about the countries and number of people involved in the project. Thousands of steps must go perfectly in order for the mirrors to focus. Said this would be equivalent to Galileo’s invention of the telescope for the understanding of the universe.
Guest Speaker
Tom Elf, from the Rincon Rotary Club, spoke on his experiences during his 30 years with Rotary. First, he shared that our very own Randy Brooks is being nominated for induction into the Veterans Hall of Fame, Arizona. Tom relayed stories around what it meant to him to be a Rotarian and why he joined Rotary in the first place. His experiences included Boston, Connecticut and New York before landing permanently in Tucson. Tom stated that a sense of humor was an important life-dealing characteristic for him, personally. Interestingly, Tom shared some history regarding the challenges when women were allowed to join Rotary, and the resistance during the early years. Tom noted the high percentage of women in our club and said we were the best club outside of the city limits of Tucson. That qualification was included because the Rincon club lies within the city limits.
John (as Chairman of the Foundation) and Cindy Dooling came forward to recognize Cindy’s joining of the club and recipient of the Paul Harris Society. The giving of $1,000 resulted in a total donation of $3,000 after matching donations.
Randy introduced Captain Roberto Jimenez of the Marana Police Dept. Captain Jimenez spoke of his experiences during 23 years on the force in Marana, preceded by 5 years on the police force up in Eloy, AZ. Capt. Jimenez described several examples of how the Marana Police Dept. has strived to create a healthy relationship between the department and the community after suffering a reputation issue 8 years ago. He explained the recruitment and training process instituted by the Police Chief to engage officers with the community. Captain Jimenez also touched upon the challenges presented to law enforcement under stress and strain of the COVID pandemic.
Randy introduced Dr. Anita McDonald, District Governor- elect, as our guest speaker. Dr. McDonald’s resume is impressive, which is an understatement. Anita became a Rotarian in 1998 in Indiana. Anita has an educational background that includes graduate level work in education and management from Harvard, Penn State and the University of Indiana. She has held high-level positions as Dean of Education and heads the Arizona Chapter of the ALS Foundation. Anita is a level 2, major donor to the Rotary Foundation.
Randy presented Don Jorgensen with a Level 7 Paul Harris pin, signifying that Don had donated $8,000 to Rotary. Randy then presented Don with a Level 8 Paul Harris pin, arriving in the mail shortly thereafter, recognizing that Don has donated $9,000 to Rotary! Don is approaching the level of “Major Donor” which, as Randy points out, is an amazing accomplishment in the short 14 years in which Don has been a member of Rotary. Randy thanked Don for his generous service over the years.
Cindy Dooling was inducted into the Marana Rotary Club. Cindy has been involved behind the scenes with John for many years. Together they have sponsored 7 exchange students and are Major Donors to Rotary. Cindy is immersed in the Youth Services program for which she is becoming Director for the entire District. John and Cindy recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and John performed the honors of pinning Cindy with the Rotary Club pin. 
Mary introduced our guest speaker, Zoe Fullen, from the Sky Island Alliance. Zoe’s background covers a myriad of talents; Masters Degree in Environmental Sciences, micro-finance education, Peace Corp., to name but a few. Zoe described the work of the Alliance in partnership with numerous governmental, other conservation groups, and private entities which focuses on the megafauna and flora diversity of the mountain ranges comprising the Sky Island province of the SW U.S. and Sonora Mexico. Interesting and timely topics included the impact of the Border Wall project on wildlife migration and the effect of climate change on biodiversity. The Alliance is a nonprofit depending largely on donations and grants. Zoe described how individuals can volunteer for Alliance projects.
El Tour de Tucson, Aide Station review- excellent participation was acknowledged from the Dove Mountain club, maybe 8 members helping out. Need more people in the future, being the first station for both the long ride and short rides, masses stopped at the same time. Need more tables and definitely, more porta-potties. None were delivered so the church porta-potties had to be used. Long lines resulted. Laura and Adisa were enormous help. It was noted that the Dove Mountain tee shirts were awesome, and Sulee offered to provide mock-ups for our club’s consideration. Everyone commented on our awesome signage.
Randy reported that he completed his ride in 3 hrs 50’ and 30”; thirty seconds before the imposed deadline. Ibuprofen is working well. Deb left him in the dust.
MCAT student: Paris Fisher her mom Nicole and Aunt with two cousins attended us via zoom.
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