The job market is "hot" in the greater Tucson area, according to Evelyn Wright, workforce development director for Interfaith Community Services. The younger generations of workers desire a reasonable work-life balance after witnessing what happened to their parents, and Baby Boomers remain in high demand.
Marana Rotary Club, Weekly Meeting
April 18, 2023
The meeting started at 7:00 AM with social time. There were 13 members present and one (Peter Mack) attended by Zoom.
The meeting officially began at 7:08 AM with the Pledge of Allegiance led by President Laura.
Since Andy, our Club Secretary, was not able to attend due to a delayed airline flight, Bob Bishop volunteered to record the minutes in his place.
President Laura, asked for announcements first.
- She noted the outstanding success of Human Trafficking Forum held last Saturday and thanked all the members that aided with the event.
- Laura gave the reminder to everyone that our next meeting will be by Zoom only. She also noted there would be a board meeting immediately following our regular meeting.
- Don reminded all of the upcoming training for new officers and interested members on May 6th. It is a virtual meeting with details on the Rotary Website. While the minimum requirement for two club members to attend the District Grant session was probably handled by himself and Mary attending, he urged others to attend.
- Laura announced that June 23rd was the date for Cathy, our incoming President’s installation, while June 25th was the date for Don Jorgensen’s District Governor installation.
- Mary reported that Saturday’s forum on Human Trafficking seemed to live up to its slogan - “Awareness, Hope, Action.” She outlined the many connections made and the energy towards the development of a “Dream Center” in Tucson to benefit the victims of Trafficking. Some members expressed their interest in having our club get involved in such a project, perhaps even at the Global Grant Funding level. There was some discussion about the possibility of hosting another forum in the near future.
- Mark discussed the Exchange Student status at Marana High Schools. Mountain View has an opening for a student, and we are in need of a host family for one of the inbound students.
President Clymer then called for Happy Bucks:
- Peter Mack was sorry he couldn’t make the Forum due to his travel schedule but was happy it went well. He is off to San Diego.
- Mark was happy about the Forum, even though he had to leave a bit early.
- Bob was also happy with the Forum, stating that he found it very powerful.
- Cathy was happy she wasn’t chosen for jury duty.
- Cindy was happy about getting a new washing machine.
- John was happy his taxes were done and that the new washing machine was installed.
- Dan was happy with his recent fishing trip.
- Kathy Jorgensen was very happy about the success of the forum and noted that she had attempted to check in on Denise. We are missing her.
- Don was happy about the forum success and celebrated at the Rincon ‘Taste of Chocolate’ event.
- Mary was very pleased with the Forum – and very tired. (Boy, did she work hard on that one!)
- Harold was happy to have attended the Forum. He was very impressed with what he learned from the excellent program.
- Beckie was happy to have attended the Forum.
- Laura was happy with the fantastic weather and the great group that attended the Forum.
With Happy Bucks concluded, President Laura introduced our guest speaker, Evelyn Wright, who is the Workforce Development Manager for Interfaith Community Services. Evelyn has more than 35 years of workforce development experience. Prior to working for ICA, Evelyn assisted job seekers for Goodwill Industries and Pima County's One Stop Business Services. She has deep ties to the greater Tucson business community.Evelyn’s topic title was Southern Arizona Workforce Overview: The New Labor Market and Current Trends. There was a lot to cover in the short time allotted, but Evelyn did a great job outlining the state of the job market in Southern Arizona. Using her gift of ‘speed talking’, "120 words per minute, with gusts to 180", she was able to cover a vast amount of information. Basically, the job market in Southern Arizona is hot. Even Baby Boomers are in high demand.
President Laura presented Evelyn with the "coveted" Rotary Club of Marana Cow Bell in appreciation for her outstanding presentation.
The meeting concluded with the Rotary Four-Way Test and adjourned at 8:04 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert G. Bishop
Acting Secretary