Marana Rotary weekly meeting
August 24, 2021
The meeting was held all virtual, again attended by folks from all sorts of locals including Tucson. Welcomed was our guest, Cathy Lowling from Felicia’s Farm
Randy asked if everyone was in favor of Happy Bucks, having heard that there may be thoughts to the contrary. Members supported the continuation as a form of comradery and personalizing our meetings. So…
Happy Bucks
Harold loves the nice weather, for a change, and was happy to have had a good look at the space station circling the heavens
Dan was not happy. His past weeks have been filled with house remodeling nightmares punctuated by mask conflicts within the school district
Andy was happy that all of the fire smoke had dissipated over Utah….for now.
Richie was happy for the follow-through and commitment to the Peace Poles Project, having been initiated 18 months ago under his watch
John D was happy for he and Harold having delivered the first round of produce from Felita’s Farm. On a profoundly sad note, he lost an obviously close and important friend. Members reached out with strong emotional support. Maybe a good reminder as to why we share during Happy Bucks
Don was happy for the completion of the Peace Pole project and noted that in his travels to Seattle and Rhode Island, he has not seen a drop of rain; ironic as Tucson is flooding.
Laura was happy to see the start of teaching at the U of A
Beckie was happy to have harvested several good speaker candidates at an Oro Valley event for nonprofits.
Mary was happy that Cathy will soon be applying to our club for membership. She was also grateful for Peter pulling her stuck car out of her front yard (must be much more to this story?)
Sulee was happy to have things going smoothly
Bob was happy to have his 5 ½ year old grandson starting school
Denise enjoyed a fun interview with a vocational fund applicant
Peter enjoyed the process of hydraulically lifting his house, twice, so that he could video the event
Cathy was happy to be joining the Marana club and that Felicia’s Farm produce was used in a Thai themed banquet
Randy was happy to be soon welcoming Cathy and for our relationship with Felicia’s Farm
Announcements
Harold advised that the Peace Pole Project pictures were posted on the website. Everyone was grateful for the very hard work performed by Mary, Peter, and Laura over the past weekend.
Next week the meeting will be “social” with a tour of the Marana Health Center; breakfast to follow. Meet up will be at 7AM; six people indicated their intention to join. Sulee will send specifics for the location.
Lynne not being present, Randy briefly presented the Budget report. All-in-all, the club’s fund is robust with a balance of approximately $11,000 after taking into consideration monies owed or committed for Shelter Box, Felicia’s Farm, the San Carlos old folks project and, perhaps, the Uganda Project (to be confirmed). Randy noted that several club members are behind in dues and urged all to verify. Apparently, some communications from Lynne to members may have been lost as Lynne is using a new email address. (Look for possible emails from RotaryLynne@gmail.com)
Denise has been kind enough to volunteer to bring goodies to in-person meetings for the month of September.
Randy remined that the time is coming for adopting a family for Thanksgiving and X-mas; so, please start thinking.
The topic was raised that clubs can reserve a table at the upcoming District Convention to showcase their club’s accomplishments. Mary recommended that we reserve the table now and decide later how and what to prepare. Peter offered the use of his display stands for a nice presentation. After discussion, it was generally felt that participating would inform the attendees of our club’s track-record and potentially attract new members.
Committee Reports
Membership- Don is compiling the questionnaires sent to club members and will report in more detail when time permits. Meanwhile, he made several general comments:
- Community projects brought many members to join; however, the fellowships are what tend to keep people in Marana Rotary
- Meetings and speaker topics show continued improvement
- Strong sense that everyone feels that this club creates a welcoming atmosphere
- Suggested that a standard mentorship be created for new members.
- More
Foundation- John Dooling reported on his and Bob’s activities during a very successful year. The Marana Club may not be the biggest or wealthiest; however, the dollar amounts donated per member are the highest of any club in the District. Members are reminded that donations to the Annual Programs Fund are encouraged and that matching funds from the club will boost the donations. Matching funds, along with our donations, will count towards each individual’s Paul Harris designation. The Foundation meeting will be held on November 2.
Youth Services- Richie announced that upcoming dates for the Student of the Month Program are Sept 14 and Oct. 26.
Due to our limited time, Randy asked that Committee reports be continued at a later meeting.
Andy Swarthout, Secretary