Tour de Cookie ride registration is picking up as we get closer to March 11 fundraiser.
Marana Rotary Club
Weekly Meeting
January 24, 2023
The meeting was Zoom only and started at 7 a.m. Laura skipped the 10-minute social period as the entire meeting will likely be more of a social nature. Many thanks to Bob Bishop who picked up the last 15’ of minute taking as Andy had a flight to catch!
Announcements
Randy celebrated his birthday last weekend. Dan’s is coming up next week. After discussion, it was decided to spare Randy and Dan a birthday song singing, even though Mary claims to have nailed the song for Randy a few days ago. Next Tuesday will be off, followed by the Student of the Month the following Tuesday, February 7.
Happy Bucks
- Peter was feeling good. Relayed a poignant, if not entirely happy, note that 1 million Americans have died of COVID. Since Peter has lived in the USA in 1990, 1 million Americans have been killed by gun violence. A very sobering statistic, and we all share in the sadness
- Don and Cathy were between travels. They traveled to Florida where Don had attended a Rotary conference for District Governors elect. Training was excellent if not exhausting. Don reported that he was very impressed with the incoming President of Rotary International who shared our concerns on mental health, empowering women and continuity in RI programs. Cathy described keeping up with the kids on adventures to the Kennedy Space Center, Epcot Center and the Harry Potter World. She ended the adventures with an avocado margarita. Yum.
- Cathy declined to perform a piano solo; but instead described her recent trip to Picacho State Park, her first time there. Very impressed and was looking forward to returning for the wildflowers display this Spring.
- Dan was feeling “wonderful” and mentioned that he climbs Picacho Peak (to the saddle) every New Year’s Day.
- Andy enjoyed a trip to Denver where he attended the Southwest Indian Market, an annual event, where they watched ceremonial dances and tried to visit over 150 vendors of Native American origins.
- Andrea will be welcoming her grandmother in two weeks, who will be turning 100 years old!
- Mary had a lovely weekend visiting friends and enjoying her favorite music performances. She watched a football game for the first time in years and remembered how much she enjoyed it.
- Bob expressed gratitude to Dan and Andrea for their help in providing speakers for our meeting. Soon-to-come will be Brian Watson, a high-level IRS investigator, and the Town Manager of Marana.
- Randy was happy to see everybody and added that “it was nice to see ANYBODY at this age”. He reported that he ate way too much but had a great birthday.
- Beckie’s daughter arrived late from Salt Lake City but, fortunately, her other daughter was able to collect her at the airport. She is looking forward to spending time with her daughters and wants to take them to Tombstone and Picacho Peak. Beckie gave an update on Carl’s condition and rehab after his fall; everyone is thinking of Beckie and Carl and send positive thoughts
- John commented that this is the first meeting he can remember that Harold was not present. It may be that Harold has perfect attendance for the past 23 years. John lamented that he missed the UA Wildcat men’s basketball win over UCLA; but they instead went to watch their grandson race in an event in Phoenix.
- Cindy mentioned to Beckie that she should consider Karchner Caverns to visit along with Tombstone. Cindy was so proud of her granddaughter who graduated from ASU in the medical health field, with high honors, no less!
- Laura was happy to have today’s meeting Zoom only; while she enjoys seeing everyone in person, the Zoom gives everyone a break from heading down to NW Fire District. She also lamented that the UA/UCLA basketball rivalry will end after UCLA leaves the PAC 12 following next year.
General Discussion
Laura mentioned that a person named Sherry was moved by Lynn’s dedication to Rotary and donated to the Vocational Fund in her honor. Sherry was also considering joining our club. More to follow.
Game Day February 11 at the Doolings: John will send around information for a gathering at their home on Feb 11 for games including ping pong, cornhole, air hockey and more. A show of 12 hands confirmed interest in attending.
Cindy and John will be heading to Tulsa to attend the Youth Exchange conference where students will have the opportunity to know one another prior to the upcoming school sessions. This will be a large gathering of students from programs extending from Texas to Canada. Cindy also described an upcoming conference with the the North American Youth Exchange Network where administrative training and certification occur. Cindy also noted that four outbound students are almost certainly placed in four countries.
Dan noted that $4,400 had already been collected for the Tour de Cookie event, including $1,000 from Chase Builders, and that about 70 riders had already registered. Dan discussed the need to have help picking out Tour de Cookie T shirt colors. Andrea volunteered to help. Various promotion ideas were discussed.
The April 15 forum on Human Trafficking was discussed. It was noted that the website for the event is up and working. Randy requested that members of the club sign up for attendance. Peter did just that while in the meeting.
Laura will be constructing press release on the Tour and on the Human Trafficking Forum and distributing them to the Daily Star and other media outlets in the area.
Meeting adjourned with the Four-Way test, led by Peter Mack at 8:00 a.m.