As yet another beautiful southern Arizona morning greeted residents of the pastoral town of Marana, stalwart Rotarians were assembling at Nana’s Kitchen. At this time of the year, it’s not possible to claim that they had arisen at the crack of dawn, because the sun rises so early now. Let’s just say they got up really, really early. President Mary Straus opened the meeting and introduced two guests, Carla and Tom. Carla drove today’s speaker to the meeting, and Tom Halazon is a long-time Rotarian who has been visiting us from the Tri-Cities somewhere in the Northwest (just kidding, it’s Washington. Or Oregon). Tom and Mary exchanged banners – a nice touch!
 
A group of Rotarians in Alberta is driving to Mexico to deliver a donated emergency vehicle. The Los Amigos Project Convoy consists of 16 members, and will be in Tucson on April 24 where we’ll meet them for dinner at El Charro downtown, one of their favorite places. No doubt we’ll hear some interesting stories…
 
Further work was done on the tortoise habitat at Coyote Trail Elementary School, as the playground for special-needs students progresses. Mary was joined by Sulee and Jim Edwards and Peter Mack. And the wheelchair swing has been ordered! There were several times in the development of this project that we thought the swing would not be possible, due to cost and safety concerns, but here we are!
 
 
Calendar Update
Sat Apr 23
Memory screening project in Nogales.
 
Sun Apr 24
Dinner with the Los Amigos Project Convoy at El Charro downtown at 6:30pm.
 
Wed May 4
Exchange students Matus Bogar and Tori Johnson speak to our Interact Club at Tortolita Middle School, 4:15 pm.
 
Fri May 13
Randy, Bert & Cheri will play music at Nana’s Kitchen, 6-8 pm. Tips will be donated to the Marana Rotary Foundation.
 
Mon May 16
Marana Rotary Board meeting at 5:30pm at Mary’s house. All are welcome to attend.
 
Sat May 28 – June 1
Rotary International Convention in Seoul, Korea
 
 
Breaking News
Mary reported receiving fan mail from a rider in the Tour de Cookie who praised the event and is looking forward to next year! We signed thank-you cards to all of our hosts of the Cookie Stations, including Maeve Johnson, who had a really special booth (with circus music). It was such a fun, delicious event!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Strange but True: Happy Bucks
Tax season is over, the bedlam has subsided, and CPA Lynne Himmer did a little dance and sang a little song to celebrate! Yes, I said that was Lynne. Saw it with my own eyes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Guest Speaker
Monalisa Teves, a Global Grant Scholar of Rotary International, spoke to us today about her work in her country, The Philippines, and her experience as a Global Grant Scholar this year. She gave us a look into life in her country with a beautiful slide show, then told us that there was another side to the Philippines – a poverty rate of almost 35%. Her scholarship centers around the question “What are you going to do with your project from the U.S.?” Her answer is to work in the village of Miagao to understand the complexity of problems brought on by a destructive typhoon and a separate fire disaster. When typhoons hit, the “fisher folks” can’t fish. This is critical, because the people of Miagao live day-to-day. It’s for reasons like this that Monalee chose commercial and economic development out of Rotary’s six areas of focus. We want to thank her for sharing her experiences with us, and wish Monalee the very best when she returns to work in her native land.