Dec 4, 2918 - The Faculty and Staff Award winners for November are Andrew Centanni, Biology Teacher and Pat Smith, CDS Cross-Country Coach. Congratulations, Andrew and Pat - jobs well done.Stories
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Dec 4, 2918 - The Faculty and Staff Award winners for November are Andrew Centanni, Biology Teacher and Pat Smith, CDS Cross-Country Coach. Congratulations, Andrew and Pat - jobs well done. |
  Dec 2, 2018 - Members gathered at Kelly and Lonnie's home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping, singing, and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a family with needy children. Kelly selected the family from the Boys and Girls Club list of families in need. Thanks to all!! This year we were pleasantly surprised to be entertained by Katie Alexander's Glee Club. This is an annual event that club members vigorously support and enjoy. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Dec 3, 2018 - Mark Mitchell, Mayor of the City of Tempe, gave us an overview of his and his family's past and why he thinks Tempe is such a great city. Interested readers can view his "State of the City" speech by clicking here. Mark gave us many statistics, like how large the city is (42 square miles), how much volunteers helped the city, how many jobs are being added, what companies are locating here, plans for a new street car, and development of a new ARTS / SCIENCE complex at the west end of Tempe Town Lake. His presentation was well received and generated much discussion. It's clear that Mark is a very enthusiastic emissary for the city and has passion for the city and where it is going. Thank you, Mark. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 November 26, 2018 - Today Jeanie Morgan, a Director of The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA), spoke to us about the mission and needs of TRVFA. TRVFA is a unique organization - it is approved by Rotary International and is qualified as an Arizona Tax-Credit eligible organization. The organization is focused on students who are pursuing certifications or degrees in vocational rather than college areas and who have financial needs. For students who have been approved by TRVFA, clubs are asked to endorse the students. There is no expense to the club. Clubs are encouraged to stay in contact with the students during their program, as well as afterwards. Club members and the club itself is encouraged to contribute to this most worthwhile organization. Check their website for more details. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  Nov 6, 2018 - In the cafeteria is the Staff of the Month, Armida "Smitty" Chavez, CdS Cafeteria Manager. She told us she had never been recognized for her service in 25 years. The other photo is of Teacher of the Month, Yen Rowan, Math Teacher. Congratulations to Smitty and Yen - jobs well done. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Nov 17, 2018 - A group of volunteers from the Kyrene and Tempe Downtown rotary clubs spent two hours putting materials together at the Treasures 4 Teachers facility on 48th St. The Kyrene club had a strong showing with 6 members (Doug, Rob, Scott, Lynette, Ken, and David) and our exchange student Flor. We had lots of interaction and fellowship. Our efforts were greatly appreciated and we expect to continue supporting this most worthwhile organization that helps teachers obtain materials at affordable prices. Click on "Read more" to see social media options. |
 November 19, 2018 - Melissa Zabor is a Commissioner and Judge Pro Tem in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Formerly she practiced law as a defense attorney and then as a prosecutor. She described the court and its operations - what a heavy workload it carries. The criminal court is open 24 hours a day and schedules appearances every 3 hours. Melissa herself, works seven 11 hour shifts every 2 weeks. Her court sees about 30 - 35 people every 3 hours. They processed 72,000 people last year. She finds her job challenging and very interesting to say the least. (Melissa is the daughter of our president-elect, Wally Stuebner) Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Nov 19, 2018 - In the early 1900’s Paul Harris was a Chicago attorney who believed in a vision where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities. With that vision, he created Rotary and the rest is history. The Kyrene Rotary Club would like to recognize one of our generous sponsors as a Paul Harris Fellow.Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Nov 12, 2018 - Today Jamie Podratz, the Marketing and Outreach manager for Save the Family, gave us an excellent overview of this organization. While they concentrate on providing housing for people in need, they also provide a series of other programs to help people recover from poverty and become employed. The organization has been around for 30 years and has housing facilities throughout the valley. Their goal is make people self-sufficent as quickly as possible: their average is 6 months as compared to the national average of 16 months. They have just opened a new facility in Tempe to assist women veterans. We were very impressed with the success and breadth of Save the Family and encourage everyone to check out their web site. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Nov 8, 2018 - Club members, Harry, Ken, Bill, David, Andy, and Jim are preparing to distribute over 100 dictionaries to the Autism Academy for Education and Development in Tempe. We delivered the dictionaries to 8 classes and the students were extremely pleased to receive them. Club members had lots of fun interacting with the students. Andy and Harry are busy helping students with one of the exercises we guide them through to help them become familiar with the contents of the dictionary/encyclopedia. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Oct 29, 2018 - Ed Mendoza talked to us about Driver's Education in Arizona. He first gave us a bit of his background. As a freshman in high school he was encouraged to pursue track and field rather than some other sport because he was fast and had endurance. Later in life he was an All American and also a member of the Olympic team in 1976. He taught physical education and driver's ed for 20 years. He has just retired and will begin his own driver's ed business because the schools in Arizona are phasing out that program. Ed told us several stories about being a driver's ed teacher which prompted much discussion. We wish Ed well in his new business. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Oct 23, 2018 - Many club members and significant others met at Charleston's Restaurant for our first social event of the fiscal year. As usual, there was lots of laughter and fellowship. We survived a noisy surrounding (and contributed to it) while enjoying good food. Next social is on Sunday afternoon, Nov 18 at the Main Event. Come join us. Click on "Read More" to see social media options. |
 Oct 22, 2018 - Today we had a visitor, Van Van Jepmond, from a club near Olympia in Washington, who told us a short story (on short notice since our scheduled speaker did not arrive). Van had spent many years in Denmark during World War II and one day at a District Rotary meeting in Victoria BC he heard a man speaking Danish. They began to trade information and it turned out that the man was living in Denmark very close to where Van had lived all those years ago. Van has been in Rotary for many years and has tales from all over the world. Rotary certainly brings people together in some wonderful and unexpected ways! Thanks Van for "filling in" for us - you made it a great meeting. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 13, 2018 - In the early 1900’s Paul Harris was a Chicago attorney who believed in a vision where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities. With that vision, he created Rotary and the rest is history. The Kyrene Rotary Club would like to recognize one of our generous sponsors as a Paul Harris Fellow.Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Oct 15, 2018 - Barb Blalock, our speaker, is the founder and leader of Treasures 4 Teachers. In 2004, she observed as a 2nd grade student asked the teacher for a pencil. The teacher exchanged the pencil for a shoe. This way she was sure to have the pencil, a scarce resource in this school, returned before the end of the day. T4T services 4,500 teachers around the valley. It is head quartered in Tempe but recently was offered storage space at a westside school to encourage T4T to become more active in the west valley. Although teachers are asked to pay $35/yr. to use T4T services, perhaps as many as half struggle with this payment in order to provide much needed supplies to their classrooms. The club was quite receptive to her well-presented talk and view T4T as a strong candidate for future projects and financial donation. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
.JPG) Oct 16, 2018 - Corona del Sol High School Teacher of the Month for September is Jennifer Ray. Congratulations Jennifer! Club member Wally Stuebner presented the award. The staff member of the month will be presented later. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Oct 8, 2018 - District Governor-Elect, David Simmer, presented our club with two almost identical awards for 100% participation in 2017-2018. The Awards were for $100 per capita giving and $100 average giving to the Rotary International Foundation. Past president Doug Bock, and current president Kelly Alexander are shown receiving the awards. Kudos to Doug for a great job in the last two years! Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 1, 2018 - Tom Sheets, the Executive Director of the Southwest Veterans Chamber of Commerce (SWVCC) gave a very informative presentation about his organization. The SWVCC was founded in 2012 to help veterans build businesses, become employed, obtain scholarships, and integrate into the business community. The organizations works with many non-profits to collaborate efforts of support for veterans. They are continuing to develop publicity events to spread the word and they hold a major fund raiser each year called the Annual Patriot's Ball. This year is will be held on Saturday Oct. 27 at 5:30 pm at Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. Tom encouraged us to attend the ball and support the organization with our donations. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
.jpg) Oct 1, 2018 - We had a full agenda today. We confirmed officers for this year, discussed lunch menu choices, and discussed plans for modifying meeting dates and recruiting new members. Dave led a discussion on what items we should purchase for the Boys and Girls Club. Kelly also encouraged each of us to sign on to a MyRotary account at Rotary.org. From there it is easy to donate to support the Polio Plus program, which the District Governor has emphasized. At the end of the meeting we moved to the patio where we labeled 1200 dictionaries for distribution later this month. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 September 25, 2018 - The Kyrene Rotary club joined other organizations and community volunteers to support feed my starving children today. During the two-hour session, 223 boxes of food including over 42,000 meals was packed to support the children of Rwanda. With the efforts of the group, 131 children will be fed over for one year. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 September 24, 2018 - District Governor, Jim Erickson, presented the President's Award to our club. There are only 14 clubs in our district of 70 clubs who received this award. There were many criteria that we had to meet and Past-president Doug guided us through the process to obtain this award. Standing in for Doug is our current president, Kelly, who felt badly that Doug couldn't be present to receive the award. Thanks for your hard work Doug! Click on "Read More" to see social media options. |
 September 24, 2018 - Grant Colwell, a dual citizen, architect, and public speaker, regaled us with two stories from his repertoire of stories. He decided that rather than bore us with architecture issues, he would try to bring a smile to our faces via his stories - which he did. His first story described his most embarrassing moment as a college junior when he ran headlong into a parking meter with devastating effects that cost him the opportunity to meet a beautiful girl driving a mint condition 68 Ford 150. His second story involved his favorite birthday party when he was 12. He and his friend irritated an entire restaurant - Barney Googles - in Calgary by setting up a juke box to play Ohio Express's Yummy Yummy Yummy multiple times. This write-up doesn't do him justice. He was very animated and connected with the audience. Lots of laughs. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  September 12, 2018 - Corona del Sol High School Teacher of the Month for August is Special Ed Teacher, Mandy Michalik. Congratulations Mandy! Staff of the Month for August is English Dept. Support Staff is Anita Hubbard. Congratulations Anita! Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 September 17, 2018 - Kelly Clough, ND told us about the integrative approach to health that is practiced by Naturopathic doctors. He described 3 of the largest trends in healthcare today. (1) The patient is becoming a consumer who wants access, value, and convenience. The danger is that the patient can be overwhelmed with all the information available today. (2) Medical Science Fiction is coming. This includes anti-aging functional treatments, genetics, and increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The danger is that new methods can be very expensive and may mask root causes. (3) Alternative Medicine is going mainstream. Licencing is increasing across the US, MDs are looking more at wellness. Dr. Clough said there are many natural herbs such as ginger, tumeric, and tea that can help with health and wellness. His presentation led to many questions from club members. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 September 10, 2018 - Our speaker was Roberta Miller, candidate for Clerk of the Court. She described some of the responsibilities of the clerk which include recording all court proceedings, maintaining case files, providing court documents to requestors, and accounting for financial aspects of the court (collecting fines and restitution payments). She provided an example of a women awarded $5,000 at trial but payment was not received until 7 years later. The clerk is responsible to track down and reimburse plaintiffs even if they have moved.  The club presented Ruben from the Guadalupe B&G Club, a $500 check in support of ongoing club activities. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Sept 5, 2018 - Our club held a Happy Hour at VinciTorio's Restaurant to thank the sponsors and people who helped make our Inaugural Golf Tournament last April such a success. Wally and Kelly are smiling along with two of our supporters.We had lots of fellowship and laughter and we also shared our sponsorship opportunities for our next tournament on April 5, 2019. We will be holding the tournament at Whirlwind again this coming year. We hope to increase our contributions from sponsors, and increase the number of golfers participating. You can see a few photos by clicking HERE. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 August 27, 2018 - District Governor for 5495, Jim Erickson, told us some of his history and how he got involved with Rotary. He posts a video most weeks that can be accessed from the District Web Site. He encouraged us to create a Myrotary account to stay current and easily make donations. (50% of Kyrene members have accounts). He discussed the need to bring in new "quality" members since we typically lose 10% per year. Jim emphasized that Rotary is a Leadership Organization that serves the community. One of Jim's passions is Ending Polio and he gave us some statistics that are encouraging but also concerning because we haven't eliminated Polio completely. Jim ended by encouraging us to attend the annual conference next June. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
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August 18, 2018 - Rotary members - 4 from Downtown and 1 from Kyrene spent a couple of hours working at the Treasures 4 Teachers facility in Tempe. This is a regular service project for the Tempe Downtown club every third Saturday of the month. Volunteers work on a variety of projects depending on the need. Our Kyrene club is considering this as a service project. On the right, Barbara Blalock, the founder and CEO of this non-profit organization, is telling us about how T4T is expanding as demand continues to grow. Teachers rave about it. This is a very impressive organization. Check it out here Click on "Read More" for social media options  .jpg) |
 August 13, 2018 - Today we had two club members, Rob and Kelly, describe their recent travel experiences. Rob told us about his river cruise on the Danube and Rhine rivers, beginning in Budapest and ending in Amsterdam. He showed us many wonderful buildings with great architecture. Interesting note - his trip was interrupted because the Danube became too shallow. A word of warning to future river cruisers. Kelly told us about her adventure with her daughter and a group of young students from Tucson. Her travels began in Zurich , stopping in southern France and ending in Barcelona. She also showed us many impressive buildings. She found it hard to keep up with the students who seemed to have boundless energy, as they all learned about music, art, language and history along their journey. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 August 11 2018 - Our club had a good turnout for this quarterly event. We had 9 people out of about 30 and we packed 1200 emergency boxes of food. These boxes will be distributed to agencies in Eastern Arizona which will provide them to needy families. Thanks to members, Doug, Scott, David, Jim, Dave, Rob, and Ken. And thanks to the friends that joined us - Pam and Susan. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 July 30, 2018 - Club member David presented a slide show describing his recent travels to Denmark and other northern European regions. He told us about Copenhagen and said he and his family walked about 5 miles a day while sight-seeing. This trip with his wife and daughters was to celebrate his wife's "significant birthday". He was in Denmark at a festive time - they witnessed parades, and dancing in the streets. He told us about HYGGE which is unique to Denmark. Check it out HERE. Thanks for a very informative presentation, David.Flor - our Rotary Exchange Student from Argentina, and her host family "mother" joined us for lunch today. Flor looked rested and was full of smiles. She had just registered for classes at Corona del Sol High School.  Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 July 28, 2018 - Our club's Rotary Youth Exchange student from Argentina was greeted at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport this morning by club members, friends of Rotary, and her first host family. It was a joyous occasion with lots of hugs and laughter. Club member, Machel, will be hosting a "get-to-know-you" party at her home on August 11. To see more photos at the airport, CLICK HERE. To see a video taken at the airport, CLICK HERE Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 .jpg)  July 28, 2018 - Today our club participated with several other organizations to provide a back-to-school shopping spree for several Boys and Girls clubs in the East Valley at Kohl's. Dave and Jim were paired up with two young boys while Beth guided two young girls. Our club also donated $500 to support the activity. The youngsters picked out about $100 worth of clothing and each received a new back pack. Everyone had a good time. To see more photos, click hereClick on "Read More" to see social media options |
 July 26, 2018 - Today we made a visit to the Boys and Girls Club in Guadalupe. The club was well represented by, Jim, Machel, Lynette, David, Dave, Doug, and Ken along with help from Skip . We functioned as interviewers to help several teenagers who are enrolled in the "Leaders in Training" (L.I.T.) program improve their interviewing skills. We all enjoyed the experience We hope to help the Boys and Girls Club again next year.Click on "Read More" to see social media options or make comments |
 July 16, 2018 - Club member, Lynette, told the club about her 25 years of experience as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. She began her career with IBM and decided she preferred teaching ESL. Her degrees are in Rhetoric and Linguistics and she has specialized in Language Acquisition. She had taught in several schools before joining the ASU faculty. She teaches ESL 107 and 108 but adds 109 for students who want to socialize and practice with her. She establishes strong relationships with her students and has visited them all over the world. Lynette clearly loves teaching ESL and loves her students. She is a great asset for ASU, her students and Rotary. Keep up the good work Lynette. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
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 July 2, 2018 - Today marked the transition from the club's two year president, Doug Bock, to our new (hopefully two year) president, Kelly Alexander. Doug was presented with a plaque that recognized his "energetic and creative leadership" during the past two years. We also presented him with gift cards to two of his favorite restaurants. Thank you Doug for a superlative job! You deserve many kudos! We look forward to your continued active participation as a club member for many years to come. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 July 2, 2018 - President Doug, as one of his last duties of his two year term, presented incoming President Kelly with her recognition as a Paul Harris Fellow. Thanks for your generosity Kelly, and congratulations!Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 June 22, 2018 - On Friday, members served approximately 300 families at the United Food Banks Help Yourself co-op. The co-op program allows clients to purchase 15 to 20 pounds of different meat and produce for $20. As available, Help Yourself clients can also make selections from a variety of complimentary items like breads and pastries, dairy and deli products. The program offers a great opportunity for anyone who’d like to make the most of their food budgets; weekly or monthly. There are no qualifying requirements or limits so it is open to the public. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
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Here are a few clips from President Doug's (A GREAT President) Meeting Openings Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 June 18, 2018 - Dave Kline, a founding member of our club, gave us an overview of the Rotary International Foundation (TRF). The presentation is part of the requirement that all clubs have two such informative presentations a year. TRF is separate from our own Kyrene Rotary Club Foundation. It has three major areas - Polio, Endowment, and Annual Share. Fifty percent of the Annual Share funds are returned to the District (District Designated Funds) to support grants which are requested by the clubs. 91% 0f the funds are available for programs - this gets TRF the highest rating on Charity Navigator. The Annual Share funds are used to support activities in the following areas: - Promoting Peace, Providing Clean Water, Saving Mothers and Children, Supporting Education, Growing Local Economies, Fighting Disease. Our club's budget will provide $125 per member each year to maintain our eligibility for grants. Thanks Dave for a very clear overview. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 21, 2018 - Today Steve Alderson, a high end financial advisor with Wells Fargo, talked about the financial market in general terms. Steve has been providing financial advice for many years, including individuals and groups in every country in South America. He reminded us that markets can go higher and also lower than you think. Steve told us that the current bull run of 107 months is twice as long as the average bull market of 46 months. He is optimistic about the future economy in the U.S. but thinks a correction is on the horizon. He gave us an interesting chart that showed for the last 107 years, 29 years had negative returns and 78 had positive returns. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 16, 2018 - The CDS April Teacher of the Month is Leah Fleming, World History.The CDS April Staff of the Month is Dan Rife, Security Guard. The photo shows, L to R, Kathi Hausmann, CDS PTO, Machel, Leah Fleming, and Cory Nenaber, Asst Principal-Athletics. Click on "Read More to see social media options |
 May 16, 2018 - Today our club presented a $5000 check to the 100 Club. The funds were raised from our Kyrene Golf Classic which was held on April 28 and sponsored by the USEgg. Wally presented the check to Carol Leicht and expressed our sincere appreciation for the good work done by the 100 Club. We look forward to supporting them in the coming years.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 15, 2018 - Our club held it's last social event for this rotary year at Keegan's restaurant. Most members attended with their spouses and since our members are not shy or meek, the sound level was considerable. Lots of conversation, fellowship , and much laughter!Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 7, 2018 - Today, Chuck Backus, owner of the Quarter Circle U Ranch (located in the Superstition Mountains) told us what it was like to be a rancher in Arizona. Chuck, a PhD nuclear engineer by training, began ranching over 40 years ago while he was an active administrator at Arizona State University. He brings a strong analytical approach to ranching and has been very successful. He explained that private land represents only 17% of Arizona so ranchers lease land from the government. Chuck gave us a superb overview of the cattle industry - from calves to packing house. He said that ranching in Arizona is far different than in the midwest. For example, in the midwest farmers have up to 2000 cows per acre while in Arizona a typical density is 100 acres per cow. His talk was fascinating and generated many questions and much discussion. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 7, 2018 - The club welcomed Beth Roth as our newest club member. Beth has already been active in our most recent golf tournament. Presenting Beth with her new badge is Kelly Alexander who is substituting for Beth's sponsor, Wally Stuebner. President Doug is very happy to have a new member and hopes this is just the beginning of recruiting several new members. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 May 7, 2018 - Harry presented a banner and a gift from the Soroti Rotary Club in Uganda. Harry is wearing an overshirt from that region. Harry had a very informative 2 week trip and will give us more details at a later date. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 April 25, 2018 - Many club members worked diligently for a couple of hours to insert materials into the golf bags that each golfer will receive at the Tournament on Saturday. Lots of laughter and fellowship. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 28, 2018 - The Tournament was a huge success!Feed back has been extremely positive. Thanks to all the sponsors and golfers for making this event a huge success. U.S. Egg was the tournament sponsor. A great partner! Check them out HERE. There were 100 golfers who said they had fun even though it was a hot day. The vendors also were pleased with the venue and response from the golfers. We have set the date for next year's tournament - April 5, 2019 - Save the date |
 April 11, 2018 - Club members Tom, Bill, Harry, and Andy served lunch at the Phoenix Rescue Mission. Good meal - saffron rice with pulled chicken and a delicious smelling curry sauce! They also had a salad where diners got lettuce mix and then could add any three toppings (out of about six).The group had lunch at Garcia’s (the original), which has become a tradition. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 16, 2018 - Roy Sinclair, a 3-time marathon runner and employee at Sky Harbor Airport gave us some interesting statistics about air travel. He told us there are 5000 airlines worldwide that provide 4,200 flights a day that carry 2.5 million passengers. Roy assured us that bags are never lost - they are just misplaced and the rate of misplacement is 2 to 3 bags per 1000. He told us that American Airlines now has 120,000 employees and is the largest airline in the world. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 9, 2018 - David Lucier, Chairman of the Tempe Arts and Culture Commission, gave us an overview of the commission. The Tempe Arts and Culture Commission advises the City Council, in the development of an arts and culture plan, and promotes such plans; supports the City’s General Plan goals relating to arts and culture and encourages diverse citizen participation in arts and culture programs and initiatives; and, advises City staff on arts and culture programs, projects, policies, and initiatives. The city supports the arts and culture initiative through a 1/10% sales tax which expires in 2020. David hopes that will be extended. Tempe's art and culture programs are creative, vibrant, diverse, and receive countless accolades from the community. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 March 26, 2018 - Bill Mundell presented information on the formation and history of the Corporation Commission in Arizona. The Corporation Commission was created as a 4th branch of Government in Arizona to regulate monopolies. When instituted in 1912, the largest monopolies were railroads. Regulating a monopoly means that the Commission has the power to set the rates you pay as a customer of the monopoly. Today, utilities are the monopolies regulated by the Commission.As a former commissioner, Bill was knowledgeable about the commission and is passionate that all voters become as educated as possible about the commission and the candidates that seek election. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 March 19, 2018 - Alicia Jerger, Sr. Boating Director at Tempe Town Lake, gave us an overview of the many programs offered by the city of Tempe at the Town Lake. Alicia attended San Diego State University on a rowing scholarship and intended to become a lawyer before she got the opportunity to work for the city at Town Lake. She told us the Lake was conceived as an architecture project at ASU in 1966 and after many years of negotiations was completed in 1999. Now the Lake has several boating related activities and events, from rowing, sailing and kayaking clubs to the Dragon Boat festival every spring. Boats are available for rent most of the year. The City has done a superb job of making this a top rate recreation location. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 March 12, 2017 - President Doug presented Ken with his Paul Harris Fellow 6+ award - a beautiful pin with a ruby insert. Paul Harris Fellow awards are given for each $1000 that a member contributes to the Rotary International Foundation. There are now over 1 million Paul Harris Fellows in Rotary. Ken has been a regular donor since joining Rotary 7 years ago. Click on "Read more" to see social media options. |
 .JPG) March 12, 2018 - February's awards were for Pete Salazar, Special Education teacher and golf coach and Missy West, staff in the Special Education Department. Top photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Peteand Machel. Bottom photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Missy and Machel Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 March 12, 2018 - Lin Sue Cooney, Director of Community Engagement for Hospice of the Valley, gave us an excellent overview of the organization and the many services it provides. Lin Sue was a newscaster for 31 years at channel 12 but says she is now in the best job she has ever had. Her enthusiasm was obvious as she described how Hospice of the Valley began in 1977 as a non-profit organization and has never turned anyone away. They have 1400 employees and over 2100 volunteers providing services such as Living wills, grief support, dementia care, and pet therapy plus many more than can be listed here. They are the only non-profit hospice in the valley. Check the website for more information. Click Here Click on "Read more" to see social media options. |
 March 3 2018 - Our club had a good turnout for this quarterly event. We had 11 people out of about 30 and we packed 900 emergency boxes of food. Thanks to members, Doug, Scott, David, Jim, Bill, Harry, Mike, Mike, and Ken. And thanks to the friends that joined us - Phyllis and Pam. See a gallery of photos from the event by CLICKING HERE. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 February 27, 2018 - The AWIM team had their final meeting with the 8th grade students at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School today. The students gave presentations and received awards - the overall performance of everyone was excellent. The AWIM team included Rotarians David, Dave, Andy, Bill, Jim, Doug, and Ken, along with friends Dave, Pat, and Skip and science teacher Brandon Gritz. To see a gallery of photos click HERE. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 February 26, 2018 - John Conant gave us his background and his work with youngsters at Sunshine Acres where he and his wife live permanently in their RV. John then told us of his adventures in hiking the Appalachian Trail which he began in April 2015 and finished in September 2015. His journey took him over the highest peaks in 14 states and covered 2,800 miles. Along the way he broke two toes, developed a hernia and wore out 5 pairs of boots. He finished the journey 35 lbs lighter than he started since he was burning about 5,000 cal a day. It was a great accomplishment and John has many exiting stories about his trip. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 February 19, 2018 - Today, Diane Elarde, Founder and principal of Emerging Insights, talked about financial beliefs and unconscious behavior. She claims that 80% of behavior comes from unconscious decision making. (Think of driving home without remembering how you did it). She had us fill out a financial beliefs assessment and then discussed our unconscious beliefs related to Self Worth, Worshipper, Fear, and Avoidance. Diane emphasized the need for spouses to discuss financial beliefs openly in order to avoid unexpected surprises later in life. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  February 12, 2018 - This month's awards were for Neil MacDonald, English Teacher, and Basketball Coach, and Jesus Contreras, Staff in the Special Education Department. Top photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Neil, and Machel. Bottom photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Jesus and Machel Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 February 12, 2018 - Shannon Mitchell and Lauren Gray from the Autism Academy for Education and Development gave us a comprehensive look at their organization. Shannon told us that the Academy addressed the needs of students across the full spectrum of Autism. The school is in its 5th year and now has over 300 students in 3 locations. She explained that 99% of the students attend on a full scholarship. The school addresses the academic, social skills, and vocational needs of the students. They are developing partnerships with organizations in the valley to train and place students when they graduate. Our club provides dictionaries to the Tempe campus and hopes to build additional ties to the organization. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 February 7, 2018 - Today, club members Bill, Harry, Andy, and Mike spent a few hours at the Kyrene Resource Center transferring food from boxes to shelves and then packing food bags. These food bags will be available to needy families in the area. Our club is hoping to increase our participation with this very worthwhile charitable organization. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 January 29, 2018 - Laurie Coe gave us some highlights of her life along the path from being a hippie to a political activist. Her father fought in the second world war and saw the concentration camps but never liked to talk about it. Her hippie life began in New York and her commune was harassed a lot so she moved to California, married Allan Cohen and had a baby which she named River. The life was tough, and Laurie related several stories to us. The commune became more organized and had a dysfunctional board of directors. Laurie migrated from that life and now lives in the valley.Click on "read more" to see social media options |
 Jan 22, 2018 - Andrea Pasquale, Director of Sun Sounds of Arizona , gave us an excellent description of the Sun Sounds program. The organization has been providing reading services to the community for over 40 years. They broadcast readings of popular local papers as well as magazines and books. Radio listeners must use a special radio which is supplied free. The reading is done by volunteers and the service reaches about 49,000 listeners. Their offices are located at Rio Salado College and they are affiliated with KJZZ. Check out their website if you are interested in volunteering or donating.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  January 18, 2018 - Club members and families enjoyed an evening of light libation, fabulous food, fun and frivolity at the Smokin Fins Restaurant. Lots of laughter, stories, and discussion. Fun was had by all.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  January 16, 2018 - This month's awards were for Stephanie Skeels, Science Teacher and Debbie Zeiner, Attendance for Sophomores & Juniors as well as Grades and Registration. Top photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Machel and Stephanie Skeels, Teacher of the Month for December. Bottom photo is Mr. Kleve, Principal, Debbie Zeiner, Staff of the Month for December, Ms. Deb Benedict, Asst. Principal for Academics and Machel Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 January 15, 2018 - Jennifer Koeller, Corporate and Community Relations Mgr with Save the Family gave us a very informative and inspiring presentation about her organization. Save the Family was founded in Mesa 30 years ago and last year they provided assistance to over 650 families. They provide a variety of services to veterans, disabled, low income, and homeless people beginning with housing, case coordination, and support services. 90% of the families who enroll in the program "graduate" within 10 months and move on to successful lives. There are many opportunities to volunteer and contribute to the organization. Members were quite impressed with this organization. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  Dec 28, 2017 - Wally, Kelly, and Ken visited the Whirlwind Golf Course at Wildhorse Pass to check out the facilities and make arrangements with management for our upcoming tournament. We found that the golf carts are equipped with screens that will display information about our hole sponsors. Great technology. |
 December 18, 2017 - Today Cindi, Gina, and Charlene, from the ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change, began by having members complete a short survey about weight, body type, perceptions, and age. The data is part of a study about people's perceptions of their body (weight) and the responses they receive from family and friends. The study is being conducted in several countries to see how culture affects one's perceptions and willingness to be truthful about people's body size. They will tie this into issues of health and society. The members had fun with the survey. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 Dec 10, 2017 - President Doug presented our Rotarian of the Year award to Dave Kline for his consistent hard work in supporting the club. Dave has been tireless in leading and supporting all our projects and he always does this with enthusiasm and a smiling face. Dave is a constant emissary, visiting other clubs and embodying the true spirit of Rotary. Congratulations Dave. You are very much appreciated.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Dec 10, 2017 - Members gathered at Dave and Lourdes' home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping, and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a family with needy children. Kelly selected the family from the Boys and Girls Club list of families in need. Thanks to all!! This is an annual event that club members vigorously support and enjoy. Click on "Read More" to see social media options  |
 December 12, 2017 -Here is the latest award to Lynette Chapman - Science Teacher. Individuals in the photo are Mr. Nathan Kleve-principal, Machel, Kathi Hausmann-PTO Treasurer, Lynette Chapman, and Ms. Deb Benedict-Asst. Principal for Academics.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Dec 9, 2017 - Our club had a very large turnout for this quarterly event. We had 16 people out of about 40 and we packed 900 emergency boxes of food. Thanks to members, Bill, Harry, Rob, Mike, Kelly, Machel, Ken and David. And thanks to the friends and family that joined us - Nancy, Brad, Brenda, Ben, Katie, Pam, Phyllis and Sonya. Here are the over 40 volunteers from several clubs in the valley that helped pack the 900 boxes.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  Nov 28, 2017 - Club members, Bill, Ken, and Wally, delivered dictionaries to the Autism Academy for Educational Development. Dictionaries were delivered to the middle school and high school. The kids were engaged and we had fun working with them. The Academy recorded our visit on their Facebook page. Click here to see that page.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Nov 27, 2017 - Tracey Hickey, from the Foster Care and Adoption organization - part of Catholic Charities - gave us a good overview of her organization. Tracey raised 5 kids then decided she needed to give back to the community and joined this foster care organization. She told us there are over 19,000 children in foster care in Arizona and the need for foster parents is acute. Her organization is responsible for training foster parents and helping them navigate the state's bureaucratic system. A large number of foster care parents are "kinship families" but they still need considerable help. One of the key goals of her operation is to ensure that foster parents recognize that children in the system need a lot of help with trauma. Her presentation generated a lot of discussion. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Nov 19, 2017 - The November winners are - Teacher: Leigh Trudgen, Math teacher and Classified Staff: Sue Parker, Records Specialist. Pictured is Leigh Trudgen, Faculty of the month, Kathi Hausmann, PTO Treasurer, Machel Considine - KRC and Mr. Kleve, CDS Principal  Pictured is Ms. Benedict, Assistant Principal-Academics; Mr. Kleve, Principal; Sue Parker, Records Specialist; Machel Considine-KRC; Kathi Hausmann-CDS PTO Treasurer. See social media options below |
 Nov 19, 2017 - The club held a social event at the Main Event on Sunday afternoon. A few people bowled but most people spent their time around the pool tables and shuffle board. There was lots of laughter, yelling, and hooting. Everyone said they had a good time and looks forward to next year when we should strive to get even more members and families involved. Thanks to Lynette and Doug for setting this up. Click on "Read More" to see social media options  |
  November 13, 2017 - Joyce Buekers, founding director of the Therapeutic Harp Foundation, gave us a demonstration of harp therapy. She told us about her experience in discovering and using the harp within the general sphere of integrative medicine. Her friend, Robert Callan, has been modeling the neuroplasticity of the brain to demonstrate how effective music can be in healing brain trauma. Joyce and Robert's efforts are at the forefront of the application of harp music to improve lives. Joyce's work is sponsored by many hospitals and clinics in the Phoenix area. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Nov 7, 2017 - Kyrene Rotary members David and Wally have just distributed dictionaries to the 3rd grade class at CE Chavez Elementary School. The youngsters appreciated learning about the use of the dictionary/encyclopedia. This is the 9th year the Kyrene Club has distributed dictionaries to schools in the Roosevelt School District. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 .JPG) Nov 06, 2017 - Our club presented a plaque to President Doug for the superb job he has done over the past year. Doug did such a great job that the club convinced him to continue as president for another year. KUDOS Doug! And many thanks for your time, efforts, and leadership. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 30, 2017 - Brad Hillier, CEO of Home Brands Group is a major contributor to our Dictionary Project which involves delivering dictionaries to 3rd graders in Roosevelt School District. He spoke to us today about his philosophy that he tries to instill into the culture of his organization. He believes "we can all get through life together" and emphasizes that he expects his people to not just provide services and products but to reach out and help the community. His organization also supports Habitat for Humanity and Military Makeover. He also told us a touching story of his family's recent adoption of a foster-care child. His financial support is greatly appreciated by our club. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 30, 2017 - Today was dedicated to labeling dictionaries right after lunch. We had a good contingent of members who put in extra time to accomplish this task. (Dave, David, Machel, Doug, Wally, Kelly, Rob, and Ken). The temperature was moderate so we worked on the patio of the restaurant and exchanged lots of friendly banter. Lots of work but everyone had fun. Onward to delivery of dictionaries to the 3rd graders in Roosevelt School District! Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 28, 2017 - our club operated two booths with 4 corn-hole boards at the Tempe Halloween festival in Kiwanis Park. Seven members (Machel, Rob, Dave, Doug, Kelly, , David and Ken) were joined by a hard-working group of family and friends (Jessica,Susan, Pat, Skip, Lourdes, and Tom). We had lots of fun but the work was taxing and long. Watching the young kids in their often creative costumes was an enjoyable part of the evening. See a small gallery of photos of this event by clicking HERE. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 23, 2017 - The "A World in Motion" (AWIM) project at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School had its first meeting today. Several members from the club (Dave, Machel, Kelly, Ken, and Rob) along with extra help from Skip and Jessica began assisting the teams with plans and powerpoints. A photo gallery is available HERE. Other KRC members will be joining the group in the coming weeks. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 23, 2017 - Linda Moser of Trumpet Vines Healing spoke to us about several of the various modalities of massage. Linda explained that she is able to use her empathetic skills to learn about an individual's pain centers. She showed us a diagram of the energy fields surrounding our bodies and how she is able to use those fields to treat patients with a variety of physical and psychological problems. Her healing modes include Lomi Lomi, Heart Awakening, Herbology, Reiki, and Cranial Sacral therapy.Linda is also an accomplished vocalist and has sung in many venues in the Phoenix Area. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 16, 2017 - Abe and Barb Feder brought two visitors from the RC Multann Cantt in Pakistan to talk with us today. Salman Mubarak, president and founder of the club (2001) described the various activities of the club over the past several years. One of their major projects is supporting a 28 bed Ophthalmology Hospital that has conducted over 20,000 cataract screenings. The club has been actively involved in several projects, both local and international. Salman and his wife, Dr Bushra Maryam will be visiting several sites in Arizona with the Feders during the next couple of weeks. Members were encouraged to visit the club in Pakistan.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Oct 14, 2017 - Members of our Kyrene Rotary Club were joined by Rotarians of Rio Salado, Crossroads, and ASU Rotaract on a Habitat for Humanity build in Tempe this morning. There were over 50 volunteers in total. David, Mike, Kelly and daughter Kate represented our club well.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 An inspiration about stewardship adapted to fit Rotary, by Steve Mariotti My Rotary Club is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is. It will be a friendly club, ...if I am. Its work projects will be filled with volunteers, ...if I volunteer to help. My Rotary club will do great work, ...if I work. It will make generous gifts to many causes, ...if I am a generous giver. It will bring other people into its fellowship, ...if I invite and bring them. It will be a club of loyalty, friendship, and fun, and a club with a noble spirit, if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same things. Therefore, with the help of other club members, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being all the things that I want my club to be. Taken from the Oct 17 issue of the Kent Rotary Nooz |
 October 9, 2017 - Rich Hamilton told us about Disney Magic. He related some history and several humorous stories about his experiences at Disneyland. The three key points that he learned from Disney were: Pay attention; Engage; and Systematize. Rich explained how these points can be used in everyone's daily life. He tested our knowledge and our ability to pay attention at the end of his presentation and distributed various prizes to the winning members. After the presentation, Rich announced that three of his books were available for sale at $20 each. Here, David and Dave discuss the various books with Rich.Rich donated 100% of all the proceeds to our club. As a result of Rich's generosity the club added $160 to our coffers. Many thanks, Rich ! Click on "Read More" to see social media options. |
 Oct 2, 2017 - Club member Dave gave us a great overview of both the Rotary(TRF) and the Kyrene Rotary Club Foundations. Dave explained the categories available in the Rotary Foundation and told us that TRF directed 92% of funds to programs. The goal is to have every club member contribute $100 per year. ($40 are contributed automatically from dues). Contributing on-line is very easy but there are forms available to contribute via mail. Our club Foundation is not completely finalized but should be operational by mid-November. Ideally members should first contribute to TRF and then to our Foundation. Thanks Dave for a great presentation.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Sept 25, 2017 - Today Wyatt Earp, grandson of the legendary Wyatt Earp told us some of the history surrounding Wyatt Earp and how he became an actor to portray some historic episodes, like the shoot-out at the OK Corral. His wife, Terry Earp, a well-known Arizona playwright wrote all his scripts. He then performed two monologues from his repertoire - a view of the events at the OK Corral from Wyatt Earp's perspective and then Doc Holiday's perspective. We all enjoyed the performance.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 September 23, 2017 - Many volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. 40 volunteers packed 6000 lbs of food, enough for 5000 meals. KRC had 7 members there. Dave, Mike, Doug, Kelly, Machel, David, Ken This was our 8th quarterly food packing event at the United Food Bank. The District Governor for 5495, Nancy Van Pelt, gave a brief presentation and remained for most of the event to talk with many rotarians We look forward to the next project in December. See a slide show for this event by clicking here - GALLERY Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Sept 7, 2017 - Thursday evening the club held a social outing - dinner at Charlston's Restaurant. Fourteen members and family broke bread together and got to know each other a little better. Everyone had a good time and we look forward to the next time we can get together for fellowship and fun.Click on "Read More" to see social media and comment options |
 Sept 18, 2017 - Today, Chip Shay, a long time associate with SPS+Architects, described several aspects of water conservation in building design. Chip graduated from ASU and has worked for 40 years with the same firm. He told us that the first thing to consider in designing a building is landscaping; followed by the water delivery system; then water recovery; then reclamation. In major buildings the design of bathroom plumbing is extremely important. Water consumption can be reduced by 90% with new products that are available. Many commercial products are also available for homes - e.g. low flush toilets.Click on Read More to see social media options and comments |
 Sept 9, 2017 - Several club members (David, Scott, Kelly, Doug, Ken, Dave and lovely wife Lourdes) spent the morning at The Centers for Habilitation assembling a Surrey with the Fringe on Top. It was a challenging task but with the help of a video we managed to complete the task without any broken fingers or bruises. We only had one nut and washer left over at the end. We completed the morning with a chinese meal together. Click on "Read More" to see social media and comment options |
 August 28, 2017 - Today club member David Archibald entertained us with stories about his recent trip along the Adriatic Sea. His travels took him from the north in Slovenia, along the coast: with stops in Dubrovnik (famous walled city), some small islands off the coast(a bit of swimming in the sea), and Corfu in Greece (princess castle). His trip finished in Athens. He met many interesting people who shared the small 42 passenger ship.Click on "Read More" to see social media options and make comments |
 August 21, 2017 - Club members Kelly, Doug, Rob, and Ken, along with Kelly's son Brad stacked food on the Resource Center's shelves. We then sorted through school-appropriate clothing that will be available for students to select from during the next couple of weeks. We had lunch and fellowship afterwards. Click on "Read more" to see social media options and make comments |
 August 7, 2017 - Webmaster Ken Pollock gave us an overview of his 13 years as a volunteer with the Phoenix Police Department. He spent over 9 years working with the Cold Case Homicide Squad. He explained how the squad dealt with over 2500 cold cases and how advances in DNA technology enabled more than 12 cases a year to be solved. His most interesting case was the famous 'Canal Murders' in the early 2000's. The application of new and creative methods led to the identification of and arrest of the felon. Ken then described some new technology and how it is being used to solve crimes. Click on "Read More" to see social media options and/or comment |
 July 24, 2017 - Today we replaced our weekly meeting with a visit to the Boys and Girls Club in Guadalupe. The club was well represented by, Kelly, Marion, Dave, Doug, Mike, and Ken along with help from Skip and Pat. We functioned as interviewers to help 10 teenagers improve their interviewing skills. We all enjoyed the experience and finished the morning with pizzas and brownies. We hope to help the Boys and Girls Club again next year.Click on "Read More" to see social media options or make comments |
.jpg) July 10, 2017 - Club President Doug Bock gave the first "summer member presentation" for this year. Doug explained that in Plato and Aristotle's time there were no universities, only schools that focused on behavior. It wasn't until 800 that Charlemagne dictated that all churches and monasteries had to establish schools to educate the community. From there, these cathedral schools continued to develop into universities - beginning with Paris and Bolgna in the 1200's. By 1350 these universities had developed into the form we see today throughout the world. Thanks Doug for a piece of interesting history.Click on "Read More" to see social media options. |
 June 26, 2017 - Nadine Armstrong, Executive Director of Project Cure gave us an update on the Project Cure organization. Nadine is relatively new to Project Cure but is a native Arizonian who was educated at ASU. She told us that Project Cure now has 6 distribution centers. She explained how projects all over the world are initiated, funded, supplied, and evaluated. Nadine said they are trying to raise $150,000 to send 6 containers to Mexico. She has secured $120,000 and is looking for help from Rotary organizations in the Phoenix area to contribute $6,000. Project Cure has many activities world wide which can best be seen from the Project Cure website. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 June 12, 2017 - Ruben described a program for which he is soliciting our support on July 24. Thirteen boys and girls ages 13 to 15 are being taught how to develop good working skills which includes effectively participating in interviews. He would like club volunteers to act as the interviewer and coach the children to improve their thinking and delivery skills. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 June 10, 2017 - Many volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. 23 volunteers packed 5,767 lbs of food, enough for 4,805 meals. Including family and friends KRC had 9 there. This was our 7th quarterly food packing event at the United Food Bank. We look forward to the next project in mid-September Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 June 5, 2017 - Doreen Pollack, Master Gardener, explained what "Master Gardener" meant and then gave us valuable information about plants and vegetation in Maricopa County. A good reference to use is the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association. She explained that the 3 major elements to consider are soil, watering, and timing. Because the soil in this area is mostly clay it is important to modify the soil by adding "ammendments" which are basically organic matter.For potted plants and raised beds care must be taken to eliminate or reduce salt build up. Watering should be long enough to encourage root growth: 2 feet depth for shrubs and 3 feet for trees. Doreen also gave us general guidelines for when to plant various species. She suggested looking on Facebook to get answers from various gardening groups. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 22, 2017 - Lyndsey Fry spoke of her trip to the Olympics. She played with the boys at first as there was no hockey for girls, and that was great. At that age, girls are bigger and she was aggressive! In high school she ended up taking on-line courses as the commuted to Denver to be on a team. Her college career was at Harvard and that was where the crisis occurred. She had to decide if she was really going to do what she had to do… and she did, making it on the Olympic team that went to Sochi and won a Silver Medal. Today she does marathons and Ironman competitions. But to create something bigger than just herself, she aligned with Smile Train, and organization that raises funds to send dentists to third world countries to do dental work and perform operations like cleft palate - to bring back someone’s smile. If you would like to donate to Lyndsey's current Smile Train project, click here.Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 8, 2017 - Jacque Starks a senior advisor and trainer with Diamond Strategies and Coordinator of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement for the Maricopa County Community College District, led us through two experiential exercises to demonstrate the unintended discrimination that can occur because of differences in values. She also gave us specific examples from her own family life. Jacque's presentation and facilitation generated considerable discussion. We all came away with a better understanding of the challenges our values and beliefs play in our attempts to be inclusive and diverse. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 5, 2017 - Movies in the park began another spring season. Club members worked hard at the booth selling snacks, soft drinks, and glow sticks. Funds from this event are used to provide dictionaries to 3rd graders in the Roosevelt School district. This is the first of four sessions in May. Thanks to many club members who contributed. Click here to see our photo gallery for these events over the past few years. Click on "Read More" to see social media options  |
 May 3, 2017 - The April winners are - Teacher: Trish Ladue, retired teacher from McClintock High School and now permanent substitute this year in English and Classified Staff: Tara Anderson, Registration. Pictured is Kathi Hausmann, PTO Treasurer, Tara Anderson, Staff Member of the Month, Nathan Kleve, CDS Principal and Machel. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 May 1, 2017 - Dan Wilson from Usery Mountain Regional Park gave us a great overview of this particular park as well as the entire Maricopa County Regional Park system. The Maricopa County park system is one of the largest in the country, containing over 120,000 acres and experiencing more than 2 million visitors a year. The parks receive only 7% of their budget from the county - the remainder comes from visitor fees. The parks are very well maintained and offer a wide variety of programs. The operation of the parks is supported by a very large number of volunteers: some stay on-site all winter, some support specific operations like visitor centers and some help with specific events. Our club has many hikers and the discussion was lively. Usery Mountain park is a particular favorite of many members.Click on "Read More" to see social media options. |
  April 25, 2017 - The AWIM project at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School is now in the second session of the year. The current session will end on May 06 when awards for the best 3 teams will be given out. Bill Klein and Brandon Gritz provided the instruction and AWIM Volunteers (Kyrene Rotary Club members and spouses) provided the mentoring. You can see a gallery of photos by clicking here. A video is available for viewing by clicking on " Read More" |
 April 23, 2017 - Many members and families had a fun day at GolfLand in Mesa. We enjoyed minature golf, bumper boats, bumper cars, and race cars for a few hours. Several of us celebrated afterwards at Ted's Hot Dogs.You can see photos of the event in our Photo Gallery by clicking here. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 19, 2017 - Kyrene Rotary members David, Darrell, Tom, Andy, and Bill served lunch to homeless men and women at Phoenix Rescue Mission and cleaned up the serving area after. Thanks Bill for arranging this annual service project. Phoenix Rescue Mission provides 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, overnight shelter and many other services to homeless people.We all enjoyed lunch and fellowship afterwards. Click here to see a half dozen photos of the team at work. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 17, 2017 - Jackie Shelly, Director of Development for the United Food Bank, gave a very interesting presentation. She described the multiple programs the Food Bank is engaged in and gave us many statistics about the high levels of poverty in Arizona and the amount and kind of food that is distributed. The United Food Bank is one of four in Arizona and serves Maricopa county and eastern Arizona. In 2015/16 they distributed over 26 million pounds which amounts to almost 22 million meals.They also distributed over 21,000 Weekend Backpacks to food insecure children. Our club has volunteered every quarter for the past two years to pack food at the local warehouse. We believe the Unitef Food Bank is very worthy of our strong support. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 13, 2o17 - Faculty/Staff awards of the month for March were awarded to Chrissy Wiley Teacher of the Month-World History & Geography and Bonnie Goodman, Early Learning Center Aide for the AZTykes. There is a childcare center affiliated with the Early Childhood Development classes at Corona del Sol High School. Ms. Goodman was not at the school at the time we presented the awards.Pictured are L to R are: Kathi Hausmann, PTO Treasurer, Machel, Ms. Wiley and Mr. Kleve, CDS Principal. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 April 10, 2017 - Melissa Bruger a 14 year SRP employee gave us an overview of SRP and some of their projects designed to enhance sustainable power production. SRP is the 3rd largest public power supplier in the USA. Ten percent of SRP's power comes from hydro and 14% comes from sustainable power. SRP encourages the use of electric vehicles - there are currently 5000 in the valley. SRP is also introducing a solar energy program for non-profits. In addition they are engaged in reforestration projects and have planted 7 million trees to date. SRP is, of course, encouraging users to conserve power and water. Lots of questions enhanced the presentation. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
  April 7, 2017 - Club members and friends met for a weekly session with 8th grade students from Kyrene del Pueblo to work on the AWIM (A World in Motion) project. This was the third week in the "Motorized Toy Car" project - the students were learning about compound gear ratios.A gallery of photos from these sessions can be found by clicking HERE. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 March 27,2017 - Robert and Chris gave us a slide presentation that described the latest plans for a multi-use path project in Tempe which will link to paths in Phoenix, Guadalupe, and Chandler. Tempe has secured inititial funding and hopes to receive bids and begin construction in January 2018 with an 8 month completion. The design of all the elements involved is impressive. This will be a great addition to the Tempe infrastructure. Click here to learn more. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
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Several members of the Kyrene Rotary club began a new session of the "A World in Motion" (AWIM) project with Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School on Friday March 24. The eighth grade students will complete the Motorized Toy Car project in early May.  Here is the basic kit used by the students to build the motorized toy car.Pictures of the previous project can be seen by clicking here. You can view the photos as a total list or you can watch a slide show. Feedback is always welcome. Enjoy Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 March 20, 2017 - Jeff Ellington, President and COO of Runbeck Election Services, gave us an overview of his company and the industry. His company has existed since 1942 but began a growth spurt in 2006. The company was judged as one of the best companies for employees. They have good management practices and focus on training, development, and safety. Jeff told us of the current sophisticated ballot producing and counting processes. Many counties are now using print-on-demand ballots at polling stations. His company has been very successful at coping with the extremely cyclical nature of the print-balloting business. Click on "Read more" to see social media options |
 March 13, 2017 - Vanessa Chamberlain, Director of the Cultural Wellness Center, facilitated a discussion regarding the differences in youth growing up today compared to our generation. According to her, kids today have less social skills, are apathetic, and complacent, and not willing to take risks. They have short attention spans, low frustration tolerance and want instant gratification. The pilot program that Vanessa is leading is an attempt to address the issues that cause these behaviors. This is a nature-based program that will help youth, bring awareness to educators, and help parents keep in touch with their children. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 March 11, 2017 - Many volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. Today we sorted and packed more than 10,000 pounds of food. This means that each volunteer helped provide about 170 meals for needy families in the Valley. Our Kyrene club had a good turnout of members and family. We look forward to the next project in mid-June.Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 March 7, 2017 - Club members Doug, Harry, Dave, Bill, Andy, and Ken delivered dictionaries to students at the Autism Academy for Education and Development. The school is located in Tempe and this is the first time our club has provided dictionaries to this school. The students were very appreciative, engaged, and animated. We all had a good time and enjoyed the students. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Feb 27, 2017 - Vladimir Pulaj from the Rotary Club Tirana in Albania gave us a very interesting slide presentation about his country and his Rotary Club. He described the major characteristics of his country and club. Albania has a population of just over 3 million people, is located on the Adriatic and Ionian seas, and is about the size of Delaware. It is a multicultural and multi-religion country and the Albanian language is one of the oldest in Europe. In 2009 it became a full NATO member. The RC Tirana was chartered in March 1992 and many other clubs have been chartered since then. The club has had many significant projects including vaccinations for newly born children, sponsorships for students, aiding Kosovo refugees, and funding multiple matching grants. Many thanks to Vladimir for giving us such a rewarding education.Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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February 23, 2017 - Today, club members Bill, Harry, Mike, Andy, Doug, and Dave spent a few hours at the Kyrene Resource Center transferring food from boxes to shelves and then packing food bags. These food bags will be available to needy families in the area. Our club is hoping to increase our participation with this very worthwhile charitable organization. We had an enjoyable time together while working and at lunch afterwards. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Feb 20, 2017 - Harry, one of the club's founding members, received a recognition award from the United Food Bank. Harry received the award on behalf of all the East Valley Rotary clubs who have participated in packing food once every quarter. Harry is the initiator and driver for this very successful multi-club project which provides significant support for the United Food Bank and the citizens of eastern Arizona. Click on "Read More" to see social media options.
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 Feb 20, 2017 - Club member David Archibald, an accomplished speaker and former track coach, gave us a very interesting tour of Arizona: a variety of geographies and histories. We saw photos of the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, and Havasupai Canyon which includes three different water falls. We learned about towns such as Sedona, Jerome, Phoenix, and Bisbee as well as the colorful figures associated with their histories. David also described some interesting Indian folk lore. David had many more stories and photos available but there was not sufficient time in the meeting. Perhaps one day David will speak again about the history and geography of Arizona. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Feb 13, 2017 - Rose Ann Canizales, President of the Association for Construction Career Development (ACCD), told us about the organization. It has existed for 15 years and is modeled after a similar organization in Texas. ACCD's goal is to facilitate employment between career seekers and industry leaders. Each year they hold a 2 day event for students to see real world applications in the construction industry. The construction industry is short of manpower and would like to encourage students to enter this field: it is exciting, rewarding, and well paid. ACCD has a superb web site and a very informative guide. This year's Construction Career Days event will be held at the Arizona Army National Guard Papago Site on November 2nd and 3rd. They are looking for volunteers to help plan and staff the event site. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 February 6, 2017 - President Doug inducted two new members into the club today; Dave Archibald, sponsored by Harry and Mike Pheilsticker, sponsored by Dave. We look forward to their contributions to all our activities. Today we also exchanged club banners with the Rotary Club Tirana in Albania. President Doug and Vladimir Pulaj are pictured here with the banners.Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 January 30, 2017 - Melody Richards spoke to us last year about Feed My Starving Children This visit she told of her experience growing up in South Africa and her journey to the United States. Her family was mixed with half her siblings being black and half white. That caused many problems for them in the era of apartheid; they were not welcome anywhere. Based on that difficult situation, she was determined to come to the USA, at age 18, to learn more and improve herself. She learned from her experience that "knowledge is power" which drove her to keep studying. She also believes that it's important to contribute to society and hence her work with Feed My Starving Children. Melody has set a new challenge for herself and has taken up archery and hopes to make the USA olympic team. Her story is an inspiration to all.Click on "Read More" to see social media options.
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 Jan 23, 2017 - Mark and Anthony Newell, co-founders of Life Startup Essentials LLC gave us an excellent description of their organization and its activities. Together they have over 35 years experience working with homeless and disabled individuals. They created a company that provides the tools a person needs to successfully transition out of homelessness with dignity. They create kits for organizations and for individuals, who are looking to streamline new beginnings. Their kits contain all the basic necessities needed to make a transition - to school, dorm life, or a first apartment - go as seamlessly as possible. Click here to learn more.Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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  Jan 19, 2017 - Club members, spouses, along with existing and prospective members, attended a dinner at Keegan's Grill in Ahwatukee. The discussions were going on all evening and the energy level was high. Everyone had a good time. We hope Dave, Lynette and Scott will be joining the club soon. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 January 9, 2017 - Today Collin Cunningham, the Executive Director of the Welcome to America Project described her organization's operation and mission. The following mission statement is taken from their very impressive website.
"The Welcome to America Project is a nonprofit organization that creates community connections and builds bridges of neighborly understanding by providing furniture, basic necessities, education, and additional resources to newly arriving refugees. Collin told us that there are over 20 million refugees world wide and over 60 million displaced people. Refugees come from all over the world and Arizona is the 6th largest resettlement state. Her organization helps people to get oriented and prepared to be successful after the initial Federal 90 day adjustment period. The site is full of good information - check it out by clicking here. Click on "Read More" to see social media options |
 Jan 6, 2017 - Corona del Sol High School December Teacher of the Month, Darren Ridge, teaches Social Studies and Criminal Justice. He is also currently the JV Girls Basketball coach. Pictured with Mr. Ridge is Kathi Hausmann, CDS PTO Treasurer, Machel Considine, Kyrene Rotary Club, and Mr. Nathan Kleve, CDS Principal.
CDS December Staff of the Month is Sonya Martinez, an Audio-Visual Tech. She is not pictured.
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 Dec 19, 2016 - Club member Machel was asked to fill in and explain RYLA (Rotary Leadership Youth Awards) because the student who recently attended RYLA had a last minute scheduling problem. She explained how students were nominated and selected. Machel also related the benefits of the program and the positive reactions students had. Members were encouraged to nominate high school students that they knew in their community.There are several RYLA web sites for various districts that provide details of the program.
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.jpg) Dec 14, 2016 - Training for the "A World in Motion" (AWIM) project at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School was held at the school today. Our club is sponsoring the project and funding is being provided by GM. Volunteers from our club will be participating with 7th grade students for an hour every Friday to help students experience engineering and science by building motorized toy cars. Club members and teachers are all very excited about the project and are looking forward to interacting with the students. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Dec 12, 2016 - Four members of the ASU Rotaract club described their club's past and planned activities. They completed 4 major projects this fall semester and have planned 7 Service Events in the Spring 2017 semester, along with visits to 3 local rotary clubs. During the fall semester the club increased their enrollment from 15 to 25 - a great accomplishment! Alice Phan, the club president told us of the need for some financial help and a few club members committed over $300 on the spot. The club as a whole contributed another $50. We were impressed with where the ASU Rotaract club is going and encouraged them to keep up the good work. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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  Dec 10, 2016 - Forty-five volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. Today we sorted and packed more than 15,000 pounds of food. This means that each volunteer helped provide about 250 meals for needy families in the Valley. Our Kyrene club had a good turnout of members and family. We look forward to the next project in mid-March. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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   Dec 4, 2016 - After dinner and wrapping of presents, Doug gave three awards. The first was to Dave for his year as President last year. The second was to Rob for his outstanding job as Secretary/Treasurer. The third was the Rotarian of the Year award to Ken for his contributions to the club over the past year. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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  Dec 4, 2016 -- Members gathered at Doug and Pat's home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping, games, and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a family with needy children. Kelly selected the family from the Kyrene School District Foundation's list of families in need. Thanks to all!! This is an annual event that club members vigorously support and enjoy. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 Dec 5, 2016 - Curt Ward from the Gilbert Rotary Club told us about the water project on the Navajo reservation that his club is supporting. The objective of the project is to provide water to the homes of families who have no indoor water. A 2000-foot well has been drilled and now each home must be outfitted with the proper hardware systems, at a cost of $4500 each. This is an international project - Mexican rotary clubs have already raised 30% of the total $78,000 cost. The Gilbert club is asking other clubs to help raise another $5000 to meet the overall goal. Our club will explore ways to participate and make a decision within the next few weeks. |
 Nov 28, 2016 - Rod Daniels, chair of District 5510's "PolioPlus Campaign to End Polio Now" gave us a status check on the project. Rod told us that there are several partners working with Rotary on this project. Since its launch in 1988, the GlobalPolio Eradication Initiative - spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), RotaryInternational, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF - has reduced the incidence of polio by more than 99 percent. The original goal was to have complete eradication by 2018 but that won't be reached because of 4 cases in Nigeria this year. An area or country cannot be declared as polio-free until 3 years have passed with no new cases. He explained the 5 major advantages to eliminating polio, why we should care, and why we should contribute to the project (which we did). Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Nov. 21, 2016 - Renee Angeles from the Arthritis Foundation in Phoenix gave us a brief overview of her organization and its many services.Interested readers should check the web site since there are too many programs/activities to list here. Renee surprised us when she said that Arthritis is the #1 debilitating disease in the country - 1 in 4 people are affected by this disease. There are currently over 6000 kids in Arizona who have some form of arthritis. The foundation's goal is to cure arthritis but also to provide various consulting resources to assist people in locating the help necessary to deal with pain and to find resources.
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 Nov 19, 2016 - 15 year-old Gabe Fowler completed his 2nd Tour de Tucson charity bike ride, riding to End Polio and representing D5510’s Kyrene Rotary Club. He completed the 106-mile course in 7 hours & 13 minutes and raised $2,122 for TRF Polio Plus and D5500 Foundation from teachers, friends and family, and Kyrene Rotarians. Gabe is a sophomore at Gilbert’s Campo Verde high school where he just won his 2nd varsity letter in swimming. He is a grandson of Kyrene Rotarian Harry Short. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 Nov 14, 2016 - Melody Richards, a volunteer with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) gave us an overview of the organization. She explained the need for volunteers to pack food packets and the need for donors. The current focus in on providing food for children in Haiti because of the terrible conditions that exist there. She reminded us that $80 provides enough food to feed a child for one year. FMSC wants to provide both food and an opportunity for the community to support itself. A sobering fact is that 18,000 children around the world die every day from starvation. Melody also explained that 99% of all the packed food does reach starving children. FMSC is ranked very highly by the Charity Navigator organization that evaluates non-profits. Her presentation generated much discussion. Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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   Nov 06, 2016 - The club held it's quarterly social event at the Main Event from 2 to 6. Many members and families attended to bowl, shoot pool, climb ropes, play laser tag, and play in the arcade. Everyone had a great time. Thanks Doug for setting this up. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 Nov 7, 2016 - Tim Sandefur, Vice President for Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, gave us a few examples of the various litigations that the institute has been engaged in over the past few years. He told us that the institute focuses on state laws rather than federal laws because the constitution gives most power to the states. Two examples are litigation regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (some very strange laws here that don't have the best interest of the child at heart) and litigation regarding private property cases (again there are some very strange laws on the books). Click on "Read more" below to see social media options
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   Oct 31, 2016 - Today we labeled about 1300 dictionaries which will be delivered to 3rd graders in the Roosevelt School District in the next month. This is the 9th year our club has made this contribution to the District. Members will be instructing each class on the use of dictionary/encyclopedias. This is always a fun and rewarding activity. Click on "Read more" to see social media options.
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 Oct 17, 2016 - Cheryl Hurd from Child Crisis Arizona described the role of CCA in the care of young children removed from their parents. The organization can accommodate 78 children birth to eight years of age in two emergency shelters. They employ case management workers and provide day care, counseling, housing, and crisis management for children in their care. They provide classes and workshops for parents to help them reunite with their children. They also license families for foster care and certification for adaption. Cheryl invited our club to tour their facility. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 Oct 3, 2016 - The District Governor for 5510, Dr. Tonya Watson, visited our club today. We spent the first 90 minutes reviewing all aspects of our club with her. Tonya then gave us a multi-faceted presentation that included such issues as "Why do we need a district office"; "Why are we combining districts"; "What does Rotary do for the community"; and "What can we be doing better". Tonya encouraged us to take some action to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Rotary Foundation. She would also like clubs to get involved with some form of "Assisted Elder Campaign" for this year. She emphasized we should answer the questions Why Rotary? Why Now? Let's promote Rotary more aggressively (toot our horns) to help recruit members. She concluded her presentation with the mantra - "We should be proud to be Rotarians" Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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.jpg) September 26, 2016 - Today Don Kelly from the Tempe South Rotary Club talked to us about the struggle that lower income students have to succeed. He told us of his own experience as a lower income student and the techniques he had to learn. He became a "purpose-driven student" who was then successful and became a purpose-driven professor at ASU. Don related several stories about how he engaged students to make them successful. He told us that he has persuaded his club to fund a scholarship for summer classes for 5 students who could use the extra help. He would like our club to provide a similar opportunity for 5 students at a cost of about $1700. We agreed to look into this further in our next couple of meetings. Don is writing a book on how to improve graduation rates for low-income students and will donate proceeds from sales to the scholarship program. Click on "read more" to see social media options
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 September 24, 2016 - Thirty-five volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. Today we sorted and packed more than 10,000 pounds of food. This means that each volunteer helped provide over 250 meals for needy families in the Valley. Our Kyrene club had a good turnout of members and family. We look forward to the next project in mid-December. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 Sept 19, 2016 - Nicole and Reuben from the East Valley Boys and Girls Club gave us an overview of the various programs that the club has available. There are currently 219 kids participating in the various programs and the goal is to increase this to 275 by the end of the year. The cost is very minimal: $15 per year for residents of Guadalupe and $40 per month for non-residents. The club serves kids from 5 years to 19 years provided they are in school. Their programs include: Character and Leadership Development; Education and Career Development; Sports and Fitness Programs; and Health and Life Skills. They also have a Keystone Teen program which can provide volunteers for events which are part of our Club's service program. They are always looking for volunteers for a variety of activities. Click here to learn more. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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  Sept 08, 2016 - The club held its first social event of the year at Carrabba's Restaurant on Thursday evening. We had a good turnout including a couple of family members. There was lots of fun and laughter and everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you Doug for setting this up. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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  Sept 1, 2016 - Corona del Sol Teacher of the Month for August was Ben Forbes, Digital Film-making and TV Productions. He leads Student Council and cdsTV.
Mary Baker, Activities Administrative Assistant, is the Staff Member of the Month for August.
Both were surprised and pleased by their awards.
Congratulations to both the recipients!
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 August 26, 2016 Project CURE has gotten more organized and made the sorting even easier. This was both good and bad for sorters. On the one hand, it is easier. On the other hand, the challenge of trying to identify strange things was fun. They also seemed to have more volunteers and interns, and their meeting area has been converted into another sorting area. A group from Cox was there with us as well as several ASU interns. Since sorting was easier and faster, we were also trained in packing the boxes for shipment. Each box must have only 1 kind of item and the items must be counted for the labels. Printing the labels was easy. The item code, weight, and count was entered on drop down menus and a label was printed. Dave, Rob, and Doug contributed 8 hours of service and sorted over 20 large boxes of medical supplies. Click on"Read More" below to see social media options
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 August 22, 2016 - Tawnya Christensen from the Christian Care organization gave us an excellent presentation about Dementia, in general, but Alzheimer's disease in particular. She explained that Alzheimer's was the most prevalent form of dementia and it currently affects over 5 million people. She gave us information about the various stages of progression and how to identify them. She stressed the importance of caregivers and provided several good tips on how caregivers should take care of themselves. Her presentation was very well received and generated much discussion. Click on "Read more" to see Social Media options.
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 August 15, 2016 - Stephanie Siete, Director of Community Education for Community Bridges, Inc (CBI) described her organization's ourtreach to help addicts and families in Arizona. In addition they provide training to organizations throughout Arizona on how to identify drug issues early on with today's youth. She gave us some alarming statistics on how the strength of drugs are increasing and how fast they are proliferating. The number of deaths from drug overdose is increasing dramatically - last year the number exceeded 47,000 across the country. It is imperative that the community understands this phenomenon and develops programs to educate the young in particular but also the entire population. The problem is growing and beginning to exceed the adverse effects of alcohol. She told us that the new recreational drug "Flakka" is beginning to replace "MDMA or Ecstacy" and it is far more dangerous. More people should hear Stephanie's message. Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 August 8, 2016 - Today, Michael McAfee, Director of Education for the Automotive Youth Education System in Arizona, gave us an overview of this program. This program is for high school students who are interested in becoming automotive technicians. The goals of the program are: • To develop career-ready, entry-level automotive technicians and service personnel.
• To give high school automotive technology students the opportunity and guidance to explore rewarding automotive careers. • To provide the tools and support to develop and practice the skills needed to succeed in the industry. There are 245 dealerships in AZ that are interested in hiring technicians who graduate from the program. EVIT (East Valley Institute of Technology) alone has 200 students currently in the program.
The program began in 1995 in Detroit and is now run by ASE(Automotive Service Excellence). Lots of discussion followed the presentation.
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 July 25, 2016 - Charissa Cleveland - a "Fearless Coach" who's web page says "Conquer your fears and live courageously", gave an interactive presentation that helped us to better understand fear and how to deal with it. She differentiated real fear from psychological fear which tends to come from negative thoughts. Charissa used the word FEAR as an acronym for "Fear Everything and Run" 0r "False Evidence Appearing Real". Many of our fears come from dredging up the past. One method of coping is to force yourself to focus on the moment by taking stock of what your 5 senses are telling you. Her presentation generated lots of discussion. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 July 21, 2016 - Today, club members Rob, Ken, Machel, Doug, and Dave spent a few hours at the Kyrene Resource Center filling backpacks for kids for the coming year. We also spent time transferring food from boxes to shelves and then packing food bags. These food bags will be available to needy families in the area. Our club is hoping to increase our participation with this very worthwhile charitable organization. We had an enjoyable time together at lunch afterwards. Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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 June 27, 2016 - Today was the last day of President Dave Kline's term of office. A big thanks to Dave for stepping up to the presidency for a second time and providing strong leadership throughout the past year. Great job Dave !! Doug Bock is taking over as President for the coming year. Doug ran several meetings during June in Dave's absence and is fired up and ready to go! The club is ready to move forward with our programs under Doug's able leadership. Excelsior!
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 June 27, 2016 - Tom Hickey, a founding member of this club, told us about his experience as a Rotary Exchange Student in Finland. He got off to a shaky start and wasn't at all convinced that his trip to Finland was such a good idea. Tom told us of many humorous incidents during the trip and shared some priceless photos with us. The 17 year old in the photos was a far cry from the Tom we know today. Even with some of the difficulties Tom faced, he believes his experience was very beneficial and helped shape his life. Tom made a very strong plea to have our club become more active again in the exchange program. He is a firm believer in the value of the program. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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June 20, 2016 - Lori Regnier of the Starbright Foundation gave us an intensive and disturbing view of the problem of child sex-trafficking in the Phoenix area. Most of the population seems to be in denial of this serious problem in our midst. The Starbright Foundation's mission is "to rescue children and young adults from human sex trafficking and modern day slavery, as well as other dangerous and abusive environments..." They provide many services associated with this mission. Check their web site. Lori gave us many graphic examples of the problem and the need to provide much more education to the community, especially to young girls who are the principal targets. Social Media is a tool being used by predators to lure these children away. We all need to pay attention to and be aware of this reprehensible activity in our midst.
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 June 4, 2016 - Thirty-five volunteers from several East Valley clubs participated in this quarterly multi-club project. Today we sorted and packed more than 12,000 pounds of food. This means that each volunteer helped provide over 250 meals for needy families in the Valley. Our Kyrene club had a good turnout of members and family. We look forward to the next project on September 24. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 May 27, 2016 - Another successful season of Movies in the Park concluded on Friday May 27. Many club members participated on the consecutive Friday nights in May to help sell concessions. Funds from these sales are used to support our community service projects - primarily the Dictionary Project. This project has provided dictionaries to all 3rd grade students in the Roosevelt School District for the past 8 years. Click on "read more" to see Social Media options
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  April 30, 2016 - Friday, April 29th was the last CDS Teacher/Staff of the Month presentation for the 2015-2016 school year.
Winners were Lina Fontaine, Administrative Asst to Principal Brent Brown (her first year at CDS!) and Alison Lund, Social Studies Teacher. Ms. Lund and the CDS "We, The People" team attended the "We, the People" competition in Washington D.C. It was an extremely successful trip. The Unit 6 won the top Unit 6 award in the nation but are awaiting the results of the group competition today. Ms. Lund was also in charge of organizing Junior-Senior Prom which was held this past weekend.
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 April 25, 2016 - Dena Brinkman told us how she came to run the Marathon in Greece. She was born in Greece but as a young child she came to live with relatives in South Dakota. She left there to come to a warmer climate several years ago but didn't begin to run until she was 62. She ran in the Phoenix and Boston Marathons before running the Greek Marathon last November. She came in 7th out of 25 in her age range. Dena also gave us a brief history of the marathon from its early beginnings to the present day. Her personal goal is to "beat women with wrinkles". She also shared with us some of the life lessons she learned while becoming a successful marathon runner. Click on "Read More" to see social media optons
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 April 18, 2016 - Today Dawn Hocking, Director of Development for The Centers for Habilitation (TCH) gave us an overview and a tour of the TCH facilities. Their mission is: Finding creative and innovative ways to provide hope and purpose for individuals with disabilities. TCH began in 1967 and today has 13 group homes in the Phoenix area and has about 700 clients per year. They are a non-profit contractor with the state which provides 60% of their funding. The balance of their funding comes from revenue generated by their document destruction division (ASDD) and various custodial contracts with nearby military bases.. We were all very impressed with the facilities and the organization. They are a stellar community resource. Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 April 13, 2016 - Kyrene Rotary members Ken, Harry, Doug, Tom, and Bill served lunch to homeless men and women at Phoenix Rescue Mission and cleaned up the serving area after. Thanks Bill for arranging this annual service project. Phoenix Rescue Mission provides 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, overnight shelter and many other services to homeless people.We all enjoyed lunch and fellowship afterwards.
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 April 11, 2016 - Kris Walters, Community Relations Coordinator for the Clothes Cabin gave us an overview of the organization and some of its history. The basic mission is to provide free clothing to those who can't afford it. The organization began in 2001 just focusing on socks but expanded into a clothing bank in 2008. They also provide storage lockers and an address for the homeless. In addition they have a back-to-work program. They have partnered with a few Title1 schools and have opened a resale store to help raise funds. They serve over 6000 individuals and rely on the services of about 72 volunteers per month. Check out this organization here. Click on "Read More" to see social media options.
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 April 4, 2016 - Tamela Demik, a pilot with the Arizona National Guard, gave us a great presentation about her experience and history. She is currently a member of the Camelback Crossroads club and is a strong believer in "paying it forward". She joined the Guard right out of college and began flying C130's. Today she flies KC 135s (refueling tankers) and is a flight instructor. She told us of some of the challenges in carrying out these refueling operations. The basic mission is to refuel bombers carrying nuclear warheads - part of a cold war deterrent. Her presentation was followed by many questions and comments. Click on "Read More" to see social media options.
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  March 2016 - The CDS Teacher of the Month for March is Cheryl Jannuzzi, Social Studies and is also Corona del Sol Social Studies Department Chair. Frank Valdez, Maintenance Technician and is CDS Plant Foreman is Staff of the Month. Congratulations to both of these deserving people! Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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 March 28, 2016 - Jo Jean Bordwell is a massage therapist in Ahwatukee. She described the importance of building trust with your massage therapist so that the correct issues with your body can be addressed. The therapist and client need to establish a strong rapport for the massage to have maximum effectiveness. Jo Jean explained how cells function and the importance of staying hydrated so that blood and oxygen are available to the cells and toxins can be readily eliminated. Her presentation elicited many questions.Click on "Read more" to see social media options
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 March 28, 2016 - President Dave, (on the left) and Membership Chair Harry, (on the right) are seen welcoming three new members to our club today. Welcome Ryan, Darrell, and Mike - the entire club is very pleased that you are joining us. Darrell and Mike hail from Minnesota and won't be with us in the summers but Ryan is a native Arizonan and will be with us all year. We look forward to your active participation in the coming years.Click on "Read More" to see social media options
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 March 21, 2016 - President Dave Klein presented Harry Short ( a founding member of the club) with the Rotarian of the Year Award with the designation - "Master of Inter-club Projects". Harry has been a very dedicated, conscientious, and energetic member of the club ever since the club began over 10 years ago. His experience and wisdom have guided us for many years. KUDOS Harry!! You deserve it !! Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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 March 12, 2016 - Here is the Kyrene Rotary crew (members and guests) that participated in the United Food Bank food-sorting and packing project. There were a total of 35 people who worked for just over 3 hours to pack almost 10,000 pounds of food. That amounts to almost 250 meals per volunteer. Great job everyone! Harry began the session explaining how important this effort is for the United Food Bank and how pleased he was to see so many rotarians participating. He won't be here in the summer and so asked for volunteers to organize this project for the next session in the summer.
Click on "Read more" to see Social Media options.
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.JPG) January 31, 2016 - Corona del Sol Teacher and Staff Member of the month for January are Sonya Martinez - classified staff (not pictured) and Debbie Valenzuela - Special Education Teacher. Kudos to Sonya and Debbie! |
 March 9, 2016 - our Kyrene Rotary club supported the "A World in Motion (AWIM) project at Valley View School this year. We provided a bit of volunteer time and funded the medals that were awarded. The Sun Lakes Rotary Club provided the majority of the volunteer support. The Awards Night was a super celebration acknowledging the efforts of the students. The photo shows Dave Kline, our president along with the teacher and two of the winning teams. Our rotary club hopes to provide full support to the Kyrene Middle School if they decide to initiate an AWIM project next year. Click on "Read More to see Social Media options
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 March 7, 2016 - Kristy McKisson is an active volunteer with the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. (DSW). She told us about her own personal experience in facing this disease and gave us a good template for what to look for when assessing an individual's condition. DSW's purpose is to empower and support individuals, families, care-partners, and communities affected by dementia in Arizona and southern Nevada. Kristy gave us a pamphlet that describes the 10 early warning signs of Alzheimer's. Click here for more information. Click on "Read More" to see Social Media options
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 Feb 29, 2016 - Today Debbie Weidinger, Executive Director of Arizona Assist gave us an overview of the organization - how and why she started it, what its goals are and where it is today. Debbie has a 27 year old son who has autism. As he was graduating from high school she became concerned with what he was going to do with himself. She found other people with the same concerns and formed a support group for parents (and children).She described the characteristics of people with autism and the struggle they have to survive and succeed as adults. Her support group provides many forms of assistance, from teaching people how to cope to providing "connections for the young". This is a pressing problem since 1/54 boys in Arizona have this disorder. Please check out the web site for more information or to donate to this worthy organization.
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 Feb 8, 2015 - Charles Keller, the initiator of the Colten Cowell Foundation and creator of the Bat Cave, gave us a great presentation about the foundation and the success the Bat Cave is having. He owns an original Batmobile which began the current program.In the coming months they will be breaking ground on a 5 acre campus to build a 35,000 square foot Crime-Fighting Cave. There, kids fighting illness or hardship can make their dreams come true and become real-life super heroes. They hope to create unforgettable memories, smiles and laughter for children and their families, all the while empowering them to give back to the world and learn how rewarding it can be to help others. Their heritage starts with just a car (well, a Batmobile to be precise) in 2009, and to date the movement has entertained 178 families and given more than $500,000 to over 100 different charities. They hope to build what will be known for generations to come as The Monument to Compassion. A place where love for our fellow mankind trumps all.
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 Feb 1, 2016 - Today club member Rob Foster gave us an overview of the Foster Care Review Board (FCRB) in Arizona. The FCRB has existed for 38 years and Rob has been a member for 7 years. He explained how children entered into the Department of Child Services (DCS) system and what the role of the FCRB was related to those children. The statistics are staggering: over 19,000 kids are currently in the system and 10,000 of those are in Maricopa county. The workload for all people (case workers, lawyers, judges, volunteers, foster parents, etc) associated with this system is over whelming. Rob encouraged members of the club, and their family and friends to consider becoming an FCRB volunteer. Click here to find out more. |
 Jan 26, 2016 - Jason Dudley, from SRP's Emerging Customer Programs, gave us a presentation dealing with Sustainability and Resource Planning for the Future. Jason told us that SRP is the 3rd largest public utility company in the nation and just signed up its millionth customer. He gave us many interesting statistics about how SRP plans, what they track and project, and how their generating capacity is distributed within Arizona and externally. He noted that the future would involve much more power production from sustainable, renewable energy though storage and distribution are two major problems that have yet to be solved. Jason's presentation was very enlightening and generated much discussion. |
 Jan 11, 2016 - Tina Patton, Owner and Hearing Care Professional of Exceptional Hearing Care, gave us an excellent overview of the relationship between loss of hearing and brain functions. The statistics regarding the number and ages of people with hearing loss problems were staggering. In addition, there is a very strong correlation between hearing loss and cognitive decline and dementia. She stressed that everyone should be as concerned about hearing as they are about vision since one cannot reverse any atrophy that has occurred in the brain. Her presentation generated lots of questions and discussion. |
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Jan 10, 2015 -There were two Corona del Sol High School Awards for the month of December. Emily Krull, English, received the faculty award and Mary Remington, Academic Administrative Assistant, received the staff award.
Congratulations Ms. Krull and Ms Remington.
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 Dec 13, 2015 -- Members gathered at David and Lordes' home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a large family with 6 children. Kelly selected the family from the Kyrene School District Foundation's list of families in need. Thanks to all!! This is an annual event that club members vigorously support and enjoy. |
 Dec 12, 2015 - Today, multiple local Rotary Clubs participated in a food sorting project with the United Food Bank in Mesa. Here are some of the stats for the project.
* 30 volunteer Rotarians & friends * 7 Rotary clubs participated
* 120 community service hours (30 volunteers x 4 hours)
* Nearly 6 tons of food was qualified and sorted (11,780 pounds)
* This will provide nearly 10,000 meals (9,816)
* That's 327 meals per volunteer!
* Learned a lot about how local food needs are met -
Store surpluses -> Food banks -> pantries -> families in need * Wowed UFB as to Rotary's mission, turnout and productivity!
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 November 30, 2015 - Terri Kimble, President/CEO of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce gave us a very fast paced, comprehensive view of the Chamber and business developments in Chandler. We had lots of questions and discussion and members came away from the meeting with a much better understanding of goals, plans, developments, and opportunities that exist in this thriving city. Check out their web site for more details. Thank you Terri |
 November 2015 - We provided a combination dictionary/encyclopedia to almost all of the 3rd graders in the Phoenix Roosevelt School District. That's over 1300 Students in 17 elementary schools! We also distributed dictionaries to the Frank Elementary School in Guadalupe. In addition we worked with the children in each class to teach them how to look up information in their new book. The students and teachers were wonderfully appreciative and the Rotarians and friends thoroughly enjoyed this service project. Many of the classrooms have had no other visitors before. This is the 8th year of service to Roosevelt 3rd graders. |
 November 23, 2015 - Scott Wheelwright gave an extremely enlightening presentation about his experiences and observations in China where he currently lives. Scott has a technical background and has worked in many environments around the world. He is currently a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry in China and his wife is Chinese. He believes that there is much misinformation about China, its policies, its future, and its governance. His talk was fascinating and much too short. Most club members remained after the close of the meeting to participate in further discussion. Learn more about Scott HERE |
 Nov. 9 - 2015 - Peter Bearse, chair and founder of "A People's and Citizen's Congress",told us about his organization and his efforts to increase its membership and funding. The objective of the organization is to influence congress by supporting candidates who recognize that (1) Congress is broken, and (2) find a mechanism for change.. He said that currently Congress has no way to change itself and this situation needs to be changed if our country is to remain viable and sustainable in coming years. Peter is an optimist and tireless campaigner to accelerate the awareness of the problem and bring about a "peaceful revolution". |
 Oct 19, 2015 - Sergeant Keith Kaminski of the Phoenix PD Property Crimes unit gave us good advice about minimizing the risk of having valuables stolen from cars and garages. Regarding cars, the message to remember is Take it - Lock it - Conceal it. Never leave valuables in your car even for a short time and always keep your garage doors closed. He told us that thieves are well organized in gangs and are always watching for opportunities, especially in parking lots or on crowded streets. He advised us to record serial numbers of bicyles and electronic devices to help recovery if they are stolen. He handles about 1,000 property crimes a month and said that these types of crimes are the most common. Keith recommended that we call Crime Stop at 602-262-6151 if we see suspicious activity in our neighborhood. |
 Oct 12, 2015 - Today, Retired Captain of the Phoenix Police Department, Carroll Cooley, gave us a detailed description of the historic Miranda case. Captain Cooley was the arresting officer in this 1963 case and was involved in the original trial, the appeals, the second trial, and the rule change that requires all suspects to be read their rights. He gave us vivid descriptions of the crime, the pursuit, and key elements of the trials. It is a fascinating story which held the member's rapt attention. There was lots of discussion and questions. Many thanks to Captain Cooley. |
.png) Oct 9, 2015 - Movies in the Park was very successful last week and again last night. Over $300 net profit was made on both nights. Last night the crowd was not a big as anticipated but there was a steady business through out the night. A number of members participated, - Doug, Jim, Kelly and Tom but we also had help from Kelly's family (Lonnie and Kate) and Tom's daughter Angelina. It was great to have the children help and the extra hands were terrific. Two more weeks to go to meet our fund raising goals. Come out and have some fun with us. |
 Oct 5, 2015_ Today, Beth Brizel and Sandy Lowe spoke to us about the upcoming "override" election. They gave us a fact sheet which contained performance statistics that show just how well this district is doing compared to others and make a compelling argument for supporting the DAA override later this month. The fact sheet shows how the funds are distributed. They encouraged members to return the mail ballots as soon as they are received. There was a vigorous question and answer session - along with several supportive statements from club members that followed the presentations. |
 Sept 30, 2015 - Today, club members Harry, Ken, Machel, Doug, and Dave spent a few hours transferring food from boxes to shelves and then packing food bags at the Kyrene Resource Center. These food bags will be available to needy families in the area beginning on Thursday morning. Our club is hoping to increase our participation with this very worthwhile charitable organization. After words we all enjoyed fellowship at lunch. |
 Sept 28, 2015 - We were honored by the visit of our District Governor, Sherry Maschel, who knighted our President, Dave Kline, and then the entire club. After reviewing our last year's performance, Sherry talked about the "Power of Rotary" and what it takes to bring young people into the organization. She suggested that we need to focus on young people by increasing our emphasis on programs such as "Early Rotarians", Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, and Rotary Youth Exchange. Sherry wants us to adopt the acronym RERF - which means Recruit - Engage - Retain - Fun. Paying attention to REFR should help us "Growing our Club".We all enjoyed Sherry's visit and had a great time together.
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 Sept 21, 2015 - Denise Rentschler, a Public Information Officer (PIO) with the city of Tempe gave us an enthusiastic description of the many events and programs supported by the city. Denise has been in this position for 8 years and feels that Tempe has weathered the worst of the economic slump and is now moving forward on many fronts. She said that the city is now averaging about 2 events per week end, and conducts around 900 programs every quarter that cover a wide range of interests, geared mainly towards families. For example, there is the Halloween Carnival, Movies in the Park, Playday, Kids Swim Free, Arts in Kiwanis park every Friday, events on Town Lake, and a host of others. Denise believes that Tempe is now entering a very creative, forward looking phase in their parks that will benefit the entire community. Check out their new brochure. |
 Sept 14, 2015 - "Steps of Love" runs an orphanage near Rocky Point, Mexico. Larry Horton (past president of Rio Salado and Camelback Crossroads Rotary Clubs) described how his club is partnering with Steps of Love. Larry's club is looking for other clubs to work with them to: (1) travel to Rocky Point to "put hands on the project"; (2) provide needed items for the orphanage; and (3) donate funds to help the orphanage. Larry's club plans to travel to Rocky Point in October and again in November. Larry and his club are very excited about the project and hope that other clubs will join them in this endeavor. |
 Aug 31, 2015 - Our past president, Harry Short, described a community service project he is developing. The project involves the United Food Bank, which provides thousands of pounds of food to needy families in an area of Arizona that covers the approximate area of District 5510. He would like to establish a regular project that would involve several local clubs - members and families - that will pack food for distribution from the main United Food Bank warehouse. Besides providing a vital service, Harry hopes that by extending the project to include families, and providing lots of publicity, we will make Rotary more appealing to a wider and younger audience. The first session will be Saturday November 14 at the United Food Bank warehouse. Come join us. See our Events section on this site for directions. Aug 31, 2015 - Melissa Charles, principal of desert leadership, spoke to us today about conflict resolution. Melissa has a background in banking and explained that she has experienced conflict in all aspects of the enterprise. She said that 85% of all people are involved in some form of conflict or another at the personal, workplace, community, national, and global level. Most of this conflict is disruptive rather than cooperative and results in thousands of hours a year in lost productivity. She gave us several examples and described methods by which conflicts can be resolved. It is important to remember that communication and trust are at the heart of successful conflict resolutions. |
 Aug 24, 2015 - Harry Short was given a plaque today to acknowledge his service as president of our club during the 2014-2015 year. But this plaque was more than just that; t was also designed to honor Harry for all his contributions to our club since its beginning over 10 years ago. Here are a few: (1) Harry was a charter member and repeatedly declined the office of president so others would have the chance. (2) Harry is our club's major contributor to The Rotary Fund and is a continuing member of the Paul Harris Society. (3) He has served as treasurer and developed spreadsheets that we still use today. (4) He received the Cliff Dochterman award for scouting achievements - Eagle Scout, Oof Arrow, and District Commissioner. (5) Harry served as membership chair and has sponsored the most members. (6) He started a hiking group that built friendships in and outside the club. (7) He has been the coordinator with Habitat for Humanity. (8) Harry has 100% attendance and seldom misses a service project. (9) He is our #1 raffle ticket salesman and has strongly supported Microcredit and Childlight. (10) He organized our 10 year anniversary dinner and has included honorary members as active participants in all club activities. Last but not least Harry is an all around enthusiastic member, a superb role model and great guy! Thank you Harry! |
 Aug 19, 2015 -Members (Harry, Rob, Doug, Dave, Jeff, Machel and Ken) of the Kyrene Rotary Club volunteered Wednesday morning, for Project C.U.R.E. at the Tempe distribution warehouse. We also met several new Project Cure volunteers and staff members. We donate our time four times a year to help sort donated medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. We also help on special occasions to load cargo boxes bound for various foreign countries. We had great fellowship over lunch when we finished the project. |
 Aug 17, 2015 - Today Susan Iniguez and Jeanine Dougherty from the Roosevelt School District gave us an overview of the district, its history, mission, accomplishments, and goals. They spoke specifically about the Dictionary Project which our club has been involved with since 2008. Our club has contributed over 8000 dictionaries since that time (WOW). We were very pleased to learn how much this program has meant to the 3rd graders, teachers, and the district administration. After all these years it was great to meet a couple of the people we have relied upon to help set up the logistics each year. There were many questions and several members stayed late to have further discussions. We definitely increased the bonds between the district and our club. |
 Aug 10, 2015 - Today Irina Baker gave us a presentation related to "Don't Blame a Mirror for Your Ugly Face". She told us her history - beginning in Russia then immigrating to Orlando in 1995. She found the adjustment difficult but learned how to bring her physical and spiritual selves into balance. She recommends that individuals must accept the physical and spiritual aspects of themselves and learn how to value themselves. She advised us that we have the choice of either ignoring or following our dreams. She has published several books and consults with organizations and individuals to help them achieve success on multiple levels. Visit her website for more information. |
.png) July 27, 2015 - the events of this week are posted on our web page. Click here to visit us on Facebook. |
 July 20, 2015 - Nadine White, Major Gifts Officer - Corporate Partnerships for the American Red Cross, gave us a very informative presentation today. She described the 5 major services provided by the Red Cross: Disaster Services, Blood Services, Preparedness - Health and Safety Services, International Services, and Services to the Armed Forces. She also gave us both descriptions and impressive statistics about how the Red Cross impacts lives everyday. Nadine emphasized the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign and a "Be Red Cross Ready" program to help people prepare for disaster. The Red Cross has several mobile apps available to help people prepare and respond to emergencies. Lots of discussion followed. Many thanks Nadine. Interested readers can open or save a pdf file labeled American Red Cross in the Download files section on the lower right of this page. |
  June 29, 2015 - Kyle Maki and Jeff Charles gave short presentations about themselves to the club. Kyle talked about his migration from the Wrangler, where he worked for over 10 years, to his current position with EVDI (East Valley Digital Imaging). Although he doesn't deal with the technology, he brings EVDI professionals and Doctors throughout the valley together to discuss mutual benefits of working with EVDI. Kyle was a founding member of the club 10 years agoOur newest member, Jeff told us about migrating from England to New Mexico with his parents in 1951. He was involved in farming and then joined the Air Force. After his Air Force experience he worked for Chevron in Texas and then quit to start his own company. Jeff has since worked for himself in several different businesses and now works with his daughter to provided leadership training to companies and non-profits. You can learn more from his web site. We're delighted that Jeff has joined the club. Welcome Jeff.
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 June 22, 2015 - Paul Johnson, former mayor of Phoenix, and an advocate for open primaries in Arizona,gave us an excellent presentation on the primary processes at the state and federal level. Paul told us of his experiences to get elected as mayor and his failed attempt to be governor of AZ. He learned many lessons along the way. He had some compelling statistics about the election process which illustrate how few people are actually involved in selecting a candidate for congress. Paul said that Nebraska was the first state to hold nonpartisan primaries and 4 other states have recently adopted the process. His message was not biased toward a particular party but was meant to encourage us to think about the issue and possibly join the movement for open primaries. Needless to say, there was a lot of discussion. |
 June 15, 2015 - Rebecca Bond, AARP Experience Corps Program Coordinator, gave us a great description of the Experience Corps organization, its history, goals, and current programs. The basic idea is to match individuals over 55 years old with youngsters who need help with reading skills. The Corps has 2000 members in 22 cities across the nation. Experience Corps has existed since 2006 and has served over 2000 students in grades 1 to 3 in Tempe Schools. They are grant funded and have 84 participants in Tempe but they are looking for new volunteers. Interested people should contact Rebecca at Rebecca_Bond@tempe.gov. Check out the web site. |
 June 8, 2015 - Don Robbins, a member of the Sun Lakes RC and the Phoenix Area Coordinator for A World in Motion (AWIM), gave us a great overview of the AWIM program in Arizona. The program works with schools in the area to help build interest in science and engineering. Volunteers work with kids in their classrooms to design, build, and test their own versions of various devices. It is a creative way to engage youngsters in problem-solving and critical thinking. The students work in teams, then compete against teams in their school. The winners can compete against other schools and then internationally. Club members were very impressed and will discuss how we might participate with AWIM in our local schools. Check out the web site by clicking here. |
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May 22, 2015 - Four enthusiastic members of Kyrene Rotary Club as well as a family member sold snacks and cold drinks on Friday, May 2
 2nd at Tempe's "Movie in the Park" series. The movie was "The Little Mermaid" and Andy gets t he award for most creative appearance. His glow stick glasses were a hit! A great night was had by all!The movies, that will be shown the whole month of May, are free to the public and are meant for the entire family to enjoy. They are held on the north side of Kiwanis Park. For a complete listing of the movie, visit: Movies in the Park  |
 May 18, 2015 - Ginny Hildebrand, President and CEO of United Food Bank, told us that the United Food Bank has been a member of Feeding America Food Banks since 1992 and currently serves an area that is larger than West Virginia. The organization serves around 50,000 meals a day. She explained that the operating philosophy is Food, Fun, Friends, and Focus and elaborated on each of those terms. The Food Bank is currently emphasizing the concept of "Give where you Live". They are running a lottery to raise money for this program which will finish on Sept. 12. Check the web site for more information. We discussed how our club can get more involved. |
 May 11, 2015 - Harry pins president's pin on Dave - our new president. Dave wears his new crown and gavel. Harry and Dave "shake on the deal". Harry gave a super farewell speech during which he mentioned each member and what their service to the club was and what it meant to him. His speech was filled with humor and appreciated by the members. We agreed that Harry has been a great president and we look forward to his continuing contributions in a new capacity this coming year. |
 May 11, 2015 - Harry will be 75 in a few weeks but won't be here. So today we celebrated his birthday early with a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday and some special birthday cupcakes to mark the event! Jim, who broke his leg playing hockey wore his "testosterone" shirt today to show us how macho he is - (while limping on an ankle boot) |
 May 4, 2015 - Bob Wilson, who is the founder of smartful coaching gave a presentation on the many aspects of procrastination. He began by giving us the definition of procrastination and then explained what were the major 5 things beneath the surface of procrastination. He gave us a model of inner parent vs inner child. Bob suggested we keep a procrastination log to help break this habit. In addition, he suggested we read Neil Fiore's book, "The Now Habit" because much of his presentation was taken from that book. There was lots of discussion after the excellent presentation. |
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May 5, 2015 -There were two Corona del Sol High School Teachers of the Month for April. They were Pat Reed, Mathematics and Randy Nissly, French. Both are longtime teachers and have been involved in various student activities at CDS.
Congratulations Ms. Reed and Mr. Nissly!
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 May 4, 2015 - Joshua - the student supported by our club to attend the recent RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) camp - gave us a summary of this experience. He was impressed with all the friendships that were established throughout the camp. He specifically recalled the positive experiences he had with: trust/fall, zip lining, rock climbing, and the motivational speaker. In fact, he has signed up to be a counselor next year. Way to go Joshua! |
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May 1, 2015 -
Five enthusiastic members of Kyrene Rotary Club as well as three eager family members sold snacks and cold drinks on Friday, May 1st at Tempe's "Movie in the Park" series. The movie was "The Boxtrolls" and a few children in the crowd were seen to be in costume wearing their very own cardboard boxes. A great night was had by all!
The movies, that will be shown the whole month of May, are free to the public and are meant for the entire family to enjoy. They are held on the north side of Kiwanis Park. For a complete listing of the movie, visit: Movies in the Park
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 April 27, 2015 - Leslie Balderas (President) and David Belohlavek (Treasurer) of the ASU Rotaract Club gave us an update on activities and projects the club has been involved in this past year. Two of their major projects for this year are "Arizona Trip 2015" and "Big West Conference 2016". The AZ Trip 2015 will begin on May 14 and end on May 24. This is the 3rd year for this event in which 6 Rotaractors from other countries will tour Arizona. Past events have been a huge success. The club is looking for help - sponsors, home hosts, event ideas, and funds are all most welcome. The club is looking for sponsors, breakout session leaders, and home hosts for the conference which will occur in October of 2016. Check their web site for more information. |
 April 15, 2015 - Kyrene Rotary members Bil, Andy, Doug, Tom and Harry served lunch to homeless men and women at Phoenix Rescue Mission and cleaned up the serving area after. Thanks Bill for arranging this annual service project. Phoenix Rescue Mission provides 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, overnight shelter and many other services to homeless people. |
 April 13, 2015 - Greg DeCori, Territory Manager for Trek Bicycles, gave us an overview of his career, the history of Trek, and the Trek philosophy. Greg worked for J&B for several years before deciding he wanted to be part of the bicycle world. After several tries he landed a job with Trek and has been with them for almost 20 years. Trek is a family owned business that began in 1976 and now has 1800 employees (many of them have been with the company over 20 years). Trek is environmentally responsible and works with many municipalities to facilitate bike-friendly environments. Trek has a philosophy of innovation and has consistently led the industry in new designs and building relationships with retailers. |
.jpg) April 8, 2015 - Along with contributions from 4 other clubs, Harry and Dave presented our cash contribution to the United Food Bank today. In all we gave $4,250 to fund nearly all of the United's milk vouchers for a full quarter of a year. The milk vouchers are included in 3-day food boxes available to first responders for families in crisis who run out of food. They can be redeemed at Bashas, Food City and Sam's Club food stores. United Food Bank is the center of food collection and distribution that supports more than 120 food pantries, agencies, and schools in Maricopa, Pinal, Gila, Navajo, and Apache Counties. |
 April 6, 2015 - Dennis Flynn, Executive Director for "Rebuilding Together - Valley of the Sun", gave us an overview of his organization. The national organization has 180 affiliates across the country and the local organization has been in Phoenix since 1991. That first year they built 26 houses in Phoenix. They work with many corporate sponsors to help keep the costs low. Every October they organize the "Rock and roll Paint-a-thon" where upwards of 3000 volunteers participate. Nine years ago they began the Senior Fall Prevention Program (Club member Rob participates in this program). This program builds and installs ramps and grab bars in homes. This is an impressive community service program that our club might work with. |
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Thursday, April 2nd, the administration of Corona del Sol High School presented the March Teacher of the Month awards. The teachers that were awarded are well-respected and much-loved in the Corona community. They are Greg Hebert, Choir Director since 1994 and Rick Wanta, Math Teacher and Boys' Tennis Coach. Mr. Hebert has been honored as one of Tempe's most talented teachers, receiving the Tempe Diablos' Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2000 and 2009. Mr. Wanta, as the Boys' Tennis Coach, has taken many players to the state championships. He also was the tennis coach when Lucien Taal, our Rotary Youth Exchange Student from The Netherlands, attended Corona del Sol in 2012-2013. Kyrene Rotary Club was honored to be able to present each of them with gift cards as a thank you for all they do for the future of Tempe! Congratulations on this much-deserved recognition, Mr. Hebert and Mr. Wanta! |
 March 30, 2015 - Today we listened to presentations by members Jim Durham and Bill Perkins. Jim gave us a brief history of his life and career. Today Jim is a Process Engineering Manager with Compound Photonics. He began his career with a construction company then joined the navy and completed his education after leaving the navy. He graduated with a degree in ceramics engineering and electrical engineering. He worked fro IBM, Motorola, and Fairchild, along with some independent consulting, before his current employer. Jim also shared his career philosophy with us. Jim has two kids and is now keeping in shape by playing hockey.Bill told us about his home club's (Bloomington Indiana) annual fund raising event - Race for Literacy. This event is a 5 k walk/run and is organized with the support of a professional company that has experience in this arena. He told us they relied on about 30 volunteers to staff the race and they have about 250 people participate. The also receive donations from local sponsors. They raise over $3,000 per event. The funds are used to support the Teacher Warehouse that provides supplies to teachers in the local schools. Our club will discuss the viability of such an event here in our area. Thanks Jim and Bill for great presentations. |
.png) March 23, 2015 - Through academic training, study, and practice, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops leaders who become catalysts for peace and prevention and resolution of conflict in their communities and around the globe.Graduates of the program are reintegrating refugees in Sudan, creating jobs for disadvantaged women in India, and supporting reconstruction in devastated regions of the world. Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellows are chosen to participate in a master's degree or certificate program at one of several partner universities. Fellows study subjects related to the root causes of conflict and explore innovative solutions that address real-world needs. There are several peace centers around the world. For more information on the program and the peace centers, click here. |
 March 23, 2015 - Jerry Howard, Director of and archeologist at the American Museum of Natural History in Mesa, gave us an interesting presentation on native American history in the Salt River Valley. Relatively recent excavations in the Valley have tracked the progress from 13,500 years ago. The Hohokam people first came here in about 1 A.D. and during the next 1000 yrs built the largest network of canals in the new world. Jerry showed us a map of the area showing the complex system of canals. His presentation brought several questions from the group who learned about this interesting history for the first time. |
 March 16, 2015 - Tonya Gray and Christine Hudson, participants in the Tempe Leadership XXX class, gave us an overview of the project selected by this class. This program is funded by the Foundation of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce which encourages each class to initiate a project that emphasizes giving something back to the community. This class (XXX) has decided to develop, build, and fund a bike corral at Tempe Beach Park. Tonya and Christine gave us a quick quiz to see how knowledgeable we were about bikes and Tempe Beach Park. Their presentation described the project in considerable detail. We all agreed that the project is quite impressive and worthy of support. Interested readers should click here to visit their web site for more information. |
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March 14, 2015 - The clubs in Tempe joined together to sponsor a picnic in the park at the SRP PERA club on Sat 3/14. (Pi day by the way) They were inspired by Rotary International President, Gary Huang’s call for clubs to hold a Rotary Day event. Community and connections were the themes. Everyone had fun playing games, talking to new and old friends, and enjoying a beautiful spring day. Games for the kids were available, a firetruck made an appearance and Tempe councilman, Kolby Granville, stopped by to talk. Rotaractors turned out as well as DG John Pennypacker and DG Elect Sherry Maschel. Thanks go to Randy Clawson of the Tempe Downtown club for leading the team to organize the event.
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March 5, 2015 -
Pictured are the recipients of the Corona del Sol High School Teacher of the Month. There were 2 teachers awarded in February for their dedication to the students at Corona. Pictured in the first photo is Dan Nero, Assistant Principal-Athletics; Deb Benedict, Assistant Principal-Attendance; February Teacher of the Month-Michael Lohmann, Business; Brent Brown-Principal and Machel Considine, Kyrene Rotary Club. |
 March 02, 2015 Terry Lubsen, District Microcredit Chairman gave us an excellent presentation about the microcredit program in Mexico and the newest project in Hermasillo. He began with a video which illustrated just how poor most of the world is, and how we can help people living in poverty conditions by helping them to help themselves. This is the basis of microcredit. Microcredit programs have been operating for several years in many countries. For the past few years Rotary International and our district have been working with Rotary Clubs in Mexico to help people in Nogales and Hermasillo. Terry gave us several success stories and encouraged us to contribute to the program both individually and as a club. It was uplifting to learn how successful the Rotary microcredit program has been in these communities in Mexico. |
 Feb 23, 2015 - Sal DiCiccio, Councilman for District 6 in the City of Phoenix, gave us a very informative view of the city's financial problems. His handouts contained very detailed data about the salary and benefit costs of a large number of city employees. Sal has been working diligently for the past several years to address the financial dilemma the city is facing. Sal also told us about his efforts to make the city competitive with other cities in Arizona and across the country. The city has made several significant improvements that make doing business in the city much easier than ever before. Sal's comments stirred a lot of discussion and we appreciated his candor and perspective. This was another great meeting! |
 Feb 23, 2015 - Today we welcome our new member, Jim Durham. Jim will feel right at home in our club, given he is a ceramics engineer. We look forward to Jim's active participation with us |
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Feb 11, 2015 - M
 embers (Harry, Rob, Doug, Dave, Bill, Andy, and Ken) of the Kyrene Rotary Club (along with help from former member, Mike) volunteered Wednesday morning, Feb 11 at Project C.U.R.E. at Tempe’s distribution warehouse. We donate our time four times a year to help sort donated medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. We also helped this previous summer to load cargo boxes bound for Burkina Faso, Ecuador and Nicaragua.We had great fellowship over lunch when we finished the project. |
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Feb 2, 2015 - Congratulations to the Corona del Sol Teacher and Staff Member of the Month! Selected for January are Alison Rund, Social Studies teacher and Douglas Wagner, Maintenance. Both these people are highly energetic and enthusiastic about their positions at the school. Ms. Rund is coach for the "We the People" team from Corona. This year's team took the state title -- the fourth year in a row for CDS. It was also Ms. Rund's first victory in her first year as a coach! Mr. Wagner helps out all over campus wherever he is needed. KRC provides a $25 gift card to each individual that is recognized monthly by the administration for their outstanding performance. Great job, Ms. Rund and Mr. Wagner! (Pictured with Ms. Rund is Mr. Brent Brown, principal for CDS and Machel Considine, Kyrene Rotary Club. Pictured with Mr. Wagner is Mr. Brent Brown, principal for CDS and Machel Considine, Kyrene Rotary Club.) |
 Feb 02, 2015 - Nigel Brooks, ADG-elect for 5510, gave us an overview of his personal history, ending with his current organization, TechKnowPartners in Tempe. He began in Enfield as a management consultant and at age 25 migrated to the USA to work with Anderson Consulting. He became a partner there and then moved to Booze Allen where his major client was American Express. He later joined American Express as a Sr. VP for Technology Strategy in Arizona. He left them and founded his own Gourmet Coffee Business which he sold after 14 years. He moved to San Francisco and became active in Rotary, becoming co-chair of "Rotary means Business". In 2011 her returned to Phoenix and has been instrumental in "merging" 3 clubs into one. He is currently working with the city of Tempe on a major capital project which will help further Rotary's image in the community. We look forward to having him as our Assistant District Governor this coming year. |
 Jan 10, 2015 – Twenty-seven Rotarians pitched in to help complete another new house with Habitat For Humanity. Half of them did interior prep for painting and initial painting of trim & doors, while the other half removed weeds, concrete and debris from the lot in preparation for final landscaping. The Rotary volunteers were from the Kyrene, ASU, Camelback-Crossroads, Rio Salado, and Tempe Downtown clubs. The ASU Rotaract site has more pictures. |
 Dec 22, 2014 - Dennis Haberer, a board member of TRVFA and member of the Scottsdale Sunrise Club, explained the purpose of TRVFA and how it operates to support students that fall within the category of the "working poor". The mission of The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona, Inc. (TRVFA), is to partner with Rotary clubs to provide assistance to the working poor in obtaining education, training and skill development. The ultimate objective is to attain career-oriented employment and financial stability. The organization serves districts 5510, 5590, and 5500. They seek support from all clubs in these districts and last year they collected over $80,000 which were dispersed in grants ranging from $1200 to $3000. Last year they have provided 62 grants. They are hoping to have all clubs in the 3 districts help with financial support. Dennis gave us forms that we can use to contribute. Contributions can also be made directly from the TRVFA web site. |
 Dec 15, 2014 - Dominic Bartola spoke to us as a beneficiary of the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) program. His dog, Plato, was trained to alert Dominic to sounds in his house since Dominic is almost completely deaf. Dominic explained the program briefly but spent much of his time encouraging us to participate in the Dogfest Walk 'n Roll in Scottsdale on March 7th 2015. Dominic is the event chairperson and is looking for volunteers and donations to raise funds to support the CCI program. Recipients of trained dogs pay nothing but the training costs exceed $50,000 per dog. Club members were impressed with Dominic and his buddy Plato. |
.JPG) .JPG) Dec 07, 2014 - Members gathered at Gary & Mary's home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for two families with eight children. Tyler selected the family from the Boys & Girls Club attendees and will be our Santa - delivering the gifts. Thanks to all!! You can see more pictures by looking clicking here Events Album or looking at the bottom of this page |
 Dec 1, 2014 - Darren Handy, a member of Christians in Commerce, (CIC) gave us an overview of the organization. Darren has been with the organization, which was founded in 1982, for fifteen years. According to their mission statement the overarching goal of the organization is to "bring Christ into the workplace". CIC has 9 men's and 2 women's chapters in Arizona and several chapters in other states which meet weekly. In addition they have a mixed gender group at ASU's School of Business. Part of their outreach is in Uganda where the chapter helps families in need. More detailed information about CIC can be found by clicking here. |
 Nov 24, 2014 - Tom and John received acknowledgement and thanks from President Harry for their generosity. They received Paul Harris certificates and pins for their contributions to the Rotary Foundation. |
 Nov 24, 2014 - Barb Dubler & Katie Seavers, volunteers with the Assistance League - East Valley, gave us a great overview of what this organization does. They represent one chapter from over 150 chapters across the country. This is an all volunteer organization dedicated to assist and serve residents of the community. Barb and Katie described their multitude of philanthropic programs which include "Operation School Bell" and "Assault Survivor Kits". As an example, the Operation School Bell program provides new school clothing, uniforms, shoes, and hygiene kits to East Valley children in need in five school districts. They also operate a Thrift shop to help raise funds. Please check them out by clicking here; they are a most impressive organization. |
 Nov 17, 2014 - Katie Mabardy, Executive Director for Project Cure, gave us an update on Project Cure's current activities. She reminded us that Project Cure is the largest distributor of medical supplies to foreign countries, shipping over $53 million per year. Katie gave us insight into Rowanda - it's history, genocide, recovery, and current needs. She believes that Rowanda is a model for other developing African countries with respect to what is possible if everyone works together. Rotary has been a big supporter of Project Cure for many years and our club helps sort medical supplies at their Tempe facility at least twice a year. |
 Nov 10, 2014 - Harry is presenting a $1000 check to club member Tyler who is a director at the Boys and Girls Club in Guadalupe. The B&G club worked closely with our club to sell raffle tickets for a TV set and the net proceeds from the raffle were shared equally with the B&G club. The B&G club will use the funds to support their programs and our Rotary Club will use the proceeds to help fund our dictionary project which provides dictionaries to all 3rd grade students in the Roosevelt School District in Phoenix. Our club supports and partners with the B&G in many ways throughout the year. |
 Nov 09, 2014 - The Kyrene Rotary Club celebrated its 10th anniversary at a dinner party at a local restaurant on Sunday evening. The dinner was well attended by club and family members including four of the original founding members. President Harry made the evening a huge success with a program that: (1) helped us to get to know each other better; (2) recognized each member for their unique participation in the club; (3) helped us to better understand our accomplishments over the past years; (4) recognized significant contributions to the Rotary Foundation; and (5) described some of our current programs, for the benefit of our guests.Dave surprised Harry by giving him a special Rotary International Award for his work as a Rotarian with Boys Scouts of America. Harry has been an active leader in the scouting program for many years and continues to provide them counsel and guidance.
Harry, wife Nancy, and Dave went to considerable lengths to decorate the room with various artifacts relating to our club and its activities. The food was excellent and there was lots of laughing and good natured fellowship. Many thanks Harry for making this event so meaningful and successful.
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.png) November 3, 2014 - Sunday Etukeren, born in Nigeria, gave us a broad picture of Nigerian history and current status. Sunday came to the US many years ago and has raised a very successful family here. He has been associated with the Chandler Rotary club for many years. He told us that the British controlled Nigeria from 1700 to 1960 but was not united. It was created as a single country in 1914 but was ungovernable, having 600 languages and 1000 dialects. Boku Haram began in the late 70's and you can follow the development from the link shown. They are anti-western and want Nigeria to become a Muslim caliphate. They are trained by Al Quaida in Yemen. The U.S. has a covert interest because of the "sweet oil" available in Nigeria. Sunday is optimistic that the country will settle down and he hopes to build a school there. We wish him well. |
 Oct 27, 2014 - The Kyrene Rotary Club is very pleased to welcome Kelly Alexander as the newest member of our club. Kelly has a long time affiliation with the Kyrene School district in several different capacities. She currently provides leadership to the Kyrene Family Resource Center which our club is actively supporting. President Harry Short gave her her temporary badge and welcomed her. We all look forward to working with her. |
 Oct 20, 2014 - Today Jennifer Kahtz presented us with information regarding the Importance of Psychological Freedom. She explained how important it is to live your life to the fullest. She gave us an outline of the steps to take to achieve this freedom. For more information on Jennifer's background, experience, skills, and approach please check her web site. |
 Oct 6, 2014 - The meeting today was devoted to labeling over 1,000 dictionaries that will be distributed to 3rd grade students in the Roosevelt School District. Thanks to Dave, Harry, Machel, Doug, Tom, and Ken, along with some extra help from friends and family, the labeling was accomplished in about an hour and a half. Special thanks for Dave and Lourdes for allowing us to use their home for this task. We enjoyed pizzas accompanied with lots of fellowship and laughter. We will be delivering the dictionaries over the next month and a half. |
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Corona del Sol Teacher and Staff Member of the Month continues this month with the September winners. They are Nina Posey, Staff Member, who is a member of the Security Staff at CDS and Sam Duane, Jr., Teacher. Mr. Duane teaches PE at CDS. He is also the varsity boys' basketball coach. David Kline, in blue shirt, was the presenter for the Kyrene Rotary Club. Also pictured is Brent Brown, Corona del Sol Principal. Kyrene Rotary Club is proud to recognize these hard-working personnel who give their students, and indirectly, our community, so much of their time, effort and creativity.
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 Sept 29, 2014 - Hal Wochholz described his history with polio and the significant accomplishments he made after the time he was diagnosed and treated in 1954. He is indeed a remarkable individual who was able to over come the physical and psychological challenges of his encounter with this disease. He described the progress that has been made so far and the focus of Rotary and total elimination of the disease. Hal suggests the people look at the sites http://www.polioeradication.org/Financing.aspx and http://new.livestream.com/rotaryinternational/worldpolioday. The latter site focuses on the Oct. 24 Eradication Day. Bill Gates will triple the match with Rotary International. He hopes we will all contribute. |
 Sept 24,2014 - Harry, Machel and Dave sorted clothes, food and book donations for future distribution. The Kyrene Resource Center supports Kyrene students with basic needs to help students achieve their best in school! The Kyrene Family Resource Center offers support with food, gently used school clothing, hygiene supplies, school supplies and access to resources. Any family with a student in a Kyrene school is welcome. |
 Sept 22, 2015 John Pennypacker, District Governor for District 5510 visited the club to day to listen to our plans for the year and to encourage us to keep up the good work. We are one of the most active clubs in the District and he was impressed that we have been providing at least one service project each month.John then gave us a very informative description of his background and his philosophy about Rotary in general and for the coming year in particular. He encouraged all of us to participate in various programs the fullest extent possible The club was very receptive to his visit. Thank you John. John donated his honorarium to the Boys and Girls club of Guadalupe. Club member Tyler is accepting the check.. |
Aug 18, 2014 - Today, Harry Short was inducted by Dave Kline (Assistant District Governor) as president of the Kyrene Rotary Club for 2014-2015. Harry assumed the role on July 1 but because of his generous vacation schedule in Seattle, was formally inducted today. Club members are all very pleased to have Harry's guidance as president. Harry has been with the club since its inception in 2004 and has always been a strong contributor. We are looking forward to his leadership. Congratulations Harry !!! |
Sept 30 - Today, Kenneth Baca, superintendent of the Tempe Union High School District; David Schauer, superintendent of the Kyrene School District; and Sandy Lowe, PAC representative, spoke to us about the upcoming "override" election. They gave us performance statistics that show just how well these districts are doing compared to others and make a compelling argument for supporting the M&O override in November. There was a vigorous question and answer session - along with several supportive statements from club members that followed the presentations.
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June 25 - Today our new president, John Lamont, was handed the gavel by past-president Machel Considine. We look forward to another great year under John's leadership and guidance. Several awards for attendance and service-excellence were also given out. Our first meeting of the new fiscal year will be on July 9.
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June 2 - Rob Foster and Dave Kline had fun this morning disassembling roof guard rails, caulking, and wielding a reciprocating saw with surgical precision at the Habitat for Humanity home at 518 Temple in Mesa.
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Jan 21 2012 - Rotarians & friends turned out to help build a Habitat For Humanity
house. Thirteen Rotarians and other volunteers put on 2 coats of paint
inside and out, and installed doors and kitchen cabinets this past
Saturday in Mesa. Kyrene Corridor Rotary club volunteers were joined by
a large group of volunteers from the Tempe East Club. This house will
be purchased by a single mom who has one or two children. She has
worked on this and other houses for 400 hours!, completed courses in
financial management and home maintenance, and will become responsible
for mortgages equal to the appraised value of the house. Homeowners are
selected to be H4H home buyers based on being first time house buyers,
steady (but low wage) employment, lack of debt, and poor current housing
conditions. The term of the zero interest mortgage is structured
according to the home-buyer's ability to make monthly payments. And
several years of regular on-time payments will earn a reduction in the
total amount due. All construction and construction leadership except
the concrete, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning is performed by
volunteers. House sponsors typically raise $85,000 of money and in-kind
donations to pay for all above-ground materials. The plumbing,
electrical and air conditioning for this house were in-kind donations by
licensed contractors. Some of the Kyrene Corridor Rotarians
contributed AZ Tax Credit ("Aid to the working poor") money to help fund
this house. Local Habitat organization volunteer opportunities include
family selection, family mentoring, construction leadership and
construction. This is the 5th house that Kyrene Corridor Rotarians have
helped build!
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Oct 21 - The third event in this October series was another success. Kyle and Norma were the lean and mean team who shouldered the work load by themselves. The weather was great and the crowd was large. Thanks to both Norma and Kyle.
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Oct 14 - Thanks to the hard work of Harry, Ken, and Mike, the club collected an outstanding amount during this session. The weather was warm and their was a large crowd which helped make this night so successful. The trio had a good time from beginning to end.
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Oct 7 - Norma, Machel, John, and Mike worked in our Snack Bar for the first night of the fall series. The night was a bit cool and windy so the turnout was less than expected but everyone seemed to have a good time.
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Sep 21 - KCRC went to the ‘Feed My Starving Children’ packing facility and here’s the results:
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KCRC members: Calop, Ken, John, Machel and our exchange
student, plus Skip (Ken's wife) and Amanda (Machel's daughter) |
Aug 25 - KCRC went to the ‘Feed My Starving Children’ packing facility and here’s the results:
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KCRC members: Calop, Norma, Kyle, Gary, Machel and our exchange
student, plus Mary (Gary’s other half) dropped by for the last part |
May 16 - Diana Tacey, founder of Childlight Foundation for Afghan Children, gave us an update on the work she and her foundation are doing in Afghanistan. Diana began the program over 10 years ago with a modest funding of $15k. She began the program with the help of several rotary clubs, and many of them have continued to fund it. At first, Diana said, she couldn't believe what she was hearing about the conditions in Afghanistan so she decided to visit and make direct contact with people and organizations and that is what got her started. Her foundation has concentrated on improving girl's schools in rural communities. Happily, she’s made progress in several facilities and has many friends in the villages. She’s very optimistic that conditions will continue to improve and she plans to keep visiting the area to keep urging the communities to improve their conditions and treatment of women. Diana is hopeful that our club will be one of her sponsors to continue this important work. Click here to learn more.
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May 13 - Thanks to Kyle, Calop and Harry for being at Kiwanis park on Friday night to help raise funds for the club. The attendance was about the same as the previous week. All the products were sold out - the club did well financially on this event.
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May 6 - Kyle, David, and Norma set up and managed the club's booth at Movies in the Park in the Kiwanis Park on Friday night. Thanks go to Kyle for organizing this event once again this year. More than 600 people attended and the club raised a little money. Hopefully the coming 3 weeks will yield even better results. Thanks to Kyle, David, and Norma for making the event a success.
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May 2 - John Lamont, a Kyrene Rotatary Club member, described the
wisdom of doing home energy audits on existing homes. Most existing homes have
not benefited from new construction techniques and improved materials. As a
result, energy leaks contribute up to 40% of energy costs in older homes.
Audits can identify these leaks which can then be sealed. Sealing leaks, updating insulation, using
solar water heaters, and right sizing HVAC systems can result in an impressive
ROI, balancing the investment cost. John emphasized that energy audit
legislation is coming and, in future, homes will not be resold without an audit. The
cost of a basic audit is $99, and John has proposed a creative way to get
people engaged and to bring revenue to our Rotary program.
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Mar 28 - Ana is a very poised, bright, and affable young lady. She presented an overview of Italy which included geography, politics, culture, family values, and food. She explained that there was more to Italy than the Mafia, Pizza, Rome, and Pisa. In fact,Italy is divided into 20 regions and has a population of over 60 million and contains 14 volcanoes - 3 of them active; Mount Blanc is the highest mountain. Amazingly it contains over 70% of the world's art and architecture. Ana lives in Lecco, a town near Lake Como in northern Italy and she showed us pictures of her family and home. When asked, she compared life in Italy to life in the U.S. She finds our high schools much easier than her school in Italy. All in all she has enjoyed this experience and is pleased that her language skills have improved to the degree that she can now think in English.
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Apr 25 - Rob Foster is a volunteer with Rebuilding Together, a national organization that strives to preserve home ownership for low income, vets, and handicapped people. One of their recent major projects has been to restore 1000 homes along the Gulf coast. They have support from many national businesses and local contractors. In additon they organize a yearly "Rebuilding Day" every April as well as a "Rock and Roll Paint-a-thon" every Oct. The specific program where Rob volunteers is Senior Fall Prevention which involves teams who equip homes with safety equipment. Check out the web site at http://www.rebuildingtogetherphx.org
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Dec 13 - Charles Calhoun and Rachel Southard visited and explained the "Best Buddies" program. Best Buddies, a global charity, matches kids with intelectual disability disorder with a "buddy" at their school. The program presently serves more than 2,500 participants at 2
universities, 36 high schools and 8 middle schools in Arizona. See http://www.bestbuddiesarizona.org/ for more information.
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Dec 12 - Members gathered at David & Lourdes's home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a family of four children, mom and dad. Jennifer selected the family from her Boys & Girls Club attendees and will be our Santa - delivering the gifts. Thanks to all!!
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Our Rotary Club decided to provide financial awards to individuals recognized by the Corona del Sol administration each month for their outstanding performance. A member of the faculty and a member of the staff will be recognized. The awards will be given at the first of each month and a member of our club will attend the ceremony.
Kudos to both of you ! |
Aug 25, 2014 Today we had a club assembly and fellowship meeting. The discussions were spirited and fun. We covered a variety of topics such as: this year's dictionary project; our service project schedule through June; our happy hour meeting in September; our 10 year anniversary celebration on November 9; our raffle this fall; and our sponsorship of a RYLA student this year. |
Aug 20, 2014 - Members (Harry, Rob, Doug, and Ken) of the Kyrene Rotary Club (along with help from Skip) volunteered Wednesday morning, August 20 at Project C.U.R.E. at Tempe’s distribution warehouse. We donate our time four times a year to help sort donated medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. We also helped this previous summer to load cargo boxes bound for Burkina Faso, Ecuador and Nicaragua. |
Aug 11, 2014 - Lisa and Aimee Rigler gave us a great overview of Operation Welcome Home Arizona. They showed us a video of the most recent ceremony held in Gilbert. Their mission is a simple one - To honor our veterans and families by sponsoring activities that express our support, pride, and patriotism. They have been in existence since 2010 and patterned themselves after a program in Danville CA. To date, they have honored 25 veterans from Gilbert and Chandler. They hope to engage other cities in Arizona to participate in similar programs. Their newest project is the "Arizona Wall Project" which is part of the Vietnam Commemorative Partner Program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. This program hopes to help establish Arizona as being "Veteran Friendly". |
July 26, 2014 - Guadalupe Boys & Girls Club children went back-to-school shopping with members of the Kyrene Rotary this Saturday. Parents helped their children make a list and brought them to Kohl’s department store early in the morning. Each child was paired with a Rotary club member or another volunteer and provided a budget of $125 for purchase of shoes, clothing and school supplies. The excited children soon learned their ideas were larger than their budget. During the morning they learned that value is different than price and how to make comparisons and difficult choices to allocate their money. After 2-3 hours and check out, the children emerged into the sun with their bags eager to show their purchases and explain their choices to their nervously awaiting parents. The club also provided funding ($1,250) for 10 children. This is an annual event of the Boys & Girls Club and community youth project of Kyrene Rotary. More information about the Guadalupe Boys & Girls Club can be found at http://www.clubzona.org/locations/guadalupe/ |
June 30, 2014 - Shana Ellis, President and CEO of The Centers for Habilitation (TCH), and a very active City of Tempe Council member, gave us a most informative presentation about TCH and the services it provides. Shana said that TCH, was incorporated in 1967 as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities to people of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities. The goal at TCH is for individuals with disabilities to enjoy a more satisfying and independent life in various Arizona communities. She described several of the services where people with disabilities work, such as document destruction, cleaning, and cafeteria operation. She also explained how their group homes, in home services, day programs, and respite support function. Shana has been CEO since January. In addition she is currently seeking re-election to the City of Tempe Council. We wish her well in both of her endeavors. |
June 14, 2014 - Nancy and Harry Short joined 60 Seattle area Rotarians to pack frozen baby corn and peas into family meal size bags at Rotary District 5030's First Harvest project in Seattle. Many think that the need for food assistance was greatest during the "Great Recession". Actually the need is greater in. 2014 because of reductions in the food stamp program. It will become even greater as schools are out for the summer and their meal programs shut down until the Fall. Harry and Nancy are Pictured with some of the Seattle Rotarians |
June 2, 2014 Janie Hydrick, candidate for State Senate in District 18, spoke on her past and on her concerns. |
May 30 2014 - The winner of the 60 inch Sharp TV was a lucky Mesa resident shown here with Dave Kline who delivered the set to her. Funds from the raffle will be used to (1) support our club's Dictionary Project and (2) support the programs at the Boys and Girls Club of Guadalupe. |
May 12, 2014 - Nancy Ryan spoke on the Tempe General Plan 2040. Nancy discussed the Tempe 2040 plan up for a general vote on May 20. (It passed.) . The plan provides a guideline for the city council on zoning issues, transportation planning, and development. It is also linked to the Neighborhood Character Area efforts. The Tempe South Rotary club wrote up an endorsement of the plan as one that follows Rotary principles, and it was published as part of the voter information pamphlet. The most controversial part was the proposal to increase biking and walking options and the possible increase in traffic congestion as a result. As with anything, some people were against higher densities in downtown, while some approved. Overall, the Plan 2040 focused on neighborhoods and sustainability for a landlocked, college community with more jobs than residents. |
Our Rotary Club decided to provide financial awards to individuals recognized by the Corona del Sol administration each month for their outstanding performance. A member of the faculty and a member of the staff will be recognized. The awards will be given at the first of each month and a member of our club will attend the ceremony.
Machel presented the faculty certificate to math teacher Mark Rhiner.
Machel presented the faculty certificate to Social Studies teacher Christine Wiley
The staff certificate was presented to Emily Whitney but no picture is available.
KUDOS to all of you! |
May 5 2014 - Jarrett Ransom, Founder of ReAwaken, described how she overcame a difficult part of her life and how that led her to establish ReAwaken. The mission of ReAwaken is that every woman deserves to have the ability, resources, supportive network and emotional care necessary to overcome the challenges of life’s obstacles and episodes. All women, regardless of age, have the tools and right to become the vibrant and empowered woman inside of themselves that may have once been disrupted during a crisis. ReAwaken offers workshops and networking opportunities mainly for the medium-upper income woman. Jarrett told us that her 501(3) C organization is in its second year and has a goal to raise over $100 K this coming year while increasing its outreach in the community.
Also, today we presented our Kyrene Rotary Club Banner to Rotarian P.H.F S. Mumandimabul from the Rotary Club of Dindigul Fort, part of District 3000 in India. |
April 28 2014 - Adam Richman, Community Relations Coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, gave us a great overview of the many outreach programs that are sponsored by the Arizona Cardinals. Club members were both surprised and impressed with the breadth of their programs: programs ranging from providing grants to over 100 local agencies, to educating Moms, to upgrading or installing complete football fields for high schools. The programs are too numerous to list here but interested readers should visit their web site(s) for detailed information. Click here to begin
Also today, we exchanged banners with Kirsty Halliday of the Philadelphia Rotary Club |
April 26, 2014 – About 30 Rotarians and friends packed basic hygiene kits at the Kyrene Family Resource Center for children, fathers and mothers new to the area and needing help. The Center aids about 400 families during the year. It accepts all kinds of donated supplies on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 AM to 5 PM at 1330 E Dava Dr in Tempe (on the curve). More information is available at http://www.kyrenefoundation.org/ |
April 23 - Members of the Kyrene Rotary Club volunteered Wednesday morning, April 23 at Project C.U.R.E. at Tempe’s distribution warehouse. We donate our time four times a year to help sort donated medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. We also helped this previous summer to load cargo boxes bound for Burkina Faso, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
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April 9 - Rotarians Bill, Doug, Harry, Ken, and Tom served lunch today at the Phoenix Rescue Mission. They were assisted by residents of the mission. There was great camaraderie among everyone involved. Later, the five rotarians had a fun lunch and good fellowship at a local Mexican restaurant.
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April 7 – Ashley Slechta told us about the work of the 100 Club. Founded in 1968, this charitable organization provides financial and emotional support to the families of firefighters and police offices who lose their lives in the line of duty. On average 4 to 6 of these public servants die each year and leave behind spouses, partners and children, often very young and always totally unprepared for the worst that can happen. Sadly, because of the loss of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire, a record number of men and women were lost in 2013. Amazingly, the 100 Club was on the scene within hours and stayed for more than a month to aid those left behind with compassion, shared experience, skill and deep financial support. More information can be found at www.100club.org This day we also welcomed visiting Rotarian Andy Wangstad with an Honorary Member badge. Andy’s home club is in Kent WA. |
Our Rotary Club decided to provide financial awards to individuals recognized by the Corona del Sol administration each month for their outstanding performance. A member of the faculty and a member of the staff will be recognized. The awards will be given at the first of each month and a member of our club will attend the ceremony.
On April 2, Machel attended the third ceremony and presented a certificate and a gift card to the two recipients.
KUDOS to both of you! |
March 31 - Darryl Jacobsen-Barnes, a candidate for Justice of the Peace in Kyrene Justice Precinct, explained what the qualifications are for a Justice of the Peace (JOP). Many members of the club were surprised to learn how minimal the qualifications are. (Over 18, high school graduate, able to read and write English). Darryl explained the multitude of issues that a JOP is responsible for deciding. These include civil, criminal, traffic, small claims cases as well as contracts under $10,000. She also explained the constraints placed upon a JOP candidate during an election campaign. Her presentation was very informative and elicited many questions from club members.
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March 24 - Don Fletcher, Chair of the Grand Canyon Council of Boy Scouts of America, gave us an overview on scouting and some of the policy issues that have required careful navigation. Don has been involved in scouting for many years and believes the scouting organization provides role models for many young boys and affords them opportunities that they might not get elsewhere. He also described the challenges of starting a new troop, such as the one that is being proposed for Guadalupe. Don spent time describing his 50th birthday adventure - climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. He learned some valuable life lessons during that trip and he shared them with us.
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March 22 - On Saturday, the latest East Valley Rotary-Habitat Build Day, thirteen members of the Kyrene, Rio Salado and Tempe Downtown Rotary clubs teamed up to build the interior walls at a new Habitat for Humanity house in Mesa. We started at 7:30 AM, had pizza at 11 and finished the work by 12:30 PM! Local Rotarians have helped build these low income family houses in the East Valley since 2008. The Kyrene Rotary Club has completed 12 "hands on" service projects per year for three years in a row. All these service projects are in partnership with local non profit organizations. Rotary clubs provide local opportunities for fellowship, networking and service. More information about Rotary and it's local activities can be found at www.tempevolunteers.org.
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Our Rotary Club decided to provide financial awards to individuals recognized by the Corona del Sol administration each month for their outstanding performance. A member of the faculty and a member of the staff will be recognized. The awards will be given at the first of each month and a member of our club will attend the ceremony.
On March 4, Machel attended the second ceremony and presented a certificate and a gift card to the two recipients.
KUDOS to both of you!
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Feb 11 - Sherry Mischel, District 5510 Governor for 2015-2016, led the club through a lively planning process during a special dinner meeting at Kobe's restaurant. The meeting was well attended (Machel, John, Harry, Rob, Dave, Doug, Ken) and the four hour process sped by very quickly. We did not end up with a strategic plan per se but we did develop or describe all the elements that our plan needs. We hope to formalize the plan in a series of regular meetings during the coming weeks. The meeting was viewed by all as very successful and we are indebted to Sherry for her skilled facilitation.
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Feb 10 - There were no official speakers today but we did have two very informative visitors who spoke to us on very divergent topics.
Librada Martinez, District Director for the Grand Canyon Council of Boy Scouts of America, led a discussion about the possible establishment of a Boy Scout Troop in Guadalupe. We explored the components necessary for such a venture and how our club might actively participate. Two of the major challenges are the recruiting of strong dedicated leaders and the active involvement of parents in the community. Jessica Hauer, Envision Energy Coach for Tempe Union High School District, TUHSD, described the components of the Sustainability and Energy Initiative in TUHSD and explained her roles in the program. The District is engaged in a very creative approach to energy saving and student awareness of sustainability. Jessica had a limited number of handouts describing the many features of the program but recommended that we go to the TUHSD sustainability site and surf the various aspects contained there. |
Our Rotary Club decided to provide financial awards to individuals recognized by the Corona del Sol administration each month for their outstanding performance. A member of the faculty and a member of the staff will be recognized. The awards will be given at the first of each month and a member of our club will attend the ceremony.
Kudos and congratulations to both of you!
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Feb 3 - Lee Dueringer, a board member of TRVFA and member of the Scottsdale Sunrise Club, explained the purpose of TRVFA and how it operates to support students that fall within the category of the "working poor". The mission of The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona, Inc. (TRVFA), is to partner with Rotary clubs to provide assistance to the working poor in obtaining education, training and skill development. The ultimate objective is to attain career-oriented employment and financial stability. The organization serves districts 5510, 5590, and 5500. They seek support from all clubs in these districts and last year they collected over $80,000 which were dispersed in grants ranging from $1200 to $3000. This year they have provided 31 grants so far. They are hoping to have all clubs in the 3 districts help with financial support.
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Feb 1 - Five club members (Doug, Bill, Machel, Harry and Rob) along with help from Lindsey, Jacquie, and Tom installed fire alarms in several homes in Tempe. We covered over 270 homes that day and installed 51 new alarms and replaced several batteries in existing alarms. That is 51 more homes and residents that will now be safer. The Tempe Fire Department and the Arizona Burn Foundation were most appreciative of our efforts. This is the 5th or 6th year our members have helped install smoke alarms in dangerous housing in Tempe or Scottsdale. In 2009 one of “our” alarms in Tempe was credited with warning a family to evacuate their home before becoming incapacitated from smoke due to a fire. Our club's goal is to do a service project like this every month. Watch the web page for upcoming events and come join us!
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Jan 27 - Normalicia Blanco, Parent Liaison for the Family Resource Center at Frank Elementary School in Guadalupe, gave us a passionate description of the Resource Center and its various activities/responsibilities. Normalicia began as a volunteer with the school for 3 years and then was hired full time to run the Center. She explained that over 98% of the students at this school are below the poverty level and their families are in much need of assistance of all kinds. The Resource Center provides clothing, and meals, as well as teaching fitness, and English classes for parents. Normalicia spends considerable time organizing fund raisers and is constantly looking for assistance with the program.
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Jan 15 2014 - Today we sorted medical supplies at the Project Cure facility in Tempe. We had ix members, Dave, Doug, Harry, Ken, Bill, and Rob, along with help from Nancy, John, and Candia. We were a "model of efficiency" and sorted several large bags of materials. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience that we will do again next quarter. After "slaving" for 3 hours we all headed out for lunch together at the Arizona Bread Company. Lots of fellowship and laughter.
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Jan 6 - Sophie Aigner, a Kiva fellow, began her presentation by describing her experience as Rotary Exchange Student to San Paulo Brazil in 2007. She spoke no Portuguese when she began but became fluent after 11 months. That experience led her to enroll in ASU's Global Studies program and from there she has pursued opportunities in non-profit organizations such as Kiva. She is now embarking on a 4 month fellowship program to South Africa and is raising funds to support that journey. Sophie gave us many interesting statistics about Kiva and how they operate. Details are available on the Kiva site. The club made a small contribution to support her and we wish her well in her new adventure.
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Dec 15 - Members gathered at Nancy and Harry's home for an evening of dinner, present wrapping and fellowship. We brought and wrapped Christmas presents for a family with four children. Tyler selected the family from the Boys & Girls Club attendees and will be our Santa - delivering the gifts. Thanks to all!!
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Dec 9 - Barb Feder, a founding member of this club and past District Governor, gave us an overview of the new Grants program and told us of some of the successes during the past year. Barb is currently very active at the Zone level both for training and grant administration. She gave some statistics for the EndPolioNow program and encouraged individual members to donate to this program as well as to the Rotary Foundation's general fund. She stressed the current goal of having every Rotarian contribute $100 every year and encouraged our club to meet our annual financial goal.
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Dec 2 - Brent Brown and Dan Nero (Principal and Vice- Principal) from Corona del Sol High School gave us good insights into some of the more recent programs at the school. The school has remarkable statistics: over 98% of the students graduate; 92% of the graduates go on to university or college; and 8% go to a vocational school. The school has a dual-enrollment program with Rio Salado College. Brent and his team have spent considerable time and effort to make the school environment safe for students and faculty. The curriculum is updated regularly to keep pace with technology. They have an emphasis on sustainability that: (1) has saved the school a significant amount of money and (2) has been the focus of many classes and activities. The school has just implemented a teacher and staff recognition program and Harry volunteered to work with Brent to see how our club can help support that program.
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Nov 25 - Hiedi Jo Jaeger, an Administrative Assistant with the Rio Salado College Incarcerated Re-entry program, gave us a good overview of the program and explained some of the various offerings. She told us that there are over 1400 students enrolled statewide. In 2012-2013 there were 26 associates degrees 62 certificates awarded. The students are quite successful with over 89% completing with a "C" or better. Incarcerated students have the overall highest completion rate in the college. Inmates can apply for scholarships and over 1800 are awarded annually. Heidi described the coursework that is available and what the eligibility requirements are. The program is well received and is helping felons succeed as they re-enter society.
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Nov 23 - Club members (Bill, Machel, Doug, Ken, and Rob - and Rob's wife Nancy) worked for a couple of hours to label over 1400 dictionaries that will be distributed mainly to the Roosevelt school district in the coming few weeks. Members will each work with the third grade classes in the district to give each child a dictionary and to teach them how to use it. These books are called dictionaries but they are in reality, small encyclopedias. Our club has done this for many years and members always recount how much fun it is to work on this project. Family and friends are always welcome to participate with us. If you are wondering about Rotary - what it means and what it does - come join us at Kobe's restaurant (location is on the web site) on any Monday at noon.
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Nov 18 - Erin Considine, a student in NAU's forestry program gave us a very informative presentation on bats. Besides bats not being rodents, she dispelled several other misconceptions about them. We learned that there are over 1000 species of bats and Arizona has 21 species. Bats are good for the ecosystem: they prey on mosquitoes, scorpions, and corn meal moths; and they are responsible for pollinating agave, bananas, peaches and cloves. All in all, they bring a $3.5M annual benefit to agriculture. Society has only begun to understand "bat benefits" over the last 10 years. Erin's project involves trapping bats (without injury) and tracking them via "radar" tracking. The Forestry Service (the funders of this project) is very interested in learning about bat habitats in burned out areas. Erin is obviously very enthusiastic about the work she is doing and that came across in her presentation and the question and answers that followed. |
Nov 16 - Kyrene Corridor Club members, Doug, Rob, and Ken participated with members from a couple of other Tempe Rotary Clubs to clean up the Tempe Rotary Park. A couple of dozen people spread out across the park with rakes, bags, gloves, and a blower to put a fresh clean look on the park. Tempe officials were very appreciative and were amazed that we accomplished the task in a little over an hour. A fine example of "Rotarians at work".
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Nov 4 - Gary Roberts, President of Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors (TNHN), explained the origins, purpose, and goals of the program. Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors was formed to provide assistance to low income and frail Tempe residents who could not maintain or stay in their own homes without help. TNHN seeks to provide such residents with volunteers who will assist with yard and landscape maintenance, minor home repair and minor modifications. By providing assistance, volunteers will help residents maintain their home's appearance, safety, accessibility and quality of life. TNHN began modestly in 2009 and is now a 501(c) 3 non-profit that works closely with Tempe Community Council. It is a membership organization that is part of a nationwide movement that is connected by the Village to the Village Network to share best practices, procedures, and documents. TNHN considers itself a concierge service for the community.
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Oct 21 - Dave Kline pins the club's newest member, Doug Bock, as DG Jay Jones presides.
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Oct 28 - Bill Sheaffer, Executive Director of the Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition, gave us the history of the coalition as well as many interesting facts about the use of alternative fuel. The Coalition is dedicated to advancing the environmental, energy and economic security of Central and Northern Arizona by advocating and participating in practices that promote clean domestic energy and reduce dependence on conventional petroleum based fuels. It was interesting to learn that Arizona was the first state of have emergency vehicles use propane. Bill suggested that the Alternative Fuels Data Center website contains a wealth of information on alternative fuels. Bill's presentation prompted a lively question and answer session.
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Oct 26, 2013 - Kyrene Corridor club members helped build another new house with Habitat for Humanity. Our members were joined by our exchange student, Raquel, and members of the Tempe East Rotary club. Work started at 6:30 AM and finished at 1:00 PM. We nailed roof sheeting to the trusses and prepared the interior for dry walling. The interior work included adding a pony wall for the kitchen island, truing and stabilized interior walls, adding drywall blocking, marking stud locations and building benches for the garage. Great fun and fellowship! Kyrene Rotary Club has helped build a house with Habitat more than 10 times since our founding in 2004.
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October 27 - Kyrene Rotary member Ken Pollock was just named Volunteer of the Year for 2013 by the Phoenix Police Department. Ken, a Paul Harris Fellow, has been working with the Cold Case Homicide squad of the Phoenix Police Department for over 5 years. He has helped design a web site, developed training materials for interns and volunteers, and developed a tracking system for DNA information taken from crime scenes. He regularly reviews closed cold cases and has worked closely with detectives on several difficult high-profile cases. He recently traveled to Philadelphia with Phoenix PD agents to attend and present a cold case to the Vidocq Society, a forensic professional group of current and former FBI profilers, homicide investigators, scientists, psychologists, prosecutors and coroners who use their experience to provide justice for investigations that have gone cold. Ken is the only volunteer ever invited to do so. Ken is a longtime community volunteer including many years working as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children) as well as training and mentoring other CASAs. Ken’s wife, Skip, continues to train CASAs throughout the State. See also this video about Ken's work with the Phoenix PD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAqyOL13b2M |
Oct 14 - Our exchange student to the Netherlands last year, Raquel, gave us an overview of her experience. She lived in a small town not too far from the Belgium border and spent time with 3 host families. She told us her goals were to learn another language, experience another culture, and have an overall great experience. She made many Dutch friends and also made friends with several of the 32 exchange students who were there at that time. She said she accomplished all her goals and had no regrets. Interestingly, adjusting to her life in Phoenix again was more difficult than she expected. Raquel represented our club well and we are very proud of her.
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Sept 23 - Andrea Malinski, Manager of School Programs for NotMYkid, told us her organization began very slowly 13 years ago and today they provide speakers in over 300 Maricopa schools. Their objective is to prepare kids to face everyday challenges with courage and confidence. Through their unique models of peer-to-peer education, they address the life-changing issues of substance abuse, bullying, unhealthy relationships, eating disorders, depression/self injury, and internet safety, with prevention at the forefront of all programming—rather than intervention. They also provide parent and faculty education as well as presentations to corporations. At the moment they charge for most of their presentations but their goal is to raise enough money to provide their services at no cost. They currently provide over 150 presentations at no cost to the Boys and Girls Clubs in the valley.
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Sept 18 - Today we sorted medical supplies at the Project Cure facility in Tempe. We had five members, Dave, Doug, Harry, Ken, and Rob, along with help from Skip. We were a "model of efficiency" and sorted several large bags of materials. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience that we will do again next quarter. After "slaving" for 3 hours we all headed out for lunch together at the Arizona Bread Company. Lots of fellowship and laughter.
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Sept 16 - Dominique Piche/ owner of D.French Arborist, told us about her experience, the services her company provides, and general tree care. She said that the mission of her company is to provide quality tree care services throughout the Valley of the Sun, following industry standards of tree care operations and safety practices. Dominique discussed her approach to protect an owner's investment; the way to ensure long-term health of root collars and branch structures; and her focus of aesthetics and function via natural pruning. She described her credentials and those of her staff. Her presentation concluded with a very informative question and answer session.
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Aug 24 - Rotarians and other community groups spent the day assembling meal packets for Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). Through donations, FMSC provides meal packets to starving children in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. The meal formulas contain soy protein, dried vegetables, 20 vitamins and minerals, and rice. If you want more information about this organization please visit www.fmsc.org.
This was part of a larger project to pack One Million Meals during the 2013-14 celebration of 100 Years of Rotary Service in Arizona. There were Rotarians from many clubs in the valley, including ours. Volunteers scooped food into a funnel, bag handlers caught the food coming out of the funnel, passed the open bag along for weight verification, sealing, and boxing. The boxes were sealed, labeled, and are on their way to the children who so desperately need them. Each meal costs 22 cents to produce. FMSC has been 99.96% efficient in distributing over 600 million meals that have reached the hungry children for whom they were intended. What a great way to spend part of a Saturday. In addition to the fun and fellowship around the tables with fellow Rotarians and other community groups, a valuable service toward helping to alleviate hunger around the world was performed. Over 1,200 volunteers packed 212,000 packages of food. That’s enough to feed 700 children for a year. |
Aug 26 - Sheldon Caldwell-Meeks, the manager of several Cox Charities programs in Arizona, told us of his background and history with the AZ Cardinals and his recent move to Cox Charities. He said that Cox Charities was established in Phoenix in 1996 as a fundraising and grant-awarding arm of Cox to support non-profit agencies in the communities they serve over and above their corporate contributions. Expanded in 2004 to include Southern Arizona and other areas Cox Arizona serves, Cox Charities has awarded more than $4 million in grants over the past decade to worthwhile non-profit organizations that share Cox’s commitment to youth education and building our next generation of community leaders. Funds for Cox Charities are raised through employee contributions, fundraising events such as golf tournaments, and fundraising partnerships with other events in the community. The next golf tournament will be held the first week end in November at the Whirlwind Golf Club.
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Aug 19 - The meeting was used to review our past year's projects and discuss major projects for the coming year. There was considerable discussion about the need to have better visibility in the media in general, and the Wrangler News in particular. A decision was made to shorten our name to the "Kyrene Rotary Club" in any publications. There will be a membership meeting on Sept. 9 after our regular noon meeting.
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Aug 12 - Richard Saenz, sportscaster for Fox10, gave us an entertaining and informative look at sport celebrities and his experience over the 10 years he has been with Fox10 in Phoenix. He told us of one of his early interviews with Mike Tyson and also described some of his best interview experiences as well as some of his worst. Richard described how broadcasting technology has changed over the past 10 years and some of the challenges that has presented. His presentation was quite informal and elicited a great deal of discussion with and among the members. Many club members are very current when it comes to sports in general and sports in Arizona in particular and enjoyed the interaction with Richard.
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Aug 5 - Tracey Doren, publisher of the Wrangler News, gave us a brief history of the Wrangler News and her involvement with it. The Wrangler News began 21 years ago and currently has a circulation of 20,000. The paper concentrates its attention on 3 zip codes and focuses on the "good news" stories and events that occur in this restricted area. Tracy's presentation generated much discussion among the members about the role of local papers compared to regional papers and television. We also learned that the paper is interested in receiving public-interest stories but they should be kept to less than 500 words.
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July 27 - Club members partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to help ~100 children with back-to-school shopping at Target. The club donated $1000 to help underwrite $125 gift cards for every child. We joined volunteers from other Rotary clubs and Intel to help out with this early Saturday morning event. Our club was represented by Machel, Rob, and Kyle as well as Tyler who ran the event.
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July 29 - We toured the warehouse and learned more about the processes of receiving and distributing the food-bank's food. Unlike United Food Bank's other facility in Mesa, this location doesn't do the volunteer sorting projects. This facility contains pallets of products that are ready to be picked up or delivered to other agencies. The other facility contains more donated items that require sorting. We were amazed by the volume of food that goes through this warehouse.
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July 22 - Danny Hilburn, CEO and Founder of The "Rapp it Up" Wireless Security Company, gave us on overview of the technology and vulnerabilities of cell phones (wireless communications) to security breaches. His presentation described the philosophy of the wireless providers regarding collecting and selling the data collected from subscribers. The extent of the monitoring and exploitation of personal data and activity is mind-blowing. Danny's company has developed a product that enables cell phone users to protect themselves from constant surveillance by the wireless providers. Click here to explore further.
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July 8 - Melissa Forrester, Community Outreach Coordinator for the United Food Bank, gave us an overview of her organization and the services they provide. The statistics for hunger in Arizona are appalling - we are tied for the worst state in the nation with Mississippi. The food bank serves an area in south east Arizona of 25,000 square miles. They provide over 45,000 meals a day through over 200 agencies they partner with. Amazingly, because of their efficiency and purchasing power, one dollar will serve five meals. Melissa told us heart-rending stories of people in need and how her agency has helped them. Our club has volunteered with the United Food Bank in the past and will investigate how we can help in future.
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July 1 - Cindy Gattorna, Executive Director for A Stepping Stone Foundation described the history, mission, and programs of the Foundation. The Foundation began in 1990 and it's overall goal is to educate two generations together. Families qualify if the parents have not graduated from high school or have English as a second language. Parents must participate a minimum of 32 hours per month and they receive training in a multitude of subjects including child development, creative discipline, and use of technology. The families have to agree to one home visit per month. The children attend pre-school at age 3 and age 4 in preparation for entrance to kindergarten. Cindy told us of many success stories and said that the program hopes to expand into more school districts. Click here to explore their web site and learn more about their work.
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June 24 -Katrina Pappas from the Chandler Center for the Performing Arts told us of how the Center was a part of an evolving Downtown and a part of Chandler High School. Both the City and the High School share funding and use. Katrina has been a part of the Center since 1988, which was actually a year before the official opening. The Center seats 1500, and twenty-one events were held there over the past season with over 300,000 visitors. Brighton, at the Chandler mall, is currently donating 50% sales of a specific charm bracelet to the Center. Eat Your Art Out is another promotion with Downtown Chandler restaurants where a portion of dinner sales on 2/25/14 will be donated. For more info, visit http://www.chandlercenter.org .
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June 19 - Today we sorted medical supplies at the Project Cure facility in Tempe. We had four members, Dave, Machel, Ken, and Rob, along with help from Liann and Skip. We were a "model of efficiency" and sorted several large bags of materials. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience that we will no doubt do again. After "slaving" for 3 hours we all headed out for lunch together at the Arizona Bread Company. Lots of discussion and laughter.
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June 17 - Club Assembly. Our meeting focused on where we have been and where we are going. The Movies in the Park project to raise money for our "Dictionary Project" was very successful this year. We did a quick postmortem to identify ways to make the project in October even smoother. We identified new chairs (Tyler and Machel) to handle speakers for the coming year. We are hoping that our connection with the Ahwatukee Chamber of Commerce will bring us more potential members in the coming year. A good meeting with lots of discussion.
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June 10 - Tom Egan, President, and Jared Leslie, Development Director, from Esperanca gave the club a very comprehensive overview of the history, mission, and key projects that Esperanca is involved in in 14 countries. The organization was started in 1970 by a Franciscan monk and has been growing ever since. Their mission is: Improving health and providing hope for families in the poorest communities of the world through sustainable disease prevention, education and treatment. The following facts give a good overview -
1. Surgical teams operate on hundreds of men,women and children, each year; 2. Food-related microbusiness opportunities are created for hundreds of very poor families;
3. Clean water is provided for thousands of people through wells and water systems; 4. Homes are constructed for thousands so they can live in a safe, healthy environment; 5. Preventive health education, screening and testing reaches tens of thousands of people; and 6. They serve millions of people globally. Check this web page to see more details about what they do. |
June 6 - Melody Johnson, Vice President of Marketing for the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, assisted by Cassidy Olson and Bobbie Cassano of the Tempe Coalition, gave us an interactive presentation on the Problems with Underage Drinking. The data were for underage drinkers in general, along with some statistics for the City of Tempe. The presentation involved having the audience answer questions in real time via "clickers". This technique was very effective in emphasizing just how prevalent and dangerous underage drinking is within our communities. The statistics are shocking and disturbing. Tempe has a grant to study the problem and develop solutions to help reduce the amount of alcohol being consumed by minors. The club agreed that this was one of the best presentations we have received and we encourage other groups to contact Bobbie Cassano (bobbie_cassano@tempe.gov) to arrange for a presentation.
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May 24 - Another successful evening of raising funds by selling snacks and glow sticks to the movie audience. |
May 17 - The Tempe Movies in the park showed Peter Pan this past Friday. There was a crowd of about 500 people who enjoyed the show. The temperatures were nice once the sun went down. The event was littered with glow sticks sold by the Kyrene Corridor Rotary club to raise funds for the club's annual dictionary project. A total of $352 was raised for this movie bringing the 3 movie total to over $1000.00 - and there is still 2 weeks to go.
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May 20 - The GSE Team comes from D3280 in Bangladesh. There are 5 members in the team, 1 Rotarian. Fawzia Naazm, Asst. District Governor and 4 members of the team who are not Rotarians (as is the rule for GSE teams). GSE means Group Study Exchange. It is a program for non-Rotarians from age 25-40 who are professionals in the their field. One is a pharmacist for an industry, one is a UN employee, one is a bank executive from the largest bank in their district and one from a university.The GSE Team arrived in Phoenix 2 days ago after a 40 hour trip! Our club is the first presentation for them. As for Bangladesh, their leadership has a history of women in influential places. Since 1991, ALL their Prime Ministers have been women. They are the 4th largest Muslim country in the world; they have 6 seasons of weather: summer, monsoon, autumn, late autumn and winter and spring; they have improved maternal health vastly in the last 25 years; largest mangrove forest in the world and where the Bengal tiger originates; beautiful white sandy beaches that are among the worlds’ most beautiful; they have the highest number of peace-keepers in the UN and finally, they are the 11th happiest country in the world! |
May 13 - Lisa Glenn, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to South Africa in 2007, gave us a most stimulating account of her experiences in South Africa. She told us how well the Rotarians in South Africa treated her and accepted her into their activities. She was obviously a very strong representative from the U.S. and made many life-long friends. She wrote a blog while she was there to capture her activities and reactions. Lisa believes that the education she received at the University of Witwatersrand was better than that she received here in the U.S. She summarized her experiences by listing the Top 10 things she learned about Rotary. A very clever concise view. Our club intends to invite her back later this year to talk about her current activities with New Global Citizens.
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May 9 - Harry, along with a little help from Ken, took our Rotary Exchange Student, Lucien, for some boating fun on Canyon Lake. It was late afternoon and the three boys, Shamus, Trace, and Lucien had a great time being towed behind the boat on an inflatable round raft. Harry managed to dump all 3 of the boys into the water by skillfully maneuvering the boat.
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May 6 - Pat Blanton is a faculty member at Fort Hays State University in Kansas who has had a variety of educational experiences. Her current assignment is an unusual one - teaching leadership on-line to Chinese Students. This began when she started teaching Service Learning to Chinese students while living in China. After returning to the U.S. she continued her relationship with Chinese students by teaching Personal and Civic leadership on-line. Pat told us of the cultural differences she encountered and some of the challenges of working with students who had not experienced the concepts of charity and providing services to the community. Her presentation prompted some lively discussion as the club got a different perspective on the educational challenges currently facing China.
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May 3 - Our fund raising event for this spring began on Friday night May 3. The photo shows Kyle with a satisfied customer. Kyle, John, and Harry sold snacks worth more than $380 on the first night of our five Fridays fund raiser at Tempe's Movies in the Park at Kiwanis Park. We are selling popcorn, soda, candy, glo braclets and necklaces. All proceeds are used to provide dictionaries to 3rd grade students at Roosevelt Schools and Creighton in Phoenix and Frank Elementary School in Guadalupe.
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April 29 - Leah Heathcoat, Executive Assistant for Angels on Patrol, gave us a very good overview of the organization and its history. Angels on Patrol supports families in crisis and youth who have either been abused or neglected and/or whose caregivers are facing extreme financial hardship identified by Phoenix and Tempe Police Officers. The founder of Angels on Patrol, Lt. Jacqui MacConnell, started this organization after her squad rescued two 5 year old twins and their 8 year old brother, in 2003. Jacqui realized that kids in this horrific situation have an uphill battle and need extra support. Angels on Patrol provides that support. Leah gave us some very moving examples of how police officers were able to identify needs and then follow up by working with the families directly. The program is unique in the country and hopes to expand in Arizona in the near future.
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Apr 22 - Andrew Walker and Abbey Pellino, officers in the ASU Rotaract Club, gave us an overview of the history of the club and its current major project. The club will host 6 international Rotaractors from Denmark, Germany, Russia, Canada, Ukraine, and Italy for a 10 day adventure around the state. This is not only District 5510's first Rotaract Round Trip, but also the first Roundtrip of its kind to be held in the USA. These Roundtrips are meant to give Rotaractors the opportunity to network with international members in a host country for 6 to 14 days. The goal of these trips is to promote cultural understanding and international friendship. ASU Rotaract is hoping to obtain sufficient donations to cover the expenses of this project. You can donate at their website. Click here.
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Apr 15 - Chenoa Miner, the originator of mybedbugstory, gave us a very informative presentation about bed bugs in general. She followed this with her own story about encountering bed bugs in her home and what she did to get rid of them. Chenoa held our interest on this somewhat alarming subject even though we were eating lunch at the time. She emphasized how difficult it is to rid a home of them and how quickly they multiply. She cautioned us about bringing furniture and bedding into our homes from an unknown environment. She also suggested we take care when traveling - even in good hotels - and recommended keeping suitcases off the floor. To learn more go to her web site.
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Apr 08 - Today, several members - Bill, Dave, Machel, Ken, and Rob - along with help from Skip, sorted medical supplies at the Project C.U.R.E. Tempe facility on 14th Street. We sorted for three hours and were able to process more than two full pallets of supplies and equipment. We had a good time together and the time passed quickly. We concluded our sorting with a regular lunch meeting there at the Project Cure facility. Thank you, Gary, for bringing the lunch. We are planning to do this again sometime later this summer. If you are interested in participating sometime in June, watch this web site for the date.
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Apr 1 - Mike Perry, Chairman of the Chandler Relay for Life, gave us an overview of the Relay for Life event which will be held this year on May 3 at Basha High School. The event begins at 6pm and continues until morning. Last year the Chandler group raised over $200,000 and the total raised across the country was over $400 M. At this event, the American Cancer Society will be enrolling people in their Cancer Prevention Study (CPS-3). This study is the American Cancer Society's Epidemiology Research Program which is inviting men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 years who have no personal history of cancer to join this historic research study. The ultimate goal is to enroll at least 300,000 adults from various racial and ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S. Mike has been an active volunteer with the American Cancer Society since 2004 and he encourages all of us to come out and support the Relay event, even if we aren't part of a relay team. He also encouraged us to sign up for the CPS-3 while we're there.
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The staff member for August
