Reminder: There will be no lunch meeting on Wednesday, December 22nd as this is a scheduled Dark Day. President Mark and the Rotary office would like to wish each of you and your families a very special holiday season!
It was a wonderful day of bell ringing last Saturday - many smiling faces and much holiday cheer! RCOT brought in $2,467.20! It isn't too late to add to this total - you can send a check to 1001 North Richey Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85716 by the end of the year. Please note in the memo it is for Rotary Club of Tucson. Many thanks go out to all the members who took a couple hours out of their Saturday to ring the bells for a good cause. THANK YOU!!!
On a crisp and sunny December morning, 14 grateful Rotarians gathered with our President, Mark Irvin, to thank Rob Draper, CEO of O’Rielly Chevrolet, Broadway and Wilmot, for the blessing of his rare and unexpected gift of the opportunity to buy a 2022, red-mist, C-8 Corvette Stingray, at dealer’s cost for the Rotary Club of Tucson’s Classics Car Show raffle prize! With this sought after and wait-listed Corvette, this year’s Raffle was a record-breaker! As Bob came into the conference room for the meeting, he was serenaded by the august group of Rotarians with “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”. The vibrations of this salute and the gratitude flowing from the Rotarians in the room, must have touched his heart for shortly thereafter he made a significant donation to Rotary’s pledge to JTED. Bob understands the meaningful gifts Rotary gives to both our beloved community and the disadvantaged around the world. He also knows how important the new JTED high tech vocational campus at Park and the Freeway is to giving high school students the opportunity to get up to date vocational training and be job ready at graduation. A life-changing gift to the students in Tucson. With Bob as Santa Claus, Tucson, JTED’s students, the Rotary Club of Tucson, and O’Rielly Chevrolet ended up with a win, win, win, win!!!! We got the best deal in town and you can too, at the corner of Broadway and Wilmot. The pull-up poster sign Rotary gave to O’Rielly Chevrolet is in the showroom next to the Christmas tree and will let all potential new car buyers know of Bob’s huge heart! Rotary thanks you! Hugh Thompson
Below are quotes of gratitude from some of the members who attended the presentation:
Mark Irvin: “To say we were shocked by the generosity of Rob Draper and the amazing folks at O’Rielly would be an understatement. It was the last thing we ever expected to happen. We went by to just say thank you and let Rob know how impactful his help had been. Just when you think things could not possibly get any better we get such a heartfelt donation that will benefit JTED and the kids there for generations. This is as impactful a gift as I have ever seen."
Rick Rose: "It was truly a touching and unexpected moment when Rob left the room briefly, and returned with a post-it note indicating that O'Rielly would be making a donation to JTED that covered the cost of the Corvette."
Margaret Higgins: “I have never seen such an outpouring of gratefulness and generosity: a group of Rotarians met recently to give deep and heartfelt gratitude to Rob Draper for his help in obtaining a Corvette; and we were met with unbounded generosity when O’Reilly Chevrolet gave us a large check which helped us exceed our goals for the year. Very many wonderful thanks to Rob and to O’Rielly Chevrolet.”
Marianne Freitas: "Here we thought we were surprising Rob with recognition for Rob and O'Rielly helping us acquire our raffle car for the 2021 show. He ended up surprising us! What a generous donation!"
Bobby Larson: “Just wanted to thank Rob for his efforts which led to Chevrolet presenting our Rotary with a beautiful C8 for our Centennial year. And then add to that the most generous gift of the cost of the car (over $71,000!) to be donated in the Rotary Club of Tucson’s Honor to our 2021 beneficiary JTED! These acts of generosity were amazing!!!”
Drew Vactor: “Rob was blown away by the number of Rotarians who took time from their busy days to go over to O’Rielly Chevrolet just to say “Thank You.” It really made him feel like the work he did to get us that rare vehicle was appreciated and well worth his time. That apparently inspired him and we were, in return, floored when he told us, and wrote down, that he would match the value of the Corvette in a gift from their company to Pima JTED with credit to Rotary Club of Tucson. It was totally unexpected and a very special moment for all.”
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Kurtis Dawson: “I'm so grateful for a community leader like Rob Draper who chose to partner with our Rotary Club for the car show. His confidence in Rotarians will enable us to invest more in our community through JTED this year. Thank you to Rob and O'Rielly Chevrolet for turning what seemed impossible into a reality.
Paul Hallums: “It was an honor to join a dozen club members to extend our heart-felt appreciation to Rob Draper and the O’Rielly Motor Company for helping us buy a new Corvette to raffle at this year’s car show. To our amazement, Rob announced the car was being donated in full. It is through partnerships like this that we continue to help so many in our community, including JTED and further the Rotarian mission.”
Jeff Hotchkiss: “Super to thank a great partner and community supporter like Rob Draper, and to be part of such a successful event.”
Roger Harwell: “We had a great Rotarian turnout with only expectation of showing our sincere thanks to Rob for securing us a new corvette from GM. Hugh Thompson suggested we sing “He’s the Jolly Good Fellow” to enhance Rob’s surprise when he entered the conference room. The resounding harmony surprised us all and surely inspired Rob to offer the wonderful gift.”
The Rotaract Club of the University of Arizona is having a toy drive and RCOT is collecting toys! Please help in making a child's life a little more special this holiday season. You may drop off toys from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Rotary Club of Tucson's office at 3900 E. Timrod Street, #4, Tucson, AZ 85711 now through December 22nd at noon.
The Rotary Club of Tucson members have donated wonderful toys for the Rotaract Club toy drive - thank you everyone who has donated!
If you have a new addition to your Family whether it be a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, etc., for a “Happy Jackson” and one minute of mic time at an upcoming meeting, not only do you get a stuffed animal, but also you will receive a certificate welcoming them in as a Rotary Club of Tucson potential new member. You may pick a stuffed bear or hound dog for your little one (pictured here). And, the original purchase of these stuffed animals helped St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. So reach out to the Rotary Office for details. We'd love to hear of your new additions to your Family!
There are only 21 opportunities that remain before the end of Irv’s Centennial year. You will not want to miss the chance to showcase your fish, or better yet your Kids and Grandkids with a fish! Don’t let the Wall of Fame escape you. Join these other folks who have made it to the Wall of Fame and donated to Rotary charities. Please reach out to Dorinna or Irv for all the details.
We see the decision to vaccinate as a civic and humanitarian imperative. Rotary is not a political or religious organization, it is a service organization and this is the lens through which we are advising you of our position.
Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic and the emergence of new variants. Rotary endorses and strongly encourages vaccination for all individuals including our members who are currently able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In areas where COVID-19 is surging, communities are facing extreme challenges, health systems are overwhelmed, and contentious rhetoric is dividing us. It is critical that the virus be contained so that the world may begin to heal. To that end, the purpose of this statement is to reinforce Rotary’s position.
Misinformation has become an “infodemic” that hinders the fight against COVID-19. In line with our Four-Way Test, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
Rotary International staff at One Rotary Center were required to be vaccinated by 10 October 2021, as a criterion for employment after that date. RI’s employee vaccination rate stands at over 99 percent.
Globally, Rotary is actively engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Our efforts have included advocacy with the G-20, and a proof-of-concept program with GAVI/COVAX to leverage our frontline experience with polio eradication to facilitate vaccine delivery in several low- and middle-income countries where Rotarians are active. While we know many clubs are already deeply involved in COVID-19 prevention, we are working on additional strategies to multiply our collective efforts. GAVI/COVAX is a partnership including WHO and UNICEF focused on global access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
Those children for whom vaccines are not currently available are at significant risk. Until vaccines are available for all children, the vaccination of adults is the best way to protect children who cannot be vaccinated. Pediatric admissions for COVID-19 are rising precipitously in areas of low vaccination.
Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. Local recognition of these heroes by each of our clubs can help to encourage them to continue their important work. Rotary abhors any harassment and attacks on healthcare workers.
Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to
set good examples by being exemplary role models;
redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 treatment, prevention, and vaccination efforts.
Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest advances of modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines save between 2 to 3 million children’s lives each year, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative estimates the polio vaccine has saved more than 19 million children from paralysis. Vaccines are safe, effective and are responsible for eliminating or controlling many other vaccine-preventable diseases such as smallpox, measles, rubella, and Ebola. And now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccines.
The eradication of polio remains a goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to the efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regards,
Shekhar Mehta John Germ President, Rotary International Chair, The Rotary Foundation
CC: RI Board of Directors & Directors-elect, TRF Board of Trustees and incoming Trustees, District Governors-elect, Club Presidents-elect, Regional Leaders, COVID-19 Task Force, International PolioPlus Committee, Communications Committee
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To view videos on the RCOT YouTube channel go to our Home Page of the Club website and click on the YouTube link on the right hand side of the page. Or, go to YouTube and type in Rotary Club Of Tucson. You will be able to click on the video you wish to watch once they are posted. Here is the link to do this: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rotary+club+of+tucson
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Reminder: There will be no lunch meeting on Wednesday, December 22nd as this is a scheduled 
Here is the upcoming 
On a crisp and sunny December morning, 14 grateful Rotarians gathered with our President, Mark Irvin, to thank Rob Draper, CEO of O’Rielly Chevrolet, Broadway and Wilmot, for the blessing of his rare and unexpected gift of the opportunity to buy a 2022, red-mist, C-8 Corvette Stingray, at dealer’s cost for the Rotary Club of Tucson’s Classics Car Show raffle prize! With this sought after and wait-listed Corvette, this year’s Raffle was a record-breaker! As Bob came into the conference room for the meeting, he was serenaded by the august group of Rotarians with “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”. The vibrations of this salute and the gratitude flowing from the Rotarians in the room, must have touched his heart for shortly thereafter he made a significant donation to Rotary’s pledge to JTED. Bob understands the meaningful gifts Rotary gives to both our beloved community and the disadvantaged around the world. He also knows how important the new JTED high tech vocational campus at Park and the Freeway is to giving high school students the opportunity to get up to date vocational training and be job ready at graduation. A life-changing gift to the students in Tucson. With Bob as Santa Claus, Tucson, JTED’s students, the Rotary Club of Tucson, and O’Rielly Chevrolet ended up with a win, win, win, win!!!! We got the best deal in town and you can too, at the corner of Broadway and Wilmot. The pull-up poster sign Rotary gave to O’Rielly Chevrolet is in the showroom next to the Christmas tree and will let all potential new car buyers know of Bob’s huge heart! Rotary thanks you! Hugh Thompson
If you have a new addition to your Family whether it be a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, etc., for a “Happy Jackson” and one minute of mic time at an upcoming meeting, not only do you get a stuffed animal, but also you will receive a certificate welcoming them in as a Rotary Club of Tucson potential new member. You may pick a stuffed bear or hound dog for your little one (pictured here). And, the original purchase of these stuffed animals helped St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. So reach out to the Rotary Office for details. We'd love to hear of your new additions to your Family!
There are only 21 opportunities that remain before the end of Irv’s Centennial year. You will not want to miss the chance to showcase your fish, or better yet your Kids and Grandkids with a fish! Don’t let the Wall of Fame escape you. Join these other folks who have made it to the Wall of Fame and donated to Rotary charities. Please reach out to Dorinna or Irv for all the details. 
