Have you passed Campbell and Roger and seen the barns, rows of vegetables growing and children in the fields and thought to yourself what is going?  Come and learn about Tucson Village Farm and how this innovative urban educational farm is helping to change the health of our community and inspire youth and families to live healthier lives. Learn some tips and tricks for making your life healthier and resources at the farm that are available to all.

 

 

Elizabeth Sparks is a University of Arizona faculty member and 4-H Youth Development Assistant Agent.  For her entire career she has been designing and implementing innovative programming for youth to teach them life and leadership skills.  Elizabeth is one of the founding members of Tucson Village Farm, an urban educational farm which seeks to teach kids how to grow and prepare healthy meals and inspire them to make healthy choices. Elizabeth has a Masters’ in Education and a BS in Environmental Science.

I really enjoyed our meeting today…to hear the comments of our members, our Centennial partner and our Four Way Test Award winner (congratulations Ali Farhang!), you have to feel good about our Club and the positive contributions we make to our community.  If I had thought about it, I might have turned on the recorder we use to capture our speaker’s presentation and recorded all of the comments about our Club today to use as testimonials to the positive culture of our Club, the good we do in the community, the fun and fellowship we share and the many reasons why we are all proud to be members of our Remarkable Rotary Club.

 

For my final three President’s monthly reports, I have moved the timing back to the end of the month so we can more easily reflect on what we have accomplished in the last quarter of my term as President.  I have said it before, but I am still amazed at how quickly the year is going.

 

I would like to take a  moment to thank Margaret Higgins, Chair of Membership, and Past President Bob Shaff, Chair of Member Retention, for all the great work they have done bringing in new members and enhancing the value of membership in our Club.  Both Margaret and Bob, and the teams they lead, are doing a great job.

 

Specifically, I would like to encourage you all to take 10-15 minutes to fill out your “High Profile” summary that is online on your profile page in ClubRunner.  Bob has recently sent out two emails about the easy process of filling out these profiles.  The profiles are a big part of how we are trying to make our BIG Club feel smaller and more connected.  Think of these profiles as an Introduction to get to know your fellow members better.  Going forward they will serve several goals including:

So, take a few minutes to read some of the profiles of the members that have completed their High Profile, get to know them a bit better, and then fill out your profile!

 

On membership growth, May is really our last month to finish up our membership push.  We have three more meetings and a Social Mixer on the 29^th to which you can invite prospective members. Remember, you have Free Lunches to invite prospective members to the Club.  Think about who you believe would be a good member…and invite them to the Club.  This year, over 44% of the guests invited under this program have become members.  So, let’s finish the year strong on membership growth.

 

Finally, I would like to thank Jim Lubinski, Jim Murphy and the whole Centennial Committee for the terrific work they did in the selection of our Centennial Partner, JTED.  I could not be more impressed by the comprehensive approach and the thoughtfulness of the selection process.  Viewing the summary of the new Technical High School at our meeting yesterday (if you missed the meeting, listen to the program on ClubRunner), and how our partnership with JTED is developing, I believe that our Centennial project will lead to a long-term positive impact on our community.  Thanks again to the whole team for the work that has been done…and the work that is ahead…in bringing our Centennial project to completion.

 

YIR,

Chuck Sawyer
President 2018-2019 

The meeting began with PRESIDENT CHUCK introducing PAT ZUMBUSCH, who provided a very inspirational message which was followed by JEANNE FLOWER with the pledge and song.  Visiting Rotarians and guests were introduced to the Club by new member ANDY KIEL. One of our special guests was Rachel James, a Rotary scholar.

 

PRESIDENT CHUCK celebrated the birthdays of NINA TRASOFF, former Broadway dancer and local TV star, PRODIP DUTTA, who supports micro loans for women in India, and GENE CASAGRANDE, whose family may have the Guinness Book of Records for most dentists (17) in one family.

 

PRESIDENT CHUCK shared that we will have a replacement mixer on May 29, 2019, location to be determined. No lunch meeting on May 29^th, 2019.

 

PRESIDENT CHUCK then introduced MARGARET HIGGINS who began the presentation of the Rotary 4 Way Test award.  She shared the background of the award which recognizes a community member who has exemplified the four-way test.  MARGARET then introduced MARK IRVIN, who shared with the Club that this year’s awardee is Ali Farhang.  MARK shared the many community resources and events that Ali has initiated and has helped. Ali continues, for example, with the Arizona Bowl and as pro bono counsel to the Boys and Girls Club.  Ali introduced his family who was present. He offered special thanks to the Club for the recognition through the award. He shared how important he has found to surround himself with good people.

 

BOBBY LARSON, Sargent of Arms, introduced Natasha Ray, Sunset Rotary, regarding the goal of Rotary District 5500 becoming the El Tour de Tucson event sponsor. JIM WOOD introduced BROOKE FAWCETT, who was receiving her blue badge. ROGER HARWELL reported the results of the most recent beer sales at the 4^th Ave Street Fair.  We sold $27,000 worth of beer with a net to the Club of $7100.

 

PRESIDENT CHUCK introduced DR. WAYNE PEATE, who is a very active volunteer with JTED. WAYNE introduced Patti Greenleaf, Executive Director of JTED and Abel Vasquez, Director of JTED Technology.

 

Abel discussed the resources and capabilities of JTED. He related the impact of JTED on the graduation rates; JTED is 98% versus a community rate of 76%.  He communicated that the legacy of the RCOT support of the new JTED learning center will be experienced by the many students who graduate.

 

Patti Greenleaf reported that JTED is its own educational district but up to now did not offer the required academic classes. In partnership with TUSD, the new RCOT learning center will be able to offer the necessary academics and thus students will graduate from JTED.

 

PRESIDENT CHUCK closed the meeting with a quote and toast.