Make-A-Wish is the legacy of Chris Greicius, a 7-year-old boy from Phoenix. Find out how his wish to be a police officer in 1980 set in motion a phenomenon that would create an unprecedented kind of charity. As the founding chapter of the now international wish granting organization, Make-A-Wish Arizona® continues to be a trailblazer and granted 365 wishes in fiscal year 2016, a record in Arizona. We have dedicated ourselves to the Make-A-Wish mission, granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
Rob LaMaster Biography
Rob LaMaster has been the Southern Arizona Director for Make-A-Wish Arizona since 2013, and has over 25 years in non-profit and association management and fundraising. He also holds the designation as a Certified Fund Raising Executive. An Oro Valley resident, Rob was also a member of the Town of Oro Valley (AZ) Economic Development Think Tank, and the Oro Valley Planning & Zoning Commission and served one term as a Board member of the Northwest Fire District.A native of Dallas, Texas, Rob attended Texas Tech University, graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree in Marketing and a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis on Business, Political Science and Mass Communications.
Rob is married to Karen, an Oncology Physician Assistant (PA) and has one daughter, Madison, a graduate of Northern Arizona University, and currently working on her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Texas Tech and two Boston Terriers, Bailey and Olive. Rob loves to play golf (not well), hike, kayak, and is an avid sports fan.
Our magnificent PRESIDENT ELLIE began our hump day meeting with a salute to the Festival of Books. Our Inspiration moment came from RICHARD WHITE, formerly the Red Cross Director of Tucson operations. RICHARD spoke about the Red Cross “Hero Breakfast” – ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In this case, people saving other people’s lives. RICHARD also thanked Rotary members for giving up their time.
GARY HIRSCH played “God Bless America” and RACHEL SCHAMING sang this traditional song. WOCKY REDSAR-WIERZBINSKI introduced our many guests and visiting Rotarians. Happy Birthdays went to CHARLOTTE HARRIS, who gave a plug for the Annual Fund and mentioned our PRESIDENT ELLIE as an upcoming District Governor. The other birthday went to TED FORSBERG. TED helps bring new members to our club, and he thanked JOE (we love your hair) NEVIN for adding something to his microphone time. FONDA had no fines, no auctions but we did have a raffle. NANCY PURDIN awarded a blue badge to Family Member, JOSH EWING, son of GLENN EWING - congrats and welcome JOSH!
The Announcements were:
LISA FOGLE – Announced a Social Replacement Meeting on March 29th at the Rincon Market – all the spaghetti you can eat.
LISA FOGLE – Home Hospitality needs Hosts for an event at your house.This is the best way to meet and get to know your fellow members.The dates are April 17th through April 19th.
MARIE LOGAN – Don’t forget Closet Cleaning Day on March 15th, bring those clothes and appliances.
DAVE GALLAHER – “Y Camp” project April 14th and 15th.
DAVE WHITE – Needs members for Car Show Ticket Sales at Events.
LIZ BAKER – Happy Jackson for science – see Liz.
Finally, our program began with DAVE GALLAHER introducing his high school buddy and Honorary member, MAYOR JONATHAN ROTHSCHILD. The Mayor’s first statement was that he bought the first car show tickets in the club! Yeah! MAYOR ROTHSCHILD then stated that the last 18 months of growth in Tucson was the most in the last 60 years. Here's what's happening: Raytheon – $1/4 billion in infrastructure and improvements and 2,000 jobs, Comcast – 1,125 jobs, Caterpillar – 600 jobs, Worldview – 448 jobs, and Home Goods – 600 jobs.
And, that’s just the beginning of all the good news. 1,000 vets and 400 homeless people were given a place to live. The Federal $48 million first time home buyer program has been a big success. The #7 firehouse is brand new. The police received 950 new bullet proof vests that offer side of body protection. The Mayor wants us to approve a ½% sales tax for only five years. This money would go to our city roads and aging police car fleet. We have the lowest sales tax in the State.
Our $1.2 billion budget is amazing in that we get so much out of so little. Also, two new hotels, A.C. Marriott, and Residence Inn in Tucson. Metro lodging is up 12% from last year. The $500 million Banner Tower at UMC, La Placita downtown is being re-developed. Irvington and I-10 will be the largest commercial center in Tucson, plus Pima and Rosemont development. Wow, I can’t fit all this good stuff in. According to Bloomberg News, we are the third fastest city in job growth in the nation.
To close, the Mayor paid for a homeless man to save his one remaining good eye out of his own pocket! Our Mayor is a very special man. Thank you Mr. Mayor!
The meeting was brought to a close by PRESIDENT ELLIE, it was an “Irish Toast”…Cheers!!
Tom Patterson, one of our new Family members, was born in Massachusetts. He then followed his Navy Dad to Puerto Rico and Vieques before landing in Independence, Kansas where he spent his high school years. Tom’s Dad received his teaching degree at the local college there the same time that Tom graduated from high school and they were featured in the local paper together in cap and gown. Tom then headed off to the Navy where he spent many years under water on diesel and nuclear submarines. While serving on the nuclear submarine, he felt he wasn’t getting enough excitement in his life so he took up sky-diving. When Tom decided to get a degree in nuclear engineering after the Navy, he came to Tucson because of the program offered at the U. of A. When his late wife became pregnant with their first daughter, plans changed when a job was needed and he joined the Tucson Police Department thinking it would be a short-term career and school would take precedence. Well, 22 years later, Tom retired as a lieutenant with a second daughter and a degree in Public Administration. He still loves anything submersible, nuclear, or physics-related, and hardly anyone borrows books from his library. Tom performed in the AZ Opera for 20 years and his favorite role was Alfredo Germont in La Traviata. Tom and Ellie have been married for 18 years and they celebrate their wedding anniversary every year by going to the Santa Fe Opera.
Good news! The Kenya Children’s Peace Camps Global Grant has just been approved by The Rotary Foundation that fellow Rotarian, Sally Montagne, and her team worked so hard to complete. Team member, Phil Silvers of Valley Verde Club, did much work “on the ground” by meeting with tribal leaders of the three tribes in Kenya and recruiting the host sponsor as well as conducting training. He made the final push to get the application approved, so teamwork all the way around.
This grant will make a difference in the lives of many children and their families living in a war-torn area in Kenya. Children of warring tribes come together to learn peace-building techniques among other activities and become friends along the way. A BIG thank you to our Tucson Rotary club for being the Primary International Partner and donating much needed funding where each dollar is matched 1:1 by the Rotary Foundation.
Our next Social Mixer/Replacement Meeting held on March 29th will be at the Rincon Farmer’s Market located at 2513 E. 6th Street from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This mixer will replace our regular scheduled Wednesday lunch meeting that day. The menu is all you can eat Spaghetti and Meatballs. $1 beers and $5 wines will be available. Since this is a replacement meeting, there is no fee for members and the guest fee is $20. Registration is up on Clubrunner under "Upcoming Events" on the Home Page. We will also be having a raffle... So come join us for some fun and fellowship!
We love working with Make Way for Books. What a great partnership! At the Festival of Books with ED Jenny Volpe selling Tucson Classics Car Show tickets. Proceeds benefit their programs giving young children the chance to read and succeed!
Don't forget the Salvation Army will have collection bins in front of our meeting room THIS Wednesday March 15th, from 11:15 to 12:30.
Do a little spring cleaning, clear out those closets, and donate your gently used clothing and household items to benefit the ARC of the Salvation Army. Volunteers will be on hand to assist with heavy items. If you have large items that won't fit in your trunk, talk to the volunteers about a home pick up. All for a good cause, so let's help them out!
We still need all of the Sunday March 26th slots filled. This is a fun way to raise money for our scholarship fund. If you are mentoring any new Rotarians, suggest this as a service project. I know some of you may be selling car show tickets at the same event and are already booked so thank you for that. Come join Jim Murphy, Roger and myself and support Suds for Scholars or Beer for Brains and help us reach our funding goal this year.
Tucson Rotary's monthlySocial Mixer is scheduled for March 30th, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm and again will be held at the very popular Trident II, located in Plaza Palomino, 2900 N. Swan. Last month's mixer brought members and guests together for a very enjoyable evening out. Bring a family member, a potential new member, a friend and your business cards. This will be a great time to socialize, network, and enjoy the fellowship and fun of Rotary. No reservations or registrations necessary. (no host bar) (Separate from our March 29th Replacement Mixer)
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The Make-A-Wish® Story 
Finally, our program began with DAVE GALLAHER introducing his high school buddy and Honorary member, MAYOR JONATHAN ROTHSCHILD. The Mayor’s first statement was that he bought the first car show tickets in the club! Yeah! MAYOR ROTHSCHILD then stated that the last 18 months of growth in Tucson was the most in the last 60 years. Here's what's happening: Raytheon – $1/4 billion in infrastructure and improvements and 2,000 jobs, Comcast – 1,125 jobs, Caterpillar – 600 jobs, Worldview – 448 jobs, and Home Goods – 600 jobs.
Tom Patterson, one of our new Family members, was born in Massachusetts. He then followed his Navy Dad to Puerto Rico and Vieques before landing in Independence, Kansas where he spent his high school years. Tom’s Dad received his teaching degree at the local college there the same time that Tom graduated from high school and they were featured in the local paper together in cap and gown. Tom then headed off to the Navy where he spent many years under water on diesel and nuclear submarines. While serving on the nuclear submarine, he felt he wasn’t getting enough excitement in his life so he took up sky-diving. When Tom decided to get a degree in nuclear engineering after the Navy, he came to Tucson because of the program offered at the U. of A. When his late wife became pregnant with their first daughter, plans changed when a job was needed and he joined the Tucson Police Department thinking it would be a short-term career and school would take precedence. Well, 22 years later, Tom retired as a lieutenant with a second daughter and a degree in Public Administration. He still loves anything submersible, nuclear, or physics-related, and hardly anyone borrows books from his library. Tom performed in the AZ Opera for 20 years and his favorite role was Alfredo Germont in La Traviata. Tom and Ellie have been married for 18 years and they celebrate their wedding anniversary every year by going to the Santa Fe Opera.
Good news! The Kenya Children’s Peace Camps Global Grant has just been approved by The Rotary Foundation that fellow Rotarian, Sally Montagne, and her team worked so hard to complete. Team member, Phil Silvers of Valley Verde Club, did much work “on the ground” by meeting with tribal leaders of the three tribes in Kenya and recruiting the host sponsor as well as conducting training. He made the final push to get the application approved, so teamwork all the way around.
Our next Social Mixer/Replacement Meeting held on March 29th will be at the Rincon Farmer’s Market located at 2513 E. 6th Street from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This mixer will replace our regular scheduled Wednesday lunch meeting that day. The menu is all you can eat Spaghetti and Meatballs. $1 beers and $5 wines will be available. Since this is a replacement meeting, there is no fee for members and the guest fee is $20. Registration is up on Clubrunner under "Upcoming Events" on the Home Page. We will also be having a raffle... So come join us for some fun and fellowship!
We love working with Make Way for Books. What a great partnership! At the Festival of Books with ED Jenny Volpe selling Tucson Classics Car Show tickets. Proceeds benefit their programs giving young children the chance to read and succeed!
Greetings Tucson Rotary Members!
Tucson Rotary's monthly 
