Oksana was a “military brat”. Her father was a career border security officer for the Soviet Union, then the country of Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet. Her father is from Ukraine and her mother was Russian. Oksana was born in Kazakhstan and lived in many countries all around the perimeter of the Soviet Union, as her father was transferred. She came to the US in 2002 and had her son Edward in 2004. She has a degree in teaching from the University of Kharkiv. She became a US Citizen in 2013.
Mike has been a member of our club since 2001 and is a Real Estate Investor owning apartments that he self manages. He is also a semi-retired Commercial Real Estate Investment Broker and his company is named The Schulte Company. He has 2 children besides Edward and 5 grandchildren.
Mike contacted Oksana through Match.com 7 years ago and they married a year later. Mike’s first contact did not materialize in a date, so Mike tried again a couple of months later and then traveled to Chandler to see her every weekend. They have lived happily ever after.
They are both avid hikers trying to get on the trails once a week while here in Tucson. They travel every summer for a couple of months and walk the cities of Europe 4 to 14 kilometers per day.
Bruce asked them to speak about their trip to Poland in March of this year to retrieve Oksana's Father from the bombing in Kkarkiv and bringing him to their home.
President BRUCE started off the meeting by introducing new member SANDRA JOHNSON who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and “My Country Tis of Thee”.
Then JOE DANISZEWSKI was invited up to inspire us. JOE reminded us of the Rotary International Peace centers we have throughout the world AND encouraged our members to support and encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Peace Fellowship.
Sergeant at Arms KHRIS DODGE introduced our guests.
Our keynote today was the very first woman Rotary International President Jennifer Jones. Though her presentation wasn’t live, her message was truly inspiring, talking about the development and roles of women in Rotary, inspiring and empowering girls and encouraging us to all embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. IMAGINE who Rotary is and will become with continued growth and commitment to Service Above Self.
New member time!!! Past President MARK, who can’t seem to get off stage introduced us to new member ELIZABETH BOLLINGER. ELIZABETH is going to do great things in our Club, and we can’t wait to get to know her better!
SAA KHRIS DODGE had ELIZABETH pull the winning raffle ticket… CHUCK SAWYER went home with a little cash but not the big 50/50 bank…. Be sure to bring your cash to next week’s meeting, you never know whose ticket will be drawn next.
JEANNE ZETAH and JEN HOFFMAN came up to introduce our new RYE student Pelayo Novoa Alvarez from Vigo, Spain. The Hoffman’s are his first host family and are really enjoying getting to know him. Please reach out to JEN or SEAN HOFFMAN if you would like to make plans to do something fun with Pelayo.
President BRUCE then shared a brief news story where the RCOT contribution to JTED was showcased featuring the incredible Virtual Reality tools we helped purchase for the medical training school.
Save the Date to our next Replacement Mixer on 8/31/22, more details to come.
A call out to RCOT members to attend the district conference 9/23-25 at Casino del Sol, we need to represent. Be there or be SQUARE!
BRUCE JACOBS had miles and miles and miles of memories in the month of July; 6.32 miles daily 195.32 miles total! WOW!! Please consider donating to President BRUCE’S Miles Of Memories campaign to raise funds for his President’s Discretionary Fund or if you prefer, your Paul Harris, Scholarships, etc.
Car Show chair BOBBY LARSON came up to talk about ticket sales! Get out there and sell your tickets… in person or online just SELL, SELL, SELL! Also be sure to pick up the car show cards to hand out to people you meet.
Member GERRY HALLOWELL came up to present a blue badge to ANITA SCALES. Congratulations ANITA on your Blue!
Next week Oksana Smoliyenko and MIKE SCHULTE will be our keynote speakers discussing Ukraine and their personal experiences.
President BRUCE then ended the meeting with a toast!
The Club will hold it's first Replacement/Social Mixer of the 2022-23 Rotary year the evening of August 31, 2022 at Noble Hops, DoubleTree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. The Mixer will be a replacement of our lunch meeting on Wednesday, 8/31/22. All must register on the Club website www.tucsonrotary.org. scroll down the left side to "Upcoming Events". Please make sure to register your guests, the fee is $30 and will be billed to your account.
If you have any questions, please contact the Rotary office.
"This is an excellent opportunity to introduce potential new members to the Club!"
Can you imagine traveling on your own at age 16 with a large, checked bag, a smaller roller bag, a saxophone in case, and a backpack, leaving at 9:15 am from the airport in Spain, changing planes in both Paris and Atlanta and ending in Tucson at 10:45 pm MST?
Well, Pelayo Novoa Alvarez, our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Vigo, Spain, did just that on July 31 and arrived smiling and a bit tired. He was welcomed at the Tucson Airport by Jennifer, Owen, and Noah Hoffman (his first host family), Jeanne Zetah (Club YEO), and Pat Patton (RYE Committee member). On Tuesday he completed his registration at Ironwood Ridge High School in Oro Valley where he is a junior like his host brother, Noah.
At the Aug. 3 meeting, Jeanne introduced Pelayo who shared that he’s delighted to be here and wants to experience as many things as he can. Pelayo looks forward to getting to know club members and sharing activities with them. Jennifer Hoffman said Pelayo is a great kid and she encouraged others to consider being a host family in the future. She asked people to contact her or Sean when they want to schedule an activity with Pelayo.
The Rotary Youth Exchange Committee met recently to brainstorm a list of fun activities that club members could offer to do with Pelayo. If you would like to join the committee or have ideas of activities that you’d like to share with Pelayo in the future, let Jeanne Zetah or Thomas Robertson (Club counselor) know. Faye Morse and Eric Smith have agreed to be Pelayo’s host family from Jan. to March. If you or someone you know might like to be a host family from April into June, let Jeanne know and she can provide more information.
In Spain, Pelayo liked to play tennis, play his saxophone, pursue art activities, swim, ski, and travel. In school he liked art, physics and chemistry and wondered about a career in architecture. His father is a Rotarian in Vigo and his older brother and sister have both been Rotary exchange students who said it was the “best year of their lives”, which led Pelayo to decide that he wanted to live that unique experience too! Let’s all help Pelayo have HIS best year!
The A/V and Switcher Studio committees are looking to add to their teams. If you are interested in joining either of these committees, please contact Bruce Richardson.
I shared with those in attendance on the 13th that this next year I want us to share “Miles of Memories” together. I referenced the memories we have created together over the years and the impact we have had in so many others lives as well as our own.
The children and the parents receiving the grass ball field in San Carlos transformed from a dirt lot. The recipients and their families that obtained their mobility by receiving a wheelchair in Nogales. The memories of our member that participated along with the memories of working together on various local workday projects. Our hiking, golf, home hospitality fellowships and the list goes on.
I ask for you to help me on “our journey” over this next year by sponsoring me in the “Miles of Memories.” My goal is to walk a minimum of 35 miles a week, 1,825 for the year and honestly want to surpass 2000+. I would like for you to consider donating by the mile and we will share the outcome at the first meeting of each month on my progress.
Donations can go to the Foundation toward a Paul Harris, the President’s Discretionary Fund, or others of your choosing. I want us to have fun on our journey over this next year and to INSPIRE each other and our benefactors through the world of Rotary.
Thank you for your support in making our 102nd year one where we create memories together.
We will no longer be streaming our meetings live via Facebook but we will be streaming live via our YouTube Channel. We are encouraging you all to subscribe to our Channel in order to receive notices of when the meetings are streaming live. After the live meeting, this video will become a recording and immediately posted on our YouTube Channel. To view live CLICK HERE.
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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Oksana was
a “military brat”. Her father was a career border security officer for the Soviet Union, then the country of Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet. Her father is from Ukraine and her mother was Russian. Oksana was born in Kazakhstan and lived in many countries all around the perimeter of the Soviet Union, as her father was transferred. She came to the US in 2002 and had her son Edward in 2004. She has a degree in teaching from the University of Kharkiv. She became a US Citizen in 2013.
Our keynote today was the very first woman Rotary International President Jennifer Jones. Though her presentation wasn’t live, her message was truly inspiring, talking about the development and roles of women in Rotary, inspiring and empowering girls and encouraging us to all embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. IMAGINE who Rotary is and will become with continued growth and commitment to Service Above Self.
JEANNE ZETAH and JEN HOFFMAN came up to introduce our new RYE student Pelayo Novoa Alvarez from Vigo, Spain. The Hoffman’s are his first host family and are really enjoying getting to know him. Please reach out to JEN or SEAN HOFFMAN if you would like to make plans to do something fun with Pelayo.
Member GERRY HALLOWELL came up to present a blue badge to ANITA SCALES. Congratulations ANITA on your Blue!
The Club will hold it's first Replacement/Social Mixer of the 2022-23 Rotary year the evening of August 31, 2022 at Noble Hops, DoubleTree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. The Mixer will be a replacement of our lunch meeting on Wednesday, 8/31/22. All must register on the Club website 
Can you imagine traveling on your own at age 16 with a large, checked bag, a smaller roller bag, a saxophone in case, and a backpack, leaving at 9:15 am from the airport in Spain, changing planes in both Paris and Atlanta and ending in Tucson at 10:45 pm MST?
The A/V and Switcher Studio committees are looking to add to their teams. If you are interested in joining either of these committees, please contact Bruce Richardson.
