Travelers spend $2.3 billion annually in Pima County and the region’s tourism industry employs more than 25,000 area residents.

 

Visit Tucson’s Brent DeRaad will discuss the organization’s role in helping to generate those benefits.  Visit Tucson markets Tucson and Southern Arizona to potential visitors throughout the world, while also bringing in meetings to area hotels and resorts, along with sports groups and events.

 

Looking ahead, Visit Tucson is developing a 10-year tourism master plan that focuses on enhancing and creating attractions, events, flights, roads and gathering places.

 

 

Brent DeRaad has served for seven years as President & CEO of Visit Tucson.  DeRaad and the 40-member Visit Tucson staff are charged with marketing, promoting and selling metro Tucson and southern Arizona as a leisure and meetings destination.  Visitors spend $2.3 billion annually in Pima County.

 

DeRaad came to Tucson from the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau where he spent 10 years, the final six as the organization’s executive vice president.

President CHUCK opened our meeting with a resounding bell ring, and JEANNE ZETAH gave the inspiration. 

 

We then had a moment of silence for the passing of Rowdy Table Member Extraordinaire CHARLIE MEAKER.  CHARLIE was remembered by DICK GUTHRIE and DAN GUARE, along with a rendition of Taps on the kazoo.  We’ll miss you, CHARLIE!

 

STU GOLDMAN accompanied VICKIE JACOBS in the Pledge and Song (“America the Beautiful”), and RON BUSH introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians.

 

We had five Birthday Rotarians:

 

JAN GREEN served in the Vietnam War, is the chair of the Photo Committee and attended Notre Dame and USC. He considers himself and unproductive gardener, and he is willing to discuss a range of topics from natural healing to bipolar disease.

GORDON GRAHAM is “a nickel short of 100” and still going strong. GORDON is also a veteran (WW II), has taken 36 bike trips, and urged everyone to take advantage of the people you meet in Rotary (GORDON’S granddaughter attends St. Andrews in Scotland in part due to a Rotary connection.)

JEFF RONSTADT’s first job was as Tuffy the Toro, and he currently helps organize the weekly song for our meetings.  JEFF urged everyone to think about the kind of legacy they want to leave.

MONTE CLAUSEN’s legacy is having 18 grandkids “all of whom like me”.  Among MONTE’s past achievements, he served as an advance man for both President Ford and President Bush. However, his proudest accomplishment is having beaten Salpointe 34-0 while playing football for Catalina High School.

ERNIE MINCHELLA is everyone’s favorite accordion player.  True to tradition, he followed MONTE CLAUSEN with a story about meeting a raccoon that crashed his most recent closing.

 

MARGARET HIGGINS introduced our newest member MELISSA ECKSTEIN.  MELISSA is the CEO of Palo Verde Hospital to which she brings at least four post-secondary degrees (too many letters to keep up with!)  MELISSA was born in Heidelberg and loves to cook. Welcome MELISSA!

 

Sergeant at Arms BOBBY LARSON introduced MARCY EULER recognized HOOT GIBSON for becoming the Board President of the Pima College Foundation to start off their $300M campaign.

 

After the raffle (temporarily hijacked by one member’s “mistaken” claim of a win), we had the following announcements:

President CHUCK reminded us to sign up for 6/29 COA Event at Hacienda Del Sol.

President CHUCK also invited everyone to become a website Sponsor.

President Elect Elect JENNIFER HOFFMAN introduced our current Exchange Student Pedro Ritt who gave an entertaining presentation about his country and his experiences here with his most excellent host family.

 

STEVE CHRISTY introduced our speaker today, reminding us that good things come from Pima County besides STEVE being our supervisor.  Our speaker was Vanessa Helms - Victim Services Division Director for the Pima County Attorney’s Office. Ms. Helms spoke about crisis intervention in mass casualty events such as the January 8 shooting in Tucson and the Las Vegas shooting.  Pima County helped start the Victim Rights movement in 1975 under District Attorney Dennis Deconcini.  Ms. Helms pointed out that there are only state statutes that allow for things like victim impact statements and that provide resources to help victims in the immediate aftermath of a crime.  She emphasized how crucial it is to have someone to help victims deal with the emotional impact of a crime, so they can take next steps without being paralyzed.  Funding for the program comes entirely from fines and fees paid by criminal offenders, and the Pima County Victim Services Division is part of the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA) that responds across the country to mass casualty events. Ms. Helms signed a book for our lending library: “Festival of Colors”.

 

President CHUCK closed our meeting with a toast and a quote from Eckhart Tolle: “When faced with a radical crisis… a species will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.”