Please remember, due to the Gem Show at the DoubleTree on Wednesday, February 3, 2016, this has been scheduled as a DARK Day and there will be NO lunch meeting this date. Thank you!
A recent study by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy highlighted one fact: Arizona independents have grown from 11% in 1992 to 37% today. The study found that almost two-thirds of Arizona voters believe the State Legislature has the wrong priorities and that there is too much partisan conflict in the Arizona State Capitol. The vast majority of independents want political reform that moves us away from the system we have today.
There is a national movement active in Arizona to, among other things, open presidential primaries to independent voters. Today’s discussion will be about whether structural changes to our electoral process are a good idea.
Proposition: Paul Johnson is an Arizona native, and most remembered for his service as Mayor of Phoenix from 1990 to 1994, after serving four years on the City Council. He is known for his work on education, the environment, crime, and children's issues. As mayor, he brought about the nation's first kids’ gun law, the curfew program, and a 90 acre park at the Indian School site. He averted a major transit strike, and helped America West Airlines through bankruptcy. Under his leadership, Phoenix was voted Best Run City in the World. Paul ran twice for Arizona governor -- in 1994 and 1998 -- and today is a proud Independent voter. He is a busy entrepreneur, and leader of Open and Honest Elections, a reform movement dedicated to creating fair and competitive elections for all of Arizona.
Opposition: Bill Risner graduated from Catalina High School in 1961, The University of Arizona business school in 1965, U. of A. Law School in 1968, and attended graduate business school at the U of A until 1969. He practices at Risner & Graham, where he focuses on personal injury and wrongful death law. Throughout his career, Bill has been an active member of the Pima County Democratic Party. Bill successfully handled a redistricting case for the Democratic Party against the City of Tucson in 1971. He was president of the Tucson Community Development and Design Center for many years, and has represented many community groups on environmental and planning issues. He says, “I have been fortunate to have avoided being elected to office in spite of my candidacy, including a race for Pima County Attorney in 1976.”
Moderator: Jim Kolbe currently serves as a senior transatlantic fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In addition to his work with GMF, Kolbe serves on the board of counselors for McLarty Associates and is president of JTK Consulting, which represents the interests of Arizona clients to the United States Congress. Locally, Jim serves on the boards of directors for the Community Food Bank and Critical Path Institute, as co-chair of the Governor’s Transportation and Trade Task Force, and on the Council on Foreign Relations. For 22 years, Jim served in the U.S. House of Representatives as our Congressman. Prior to Congress, he served six years in the Arizona State Senate. Jim was commissioned in the United States Naval Reserves in 1965 and gave a year of service in the Republic of Vietnam with Coastal forces (Swift boats). He retired after 10 years as a Lieutenant Commander. Jim graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and from Stanford University with an MBA.
We had three Birthday celebrations today, but before I talk about that, I’d like to introduce you to the three Paul Harris Fellows we celebrated today. These three are all dedicated Rotarians as evidenced by all three being recipients of multiple Paul Harris Fellow awards. BOB SHAFF received his award +3; JERRY HARRIS received his award +3; and RABBI STEPHANIE AARON received her award +5! A big Thanks to all of you for your continued support of Rotary. And I’d also like to thank BOB LOGAN, who does a superbly wonderful job mixing facts, public speaking skills and humor when presenting the bios and backgrounds of these, and other, Paul Harris Fellows. BOB makes what could potentially be the same old, same old affair into an informative and funny presentation for all Rotarians to enjoy.
Back to Birthday celebrations. EVAN MANNING is celebrating his Birthday today! He graciously shortened his time at the podium so STU GOLDMAN could spend a little extra time explaining to us that “everything I have two of, one of them hurts…” In fact, I think STU may have encroached on GARY GETHMANN’s time, but I don’t think GARY minded. Happy Birthday EVAN, STU and GARY!
We had a raffle today. I note this because, unlike all of last year, I WON a prize today! Following the meeting, I immediately went and bought a Powerball lottery ticket. No, I didn’t win. Trust me, if I did, you’d most assuredly know by now.
FYI, the Car Show give-way event is scheduled for January 27. Be sure to attend the meeting for all the fun!
For our presentation, we received a visual tour of the U of A Museum of Art, presented by museum Director Dr. James Burns. I’ve been to the museum once during my 8-years in Tucson but I had no idea regarding the number of art pieces owned and maintained in the museum. I will definitely go again in the near future!
In closing, I quote STU’s quote by Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we earn. We make a life by what we give.”
Let’s look at one of the seven ways a member can participate in an organization like Rotary.
One stereotype pinned on Rotary Clubs decades ago was that they were collections of people with fat wallets. You had to be well-off to become a member, and you had to dedicate a portion of that wealth to the activities and beneficiaries of the club.
Even if true, does money make a Rotary Club? Hardly. There simply is a limit to what you can do without the time of at least some members of the club.
Yes, it’s possible to have donations and dues sufficient to hire a person to track member data (names, contact info, dues payments, etc.). But you cannot hire people to populate the Board of Directors.
You can use assessments to make up for fundraising - write a check and you don’t have to sell a ticket or a bar-b-q sandwich. But you can’t effectively employ a non-member to decide which projects your club will take on.
You can give money instead of time to the beneficiaries of your club. But you will struggle to get buy-in to an annual plan of work that has been drawn up by a paid, non-member, consultant with no member involvement.
Organizations need at least some members with time to volunteer, to lead, to plan, to identify new members. Time can even be utilized to take the place of member money if that time is put toward fundraising.
While time is not needed (and shouldn’t be relied upon) from 100% of our club membership, it would be near-impossible to operate if only 10-40% of our members were available and willing to volunteer. And that minimum percentage may be much higher – most estimates of RCOT members who currently give of their time are in the 85-90% range. It’s hard to imagine we could get by on half as much volunteer time, no matter how much money we came up with and no matter what other involvement – beyond time – members put toward Rotary.
Of the several methods to be engaged, giving of your time comes to mind first for most people. And a majority of our members joined precisely because they wanted to accomplish good and they believed their time would help make that happen. There is a satisfaction in an achievement that you actively participated in that is hard to match.
Being willing to put in time isn’t the only way to be engaged, but it may be the most popular. Next time, we’ll look at the second of the seven ways you can contribute to Rotary.
Rotary Club Day in Tucson will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Triangle Y Ranch Camp from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please save the date and sign ups are available on the Club website at www.tucsonrotary.org under Upcoming Events.
Salad: Wedge Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Ranch Dressings.
Open Faced Roast Beef: Garlic Toast, Mushroom gravy, Herb Mashed Potatoes
Doubletree Cookies Served Family Style
Coffee, Decaf or Iced Tea
The menu options below are available if reserved (call or email the office)by 2:00pm Friday.
Chef Salad: Ham, Turkey, Cheddar/Jack Cheese Blend, Hard Boiled Egg, Tomato, Cucumber & Croutons over chopped Romaine Lettuce. (PLEASE DO NOT ASK THE SERVERS TO ALTER THE SALAD, IT WILL BE SERVED AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. NO CHEF SALADS MAY BE ORDERED AFTER THE FRIDAY DEADLINE)
Vegetarian - Pasta Primavera:Grilled Vegetables, Garlic and Herb Olive Oil Sauces, Over Penne Pasta & White Beans
Fresh Fruit Plate: Fresh Seasonal Fruit served with FLAVORED Greek Yogurt and Low Fat Cottage Cheese
Gluten Free: The main meal as a Gluten Free option
NESDAYS, 12:00 PM-1:20 PM
Proposition: Paul Johnson is an Arizona native, and most remembered for his service as Mayor of Phoenix from 1990 to 1994, after serving four years on the City Council. He is known for his work on education, the environment, crime, and children's issues. As mayor, he brought about the nation's first kids’ gun law, the curfew program, and a 90 acre park at the Indian School site. He averted a major transit strike, and helped America West Airlines through bankruptcy. Under his leadership, Phoenix was voted Best Run City in the World. Paul ran twice for Arizona governor -- in 1994 and 1998 -- and today is a proud Independent voter. He is a busy entrepreneur, and leader of Open and Honest Elections, a reform movement dedicated to creating fair and competitive elections for all of Arizona.
Opposition: Bill Risner graduated from Catalina High School in 1961, The University of Arizona business school in 1965, U. of A. Law School in 1968, and attended graduate business school at the U of A until 1969. He practices at Risner & Graham, where he focuses on personal injury and wrongful death law. Throughout his career, Bill has been an active member of the Pima County Democratic Party. Bill successfully handled a redistricting case for the Democratic Party against the City of Tucson in 1971. He was president of the Tucson Community Development and Design Center for many years, and has represented many community groups on environmental and planning issues. He says, “I have been fortunate to have avoided being elected to office in spite of my candidacy, including a race for Pima County Attorney in 1976.”
Moderator: Jim Kolbe currently serves as a senior transatlantic fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In addition to his work with GMF, Kolbe serves on the board of counselors for McLarty Associates and is president of JTK Consulting, which represents the interests of Arizona clients to the United States Congress. Locally, Jim serves on the boards of directors for the Community Food Bank and Critical Path Institute, as co-chair of the Governor’s Transportation and Trade Task Force, and on the Council on Foreign Relations. For 22 years, Jim served in the U.S. House of Representatives as our Congressman. Prior to Congress, he served six years in the Arizona State Senate. Jim was commissioned in the United States Naval Reserves in 1965 and gave a year of service in the Republic of Vietnam with Coastal forces (Swift boats). He retired after 10 years as a Lieutenant Commander. Jim graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and from Stanford University with an MBA.
We had three Birthday celebrations today, but before I talk about that, I’d like to introduce you to the three Paul Harris Fellows we celebrated today.
These three are all dedicated Rotarians as evidenced by all three being recipients of multiple Paul Harris Fellow awards. BOB SHAFF received his award +3; JERRY HARRIS received his award +3; and RABBI STEPHANIE AARON received her award +5! A big Thanks to all of you for your continued support of Rotary. And I’d also like to thank BOB LOGAN, who does a superbly wonderful job mixing facts, public speaking skills and humor when presenting the bios and backgrounds of these, and other, Paul Harris Fellows. BOB makes what could potentially be the same old, same old affair into an informative and funny presentation for all Rotarians to enjoy.
