What a timely and inspirational program we all enjoyed at our last meeting, the eve of Thanksgiving, with fellow Rotarian, Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, as she presented the personal power of developing an Attitude of Gratitude.  Learning to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of our lives leads to a healthier life and a greater sense of well-being. I was also inspired by fellow Rotarian and friend, Evgenia, from Vladivostok, Russia, who wrote in her Thanksgiving greeting: “In our daily lives, we try to remember that it's not happiness and/or greatness that make us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy and great."

 

This Attitude of Gratitude now explains and confirms why I feel grateful and more inspired to “Serving Humanity” (the 2016-17 RI presidential theme) whenever I give monetarily as well as giving of my time, skills and energy in service to others. I appreciated hearing Club member, Scott Vaughn, explain the difference between our Club Foundation and The Rotary Foundation, emphasizing the importance and relevance of each. Scott reminded us that we can give to our Club Foundation where money is spent on such programs that help children read for the first time and cultivate a love of reading or help homeless youth stay in school, AND we can also give to The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary.  Our contributions to The Rotary Foundation support projects, for example, that provides clean water to villages, fight disease, or support a Vocational Training Team that teaches girls of domestic and street violence therapeutic techniques leading to healing and empowerment. Hundreds if not thousands of people’s lives are changed by both our Club Foundation and The Rotary Foundation. PE, Ian Riseley of RI, cited the close correlation between local foundations and The Rotary Foundation, “Members who give to their Club Foundation also give to The Rotary Foundation.”  Scott ended his talk by announcing that The Rotary Foundation was named the World's Outstanding Foundation for 2016 by AFP, the Association of Fundraising Professionals. This is huge and we should all be so proud.

 

Roger Harwell, Club member and longtime scholarship program champion, challenged us to consider increasing our giving to the scholarship program by a modest amount. We now are helping 5 students at Pima and 10 students at the U of A with education costs that are constantly rising. The answer was easy to the question of –can I pledge $4 a week with my quarterly dues payment so that we can enhance our fabulous scholarship program that has been in existence for over 65 years? For those of us who are Starbucks fans, we can just forego that one cup of coffee weekly to make this happen. That’s way too easy for a cause that is way too important. I believe as Nelson Mandela did that education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world.  

 

Now that I’ve written checks to both our Club Foundation and the Rotary Foundation and have authorized an increase in my quarterly billing for scholarship purposes, I am feeling really grateful. Thank you Rabbi Stephanie. Thank you Rotary. 

Although this week’s meeting was a bit light in attendance due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the energy and camaraderie could be felt as you entered the room.

 

Today’s inspiration was provided by DON ROLLINGS and, yes, it was inspiring.  Thanks to our new member LIZ BAKER for leading us in the pledge and a rousing rendition of “You’re a Grand Ole Flag” with GARY HIRSCH masterfully providing accompaniment.

 

Introduction of this week’s guests was led by DARRELL STEWART, who moved about the room to increase engagement with the audience.  Two birthdays rounded out the first phase of today’s meeting with birthday wishes to MARGARET HIGGINS and BRUCE TUNZE.

 

Sergeant at Arms FONDA INSLEY began today’s announcements reflecting on the joy of El Tour.  Congratulations to all that rode and completed with no incident and a special thanks to GARY, DARRELL and RALPH PHILLIPS for their extra special participation.  JOHN LEWIS invested a well spent $100 to secure an additional minute of time announcing the upcoming replacement meeting on November 30th at CAID Industries.  He also advised of a date change to December 15 for the Holiday Mixer at La Mariposa.  Please register on ClubRunner.  Another reason to take a look at ClubRunner is to sign up for Salvation Army Bell Ringing.  NANCY PURDIN provided an update on this project slated for December 10 and although some locations are already staffed keep signing up.

 

The next announcement by ROGER HARWELL reviewed the state of the scholarship program and shared the increases in annual scholarships to be provided to those attending U of A.  SCOTT VAUGHAN concluded the announcements presenting the differences between the Rotary Foundation in comparison to the Rotary Club of Tucson Foundation.  As always, anything that we can give helps.

 

This week’s program “Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude” was introduced by VIC JACOBS and her gratitude to have that opportunity was apparent.  RABBI STEPHANIE AARON then took the podium for what I must say is one of the most inspired, entertaining and unforgettable presentations so far this year.  Although she feared an antiquated presentation with PowerPoint, the message of gratitude was clear to see.  I for one enjoyed every minute and am grateful to have been able to be present and reminded of what it means to be a member of this club.  

 

President ELLIE concluded the meeting with Thanksgiving wishes and the traditional toast.

 

It’s that time of year again when the Rotary Club of Tucson will be ringing the bells for The Salvation Army at 9 different locations throughout Tucson on December 10th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please sign up on Clubrunner now for a 2-hour shift that works for you and enjoy visiting with shoppers as they walk by your location. With a warm smile and the sound of a jingling bell, we know they will generously toss a few coins or a few bills into those famous red buckets. The Salvation Army serves local communities by providing basic needs assistance, housing, youth services, rehabilitation, disaster relief, counseling and more.

Let’s go to  the Tucson Roadrunners Hockey game on December 20^th, Tuesday evening, with game time at 7:05 pm! It will be a nice night of fellowship and fun plus a chance to see the Roadrunners beat the Bakersfield Condors. Rio Nuevo’s Fletcher McCusker, in Friday’s column of the AZ Star, reminded Tucsonans of the improvements that were made to the Tucson Convention Center that helped attract the team to Tucson. Fletcher commented  that the first game brought 6750 fans downtown but there have been plenty of empty seats since. We should fill some of those seats and support downtown, our hockey team, and fellow Rotarian, Mark Irvin, who has worked so hard on the Rio Nuevo Board to make things like this happen that improves our entire community. I’ll reserve a block of tickets. Please contact me if you want to go!  (Fletcher has only missed 1 game)

 

…Watch the Tucson Roadrunners cross hockey sticks with the Bakersfield Condors at TCC Arena in downtown Tucson. Game starts at 7:05 PM on both days (Tues-Wed). The Tucson Roadrunners are the American Hockey League affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes ice hockey team.