Chief Trial Counsel

Pima County, Arizona Attorney’s office

 

As Chief Trial Counsel, Jonathan prosecutes homicides, cold cases, violent felonies, sexual assaults, and crimes against children in Tucson, Arizona. He lectures at training seminars for prosecutors throughout Arizona and nationally. He has been recognized by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council (APAAC) for Excellence in Victim Advocacy (2009) and as Felony Prosecutor of the Year (2011). He has also received the Association of Government Attorneys in Capital Litigation (AGACL) Board of Directors Advocacy Award (2017) (for his prosecution of State v. Watson, a case featured on Dateline NBC’s “Secrets of the Desert” episode).

 

After graduating from Colgate University in 1991 and the University of Iowa College of Law with High Honors in 1994, Jonathan served as a law clerk with the Arizona Supreme Court. He then spent nearly a decade in private practice specializing in environmental litigation with the Los Angeles offices of two international law firms; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Latham & Watkins. In 2003, he wrote “A Pound of Cause for a Penny of Proof: The Failed Economy of an Eroded Causation Standard in Toxic Tort Cases,” published in the NYU Environmental Law Journal.

 

Jonathan is a member of the Board of Directors of Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, and he volunteers as a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona. In his remaining free time, to scare criminal cases out of his mind, he runs and climbs rocks.

President CHUCK opened our meeting with a moment of silence for the passing of ROBIN STODDARD’s father and a moment of reflection in support of TOM ANDREWS and his family.  Past President CLIFF BOWMAN offered the inspiration (not, as he hinted, in honor of Salpointe, but eloquent nonetheless.)

 

New member JENNY VOLPE of Make Way for Books led us in the Pledge and Song (“God Bless America”) accompanied as always by the talented GARY HIRSCH. New member SARA GAAR EHRENS introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians, many of whom are just starting to thaw out from the Midwestern winter snows.

 

We had two Birthday Rotarians:

 

KANDY HIRSCH is a family member who has completed 40 triathlons in addition to founding an all women rock band. KANDY shared a great poem by Mary Oliver: “Green, Green is my Sister’s House”.  DREW VACTOR is an expert web designer and former proprietor of the Tack Room who is celebrating his 50^th year of marriage. DREW thanked his sponsor BILLY JOE VARNEY for 33 years of Rotary experience and perfect attendance.

 

President CHUCK introduced our newest Honorary Member, CHUCK FREITAS husband of Past President MARIANNE FREITAS.  CHUCK and MARIANNE resurrected Falcon Pools and built it into one of the largest pool builders in Arizona.  Every year since inception, CHUCK has assisted in numerous ways with the Car Show and other Rotary events.

 

The Dynamic Duo of Past President CHARLOTTE HARRIS and President Elect BOB LOGAN made another round of Paul Harris Presentations, complete with lovely green St. Patrick’s Day hats and matching glasses:

 

BRETT STEIN is a graduate of the best high school in town (Rincon) who among other past lives sold pay phones in Las Vegas for a short while. BRETT now works for Northwest Mutual and appreciates Rotary because it allows us to give back to our community.

CONRAD PLIMPTON received his Paul Harris plus two in addition to degrees from Harvard and two degrees from University of Chicago.  CONRAD is a founding member of Desert Angels, a venture capital group that identifies promising new technologies and appreciates Rotary because it helps him teach 18 grandchildren the importance of service above self.

BOBBY LARSON received his Paul Harris plus four. BOBBY is a graduate of Illinois, former baseball coach at the University of Arizona and the founder of Innovative Senior Living which creates humane environments for seniors with memory impairments.

 

We had the following announcements:

 

JAN GREEN made a Blue Badge presentation to STEVE MARTEN – past president of the Sunrise Rotary, recipient of four Paul Harris awards, Navy intelligence veteran and astronomy lover.

DARRELL STEWART reminded us of the upcoming Replacement Mixer on 3/27 and Home Hospitality the week of 4/14.  We are looking for hosts for the week.

DAVE GALLAHER let us know about the upcoming Triangle Y Work Project.

MARGARET HIGGINS announced the deadlines for the Orville McPherson and 4 Way Test Awards.

Past President ROGER HARWELL spoke about the upcoming SARSEF science fair – sign up to be a judge or just volunteer!

…and finally, Car Show Chair JASON GRABOSCH spoke about the new simplified leadership format and announced our upcoming Chair:  the ever-reliable Past President CLIFF BOWMAN! Good luck to both Chairs!

 

Everyone’s Principal PAT LENNAN introduced our speaker Donald G. Jorgensen the Southern Arizona Ambassador to Shelterbox International.  Mr. Jorgensen is a member of the Marana Rotary Club, owner of Human Factor Consultants and a recipient of the President’s Service Award for his work with Shelterbox.  According to Mr. Jorgensen, at any one time there are as many as 85 million displaced persons in the world. Shelterbox is helping in nine countries currently using an approach that has evolved to fit the needs of particular situations (for example, different types of tents depending on weather conditions and a new solar light originally featured on “Shark Tank”.)  Shelterbox operates out of eight warehouses around the world and can respond in 48 hours to disasters.  Shelterbox is a four-star charity where 88% of donations go directly to the response effort.  Thank you, Don for an inspiring and impressive presentation. 

Mr. Jorgenson signed a book for our lending library: “Reading Makes You Feel Good”

 

President CHUCK ended our meeting with a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Even with all our technology… it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we're still at the mercy of nature.”

 

Please join many other Rotarians and friends in District 5500 who will be traveling to Hamburg the first week of June to experience the many different opportunities at the annual RI convention. There truly is something for everyone whether you’re  a longtime member or you have just joined Rotary. Unforgettable moments are made at the RI Convention, a place where the Rotary spirit fills the air with the highest level of energy and enthusiasm.

 

Discover the unique blend of historical and contemporary culture that makes Hamburg such a perfect setting for a memorable experience. It’s a flourishing city with friendly people and many different delights that will make you want to return to this beautiful port city again and again.

 

March 31^st is the last day for preregistration discount so take advantage of the limited –time registration rates when you register at: http://www.riconvention.org/en/hamburg

 

Please contact Ellie ellie@thetempconnection.com  for more information.

Our District 5500 will  have a celebration dinner jointly with District 5495 at the famous Hofbräu haus, Hofbräu Munchen, on June 1 starting at 6:00 pm. $45.00 per person will include a wonderful German meal including soup, main course, dessert and an aperitif. The food will be served buffet style for each table. Registration is on our District website. Have a German beer or beverage of your choice in the company of fellow Arizona Rotarians. It will be a fun time! Prost!

 

This year’s Day of Service at the Triangle Y YMCA was a big success thanks to the 48 volunteers who spent a day cleaning up the camp and making repairs.  With a donation from the RCOT President’s discretionary funds of $1000 many projects were completed that would not have happened.  We had WG Valenzuela Dry Wall and Paint and Kittle Construction donate two professional painters and the entire historical Hawkins Hall was painted on the outside plus two very old cabins.  The Saddlebrooke Sunrise Rotary Club showed up with 11 club members and cleaned and painted the interior of the old original commissary at Hawkins Hall.  RCOT members made a huge improvement at the gold panning area by performing a big cleanup of the area surrounding the gold panning area.  Several scholarship students and our Rotaract club helped also.  This year (and hopefully next year) the Rotary RV Fellowship held a jamboree at the Ranch beginning Friday and ending Monday morning.  They were able to use their carpentry skills and repair the famous fireplace wall with new interior paneling and stain.  The final job was hanging the buffalo mount which is the 3^rd largest buffalo ever harvested in Arizona. The Rotary RV Fellowship consisted of 6 full time RVs with Rotarians from all over the country.  A steak dinner on Friday night with Ranch staff kicked off the event. Thanks to RCOT President Chuck, Dr. Hugh Thompson and spouse Allyn, Scott Ehrsam, Wocky Redsar,  Keith Wiegand, Brett Stein and his family members Adelyn and Aven, Lyuda Eiseman and her son AJ, and Allyn Bulzomi.

 

Triangle Y YMCA Ranch Camp ~ 5th Annual