Dear Rotary Club of Tucson membership,
Under normal circumstances, how does a RCOT President sum up an entire year of activity in a short letter to the membership? After all, there are nearly 40 Rotary meetings, service projects, District activities, RYLA, Interact and Rotaract, the Car Show, March Madness, and on and on. So here we are, and my task is to sum it all up for you today. I must boil down all that happened during 2019-2020 into this one short and insightful communication. Easy as pie!
But this was far from a year of normal circumstances, in fact, while the Logan “Reign of Terror” was always meant to be a tongue-in-cheek way to poke fun at myself and my leadership style, it certainly seemed to be closer to the truth didn’t it?
Obviously, this has been an amazing year – from the Mayoral Debate at TCC, to my heart attack, the tragic passing of Kenny Flower, to the emotional 9/11 meeting celebrating first responders, powerful programs from Jay Dobyns, Mike Candrea and Adia Barnes, and on and on.
We had wonderful mixers – at Sabino Canyon, Top Golf and Whiskey Roads. And who can forget our Holiday Mixer under the stars at the Playground with the wonderful music of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus.
We lost some good friends. Along with Kenny Flower, we lost Bill Gilkinson, Gordon Shaw, Hal Adamson, Dick Kinkade and most recently, Jim Sumwalt.
We had beautiful music with Khris Dodge and Katherine Byrnes. And we randomly did kind things for many people in our community.
And then we had the Coronavirus. And then George Floyd. And Black Lives Matter. And now the Bighorn Fire, which never seems to end. And on top of it all, our club was totally shut down and we have endured months of virtual meetings.
Everything has changed in this world.
But I would like to end with an analogy for all of you to consider. And it is a sports analogy…from the Winter Olympics of 1980.
Think back to that time period. Our country was just coming out of Watergate, our President resigned from office. No one trusted our government. Jimmy Carter took over as President during his self-described "crisis of confidence" for the nation . We were embarrassed about Vietnam. People were burning flags, not waving them. We had the Iranian hostage crises. Inflation was at 18%. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan. We boycotted the summer Olympics in Moscow. We had the Oil Crisis and long lines at the gas station to fill our tanks. The cold war with the Soviet Union was heating up again. The world stage was totally unsettled. Everyone was on edge and there was absolutely no good news on the horizon. There was no hope.
And then along comes Herb Brooks and our 1980 Olympic hockey team. We all know the end of the story, but the facts were clear, the Soviets were far superior to our little U.S. hockey team filled with college players. To give you an idea how bad this matchup was, just a few days prior to the Olympics, the Soviet Union and the U.S. played a final exhibition game at Madison Square Garden and the Soviets absolutely crushed the U.S. by a score of 10-3, and it wasn’t even that close.
A few weeks ago, I happened to watch a special on the 40 year anniversary of this stunning Olympics and the “Miracle on Ice” we all recall. Now I only remember two amazing quotes from the movie “Miracle” which chronicled this 1980 gold medal hockey team. (if you have not watched it, you MUST, you MUST watch this movie).
The first came at the end of the actual game with the Soviets and the audio of Al Michaels announcing from ABC Sports,
“43 seconds remaining….:38..:37 seconds left in the game…the Americans on top 4-3…:28 seconds. The crowd is going insane..:19 seconds…:11 seconds…:10 seconds, the countdown is going on right now. Five seconds left in the game, do you believe in Miracles? YES! Unbelievable.”
I still get goose bumps watching the end of that game and the reaction of the fans in the small hockey arena in Lake Placid, NY. It was incredible to have won that game and the pride we all felt was palpable.
The second quote is from coach Herb Brooks in the locker room, just before taking the ice to play the highly regarded Soviets. This was a semi-final game that could lead to an Olympic medal, something never done in years for the U.S. Hockey team. This was still a game that NOBODY in the world thought the United States had a glimmer of a chance to win. .
But in the locker room, he said the following, “Great moments are born from Great Opportunity, and that’s what you have here tonight.” You were born to be here and you were meant to be here. This is your time.”
So what happened after that game? All over the country, chants of “USA, USA, USA” filled the streets. Flags were waving and people would just break out and sing, “God Bless America”. That little hockey team was the catalyst for great times ahead for the U.S.
So what is this analogy I speak of?
Many of us feel the very same feelings today that we all felt in February of 1980. The world is crashing down around us and this Coronavirus is never going to get better. But it did get better back then, and it will get better today. As much as these past few months have been a reset for all of us, I am here to tell you there will be a day, hopefully in the very near future, where we will be living our lives in a much more normal way. But you must have faith. Don’t let the news bring you down. Turn off the television for a while. You will be better off for it.
Back to Herb Brooks and the analogy. This year was tumultuous, for sure. But it could not have come at a better time for me. As Brooks said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” And this was a great opportunity for me this year. And this was my time. You know, as a former coach and now a motivational speaker, we learn to deal with adversity. We learn to get up and fight when we get knocked down. When things are not going right during the game, you adjust at halftime and play as best as you can possibly play. You worry about things you can control and not the things you cannot control. You want to be able to go home and look in the mirror and say you did the very best you could.
And I am proud to say I did the very best I could for the Rotary Club of Tucson. There is no gas left in the tank because I have been pressing the pedal to the floor for the entire year. And it has not been a good year, because it has been a GREAT year, one that none of us will ever forget. And it is not because of me, it is because of you. You love this club. You are dedicated to this club. And this club, after 100 years of incredible service to the Tucson community deserves the very best.
Fellow Rotarians, my glass is half full, and it always will be.
Herb Brooks gave his team hope, and he willed his team to win under the most dire of all circumstances. And I am here to tell you our Rotary Club of Tucson will come out of this period stronger than it has ever been. But we need all of you to pull the rope with me.
So I leave you with hope, with dreams for a better future, and an improved Rotary Club. Jennifer Hoffman is going to be fantastic and I ask that we all support her during these difficult times. We need each other, we want each other, we must help each other, at all times. Pull on the rope….together.
My Dad always used to say when we went camping – “Make sure you leave your campsite better than it was when you got here.” Well I hope our Rotary Club is just a tad bit better than when I found it, just less than a year ago.
It has been an honor to be your President, especially during this crazy year, if only to make it more memorable for me and for everyone else. I am filled with gratitude.
Thank you again and see you soon.
Yours in Rotary,
Bob Logan
President
2019-2020
PS: As you can imagine, there are a ton of people to thank, and I may do that under a separate communication. However, I would be remiss if I did not publicly thank my wife, Judy, for her patience this past year. She has been a rock of support while I have been pulled in multiple directions at times to support this club. Judy, thank you, and I love you….
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Our Change of Administration Party is on Saturday, June 27th at Hacienda Del Sol when President Bob passes the gavel and reign to Jennifer Hoffman. The event will begin with a reception and cocktails at 6:00 p.m., a buffet dinner from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with festivities to follow. All CDC Guidelines will be followed for a safe but fun event.
A special presentation of the “Rotary World Match Play Championships”, with music from the Master’s Golf Tournament and beautiful pictures of scenes around a golf course was shared. Anticipation was high of who would wear the traditional “blue” jacket at the end of the tournament. Held at the Dell Urich Golf Course, competitors included: CHUCK SAWYER, ROGER HARWELL, DAVE EAGLETON, and JIM LUBINSKI. Tournament Chair was WAYNE MEYER! President BOB served as our “TV host” for the event. “Overcoming many obstacles”, the winner was JIM who put on the famous “blue” jacket and accepted his 2” trophy.
Matt Russell did the video introduction of our speaker, Mara Aspinall, CEO of Health Catalysts Diagnostics. Mara did a thorough presentation regarding our current pandemic: defining the virus vs the disease which impacts the lungs; this is more than the flu with 112,000 who have died to date in the U.S. which is a 5-times higher death rate that the worse flu epidemic; we need to wear masks and maintain social distancing for our protection; there are two types of testing which are “Do I have Covid-19?” and “Do I have antibodies to SARS-CoV2?”; and we need to continue to test, trace, track and treat this virus. President BOB had Mara sign “Where’s the Potty on This Ark” for the Make Way for Books library.
New member introductions and welcome to our Rotary Club went to LYNN DEVOU introduced by sponsor ANN MARSH, and JENN DELANEY introduced by sponsor and District 5500 Governor ELLIE PATTERSON. 
Welcome you two into this Remarkable Rotary Club!
It is with sad hearts we have to inform you that Jim Sumwalt passed away on June 9th at age 87 just two and a half months after the passing of the love of his life, Joann Sumwalt. Jim was a member of our club from 1993 to 2018. He will be missed tremendously.
Stay connected with members through our Zoom meetings which are set up and ready to take place! These meetings will allow us to connect and have fellowship. Join as many as you can, as often as you can. The schedule is below - SEE YOU ON THE SCREEN!
We hope you have been able to hop on YouTube to view our virtual meetings. Rick Rose and his team at Film Creations has allowed our club to stay connected and have fellowship...virtually! Thank you for the members who have come into film so we can see familiar faces during our meetings. 
