Chief Chris Magnus started his public safety career in 1979 as a dispatcher with the City of Lansing.  He was also a paramedic in the mid-Michigan area for close to a decade.  During this same time he realized he wanted to make the transition to becoming a police officer.  After attending the Lansing Community College Police Academy, he became a deputy sheriff at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department.  In 1985, he became a police officer with the Lansing Police Department where he spent the next 15 years of his law enforcement career.  In 1999, Chief Magnus became the police chief in Fargo, North Dakota, where he played a key role in implementing the first two-state regional dispatch system in the nation, a forensic children’s interview center, and a refugee liaison program for the area’s many new immigrants and refugees. 

 

In 2006, Chris Magnus was selected as police chief for Richmond, California—a highly diverse, urban community of 115,000 residents in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He served as chief for 10 years.  During that time he was significantly involved in strengthening ties between the community and its police force, addressing historically high levels of crime, and implementing reforms within the police department.  Both violent and property crime decreased significantly during Magnus’ tenure and community support for the Richmond Police Department substantially improved.

 

Chris Magnus was appointed to be the police chief for the City of Tucson, Arizona in January of 2016.  In this position, he is continuing his commitment to improve services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, addressing community corrections issues, focusing on how police respond to people suffering with mental illness, and supporting a myriad of youth programs and activities.

 

In 2015, Magnus testified before the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing on best practice models of community policing.  The Chief also serves as an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice, working closely with both the Civil Rights Division and the COPS Office on policing issues in various cities around the country.

 

Chief Magnus has a Master’s degree in Labor Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University.  He attended the “Senior Executives in State & Local Government” program at the Harvard Kennedy School. 

Our fabulous first club meeting of 2017 was opened by her Excellency ELLIE.  PRESIDENT ELLIE then informed the membership that this was the 30^th anniversary of “women” in Rotary ~~ yeah, for our fellow women club members.  It is hard to imagine our club without our women to balance the men.

 

We had a moment of silence for former members Harry Paulus 1969-2016, and Bob Sheldon, 98 years old, the founder of “Old Tucson” and a member from 2007-2011.  Bob was also a member of the Rowdy Table.  Get well cards were passed around for member TOM ANDREWS who recently went through a Stem Cell Transplant.  There is no finer man or club member than TOM.  Get well quickly!

 

Our Inspiration and Pledge was offered by JOE PENNINGTON.  JOE ran a Robin Williams video about the American Flag he was wearing – pure genius was Robin and his soliloquy – we all miss Robin.  Good job JOE! 

 

JO DECHATELET introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians.  There were no birthdays – I guess there wasn’t much happening in May of yesteryear. 

 

JIM MURPHY, former RCOT president, county supervisor, retired Pima Council on Aging and new Car Show honcho introduced our newest member, CARL MAES.  CARL is from the Air Force Academy, a former engineer and is now an AXA financial advisor.  Welcome Carl!

 

SAA FONDA INSLEY talked about the “hockey game” fun and then there was the raffle:  BILL & JOHN HARLOW - Harlow Gardens, IRENE DECKER’S 1-800-FLOWERS, and JERRY SULLIVAN’S restaurant all contributed to the raffle prizes.  PRESIDENT ELLIE announced a new happy hour, networking event (last Thursday of the month), 1/26/17 at the Trident II (southeast corner of Swan and Ft. Lowell).  What a great place!

 

PRESIDENT ELLIE also needs hosts for the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) on 1/21/17 from 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.  DAVE GALLAHER announced a work project on 1/21/17 at Make Way For Books.  ROGER HARWELL then introduced our Rotary Scholars.  Wow, what a great group of students.  Nine total in all and mostly U of A and one Pima Community College.  From accounting majors to computer engineering list of majors, the club should be very proud.  Well done members!

 

It was finally time to hear JEFF RONSTADT introduce a former Rotary scholar from the Yuma Club, Dr. Sydney Rice, U of A Department of Pediatrics.  Dr. Rice spoke about the childhood “Autoimmune Encephalopathy”.  Holy cow, who knew that these conditions were even a problem?  Apparently 1 in 200 kids have these conditions:  PANDAS, PANS, and CPAE.  The problem starts when a young child gets strep throat or some other infection, and the antibodies produced in the body attack the brain cells.  This is a really bad event that manifests in the child with motor ticks and vocal ticks.  Her team is conducting research and experiments with treating these conditions.  It was a fascinating and informative presentation.

 

Our President closed the meeting and toasted the new year without too many resolutions.

On January 21, 2017 at the Viscount Suite Hotel, 4855 East Broadway, there will be the D5500 Rotary Leadership Institute beginning at 7:15 am with registration and continental breakfast. The Rotary Leadership Institute is a training program established to improve the Rotary knowledge and leadership skills of the future leaders of Rotary clubs. RLI is a great place to start for a new Rotarian looking to find out more about the wonderful world of Rotary and how they may play a bigger part if desired. It is also a great way to learn more in-depth knowledge of Rotary. The exchange of ideas with other experienced Rotarians makes it extremely worthwhile.

 

The cost is $60.00 which includes breakfast, lunch and materials and each member attending will be reimbursed. Please contact Dorinna or Ellie for more information. Deadline is January 15, 2017.

Carl Maes grew up in New Mexico in Albuquerque and Alamogordo. He got hooked on science early and was fascinated with lasers and the chemistry of explosives. He made nitroglycerin at home in the 9th grade but thankfully decided that it was better to hold off and wait to take a chemistry class in a controlled lab environment at school. Carl built a wind tunnel for a science fair project and won a 3-week summer scientific seminar at the Air Force Academy…which is when he set his sights on going there. Carl graduated from the USAF Academy with a degree in Physics then continued his schooling at USC earning a Masters in Physics and a PhD from UA in Optical Science. Carl returned to the USAF Academy as a Professor of Physics.

 

After Carl retired from the Air Force in 2006, he continued teaching physics and optics here at UA.  In 2014 he transitioned from the university to financial services and now works with AXA Advisors where he does comprehensive wealth management for individuals and small business.

 

Carl and his wife Patricia have been married 24 years and they have 3 children.  The oldest daughter is going to school in NY, the other daughter is attending the UA and their son is 16 and in high school. Carl is a member of the Knights of Columbus at Saints Peter and Paul Parish; enjoys spending time with his family on the beaches of California, hiking in the foothills and fishing.  If you haven’t met Carl yet, please take a moment to introduce yourself! Thanks to Jim Murphy for sponsoring Carl.

 

Kevin Marshall is passionate about entrepreneurship and non-profits, a winning combination for him. Keven started and sold a CPA firm after 5 years. He then  started and sold a bookkeeping business after 5 years. Kevin then started a B&B from scratch and it became one of the top grossing Bed & Breakfasts in New England. It also became one of the most famous because he created a “Tax and Relax” Package where guests could stay at the B&B and have their taxes done while they relaxed and enjoyed the comforts of a lovely “Country Inn” setting. Kevin received national recognition for this innovative concept in the media world such as USA Today, CNN, Wall Street Journal and many more outlets.

 

Kevin has been a CPA for 25 years and his current business is Better Office Solutions. As CEO/President, he has been running this virtual CPA firm since September 2007. Kevin also hosts a local radio show on 1030 KVOI AM called Profitopia.

 

His non-profit work includes working with students at church for 15 years. Kevin is a former member of EO Accelerator Advisory board. He has been a church elder for 4 years and was a treasurer of a local theatre company and also held the position of treasurer for a domestic violence program.

 

Kevin graduated from Bob Jones University with a BS in Accounting and was featured in Money Magazine under People to Watch. He also received the 40 under 40 award in the coveted Hartford Business Journal section listing outstanding young professionals. Thanks to Steve Pickering for sponsoring Kevin and take the opportunity to introduce yourself if you haven’t met Kevin yet!

Fantastic New Work Project for Rotary Club of Tucson,

 

This project will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at "Make Way For Books"  from 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon, 700 N. Stone Ave., Tucson, AZ 85705 — (520) 398-6451. We will gather at 8:50 AM with some morning goodies and we will proceed to sand and paint bookshelves for a three hour period.We have been requested to only have 20 folks. So if you want to start your morning off feeling good about yourself and Rotary please join me, Mike Orcutt and Dave Gallaher (Co projects committee dudes) for a good time.

 

Thanks so much and Happy New Year,

Mike Orcutt -Questions???  just call me 520-269-1731

 

SAVE THE DATE: Tucson Rotary Social Mixer scheduled for January 26th, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm at the very popular Trident II, located in Plaza Palomino,  2900 N. Swan. Bring a family member, a potential new member, a friend and your business cards. This will be a great time to socialize, network, and enjoy the fellowship and fun of Rotary. No reservations or registrations necessary. (no host bar)

 

Our District 5500 Spring Conference will be held in Yuma this coming April.  Exciting Speakers, Interesting Programs and all-around good fun for all. Mark your calendars for April 27-30. It will be held at the Pivot Point Conference Center, 310 N. Madison Ave. near the Hilton Garden Inn.