Today’s presentation will focus specifically on the work the Salvation Army does among those suffering from drug and alcohol dependency issues. The Tucson ARC has served Southern Arizona since the mid 1960’s and admits on average of 500+ men every year. The Salvation Army operates the largest privately funded rehabilitation program in the United States as a free service to those who need us most.
Biography - Captain Darren Stratton
Captain Darren Stratton serves as an officer in the Salvation Army having completed fifteen years of service in June of this year. He currently serves as the Administrator of the Tucson Adult Rehabilitation Center since July 2013. Captain’s role is to provide oversight of the production, retail and program functions of the Tucson Adult Rehabilitation Center.
Prior appointments include corps work in Northern California in Napa, Yuba City/Marysville and Chico Corps. He has been involved with recovery work since his commissioning in 2001 working closely with ARC centers and linking recovery programs to the corps in the communities he has served.
Captain Stratton is married to his officer wife Captain Courtney Stratton for 17 years and has two children, Mikayla (13) and Micah (10). Captain Darren obtained his Associate of Arts in Ministry degree from the College for officer training and is currently working to obtain his Master’s degree in Global Leadership through Fuller Theological Seminary with anticipated completion in the fall of 2018.
Let’s start by welcoming SHARYN FELTON to the club as our newest member. SHARYN, I’m sure I speak for all RCOT members when I say we are looking forward to getting to know you better and for your assistance with RCOT events in the months and years ahead!
We had three, well maybe four, birthday celebrations this week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to CHUCK SAWYER, KRISTEN WENDLER and MIKE MELTON! And while BOB LOGAN was not on the official birthday roster for this week, I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BOB as well!
We had a very interesting and informative program, the TUSD Candidate Forum, moderated by none other than BOB LOGAN. We had four candidates attend and provide us with a brief statement covering why they wanted to be on the TUSD Board. Below please find a brief review from each candidate’s statement.
Betts Putnam-Hidalgo is a new candidate and clearly brings passion to the election process. Two key points that stood out to me: (1) K-3 class sizes must be reduced to allow our local children to reach 3rd grade reading levels by the 3rd grade; (2) while learning subject matter is important, it is equally important that students exit HS with the skill and abilities needed to continue learning throughout life.
Lori Riegel is the other new candidate who has a strong belief in the need to develop early reading skills. She has spent time in local classrooms as a substitute and feels many K-3 classrooms lack age appropriate reading material. She would like to develop programs to get parents more involved with schools and learning. And she feels we must work on fixing the teacher vacancy challenge currently faced by TUSD.
Incumbent Kristel Foster was well spoken and shared some of TUSD’s recent accomplishments. Like Lori, Kristel feels the teacher vacancy challenge is of primary concern, not just in Tucson but statewide as Arizona currently faces a 7,000 person teacher shortage.
And finally, fellow incumbent Mark Stegeman focused on the need to put more of the budget dollars into the classroom where they belong. He pointed out that for the last fiscal year, TUSD classroom spending is at an all time low of about 49% of total budget dollars. Mark feels there is a real need to bring local business people into the Board process to help TUSD management.
CLUB CULTURAL DIVERSITY – IT’S GREATER THAN ANY OF US KNOW
The leaders in Rotary Zones 25-26 are conducting an effort to increase diversity across the more than half a million square miles of clubs in the western US and a sliver of Canada. As part of that effort, clubs were asked, via survey, to assess their cultural diversity.
Assessing that diversity is a challenge that may not be surmountable. No one is asked to provide a cultural background as part of a membership application. What we know of our collection of cultures comes from voluntary disclosure to each other, typically related with pride. There are, undoubtedly, dozens of cultures represented in the club that we are not aware of. Fortunately, we reap whatever benefit there is in cultural diversity even when we do not know the mix of cultures contributing those benefits.
Our club’s age and size have contributed to our rich combination of cultures. And there are presumed benefits from such richness; for example:
Better understanding of problems – and viable solutions – worldwide
Varied weekly meeting programs
More successful international projects
Awareness of needs in culturally non-diverse communities
While there is zero evidence that cultural diversity is deliberately stifled in our process of screening and accepting members, there is the real chance that the cultural diversity of applicants is not as great as it could theoretically be. And that is not to say there is deliberate effort to make that occur. Rather, Rotarians nearly always propose for club membership people that they know. While some acquaintances are made without the influence of culture, there are thousands of examples of relationships formed in settings that are deliberately culturally limited. Organizations are formed precisely to preserve and celebrate a culture. Dance, food, faith, artistry, music, history – all these and more are the focus of culturally monolithic groups. You join, you meet others of similar interests, and you might talk to them about Rotary. If they become Rotarians, we see no increase in cultural diversity of the club. Yet, no one (we hope) would suggest we tell our members to not propose others of like culture.
Digging deeper, applicants only take on that status if they choose to. Isn’t there a chance, even a likelihood, that some cultures are less inclined than others to join an organization like Rotary? Don’t we see that in the varying degrees of participation from country to country? Furthermore, how intimidating is it to some if they are the first of a distinct culture to join a club? There are people who don’t want to risk being shunned, despite assurances it wouldn’t happen. There are also many who have no interest, or no time, to participate in any volunteer group other than their culturally-focused one.
Not surprisingly, the zone survey asked if our club “represents the [cultural] diversity of our community.” While it was not stated that such representation should be a goal, it is easy to imagine that many would infer that from the question. But, if increased cultural diversity is to be sought, mirroring the community’s cultural makeup is a seriously limiting benchmark.
Which is more diverse: 228 members each from a different cultural background; or, 228 members who reflect, proportionately, the cultural breakdown in Tucson? Undeniably, the former. If you achieve perfectly-matching percentages of club members compared to citizenry, you lose that perfection as soon as you bring in a new member whose culture is represented in only 1 of 1000 Tucsonans. Yet by denying that person entry, to maintain what should be a meaningless target, can be costly in terms of lost opinion, expertise, and insight.
It is a fact that a club becomes more diverse when you bring in a new culture, regardless of the reality that doing so reduces the proportion of other cultures.
The survey asked for recommendations on enhancing cultural diversity in clubs as a way to expand our service. How about…
exploit the existing range of cultures as a way to enhance appreciation of diversity
encourage members to expand their exposure to other cultures, meet the people, and suggest the qualified ones for Rotary
make it a point to tell potential applicants that Rotary is actively seeking members of all cultures
maintain our practice of not using culture as an entry qualification or barrier
never lower our requirements that new members must subscribe to the principles and good intentions of Rotary for the sake of expanded diversity
focus on service as superior to the demographics of the people delivering it
The zone initiative will also investigate ethnic, age, and gender diversity.
Early registration savings are being offered for the 2017 Rotary International Convention, which will take place in Atlanta, Georgia June 10-14, 2017. For a limited time, a special rate of $265 is being offered if you register and pay between May 28th and June 6th, 2016. If you are interested in attending next year in Atlanta, take advantage of this discount by going to riconvention.org and register NOW!
Braised Beef Tips: sauteed in a Burgundy Wine Sauce over Chef's Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Seasonal Vegetables
Garden Salad: With Balsamic and Ranch Dressing
Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies Served Family Style, Coffee, Water or Iced Tea
Chef Salad: Ham, Turkey, Cheddar/Jack Cheese Blend, Hard Boiled Egg, Tomato, Croutons and Cucumber over a Bed of 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 - Tucson Ratatouille:Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil over Vegetable Fried Rice, served with Steamed Spinach and Tofu, Fresh Steamed Vegetables
Fresh Fruit Plate: Fresh Seasonal Fruit served with FLAVORED Greek Yogurt and Low Fat Cottage Cheese