Kevin Guy is an arena football coach and former wide receiver and defensive back who has been the head coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).  He played his college football at the University of West Alabama, and was an AFL wide receiver and defensive back from 1996 to 1999.  He has been a football coach since 2000, and first served as a head coach in 2000 as the interim head coach for the New Jersey Red Dogs.  After being the defensive coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats from 2006 to 2007, he became the Rattlers head coach in 2008.  In 2018, he and his wife Cathy became two of the co-owners of a new Tucson-based IFL franchise, called the Tucson Sugar Skulls, set to play in 2019.

I hope you all had a great Holiday, a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.  I remember back to other President’s holiday wrap up emails and noting that they have all related how fast the first half of the year has gone by…it has been no exception for me!  It has been an exciting and fast paced start to the Rotary Year and I am enjoying it very much.

 

If I turn to our goals for the year, it is always good to check in at the mid-year to measure progress.  Our biggest initiative for the year is to focus on Membership growth and Retention.  By the numbers, we are on track with our budget to grow the Club by 10 members this year, as we are at 246 members, +5 from the start of the year.  New Membership numbers are up at an average rate and Retention is better than average.  We are doing well, but can do better.

 

When I think of our Rotary year, I look to the first half of the year as “What We Do”.  Specifically, we work hard on executing our Car Show and quickly turn our focus to the Ride to End Polio and the work surrounding El Tour.  I believe the second half of the year is for “Building the Club.”  To me, that means working behind the scenes to build the TCCS & Club committees, work on finalizing the goals of the current year and start planning for the upcoming year.

 

For Membership, Margaret Higgins and for Retention, Bob Shaff are working hard to set up the organizations we need to deliver consistent year in and year out Membership growth.  One element of that are the Free Lunches you all have to invite prospective members to the Club.  We had a great push last March where we brought in 170 prospective members.  With our new initiative we have taken away the “deadline of a month” and really want each of you to think about who you think would be a good member…and invite them to the Club.  We will be talking in upcoming meetings about Membership and look forward to increasing our membership growth in the second half of the year.

 

Many of our other goals as a Club are related to Membership (Ongoing Membership Teams, STAR/Mentoring, Diversity, variety in Social Events) this year; but for those that are not (Social Media/PR, working with other Tucson Rotary Clubs, Youth Programs, International focused on Mexico, RI and the TCCS) we are on track.  We feel confident we will reach our annual goals.  We appreciate all of your work that continues to make our Club better.

 

I would like to take this moment to sincerely thank the Club and to let you know how moved I have been with the way we have supported Jim and Karen Lubinski in the untimely passing of their daughter, Nicole.  And this past week, also for the support and outreach for prior member Yvonne Ervin, who passed away.  The love and care that this Club has provided in support of our members is heartwarming; we truly do look out for each other.  This is yet one more reason I am proud to be a member of our Club, we truly are a Remarkable Rotary Club. 

 

To a prosperous 2019 ahead for each of you, and to finishing 2019 strong where we all continue to Think Big, Have Fun & Get Stuff Done!

 

YIR,

Chuck Sawyer
President 2018-2019

Service Project at Make Way For Books January 12, 2019 by Peter Akmajian and Dave Gallaher

 

Come join our first service project of 2019 at Make Way For Books on January 12th, 8:00AM at 700 N Stone.  The service project will last for four hours or until the work is done!!  We will be painting bookshelves and other light duty tasks as needed.  We will have some small amount of landscaping/trimming work for those that don’t mind working outside.  For more information or questions please email dave@tucsonindustrialrealty.com  or call 907-4983.  Please use our website under Upcoming Events to sign up.  We would hope to have around ten (10) volunteers. 

 

There is an opportunity for members of our Club to travel down to Alamos, Mexico in Southern Sonora for the Kick Off of the Global Grant that we and nine other Rotary Clubs are supporting to improve rural healthcare in indigenous communities.  This is a weekend trip from January 31^st – February 3^rd or 4^th.  Ellie Patterson and Tom have already signed up for the trip and we have spots for 4-6 more members.  It should be a great chance to see a Global Grant in action and enjoy this beautiful town.

 

A brief write-up is below, and a more detailed agenda is available and if you want full details on the Grant and Program, we would be happy to get them to you:

 

 

D5500 Governor Kirk Reed & grant supporters from 10 clubs in 4 Districts and 3 countries will be there to share the fun!

 

Your visit will include a magical weekend visit to the 16th century colonial town (Pueblo Mágico) of Alamos. There will be plenty of time to explore the city and surroundings area as well as attend inaugural events on Friday and Saturday evenings. An optional trip to one of the indigenous Guarijío villages served by the grant will be available on Sunday.

 

Getting there is part of the fun. A caravan of cars will leave Tucson/Nogales on Thursday, January 31 and drive to Guaymas/San Carlos (6 hours). Thursday dinner at the Sunset Grill on the Sandy beach of San Carlos! Friday morning the caravan will continue on to Alamos (4 hours). Ride shares (carpooling) will be available. Flexible lodging can be arranged in either hotels or private guest rooms. Contact Barbara Kiernan for details (barbarakiernan@cox.net) or contact Chuck, Peter Beahan or Dorinna by email or phone with questions.

Enjoy fun in the sun, fellowship, great speakers and breakout sessions at the 2019 Destination District Conference while cruising down to Ensenada, Mexico on the ship “Inspiration.” We sail from beautiful Long Beach, CA to Ensenada, B.C., Mexico, departing Friday, October 25^th at 6:30 pm and returning Monday at 7:00 am  October 28^th, 2019. (It’s a week after the car show!).  Experience the internationality of Rotary while working side by side with fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors on a project in District 4100 while docked in Ensenada. Wine-tasting tours, shopping and exchanging new ideas with local Rotarians can also be experienced.

Ocean breezes, great food (24 hours a day), evening strolls on the deck with a gorgeous Baja moon overhead, renewing old friendships and making new acquaintances, what could be better? The deposit is $50.00 -$100 depending on size of cabin. Ocean view cabins are $454-$484 and inside cabins are $404-$409. This reasonable price for the entire trip is all-inclusive. (alcoholic beverages not included). Sorry folks! I tried.

 

See you on board the Inspiration! Reserve your stateroom today by emailing fellow Rotarian Mike Sloan: mike@cruiseconnections.com or call him at 800-248-7447 or 336-659-9772. He’s very helpful and planned the District Conference Cruise for us in 2008 which Rotarians still talk about. You can also contact me for additional information: ellie@thetempconnection.com