For more than four decades, Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) has inspired local professionals to step up more confidently into community leadership roles. In its 42-year history, GTL has graduated more than 1,000 local leaders from its flagship program LEAD Tucson, and in 2021 the organization completed a community impact study to find out how alumni are serving the Southern Arizona Region. This presentation shares the results of that impact study and highlights the important role community leadership programs play in building thriving communities.
Kasey Hill ~ Biography
Kasey Hill became the Chief Executive Officer of Greater Tucson Leadership in July 2016. Prior to that, she served as communications director for Develop Danville — a public-private economic development organization in central Kentucky.
Kasey is a Kentucky native and received recognition as a Kentucky Colonel in 2015. Kentucky Colonel is an honorary commission given by the governor of Kentucky to individuals noted for their public service and their work for the advancement of Kentucky. She is a graduate of two community leadership programs and currently serves as President of the board of directors for the Roots & Roads Community Hospice Foundation (formerly Casa de la Luz Foundation). She is a 2020 recipient of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber's 40 Under 40 awards. In the spring of 2021, she was recognized by BizTucson Magazine as one of Tucson's 20 NextGen Leaders. She also received the Leadership Award in 2021 for SHRM of Greater Tucson’s annual Celebrating Innovation in the Workplace awards.
Kasey received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Kentucky University in 2005 and graduated from the University of Kentucky Institute for Economic Development in 2014. She is currently a graduate student in the Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Prescott College. She is a Gallup®-Certified Strengths Coach, and lives on the southeast side of Tucson with her husband, Alan, and her 6-pound Yorkshire Terrier, Thor.
PRESIDENT MARK IRVIN started the meeting and welcomed NANCY STOCKTON to the stage to lead us in the Pledge and for a rousing “You’re A Grand Ole Flag.”
ANN MARSH offered the inspiration by highlighting the history of the Winterhaven Neighborhood that became the twenty-first historical district in Tucson in 2005.
KHRIS DODGE introduced our guests and then we were presented with the video introducing our speakers, Carlotta and her son Ray Flores from El Charro.
Carlotta shared the history of El Charro. Established in 1922, El Charro Café of Tucson, Arizona is The Nation's Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. Did you know that the Chimichanga was introduced to the world by El Charro? Yep! Carlotta shared that her Tia Monica Flin, is well-known as “The Inventor of The Chimichanga.” While frying her now famous El Charro ground beef tacos, she accidentally dropped a burro into the frying pan and when the oil splashed up, she was about to lash out a common Spanish cuss word starting with “Ch” but because she was amongst her young nieces and nephews, changed it to “Chimichanga”, the equivalent of “thingamajig.” After a fun history lesson, Carlotta introduced her son Ray. She credits Ray for growing the restaurant into many restaurants and making the El Charro brand what it is today. Ray shared that they serve over 1,000,000 customers annually between their restaurants. They have multiple restaurants in Tucson and even have an El Charro in the Baltimore Airport. Ray credits their success with hard work, good business acumen and a deep commitment and involvement in the Tucson community.
On a side note, Carlotta visited each table before the meeting started and introduced herself to all Rotarians. It was a very classy move. El Charro also shared a jar of salsa with each of us to take home along with El Charro’s Chimichangas on the buffet. Thanks very much for that!
PRESIDENT MARK introduced his good friend, DAVID LOVITT who was celebrating his birthday. DAVID has quite a list of life experiences and achievements to include swimming with Tiger Sharks, dancing ballet, he’s an 8th degree Black Belt and has run the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim (over 48 miles). Also, DAVID’s Grandpa was in our Rotary Club in the 1930’s and his dad was the President in 1950. Next, we celebrated KANDIE VACTOR’s birthday. KANDIE is also a champion Black Belt and has Scuba dived down below 200ft! Finally, we celebrated PAT PATTON’s birthday. PAT is a student of language and says Chinese and Japanese are the most difficult to learn. He love’s Rotary’s international projects and says his favorite memories are those with fellow Rotarian PAT LENNON since 2004.
GERRY HALLOWELL introduced new member, ANITA SCALES into the Rotary Club of Tucson. Let's all try and introduce ourselves to ANITA at a lunch meeting. Welcome to the Club ANITA!
CHARLOTTE HARRIS shared a banner that she exchanged with a Rotarian from Castle Rock, CO that she met at the El Tour de Tucson Dinner. Then, she led a nice Paul Harris Presentation for CHUCK SAWYER as he honored each of his three children with a Paul Harris Award. CHARLOTTE finished the presentation with gifts of little to no value, they were Hallmark Valentine’s Cards and Cookie Cutters since CHUCK once worked for Hallmark.
KHRIS DODGE held a 25/50/25 Raffle that was worth over $2,500 to the winner if the King of Clubs was drawn. ANN MARSH won the raffle but not the big money. The King of Clubs is still in there!
PRESIDENT MARK shared a “Irv’s Fly-Fishing Fund” slide honoring KANDIE VACTOR’S Dad, Sam Levitz. It was nice to see him in his cowboy regalia as well as fishing at Lee’s Ferry. MARK also shared news of our RCOT donation to the Rotary Shelter Box program. It’s a great program that gives those in need a place to stay when they need it most.
KHRIS let us know that our February 16th meeting will include a blood drive for some of the day at the TCC. We’ll be having a Social Mixer on February 9th at Hotel Congress and there will be Live music! DON ROLLINGS offered a blue badge to ABBY NAGBE. It was great to find out how close their families have become since ABBY became a member.
PRESIDENT MARK congratulated his fellow birthday Rotarians, offered a toast to those celebrating their Centennial Anniversary and to the Flores’. Then, we were on our way.
At our meeting on January 19th, our club will be hosting some of the 40 Under 40 recipients. We want to help Rob Elias, CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to engage this incredible group of young professionals. Below is a list of those rising stars who will be attendance. Please make an effort to say hello and introduce yourselves to:
Adam Begody - Associate Director of Development, Eller College of Management
The Gem Show is back in town at the TCC, and since the show needs all available space at the TCC, the Westward Look will be hosting our lunch meetings on January 26th and February 2nd. Please mark your calendars for these two meetings.
The Rotary Club of Tucson will be holding a Blood Drive during our February 16th lunch meeting at the TCC. The American Red Cross is in need of your help and they will be available between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please contact Mike Sagara at mike.sagara@redcross.org if you have questions.
Give Blood -- Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
Attendance at this month's hike on the Brown Mountain Trail in Tucson Mountain Park was a little light. I did have some quality time with the "voices in my head" and am pleased to report that they are all my own...BaHaHaHa! Mark your calendars for the next hike on February 19th at Tumamoc Hill!
There are only 21 opportunities that remain before the end of Irv’s Centennial year. You will not want to miss the chance to showcase your fish, or better yet your Kids and Grandkids with a fish! Don’t let the Wall of Fame escape you. Join these other folks who have made it to the Wall of Fame and donated to Rotary charities. Please reach out to Dorinna or Irv for all the details.
We will no longer be streaming our meetings live via Facebook but we will be streaming live via our YouTube Channel. We are encouraging you all to subscribe to our Channel in order to receive notices of when the meetings are streaming live. After the live meeting, this video will become a recording and immediately posted on our YouTube Channel. To view live CLICK HERE.
To view videos on the RCOT YouTube channel go to our Home Page of the Club website and click on the YouTube link on the right hand side of the page. Or, go to YouTube and type in Rotary Club Of Tucson. You will be able to click on the video you wish to watch once they are posted. Here is the link to do this: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rotary+club+of+tucson
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For more than four decades, Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) has inspired local professionals to step up more confidently into community leadership roles. In its 42-year history, GTL has graduated more than 1,000 local leaders from its flagship program LEAD Tucson, and in 2021 the organization completed a community impact study to find out how alumni are serving the Southern Arizona Region. This presentation shares the results of that impact study and highlights the important role community leadership programs play in building thriving communities.
Carlotta shared the history of El Charro. Established in 1922, El Charro Café of Tucson, Arizona is The Nation's Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. Did you know that the Chimichanga was introduced to the world by El Charro? Yep! Carlotta shared that her Tia Monica Flin, is well-known as “The Inventor of The Chimichanga.” While frying her now famous El Charro ground beef tacos, she accidentally dropped a burro into the frying pan and when the oil splashed up, she was about to lash out a common Spanish cuss word starting with “Ch” but because she was amongst her young nieces and nephews, changed it to “Chimichanga”, the equivalent of “thingamajig.” After a fun history lesson, Carlotta introduced her son Ray. She credits Ray for growing the restaurant into many restaurants and making the El Charro brand what it is today. Ray shared that they serve over 1,000,000 customers annually between their restaurants. They have multiple restaurants in Tucson and even have an El Charro in the Baltimore Airport. Ray credits their success with hard work, good business acumen and a deep commitment and involvement in the Tucson community.
GERRY HALLOWELL introduced new member, ANITA SCALES into the Rotary Club of Tucson. Let's all try and introduce ourselves to ANITA at a lunch meeting. Welcome to the Club ANITA!
KHRIS let us know that our February 16th meeting will include a blood drive for some of the day at the TCC. We’ll be having a Social Mixer on February 9th at Hotel Congress and there will be Live music! DON ROLLINGS offered a blue badge to ABBY NAGBE. It was great to find out how close their families have become since ABBY became a member.
The Gem Show is back in town at the TCC, and since the show needs all available space at the TCC, the Westward Look will be hosting our lunch meetings on January 26th and February 2nd. Please mark your calendars for these two meetings.
The following New Member's application has been submitted for membership in Rotary Club of Tucson:
The Rotary Club of Tucson will be holding a Blood Drive during our February 16th lunch meeting at the TCC. The American Red Cross is in need of your help and they will be available between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please contact Mike Sagara at 
Attendance at this month's hike on the Brown Mountain Trail in Tucson Mountain Park was a little light. I did have some quality time with the "voices in my head" and am pleased to report that they are all my own...BaHaHaHa! Mark your calendars for the next hike on February 19th at Tumamoc Hill!
There are only 21 opportunities that remain before the end of Irv’s Centennial year. You will not want to miss the chance to showcase your fish, or better yet your Kids and Grandkids with a fish! Don’t let the Wall of Fame escape you. Join these other folks who have made it to the Wall of Fame and donated to Rotary charities. Please reach out to Dorinna or Irv for all the details. 
