Rotary Club of Marana
 
                                                                            
On a cold and rainy 12th of March President Hunter called the large number of attendees to order. The Pledge was recited and then, in a partial tribute to our club's "Tour de Cookie" volunteers we sang. With apologies to Merle Haggard, no SERIOUSLY with apologies to Merle Haggard we attempted "The Running Kind" substituting the word "riding" for "running". It was Randy's idea but even he and Tony with guitar leading the way Merle would not recognize his song and it was not because of the word substitution.
 
Possibly "Daisy, Daisy on a bicycle built for two" is more within our comfort zone.
 
Loads of guests including:
Doug, a Rotarian from Midland, MI who is moving to Tucson and who rode in Tour de Cookie and took photographs for the second time.
Laura Climer, a former college women's basketball coach who was checking out our club.
Dave Braaten, a Rotarian from Butte, MT who is escaping the cold
Our MCAT Student of the month, Courtney Reid, her mother Sheryl and two siblings Ian and Jackie.
Plus MCAT Principal Denise Coronado and staff representative Delight Craddock. 
 
We spent a lot of worthwhile time patting ourselves on the back for a very successful Tour de Cookie. One hundred more riders than last year! Singled out for special recognition were Dan "The Man" Contorno, Beckie Penman (six new cookie booths for a total of twelve with another two signed up for next year) and a cast of thousands. A little hyperbole there, but almost every member was involved in making this event a financial and community success. Thank you to all. We have a great club!
 
 Denise Coronado introduced Courtney "Corey" Reid. Corey is a pleasure to have in class and personifies the AAA (Academics, Attendance, Attitude) motto of MCAT. Corey has lived in at least six states as her father transferred around the country with the US military. She plays several musical instruments and has a career goal of law enforcement or cosmetology
 
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Lynne, our Club Secretary and a CPA, announced tax return due date has been moved back two months and the powers that be say every tax return will be reviewed. This is highly doubtful given the manpower available.
 
Happy Bucks
John, Dan, Mary, Denise, Don- All Happy
Peter- Great fun and camaraderie working with fellow members at Tour de Cookie
Richie- Brief reflection on how money from Tour de Cookie has been used in the past
David-Happy for rain Tuesday and not last Saturday as originally forecast
Randy-This is a head scratcher. If I got it right, he was happy because his wife tried to, well I do not know what she was trying to do, but she mixed his vitamins and hearing aide batteries together on the kitchen counter and Randy got the opportunity to see the ER and, I am guessing here, examine his stool for a couple of days! Truly sad what the geriatric set passes for happiness.
 
Joke Off
Lynne-What do you call 21 rabbits in a row who take a step back? A receding hare line! Now that is funny.
 
Maeve-Wife tells husband to go to store and get a carton of milk and six eggs. Store out of eggs so husband brings back six cartons of milk..........If you get this joke please explain it to me.
 
Beckie won and lost lottery with the nine of hearts. The pot continues to build.
 
Our speaker today was a retired Registered Nurse representing Sister Jose Women's Center. This organization serves homeless women. The facility is open days M-S and it is open seven nights a week.  Of the 100 to 120 women served daily half may be ages 45 to 55 with one aged 82. Possibly up to 90% have mental health issues not drug dependence. With help from local business man Buck O'Rielly a home of 750 sq ft was found to work out of. This proved too small and thy moved into the old Cummins Plumbing  metal building on South Park. They are not allowed to prepare food on site, so they have to get creative in where the food comes from and how it is served. At the new location overnight emergency stays have grown six fold and meals served has tripled. In addition to overnight emergency stays and day visits including meals, laundry and showers are provided as well.
 
Sister Jose was a Franciscan nun and the organizations namesake. She saw the need for a low barrier center that focuses on meeting the most basic needs of homeless women, regardless of personal situation or religious beliefs. Our speaker, Director of the Program, knew Sister Jose personally and was inspired to help fulfill Sister Jose's vision.