Rotary Meeting Sept 26, 2023

Laura called the meeting to order at 7AM. The meeting is all virtual and, being the fourth Tuesday of the month, is dedicated to business. 

Happy Bucks:  Since skipped the past two weeks, Laura started the meeting with Happy Bucks.  Laura noted that, according to the club budget, each person would contribute $15/month towards HB’s.

Randy was happy except for the prospect of having to repair a broken drip irrigation system beneath his office floor.

Peter gave the club a tour of the telescope site on the Canary Islands where he is currently working, noting the site’s location on the edges of a large volcanic caldera.

Bob was perched on the side of a lake in Virginia where last week they experienced 6” of rain, thanks to the passing hurricane.

Andrea was arriving late to her office in the Town of Marana.

Dan was happy except for the tough week with the school district having to prepare financial reports for the previous year.

Beckie reflected on becoming a mom 38 years ago and was happy that both the Utah Utes and the Packers won their football games.

Mary was enjoying a family week with two nieces in town and one nephew and one more niece on their way in.

Don and Kathy reported being sad after the recent passing of two friends, one having been a long-time, close friend of Don’s.  Don was uplifted by the District Action group addressing mental health issues.

Andy related their past week’s scuba diving trip in Belize, grateful to have survived flipping a catamaran in the Caribbean Ocean, an embarrassing stunt resulting in being rescued by the resort dive boat.

John and Cathy- John noted that, like Bob’s scene on the lake, he too was surrounded by beauty, referring to Cathy.  They attended a mountain bike race in Prescott where CdO High School took third place.

Harold was happy except for having to replace AC ductwork after 35 years of service.  His knee replacement recovery is, happily, going great.

Laura was happily enjoying the Fall weather, listening to coyotes sing in chorus with her dog.

Laura reminded the club of the District 5500 Conference on Oct. 5-6, noting that the deadline for registering is Oct. 7, at least if you want to be counted in the meal planning. Otherwise, registration is open until the event.  The club discussed volunteer times for helping out at the Conference, and table locations for sponsoring groups.

Tour de Tucson- Beckie raised the question as to whether our club will again sponsor an aide station after having done so for the past 27 years. Last year, Aide Station #8 was a bust, and the Tour is now focusing its route south, away from Marana. After discussion, it was decided to first determine if better aide stations are available and, in the unlikely event that any are available, to either support the Dove Mtn. Club’s station or the general Rotary’s station. The club felt that our focus should turn to supporting other worthy causes.

Marana Fall Festival (October) or Marana Holiday Lights (December 2)-  the club discussed in which event to participate. It was determined that we had the capacity and desire to participate in both events. Andrea will prepare the sponsorship agreements.

Club Socials-  Laura noted that October was a busy month for us and that the 5^th Tuesday occurs close to Halloween. After canvassing members, it was decided to again do the holiday dinner at Lil Abner’s during the last week in November, likely on Nov. 29. Andrea will make reservations, spouses and partners are welcome but will have to cover the cost of their meal. Our Youth Exchange student will also be invited to attend.

Meeting setups- Mary graciously offered to help with setups during Nov and Dec; Laura will continue to bring donuts.

Peace Pole Garden-  it was noted that the Garden was in need of some clean up.  Once every month or two will be sufficient to do some raking and rearrangement of rocks. Mary will coordinate small groups of volunteers to undertake this project.

Tour de Cookie- Laura, Dan and Beckie will set up a Zoom meeting to start thinking about the Tour de C.

Kathy noted that we need to start thinking about what we will do for family donations/support for the upcoming year-end holidays.

Laura noted that a Board meeting to immediately follow the club meeting will consider three funding proposals and invited all members tyo stay on and attend the Board meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8AM with the Four-Way Test.