President Bob Grady opened the meeting at 12:10 pm in the Boys and Girls Morton Clubhouse on Grant Road in the space to be renovated as the Catalina Rotary Creative Arts Center.
Bob DeLaney helped everyone get settled in the parking lot!
Frank Presson offered the invocation.
Jo Anne Westerman brought her favorite lunch, subs from Firehouse Subs! Some generous (or diet conscious) people left their cookies and chips on the table for others wanting seconds.
Olivia Avanzato, the Operations Manager and Arts Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Tucson (BGCT) told us how the room we were having lunch in would be transformed into the Arts Center. Lots of opportunities here for creative activities. This art center will be a central space where vans can bring kids from each of the 6 different clubhouses in Tucson. The goal is not necessarily to train professional artists (although that may, indeed, happen), but rather offer many avenues for young people to express themselves, gain skills and confidence, and explore their own imagination and creativity. This center will also have a performing stage and recording studio. Up to 80 people can attend a performance. Catalina Rotarians will begin preparing the space for the renovations on Saturday, June 15th. AM and PM shifts. Don’t forget to come – bring your work gloves too!
Guests
Joan Buth, now a familiar and welcome face at the club!
Assistant Governor (AG) Ann Huber, visiting for the last time as AG. She will be replaced next year by our very own Anita McDonald.
Nicole Courie, the new Rotaract Club President.
Announcements
Don’t forget the Big Raffle – only 18 tickets left! With a $200 cost, a $2,000 prize, and only 50 tickets, the odds are really good. Let Pat Egbert know if you have friends, family, or colleagues who would like to join in the fun – and help fund the Catalina Rotary Creative Arts Center.
And, definitely DO NOT forget the “Roll-Over” party to celebrate Bob Grady’s 2nd administration. It will be held at Cindy and Tom Robertson’s home on Friday, June 28th, from 6 – 8 PM.
Queen of Hearts
Only 7 cards left. Yikes! Our visiting, and retiring, Assistant Governor (AG), Ann Huber won the draw, but came up with the 2 of Diamonds. THANK YOU, ANN! The pot rolls over.
Sergeant-at-Arms
SAA Matt Matthewson solicited lots of happy bucks from lots of happy Rotarians, himself included. Joining in were Frank Presson, Paul Bennett, Elise Jubelick, Anita McDonald, Joan Buth, Jeff Hamstra, Tom Robertson, Dorice Beren, Arturo Mojica, and Al Chesser. He then turned his attention to information (that mostly we did not know) about the history of the Boys and Girls Clubs, beginning with its establishment in the 1860 as a club only for boys. Opportunities opened up for Girls in the 1990s! Better late than never!
Program
Tom Robertson introduced our speaker, Jonathan Mosher from the Pima County Attorney’s Office. As Chief Trial Counsel, Jonathan prosecutes homicides, cold cases, violent felonies, sexual assaults, and crimes against children in Tucson, Arizona. He has been recognized by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council (APAAC) for Excellence in Victim Advocacy (2009) and as Felony Prosecutor of the Year (2011). After graduating from Colgate University in 1991 and the University of Iowa College of Law with High Honors in 1994, Jonathan served as a law clerk with the Arizona Supreme Court. He then spent nearly a decade in private practice specializing in environmental litigation with the Los Angeles offices of two international law firms; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Latham & Watkins. In 2003, he wrote “A Pound of Cause for a Penny of Proof: The Failed Economy of an Eroded Causation Standard in Toxic Tort Cases,” published in the NYU Environmental Law Journal.
For his presentation to the club, he used his handheld tablet to guide us through the evidence of a real trial. His use of the tablet combined with state-of-the-art visuals on the large screen demonstrated the effectiveness of modern forensics and trial presentation of evidence. We might as well have been in the jury box!
Jonathan is a member of the Board of Directors of Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, and he volunteers as a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona. In his remaining free time, to scare criminal cases out of his mind, he runs and climbs rocks.
President Bob adjourned the meeting at 1:30 PM, after which Jonathan stayed to answer questions.
Next Week’s meeting: Remember, we’re back at the Viscount!
Click on any photo to open the gallery and read the captions.
