Bob Grady opened the meeting (fresh from the exhilaration of a Board meeting) with a warm welcome and the Pledge of Allegiance. Jim Kester gave a very beautiful invocation welcoming in particular today’s speaker, Joan Bonvicini. Sharyn Chesser stood in as treasurer, Michael Troughton handled Queen of Hearts, Anita McDonald was Greeter, Irv Mindes was Sergeant-at-Arms and Tony Spear was secretary.
Lunch consisted of vegetable lasagna with broiled tomato and garlic bread. Alternatively, there was Carolina Chicken Salad. All were able to enjoy a yummy tiramisu for dessert.
Announcements
President Bob announced the following:
• There is a free seminar Saturday, November 9th at Habitat for Humanity from 10 AM to noon.
• Checks in support of Polio Plus riders in the El Tour de Tucson should be made payable to the Rotary Foundation with Ride to End Polio or El Tour in the memo section. You can give them to Andy Kerr or Al Chesser. The Club has three riders this year.
• On November 26th at 5:30 PM there is an inspiring movie called Breeze playing at the Loft Cinema. This film follows the life of a person living with polio. There is a reception at 4:30 PM prior to the showing. Register online on the District 5500 website. The film is $15. If you go to the reception, it costs $30.
Service Opportunities
Paul Bennett announced the following:
• Sign-up sheets for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson were on the tables. The dates are November 18 at the Roy Drachman Clubhouse 5901 S. Santa Clara Avenue and November 26th at the Pascua Yaqui Clubhouse 5010 Calle Torin.
• Integrative Touch for Kids is having a “Play Day” on Sunday, December 1st at Diamond Children’s Hospital from 12 noon to 4PM. We are encouraged to participate. Sign-up sheets were on the tables.
• On Saturday, December 14th, Catalina Rotarians will be ringing the bells for the Salvation Army at the Walmart at Kolb and Speedway. It has been a few years since we have done this, so please volunteer.
Introductions
Anita McDonald introduced our guests: prospective member Liz Wilson was back and Joan Buth introduced her guest, Pablo Sandoval, who is looking at joining a Rotary club.
Recognition
Al Chesser awarded Dick Carlson, the “three point shot” specialist for the Rotary Foundation with a pin to acknowledge his achieving another level of giving in support of the Foundation’s Annual Fund. Thank you Dick for your generosity.
Queen of Hearts
Michael Troughton noted that he sold $82 worth of raffle tickets (the most in quite some time) and the pot stands at $648. Our speaker, Joan Bonvicini, selected Dick Carlson’s raffle ticket however Dick pulled the six of clubs so the pot thickens.
Sergeant at Arms
Irv Mindes was SAA today. Highlights included celebrating Norm and Becky Rebenstorf’s wedding anniversary and happy bucks from Anita McDonald, Barbara Kiernan, Tom Robertson, Sharyn Chesser and Joan Buth.
Program
Tom Robertson introduced Joan Bonavicini by noting her roots in Bridgeport Connecticut and a litany of impressive accomplishments as a player at Southern Connecticut State College and as a coach at Long Beach State, the U Arizona, and Seattle University. She has logged over 700 wins as a coach.
Coach B spoke about her experience as a player at SCSC (which thumped U Conn – take that Pat Dwyer) back in the day. She managed to lead the nation in assists and steals, indicating what kind of a player she must have been.
She coached at Long Beach State for 12 years and was only 25 years old when she started. Her college coach saw something in her and encouraged her to coach. Joan recruited for talent and integrity in her players and assistant coaches. She acknowledges success was all about the players and coaches and putting the right people together.
Joan coached at the U Arizona for 17 years and was recruited by the great Red Dempsey, the then Athletic Director. It took a while to get used to being in the desert but Joan came to love Tucson, which she described as a town that gives back. She had a lot of fun and stressed how important her relationship to her players was.
After leaving U Arizona, Joan took a job at Seattle University where she built that program from oblivion to respectability to success. All the while she lived on her sailboat, Resilience. Seattle U is a Jesuit School and Joan enjoyed working with a priest on the bench with her, notwithstanding her colorful game-day vocabulary.
Coach B is a color commentator on the Pac 12 network as well as ESPN. She is also a financial advisor the New York Life Insurance Company. So there is no slowing down for this rocket ship. She dispensed some wisdom: Parents should say “I love watching you play” to their kids and the four most powerful words you can say to someone are “I believe in you” (if you mean it).
Bob Grady closed the meeting by thanking all the volunteers and giving Coach B the coin with the Four-Way Test on it. He also said to keep Andy in our thoughts. Bob’s final words were a quote “Courage, Sacrifice, Determination, Commitment, Toughness, Talent and Grit – that’s what little girls are made of.”