President Bob Grady convened the meeting at precisely 12:10 PM Mountain Standard Time. He began by thanking Michael Troughton for organizing the Zoo Lights club outing last evening and also for accounting for 25% of those in attendance with his burgeoning family of five. It was a fun night with bottomless cocoa, music, and other delights. Bob then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. enny Bastron did the invocation.

Andy Kerr handled treasurer duties, Al Anzaldua was today’s Greeter and Peter Pritz (sans apron) sold tickets to the Queen of Hearts raffle.

Lunch consisted of Shrimp Alfredo, broccoli, and apple pie. Cobb salad was served as an alternate.

Introductions

After almuerzo, Al Anzaldua introduced our guests and returning seasonal Rotarians. These included Joan Buth’s guest Pablo Sandoval, Pat Dwyer, Merle Anderson and a surprise visit by past president Dan Blumenthal, who had a rare day off from the salt mines and chose to join us. It was also great to see members Andy Kerr and Doug Jones back in action.

Announcements

Bob reminded all that there will be a board meeting next Friday at 10:30 AM here at the Viscount which is open to all members who might be curious what the board does. Bob also reminded us that we will be ringing bells for the Salvation Army at the Walmart at Speedway and Kolb on Saturday, December 14th. We still need a couple of volunteers to fill out all the time slots so please contact Paul Bennett to help out.

Next week will be a special holiday meeting featuring the Davis Elementary School’s Las Agilitas Mariachi Band. Maria Elena explained the tradition was started at Davis Elementary School and it has grown exponentially since its inception. Some of the graduates of Davis Elementary are professional musicians now. President Bob needs a head count for next week so email him to confirm you own attendance and any guests you will be bringing.

Queen of Hearts

Bob Stofft’s ticket was selected but alas, he pulled the Ace of Clubs and the pot is moving rapidly toward the thousand dollar mark. We await the big spenders to enter the market and turbocharge the raffle.

Sergeant at Arms

Norm Rebenstorf was today’s Sergeant at Arms. After birthdays and anniversaries were fully vetted, we offered our happy bucks. It came to light that Pat Egbert’s law practice has moved from the barrio to the foothills of the Foothills. We wish him good luck in this new location and professional situation. Al Chesser and Norm both remembered tomorrow’s anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and wished for peace in a dangerous world. Jo Anne Westerman was thankful to see members back who had missed a few meetings.

Program

Our peripatetic Barbara Kiernan introduced Al and Maria Anzaldua, who were instrumental in organizing the work project in Ensenada, Mexico (not to be confused with Ensalada or Alzalada) at last month’s district conference Cruise for a Cause II (who knew that Tom Tilton had done Cruise for a Cause I a scant ten years ago until Barbara reminded us?). Al described the deplorable condition of the school for special needs children which was transformed with just $2600 in District 5500 funds and a lot of hard work and planning. Al walked us through some of the challenges of making this happen, the most serious of which were snafus in banking, logistics, and communication between Districts 5500 and 4100. But, in the end, it all came out well and we believe this effort will be a catalyst for follow on projects to do more for this school. There was an exceptional winery tour as part of the work project which attendees enjoyed immensely. A humongous paella was prepared for the multitudes that looked yummy.

Maria Anzaldua then showed us some amazing artwork she created for the event. We were all blown away by her commitment to sustainability and the most striking example was the woven bags she created from the used paper tablecloths used at the Pascua Yaqui Boys and Girls Club Thanksgiving Dinner where she volunteered, and which she salvaged and creatively transformed. After the meeting items were available for purchase including calendars in Spanish and English that feature her artwork.

Bob Grady thanked Al and Maria for the program and announced that we will inoculate ten children against polio in honor of their presentation. His parting words were from Mother Teresa along the lines that peace begins with a smile.

See y’all at next week’s special holiday meeting. Please RSVP to President Bob as he needs to give the Viscount a headcount.