Catalina Rotary Club Member Bio
Steve Pender
Video / Multimedia
My Rotary Story
“The only exposure I had to Rotary before moving to Tucson was seeing the Rotary logo on ‘Welcome To’ signs as I drove into towns that had Rotary Clubs,” says Catalina Rotary member Steve Pender.
That would all change when Steve met Catalina Rotarian Tom Sundt shortly after moving from New Jersey to Tucson. “I was making the rounds of all the business groups in town,” says Steve. “I happened to sit next to Tom during a Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting. We had a nice chat and met again later in the parking lot because we had coincidentally parked next to each other. Tom then graciously invited me to be his guest at a Catalina Rotary Club meeting.”
The rest, as they say, is history. “I wanted to make business connections, but, as a newbie in town, I was also looking for a group that would help me sink roots into the community,” Steve continues. “Catalina Rotary Tucson fit the bill. Meetings were fun, relaxing and a welcome relief from the gripping, grinning and elevator speeches typical of most networking groups. And, amazingly, they decided to accept me as a member!”
Steve became active in many club activities and served as a board member and club secretary. He even put his own mark on the weekly Sergeant-at-Arms segment with his character of Phil Four-Way, a film noir detective who is still popular with the club years later.
Steve’s skills as a video producer/director, scriptwriter, and editor have been invaluable to the club. He video-documented the club’s Tucson Rodeo pancake breakfast and created a promotional video for the annual Rotary district conference. More recently, he led a production team for the Catalina Rotary Veterans Project, creating videos capturing the stories of the club’s veterans from WWII, the Korean era, and Viet Nam.
Now a member of Catalina Rotary Tucson for over twenty years, Steve continues to look forward to a future of Rotary service.
“Friendly members, fun meetings and activities, and great service projects that really help me feel I’ve made a difference, not just in Tucson, but around the world. What more can a guy ask for?” says Steve.
Full Name
Stephen Pender
Nickname
Steve
Partner Name
Halina
Place of Birth/Hometown
Ft. Bragg, North Carolina/Rahway, New Jersey
How long in Tucson
Since 2000
Current Position/Employer
Legacy Video Producer & President, Family Legacy Video, Inc.
Major Career Milestones
Staff Video Editor, Scriptwriter, Producer, 1978-1987
Freelance Video Editor, Scriptwriter, Producer, 1987-2003
Legacy Video Producer, 2003-Present
When joined Catalina Rotary
2001
Rotary Milestones
Board Member (several terms)
Sergeant-at-Arms, 2007-2008; 2009-2010
Secretary, 2010-2013
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