District Governor Randy Brooks, right, honors Joe and Brigitte Hentges as members of the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society.

District Governor Randy Brooks on Thursday led our club in recognizing seven Paul Harris Fellows and welcoming new Benefactor and two new Bequest Society members.

In presenting the awards, DG Brooks praised honorees' commitment to helping others. Even a small gift by an individual Rotarian anywhere in the world can change or even save lives worldwide, he said. For example, the $1,000 needed to qualify for a Paul Harris fellowship buys 3,000 doses of polio vaccine -- potentially saving 3,000 lives.

Brooks noted the connections that the Rotary Foundation has made in his life and that of many other Rotarians. He cited the example of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Tucson studying abroad initiating a project for a district matching grant to help save abused children in Peru. Our District 5500's soon-to-depart Group Study Exchange team to Brazil, a return visit after a Brazilian team visited Southern Arizona last fall, is another example of those connections.

Club President Joe Hentges and his wife Brigitte were inducted as new members of the Bequest Society in recognition of their pledging at least $10,000 to the Rotary Foundation Permanent Fund in their will or estate plan. Moments earlier, Joe surprised Brigitte with an honorary Paul Harris in honor of her support during his more than 30 years in Rotary. Joe also was recognized for attaining his third Paul Harris level.

Mary Ann Tatum, who was absent, will be presented her Bequest Society recognition at a future meeting. Jim Seibert was named as a new Benefactor of the Foundation for inclusion of the Foundation in his will or estate plan.

Also inducted as Paul Harris Fellows were members Linda Crisman, Chuck Edmondson, Dave Seiller and Max Talbot. Hugh and Jacque Grinnell were pleased to present their son Robert as an honorary Paul Harris Fellow.

Foundation Director Emmett Smelser noted that of the club's 27 current members, 22 are Paul Harris Fellows and 11 are Benefactors or Bequest Society members. Contributions to the Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund go toward Paul Harris credit and are used for each year's program expenses and grants. The Rotary Foundation's Permanent Fund is an endowment, the interest from which assures continued work of Rotary International regardless of annual economic ups and downs.

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The club's spring social, in recognition of the seventh anniversary of our chartering, will be held Thursday, April 25, at the home of Carol and Emmett Smelser. No meeting will be held that morning. A remeinder and details will be e-mailed to members.

The Rotary Leadership Institute, open to all Rotarians, will be Saturday, April 27, at Viscount Suites on Broadway. The $60 registration fee will be reimbursed by the club. Registration is available online.

Sunday, April 14, 2-4 p.m., the Group Study Exchange team to Brazil will be given a send-off at El Parador restaurant on East Broadway. The event will cost $15.

Our "Holdup at Stardance" fundraiser proceeds will be boosted by $250 due to a refund by Bartenders 101 who had over-estimated attendance at the March 16 event. Combined with sale of leftover beverages, the refund brings us to about break-even on the bar. 

Proposals for alternative fundraisers are due to Joe Hentges by April 18, after which they will be evaluated by the fundraising Steering Committee.

Chuck Edmondson and his wife Lucy will represent the club on April 27 at Hermosillo Milenio Rotary Club's celebration of completion of our joint community center grant project in Sonora, Mexico.

Also April 27, which is Rotary at Work Day, our club will be conducting the quarterly cleanup of Tangerine Road, beginning at 7 a.m. A signup sheet was passed in search of the minimum 12 volunteers needed. Also on that day, we have been invited to join with the Marana Rotary Club for a painting project at the Pima Animal Shelter.

Jeanne Strickland reported that interviews are being scheduled for scholarship applicants -- 14 at Mountain View and 10 at Marana High.

Aleta Wiener informed members of a Sunday, April 28, benefit for the Alzheimer's Association -- Wine to Remember -- at Hacienda del Sol.

The YMCA branch at Magee and Shannon serves a population of than 60,000 residents of Northwest Tucson and Marana.

That and other facts were shared at our meeting today by Carol Cullivan, associate executive director for the past six months. The northwest branch opened in 2007 and serves about 25,000 people in the course of a year, and as many as 1,000 a day.

Last year the five Tucson branches of the YMCA raised $630,000 for scholarships to support children who are not turned away because of financial need. Cullivan appealed for members to consider donations to help children participate in activities geared to developing spirit, mind and body. While the branch handed our $126,000 in scholarship aid to some 370 families, unfilled needs totaled $86,000.

Last year, about 3,700 participated in Y sports programs, 6,000 received water safety training and swimming instruction, and 1,200 attended daycamp. Cullivan said that a $50 donation would support one child in a youth sport, $100 provide day camp lunches for five, $150 day camp for one, $385 a one-week residential camp. The branch has 160 employees, including 15 full-time who report to five directors: fitness, aquatics, family, sports and maintenance. The Y facility also is supported and used for programs by Pima County as well as Pima Community College.  

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Former Rotarian Rod Christenson from Blair, Nebraska, has applied and been proposed for membership in our club.

Next week's meeting will feature District 5500 Governor Randy Brooks who will award six Paul Harris fellows, one Rotary Foundation benefactor and three Bequest Society members.

The District Assembly will be Saturday, April 6, 8:30 to noon at the Junior League on River Road. The $15 registration fee will be reimbursed by the club.

The Hermosillo, Sonora, senior center project, in which our club participated through a multi-club $17,000 grant, has been completed and a dedication will be held in late April. The Hermosillo Milenio Rotary Club has invited a member of our club to participate.

Community Service Director Max Talbot enlisted Carol and Emmett Smelser as volunteers to help procure the annual spring food baskets for needy elderly through the Marana Food Bank.

Bill Forbes announced that a snack bar volunteer is being sought by the Thornydale Little League that plays at Arthur Pack Park.

A volunteer is still needed to attend the April 3 meeting of the Mountain View Interact Club that our club sponsors. The meeting at 10:15 a.m. will last less than an hour.

President Joe Hentges announced that any member having a proposal for an alternative fundraiser should submit a written description to him by April 18. He also said that a networking event, not exclusively for Rotarians, is being scheduled by Jay McCall at the Metropolitan Grill, 5-7 p.m. Monday, April 1.

Carol Smelser announced that an evening meeting on April 25 will observe the seventh anniversary of the club's chartering in April 2006.

Jeanne Strickland said that applications are due this week from Marana and Mountain View High School students seeking our club's $2,000 college scholarships

Hugh Grinnell reported that the club is preparing to seek a $25,000 matching grant for procuring first responder equipment and training for boaters and fishermen to serve as sea rescue teams at La Paz, Mexico.

Rita Weatherholt, executive director of the Arizona Blind & Death Children's Foundation, explains services her agency makes available to the some 4,000 children in Arizona needing assistance. Hal Hoff, board member of the agency, sits nearby.

Rotarian Alec McDougall proudly displays his purchase of a painting

left over after Saturday night's silent auction. Thanks, Alec!