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Valle Verde Rotary Club Green Valley, AZ

Thursday Mornings at 6:45 a.m. Community Church (corner of Esperanza and La Canada) in Green Valley AZ. P.O. Box 311 Green Valley AZ 85622-0311 Make up online click here

The District 5500 GSE team that spent a month in South Africa joined us for breakfast. L-R--Sarah Dahlen, B J Cordova, Barbara Dolan, Jenny Carrillo, Group Leader Randy Brooks

Valle Verde Rotary meeting now begins at 6:50AM to give us more time for announcements and speaker presentations.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR--INSTALLATION DINNER, Sunday, June 28, Lavendar Restaurant. $32 per person. Sign-up sheets will be available beginning with the June 4 meeting. You can pay in advance or pay at the door on the 28th. This is a major Club fellowship event and a wonderway to honor the outgoing Board and Officers as well as the incoming Board and Officers.

Sahuarita Rotary Club, June 23, Coyote Grill. 5PM cocktails, 6PM dinner. Contact person is at 520/870-1265. Cost is $25/person. Selection of entree' is possible.

Rotary District 5500 is in need of 2 families to host exchange students. Contact Volney Morin or Roni D'Eustachio. Host need not be Rotary members or live in Green Valley.

2008 21st Anniversary Dinner photos click here.

Valle Verde Rotary Photo page click here.

Great Expectations Academy Jazz Band Photos are on this page. Click Here.

Orphanage photos are on a separate page. ---Click Here.

Volney Moring makes his YouTube debut. Click Here. Or Here.

Tom Maher leads us to the Duck Race results on YouTube. Click Here.

Volney asks that we all bring in used/empty printer ink cartridges so that he can recycle them for CASH which will be added to the Orphanage Operating Fund. There is no time limit on this project.

Future programs and Calendar Events:

Upcoming Events in 2009
June 18	Dark due to VBS at the church
June 25	Mark Bollin – Successful business techniques in a down economy
June 28	Installation dinner at Lavendar Restaurant.

June 11, 2009 Meeting of Valle Verde Rotary Club

Cathy Lamas was our visitor of the day along with members of the Group Study Exchange which presented the program for the day. Reminders: The Installation Dinner will be June 28 -- be sure to sign up. We will be dark on June 18 due to Vacation Bible School at the church. The drawing for this quarter's Francis' jar donations will be held the first week of July. Highway cleanup is this Saturday, June 13, at 7:00 a.m. The program was a presentation by the members of the Rotary Group Study Exchange District 5500 Team which has just returned from a trip to Western Cape, South Africa; Namibia; and Angola. The five members of the team (Randy Brooks --Team Leader, Jenny Carrillo, B. J. Cordova, Sarah Dahlen, and Barbara Dolan) each gave a short presentation of their impressions from the trip. Objectives were to experience a new culture and learn about vocations and businesses, schools, government and history of the area. Each team member focused on an area of interest to them and their vocational background. Barb Dolan. who was sponsored by Valle Verde Rotary Club, took our club's banners to exchange and presented the club with seven banners from clubs visited. She expressed her thanks for making the trip possible and enthusiastically gave an overview of the many places they visited. The country is known for its incredible scenery. There is quite a variety of plant life and diverse animals. The country has many contrasts and a certain level of inequality. They commented on the different levels of community services, planning and improvements yet with tiers of very wealthy and then conditions so bad it would seem impossible to plan for a future. There was not much of a middle class. The Team visited Rotary clubs and met many past and future Rotary presidents. They indicated that much good was being done through Rotary in an effort to make conditions better. Team members stayed in the homes of families in the areas they visited and were treated hospitably everywhere. All in all, the five appeared to have had a wonderful experience and came home changed. The presentation was excellent. For more information on the trip, pictures, and team members' impressions, be sure to check out their website and blog at www.gsesouthafrica.weebly.com Viriginia Crabtee

June 4, 2009 Meeting of Valle Verde Rotary Club

Among the visitors last week were two of Jim Donohue's sons, Brian and Joe. Also, Jerry Ochs, president of the Green Valley Rotary Club, and Cathy Lamas of Wells Fargo were present. It was great to see several of our own who have been away for awhile. Welcome back to John Knutson, Beth Phillips, and Mary Fisher! June Roberts won the drawing for the Paul Harris donation for this quarter. Congratulations! Don't forget, June 18 we will be dark. Also, remember to sign up for the installation dinner on June 28 at Lavender Restaurant at the Green Valley Country Club. President Dick reported that Valle Verde Rotary Club received the President's Citation from District 5500. Of the 55 clubs in the district, only 22 clubs received this citation. Congrats to the Club! Phil Conklin read a letter from our scholarship winner, Lisa Cannizzaro. Lisa was asked to write concerning her need for financial assistance. She wrote of her forced move this last year to stay with a friend because of a dysfunctional situation in her own home. She has completed high school and works part time at the Santa Rita Nursing Home. She plans to attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and hopes to become a nurse. This is someone who could certainly benefit from further assistance as the opportunity arises. Fortunately, our visitor, Mr. Ochs, let the Club know that our own Dick Roberts won the raffle at the District 5500 picnic last week. (Good thing someone is keeping tabs on him; otherwise, the Club would not have benefited from a generous "happy" donation!) The program of "Ice Breakers" is one of our favorite ways of getting to know our members better. It's always interesting to learn about what makes each one "tick." Heather Mougeot told us she was born in San Antonio, Texas, and lived in Dallas while her father attended Southwest Seminary to become a Baptist minister. She spent several years in Montana before marrying. Her husband was in the military and later went into the border patrol which brought them to Arizona. Heather has two daughters, Tylee a junior at the University of Arizona, and Carly, a sophomore at Sahuarita High School. Heather spent about 10 years with Wells Fargo Bank and then decided to go into real estate. She works as a team with Mark and Kim Walsh. Heather enjoys spending time with her daughters, likes to ride bikes (both road and mountain), and loves to cook, work out and travel. She won the Copper Classic body building competition in 2005 and the Tucson Classic in 2008. Jim LeBlanc was born in the state of Maine. He appears to be the kind of guy who learns from other's mistakes, one of those who can stand by and observe and then come out on top without a scratch. Jim received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School -- Heriot-Watt University. He says he chose to attend business school because there were no foreign language requirements. He ended up working in accounting mostly for utility companies. He regaled us with tales of corporate buyouts, and "techies" with head knowledge and no practical understanding, lawsuits and quick trials. Our hero, Jim, took an exit package and went on his way unscathed! Currently, Jim acts as a financial adviser, working out of his home. Virginia Crabtee, reporting

NOTES FROM THE BOARD NOTES FROM THE BOARD June 16, 2009 The Rotary Year 2008-2009 is coming to an end. Our meeting of June 25th will close out the year. We will gather at the Lavender Restaurant on Sunday, June 28, to say "thank you" to the present leadership and to welcome the new leadership. The good news is that the transition should be seamless. Many of the Board members have re-enlisted, for which we give thanks. Tom Cooke, the incoming president, has been very much a part of the decision-making process during the past year, so there should be no surprises. Valle Verde Rotary Club members can look back on 2008-2009 with a sense of a job well done. In some ways the receipt of the Presidential Citation says it all. You have been diligent in meeting your obligations as Rotarians. Many in Green Valley and across the globe have benefited from your caring generosity. But we cannot rest on our laurels. There is still work to do and pressing needs to be met. One on-going challenge is to develop a major fund-raising activity that has the promise of growth over the years. This wont be easy-spaghetti, cook-outs, wine tastings have proliferated. The current Board has been exploring options. Their thinking will be passed along to the incoming leadership. One thing is evident-any creative fundraiser cannot be carried out by the "faithful few." It will require the active participation of a substantial cadre of our members. Meanwhile, lean back and enjoy the present. Take that bow you are entitled to as active, committed Rotarians. Have a great time at the Installation Dinner. The best is yet to come. Notes from the Board June 1, 2009 Our Rotary year is coming to an end. What were our accomplishments, and what more can we do as Rotarians. There are 55 Clubs in District 5500. When it comes to our annual giving, our Club is No. 8 in the District-something we can be proud of. Our percentage of goal reached up until May 1st was 121% and should be higher by the end of our Rotary year, which is June 30th. To give you an idea of where we stand with other clubs, the Green Valley Club was 12th, Tubac was 13th, and we had a higher percentage than 9 of the 11 clubs in Tucson. Our neighbor to the South, the Rio Rico Club took the distinction of being No. 2 in the District with a 143%--so you can see we re not that far behind. What's next? A few months ago, J.P. and I presented you with a Foundation program. I think it was well received. At that time we told you what $2.00 a week would mean to the Foundation. You showed your support by standing when called upon. You were presented with the Foundation's EREY pin, and for that we sincerely thank all of you. For this new Rotary year, 2009-2010, I will be contacting each of you to decide how you would like to make your pledge a reality. Jim LeBlanc, our new treasurer, is setting up an accounting program to accommodate you with an invoice to make your yearly $100 EREY and Polio Plus contributions. You will be able to pay quarterly or annually. Again, both J.P. and I thank you for all your support. Gary Friedman, Foundation Co-Chairman

NOTES FROM THE BOARD The District 5500 Picnic at the Fairgrounds I Sonoita n May 30 was really great fun. Just ask Tom Cooke, Jim LeBlanc, Dick or June Roberts or Joyce James. It was all indoors, so there was no wind or dust. Plenty of time for fellowship. All the Clubs from the I19 Corridor and the Mountain Empire (Sonoita, Patagonia, Sierra Vista, etc.) were represented. You couldn't fault the food-steak, chicken, ribs, salad. Plenty of it and very good. No beer, but plenty of lemonade and ice tea. After lunch, Tom Tilton, District 5500 Governor, took over as Master of Ceremonies. Being Tom Tilton, he remarked that as far as District 5500 Picnics were concerned, he had saved the "best for last." Being Tom Tilton, he probably said something similar at all the District picnics. Such a positive guy. Tom spent his time telling everyone what great Rotarians we were and handing out awards. Valle Verde was not overlooked. Of the 55 Rotary Clubs in District 5500, only 22 received the Presidential Citation from D. K. Lee, International President. Valle Verde Rotary was one of the 22 There is a whole list of criteria to meet to be eligible for the Presidential Citation. There are two principle ones-initiate a new program for children and increase enrollment by a net of one. The ESL program at the Orphanage met the first criteria. The second, membership increase, is far more difficult than one thinks, given the demographics of Green Valley. SO-Take a justifiable bow, members of Valle Verde Rotary We were on our way home by 4 PM. It was a fun day-a satisfying day-a wonderful opportunity once again to see Rotarians in action.

Editorial Comment: It seems that WalMart et al had some trouble with the Girl Scouts and has subsequently terminated the policy of allowing service clubs any activities being undertaken at the entrance to their stores. An onion to WalMart for this action. Also, an onion, to the Girl Scouts for their involvement in this decision by WalMart. EKF

Make-Up Clubs: Local

Green Valley Club: Tuesday Noon, St. Francis-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 600 S. LaCanada Dr.

Sahuarita Club, Tuesday 5:30PM, Ashley Furniture Conference Room

Rio Rico Club, Wednesday 6:45AM, Rio Rico Resort

Tubac Club, Friday 8:00AM, Tubac Resort Restaurant

Editor note: To make it easier for those with slower internet connections, I have moved the Valle Verde photos to a separate page. See the link near the top of this page for a link. Ed F

President - Dick Roberts 777-4473 barnaclegr@yahoo.com	Presides at all regular Club meetings and Board of Directors Meetings - initiates goals for Board consideration
Vice President - Tom Cooke 399-0455 tecooke1@cox.net	Officiates when President is out of town Serves on Board of Directors Assistant to Community Service Chair
President Elect - Tom Cooke 399-0455 tecooke1@cox.net	Incoming Board Retreat Nominating committee for next year's directors and officers
Treasurer - Sonja Van Buuren sonjavb@cox.net	Reports to the Board on financial condition of Club Keeps records of all deposits and checks for Club Responsible for all tax returns and reports for Club
Secretary - June Roberts barnaclegr@yahoo.com	Keeps attendance and corresponds with members as necessary - Reports to District and RI on attendance Aids President in any way the President requests
Club Service A - Jim Rusk jrusk2@cox.net	Fund Raisers Basha's Thanks A Million Club dinners
Club Service B - Eichman Fund Jerry Ernst 481-0247 jce478a@msn.com	Investments
Community Service Ray Cook rlcook@cox.net	4th of July Flags Clothes for Kids Eye Exam for Children Highway Clean Up Operation Boot Strap Equestrian Summer Camp support Huck Finn Day Dictionaries for 3rd Graders Rotarian Support Group Cub Scouts
Vocational Service - Tom Cooke 399-0455 tecooke1@cox.net	RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) 4 Way Speech Contest Graduation Party Mock Trial Scholarships Career Day
International Service - Mary Fisher fisher25@cox.net	Exchange Students GSE Team visit Orphanage in Nogales Sonora
Program Committee - Lynn Skelton   625-8286     lynneskelton57@hotmail.com	Programs Honor Speakers with donations to Green Valley Community Food Bank Ice Breakers - Hobby Talks
Public Relation Jim LeBlanc dlleblanc@cox.net	Internal Rotary Communications Publicity - Newspaper, Radio, TV
Membership Committee - Tom Brown chair tomandjudybrown@yahoo.com	Fireside Meetings Chamber of Commerce Member Retention (Survey) New Member Recruitment
Newsletter Ray Cook rlcook1@cox.net 399-9838	Produce the weekly newsletter with photos
Administration Peter Eichman pe3119@aol.com 648-3451	Writes article for weekly newsletter, Cactus Chronicles, and website
Rotary Foundation JP (John) Pilger jmpilger@msn.com	Encourages membership to participate in Rotary International Foundation
Webmaster Ed Farver 399-0406 mefarver@cox.net	Creates and maintains the Valle Verde Website