Our own Dr. Peter Eichman filled in as speaker of the day with his observations regarding food production in the future.

 Valle Verde Rotary Club Green Valley, AZ

   

Thursday Mornings at 6:50 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

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

 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.

 Valle Verde Rotary Photo 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 2010
 Feb 4  Bill Stevens, Hope Along the Border
 Feb 11  Karen O’Brien, Colorado public health nurse & polio survivor.
 Feb 18  Dr. Allison Stopeck, UA Cancer Research Center
 Feb 25  Cathy Lamas (Icebreaker)

 Jan 28, 2010 Meeting of Valle Verde Rotary Club
 Last Week's Program was presented by Peter Eichman because our scheduled speaker was unable to come. The title was "Futuristic Farming". It was appropriately titled . He discussed the shortage of arable land as the world population grows to 9 billion(2050) from the present 6.8 billion. There is not only a shortage of land. Freshwater supply and fossil fuels are becoming scarcer as well. The essence of the idea he reviewed was the use of urban land and high rise steel structures which would house indoor farms and multiple levels. The building would be powered by solar cells or film which would clad the building. The city wastewater would serve for water and to some extent fertilizer. The crops would be grown all year and under continuous light resulting in incredible productivity for the acreage. Hydroponics would not require soil. He described drip irrigation, aeroponics and hydroponics as alternate methods. The land of the city which is considered blighted, or useless such as abandoned military facilities, RR yards, end stage slums and the like. The total control aspect of the farming should reduce food borne disease, minimize the need for fossil fuel energy, freshwater, reduce crop spoilage, transportation costs to markets and the risk of weather induced crop losses. The idea is being promoted by Prof. Dickson Despommiers od Columbia University. There are some major indoor farming operations in te country. One of them is near Wilcox in Arizona. It is called Eurofresh and supplies tomatoes and other vegetable crops. It was accepted with interest by the club. One of the members reported that she had seen something along this line in Holland in the recent past. It dealt with watermelons in a vertical farming mode. Man's ingenuity is amazing.

 Jan 21, 2010 Meeting of Valle Verde Rotary Club

 The morning started well. The Valle Verde Choir was mute, much to the disappointment of Terry Sutherland. Just how much of the "University of Iowa" can one take?

There were diverse, but important business matters to address after breakfast and before the speaker - - Orphanage visit (3/20), successful Huck Finn report with Larry Kempton doing the mating dance of the hooping crane on piles of refuse, the 3rd reading of the slate of officers for 2010-2011, golf committee, jazz festival update.

The stormy morning was made much brighter by the induction of our newest Club member, Marvol Barnard. Welcome to Valle Verde Rotary, Marvol.

Our guest speaker was Michelle Phillips, Director of the Green Valley Community Foundation - - an organization that most of the Club members and sojourners confessed they had never heard of. It is a good thing she was invited to speak.

The Green Valley Foundation was formed in 1970, growing out of several local charities. It serves an area from Sahuarita to south of Tubac. Until recently it was an arm of the state-wide Arizona Community Foundation. It is now an independent stand-alone organization.

The basic purpose of the Green Valley Community Foundation is to provide funding for charitable organizations in its service area. Traditionally they have funded 10 of the 65 eligible charities in their area. This year the Foundation will distribute $100,000 to over 20 agencies.

The Foundation currently has an endowment of $2 million. Their goal is to build the endowment to $10 million. This would enable them to distribute $500,000 each year to agencies in their service area.

Where is that kind of endowment money coming from? Think individual contributions, corporate gifts, bequests, wills, fund raising events, etc. This will not be easy. Think selling fast food is a competitive challenge, try fund-raising in this economy.

When Michelle was finished with her presentation, no Club member or Sojourner could plead ignorance.

 Make-Up Clubs: Local
Green Valley Club: Tuesday 11:45AM, 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 -
Tom Cooke
399-0455
tecooke1@cox.net
Presides at all regular Club meetings and Board of Directors Meetings - initiates goals for Board consideration

Vice President -
Ray Cook
399-9838
rlcook@cox.net
Officiates when President is out of town
Serves on Board of Directors
Assistant to Community Service Chair

President Elect -
Ray Cook
399-9838
rlcook@cox.net
Incoming Board Retreat
Nominating committee for next year's directors and officers

Treasurer -
Jim LeBlanc
393-3248
dlleblanc@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
777-4473
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
625-0860
jrusk2@cox.net
Fund Raisers
Basha's Thanks A Million
Club dinners

 

   
Club Service B - Endowment Fund
Joyce James 232-6260
joycejames1@mac.com
Investments

 
Community Service
Ray Cook
399-9838
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 -
Joyce James
232-6260
joycejamesl@mac.com
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)
4 Way Speech Contest
Graduation Party
Mock Trial
Scholarships
Career Day

International Service -
Dick Roberts
777-4473
barnaclegr@yahoo.com
Exchange Students
GSE Team visit
Orphanage in Nogales Sonora

 
Program Committee -
Larry Kempton
403-8766
lrkempton@gmail.com
Programs
Honor Speakers with donations to Green Valley Community Food Bank
Ice Breakers - Hobby Talks

Public Relation Internal Rotary Communications
Publicity - Newspaper, Radio, TV
Membership Committee -
Volney Morin, chair
245-0536
volney47@gmail.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
648-7206
jmpilger@msn.com
 Encourages membership to participate in Rotary International Foundation

 Rotary Foundation
Gary Friedman
344-7599
grfriedman@yahoo.com
 Assistant Rotary Foundation (International)

 
 Webmaster
Ed Farver
399-0406
mefarver@cox.net
 Creates and maintains the Valle Verde Website

 

 

Links:
Rotary International click here. Rotary International Foundation click here. District 5500 click here.
District Governor: Steve Dimuzio  District Governor Elect: Ernie Montagne District Governor Nominee: Michael Drake

Assistant Governor for Southern Region: Fr. Michael Shay


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