• President Matt Ruppert presented Jim Erickson with his Paul Harris Fellow pin + 8. Jim has been in Rotary 39 years.
  • The Earth Day celebration in Apache Junction is coming up April 16 at Earth Heart Park.
  • District Assembly is coming up on April 23 in Payson and April 30 in Scottsdale, providing a great opportunity to learn more about Rotary and incoming Board positions
  • RYLA is coming up, and we have three Interact candidates lined up, pending applications
  • John Wasmith from the Morinville, AB Canada club exchanged trading banners with President Matt.
  • Bryant Powell reported that the City of Apache Junction is looking for sponsors in the private sector for a splash pad at the new event park. Superstition Mountain Rotary has committed to a donation of $10,000 to help make that happen. There will be a plaque at the park recognizing the donors who contributed toward the completion of the park.
  • Mike Dungan announced the news:
    • International: The debate between the FBI and Apple about iPhone encryption took an abrupt turn when a 3rd party offered to unlock the phone without Apple’s involvement. Journalist Fred Kaplan, Boston Globe, warns that, “We are increasingly living in the age of cyber-vulnerability.”
    • Domestic: 80% of the country’s commercial bees migrate to California every February and March to pollinate the almond trees. A new almond tree, however, has been developed that does not require bees for pollination. It is called Independence, and is self-germinating.
    • Local: Speaking of Independence, Maricopa County received national attention last night, when the number of polling places was drastically reduced for Election Day, resulting in lines that left voters waiting for hours. To make matters worse, when voters finally got to the front of the line, a great many Independents who had switched their party affiliation to be able to vote in the caucus (as our own Rotary Club was advised by AZ Secretary of State Michele Reagan last January) were told that their change had not been recorded. They were given provisional ballots only, with the hope that they might be counted…or not.
  • Tracey Yamamoto won the drawing and $10 but drew the 4 of clubs.  The pot was worth $647.50 today.  We are down to 11 cards next week.