MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

 
April 24
 
Our speaker was Chief John Whitney, Fire Chief at Superstition Fire and Medical District. Chief Whitney shared information with the Club about future planning for the fire district, as our area gains more home / business development, along with more residents.  The department strives at all times to have quick response times. He shared information about budgeting challenges, and some updates about new equipment they have acquired, and plan to acquire. He also covered some of the educational opportunities the fire department provides to help teach CPR to area students and residents. Programs such as Child Passenger Safety, Water Safety & Drowning Prevention, Fire Safety at Home & In the Workplace, Youth Fire Setter Intervention, Fire & Fall Prevention for the Older Adult, Traditional CPR, Hands-Only CPR, and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) are just some of the ways they engage in public education.  Fire station tours and truck displays at community events are also an important part of the ways that the department engages with our community.
 
 
 
Troy Powell, AJHS Basketball Coach, spoke briefly about updates with Apache Junction Basketball. The Club presented him with a check to help with some of the current needs of the sports program.
 
 
Jeffrey Mitchell reported on the Club's earnings for running the Lost Dutchman Marathon 8k. This year, the Lost Dutchman donated $61,850 to support local youth groups and organizations. This pushes their total donations to $900,000 since the race's inception in 2002.
 
 
April 17
 
Our speaker was Dr. Robert Pappalardo, Superintendent of Schools for Apache Junction Unified School District. Dr Pappalardo shared information with the Club about upcoming School District issues.
 
Also attending was Nicki Bosch, Director of Communications for Apache Junction Unified School District.
 
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April 10
 
Our speaker was Jeff Serdy, currently District 5 Supervisor of Pinal County AZ, and owner of AJI Sporting Goods. Jeff is a long-time AJ resident/business owner, as well as a long-time politician. He shared information with Club members about activities in Apache Junction, Gold Canyon and the entire Pinal Country area. Also attending with Mr. Serdy was Connie Van Driel, District Administrator.
 
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April 3
 
Our speaker was Lt. Ross Teeple from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. Lt Teeple spoke about scams and how to recognize them and avoid them. Scams are on the rise. There are many varieties of scams, and it seems every week new ones crop up. Varieties include fake prizes, sweepstakes and lottery scams, in which a person is asked to pay money or provide account information to claim winnings. Some scammers ask their victims to purchase gift cards to collect a fake prize. There are computer scams where a virus/hacker will attempt to hold a person's computer hostage until a ransom is paid to unlock it. Government impersonator scams, fake prizes, sweepstakes, and lottery scams - the list goes on and on. With the rise in AI (artificial intelligence) it is easy for scammers to impersonate voices, phone numbers and photos making a scam seem very real and making it even more difficult for a victim to immediately know it is a scam. 
 
Basically, check anything out that seems suspicious before paying some stranger money. Turn off a computer if it seems to have a virus or has been hacked. Seek professional help, if needed, before paying a scammer money. 
 
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