May 26 Meeting
Our newest members, Terralle Moore and Sarah Snyder, gave inspiring 'Classification talks'.Sarah worked in finance for 18 years at a large university, as well as a stock market manager, but she found that the work was not something she as very passionate about. She wanted to work with people on a more personal level. Her experiences led her for awhile to the home health care field, and now she is a Supervisor at AJ restaurant - 'Taradiddles'.
Terralle was born and raised in Alaska. He has a military background, working in military police. His background has led him to different career experiences, and currently he is a Manager at the 'Walgreens' in Apache Junction.
They are exploring a number of ideas focused on the goal of eventually owning their own business. Some of the Rotary meeting attendees had ideas, resources and tips for them, regarding owning a business
Both Terralle and Sarah are very positive community oriented individuals and actively look for ways to be involved with their community - whether it is their HOA, other community organizations/groups/city government -- or now as Rotary Club members.
We celebrated the 80th birthday of Len LaFlesh (Club Treasurer and Past President) with birthday cake and champagne, compliments of Club member Bill Pepple. Family and friends of Len's also joined us for the celebration.
May 19 Meeting
Our speaker was Cody Deppen, Co-ordinator for Phoenix Chapter of 'Heros On the Water' - a national veteran non-profit organization with 70 Chapters in 30 states. The organization creates free alternative wellness programs serving veterans, active-duty military personnel, first responders and their families. The primary proven therapy is kayak fishing. Recurring activities give heroes/their families a lifelong social network with like-minded people. An added benefit is that kayak fishing is adaptive to those with disabilities. During Covid, the Phoenix Chapter went into hiatus. Cody (from a military family) has recently jumped in as Phoenix area coordinator to re-energize the Chapter and get it going strong again. When Covid hit, the local Chapter sent most of their equipment to other more active Chapters -- which were able to better keep active during the pandemic. Currently the local Chapter needs additional funding, and equipment to bring the Chapter back to it's fully functioning capabilities. More information about 'Heros On The Water' can be found on their website - https://heroesonthewater.org/chapters/phoenix-arizona/
The Club was excited to induct our newest members, Terralle Moore and Sarah Snyder!
Bill Pepple brought the Club up to date about Rotary Foundation activities. Over the summer months he will be available for Foundation questions via Zoom/phone.May 12 Meeting
John Iannarelli (a.k.a. "FBI John") spoke about his more than twenty years as an FBI Special Agent and the Bureau's national spokesperson. His cases included the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 attack, Sony hack, numerous bank robberies, kidnappings, and other assorted crimes. And there were so many other cases - some funny, bizarre, very odd -- but always interesting. John has written a book covering many of the stories about cases he has been a part of throughout the years. While most law enforcement matters are deadly serious, there's another side to the job that every cop, agent, trooper, investigator, and detective knows is humorous.
His book, 'Disorderly Conduct' is a collection of the lesser known true stories from the FBI -- lesser known, but not any less entertaining. His new book gives readers the chance to learn about the oddities of an FBI Agent's job, from the memorable arrests to truly bizarre search warrant discoveries. 'Disorderly Conduct' takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal the lighter moments of law enforcement that are 'arrestingly funny'. John's book is available for purchase on Amazon -- 'Disorderly Conduct - The Oddities of My 20 Year Life As An FBI Special Agent'
May 5 Meeting
Sherry Eklund, Founder of Teen Strong spoke to the Club about her business. Teen Strong is a boutique website dedicated to making a difference in the lives of teen girls in Arizona. The website is a unique blend of life resources, info and inspiration. Additionally the website has expanded to offer resources to individuals in Colorado. There are future plans to develop similar resources for other states. Young women don’t always know what resources are available, or how to access them. The pandemic has been challenging for all of us. Young people have been out of school / in school/ doing Zoom school - and have missed out on activities/sports and being with friends. Resources have become even more important during the pandemic which has effected all of our mental health. Families and teenagers may be struggling to maintain balance and happiness. The website is attempting to provide resources and information needed to get through the teen years and help create a strong path for positive growth. Sherry reported that previous contributions from Rotary to her organization had made it possible for her website to get more exposure, traffic, and subsequently reach more young teens who are in need of resource information. From August 2020 to April 2021, her website's traffic increased more than 60% - to currently more than 1000 visitors monthly.More information about Teen Strong can be found on their website and FB page -- https://teenstrongaz.com/ --- https://www.facebook.com/TeenStrongAZ/
April 28 Meeting
Our speaker was Jeff Serdy, Pinal County's District 5 Supervisor. Jeff has added changes to help raise the level of communications in the Supervisor's Office. County residents do not have to go all the way to Florence to visit the Office of the Supervisor. There is an office in Apache Junction (in the complex where DMV is located). On April 29th a Supervisor's Office Open House is planned. Some highlighted areas Jeff is focusing on include transportation, tourism and controlling urban sprawl. He shared a lot of interesting facts about things going on in our county - ranging from district size issues, problems with traffic on Highway 60 and maintenance of the highway, growth of home development in the county, commercial business in the county, issues facing Pinal County parks / natural resources as the area grows more, with more population using our natural resources, challenges for our area now that the Federal govt has closed Resolution Copper -- as well as other important topics facing the residents of Pinal County and District 5. For animal lovers he mentioned about some progress for an AJ dog park, as well as some progress to try and change rulings that would allow for Gold Canyon residents to be able to utilize Paws & Claws, as well as Apache Junction residents. Jeff's speech was very informative for Club meeting attendees.
Club Foundation Chairman, Bill Pepple awarded a Paul Harris Fellow to Club member, Jeffrey Mitchell, to recognize Jeffrey's significant efforts to be creatively involved in fundraising efforts over the past several months with the car detailing project, as well as the 'FunDrive' donations, which included 1,162 lbs of clothing, 1,212 lbs of housewares/books, and 32 large items. Jeffrey has also been instrumental in introducing Rotary to a number of Club visitors.
April 21 Meeting
Don Austin gave an informative and humorous classification talk, sharing some of his vast business and Rotary experiences. He was instrumental in working on the 'Minute Man Program', among other technical military programs. Don shared a wealth of interesting experiences. Just a couple weeks ago he turned 90 years young and has been a Rotarian since 1965.
Angela Davis became our newest Club member. She's the new Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley/Apache Junction Branch. Over the past 8 years she has held various roles at Phoenix area Boys & Girls Clubs. Welcome, Angela!