May 7, 2015
Welcome Back Dona Eubank!!
Tempe Rio Salado Meeting Minutes May 7, 2015 ATTENDANCE Members: Larry Horton, Ben Eubank, Dona Eubank, Patrick de Haan, Corey Bruggeman, Kent Hendricks, Karen Ingersoll. Linda Ingersoll, Sibil Ingersoll, and Diana Ingersoll. 7:00 AM: Meeting called to order by President Larry. Invocation: Dona Eubank Pledge of Allegiance: Corey Bruggeman Four-way Test: Karen, Pat, Kent, Ben
DISCUSSION 1) We opened a package we received from PDG Phil Cordery of our sister Club in Australia (Rotary Club of Southern Districts). It contained a lot of really interesting information about ANZAC. "ANZAC" stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day. Many thanks, Phil! 2) Two RYLA representatives will be coming to CXR this evening. 3) A Rotary Young Professionals Summit will be held at UC Berkeley this summer. We're hoping to send two of our CXR members to this summit. 4) CXR was approached by the Kyrene Club to participate in a quarterly project at the food bank beginning this November. 5) A big Woo Hoo! for rotary in action.. Shree Krishna Dhital has received the $600 he needed to purchase a new family cow. It only took 55 hours from the time we voted on raising the money to the time the money was handed to him. Wow! We even got extra money, and are working to purchase two new goats ($200 each). Orange, CA club is working to help raise funds for his water buffalo ($1200). GREAT JOB EVERYONE!! (And, especially to Patrick de Haan for making it happen!) 6) We discussed our participation in Red Nose Day on May 21st and Ben modeled one of the noses. This is a global project that, during the past thirty years, has raised over $1.5 billion dollars for children living in poverty. 7) Mesa High School seniors put up a banner outside the school that said "Due to budget cuts, the class of 2015 will not be graduating." Hmm…. HAPPY DOLLARS
Kent enjoyed the ground-breaking ceremony at Laird. Looking forward to that time when he can start wearing shorts! (sing it… School’s Out For Summer!)
Karen got to see her granddaughters perform in their school choir last night. In denial about how old, and how tall they are! Pat is just happy in general. Got to rock a cool Santa shirt, and say… how about those socks!
Dona really missed us and happy to be here today. Leaves with her church for South Africa on June 3rd and will be working with an orphanage whose children lost their parents to Aides. She’ll also be helping young adults in a computer lab, and working on vertical gardening. It’ll be a very busy two weeks!
Woops… Ben’s phone rang! (ching-ching!)
Corey went to an alarm convention two weeks ago at the MGM and saw them setting up the boxing ring for the big fight. A couple of interesting things were the Robo-cops (that look more like close cousins of the Cone Heads than R2d2), and a drone for $1200 that, with a transmitter, will follow you (or whomever) around as long as you have the transmitter. AND, he and Patty went on the 66 Run last weekend… they took their red-headed mustang. Corey said it was more expensive than an ex-wife. Ben had to fork out some cash for the phone ringing, but discovered his wallet was empty. Good thing Dona was there to spot for him! He’s happy that Dona is doing things with the church (and of course, there’s the biscuits and gravy he can have while she’s gone!). Been spending time in the west valley for another surgery center site. After getting everything worked out, they discovered a clause in the planning and zoning requirements about being close to farms. Turns out they are close and have to get permission from the farmers… which also happen to be on the reservation. Oh, fun times!
Until next time…. Red Nose Day is a campaign dedicated to raising money for children and young people living in poverty by simply having fun and making people laugh. The inaugural Red Nose Day will be held in the US on May 21st, 2015. People across the country will come together to have fun and raise funds and awareness. The day's events will culminate in a three-hour entertainment TV special on NBC featuring the country's favorite comedians, musicians and Hollywood stars—it's a show not to be missed! Red Nose Day is a fundraising campaign thrown by the nonprofit organization Comic Relief. In the UK, Red Nose Day has been going for 30 years and is an inspiring cultural phenomenon that unites people from all walks of life in the interest of saving and changing lives across the globe. Since the first Red Nose Day, Comic Relief has raised over £1 billion to help people in need around the world. All of the grant money distributed by the Red Nose Day Fund will be given to a variety of nonprofit organizations that transform children’s lives. The great news is that half the money distributed will be spent right here in the US at projects close to home. The other half will be spent in some of the poorest communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. All of the grant money will be used in projects to keep children and young people safe, educated or healthy.
Why have a strategic plan? Lou Figueroa Tuesday, April 21, 2015 Two years ago while starting a foundation, I was asked this question: "Do you have a strategic plan?" At the time I wasn't sure why I needed one, but today it makes more sense than ever. Many people have the desire to lead an organization but have little or no idea how to create a roadmap for success. The strategic plan is an important part of that process. Identifying the purpose of the organization is where you'll want to start. In most cases, the organization will already be established and have a mission statement. If you are starting your own organization, you will need to come up with a brief description that identifies the purpose for existence. Most mission statements are three sentences or less that can be easily articulated. Next, you may want to revise or incorporate a vision statement. It should describe where you want to take the organization. What is the ultimate image of success? The vision statement should be one or two sentences. Once the mission and vision statements are set, you will want to look at the goals. The implementation of the plan relies on the goals and strategies. Each goal should represent an area of focus. Most plans include three to five goals, with supporting goal statements. They should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely). Strategies are innovative approaches to achieving the goals. They are priorities and actions designed to execute the plan. Strategies can be described at the 50,000-foot level, while tactics are much lower — the work of committees and staff. The typical plan has three to five strategies relative to each of the goals. The best plans include performance measures. After identifying the strategies, it's important to create a program of work. These commonly span one year. The next step will be appointing a "plan champion." The plan champion keeps the strategic plan in front of the board and gives reminders to avoid "mission drift" (losing sight of the purpose). Finally, the alignment of the committees is an important aspect of planning. It's an oversight in most organizations and should be a priority after the goals and strategies have been established. In closing, you will want to implement the plan — too many of them end up on a shelf collecting dust. Be sure to engage people, set priorities and communicate effectively to ensure you're keeping the plan alive. Having a strategic plan is an essential aspect of any organization