Rio squawk 05 21 15 final

May 21, 2015

The Santa Claus Rotary Club

Mohan and Corey “Friendship”

Santa Mohan proudly shows his Honorary Santa Claus certificate. Congratulations!

Tempe Rio Salado Meeting Minutes ~ May 21, 2015 ATTENDANCE Members: Larry Horton, Ben Eubank, Patrick de Haan, Corey Bruggeman, Kent Hendricks, Geoff Pashkowski, Karen Ingersoll. Linda Ingersoll, Sibil Ingersoll, and Diana Ingersoll.

Guests:

Vasu Vaidhyanathan – India Varun Vasudevan – Vasu’s son, just graduated from ASU! Mohan Ananthanarayanan – India Shreekanth Mohan – Mohan’s son, also just graduated from ASU! Dan Marco – The Zachary J. Marco Foundation for Hope Li Yang – Freelance writer and Chinese interpreter Nigel Brooks – President Tempe Downtown Rotary Club, Assistant Governor Elect District 5510

Wow! We’ve got a full house!

7:00 AM: Meeting called to order by President Larry.  Invocation: Ben Eubank  Pledge of Allegiance: Corey Bruggeman  Four-way Test: All in attendance who knew the words. Perfectly executed!

DISCUSSION 1. WELCOME to all of our visitors, from near and far! So happy to see Bobbi de Haan and Dan Maro!

2. Today is Red Nose Day… a national event that will transform the lives of children living in poverty in the US and overseas. What kind of club would we be if we didn’t support this great cause? (And how could we possibly resist the opportunity to don a red nose?) A photo op has definitely presented itself!

3. District Conference was last weekend. In lieu of attending, funds that would have been allocated for the conference were sent to one of our Rotary brothers in Nepal, Shree Krishna Dhital, whose family has suffered losses due to the earthquakes there. Within 55 hours of voting on this, enough money was raised, and delivered in his hands to purchase a new cow. We are now on our way to helping with two goats @ $200 each (we have enough for 1 ½ goats), and a water buffalo ($1200). A letter was sent to District Governor John Pennypacker respectfully explaining the reasons for our absence.

4. By month-end, every member of Tempe Rio Salado and Camelback Crossroads will officially be Paul Harris Fellows! (Big, big thank you to Ben Eubank!)

5. CXR is working with the Kyrene Club for an ongoing project at United Food Bank beginning this November.

Tami Demik is the lead on this project for CXR. Is this club great or what?

HAPPY $$ (Pat announced that for every $10 you put in the hat… all funds going toward Nepal … you have your choice of a stuffed goat or a stuffed cow.) $ Vasu – drops in $10 and chooses a cow! $ Bobbi – came specifically to see Dan Marco, who has written a book that has just been published. $ Karen – donated $20 for a cow and a goat! AND… apparently, forgot to put her badge on… so a couple more of those $ things for the fine. 

$ Nigel – District Conference was great, and our Paul Harris achievement was recognized. $ Dan – wrote a book about the loss of his son, Everywhere And Nowhere. $ Kent – put in $10 towards a cow. Really happy to see Bobbi here today. $ Larry – gifting his stuffed animal to the Christmas toy stash. Happy that our guests are here today, and looking forward to a Memorial Day motorcycle ride to Payson. $ Corey – also donating his stuffed animal. Good to see everyone here. $ Geoff – another donation! Happy to be here and see everyone. $ Ben – very thankful our guests from India are here. Has visited there many, many times and said what a beautiful country it is. He’ll take a “Longhorn” for his donation. $ Pat – put in a $ for each guest (except, ahem, Bobbi), really glad they’re all here.

GUEST SPEAKER - Vasu Vaidhyanathan: Rotary club of Madras North - District 3230 - South India Very Happy Morning to Tempe Rio Salado/Camelback Crossroads Rotary Club - President, Larry Horton, PDG Ben C. Eubank, Rtn PP Patrick de Haan Fellow Rotarians of Rotary club of Tempe. Myself Rtn. Vasu Vaidyanathan from Rotary club of Madras North District 3230 With over 125 clubs. I joined Rotary in the year 1999. I was Secretary in the year 2003-04 and President in the year 2004-05. Subsequently I held few positions the district as Director, membership development, chief coordinator Polio plus etc.

What is Rotary and why do I belong? For me, Rotary is a collection of business and community leaders who have discovered the simple pleasures in serving others. Like many, I was drawn to Rotary (quite selfishly) as a means to expand my business contacts at those Saturday lunch on meetings. But after becoming a member in 1999 I realized that expanding contacts was not reason enough for me to remain. . .and I pretty much stopped participating.

Then it happened! Someone called and asked for my help. The club needed more RIF Readers for its “Reading Is Fundamental” program. Would I commit to reading a book to a class, three times a year, in an inner-city elementary school? “Sure,” I said; and loved it. And, that’s the moment when I became a Rotarian. Since that day, there have been many simple pleasures to remind me “Why I Belong to Rotary . I always get back more than I give.

I joined Rotary thinking it would be a great way to make business contacts. I have become a Rotarian because of the personal satisfaction I get from making a difference in my own community, and around the world. I can say that as a Rotarian, my greatest joy has been in improving the lives of underprivileged children. Among other things, in India we have provided opportunities for education, eliminated diseases with improved sanitation and clean water, and have eradicated Polio. Locally, we give out books and read to kids, quietly offering examples of how ordinary people can become successful in life, and experience joy in being assets to their society. For many of these kids, their only role models portray a far different path. The possibility that these might consider pursuing a better course is priceless to me.

Rotary is all about service. Different people and clubs do different things, support different causes, and have impact in different ways. The common denominator for over 1.2 million Rotarians, from almost every country, every culture on the planet, is that we are ALL striving to make our communities and world a better place. That’s powerful, and I love being part of it.

Rotary has been at the forefront of eradicating polio from the face of the earth. The day we can say “Goodbye Polio” will come soon! India has been polio-free for 2 years! I am proud to be part of Polio eradication program for over 15 years. If it can be done in India, it can be done everywhere! We meet for High tea every Thursday with some prominent speakers.

We conduct great fellowship and have fun. I cordially invite you all to India .

PRESENTATIONS 

Vasu was presented with our official Rotary pennant (a whoopee cushion with our logo printed on it).



All of our guests from India, as well as Dan Marco and Li Yang were presented with an Honorary Santa Claus Certificate. The presentation was complete with Santa Claus jackets and photos.



Mohan stood up to personally thank all of us for our hospitality today. They’ve really enjoyed their visit with us!

PDG Ben presents Vasu with one of our official club banners, a whoopee cushion.

(What else would you expect from the funniest Rotary Club East and West of the Mississippi? — Ben C Eubank and Vasu Vaidyanathan.

Dan briefs the group on his book, Everywhere Nowhere, discussing grief and loss of a loved one. — Dan Marco, Corey Bruggeman, Kent Hendricks, Bobbi de Haan, Ben C Eubank and Nigel Brooks.

Here is the link to Dan’s book: http://www.everywherenowherebook.com

For the past thirty years, Red Nose Day has been a major philanthropic event in England benefiting children living in poverty worldwide. During that time, they have raised over $1.5 billion ($1.5 million just last year alone). This is the first year for Red Nose Day USA, so we wanted to be the first Rotary Club to jump on board and support this worthy cause.

Tempe Rio Salado at Jim’s Coney Island CafÊ in the morning . . .

l. to r. - Mohan Ananthanarayanan, Shreekanth Mohan, Nigel Brooks, Varun Vasudevan, Bobbi de Haan, Vasu Vaidyanathan, Karen Ingersoll, Corey Bruggeman, Geoff Pashkowski, Larry Horton, Ben C Eubank, Patrick de Haan, Li Yang, Kent Hendricks and Dan Marco

. . . Camelback Crossroads at the Boulders on Broadway in the evening!

l. to r. - Heather Bilodeau, Nicole Sayegh, Stephanie Babb, John Wintersteen, Larry Horton, Corey Harris, Andrea Mahnke, Howard Adams.

Not just a Rotarian, a Santa Claus Rotarian!

You might come to this Club as a civilian, but you are going to leave as a Santa Claus!!

Two of these Santas just graduated from ASU. Congratulations! — l. to r. Larry Horton, Varun Vasudevan, Shreekanth Mohan and Vasu Vaidyanathan.

The induction of six new Honorary Santa Clauses. - l. to r. Nigel Brooks, Varun Vasudevan, Ben C Eubank, Shreekanth Mohan, Vasu Vaidyanathan, Dan Marco, Mohan Ananthanarayanan and Li Yang.

Two generations of Santa Claus keeping the Spirit of Giving and Helping alive! — l. to r. Varun Vasudevan, Shreekanth Mohan and Vasu Vaidyanathan.

Santa Mohan and Santa Li receive their Honorary Santa certificates. Congratulations!

Santa Mohan proudly shows his Honorary Santa Claus certificate. Congratulations!

Santa Vasu proudly shows his Honorary Santa Claus certificate. Congratulations!

“When strangers come together and become friends, all things become possible.”

Have a great week everyone!

DON’T FORGET NEPAL ~ DON’T FORGET THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS ~ DON’T FORGET SHREE Don’t forget about Shree and Angella. We still are about $1,300 USD short of replacing all of their family’s livestock that was lost in the Nepal earthquakes. We can do this!! Donations can be made on PayPal. For information, send an email to patrick@pnacentral.org.