SHALIMAR MENU FOR AUGUST

• Sept. 2 -  Burgers and brats, with baked beans, potato salad and veggies and dip.
• Sept. 9 – Shalimar’s Special Beer Batter Cod and Baked Cod and Assorted Salads.
• Sept. 16 – Teriyaki chicken served over rice with vegetables and egg rolls.
• Sept. 23 – Spaghetti with meat sauce and marinara sauce with Caesar salad and garlic bread.
• Sept. 30 – Tostada bar with chicken and beef, refried beans and assorted toppings.

Here is a list of quick KCOT matters:

• 4th of JULY CELEBRATION REPRISE: As of Thursday, more than 20 Kiwanians had RSVP’d to attend a celebration this Monday night, Aug. 30, to take note of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe raising more than $49,000 at the Tempe 4th of July event. The event will feature free appetizers and a no-host bar. Come for a little fun, food and good company. Bring guests. It will be 5-7 p.m. at La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar, 699 S. Mill Ave. Please RSVP right away to:  http://doodle.com/dxaexaa4g5rxnbhd
  
  
• AWARDS AND INSTALLATION IS SEPT. 27: The clipboard was passed Thursday again, and more RSVP’d for the 59th Annual Kiwanis Club of Tempe Awards and Installation gathering on Bridgeview Condominium Club Room, 140 E. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe, the same location as the 2009 event.  Members will be assessed on their billings.  If you haven’t been able sign up, send an email to Kerry:  jack2kerrycox.net or (602) 625-4497.
  
  
• SEPT. 9  MEETING IS SPECIAL TIME TO BRING GUESTS: A special new member recruitment day will be Thursday Sept. 9.  Kiwanians are urged to identify those people they have eyed or would consider for members in the Club and work to get them to that meeting where we can showcase our Club.  Currently we have about 73 members, but with some real effort by our members, we can push it to 80 or 90, President Corey said.  We have an interesting program that day on police forensics. Bring guests.
  
  
• WHEN WILL WATER FLOW BACK TO TOWN LAKE?:  Linda Spears announced Aug. 12 that KCOT was holding the “Bubba The Beaver Lake Contest.”  Once the City of Tempe gets its rubber dam completed and checked out, the waters of the Salt River and upstream dams will  flow through. Guesses are $5 or 5 guesses for $20. Half the money will go to the Administrative Fund and half to the winner. The dam break displaced the mythical Bubba for whom contest is name.  By Thursday afternoon, there were 27 guesses.
  
  
• PRESIDENTS’ PLAQUE: On Thursday, we took down the KCOT Past Presidents Board from the lobby of Shalimar Country Club. It is now full, with 60 presidents’ names from the Club’s beginning in 1952.  Club Secretary Cheryl Hornyan will take it to a trophy/awards shop to try to find a new matching board that will allow up to continued the names – next with the President #61 – Corey Woods.   Jane Thomas has given the Club permission to move KCOT’s “meeting time” plaque to allow space for the new president’s board.
  
  
• HALF-WAY TO RE-ELECTION: Congratulations to KCOT member Ed Ableser on his re-nomination as one of two Democratic candidates for two seats in the Arizona House of Representatives.  Ed will be seeking his third two-year term in the House in November.

KCOT welcomes its newest member, Donna V. Rodgers, who serves as the director of resource development for the United Food Bank, 245 S. Nine Drive, Mesa. Donna, who was sponsored by Lawn Griffiths, has been with the Food Bank for four years.  Her family lives in Chandler.

“For 23 years, I worked in the legal field as a paralegal and then as a legal marketing professional,” she said.  “In my spare time, I volunteered.  I was on the board of United Food Bank and loved what they do. Six months into my board term, a position became available.  I applied, totally changing my career path and have loved it.  I can combine my career with my hobby.”

Donna, who heard about Kiwanis through the food bank and Kiwanis members, says, “I enjoy being involved in the community and like the social element of belonging to a service club.”

Born Nov. 18, 1959, in Massachusetts, her family moved to Lake Havasu City where she grew up and graduated from Lake Havasu City High School in 1967.  One of her schoolmates there was KCOT’s Joe Schmoker of the Class of 1975.  Donna moved to the Valley in 1983 and earned a bachelor of science degree in business marketing from Arizona State University in 1988.

Donna and David Rodgers were married March 12, 1983. They have two grown children, Brandon, 26, who is studying pharmacy at Midwestern University near Chicago and will graduate in March; and Candice, 23, who is a new mother and is study psychology at the University of Phoenix.

Donna was in a Rotary Club from 2003-2008.  She served on several committees of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. She has volunteered at Paz de Cristo homeless food kitchen in Mesa, the Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s Awareness and Girls Scouts. She is a board member of the East Valley Adult Resources board.

Her hobbies and interests include community service, crafts and painting.

MEMBERSHIP TO VOTE ON REVAMPED READ TO EXCEED PROJECT
The KCOT Board of Directors will be asking the membership at its meeting on Thursday, Sept. 2, to formally adopt the “Read to Exceed” Project, which was carried out the past two years with Head Start preschool children at three sites in Tempe, North Tempe Multigenerational Center, Curry Elementary School and Westside Multigenerational Center. By Club bylaws, it will require two-thirds approval of members present. The Club would purchase one children’s book to be read by a KCOT volunteer and donated to the Head Start site’s library at each the three locations. One visit per month per site is planned by one or two Kiwanians at a time. Unlike in the past, there would not be the purchase and giveaway of about 18 books per class, one for each child during each visit and reading session. It proved to be more costly.

Three KCOT are willing to be site coordinator/lead readers, all past KCOT presidents: Sharon Kausal (North Tempe Multigenerational); Mike Cryer (West Side Multigenerational); and Lawn Griffiths, Curry Elementary. In anticipation of a “yes” vote, a clip board was started around Thursday seeking volunteer readers. Volunteers sit in a reading circle with the Head Start children for about 10-15 minutes and read a short book and interact with the children. From home to site to home (workplace) should be scarcely more than a 30 to 45 minutes. While most children English-as-a-second-language children and speak Spanish, there is not requirement to know Spanish, but some words help. Any questions or sign-ups, call Mike Cryer, (480) 897-1267.

KIWANIANS TO CELEBRATE 4TH OF JULY SUCCESS AT AUG. 30 GATHERING
Despite how challenging these economic times have been, the Kiwanis Club of Tempe stepped up yet again to deliver the best 4th of July event in the entire state of Arizona! This year, we raised over $49,000 that will benefit children in our community! To celebrate this great accomplishment, we will be having a get-together in the heart of the Mill Avenue District. The event will feature free appetizers and a no-host bar. Please come out for a little fun, food and good company. Also, please feel free to bring guests. The information about the event is below:

Date: Monday, August 30
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Place: La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar
Address: 699 S. Mill Ave.
Please use the link below to sign up: http://doodle.com/dxaexaa4g5rxnbhd
Hope to see you all there!

SEPT. 9 MEETING IS SPECIAL TIME TO BRING GUESTS
At this week’s KCOT Board meeting, an special new member recruitment day was set for Thursday Sept. 9. Kiwanians are urged to identify those people they have eyed or would consider for members in the Club and work to get them to that meeting where we can showcase our Club. Currently we have about 73 members, but with some real effort by our members, we can push it to 80 or 90, Corey said. We have some outstanding programs lined up in the weeks ahead.

COLORFUL JOE SCHMOKER JUST FLIES BY THE SEAT OF HIS PANTS AND REVELS
This is the 66th in a series of profiles of KCOT members.

Joe Schmoker is the livewire of the Kiwanis Club. He’s kind of our Robin Williams, a guy infinitely filled with crazy stories, a man who exudes the spirit of living. He conjures a boatload of adjectives. Joe’s the kind of guy who’d save you from a sinking ship. Sincerity flows from every word he says.

When he joined in July 1998, the Bulletin noted, “He was literally delivered into our laps by a lieutenant governor from another division in the Southwest District.” Alan Payne of the Kiwanis Club of Gilbert brought Joe to a KCOT meeting in June and said, “Here is a strong, prospective member. Show him your best stuff.” Alan Whitehead, a KCOT past president and then-lieutenant governor, took charge and sponsored Joe into membership. With scarcely the ink dry on his application, Joe put in long hours for the 1998 Fireworks Show at the ASU football practice field.

We know him as the owner of the Joe Schmoker Farmers Insurance Agency, whose calendars arrive each December personally addressed to members. We know him as a long-time co-chairman for KCOT weekly speaker programs. He has drafted tens of dozens of compelling speakers for our meetings.

Born May 6, 1967, in Ann Arbor, Mich., he would live in Detroit, before moving to Lake Havasu City in 1979 when he was 12. Joe graduated in 1975 from Lake Havasu City High School.

He moved to Tempe in 1977. He studied drafting and layout at Rio Salado Community College. Between July 1983 and August 1989, Joe was in sales and sales manager for Berge Mazda Volkswagen. In 1989, he launched his insurance agency and has been at it for 21 years, consistently building his client base and earning company prizes for rolling out policies for life, home, auto, commercial and more.

He and Lisa were married Sept. 10, 1988, and they have three children, Alexandra (1991); Graham (1995); and Isabelle (2001). Through Joe’s colorful stories, our Club has followed the Schmoker kids grow up, especially the wrestling and football combat missions of Graham.

A graduate of Class 21 of Tempe Leadership (2005-2006), Joe has been the energetic organizer of Kiwanians for Tempe Cares projects each March to make improvements at public and private properties. Now he is active in the new Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors project to do work around the homes of low-income or aging Tempeans. For four years, Joe has been a once-a-week driver for the Tempe Community Action Agency meals delivery program, taking hot mails to seniors.

Joe served on the KCOT Board of Directors from 2003 to 2005. Besides helping with the weekly programs, he has been active with the 4th of July shows and other efforts.

His hobbies have been runner marathons, hanging out on the beaches of San Diego, football games, and concerts for such legends as Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart and various members of the Beatles. He’s a guy who always takes time for his family. Joe’s Facebook photo is of a freckled-face Opie Taylor-like kid any mother would love.

Joe’s favorite Kiwanis moments have been the fireworks shows, Tempe Cares outings, the fellowship and scouting out and recruiting luncheon speakers. He remembers how many times he has left a Thursday meeting psyched because of the compelling speaker he was able to bring to Kiwanis that day.

17 with KCOT help outfit Boys/Girls Club kids going back to school
Fifty children from the Ladmo Branch of the Boys and Girls Club and 50 from the North Tempe Boys and Girls Club Branch converged last Saturday, Aug. 7, on the Target store at Dobson and Southern in Mesa for the annual Back-to-School Shopping Spree. KCOT was one of a number of groups who were paired with the children to negotiate the clothing racks, shoe aisles and backpack center to sweep up about $100 worth of clothing. Vic Cordts, branch executive of the Ladmo Branch, said it went off perfectly. Several Kiwanians took several kids through and watched their eyes pop at what they came up with. Thank you to these 17 volunteers: Allison Walters, Jan Walters, Tiffany and Nick Miner, Linda Spears, Steve Rich, Sharon Doyle, Kerry Fetherston, Mark Mitchell, Pam Goronkin, Joel Navarro, Curt and Linda Ritland, Robert and Madison Polley, Rob Kubasko and Shana Ellis. And Vic Cordts, of course.

GUESS WHEN WATER RETURNS TO TOWN LAKE?
Did you know that Bubba the Beaver was rudely displaced and lost his habitat when the dam on Tempe Town Lake burst on July 20 and sent the watery contents down the Salt River? Now the question is: When will Bubba be able to go back? Linda Spears has come up with a contest for members to guess the date when the City of Tempe, et al, will throw the valves (or whatever they do) and the dam will begin refilling with water. As you know, they want water back in the lake by the time the Iron Man Triathlon set for mid-November. Guesses are $5 each or 5 guesses for $20. Half of the money will go to the Administrative Fund and half will go to the winner. The guessing continues to the end of September. You may put your guesses on clipboard sheets, with the cash. As for Bubba’s current whereabouts, only Linda knows, and she ain’t talking.

KCOT Bulletin takes 1st again at SW District Convention in Tempe
For the second time in four years, our Div. 10 hosted the Southwest District Kiwanis Convention last weekend at Tempe Mission Palms. There were 220 registered for the convention, with 148 of them official delegates. Attending for all, or part, of the convention from KCOT were President Corey Woods, Vice President Kathy Stevens, Treasurer Mike Jennings and Lt. Gov. Lawn Griffiths and Lt.-Gov.-Designate Dave Wochner.

During the Award session, Kiwanis Club of Tempe was named the winner of the Club Bulletin contest for clubs with 71 to 100 members. It won the “Silver Award” for the 18th time in 20 contests going back to decades. Tempe Nuevo Kiwanis (Peggy Bryant) won the Orange Award (31-45 members) for Bulletins, and the Kiwanis Club of Friendship Village earned a Children Priority One Award for its project at the Cardon’s Health Center.

Our sisters clubs, Nuevo, Friendship Village and Mesa – Dobson Ranch, did a superb job for Convention Chairwoman Bobbie Caley in providing volunteers and handling much of the legwork. Each of those clubs hosted one of the three general sessions. KCOT was conspicuously missing in filling similar roles and providing help for the convention held in our front yard.

Executive Director Rose Ann Dodson reported our district had 3,458 members as of July 31, down 110 members from the 3,568 members on Oct. 1, 2009. Our division is just 5 down from the year’s start of (316 to 311) the year, and if our Club can add a member without departures, we can end of a positive note and may even be a Distinguished Club.

There are 118 active clubs, with 74 of them below charter strength (25 members minimum). The smallest club has 5 members and the largest (Carefree) has 237. It is one of the 10 largest Kiwanis Clubs in the world.

Southwest District Gov. Ron Smith of Fountain Hills, whose year theme was “Make Time to Make A Difference,” rallied Kiwanians to donate furnishings and gifts for at Kiwanis Room at a Ronald McDonald House in Phoenix. He also led a service project at the Tempe Boys and Girls Club with about 40 children. Lawn Griffiths and C.K. Liu were among Kiwanians helping.

Delegates approved Bruce “B.K.” Knappenberger of Phoenix Kiwanis for Governor for 2010-2011 and Bobby Davis of the Zane Grey – Payson Club for Governor-Elect. Lieutenant governors of the 18 divisions were released, effective Sept. 30, including Lawn Griffiths (Div. 10) and Chung-Kai “CK” Liu (Div. 11). David Wochner was installed with his Class as the next Div. 10 lieutenant governor.

There were 25 educational workshops, including one by our assigned International Trustee, Ed Hutchinson of the Kiwanis Club of Cape May, N.J., a club where KCOT’s own Neil Fisch was once the president. Ed outlined what is planned by Kiwanis International in launching its “ELIMINATE Project” to eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

Appeals were made for volunteers and funding for Kamp Kiwanis near Gallup, N.M. Painting, window caulking and clean-up are needed. The camp has been plagued by water tests that indicated e-coli, and there has been delayed in construction of a much-need cell tower that brings $1,000 a month in income. Kiwanis Club stepped forward at the convention to donate $26,100.

Joel Navarro is Tempe Vice Mayor for 2 years
Congratulations to Tempe City Councilman Joel Navarro on his recently election as Tempe Vice Mayor. He will serve in that role as the No. 2 elected city leader for the next two years, until July 2012. Joel who was elected to the council in 2008 succeeds another KCOT member, Councilman Shana Ellis. Shana was vice mayor 2008 to 2010 and did a lot of duties in that role, especially in the unavailability of Mayor Hugh Hallman. He was elected July 1. KCOT, of course, has the unique distinction of having four of the seven members of the Tempe City Council as Kiwanians: Mark Mitchell, Shana Ellis, Corey Woods and Joel Navarro. Someone who is, was or would be a KCOT member has consecutively been on the Tempe City Council since 1932. Altogether, our Club has had 21 members who have been on the council, including five mayors.

WE WANT YOU AT THE AWARDS/INSTALLTION EVENT SEPT. 27
President-Elect Kerry Fetherston, who steps into the Club’s presidency on Oct. 1, is calling on all members to block out Monday night Sept. 27 so they can attend the annual KCOT Awards and Installation gathering at Bridgeview Condominium Club Room, 140 E. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe, the same location as the 2009 event. New officers and directors will be installed, outgoing officers honored, President Corey Woods will review his year on the theme, “Back to Basics,” new President Kerry will outline her plans and vision, and such awards as Kiwanian of the Year and the George F. Hixson Fellow award will be given. Sign-ups began Thursday or contact Kerry: jack2kerry@cox.net or (602) 625-4497.

Club members deliver 15 bags of school supplies
Make something known and people respond. On Monday, Linda Spears put out a yahoogroups email message calling on members to purchase back-to-school supplies and bring them Thursday to Kiwanis. You responded. The back table was piled at Shalimar. The donations of bags of items include three backpacks. They were subsequently delivered to the Tempe Community Council office. Emma Gully responded with this message: "I was very sorry to miss today's KCOT meeting, but wanted to make sure TCC and Communities in Schools formally thanked the Club for its extraordinary generosity in the CIS "Supplies for Students" drive. Fifteen bags full of school supplies AND $95 cash will make a HUGE difference to the children of Tempe! Thank you so much!!!" - Emma H. Gully
Marketing & Resources Manager Tempe Community Council