:
- Scissors (blunt)
- Pencil sharpeners
- Glue sticks
- Water colors
- Loose Leaf/Lined 3-hole paper
- Portfolio binders
- Markers (washable, non-toxic, non-smell)
- Backpacks (nylon or fabric, dark colors)
- New books
- Calculators
- #2 pencils
- Erasers
- Paints (washable)
- Spiral notebooks
- 3-Ring binders
- Crayons (multi-packs)
- Coloring books
- Activity books
- Rulers
APPROPRIATE SCHOOL CLOTHINGS
- Uniform: Plain white shirts (with collars and absolutely no logos); khaki or navy blue bottoms (pants, skirts, shorts, skorts or jumpers - no denims); navy blue sweaters or sweatshirts.
- Non-Uniform: Tops (with no logs or inappropriate language); bottoms (pants, skirts, skorts, jumpers, denim or cloth).
- Socks and underwear: Preferably white sports socks in appropriate boys and girls sizes
- Shoes (closed-toes, sturdy - tennis shoes recommended.)
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
- Girls’ hair ornaments
- Soap
- Combs/hair brushes
- Shampoo
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Kleenex
Do not include gum, candy, medication or personal contact info. Do not write a child’s name on items.
Update on Member Billing
By now, everyone should have received a quarterly bill, which covers two quarters - the first six months of the year. In my effort to get the information changed over to a computer accounting software and to maintain the look we have grown use to seeing with our invoices, I forgot to be more detailed. I am working on that for the next quarter. In the meantime, I thought some general info might help. The quarterly dues of $33.50 account for your Kiwanis International dues, Southwest District dues, local KCOT dues and Kiwanis Magazine. This charge is billed a quarter ahead. The invoice you received is for the second quarter (April - June) and third quarter (July - September). We are all billed ahead so the Club checkbook will have the money needed to pay the bill when it comes due. The meals are billed for previous quarters. We have two entries. The meals for $11 are for the first quarter (January - March). The meals, at $12, are for the second quarter (April - June). That also is when Shalimar had a meal cost increase. If you have a question, please call Bill Wagner at (480) 831-9977. If you need a more detailed invoice now so that an employer can pay the bill, let me know also. The goal is, as we move forward, to be more detailed and consistent. -- Bill Wagner Treasurer
HIXSON SELECTION GROUP MEETS THURSDAY
The 12 members of KCOT who are George F. Hixson Fellows are asked to meet at Shalimar at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, July 24 for a meeting to nominate and select the 2008 Hixson Fellow. The recipient will be honored during the Awards and Installation Banquet this fall. KCOT annually donated $1,000 to Kiwanis International in honor of the member named the Hixson for sustained service to the Club and the community. Members unable to be there may communicate their thoughts to Lawn Griffiths or other members of the committee.
SPIKE AND MIKE’S TWISTED TARTS INVITATIONAL BUNCO TOURNAMENT IS AUG. 2
On Thursday, Linda Spears passed out flyers and advertised the annual Tempe Tarts Bunco Group’s "Coed Bunco" fund-raiser, the only time that "the boys" are able to join ladies in the fun. It is called the "Spike and Mike’s Twisted Tarts Invitational Bunco Tournament," presumably named for two favorite guys, both KCOT members --Spike Lawrence and Mike DiDomenico. There will be raffles and a silent auction and cash prizes. It will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Tempe Family YMCA to benefit the Tempe Family YMCA, East Valley Boys and Girls Club Tempe Ladmo Branch and Tempe Community Foundation. Bring non-perishable foods to support the Tempe Community Action Agency’s food drive. It costs $50 to play. Table sponsorships are $100. Hors d’ouerves and wine are included, but "in true bunco tradition, feel free to bring the beverages of your choice." To register, call or e-mail: Linda Spears, (480) 966-6648 or lindaspears1@cox.net or Shana Ellis (480) 390-8216 orshana_ellis@cox.net.
READ TO EXCEED:
If you haven’t had the chance to volunteer to read to children in Head Start when school starts this fall, here are remaining open dates. Let Robert Kizere know by e-mail if you are interested in taking books to read to the kids can, then leave books behind for each child. Here are the open classes.
Curry School
Tuesday @ 9:30 AM
Dates: 8/19; 9/2; 9/16; 9/30; 10/14; 10/28
North Tempe Multi Generational
Wednesday @ 9:30 AM
Dates: 8/20; 9/3; 9/17; 10/1; 10/15; 10/29
Wednesday @ 1:30 PM
Dates: 8/20; 9/3; 9/17;
10/15; 10/29
Robert Kizer
e
www.Robertvaughndesigns.com
Robert@Robertvaughndesigns.com
480.221.0954 Phone
480.839.4630 Fax
Mark Mitchell, Corey Wood Sworn into City Council Shana Ellis new vice mayor
Congratulations to Mark Mitchell and Corey Woods as they took office Thursday night to four-year terms on the Tempe City Council. Mark was sworn in for his third term on the Council, while Corey was sworn in to his first term, making history as the first African-American on the council. Those two Kiwanians join KCOT member Shana Ellis as three Club members on the seven-member council. The trio match two other times in city history when our Club also had three members on the council 1994-98 (Neil Giuliano, Joseph Lewis and Linda Spears) and 2002-2004 (Neil Giuliano, Pam Goronkin and Mark Mitchell). Corey becomes the 19th KCOT member to hold a term on the City Council. Our Club, though founded in 1952, has actually had a once or future Kiwanian on the Tempe City Council consecutively since 1932 -- 76 years! Mark and Corey joined Joel Navarro and Mayor Hugh Hallman in being sworn in Thursday night. Hut Hutson, who was not re-elected, and Barbara Carter, who did not seek a third term, completed their tenures on the Council. On Thursday night, Corey thanked the advice he had already gotten from Barb and Hut heretofore. He acknowledged Judge Cecil Patterson as campaign co-chairman, along with KCOT Past President Chris Rosner, who couldn’t be there because his daughter Sheridan was returning from France Thursday night. Corey thanked his parents and his brother Brandon, who all were on hand. Mark was joined by his family, including his parents Congressman Harry and Marianne Mitchell. He acknowledged all his family’s support and he make note of how much his two daughters have grown in the four years since he was last sworn in. He acknowledged Nikki Amberg (wife of KCOT member Fred Amberg) for chairing his campaign. Shana Ellis was also elected unanimously as the new Tempe Vice Mayor for the next two years.
Kiwanians get up early
to shop with B&G kids Judy Aldrich on Thursday told the volunteers for the Mervyn’s Back-to-School Shopping Spree that they’d better get up really early because they had to be to the store in Gilbert an hour earlier than first thought -- 6:45 a.m., instead of 7:45 a.m. The reason: The store would be opened to the public by 8 a.m., so kids from the Boys and Girls Club had to complete the task of shopping for $100 worth of clothing. We thank these 22 people who signed up two accompany the boys and girls on their quest for new duds, and we thank Judy for again overseeing the effort: Neil Fisch, Nick Miner, Judy Aldrich, Kerry Fetherston, Mike Jennings, Kathy Stevens, Emma Bordner, Lance Gray, Linda Spears, Cheryl Hornyan, Sharon Kausal, Richard Kausal, Mark Richwine, Chris Wilson, Curt Ritland, Vinny Mirizio, Gina Mirizio, Jan Hohman, Mary Anny Schulte, Sharon Doyle, Laurel Jefferson and Mike Cryer.
Another bang-up job for Club's annual 4th of July Fireworks
We thank our Kiwanis Club of Tempe members and their spouses or children for stepping up to volunteer for the 4th of July Fireworks Show. Twenty of our 80 members were able to help, and several donated handsome amounts to the Club Administrative fund because they had to be out of town. That is appreciated. We acknowledge these Kiwanians: Mike Cryer, Lance Gray, Rich Joos, Judy Aldrich, Ralph Packer, Russ Plieseis, Curt Ritland, Laurel Jefferson, Mike Jennings, Art Tate, Linda Wegener (with husband Steve), Sharon Kausal, Mark Richwine, Dave Summers (with wife Kim), Bob Polley, Kerry Fetherston, Diane Schans, Bill Wagner (with son Nick), Tom Oliver and Lawn Griffiths. You abiding presence and willingness to work long hours to ensure success are lauded. Mike managed a major undertaking, which attracted perhaps the largest attended show yet. Our professional events planner, Judi Yates, and her staff showed their expertise in every way. Club Presidnet Mark Richwine did an enthusiastic, informative job on CBS-5. The weather helped out and let the show go on despite rains and lightning elsewhere in the Valley. Mark said that weather reports from around the Valley of hail, lightning, winds and rain prompted the show’s leaders to huddle every 15 minutes, starting at 6:30 p.m. to decide what to do. CBS-TV weatherman Sean McGlaughlin was instrumental in the decisions. They checked with the Tempe Fire experts as to how close lightning must be to cancel an event. The team never did find out and 1 ½ hours later, the show went on. Penny Pease shared that the rule is if lightning is within 5 miles, events should be shut down. The closest lighting on Friday night was believed to have been 6 miles away. Inflatable bounce houses in the children’s game area on the west side were shut down as storms got stronger. About four other Valley fireworks shows were canceled because of the monsoon. No word yet on how well the Club did financially. Beer sales were strong, gate tickets were good, and Frys did great advance ticket sales in the last couple days.
Shopping spree for B&G kids is July 19 at Mervyn’s in Gilbert
On Thursday, Judy Aldrich continued to sign up volunteers for the newly relocated annual Back to School Shopping Spree for the children who belong to the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, including our own Ladmo Branch in Tempe. It will be Saturday July 19, starting about 7:45 a.m., at the Mervyn’s at Germann and Gilbert Roads in Gilbert. So far 18 have signed up to help. The move resulted from the recent closing of the Mervyn’s store at Rural and Southern in Tempe to make way for a new Wal-Mart. Kiwanis, along with other groups, has been asked to take part in the venture. Once again Kiwanians will be paired up with children for less than an hour of shopping through the store before it is opened for the public. Kids will get about $100 worth of school clothes -- head to toe -- to start them off for the new school year. Their parents don’t accompany them. Feel free to bring along spouses or friends to help out. Wear Kiwanis shirts/caps to give us greater profile. Judy promises lots of fun and a full heart from the experience. Call her if you want to get on the list of volunteers, (480) 961-3576
Troop 474 scouts earn well-deserved thanks for parking cars on 4th
To Boys Scout Troop 474 of Tempe
Please pass on to your scouts and their parents the Kiwanis Club of Tempe’s sincere appreciation for the excellent job they did in handling cars in the west parking lot last Friday. We know this year’s event presented the Troop a number of unusual challenges, like many of your key older scouts (and parents) being out of town at a high adventure camp, a reduction in the event’s parking barricade budget, and the wind gusts that arose that evening. Still, the scouts adjusted, persevered and performed their usual well-coordinated and excellent job of routing and parking hundreds of cars in an orderly and efficient manner. The Kiwanis Club also continues to be impressed with the numbers and capabilities of your volunteers, further evidenced by the fact that some of your Troop’s past Eagle Scouts came back to help out. This by itself speaks very well of your organization. The July Fourth event planners often remark that we wish we had more organized and "go to" volunteer groups like Troop 474. You know, in our 50+ years of producing the event, we’ve found that it’s the little things, like a positive parking lot experience, that keeps attendees coming back, year after year. And, like past years, we expect that when all the tickets are counted and bills paid, the event will again be profitable, with most (if not all) of the proceeds redistributed for the benefit of Tempe area youth, including Troop 474. Again, thank you for this year’s efforts. And, we look forward to Troop 474’s involvement in next summer’s event.
Regards,
Tom Sands
Troop 474 Chartered Organization Representative
Kiwanis Club of Tempe
Here are links to the Arizona Republic news article (and public comments) about the event, and the photos they took.
News Story: http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2008/07/05/20080705tempe-ON.html
Photos: http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/commphotos/show.php?colid=6903&slide_nbr=1
KCOT’s Read to Exceed project has still more reading times to assign
Hello Friends, Due to the overwhelming success of the Read to Exceed project, in which KCOT members read books to children enroll in Head Start, we are expanding! I have listed more open dates and times below that need your help. Reply via return email with your selections and I will send a confirmation as I set the schedule. Thanks again for your support!
West Side Multi Generational Center
Mondays at 1:30 PM
8/18; 9/15; 9/29; 10/13;10/27
Curry Elementary School
Tuesdays at 9:30 AM
8/19; 9/2; 9/16; 9/30; 10/14; 10/28
North Tempe Multi Generational Center
Wednesdays at 9:30 AM
8/20; 9/3; 9/17; 10/1; 10/15; 10/29
Wednesdays at 1:30 PM
8/20; 9/3; 9/17; 10/1; 10/15; 10/29
Thanks again,
Robert Kizere
RKizere@msn.com
BACK FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Robert Kizere represented KCOT at the Kiwanis International Convention in Orlando two weeks ago and said the buzzword there was "growth. All our Clubs are to grow in the coming year." He said it was fine convention where technology and new ways to do things were major topics.
Shopping spree for B&G Clubs Sept. 19
On Thursday, Judy Aldrich continued to sign up up volunteers for the newly relocated annual Back to School Shopping Spree for the children who belong to the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, including our own Ladmo Branch in Tempe. Before she passed out the clipboard, 13 had signed up and more were needed. The service project will be Saturday July 19, starting about 7:45 a.m., at the Mervyn’s at Germann and Gilbert Roads in Gilbert. The event’s move resulted from the recent closing of the Mervyn’s store at Rural and Southern in Tempe to make way for a new Wal-Mart. Kiwanis, along with other groups, has been asked to take part in the venture. Once again Kiwanians will be paired up with children for less than an hour of shopping through the store before it is opened for the public. Kids will get about $100 worth of school clothes -- head to toe -- to start them off for the new school year. Their parents don’t accompany them. Feel free to bring along spouses or friends to help out. Wear Kiwanis shirts/caps to give us greater profile. Judy promises lots of fun and a full heart from the experience. Call her if you want to get on the list of volunteers, (480) 961-3576
Nuevo Club wins K.I. Convention OK of electronic voting
Congratulations to Lon Lawenz, current present, and Frank Schmuck, past president, of the Kiwanis Nuevo Club of Tempe in their success in developing a bylaw change to Kiwanis International rules and then shepherding it through to adoption by the delegates last week at the 93rd annual Kiwanis Convention in Orlando, Fla. That is no small feat. It gives Kiwanis clubs the freedom to let its member vote for club officers by not only paper ballot but electronically. Members who cannot be on hand on election day can also participate in the process. It was "Amendment 5 - Electronic Balloting Option for Club Elections." It was amended and approved in this language. "Kiwanis clubs may make available to each member in good standing the option to vote electronically or by paper ballot for annual club officer elections." That was a slight variation on the Nuevo proposal: "Kiwanis clubs may make available to members in good standing, as defined by the club, secure electronic website voting in place of paper balloting for annual club elections."
Nuevo put together a first-class, glossy, four-page promotional piece "Your vote means the World to Kiwanis ... and to us!" with supportive statements from Steve Siemens, 2005-2006 present, current SW District Gov. Herb Hayde, Susie Schuck, Nuevo president-elect and Frank Schmuck. They noted that a Nuevo study found that in a Beta test, 33 percent more of the club’s members voted for club members using electronic means compared to just paper ballots. It cited that Kiwanis Clubs have so many busy, traveling members with valid reasons to be gone on election day, but should not be shut out from voting and shaping their club’s future leadership. On Thursday, Frank and Lon came to thank KCOT for its early support for amendment. At the convention, delegate approved an option for Kiwanis Club to elect their officers for two-terms, compared to one year now. At the same time, lieutenant governors can be elected for two years, as can district officers. Nine amendments were dealt with including some that were withdrawn. One of two resolutions OK’d was one about inclusiveness. It read: "Resolution 1 - Celebrating and Fostering Diversity" Action: Approved as amended to read: "Celebrating and Fostering Inclusiveness:"
"Therefore, be it resolved that the delegates assembled at the 2008 International Convention in Orlando, Florida, and all Kiwanis leaders and members to take action to create a culture and club environment that develops and nurtures mutual respect for all and celebrates the inclusiveness of our beloved Kiwanis." As a sidelight to the convention, Immediate Past Southwest District Governor Jim Jennings of Green Valley, AZ, was one of five people elected International Trustees for three-year terms. The 5,500 Kiwanis delegates chose Don Canaday, of Fishers, Ind., as International President-Designate, Paul Palazzolo, of Springfield, Ill., as President-Elect-Designate, and Sylvester Neal, of Auburn, Wash., as Vice President-Designate.
Time out! It’s July
I welcome July -- even more so as I get older. Despite its brutal heat, it has a nature we can live with, if done responsibly and in measured ways. July is a time when even the most gung-ho meeting hawks relent and say, "Let’s not meet in July." When moments come on those nights or days when those meetings would have taken place, it’s a gift of time to stay home. So July is a wonderful time to have a string of nights at home without obligations or other places to be. The phone rings less, the dog sleeps more, the catalogs in the mailbox are few. So much of the rush is gone because so many folks are gone, too. The late afternoon sunset casts its light from so far to the northwest that the shadows and glows through windows at such oblique angles make you stop to take notice. Sam Keen has said, "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." July is so great because it sends so many co-workers and bosses off to ocean sides and mountains for vacation, and it becomes a vacation for you to have them gone. July portends monsoons and the occasional deluges the can be built by rolling dust storms, then winds and gushing rains that take temperatures down dramatically, and cause occasional power outages. Brief street flooding is exciting and gives hope for more rains. They can turn dry, woeful lawns to vibrant green in days. For an hour after the night rains, the air is filled with alarms and detectors beeping incessantly from being triggered by storms. While few here would choose July above other months, we can still enjoy its midyear place of honor because of how it dominates summer, how it bridges two other busier months, one for readying for summer and the other for recovery from summer, what with school and all. Yet there is a certain dread in July - awareness that it will be gone. Back in the Midwest as a kid, I braced for the first cold gust of wind out of the grove in August - the promise of what lay ahead to put us back in the reality of struggle against the elements, the start of school, the death of the vegetable garden. Carefree days gone. Go slowly July with your fireworks and back-to-school specials and the compulsion by some to bring people together. No, there isn’t time for loneliness in July. There are only great movies to see, a tower of books begging to be read and the McLaughlin Group on Friday nights. July is for self-indulgence. --Lawn Griffiths
READ TO EXCEED STARTING NEW YEAR
Well, it is time to start year two for this great program. I need YOUR help. I have listed below the dates and times I need help to read to the children and give them books. Please email by reply and let me know which dates you can fill. Don't be afraid to take several. This is such a worthwhile cause and the children really appreciate what you do for them! (Note some of these dates have been taken since the e-mail first went out from Robert on June 29.
Thanks again,
Robert Kizere
Rkizere@msn.com
West Side Multi
Generational Center
Mondays at 9:30 AM
August 18
September 1
September 15
September 29
October 13
October 27
Curry Elementary School
Tuesdays at 1:30 PM
August 19
September 2
September 16
September 30
October 14
October 28
North Tempe Multi
Generational Center
Wednesdays at 9:30 AM
August 20
September 17
October 15
Wednesdays at 1:30 PM
September 3
October 1
4TH OF July Instructions for Volunteers: Star Spangled Idol Finals str 7 PM on Wednesday the 25th at the Amphitheater outside Dave & Buster's in Tempe Market Place. T-shirt distribution will be 4 P.M on Thursday the 26th at the Tempe YMCA on Rural Road. Refreshments will be served. Team Captains meeting will be no later than 6 PM on Thursday the 26th at the Tempe YMCA. Please try and attend the T-shirt event so we can continue following the T-shirt stuffing. -- Mike Cryer
Saturday, July 19
Mervyn’s Back-to-School Project will be in Gilbert: Although our familiar clothing store at Rural and Southern for so many years -- Mervyn’s -- has vanished from the scene to make way for a new Wal-Mart, the traditional Back-to-School Shopping Spree for kids in the East Valley Boys and Girls Club is still on. Kiwanis, along with other groups, has been asked to venture to the Mervyn’s at Germann and Gilbert Roads in Gilbert. It’s earlier this year, Saturday, July 19, beginning about 7 a.m. Judy Aldrich, who coordinates the effort for Kiwanis, announced the event Thursday and said there will be sign-ups for volunteers. Once again Kiwanians will be paired up with children for less than an hour of shopping through the store before it is opened for the public. Kids will get about $100 worth of school clothes -- head to toe -- to start them off for the new school year. Their parents don’t accompany them. Feel free to bring along spouses or friends to help out. Wear Kiwanis shirts/caps to give us greater profile. As Vinny Mirizio has often said, this is one of the neatest and most heart-warming projects that Kiwanis does each year because it is a community service project that directly involves and helps young children.
Oh, say could they sing! TruWest Credit Union presents the CBS5 July 4th Tempe Town Lake Festival Produced by the Kiwanis Club of Tempe. You are invited to help out or to just attend. Get your family and friends there for and event that will be as spectacular as ever.
Did you know that 50 people vied for to be THE singer -- "The Star-Spangled Idol -- who will deliver the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the event at Town Lake? Competition in skills to sing the National Anthem was on June 14 at the stage at Tempe Marketplace. Event chairman Mike Cryer was chief judge (Karl Wochner had committed but circumstance didn’t get him there). Come Wednesday night (June 25) for the finals
People’s Choice: Five contestants are having the second chance to make the finals through online "people’s choice" voting. Friends, family members and fans can vote for these contestants at www.Tempe4th.com until Monday June 23. The contestant who receives the most votes will be selected as our last finalist.
Congratulations to all of our contestants for giving us their all at the Star Spangled Idol auditions. We had more than 50 talented amateur singers compete, ranging from age 6 to 60 and representing nearly every community in the Valley. They made it tough for our judges to narrow the field. In fact, due to a tie, the judges chose these 10 singers to move on to the finals
Star Spangled Idol Finals: The 11 finalists (10 selected by judges and 1 selected by online voting) will perform in the finals at Tempe Marketplace - 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 25. Finalists will be expected to sing the Star Spangled Banner in its entirety from memory. Judges will select one Star Spangled Idol winner to sing the national anthem on the main stage at the CBS5 Tempe Town Lake July 4th Festival presented by TruWest Credit Union. The winner will be announced on the Web site after June 25. The Event Hotline: (480) 350-5189
4TH OF JULY NEWS: The first ad has appeared in the Republic for the annual celebration. Most of the volunteer slots have been filled - 6 captains are still needed. Call Lance Gray (480-730-0240) or Mike Cryer (480-897-1267) if you can help. Mike also announced that Chrysler will not honor their contract for a $35,000 sponsorship and will only give $5,000 so they're scrambling to find $30,000. Please let Mike know if you have any contacts with companies that would consider doing $5,000 sponsorships. Also, there are 200 VIP tickets available at $75 each. This may be purchased in any number - get your neighborhood together to enjoy this great summer entertainment.
YIKES!!!! - LINDA SPEARS: I stopped at QT on my way into work this morning to buy gas. My tank was half full and I've decided to follow some of the suggestions for increasing my driving miles per gallon. It does seem to work for my car, a Mini Cooper. I've increased my range by about 50 miles by filling up at half instead of empty. Unfortunately, my little high performance car requires premium gas which has already passed $4 per gallon ($4.19 today!) so the 8+ gallons I purchased cost over $33!
Besides filling up at half tank, "experts" recommend filling up early in the morning to get the most gas for your dollar. As the air temperature rises, the gas expands so at the highest temperature of the day, you get the least gas per volume. I'm not an early riser so that presents a problem for me. I did fill up at 10a rather than 5p so I should get some points for that. I did consider driving to Payson (the nearest "cool" spot for me), but that would probably defeat the purpose.
Pumping the gas at a slower rate is also supposed to help increase the volume of gas that goes into your tank. That's a hard one for me - I'm usually running 5 minutes late so that extra 30 seconds it takes to fill the tank at a slower rate seems like an eternity.
I was talking to a friend of mine who's a proprietor for Outback Steakhouse. He totalled his car a few weeks ago (some kind of mechanical problem caused the Honda's wheels to lock and he couldn't negotiate a corner and ended up in a ditch) so he's been driving the company Hummer which runs on diesel - diesel is close to $5 a gallon. He was bemoaning that fact while we sat in his restaurant which was about half full. His business is down 20% from the previous year. He said he would be more upset if that wasn't true throughout the industry. Of course, the fuel increases have resulted in surcharges for food and beverage purchases so his costs continue to rise. We all see menu prices continue to creep up to offset these costs so that our favorite restaurants will remain open.
Last weekend I was talking to a friend who's a pilot for US Airways and she was lamenting the problems with the airline industry. Fuel costs are making it difficult for airlines to stay in business. The good news is that it is cheaper to fly to most destinations than drive. Every day, the foreclosure of more homes makes the news. This trend is supposed to continue for at least a year while mortgage rates continue to "adjust".
So, as my friend the restaurant operator asked, "Is there any good news?" That caused pause - is there? I guess, for most of us, none of the above has really hit home. Yes, I complain about gas prices, but I continue to drive (although my shopping outings are closer to home - don't go to North Scottsdale much). I don't go to restaurants as often, but that's because I've become a food Nazi and don't eat things that I don't know how they're prepared and what's in them. I'm flying to Chicago for the 4th of July and I'm driving to Orange County next weekend for my best friend's birthday. I have a great mortgage broker who takes care of me on that front. So yes, there's good news for me. I hope there's good news for you too. Griff will be back at the editor's job next week. He does a great job of doing this bulletin 50 weeks of the year. As always, thanks for letting me play for a couple of weeks.
COREY WOODS ELECTED TO TEMPE CITY COUNCIL: Congratulations to Corey Woods, vice president of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, who was elected Tuesday to a four-year seat on the Tempe City Council, according to unofficial results from the Maricopa County Elections office. Corey finished second in a four-way race for the two open seats, after another KCOT member, Mark Mitchell was re-elected outright in the March primary to his third four-year term. With their election, KCOT will have three of the seven Tempe City Council members (Mark, Corey and Shana Ellis) as council members -- equaling a mark experienced as recently as 2004-2004 (Mayor Neil Giuliano, Pam Goronkin and Mark Mitchell). Results Tuesday: Joel Navarro, 7,455 (6,172 from early voting); Corey Woods, 7,098 (5,724 from early voting); Julie Jakubek, 6, 608 (5,556); incumbent Hut Hutson, 6,221 (5,309) On Thursday, Corey gave a compelling, personal account of the campaign, reflecting on how his parents fostered his interest in public policy and community service at the dinner table growing up. He told how he and his team hit the pavement last August to knock on thousands of doors. Penny Pease praised the success of another U. of Michigan alumnus and present Corey with a certificate for a new pair of shoes and conjured how 1956 Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson had a hole in the sole of his shoe.
4TH OF JULY UPDATE: Mike Cryer announced things are going forward with planning as the fireworks show is six weeks away. He said issues over fire dangers and the City of Phoenix budgetary restraints, Tempe’s show could be the virtually the only fireworks in the Valley. So there may be a high demand on tickets, which will be sold in advance at Frys. We are still seeking to fill volunteer slots, including a need for captains to supervise two more ticket gates. If Lawn Griffiths and Emma Bordner are in charge of the Main Gate and Sun Cor gates, with a need for people for the west and south gates. If you can step forward, contact Lawn Griffiths (480) 894-1557 or Mike Cryer (480) 897-1267.
KIWANIS NUEVO MARKS 35TH ANNIVERSARY: The history of Kiwanis in Tempe is so very much more than what we know about the Kiwanis Club of Tempe. It has been Tempe Sunrise Kiwanis, Kiwanis Nuevo and the Kiwanis Club of Friendship Village. It has also been the story of a few other Kiwanis starts that didn’t survive. And it is the story of the Key Clubs in Tempe and Circle K Club at Arizona State University. Part of KCOT’s history features the work of our early members who so successfully and effectively helped to organize other Kiwanis Clubs. Kiwanis Nuevo surely has been a point of pride. On Saturday night, May 17, Steve and Joy Stewart and Lawn Griffiths attended the 35th anniversary dinner of the Nuevo Club at the Fiesta Inn. “A Night to Preserve” came on the precise anniversary of its founding on May 17, 1973. Here is an excerpt from what Nuevo Historian Peggy Bryant wrote in a section of her club history called “Our Beginnings”:
In 1973, the Kiwanis Club of Tempe decided to form a new club. They had already sponsored the Tempe Sunrise Kiwanis Club, but felt that offering another club would increase potential membership. In the spring of 1973, the KCOT, under President Dale Stephens, began organizing the new club. They aptly named it the Kiwanis Club of Tempe Nuevo. Stephens recruited lawyer John Herrick as the Club’s first member. The new club’s organization meeting was held on Thursday, May 17, 1973, at Shalimar Country Club. Stephens presided over the meeting. He was joined by Southwest District Secretary Floyd Williams Jr., who led the new club through the formal details of organization, Division VII Lt. Gov. Cliff Hamstra and KCOT members Bob Curry, Ralph Lingerfelt, Marlin Miller, Ralph Packer and Bob Williams. Herrick would become the Club’s founding president. …. “We seemed to have a very nice group of people,” said John Herrick twenty-five years later. ‘They were mostly young people just getting started in business, trying to succeed, people just starting families.’ Several were just out of Arizona State University, and others were Vietnam veterans. ‘Dale Stephens and other KCOT members supported us through our organizational year,’ recalled Herrick. ‘Dale spent a lot of time with me trying to get me organized, and the club up and going.’ “KCOT provided the new club with its first thirteen meeting programs. Representatives from the club were present at virtually every meeting for the first year and often at meetings in the years after that. “The Kiwanis Club of Tempe Nuevo had been officially launched. And while it was to struggle for a couple years with too little manpower and not enough money, it would soon find its own direction, establishing many traditions which still exist today.”
Nuevo has had a storied 3 ? decades and has become so identified by its projects for youth and children and stalwart members like Dick Caley, a past Southwest District Governor, past Tempe City Councilman Don Cassano, Eastburn Bennett, Bill Kaukol, Richard Flickinger, Bill O’Connor, Mary Lou Taylor and Larry Mishler. And so many others who connected with KCOT in Interclubs and joint projects. Congratulations to Dr. Lon Lawrenz on this milestone. Southwest District Governor Herb Hayde and District Executive Director Rose Ann Dodson had key roles in the banquet, and officers for their two sponsored Key Clubs were inducted for the next school year. They are McClintock Key Club and Tempe Accelerated Key Club. They also sponsor Connolly Middle School Builders Club and are in partnership with Thew Elementary School. - Lawn Griffiths
CRYER, WOODS, FETHERSTON ELECTED TO LEAD KCOT IN YEARS AHEAD: The Kiwanis Club of Tempe has cast the dye for leadership for years to come. At its annual meeting on Thursday, unanimous voters were cast for four officer candidates and vie positions on the Board of Directors. Mike Cryer, who stepped up to be president when work prevented President-Elect Rich Joos from taking that role, will become the Club’s next president. He will be our 60th president since its founding. Corey Woods was chosen president-elect, and Kerry Fetherston was elected vice president and is in line to be president in 2010-2011. Elected without opposition to officer roles were: President, Mike Cryer; President-Elect, Corey Woods; Vice President, Kerry Fetherston; Treasurer, Bill Wagner. Elected to the Board were: One-year term, Kathy Stevens. The ballot had a single-year term to fill because Mike Cryer, will move up to president on Oct. 1. Kathy, whose own two-year term expires Oct. 1, was the only candidate, after Sonia Filian withdrew earlier. Elected to four two-year terms: Carol Balk; Pam Goronkin; Lance Gray; Mike Jennings. The new boad will be responsible for identifying a new board secretary to succeed Carol Balk, who has continuous served on the board since 1993 and 11 years (since 1997) as club secretary. Two board members with year left on the board after Oct. 1 are Diane Schans and Dr. Dean Plainer. Going off, with terms expiring, are Curt Ritland, Russ Plieseis and Steve Stewart. Thanks to all who served on the Elections Committee in cooperation with the Membership and Development Committee, with Linda Spears as chairman.
HONORS DAY FOR MCKEMY MIDDLE SCHOOL: By Bill Wagner
I had a great morning Thursday with Ralph Lingerfelt at McKemy Middle School in Tempe, honoring the 8th grade students. Ralph was the fist principal at McKemy in 1958 -- 50 years ago. Ralph started the honors program in 1960. He was principal there for 11 years. It was fun seeing Ralph and Joe Spracale remembering the fun years. Ralph hired Joe, who was later the principal after Ralph at McKemy. The two-hour event featured Ralph talking at great length to all the kids about the history of McKemy and days with Joe Spracale. Some don’t know that Ralph was an accomplished drummer out of Tennessee who went to Arizona State College, got his education and played drums in the marching band, before going on to play drums for the Phoenix Community Orchestra. He was a great musician. Bill‘s son Nick attend McKemy. This year the recipients were Dania Torres-Navarro and Tim Arthur.
BOARD MEETING TUESDAY: The Kiwanis Club of Tempe will hold its monthly board meeting on Tuesday, May 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Pyle Adult Recreation Center, 655 E. Southern Ave, west of the Tempe Public Library. Send agenda items, requests, reports, etc. Better yet, come join us, it’s a rollicking good time.
INTERCLUB COMPLETED TO MARICOPA: Steve Stewart reported a good trip to Maricopa on Tuesday for an Interclub. “We had a very open and dynamic meeting with the Maricopa club and openly discussed fund-raising and membership. President, Dick Hines and Secretary Carol Hines along with Don Redwine and two other members, have rolled up their sleeves, collected their attitudes and intend to regain some lost ground. Div. 10 Lt. Gov. West McLean also participated with constructive input. Our group from KCOT consisted of Mark Richwine, Mike Cryer, Karl Wochner, Robert Kizere & Mayor and myself. They are going to have a ‘pancake breakfast’ on Nov. 30. It may be held in Chandler to enhance the revenue. I am going to try and make some time available to help them any way I can. We are already started on our Middle Circle and hope to complete two more of those by the end of this month or surely by the first of July. There are eight more to do.”
KEYCLUB UPDATE: Grace Torpin, advisor for the Tempe High School Key Club, said school year is nearly over and the Club had its last meeting with a pizza party, with chips and cake. They have averaged 35 to 40 students for its meetings this year. Among their recent activities were helping the Mecha Club decorate with paper flowers for its recent event. They also supported the efforts for five Tempe High students to take part in the Close-Up trip to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. They were given a Liberty Bell replica as a thank you, which Grace donated to KCOT as a raffle item.
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB EVENT RELOCATED: Vic Cordts, who manages the Ladmo Branch of the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, noted that with the closing of the Mervyn’s store at Southern and Rural, the annual children’s shopping spree is moving to another Mervyn’s store, but it is not nearby. It will be 7 a.m. Saturday, July 19, at Mervyn, 4095 S. Gilbert Road (at Germann) in Gilbert. It has been a wildly popular KCOT service project of helping children from Boys and Girls Clubs shop for back-to-school clubs. Vic acknowledged the distance issues but said he hoped KCOT would remain committed with some volunteers.
THE WEST IN SOUTHWEST DISTRICT: Our Division 10 has a remarkable lieutenant governor who is 150 percent Kiwanian. Some might forget that West McLean a long time ago was the Governor of the Southwest District, and he has considerable experience in other lives as a lieutenant governor. He was governor in 1992-93 or 15 years ago.
In my 22 years in Kiwanis, I remember West first as an editor at the Arizona Republic. After he retired, he moved to the Tribune where he was a copy editor, who read and edited reporters’ stories primarily. I also remember that he was the editor of the Southwest Kiwanis District’s near-monthly newspaper, The Build-Up, a daunting job. I believe he was editor both before and after being governor. He held many other district duties in Kiwanis besides, including being chairmen of a slew of committees, especially with the Southwest District Foundation. . For a time, he was member of the Scottsdale North Kiwanis Club. Later he lived in Prescott and then moved to California.
He has a fascinating odyssey of memberships in clubs. Let him tell that story:
“When we moved back from Palm Springs, Calif., to Mesa, I looked for a noon club but there are none in Mesa. After visiting Fountain Hills (my first Kiwanis Club), KCOT, Tempe-Nuevo and Chandler, I joined Chandler which meets at noon Tuesday.
“Then after Mary died almost three years ago, I started helping out at the SWD office and joined Downtown Mesa which meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays.
“I tried to organize a noon club in Mesa but early sign-ups wanted a morning club which became Red Mountain Mesa where I am still a member. I soon dropped membership in Downtown Mesa.
“Then when the old Division 10 wanted to split but needed somebody who could serve as lieutenant governor without having attended 2007-08 training, I "volunteered". … I also joined Maricopa Kiwanis to help them get established … Thus I became lieutenant governor of Division 10 (I had been lieutenant governor of an entirely different Division 10 as a member of North Scottsdale 25 years ago in 1982-83).
I am currently a member of Chandler (Interclub chairman), Red Mountain Mesa (secretary-treasurer) and Maricopa (director).
I HOPE I can cut back after this year!
CLUB HOLDS ANNUAL ELECTIONS THURSDAY: Members of KCOT can shape the course of the Club’s future by being on hand next Thursday, May 15, when the Annual Meeting is held and officers and directors of the board are chosen by ballot. On Thursday, President Mark Richwine announced that bylaws call for the official ballot to be finalized one week before the annual meeting and published in the Bulletin. Besides names that had been developed by the Elections and Membership Development Committee, nominations for all positions were taken from the floor Thursday. Only one additional name came forward: Sonia Filian for the one-year term open on the board, thus providing a second name to go along with Kathy Stevens, who was previously nominated. All offices begin Oct. 1. All candidates are invited and encouraged to be on hand on Thursday to take a couple minutes to speak to their candidacies and share their ideas for the Club or their Kiwanis commitment and passion. There won’t be a regular speaker or program on Thursday. Members must be present to vote and in case of ties, immediate runoffs will be taken. There will be a place for write-ins. Winners will be determined by highest votes in each race, not a majority plus one. The new board will need to identify and approve a new secretary. Carol Balk does not intend to take another one-year term as secretary after more than a decade in that role. Here is the ballot for May 15. Please try to be on hand to participate:
Officers
President - Mike Cryer
President-Elect - Corey Woods
Vice President - Kerry Fetherston
Treasurer - Bill Wagner
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
One-Year Term (vote for one)
Kathy Stevens
Sonia Filian
Two-Year Terms (Vote for up 4)
Carol Balk
Pam Goronkin
Lance Gray
Laurel Jefferson
Mike Jennings
Nick Miner
4TH OF JULY NEWS: Mike Cryer said there has been $211,000 in sponsorships raised to date for the 4th of July show. He said volunteers were lining up well. On Thursday morning, the Sunrise Kiwanis Club pledged to provide help for the event. Mike said he heard that Dick Neuheisel has promised temperatures won’t exceed 104 degrees that day. All able-bodied KCOT members are urged to help on the 4th and ensure our high visibility in an event we have been doing since 1952.
GREAT RACE: The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, of which Carol Balk is business manager, will benefit from “The Race to Indianapolis” 2008 Benefit Dinner. The 5th annual dinner will be Friday, May 16, at Arizona Grand Resort, 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway, Phoenix. Keynote speaker will be John Junker, president and CEO of Fiesta Bowl and Insight Bowl. A silent auction and cash bar reception begins at 6 p.m. Dinner is 7:30 p.m. and speaker at 8:30 p.m. It is black-tie optional. Tickets are $75 each. Reservations to www.arizonaacademy.org. But do it immediately.
INTERCLUBBING IN THE MONTH OF MAY: Thursday was a two Kiwanis-meeting day for some members of KCOT. Five members took part in an Interclub outing to the Sunrise Kiwanis Club at Bogie’s, the restaurant at Ken McDonald Golf Course. Gathering at 6:30 a.m. were Interclub chair Steve Stewart, Robert Kizere and Mayor, Judy Aldrich, Ralph Packer and Lawn Griffiths. They heard a report by Sunrise member John Replogle with a PowerPoint presentation on nicotine and brain functions. Since John’s wife died from lung cancer 10 years ago, he has researched to find out why quitting had been such a barrier for her. The next Interclub will be next Tuesday, May 13. It will be to the Kiwanis Club of Maricopa. Signed up to go are Steve Stewart, Ralph Packer, Mark Richwine, Karl Wochner, Mike Cryer and Robert Kizere and Mayor. Departure in Mike’s rig will be 5:15 p.m. from Marie Calendar’s, 7455 W. Chandler Blvd (at I-10). Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. It will be a chance to reunite with former KCOT member Don Redwine, who led that club’s founding.
NEXT UP FOR INTERCLUBS: MARICOPA AND TEMPE SUNRISE: KCOT members are getting around, poking their noses into a bunch of other Club meetings in the tradition of Kiwanis Interclubs. Under the grit and getup-and-go of Steve Stewart, our club is winding up its Division 10 Inner Circle obligations and working on Middle Circle honors. On April 29, there were nine who went to Sun Lakes Kiwanis. Going were Rod Johnson, Jim Harelson, Karl Wochner, Steve Stewart, Neil Fisch, Laurel Jefferson, Dr. Dean Plainer and Ralph Packer, Robert Kizere and Mayor. Another Interclub will be this coming Tuesday May 6 at the Kiwanis Club of Maricopa. Steve will be notifying those going to travel down from a central pick-up site, leaving at 5:30 p.m.: Neil Fisch, Mike Cryer, Karl Wocher, Steve Stewart and possibly Robert Kizere and Mayor. Tempe Sunrise Kiwanis will be meeting at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, May 8 at Bogie’s restaurant at Ken McDonald Golf Course. Tentative participants are Judy Aldrich, Lawn Griffiths, Steve Stewart, Ralph Packer, Karl Wochner and maybe Robert Kizere and Mayor. More information later on Middle Circle trips.
ELECTION TIME IS HERE - KIWANIANS VOTE: The annual election of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe is less than two weeks away, and we encourage the entire club, if possible, to make plans to be on hand to ensure the fullest measure of democracy in shaping our Club’s future. The election will be Thursday, May 15. There will be a time for nominations from the floor at the next meeting, May 8, and then the final slate of candidates will be announced and published in the subsequent Bulletin for members to know what Kiwanians are running. Then on May 15, all candidates on the ballot will be requested to be on hand to stand and talk to their candidacies and ideas for the Club. Paper ballots will be distributed and counted by the elections committee, which includes past presidents and the Membership and Development Committee. There were no changes announced this week from what was printed in the last Bulletin. So far they are:
Board seat
1-year, uncompleted term (now held by Mike Cryer) - Kathy Stevens
Board seats - 2 years (Elect 4)
Pam Goronkin
Carol Balk
Laurel Jefferson
Nick Miner
Mike Jennings
Lance Gray
Officers
President - Mike Cryer
President-Elect - Corey Woods
Vice President - Kerry Fetherston
Treasurer - Bill Wagner
The new board will need to identify and approve a new secretary. Carol Balk does not intend to take another one-year term as secretary after more than a decade in that role. If you would like to seek a board of officer seat, or wish to nominate someone you have already talked to, contact elections chairman and Past President Linda Spears, lindaspears1@cox.net or (480) 966-6648.
INTERCLUB INNER CIRCLES AT COMPLETION - MIDDLE CIRCLE QUEST IS NEXT: Steve Stewart said Thursday that more than 10 percent of the KCOT membership would be attending the last Interclub visit to a Division 10 Club on Tuesday, April 29, and the Inner Circle Award requirements would be met for the 2007-2008 year. It would be at the Sun Lakes Kiwanis Club at 7 a.m., with these taking part: Steve Stewart, Karl Wochner, Jack Wells, Robert Kizere and Mayor, Rod Johnson, Laurel Jefferson, Jim Harelson, Neil Fisch, Dr. Dean Plainer and Ralph Packer. Steve said the goal is now to pursue the Middle Circle Award, where a minimum of two will try to get to a club in nine of the 18 divisions. Here’s what SW District bylaws say:
Article XIII, Section 7 of the Southwest District Bylaws concludes with following paragraph which requires only two (2) Kiwanians to visit clubs in other divisions to qualify for Middle and Outer Circle awards.
The Middle Circle award shall be presented to all clubs who complete the Inner Circle award requirements and visit at least one club in half of the divisions in the District with two (2) or more Kiwanians during an administrative year. The Outer Circle award shall be presented to all clubs who visit at least one club in every division in the District with two (2) or more Kiwanians during an administrative year.
Lt. Gov. West McLean reports that Chandler Kiwanis has already completed Inner and Middle Circle requirements and fully expects to qualify for the Outer Circle for the third consecutive year.
CLUB ELECTIONS ARE MOVED UP ONE WEEK TO MAY 15 - NINE OFFICES TO BE FILLED: Forget what we told you last week. The annual election of officers and board members of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe will be a week earlier than announced last week. Elections will be Thursday, May 15, NOT May 22. With Tempe and Kyrene district schools letting out for the summer at noon on May 22 and with key Club members and leaders gone on May 22, the membership at Thursday’s meeting was polled and there were no objections to reschedule it to Thursday May 15. The Membership and Development Committee, with others assembled as the elections committee, met before the Club meeting Thursday and proceeded to try to see what the ballot will look like after talking to potential directors and officers. While some Kiwanians may step forward, and there will be a final opportunity to take nominations from the floor on May 8, this is what the ballot looks like as of April 24. Five of the seven board seats will be open. On May 15, all candidates are requested to take the podium and speak to their candidacy in a few minutes. Paper ballots will be used. No absentee ballots. Nominees who so far have emerged are in bolded:
Board seat
1-year, uncompleted term (now held by Mike Cryer) - Kathy Stevens
Board seats - 2 years (Elect 4)
Pam Goronkin
Carol Balk
Laurel Jefferson
Nick Miner
Mike Jennings
Lance Gray
Officers
President - Mike Cryer
President-Elect - Corey Woods
Vice President - Kerry Fetherston
Treasurer -- Bill Wagner
If you would like to seek a board of officer seat, or wish to nominate someone you have already talked to, contact elections chairman and Past President Linda Spears, lindaspears1@cox.net or (480) 966-6648
10 OUTSTANDING TEMPE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO GET KCOT AWARDS: Karl Wochner once again has set up the annual KCOT presentation of plaques and scholarship cash awards to two outstanding students at each of the five middle schools in Tempe, in both Tempe Elementary and Kyrene Elementary school districts. Each recipient this spring will get a check for $75 and a plaque for leadership, service and academic scholarship. We have six KCOT members who are taking part in the schools’ end-of-year awards convocations. Here are the presenters, schools and dates: Steve Stewart, Connolly Middle School, 6 p.m. May 13; Joe Schmoker, Kyrene Middle School, 7 p.m. May 13; NoRa Trevino, Fees Middle School, 7 p.m. May 12; Ralph Lingerfelt and Bill Wagner, McKemy Middle School, 8:30 a.m. May 15; and Vic Cordts, Gililland Middle School, 6 p.m. May 14.
SHAKING UP THE PLACE: A salute to the Membership and Development Committee. When members arrived Thursday, Dr. Jim Yount had them draw a card from a playing deck and find the table with hearts, clubs, etc. Then at a certain point the person with the highest card at each table went to the podium and shared something about each member. It was a lot of fun, laughs and information. Linda Spears explained that the exercise also mixed up members who too often get locked into the same tables and even chairs week after week. We learned, for example, that Karl Wochner has lost 25 pounds.
CORN ROAST REVIEW: A hearty thank-you to Linda and Steve Wegener for hosting the annual Club Corn Roast on April 19 at their beautiful home and back yard. There were 45 guests on hand, with 14 reservations as no-shows, but they will be billed $25 nonetheless. Famous Dave’s provided a great catered spread, Mike DiDomenico roasted the sweet corn in the husks, and Dr. Jim Yount carried his guitar around and guests sang his original new lyrics to “Home on the Range.” That was the reputed “talent,” because the self-proclaimed “talent-less act” was a trio of Shana Ellis, Kerry Fetherson and Linda Spears, donning green frog faces and hopping up and down and all around to “Swan Lake” as a YouTube video played. It was hilarious. Thanks to Rob Kubasko for setting up PowerPoint so we could see the YouTube presentations to contrast it to the Shana-Linda-Kerry version along the swimming pool. The pie-baking contest was won by Rita Spears. A fine variation of pies were brought. Linda Cryer won the gorgeous $50 gift basket.
STAR SPANGLED IDOL: Mike Cryer announced that KCOT and Judi Yates were holding auditions June 14-25 at Tempe Marketplace to find the “Star Spangled Idol” singer who will be belting ut the National Anthem on July 4th at our Fireworks Show. Here’s hoping, Karl Wochner or Diane Schans give it a shot.
MAC BOHLMAN TO BE HONORED BY SALVATION ARMY: Longtime KCOT member Herbert “Mac” Bohlman has been chosen Volunteer of the Year for Tempe Salvation Army Corps and will be honored at the organization’s Recognition luncheon and fundraiser on Wednesday, May 15, at the Fiesta Inn Conference Center, 2100 W. Broadway Road. It will be 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with Mayor Hugh Hallman as the keynote speaker. KTAR (620AM) radio personality Pat McMahon will be emcee. Mac has spent 42 years on the Salvation Army Board and is past president. The 1991 Don Carlos Humanitarian Award winner and retired ASU law professor has a lifetime of service on numerous community boards. During the luncheon, the Salvation Army will announce that it has purchased the building and land of another church on Hardy Drive and will use that as its church, but it will keep it social services and community outreach work downtown. It will launch a project to raise funds to raze its old building and put up a new social services center there. “A Big-Hearted Community” is the theme of the lunch. Tickets are $50 and reservations can be made to (480) 222-0696 or tempesalvationarmy@yahoo.com. Linda Spears and Lawn Griffiths are also members of the Salvation Army Corps.
LOTS OF OPENINGS AS CLUB GEARS UP FOR ITS ANNUAL ELECTIONS ON MAY 22: KCOT’s Membership and Development Committee (MADCom), along with past presidents Karl Wochner, are making up the Nominating Committee for the Club’s annual elections on Thursday May 22. Linda Spears announced Thursday that the committee is asked to be on hand at Shalimar at 11:30 a.m. next Thursday (April 24) to get an update on what KCOT members have already stepped forward and how to proceed with the election. On the committee are: Linda Spears, Spike Lawrence, Chad Gammage, Mike DiDomenico, Vinny Mirizio, Pam Goronkin, Kerry Fetherston, Shana Ellis, Allison Walters, Karl Wochner and Lawn Griffiths. There will be major changes on next year’s board. First our current president-elect Rich Joos has had to remove his name for president because his work changes has not allowed him to regularly get to meetings. Nominated, in his place, for president is Mike Cryer, who was elected to the board last year and would have another year on his director term. Carol Balk, the Club’s secretary since 1997 and a continual member of the board since 1993 (15 years), has announced she chooses to not be reappointed for another year as secretary (non-elected) come Oct. 1, but is interested in running for a board seat. Corey Woods, vice president, will be on the ballot for president-elect, and Bill Wagner will run for a new one-year term as treasurer. Candidates for vice president and a start for a four-year obligation are Kerry Fetherston, a past board member, and Kathy Stevens, a current board member. If Mike Cryer is elected president, there will be five director seats on the board open -- the four 2-year terms expiring for Russ Plieseis, Curt Ritland, Kathy Stevens and Steve Stewart and the one-year partial term of Mike Cryer. So far six people have expressed interest in running for the four (or five) seats: Nick Miner, Mike Jennings, Laurel Jefferson, Lance Gray, Pam Goronkin and Carol Balk. Anyone else in the Club interested in any offices is invited to make those on the committee aware of it. Bylaws call for announcing a slate of officers at least a week before the election. On May 22, candidates will be invited to give brief speeches about their interest in the jobs and their quest to serve.
CLUB NEARLY FINISHED WITH INNER CIRCLES -- NOW TO THE “MIDDLE”: We currently have the following KCOT members going to Sun Lakes Kiwanis Club at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at Sun Lakes Country Club, 25601 S. Sun Lakes Blvd. We will probably all carpool for convenience. Members so far going are Jim Harelson, Dean Plainer, Ralph Packer, Karl Wochner, Steve Stewart and Neil Fisch. Interested in going? Call Steve, (480) 966-5865. That will complete visits to all the other clubs in our own Division 10. Steve Stewart currently is working on the next level, “Middle Circle,” for broader recognition for KCOT. “If the Inner Circle is this much fun, then the Middle Circle should be even better,” Steve says. The Middle Circle involves Kiwanians teams of four people, the same number as for Interclubs, to clubs that are not in Division 10 but in other divisions, primarily in the Valley. It adds to the Kiwanis experience beyond our comfort zone.
KIWANIS NUEVO INVITES KCOT TO ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY MAY 17: On Saturday evening, May 17 at the Fiesta Inn in Tempe, Kiwanis Nuevo will celebrate its 35th anniversary of the receipt of its charter. Because KCOT is our sponsoring club, we'd like to invite anyone and everyone from KCOT who would like to join us in the festivities. All one has to do to register for the shindig is to go to our website at www.kiwanisnuevo.org and click on the calendar (left side of the page), then click on May and go to the date of the17th. Click on the verbiage on that date and it will take you to the registration page where you follow the prompts once you click on register now (right side of page). There is a choice of entrees of salmon or stuffed chicken and the cost is $26 per person prior to April 30th payable either by cc on line directly or by mailing a check for the amount to our P.O. box postmarked by April 30th. After that date, the price jumps to $35.00. Thanks. - Lon Lawrenz, President, Kiwanis Nuevo
IT’S SPRINGTIME IN TEMPE, SO IT’S TIME FOR THE KCOT CORN ROAST: The annual KCOT Corn Roast will be 6 p.m. Saturday April 19 at the home of Linda and Steve Wegener, 8267 S. Pecan Grove Circle, Tempe. Kerry Fetherston on Thursday passed around the sign-up sheet for members to sign up and invite adult friends and family. She reminded everyone that there will also be a talent (or talent-less show) in which all members are encouraged to demonstrate what they would have done on Amateur Hour, American Idol, The Gong Show or a Miss America pageant. Group gigs are welcome. Please sign-up your act. There is also a pie-baking and judging contest, and sign-ups are needed for that. There will be special entertainment, too. The catered meal will include sweet corn, chicken, ribs, beans, cole slaw and corn bread. Kiwanians bring their own drinks. Cost is $25 apiece. Need more info or to sign up ? Call Linda Spears, Shana Ellis or Kerry Fetherston or check with them next week at Kiwanis. Get your chompers ready to smash kernels of yellow sweetness.
4TH OF JULY SHOW TAKING SHAPE: Congratulation to Judi Yates, our professional events director for the Tempe 4th of July Show. It is right at three months before the event. She announced this week that her associate, Cassidy Campana secured a new sponsor for the Kids game area. It is a $8,500 amount from Tempe Marketplace Family Fun Fest. Most of the Club’s 4th of July captains and leaders met Thursday afternoon to get updates and do some planning. The need for our own Kiwanians to fill volunteer roles is essential. All able-bodied Kiwanians are urged to make the late afternoon and evening of Friday July 4 a time to help the Club in its most significant annual event and project. Heed the call and please step forward.
INTERCLUBS ARE PLANNED: Interclub Chairman Steve Stewart announced Thursday that two more Interclubs are planned for April. He is recruiting participants. The first will be 7 a.m. next Tuesday, April 8, at the Kiwanis Club of Mesa - Dobson Ranch, which meets at Neighbors Café, 2740 S. Alma School Road, Mesa. Initially signed up are Steve Stewart, Karl Wochner, Robret Kizere, Ralph Packer, Dean Plainer and Lawn Griffiths. Others are welcome. The other will be 7 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, at Sun Lakes Country Club, 25601 S. Sun Lakes Blvd. A minimum of four people are needed to qualify as an Interclub. If you can take part, call Steve, (480) 966-5865 or aocqua@aol.com.
HELPING AT MUSIC FEST: Thanks to those KCOT members who jumped into action to help as volunteers for the Tempe Music Festival at Tempe Town Lake on March 29. Thanks to Linda Spears and Kerry Fetherston for organizing it. Here is the list of Kiwanis volunteers who worked the Brat booth (some were representing other charities, but all Kiwanians in the end): Linda Spears, Kerry Fetherston, Vinny Mirizio, Lance Gray, Bill Wagner, Laurel Jefferson, Chris Rosner and Judy Aldrich plus Circle K members whose names were not available.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR GREEN-UP CLEAN-UP: The "Town Lake Green-Up Clean-Up" will be 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26. Sign-up will be next week at Kiwanis. A good group of members have helped with this each year. Linda Spears, our coordinator, said equipment will be provided, but volunteers should bring garden gloves, sunscreen and water. A bar-b-cue hotdog lunch will be served after the cleanup and a raffle will done. This is similar to previous clean ups we've done. This will start at the Indian Bend Wash Habitat. Linda will provide details next week. Volunteers can call or email to sign up with Linda: (480) 966-6648 or lindaspears1@cox.net.
22ND ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S BALL IS MAY 3: Tom Sands on Thursday invited Kiwanians to the 22nd annual Governors Ball, which will be the night of May 3 at the Arizona Grand Resort Ballroom in Phoenix to benefit the programs at Banner Children’s Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center. “Hooray for Hollywood” is the theme. Reception: 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 8 p.m. Tickets are $200. The Build Your Own Vacation raffles are $50 or 5 for $200. See www.thegovernors.org for details and to order tickets.
SALUTE TO THE ‘TIE’ FOUNDATION: The Tempe Impact Education (TIE) Foundation held its 6th annual Spracale Education Awards dinner on March 29 at the Fiesta. It was attended by many KCOT members. Among board members are Ralph Lingerfelt, treasurer; and Mark Mitchell, Russ Plieseis, Dr. Art Tate, NoRa Trevino and Steve Hazel (ex-officio). Ralph hosted a table, Art spoke on the value of community support for the schools in the challenging times and three people were honored with awards. The Ralph and Carla Lingerfelt Commitment to the Community Award was given to Congressman Harry Mitchell, whose long service stretches across 28 years teaching at Tempe High, serving as mayor for 16 years and 24 years on the City Council, eight years as State Senator and currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Commitment to Education Awards went to Dr. Elliot Gory, TD3 district psychologist for 31 years, and Robyn Brown, 30-year teacher, now at Connolly Middle School, who has been a fearless advocate of children and developer of an anti-bullying program. KCOT was one of the event’s listed supporters.
EGG-CELLENT PROOF THAT AN IDEA, LEADERSHIP, WORK CAN CAPTURE A TOWN: More than 7,000 Easter eggs were scattered across the Kiwanis Park soccer fields on March 22 in the KCOT-sponsored Community Easter Egg Hunt, and some 600 children and about 400 adults turned out for a fun-morning of squealing kids and finders keepers. The inaugural Easter Egg Hunt was free to all kids, who scrambled to pick up as many plastic eggs as possible and turn them in for prizes. On Thursday, Linda Spears, organizer and creator of the event, thanked the volunteers who assisted her in the service project. It had wide community assistance from Tempe Parks and Recreation, Tempe Police and Fire departments and volunteers from Kiwanis, Arizona State University Circle K International, Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity and Alpha Epsilon Pi sorority at ASU. The Greeks provided more than 30 volunteers. We had a DJ, a well-managed staged start of the age groups (3 and under, 4-7 and 8-10) and, of course, the biggest rabbit in Tempe, Mayor Hugh Hallman who sweated in a big white bunny suit for two hours in a hare-raising experience. He stayed until ever kid had a chance to pose with him. Thanks to Vinny Mirizio for the idea of egging his honor to do it and for Pam Goronkin for handling the logistics, renting the suit ($54.15) and being the Easter Bunny’s handler and bodyguard. With $1,701 in donations and $874.05 in expenses, there was net income of $826.80. Donations came from Mira Vista Holings, $1,000; United Firefighters, $500; and QT Raffle, $201. Chick-fil-a, Rubios and Changing Hands made other donations. Thanks to these Kiwanis volunteers: Linda Spears, Steve Stewart, Mike Jennings, Lance Gray, Allison Walters, Shana Ellis, Robert Kizere, Art Tate, Mark Mitchell, Ralph Packer, Nick Miner, Mike Cryer, Sharon Kausal, Mark Richwine, Pam Goronkin, Diane Schans, Sonia Filian, Bill Wagner, Linda Wegener, Vinny Mirizio, Kerry Fetherston, Laurel Jefferson, Rod Johnson, Mike DiDomenico, and Lawn Griffiths. The CKI volunteers helped: Sarah Foley, Anthony Berger and Brenton Good. Total volunteer hours: 80. Thanks to Bill Wagner for the photos. New members Laurel Jefferson, Nick Miner and Mike Jennings have volunteered to be co-chairmen for next year’s hunt. It was a fine hour of KCOT and a demonstration of a great idea that caught fire because I was so well pulled off.
ANNUAL KCOT CORN ROAST IS SET FOR SATURDAY APRIL 19: The Kiwanis Club of Tempe Corn Roast, one of the Club’s oldest traditions, is back. The Membership and Development Committee have set the roast for 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at the home of Linda and Steve Wegener, 8267 S. Pecan Grove Circle, Tempe. The weather should be great and it come early enough that our folks who go north should still be around. Over the years, the event has been at many places – desert locations, back yards of a number of homes and even Kiwanis Park. Many memories about them persists. Shana Ellis reports that the event will be catered, with tickets at $25 each. The meal will include roasted corn, chicken, ribs, beans, cole slaw and corn bread. Members will bring their own drinks. Also planned in a talent contest (maybe even as a “gong show”), so practice you arias, your hillbilly stand-up comedy routine, that juggling act you did in college or that not-ready-for-American-Idol pop tune you sing in the shower. Group acts are encouraged There will also be special entertainment. Sign-ups will begin soon. You may bring guests. Let’s see a huge turnout. The Wegeners have a wonderful place and will provide their famous hospitality. The sweet corn is ripening on the stalks under armed guards to make sure they get to your lips. Don’t miss the sweet night.
INTERCLUBBING GETS CLUB ON THE ROAD: Interclub Co-Chairman Steve Stewart reports “another great Interclub at Ahwatukee” on Tuesday. Karl Wochner and Ralph Packer conversed with a lot of old friends, while Corey Woods was cheered on by a whole room of supporting Kiwanians. Judy Aldrich is always a "spark-plug” and also shared what's happening at KCOT, past and present. Robert Kizere was applauded for his continuing work with Head Start on "Read to Exceed" as Mayor stood guard at his side. Jenny Wilkins, Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club President, told Steve that Chung-Kai “C.K" Liu has been doing great with the Downtown Scottsdale Young Professionals Kiwanis Club. He asked to say "Hi" to KCOT. Our next Interclub will be at Mesa-Dobson Ranch on Tuesday - April 8th, at 7:00 A.M. Those attending, so far, are: Lawn Griffiths, Dean Plainer, Ralph Packer, Robert Kizere, Karl Wochner and Steve Stewart. Anyone willing to give a small amount of their time to bring fellow Kiwanians closer together through the Interclub program contact either Steve Stewart @ 480 - 966-5865 or Karl Wochner @ 480 - 820-2520. We do a lot of ride sharing, for both the fun and the convenience, so transportation is never a problem. Thanks to all of our KCOT members for your generous and sharing attitude that has made the Interclub Program a wonderful success for many, many years. - Steve Stewart
2000 CORVETTE COUP COULD BE YOURS: Mike Cryer was selling raffle tickets at the Easter Egg Hunt and had some Thursday and will continue to sell them for $25 as a fund-raiser to benefit the Tempe Union High School Education Foundation. The 2000 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe is valued at more than $23,800. It is 5.7 liter fuel-injected, automatic and fully loaded (www.tuhsdedfoundation.org). Tickets are $25 or 5 for $100. Only 4,000 tickets sold. Fast Towing and Bill Heard Chevrolet are sponsors. Drawing is May 17.
KEY CLUB BRINGS SEA OF CLOVER:Grace Torpin reported that, because she could not get use of a TUHS District van to transport students to Kiwanis in the past weeks, they hadn’t been at a couple recent meetings. She told how, on St. Patrick’s Day, the students got to Tempe High early and put 1,000 shamrocks all over the school to the delight of students and staff -- and it brought a lot of attention to Key Club. She invited KCOT members to send well-wishes to the Club to be posted on a special bulletin board in her classroom. She also noted that there is a real shortage of substitute teachers. When she was ill, her math students found that out. She urged Kiwanians to put their skills to work as subs.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THIS WEEKEND'S TEMPE MUSIC FESTIVAL: Wondering what to this the weekend? No big plans, but hoping to get out of the house and spend some time enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather. Well, you can do all that and help KCOT raise some funds for programs serving the children of Tempe. This weekend is arts time in Tempe and a return of the Circle K Tempe Music Festival. (Click here for web site.) The Club has been
invited to participate in the Music Festival in a fund raising effort by providing volunteers to grill and sell bratwurst. The vendor will compensate the club $1 for each brat sold during the event.
We are looking for individuals who can fill the following shifts. As a side benefit, you'll be right in the thick of the festival with some of the best musical acts to come to the valley in 2008.
- 5-9 p.m. on Friday, March 28
- 9 p.m.-12 midnight on Friday, March 28
- 4-8 p.m. on Saturday, March 29
- 8 p.m.- 12 midnight on Saturday, March 28
If you are interested in helping KCOT at this event, please respond to Linda Spears at: 
