 Since taking office on Jan.1 of this year as our Superintendent of Yavapai County Schools, Steve King told us his mantra has been to “Listen — Innovate — and Serve,” and that he has so far logged 17,000 miles on his county car, visiting every public and charter school in our large county. He said he believes that “every kid deserves a fair shot at getting an education.” However, he also told us he has found, within our county, a huge disparity between “the haves and the have-nots," which, he says, does impact the opportunities available to many of these children. While his focus is on achieving literacy and assuring quality early childhood for all of these children, he admitted that he actually has very limited powers, since every school district is able to set their own priorities and standards. He can encourage them to change and to improve their effectiveness in certain areas, but he does not have the authority to force them to do anything. Steve lauded Prescott’s tri-club Rotarian initiative in bringing, and continuing to expand, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to our part of Yavapai County, linking it with the Rotary-sponsored one in the Verde Valley. He said he is a strong advocate of this proven-effective literacy program, which provides an age-appropriate monthly book to each child, from birth to 5 years of age. He also had much to say about the value and effectiveness of Rotary’s youth programs, commending our club for being a leader in sponsoring and supporting them. He said that both of his daughters had been significantly impacted by their experiences in Rotary’s Interact and RYLA programs. In the end, Steve was also persuaded to commit to serving as one of the judges for our Prescott-Sunup Chili Cook-Off on October 25. Thank you, Steve King, for all that you are doing!  Our Debt to Others The quotation above was posted this week by Jessica Cox-Atha. She is a Past President of the Winslow Rotary Club, has served as a Team Advisor for our Interact Ambassadors to Kenya, and she is the Director of Medical Staff Services at the Winslow Hospital. Jessca’s post, as a fellow-Rotarian, should give us pause for thought. Do we take into consideration the dignity and the feelings of others before we impulsively make statements and responses? Her point is well-taken: Before we claim we owe others nothing, we need to realize that we do, in fact, have a debt to others. We owe them, at the bare minimum, to be treated with basic human kindness and respect. Considering Rotary’s 4-Way Test of the things we think, say and do, it is incumbent upon each of us, as a Rotarian, to listen to ourselves as we speak; and to ask ourselves if what we are saying, and the way we are saying it, does, in fact, pass our 4-Way Test. A bell, once rung, cannot be un-rung. Thoughtless and uncaring statements can inflict long-lasting hurt and harm, which sre never easily repaired or forgiven. In all of our daily interactions, as well as in our conversations with our fellow club members, we need to consider before we speak the possible consequences of what we will say. This is applying our Rotary 4-Way Test, rather than simply reciting it. CLUB SERVICE The word from Emmett and Tiffany Jones is that the next Chili Cook-Off planning meetings will be held after this Wednesday morning's club meeting, and at 3:00 on Thursday afternoon at Touchmark at the Finn. $25 Tickets for Chili Sampling at our Sunup Chili Cook-Off, on Saturday, October 25, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., are now available for purchase. The event will be held at Touchmark at the Ranch. Some of Prescott's top chefs will be competing to convince the panel of judges that their chili recipe is the best in Prescott. You can expect a variety of types of chili, including Traditional Red Chili, Homestyle Chili, Chili Verde and Vegetarian Chili. Music during the event will be provided by the Bob Shimizu Trio. Only 300 tickets for this event will be sold, so buy yours now! Tickets and flyers will be available at our club meeting this week. You can also purchase tickets by contacting Par Wood, our Ticket Coordinator, at parshallawood@gmail.com, or call her at (928) 713-6716. COMMUNITY SERVICE Marsha Says: Diaper Drive for Bundles of Love is in full swing. Please bring your diapers, as well as barely-used or new board and/or picture books to our Wednesday meeting. October 8th is our deadline, as we present our donations at our President’s Choice meeting at 5:00 that evening at the Hassayampa. All diapers are appreciated, but critically needed are the following: sizes 4,5,6 diapers and any size Pull-ups! Pressed on time? Order online and deliver to Marsha Teller at: 6849 Golden Tree Drive, Prescott 86305. Deliveries will be checked daily. Thank you for your donations collected from the sale of Alzheimer’s bracelets. Those donations will sponsor our own Sunupian Jane White, who will be "walkinmg for us," joining others at the Alzheimer’s Walk for a Cure on September 27th. Thanks Jane! Thank you to Russ Davis for delivering items to PASS this Wednesday after our meeting. YOUTH SERVICE "Enabling the Disabled"
Interact Crutches 4 Africa 2025 Interact Ambassadors to Kenya team with some of the recipients and their families It is nearly impossible to capture in words the impact on a disabled individual and his/her family in Kenya, who has either had to crawl on the ground or be carried by family members all of their life, when an American teen comes, bringing the gift of mobility — a piece of equipment they could never access or afford, which can get the person off the ground, give that individual mobility and independence, and can restore that person's human dignity. "Enabling the Disabled" is the motto of our Interact District 5495, and their Interact Crutches 4 Africa Project has been their signature international service project for the past 10 years. Each year the Interact Clubs in our district work at collecting donated, still-usable, crutches, canes, walkers and wheelchairs, which they have been shipping in 40-ft. containers to our Rotary partners in Kenya and Uganda, working in partnership with our Rotary Crutches 4 Africa nonprofit organization, which is based in Colorado. If you are aware of any type of mobility equipment which is no longer being used, our Interact clubs are asking for your help in obtaining those mobility devices, which they can use to completely transform the lives of disabled poor individuals and their families in Kenya. Ceiba Sherman, this year's Club President of our Prescott HS Interact Club, can be seen kneeling on the left side of the front row in the photo above. Derrick Boateng, this year's Interact District Governor, can be seen in his gold Ambassadors's shirt on the right side of the second row. Both of them served on this year's Ambassadors to Kenya team. Ambassador Isabelle Brown, who spoke to our club, is at the right end of the back row in this photo. To contact Ceiba about any mobility devices of which you may be aware, which owner would be willing to donate to this Interact C4A Project, email her at ceibaaas@gmail.com. You can reach Isabelle at isabellembrown21@gmail.com.  I let my blind friend borrow money the other day, and he said he was gonna pay me back the next time he saw me … Wait a minute … __ When I was young, I was scared of the dark. Now, when I see my electric bill, I am scared of the lights. __ When you teach a wolf to meditate, He becomes aware wolf. __ I’m old enough to remember when paper bags were being blamed for the destruction of our forests
— and plastic bags were the solution! __ I ate natural food, until I found out Most people die of natural causes. __ I guess they had to invent artificial intelligence, Since real intelligence appears to be running out. __ Lance isn’t a very common name today, But in medieval times, people were called Lance a lot. __ When I was young I decided I wanted to be a doctor, so I took the entrance exam to go to medical School. One of the questions asked me to rearrange the letters PNEIS into the name of an important human body part which is most useful when erect. Those who answer “spine” are doctors today. The rest of us are sending jokes via email. __ I really think it’s time to take the warning labels off of everything, And let stupidity work itself out of the gene pool. __ |
