Rebecca Craig: Today we are inducting four new members, David Dee, Hillary Glass, Jerry Acosta, and Yasel Bischoff, with District Governor Bruce Munro doing the official honors.
Bruce Munro: I've been a Club President several times and a District Governor for a year, but I have never before brought in four new members at the same time. Bringing in new members is the thing I best like to do so this is special!
In 1905, Paul Harris, a young lawyer in Chicago, experiencing the loneliness of a newcomer to a big city, wanted to become acquainted with individuals and other business people, so, on the evening of February 23, 1905, 120 years ago, he met with three friends to discuss his ideas. From this beginning, they invited others to meet with them and began to rotate their meetings amongst each other's offices. From this rotation came the name of Rotary. Their numbers soon became too big to meet in each other's offices so the luncheon group was formed.
Continuing in this long tradition, you are about to become the newest members of the Tucson Sunrise Club and of Rotary International. You are joining the approximately 30 members of this Club. Our District has 48 Clubs with 1400 members. Rotary International has 1.2 million members worldwide.
The Rotarians who sponsored you have paid you a great compliment. They saw in you those characteristics which would make a fine Rotarian. You've been approved by the Club Board and by the members. I encourage you on this great and new adventure as a Rotarian. There are certain things you should learn about Rotary. Importantly, the object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise. Related to the ideal of service is our commitment to “Service Above Self” and the belief that who profits the most is who serves the best. And, of course, our famous Four-Way Test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships, and will it be beneficial to all concerned?
And the fifth rule is this: fun, fellowship, and friendship are a big part of the Rotary experience.
Most important to being a new Rotarian is participation. It begins with regular meeting attendance. Make Rotary an important part of your week. Learn how to make up attendance by visiting other Clubs. That's a great way to see how other Clubs work. Learn to appreciate the broad scope of Rotary. Attend the District Conference, which is in September this year, And, if possible, an International Convention.
On behalf of Rotary District 5500, it's my great pleasure to welcome you to Rotary International, District 5500 and this Club. You can look forward to the fellowship that you'll share with your fellow members, as well as your participation in many Club projects that make your community, country, and the world a better place in which to live.
Though Rotary is not a political organization, Rotarians are vitally concerned with good citizenship and making a positive impact on communities and the world.
While Rotary is not a religious organization, it is built on those eternal principles that have served as a moral compass for people throughout the ages.
Rotary is an organization of business and professional people pledged to uphold the highest ethical and moral standards.
Rotarians believe that worldwide fellowship and peace can be achieved when people unite under the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”.
You have been chosen for membership in this Club because your fellow members believe you to be a leader in the community and because you possess the qualities to champion the message and principles of Rotary. You are representative of this Club and you are now an ambassador for Rotary, carrying your ideals of service to all within your sphere of influence. Your community will know and judge Rotary by your character and service.
Congratulations and welcome to Tucson Sunrise Rotary and Rotary International.
You’re getting a plaque with Rotary’s Four-Way Test, a pin with the Rotary Wheel and a pin with this year's theme.
And now, everyone, please come up and welcome our new members.
Rebecca Craig: Usually we ask new members to give a five-minute presentation about themselves, but that would take us over time, so, in the next few weeks, we will ask each new member to tell us a little about him or herself.
On a personal note, It has been my great pleasure to pleasure to serve as President for these past two years. I have to say it's been very rewarding, better than I ever would have thought.
Elena Hernandez: It means so much to have an organization like your Rotary Club investing in youth arts and in cultural education. Your generosity showed that you believe in our students, our program, and the opportunities these experiences have provided. Your contribution made a real difference in the success and safety of this trip, and we are incredibly thankful for your support. Thank you for believing in our students and this experience that we just went on. Thank you.
A little bit about the trip. For many, it was their first out-of-state trip and first visit to Disneyland.
The trip took place March 27th through the 31st. We had 24 people attend, with 22 people taking classes at the Danzantes Unidos festival. We had both dance and music classes. We were all able to take workshops and learn from new, out-of-state instructors, and on the last day, we were able to showcase what we had learned.
Another great opportunity we had was the pachanga, which is like a big dance party, so we got the chance to come together with different dancers from different groups of all ages and levels and dance all night. It was very fun way to connect with others through something that we're all passionate for, which is dance.
After we finished our stay at Fresno, California, we decided to head to Anaheim, but before that, we stopped for dinner, and found a performance by a mariachi at the dinner, Mariachi Internacional de Mexico. It was a very nice experience for our dancers to experience a professional mariachi. After that, we settled in at our hotel at Anaheim, and we spent the day at Disneyland. It was an amazing! There were many parades, many performances, of course, the rides. We all just came together and had lots of fun.
My personal experience. I really like Danzantes Unidos because I was able to engage with dancers from out of state. Of course, I love my fellow dancers, but it was nice knowing other dancers who aren't here in Tucson. It was my first time to Disney so it was definitely a magical experience. And my favorite part was really just being with the people I love.
Now one of our students can tell us about her experience.
Student Dancer: It was my first conference out of the state, as well to Disneyland. I really enjoyed it because I was able to learn from someone I had never met, and they gave us a lot of information about the region, which is something I really liked. I really took in all the cultural information that came with the actual dancing part. I would like to go back again, because it really helped me grow as a dancer, and it allowed me to connect with dancers from different groups.
We have many goals for our new school year. Our goals focus on growth, more community involvement, and new opportunities. We hope to attend Danzantes Unidos again, or any other out-of-state conference, while continuing fundraising to support these experiences for our fellow members.
Over the summer, our 2026 and 2027 officers will meet to plan for the year. We will be gathering resources, exploring opportunities, as well as planning for performances, events, and fundraisers. We also hope to recruit more people to our group and show them what we do, as well as again getting more out there into our community, and just showing our culture through our passion and dance.
This year we truly saw what an impact this group can have. I mean, we went all the way out to California for Danzantes Unidos.
Our officers attended the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, and we had many performance opportunities, even some new ones, such as the Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair, the Desert Discovery Day at the Children's Museum, and we participated in the Chicano Fest at the MSA annex. La Noche de Estrellas was our first performance at Sunnyside High School. We also did outreach to multiple SUSD elementary and middle schools and we had the opportunity to read to some students during the Elvira Love of Reading Week. We were able to read to students of all ages and grades, and again show them what we do, perform, and encourage them.
We organized and participated in several different fundraising events, including percentage nights at Peter Piper Pizza, Panda Express. And we had own Fandango dance in the school gym and a food cup sale at our school during lunches.
And we have also benefited from partnerships and community support, which includes sponsorships from organizations such as McDonald's, Rotary Club, and Sunnyside Foundation. These help us increase our visibility, strengthen our connection with supporters, and provide valuable opportunities in our students.
Q: Did you say that you performed dances today from different regions? Which regions do they represent?
A: The dances today were from Jalisco, Sinaloa and Puebla. Each one has a different dance style, so having the opportunity to go to the conference and actually pick what dance you want to work on was really special to us.
The skirt I'm wearing is from the region of Sinaloa. We are not in our full attire because we weren't able to get the dresses in on time for today, but most of the dresses today represent Puebla.
The outfit for Puebla is usually like a circle skirt. When you spin around, it just like looks like a big old circle. It's green and red satin. Some people like to do more like extravagant designs, but some are very simple like green with a little bit of red.
Thank you again for supporting our dance group and our trip to Danzantes Unidos and to Disneyland.
Audience Comment: I think speaking for all the women in the room. You, your skirts. There's not a woman in the world who doesn't know the feeling of a full skirt spin. It's just there's something so joyous about it. So, thank you for reminding us of our own youth.
Rebecca: Some recaps about what we are doing as a Club. We did our district grant for maternity care in Africa. I believe Dennis Bergquist will be here in July to show us about the work there.
We have our Bali project that's ongoing. The Club Board recommended to the Club Foundation to support it for another year. We mail the yarn to Bali, and that's our major expense. We partner with Goodwill of Southern Arizona that collects and donates the yarn to us.
Michelle Marten: The Mayfly Project Fundraiser at Barrio Brewery had 20–25 Rotarians attending between 11 am–4 pm. The fundraiser earned 15 percent of food proceeds, about $2000, with the check going to Mayfly, which is a program teaching foster children to fly-fish. At the end of the program we give them the reel, the rod, flies, everything, and those kids are so appreciative because foster kids just don't have much.
The program served six kids this year and is looking for eight to nine for next year. We need more referrals and more volunteer mentors. The program goes for six weeks, February until May, and we're done for the year.
Community Food Bank: Saturday, July 18, 2026: The Club is recruiting 15 volunteers to assist at an upcoming food distribution event. Michelle is coordinating and reaching out to the Rincon, Catalina and Kino clubs for partnership.
Jim Click Raffle Tickets: Tickets are now available at $25 each; five for $100. All proceeds benefit a Club-selected charity. Suggestions welcome, especially from newer members. Grand prize will be a vehicle; second prize: two first-class round-trip tickets anywhere in the world; third prize is $5,000 cash. Ticket sales close in early December.
