The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke Has Just One Word: Plastics
Gail and Tom Fraioli know how to turn discarded plastic into a treasured bench.
Barbara Barr Bengen
Let me take you down memory lane 57 years to 1967 and the Academy Award–winning movie The Graduate. In his critically acclaimed film, young Dustin Hoffman plays recent college graduate, Benjamin Braddock. To celebrate Ben’s graduation, his parents throw a cocktail party. A friend of Ben’s parents, “Mr. McGuire,” pulls Ben aside at the party to tell him just one word of advice, “Plastics!” And the rest is history!
In this 57–year–old movie, plastics were meant to represent a cheap, low–quality, lackluster life. But it turns out that 57 years later, in many respects Mr. McGuire was right. The industry has developed into everything from heart valves and furniture to clothing and multitudes of items created on a 3D printer. In so many ways, plastic is benefiting mankind. But then there is the dark side of plastics.
To help eliminate waste plastics, Gail and Tom Fraioli introduced this special project to the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke. We are collecting discarded plastic to turn into park benches. You may be shocked by all the plastic you have in your house that can go from trash to a treasured place to sit in nature.
We are collecting:
* Plastic bags
* e-commerce mailers from places like Amazon, etc.
* Plastic bags for frozen foods (cleaned)
* Meat wrap (cleaned)
* Produce bags and wrap (cleaned)
* Ziplock and storage bags (cleaned)
* Bread bags
* Cereal bag liners
* Ice bags
* Newspaper sleeves
* Dry cleaning bags
* Bubble wrap
* Case overwrap
Would you like to help? We are collecting plastic each Thursday at noon at our meetings at the Ranch House Ballroom at SaddleBrooke Ranch, or you can touch base with a member of the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke. You can also reach us at: saddlebrookerotary.com, by phone at 520–404-5712, or by email at [email protected].
This is just one of the many projects of the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke. From supporting the programs of the Community Center in Oracle, working at the food bank, supporting our local schools and students, building houses in Mexico, serving seniors and homebound people, and providing clean water for schools in Nogales to packing food bags at IMPACT of Arizona, clothing poverty-stricken students, and cleaning up roads in Oracle and Catalina, these Rotarians are having fun while making a difference.
What is Rotary? Rotary is made up of your friends and neighbors who have fun working together to make the world a better place. Rotary is the world’s largest volunteer organization and is found in more countries than the Red Cross, Starbucks, or McDonald’s. Together with our friends, we are working to make a difference and change lives.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke is an award–winning club. We meet on Thursdays at 11 a.m. for lunch at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Next, we meet in the ballroom followed by an educational program or speaker. Rotary is open to those who live and work in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and the surrounding communities. For more information, check out saddlebrookerotary.com or contact Diane Demeroutis at [email protected].
On Your Mark! Get Set! Have Fun! Do Good for the Community!
Fifty golf carts are lined up and headed for fun! One of the comments we always get from our more than 100 players is that this golf tournament is really fun.
Dan Watson and Barbara Barr Bengen
The annual Fore For Kids Charity Golf Tournament is just around the corner on Monday, April 22, at The Preserve at SaddleBrooke. The tournament, sponsored by the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke, raises funding for programs for children and youth in the area and the Copper Corridor. In addition to golf at one of Tucson’s most picturesque and prestigious courses, lunch and an awards dinner are included. As usual, all the foursomes have been completely sold out well in advance of this fun tournament.
To date, the Fore For Kids Tournament has raised $500,000, which has touched the lives of hundreds of children and youth primarily in the Copper Corridor communities of Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Catalina, as well as in Oro Valley and Tucson! Funds have been used for scholarships, robotics education, youth sports programs, meals, games, refreshments and prizes at community events, after-school tutoring programs, mini-horse therapy, character education, and so much more. Two high school students are sponsored each year to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy, and the SaddleBrooke Rotary Club sponsors an Interact Club at San Manuel High School.
Fore For Kids was held at MountView Country Club for many years. Lute Olson, the most famous coach in Arizona Basketball history, was an active participant. The charity tournament moved to the Oro Valley Country Club for the last few years. But now we’re back in the SaddleBrooke community and The Preserve will be the host this year.
Another change this year is the return to our original springtime date. The COVID pandemic resulted in several delays, and the tournament was moved to the fall in 2021. The tournament has moved back to the spring for a variety of reasons, including better weather.
Arizona Hearing Specialists is the co-sponsor this year. Major sponsorships also include Arizona Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Morris-Hall Estate Planning, Oro Ford, and Vistoso Funeral Home. There is one Hole Sponsorship available for $1,000 and an unlimited number of $500 and $200 sponsorships available. We are also looking for prize awards and silent auction items. Anyone interested in more information about sponsorship or donation of items should contact Dan Watson at [email protected].
What is Rotary? Rotary is made up of your friends and neighbors who have fun working together to make the world a better place. Rotary is the world’s largest volunteer organization and is found in more countries than the Red Cross, Starbucks, or McDonald’s. Together with our friends, we are working to make a difference and change lives.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke is an award-winning club. We meet on Thursdays at 11 a.m. for lunch at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Next, we meet in the ballroom followed by an educational program or speaker. Rotary is open to those who live and work in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and the surrounding communities. For more information, check out saddlebrookerotary.com or contact Diane Demeroutis, at [email protected].