President Bob Lamar (right) congratulates new member Kelly McDonald (left).
SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club Inducts Kelly McDonald
Christianne Dettmann
The SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is proud to have inducted Kelly McDonald as a new member on Feb. 19. His Rotary journey, however, did not begin in Arizona. Kelly has been a Rotary International member since 2012, joining in Washington state at the invitation of the school superintendent and past president of the Rotary Club of Auburn, Wash. In 2013, Kelly moved to Phoenix and joined a local club in Ahwatukee. In 2017, he moved to Hawaii and was active in Rotary District 5000, serving as a board member, president, and district service team co–chair.
While there, Kelly joined 25 other Rotarians from Hawaii as part of a Rotary Global Grant to refresh the Bali Blood Bank, which had been established in 2001 prior to the 2002 resort bombing that claimed more than 110 lives. In 2022, Kelly moved to Dayton, Ohio, and joined the Centerville Rotary Club, where he became fundraising chair, board member, president elect, and foundation chair. Kelly is a Polio Plus Society member and multiple Paul Harris Fellow recipient.
Prior to his induction in the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club, Kelly volunteered at the relief station for the Tucson Marathon, helped staff Moonlight Madness sales at the Golden Goose, and helped service the Club’s Little Free Library boxes from Catalina to Winkelman. On his connection to Rotary, Kelly commented, “Rotary has been the through line of nearly the last decade and a half of my life, through moves across the country and job and life changes. I am grateful for the fellowship and service opportunities provided by Rotary that have enriched my life, helped me come to know more about the communities I have called home and brought me close to an incredible community of generous, thoughtful and giving individuals.”
Before moving to SaddleBrooke, Kelly had been a graduate professor at Arizona State University in the Hugh Downs School for Human Communication. He later helped launch the downtown campus College of Arts and Letters. Having taught graduate research methods courses and undergraduate courses in leadership and strategic communication for nearly 15 years, Kelly left education to pursue a career in healthcare management working for Optum, Humana, AlohaCare, agilon health, Aetna, and—most recently in 2025—Banner here in Arizona.
In his free time outside of work, Kelly enjoys golf, travel, hiking, and reading. He and his wife Dev have a Maltipoo, Bella, whom they adopted as a senior shortly before the 2020 pandemic.
Bella loves her time at the Ranch and all the friendly dogs and residents she meets on their walks around the community and at the dog park.
The SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is thrilled to have Kelly on board! It is one of TWO Rotary clubs in the greater SaddleBrooke area. To learn more, come join one of the club’s regular meetings on first and third Thursday of every month at 7:45 a.m. in the Mesa Room of the La Hacienda Clubhouse at SaddleBrooke Ranch, or send an email to saddlebrookesunriserotary@gmail.com.
Jack Stebe
Spotlight on Jack Stebe—Sunrise Rotary of SaddleBrooke
Joyce Wainscott
One of the founding members of the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club—and later its president—Jack was born in Biwabik, Minn., in 1944, the oldest of five children and the family’s early test case for adventure.
Jack’s father was an educator, principal, and guidance counselor who was the wind beneath Jack’s wings—quite literally—encouraging him to learn to fly. Jack earned his pilot’s license before he finished high school and developed a lifelong passion for hockey that began on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota.
His newspaper route launched the next chapter of his life when the paper recognized Jack with a $200 prize. That recognition led to a scholarship at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and a glimpse of a lifestyle he had never imagined. After a year he returned to Minnesota, but New England had already worked its magic. He later chose Dartmouth College to play collegiate hockey and earn an engineering degree.
At Dartmouth Jack found his New England lighthouse in life, Nancy, who was pursuing a nursing degree nearby. Nancy provided the steady light that helped Jack navigate the “rocks” of life, including a 20-year United States Air Force (USAF) career. He graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School and served as both a U-2 and test pilot, including a Vietnam tour of duty. Not one to waste spare time, Jack also earned an MBA through evening classes at Golden Gate University.
He later worked as an engineering manager at Draper Laboratory at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.. Following his career at Draper Laboratory, Jack became president of a company that built and maintained flight inspection equipment worldwide—proof that retirement-level energy can begin surprisingly early in life.
Jack and Nancy’s connection to Tucson began in 1973 with an Air Force move. Along the way Nancy worked as an operating room nurse; , they raised four sons, welcomed six grandchildren, and moved more than 20 times—including four within SaddleBrooke. (At this point, Nancy could probably pack a house in under two hours.)
During one East Coast relocation, they even ran a bed-and-breakfast and came away with enough stories to fill at least one book—and possibly write a comedy series.
Always looking for the next adventure, Jack has enjoyed sailing (cruising a 35-foot boat), soaring gliders, pickleball, square dancing, and 10 years of RV travel—clearly determined never to let the dust settle for long.
An early riser, Jack found a perfect fit in the Sunrisers. He believes the club represents the spirit of Rotary—“Service Above Self.” The club’s dedication to serving the Copper Corridor evokes childhood memories of the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, where the iron ore mines played out and changed his hometown forever.
Jack and Nancy recently moved back to SaddleBrooke after a five-year hiatus in New England. If history repeats itself, Jack predicts another move in five years—about the time Nancy finishes the garden and the lighthouse feels the call of New England’s rocky shores.