Spotlight on Mary Thompson—SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Joyce Wainscott The little engine that could—also known as Mary Thompson—has chugged uphill her entire life. A founding member of SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary, Mary was born in Rochester, N.Y., where winter builds character and grit comes standard. Mary grew up in a small apartment filled with love. Money was…
Barbara Barr Bengen What are you doing with your soft plastics? We can’t add them to our recycling bin and set them out on the curb. If we put them in the trash, they just stick around in our landfills for hundreds of years. Tah dah! Enter soft plastics recycling! The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke…
Christianne Dettmann Did you find some hidden gems this past fall at any of the Golden Goose Moonlight Madness sales? Did you visit the Rotary’s “Quilts of Love” sale at the Sunny Side Up Café on Oct. 28-29, 2025? Did you score some great deals at the IDWI (“I Don’t Want It!”) sale in the…
Rotary Club Honors Andrea and Dan Stephens as Citizens of the Year Barbara Barr Bengen Andrea and Dan Stephens are entering their ninth year as the driving force behind one of the community’s most impactful efforts, the annual food drive. Due to Andrea’s and Dan’s leadership and tireless dedication, the communities of SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke…
Barbara Barr Bengen When disaster strikes, heroes appear in many. forms. After the fire is out and the first responders and insurance adjusters have left, all that remains are the charred skeletons of dreams and memories. And then, how does one make that jump to clear the land to start anew? Enter more heroes, Team…
Barbara Barr Bengen Each November, cyclists from around the globe flock to Tucson, Ariz., to ride in the scenic streets of El Tour de Tucson. For Rotary International, this event is the organization’s largest fundraiser in the world, uniting Rotarians from the four corners of the Earth to raise funding to end polio now. The…
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke: Doing Something About It! Barbara Barr Bengen How many times have you been in a conversation about the shortage of people in vocational trades? We often ask, “Whatever happened to Shop and other trades classes?” Everyone is talking about the need for more people entering the trades. So the Rotary…
Buon Appetito! Fun With Rotarians Barbara Barr Bengen In a recent study, Rotary International learned that the No. 1 reason why people join Rotary is to contribute to service projects and make a difference. Furthermore, the research indicated that the No. 1 reason why people stay in Rotary is for socialization and friendships. Thus, the…
Happy New Year! New Rotary Year, That Is! Wendy Guyton, Fred Lowy, and Barbara Barr Bengen The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke celebrated the 2024-25 Rotary year while ringing in the 2025-26 Rotary year with a “Passing the Gavel” festivity at the SaddleBrooke Ranch Ballroom. Rotary dignitaries, guests, and club members helped to honor the old…
Christianne Dettmann In an ever-changing world, Rotarians, as noted on the website rotary.org, envision one in which “…people unite and take action to create lasting change—across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” Clubs everywhere use the Four-Way Test, developed in 1932 by Rotary Club of Chicago member Herbert Taylor, to evaluate the things…