Members of The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke helped Mammoth/San Manuel Pre-K/12 set up their College and Trades Fair. High school students are on the bleachers in the background. Left to right: Eric Zientarski, Pete Watson, Fran Lowy, Bre Zientarski, and Barbara Barr Bengen. Not pictured is Tom Shellenberger, who was busy signing in participants.
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 Club of SaddleBrooke did something about it. Working with the Copper Corridor schools, the Rotary Club hosted our first Vocational Trades Fair at Mammoth/San Manuel K-12 to introduce high school students to the wealth of opportunities in the vocational world.
The Vocational Fair is the brainchild of the Rotary Club’s Vocational Committee. Leading the committee is chair Bre Zientarski, the queen of organization. Members of the committee include Barbara Barr Bengen, Ann Brett, Wendy Guyton, Kim Johnson, Fran Lowy, Fred Lowy, John Oszust, Mark Phelps, Tom Shellenberger, James Taft, Ed Treick, Mary Kay Voss, Gordon Wainwright, and Pete Watson.
The swamp coolers were working overtime, humidity filled the sticky air, but the gymnasium was filled with eager students and representatives from numerous schools of higher learning, trade schools, the military, and members of the trades. The atmosphere wasn’t just electric, it was magic!
While the fair included typical organizations for academic institutions and vocational trades, as well as the military, it also featured local representatives of a wide variety of career paths. The Rotarians brought in role models from Golder Ranch Fire District, Miraval Spa, Robson Hospitality and Facilities Management, Desert Life Pharmacy technicians, Right at Home caregiving, Oracle Land and Homes, Harmony Healthcare, Pride Mechanical, EZ Automotive, remodeling, hairdressering, and a representative of the Carpenters’ Union.
An even bigger, better Vocational Fair is planned for this spring. There will be even more representatives from a wide range of career paths. Chairperson Bre Zientarski is looking for more role models to represent the various trades and career paths. If you have a suggestion or a contact, please contact Bre Zientarski at RotarySBAZ@gmail.com.
What is Rotary? It’s your friends and neighbors, gathering together to serve others and make a difference. As a group, there is a very special energy that happens when we work together. Rotary International is the world’s largest volunteer organization. Rotary clubs and projects are found in more countries than the Red Cross, McDonald’s, or Starbucks.
Our Rotary club is open to those who work or live in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, Oracle, The Copper Corridor, Catalina, Oro Valley, and the surrounding area. The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke meets at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch on Thursdays. We enjoy lunch at 11 a.m., followed by a brief meeting and program. For more information, contact Diane Demeroutis at RotarySBAZ@gmail.com.
Second-grade students show off their new books. Where is Waldo? I mean Pete Watson. Pete is hiding under that huge red sheriff’s hat and is in the back row to the left. Also delivering the books are Elaine Terry, Dan Devou, and Lynn Devou.
Rotarians Inspires Mammoth/San Manuel Elementary Students
Elaine Terry and Barbara Barr Bengen
Squeals of delight echoed in Mammoth/San Manuel’s second and third-grade classrooms as Rotarians delivered books to excited students. Rotary International offers a series of books and activity workbooks on service to others and the Four-Way Test. Through fundraisers, the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke raises funds to purchase these books for area students.
It was a delightful and fun-filled morning distributing books and activity workbooks to the second graders at Mammoth/San Manuel K-12 School. The distribution of the books entitled “Andy and Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure” was met with overwhelming enthusiasm and excitement. The author, Andrew J. Shoup, was inspired to write a series of two books focused on the Rotary Concepts of the “Four-Way Test” for the first book and “Service Above Self” for the second book. The second graders received the first book/workbook and will be recipients of the sequel, “Apple Orchard Park,” in third grade. Elaine Terry commented that, “The administration and teachers were supportive of incorporating these books and valuable concepts into their reading curriculum.”
Volunteer work with area schools is accomplished through the club’s New Generations Committee. This is just one of many types of service projects available through our club. Delivering the books to Copper Corridor students was the Chair of the New Generations Committee, Pete Watson, along with the past chair, Dan Devou, President-Elect Lynn Devou, and Elaine Terry.
Rotary is open to those who work or live in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, Oracle, The Copper Corridor, Catalina, Oro Valley, and the surrounding area. Come check out the fun we have as we volunteer and enjoy fellowship!
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke meets at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch on Thursdays. We enjoy lunch at 11 a.m., followed by a brief meeting and program. For more information, contact Diane Demeroutis at RotarySBAZ@gmail.com.