Rotary Club of Sedona Village Projects 2019/2020 "Rotary Connects the World"

Rotary Club of Sedona Village Projects 2019/2020 “Rotary Connects the World”

Here is a recap of the significant events, fundraisers, projects, and social gatherings I had the pleasure of organizing as the President of the Rotary Club of Sedona Village! My one year term ends on June 30th, and it has been a truly life-changing experience serving our wonderful community Sedona Village! I am just shy of my fourth anniversary as a member of Rotary International, what an enriching experience it has been meeting so many truly motivated and selfless people! When I started four years ago, I knew almost nothing about Rotary expect that it was a service organization. When I was asked to become the President of the club two years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into! I wanted to thank a few people who, without their never-ending guidance my year as President would have had very different results! So thank you, Rob Schaefer, Mark Von Hoetzendorff, Lori Zaleski, David Gill, and David Simmer!! Just about every club member I have come into contact with has helped in some way with the highlighted events below.

Rotary Presidential Minute – Here is my 1st presidential minute video. As President of the Rotary Club of Sedona Village, one of my goals was to put out a short video after each meeting. These videos would let everyone know what happened at the meeting or what’s coming up in our Rotary year.

The Rotary Club of Sedona Village was proud to have given a grant to the excellent Sustainability Alliance Summer Camp pilot program, which took place right here in Sedona Village! I took a moment and visited the camp to speak with the organizers and counselors. All the children looked to be having a great time working on various sustainable projects, including composting and building a solar oven! The Rotary Club of Sedona Village looks forward to seeing this program grow in the coming years!

Rotary Presidential Minute – Red Rock Blood Drive and Annual Creek Cleanup with Oak Creek Watershed Council and Sedona XYZ

I had the pleasure of visiting a Rotary Club in Puerto Penasco during my last visit to Mexico. Wonderful people serving their community through Rotary! While I attended their meeting, I heard about three fundraisers they have each year benefiting the local community. Their signature event is a Golf Fundraiser benefiting local schools. The money raised through fundraising and global Rotary grants is helping construct a water sanitation plant that will supply several local schools with clean water. Always fun to see how different cultures share the values of Rotary! Thank you to Shandra(Sami) Rivero for helping me with translation!

Rotary Club of Sedona Village(RCSV) yearly Oak creek cleanup down at Red Rock Crossing on the Sedona Village side of the creek. We meet in the parking lot at the end of the dirt portion of the Verde Valley School Rd. Oak Creek Watershed Council. This annual event has been going on with Rotary’s support for three years now! Join us next Labor day weekend!

Rotary Presidential Minute Mtg 3 – Verde Valley Sanctuary presentation, Blood Drive With Holiday Inn Express, SVBA and VOCA

Danielle Giann presented the Verde Valley Sanctuary with a $1500 check thanks to proceeds from the hugely successful Salon Piano Recital!

Highly successful Blood Drive sponsored by the Holiday Inn Express – Sedona Oak Creek, Rotary Club of Sedona Village and Sedona Village Business Association. We are proud to announce that our village responded to the call for the need for precious blood in our society.
At the blood drive, 37 lifesaving donors, including Yavapai County Supervisor Randy Garrison stepped up to donate, resulting in 32 procedures for our community and reaching 178% of our blood drive goal.
We had walk-ins and unfortunately had to turn them away because we just did not have enough staff or supplies to accommodate everyone! Great job to everyone and thank you so much! We encourage those walk-in donors to donate at another location soon!
A special thanks to Crystal Hoyle for organizing the event, to both Robin and Stephanie for operating the refreshment tables! Also, thank you Village of Oak Creek Association for the use of the clubhouse! Thanks to all the donors!

The Rotary Club of Sedona Village presented the Imagination Library with a $2,000.00 check! Imagination Library provides books by mail to children in the Verde Valley.

Rotary Presidential Minute – Futurechef a culinary dinner supporting Yavapai College Culinary program through scholarships and real-world experience!
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Meet and Greet!

Meet and Greet with Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office was a very informative community event. Thanks to Lieutenant Brent Kimbriel, Sergeant Brandon Rumpf, and Volunteer Anthony Weber for attending the event. Both Lieutenant Kimbriel and Sergeant Rumpf fielded questions ranging from evacuation procedures, traffic safety, and public safety.

Futurechef was a massive success in its debut dining experience!
Chef Robert’s of the Yavapai College Sedona Culinary program created a wonderful evening along with Chef John Ramagli of JWine Bistro. These master chefs guided five students from the Sedona Culinary program in preparing a 5-course dinner with wine pairing. The event hosted over 40 locals who paid a donation of $125 per plate to enjoy this unique experience right here in Sedona Village of Oak Creek! The proceeds from the evening were split between scholarships for the students participating in the Sedona Culinary program and the Rotary Club of Sedona Village’s 501(c)(3) Charitable Fund. The RCSV Charitable fund provides grants to local organizations on a yearly basis.

With the evening being so much fun and such a huge success, the Rotary Club of Sedona Village plans on making this a yearly community event! So, stay tuned for next year’s event!

It all started when Rotarians Mark Von Hoetzendorff and wife Robin Von were taking their usual morning walk. They noticed that one of the yards they passed by had severely deteriorated in the past two years. They learned from neighbors that the owner had significant health problems and was no longer able to maintain the yard. This seemed like a good project for the Rotary Club, so Mark proposed it to Club President Damian Bruno and the Board.
The property had 10-12 trees. Some were dead (4), and others needed significant trimming. There was a lot of weed-whacking required, bush trimming, dead plant removal, and general garden pickup. Since the owner was a retired firefighter, club members turned to the Fire Department to help with the trees. The Sedona Fire Dept (Village Station house) plans to take down the dead trees. Taylor & Sons Hauling provided a huge dumpster at no charge and then a second one when we needed it! A neighbor, Carolyn Fisher, VOCA HOA Rep, sent out a neighborhood email, notifying those living nearby about the project. Many of the neighbors stopped by and joined the Rotarian and Fire Department volunteers.
The volunteers spent the whole day, Saturday, Nov. 2 weed whacking, raking, hauling, and trimming. President Damian Bruno said, “Lots of sweat and scrapes were experienced by all who attended. However, I believe I speak for everyone who came out that the effort was well worth it!” Visit the club website for the full story.

Rotary Club of Sedona Village’s Clark’s Grocery Grab benefitting the Carnegie Hall trip for Northern Arizona young Musicians had its winner announced at the Sedona Charter School Winter Strings Concert last Thursday. The winner Randy Hawley, a Sedona Village resident, went on his Clark’s 5-minute shopping spree this past Saturday! See the pictures below. The fundraiser was a resounding success raising over $7,000.00 that will be split evenly between the Carnegie Hall trip and Rotary Club of Sedona Village grants. We would like to thank our sponsors one more time: Dahl Restaurant Group, My Inheritance, Red Rock Dental, JWine Bistro, Damian and Danielle CBRB, State Farm Andrew Bailor, Canyon Chiropractic, Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic, The Oddity Wine Collective, Ferguson Homes and Interiors, VOC Barber Shop and Vince’s Auto Body Shop!! And of course, this would not have been possible without Clark’s!! So a huge thank you to Clarks for their support of our community! Visit the club website for the full story!

Sedona Winds Healthcare Professionals Pizza Party! Our club delivered some 40 pizzas to the health care professionals at Sedona Winds, a nursing home in here in the village of Oak Creek! We fed around 90 professionals and thanked them for their hard work during this health crisis!