President Clent presided over the meeting. Linda Mast guided us in prayer, Harry led us with the pledge to our flag, Jerry Fohrman with the Four Way Test, and Jane Anne led us in our song America the Beautiful.
Thoughts of the Day provided by Eric Chester: “Those who can make you believe absurdities and make you commit atrocities“ Voltaire; “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” Mark Twain.
The Chair of Membership Linda Mast inducted Bill Mosher as our latest member. Welcome aboard Bill and good luck!
Clent announced that after considerable deliberation and consultation with Yavapai County Health Department, today’s meeting would be the last in-person meeting until further notice and we would be returning to Zoom for our regularly scheduled meetings. He also announced that we are cancelling the Christmas Party scheduled for Dec. 9. Clent emphasized that his decision was based on his primary concern towards safeguarding the health and safety of our members.
Jane Anne announced that we are one week away from the end of our charity auction and she is fast closing in on $5000. Jane Anne stressed the importance of supporting these scholarships and reminding members they don’t have to bid on an item, members can simply click the donate icon to contribute to the scholarship cause.
Community Service announced that all presents have been purchased and wrapped and our club would be providing an excellent Christmas to our adopted Salvation Army family of five. Additionally, our club delivered 600 masks to the Salvation Army the day before they hosted hundreds of recipients at their annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Finally, Teresa and Terry Smith and Lisa De Leo, friend of Don Schiller, were thanked for their participation ringing bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle donation program on Nov. 28, which brought in $350 in donations. Sunup will be in charge of bell ringing for the Salvation Army on Sat, Dec. 12 from 10 AM – 6 PM and on Sat, Dec. 19 from 10AM – 6PM on the corner of Gurley and Cortez, in front of Better Homes and Garden/Bloom Tree Realty. We are looking for volunteers to ring the bell for the following 2-hour shifts for both those two dates: 10AM – 12PM, 2PM – 4PM, and 4PM – 6PM. Please contact Todd Clancy at 480-285-7719 or taclancy2000@yahoo.com if you would like to volunteer for one of these shifts.
In a departure from our standard Sgt at Arms fines and happy bucks, our club took the unusual step of appealing directly to membership for donations to empower our club to rescue Christmas for one or two more families, in addition to the family mentioned above, under the Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family for Christmas Program. Richard Hernandez provided a stirring recollection of his own challenging childhood as he inspired our members to support our club’s efforts to provide Christmas for additional families who depend on this program to give their children a Christmas dinner and presents under the tree. In total, we brought in $500 from Zoom participants, $400 from passing the spittoon at the meeting, and another $200 delivered donations for a total of $1200 thus far. Consequently, with these extra donations our club has adopted two additional families for the Rescue Christmas program. Way to go Sunup!
Val Ripley introduced our guest speaker Bruce Williams, current President of the Arizona Prostrate Cancer Coalition. Bruce provided an in-depth, comprehensive presentation on prostrate cancer, including statistics concerning the most vulnerable populations, screening and early detection, treatment options, and support groups for those who are dealing with prostrate cancer as well as survivors.
Bruce is himself a prostrate cancer survivor and was obviously very passionate about creating awareness of this disease and the importance of seeking early screening and detection. His organization, the Arizona Prostate Cancer Coalition, is here to help the navigate through the jargon and maze of treatment options, as outlined by organizations such as The National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions (NASPCC), which recommends a baseline prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal exam (DRE) beginning at age 40 (at 35 if high risk, including African-America Men or men with a certain or indeterminate family history of prostate cancer), and then periodically depending on those results. You should know and keep track of all your PSA measurements and ANY CHANGE IN PSA should be discussed with your doctor.
Bruce resides right here in Prescott with his wife Linda as he works hard to educate the public on prostrate cancer and the host of options available to assist in early detection and surviving this cancer. Thank you Bruce and good luck!