WELCOME TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF SEDONA

Making a Difference in Sedona for 65 Years

We Promote Ethics

We Provide Clean Water

We Eradicate Disease

We Support Food Distribution

We Train Leaders

We Promote Literacy

We Educate the Community

We Empower Youth

We Work Together

We Have Fun

Join Leaders - Explore Ideas - Take Action

RC Sedona Takes on Water Poverty in AZ

It’s water delivery day and Monica anxiously scans the Navajo Reservation horizon for the big white water truck. When she sees the vehicle in the distance carefully maneuvering around deep ruts in the dirt road to her home she hustles her two small children safely inside. Like many on the Navajo Nation, Monica has lived for years without running water or electricity. Today will be life-changing for her young family.

Members of the Rotary Club of Sedona take up positions to monitor the delivery. The truck rolls up to the freshly installed underground cistern beside Monica’s tiny home. A 1200 gallon tank is the heart of the home water system and for the first time will provide Monica and her children with clean, hot and cold running water. The days of hauling hundreds of pounds of water from a regional well each week to provide for her family are behind her.

RYLA students help club celebrate 65 years

To help Rotary Club of Sedona celebrate 65 years, three Rotary Youth Leadership Awardees from Red Rock High School attended the club’s Valentine’s Day meeting: Alana Schrader, Cheyanne Matisko and Anisa Jaffe. Seven RRHS awardees attended RYLA held at Prescott’s Camp Pinerock in January. The students, sponsored by Sedona’s three Rotary Clubs, produced a presentation and told stories from their challenging, fun, and rewarding weekend. Asked what they learned - all three said "teamwork" number one, followed by: have fun, be in the moment, be brave, try new things, and set aside judgement. One girl hopes to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student next. Another is considering being a Junior Counselor at RYLA. A mom, sitting quietly in the back the room ended their presentation by thanking the Club for their sponsorships, saying, "I'm so glad my daughter was able to attend. She came home a different girl. It was life changing."

YC Skilled Trade Center

Club tours Yavapai College's Skilled Trade Center in Clarkdale

Rotary Club of Sedona thanks fellow Rotarian Chuck Marr, the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona, and Yavapai College for an incredibly informative Feb. 10 tour of its Skilled Trade Center in Clarkdale. The courses offered are hands-on training in state-of-the art workforce skills that make the Verde Valley and Sedona a wonderful place to live and work. They include residential construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, nursing, allied health, culinary arts, viticulture & enology, agriculture and high-tech CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining. The tour introduced high school students, their parents, and scholarship providers to well-paying career opportunities right here in the Verde Valley. The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona offers scholarships of up to $2,000 designed to help cover tuition, books, and fees to complete the courses of study at Yavapai College's Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC). YC nursing students above give a patient care demo to a high school student.

St Andrews Dinners Start

St. Andrews Community Suppers are Back

The Sedona Community Suppers at St. Andrew's Church are back in full swing with about 60 guests sitting down on Jan. 30, sharing an entirely plant-based supper together. Some guests still grab-and-go, but most were ready to sit together and enjoy each other's company. In preparation for the Rotary Club of Sedona's first hosting of the event since COVID nixed communal dining, Rotary members updated their food handler's licenses and Jim Hose from St Andrew's Church was on hand to reorient our group to updates in the church kitchen. Under Ray Harris’s direction, fellow Rotarians and Healthy World Sedona friends helped with food prep and serving. Several church members joined the crew to help with clean-up. It was truly a group effort - Rotary, Healthy World Sedona, and St Andrew's Church serving the Sedona community. (Photo L-R) Peggy Harris, David Simmer, and Ray Harris.

Larry Horton Visits Club

District Governor Larry Horton visits club

The Rotary Club of Sedona hosted Larry Horton, District 5495's Governor during its Jan. 24 meeting. Larry's home club is Tempe Rio & Satellite of Camelback Crossroads. A retired Phoenix Police Officer, Larry is heavily involved in planning and mentoring teen peer counselors for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) retreats. He and his wife, also a Rotarian, have a 3-year-old daughter and a teen son. Larry highlighted several of his goals for 2022-2023 which include growing Rotaract and Rotary club membership through service projects that feed member passions. In keeping with Rotary's 7th focus area, Protecting the Environment, Larry's presented the District's Environmental Committee Challenge: Go One Week with NO single-Use plastic! The meeting concluded with the club's donation to the Rotary Vocational Fund of AZ in Larry's honor. Club President Jean Barton (left) also announced a new children's book will be donated to the Sedona Public Library in Larry's name, and the gift of an Imagination Library Book to Larry's daughter, "My Papi Has a Motorcycle," which he does!

Stories from Ukraine

Rotarians and guests heard powerful stories from Ukraine

Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Many have sought refuge outside the country. Lives have been disrupted. Hope is hard to find. But one of our own—a Sedonan—has taken an active role in providing relief to victims of this nearly year-old conflict. Mark Cary is a 55-year-old retired Marine and Border Patrol Officer. When the Russian military invaded Ukraine his first instinct was to heed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for foreign fighters to support Ukrainian troops. But ultimately, he had a better idea. He called his son, Shane, in California with a proposal. Over 60 people attended Mark's Jan. 10 presentation to Rotary Club of Sedona and heard how he and his son have been back and forth to Ukraine offering aide and support to displaced Ukrainians. “I don’t feel like I can sit back and do nothing while people’s entire lives are being destroyed,” Cary said. “And if I can help someone and have an impact, I believe that is a way to help heal the world.”

CCO Winners 2022

The Great Sedona & Verde Valley Chili Cook-Off Winners

Jan Marc Quisumbing, program and marketing coordinator at Sedona Public Library celebrates their win for the People's Choice Civic First Place Award.

Congratulations to all the winners!

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

CIVIC - 1st Sedona Public Library; 2nd City of Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty

RESTAURANT - 1st Hideaway House; 2nd Vino Di Sedona

JUDGES CHOICE

CIVIC - 1st Sedona Fire Department; 2nd Sedona Public Library

RESTAURANT - 1st Vino Di Sedona; 2nd Hideaway House

BEST BOOTH - Hideaway House

Chili Cook-Off 2022

Club's hottest event is back!

The Great Sedona and Verde Valley Chili Cook-Off is back! And Rotary Club of Sedona invites you to help support the same wildly successful event at a new time and great new accessible location on the outdoor patios of the Sedona Performing Arts Center. The event is Sunday, Oct. 2, 12 to 3:30 p.m. and features chili by regional restaurants and community competitors, a silent auction, entertainment, Beer & Wine Bar, and more. Proceeds of the event to support programs for working families with children such as Wildcat Extended Day before & after-school program, Hope House-transitional housing for homeless families, Verde Valley Imagination Library—monthly books to over 2,200 Verde Valley preschool children, Rotary Youth Leadership Programs and college and vocational scholarships. You can help sponsor the event and purchase tickets by accessing the event landing page (see link in column to the right). Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the event. See you there! And help make our families strong.

Verde Valley Search & Rescue

For Rotary Club of Sedona every dog has its day. At least that was true during the club’s July 26 meeting at Sedona Public Library. Thirty-five Rotarians and guests joined the meeting to get to know German Shephard K9 Slider and Golden Retriever K9 Ivy for a description of their invaluable service to residents and visitors to the Verde Valley. Ivy’s owner, Jennifer Brehler (left), and Slider’s owner, Hank Summy, explained the crucial role their dogs play in finding lost hikers and other missing persons before something disastrous happens. Brehler is a Lieutenant for the all-volunteer Verde Search and Rescue Posse as well as being the executive director of the Humane Society of Sedona. The 35-volunteer group help locate lost, injured or dehydrated hikers, lost children, runaways, stranded motorists, conduct evidence searches, fire and flood evacuations and even, in those most unfortunate of circumstances, body recovery. The volunteers not only donate their time and expertise, but also their personal gear such as drones, off-road vehicles, climbing apparatus, mountain bikes, and, in the case of Brehler and Summy, woman and man’s best friends — Ivy and Slider. For more information or to inquire about joining for the Verde Search and Rescue Posse visit https://verdesar.org

Installation Event 2022-23

Club installs new president

Dr. Jean Barton was installed as Rotary Club of Sedona's President for 2022-23 during the Installation Ceremony held July 12 at Courtyard by Marriott. Inspired by Rotary International's 2022-23 theme, "Imagine Rotary," she asked club members to "Imagine Rotary in Sedona" and what its three clubs can do when they unite to make Sedona a better place for its children, youth, and its working families. Barton kicks off her term with the Great Sedona and Verde Valley Chili Cook-Off, being held for the first time in several years at a new date and location: Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, 12 to 3:30 p.m. at Sedona Performing Arts Center. The fundraiser’s theme, “Working Hard for Working Families,” will benefit programs that help kids, their parents, our school and our workforce: West Sedona School’s Extended Day Program, Imagination Library, Hope House, and Rotary's Junior High Youth Leadership Programs, Barton said.

Installation Awards 2022-23

Make A Difference & Silent Rotarian Awards

For the past six years the club has recognized organizations and individuals who have made a difference in their Sedona community. This year the Make A Difference award was presented to Superintendent and JH/SH Principal of Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District, Dennis Dearden. Dearden was awarded because of his leadership in starting West Sedona School's Wildcat Extended Day Program benefitting students and their working parents. The award comes with $1,000 that he will give to the Sedona-Oak Creek Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, he helped to start to fund innovative and supplemental programs that are outside the normal operation of the school district. The club also recognizes a club member who has gone above and beyond in his/her role, putting “Service Above Self.” The award this year was given to Dick Youngberg, chair of the club’s International Services Committee. Youngberg was chosen because of his leadership hosting and participating in annual Mexico/USA Friendship Conferences and the relationships he has forged with Rotary Clubs in Mexico. He’s been a dedicated club member for nearly 13 years.

Wildcats Extended Day Program

Club supports Wildcats Extended Day Program

The Rotary Club of Sedona, with funds matched by Health First Foundation of Northern Arizona donated $2,500 for a total of $5,000 to West Sedona School's free Wildcats Extended Day Program. The gift helps the club fulfill this year’s theme: Working Hard for Working Families. “Funding the school's extended day program benefits children’s health and meets the needs of parents working in Sedona, even if they can't find housing or afford to live in Sedona,” said retired pediatrician and Club President Jean Barton. "I couldn't have worked without the extended day program at our children's school. I could afford to pay, but my clinic's support staff really struggled. They worried about their kids' safety and tried to parent by phone while at work. Data shows that accidents, inappropriate Internet use and petty crime peaks in the unsupervised after school hours. Children's mental health improves when they have healthy recreational activities of their choosing. Knowing that their kids are happy and safe also reduces stress for working parents."

Club Supporting Ukraine Relief Efforts

Rotary providing funds for Ukrainian humanitarian crisis

In response to the deepening Ukrainian refugee crisis, The Rotary Foundation Trustees have prioritized contributions made to its Disaster Response Fund until April 30, 2022 to support disaster response grants for Rotary districts affected by these events. These expedited disaster response grants can be used to supply water, food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. All four Rotary Clubs of Sedona and the Verde Valley contributed over $9,100 to the response fund. Club members are also making individual contributions.

The United Nations estimates 10 million refugees have fled Ukraine. Rotary clubs in Europe and around the world have stepped up their relief work, some working on the ground to help displaced families. If you would like to contribute to Rotary's Disaster Response Fund, please go to https://my.rotary.org/en/disaster-response-fund. You can make your donation as a Rotary member or guest. With your donation, we can support communities and help rebuild lives during this tragic time. Thank you!

Chili Cook-Off Best Community Event