• Meet the Beatles — a fun, high-energy tribute to launch the conference
• Club Grammy-Style Awards celebrating outstanding clubs and members
• A perfect blend of celebration, recognition, and nostalgia to start the weekend

• Enjoy a RYLA experience or attend Council on Legislation
• 3:00 – 5:00 PM Roll up your sleeves for hands-on service projects with fellow Rotarians, community partners, and local nonprofits,  proof that when we serve together, our impact grows

• Recognizing Rotary’s community impact and the future we are creating together
• Featured keynote: Elizabeth Mahoney, PDG, a crowd favorite and highly sought-after speaker at district conferences and PETS across the zones, delivering inspiring insights on leadership, purpose, and Rotary’s impact

• A powerful spotlight on our amazing youth and the future of Rotary
• Inspiring stories from Interact, Rotaract, Youth Exchange, RYLA, and scholarship leaders
• A look at how Rotary is shaping the next generation as we approach America’s 250^th

• Featured speaker: Eric Swann, former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro Tackle, 1st-round NFL draft pick, and an extraordinary human being. Eric shares a compelling story of perseverance, leadership, and personal growth you won’t forget

• A cast of characters from Back to the Future entertaining and engaging attendees
• Photo ops, surprises, and plenty of smiles along the way

• Elegant evening of dinner, music, celebration, and recognition as we honor our achievements and look ahead
• Featured keynote: Wyn Spiller, Rotary International Director, Zones 26-27

• Conference Sessions: Business Casual
• Saturday Evening: Prom or Formal Wear (tuxedo not required)

Board member Phil Geiger welcomed our newest member to the Club, Iryna Sukholovets, who said she is eager to learn from club members and become part the good work Phoenix Rotary 100 is doing,

Parick Walsh, president of the Tempe South Rotary promoted his Club’s virtual auction fundraiser being held from 2/27 (7 PM) to 3/2 to 9 PM and they are also seeking donations and auction items. 100% of the proceeds will enable their club to perform service projects in their community. (www,RotaryVirtualAuction.com).

Board member, Clay Janson, introduced his guests and visitors from the 944th Fighter Wing Booster Club which is supporting today’s speaker Col. Scott Riddle. They are also sponsoring a Booster Club Golf Tournament on Friday, March 27^th at the Falcon Dunes Golf Course with registration at 6:15 AM and shot gun start at 7:30 AM. A foursome is $1,500 but single spots can be obtained by calling Erin @ 518-225-0894. (https://fwboosterclub,org/golf-tournament-2026)

Clay Janson served as sgt-at-arms raising significant dollars for the Club. Scottsdale Rotary Club president thanked his members for attending and proceeded to donate $120 to Phoenix Rotary 100; Brooks Hilliard donated by announcing a meeting of both conservatives and liberals in Congressman Greg Stanton’s district on 3/14 and 3/28 to address immigration; Past District Governor (IL) Ron Broida donated $121 in honor of Rotary International’s 121^st birthday and PP Jay Murphy followed suit; Board member, Ted Haynes,  recognized the beginning of Family Promise 21 years ago and its founders Bob Withers and the late Rev Dr. Charles Emerson; Andrew Dillner was happy to announces his daughter’s cheerleading squad won their national championship; Iryna Sukholovets said she would be a sponsors at the “Red, White and Vogue” event at Mar-A-Lago to support veterans’ mental health programs; and Sarah Desmond who works in the Esplanade expressed gratitude for the beautiful butterflies that are now on exhibit there.

PP Dan Capote and PP (NJ) Lisa Henning announced that this year there will be a $50 charge to ALL members for the “Take Flight" fundraiser. Members can buy $50 worth of raffle tickets, or they can pay a little more and attend the reception at the Shemer Center on March 29^th.

Ted Haynes provided additional details regarding the 95^th annual speech contest noting that the scholarship checks from Rotary 100 are sent directly to the colleges the winners attend which have included Yale, Harvard, West Point, Brown, Duke, BYU, U of Texas and 10% attending California colleges including Stanford and Berkely. Very impressive!

Alyssa Spitale, representing Chirstian Family Care, one of our grant recipients spoke about how our funding enabled foster children and potential adoptive parents to meet resulting in several adoptions taking place before they aged out of the program at 18 years old. Donations to CFC can be made until 4/15 for your 2025 state tax credit.

President Kathy showed a video of the Young Mother’s Sewing Group in Rwanda to which Rotary 100 donated 10 sewing machines to make this project a success. She reminded everyone that applications for our 2026 grant awards are due on February 28^th and are open now. Every application needs a Club sponsor to be considered.

One of our likely future presidents, Clay Janson, introduced today’s distinguished speaker, Colonel Todd Riddle, commander of the 944^th fighter wing at Luke air Force Base. He said that Luke AFB is the global training alliance for training on F-35s, a modern day jet with 44,000 pounds of thrust. Col. Riddle explained that the Air Force Reserves are stationed at Luke with 25% on active duty and 75% part time retraining a regular civilian job while still able to spend one day a month or more training jet fighter pilots, Currently 140 Luke airmen are stationed in Qatar. Overall there are 1,300 airmen stationed at Luke and Col Riddle also oversees bases in Florida, New Mexico, and North Carolina. Luke trains 37% of all F-35 fighter pilots worldwide

To view more pictures, please click here
Rotarizonian Report By: Dr. Philip Geiger