Norm Noble
On Tuesday, June 3 John Huppenthal, Arizona State Superintendent of Public Education, will address the Sun Lakes Rotary Club discussing how his department is preparing all Arizona students to be college and career-ready and competitive in a global economy. With over an 18-year career in the state legislature, Huppenthal has successfully authored and passed over 200 bills, with a substantial number of them focused on improving education in Arizona.
Under his leadership, the Arizona Department of Education has championed school choice, providing a wide range of educational opportunities for parents and their children;
Initiated the implementation of more rigorous college and career-ready standards;
Instituted the A-F Letter Grade System for schools and districts so that parents can make informed decisions about their children’s education;
Stabilized the state’s school accountability, technology and financial systems;
Advocated for the use of student-level data in educational decision making; and
Significantly improved the Arizona Department of Education’s service levels for its many stakeholders.
On Tuesday, June 10, Allen Fore, Director of Public Affairs for Kinder Morgan, will discuss his company’s energy infrastructure projects in Arizona. Kinder Morgan is America’s third largest energy company and America’s largest natural gas transporter. It operates 82,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals across the country. Their pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, carbon dioxide and more for a combined enterprise value of approx. $120 billion.
In most of their businesses, they operate like a giant toll road and receive a fee for their services. Their customers include major oil companies, energy producers and shippers, local distribution companies and businesses across many industries. They invest billions of dollars each year to build new energy infrastructure and expand existing assets, as well as integrity management programs to operate their assets safely.
On Tuesday, June 24 Gerad Classman, President of Dogs4Vets, will talk about his non-profit organization dedicated to enabling disabled veterans to live a more productive life through the use of service animals. Classman emotionally says, “We envision a world in which disabled veterans are able to lead a happier and healthier life through the use of a service animal.” He will have a disabled veteran and a service dog with him to augment his presentation.
The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes meets for breakfast every Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m. in the Oakwood Country Club Ballroom. The meetings start at 7:00 a.m. and end promptly at 8:00 a.m.; the cost of breakfast is $12. To make reservations for any meeting contact Rotarian Don Prestin at 480-802-0439.