Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 18 at this week’s meeting, including:

Tim Murphy
Dave Binsfeld
Jeff Barnes
Maureen Sullivan
Jack Sullivan
Steve Geary
Lynne Mascarelli
Dan Magee, AKA Santa
Tim Caufield
Dorothy Brogan
Brenda McKay
Julie O’Mahar
Rory Sweeney
Bruce McHenry, soon to be known as Grandpa
Megan McCulla
John Keane
Bill O’Brien
Kathleen Kelly
Bill Quigley
Chris Kelly
Mary Hannon

Guests:

None

Discussion

Greetings ERIN Members!
 
We had a great time at the annual ERIN Holiday and Gift Exchange Meeting and were happy to see some familiar faces from the past!  Bill O’Brien even popped the cork on a bottle of champagne at the start of the meeting!
 
Kathleen Kelly won the 50/50 Split the Pot and more good news, she will be joining ERIN again in January! 
 
Speaking of January, we return to our normal meeting schedule which means we meet on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month.  On schedule looks like this:
 
Friday, January 8th  Maureen and Jack Sullivan of Sullivan’s Travels  Their travel company provides some unique tools for those travelling to Ireland and elsewhere.  This will be a great opportunity to invite guests, especially those who have always wanted to visit Ireland!  Let’s help Jack and Maureen get the word out about their business to the Irish community in AZ!
 
Friday, January 22nd  Official Launch of ERIN as the Irish Chamber of Commerce!!!   Norm McClelland of Shamrock Foods Company is our speaker.  Norm will share about his Irish heritage, the history of the remarkable success of Shamrock Foods and an update on the Irish library to be built on the grounds of the ICC.  Who do you know?

Next meeting: Friday, January 8th, 7:00 AM at the Irish Cultural Center.

Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 15 at this week’s meeting, including:

Dorothy Brogan
Dave Binsfeld
Maureen Sullivan
Jack Sullivan
Lynne Mascarelli
John Keane
Dan Magee
Julie O’Mahar
Chuck Vallelonga
Rory Sweeney
Jeff Barnes
Bill O’Brien
Brenda McKay
Rev. Kathryn McDowell
Mary Hannon

Guests:

None

Discussion

In keeping with our holiday meeting schedule, the first and third Fridays of the month for November and December, we met last Friday, November 20th.

Our December meeting dates are the 4th and the 18th. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend!

Our speaker last Friday was Reverend Kathryn McDowell of the New Vision Spiritual Growth Center in Scottsdale. Rev. Kathryn is almost a native as her family relocated to AZ when she was just eight years old. The topic of her talk was Gratitude. She shared the fact that there are eight nations that have a designated day of thanks. She spoke about the Pilgrims who established Thanksgiving in our country to show their gratitude for the freedom they found in spite of many, many challenges faced. Rev. Kathryn encouraged us to develop an attitude of gratitude. A grateful attitude has a cumulative effect and will expand into all areas of or lives. She stressed the difference between being grateful about rather than for as we will move from focusing on things to the essence. After years of contemplating the purpose of life, Rev. Kathryn adopted the philosophy of the Dalai Lama: Our purpose is happiness; being peaceful, being content, being grateful. Be so happy that it spills over onto others. She recommended a book on this inspiring topic: To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue Rev. Kathryn also gave us an exercise: Make a list of five things or people that you are grateful for. I invite you to make your list if you didn’t attend this meeting. It feels good! I am sure we will be seeing more of Rev. Kathryn!

We have new ERIN Members: Maureen and Jack Sullivan, Sullivan’s Travels! Welcome!

Next meeting: Friday, December 4th at 7:00 am at the Irish Cultural Center.

Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 10 at this week’s meeting, including:

Rory Sweeney - Rocol Glass Etching
Dorothy Brogan - Attorney
Steve Geary – ImproveSmart.com & Jerome Software
Dan Magee – Arizona Custom Pools
Chuck Vallelonga, CPA – Tax Preparation
Brenda McKay – Estrella Environmental & Earth Bound Environmental
Patricia Prior – Real Estate Agent & President of the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation
Lynne Mascarelli – Muralist & Docent at the Irish Cultural Center
Mary Hannon – Send Out Cards & Shaklee
John Reilly – Orion Security Systems

Guests:

None

Discussion

To start off, a reminder to all that the November and December meetings will be held on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. We now have a business card table again, so please be sure to check your business cards and update what is there if necessary. Pat Prior wanted to remind every one that for 1st time home buyers, that they must close by November 31st to be able to benefit from the $8,000 tax benefit. Lynne Mascarelli wanted to let everyone know that one of the ways that she helps out people stuck in hospitals etc,is to write out cards from the patients to whoever they want to send them to. Brenda had a thank you to Mary for the Shaklee products that Mary brought in for her. And Mary had a thank you to Brenda for the purchase of the Shaklee products.

Our speakers for the day were Steve Geary with ImproveSmart, and Dan McGee with Arizona Custom Pools. Steve works with Sean Lee in Improve Smart and wanted to let every one know that their business is trying to fill a gap for contractors out there who cannot get any discounts for their businesses, and ImproveSmart is bridging that gap. And a special offer is out there for all to get a free membership to be able to purchase products through ImproveSmart without having to pay a membership fee which will be $200 annually. Please go to www.improvesmart.com/early for further details and to sign up. Basically anything that one can find in an Ace Hardware store can be found at ImproveSmart.


Dan MaGee's talk was directed towards "greed". Dan said that when his partner in the pool business died, that he had to tighten up the expenses somewhat, and one thing that Dan did was to stop all commercial advertising. Dad did self advertising instead. He works with wholesalers when buying heat pumps etc., and when he visits these wholesalers, in the typical Dan Magee style, he chats up other contractors and works with them to get leads and contacts. But he works with them in splitting the commission made on any referrals that they give him, as long as those contacts call Dan to give him a heads up that so-and-so may be calling. Guess what, if they do cal, and Dan gets a contract with them, he then turns around and sends off a commission check to the contractor that gave him the lead. -- This is where the "GREED" comes in - when the contractor gets the commission check, guess who he is going to refer next time one of his contacts talks about pools.


I believe it was Brenda MacKay that won the 50/50, splitting a $15 pot.

Next meeting: Friday, October 23rd at 7:00 am at the Irish Cultural Center.
Guest Speaker will be Larry Barkan, author of "Playing the Game of Conflict Resolution In All Your Relationships"

Lets have a good turn out this Friday.

Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 19 at this week’s meeting, including:

Len Wood – Bagpipes for all Occasions
Dorothy Brogan - Attorney
Bruce McHenry – Financial Education and Planning
Tim Murphy – Sales Consulting
Jeff Barnes – Triple Digit Communications
Steve Geary – ImproveSmart.com & Jerome Software
Dave Binsfeld – General Southwest Insurance
Dan Magee – Arizona Custom Pools
John Keane – New York Life
Julie O’Mahar – Editor, Desert Shamrock & Owner of Tracks and Wax
Chuck Vallelonga, CPA – Tax Preparation
Brenda McKay – Estrella Environmental & Earth Bound Environmental
Patricia Prior – Real Estate Agent & President of the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation
Lynne Mascarelli – Muralist & Docent at the Irish Cultural Center
Megan McCulla – New York Life
Mary Hannon – Send Out Cards & Shaklee

Guests:

Jerry King, Maricopa Shredding
Chris Kelly, CMK Construction

Discussion

Our speaker today was Patricia Prior who provided an update on the real estate market and the Irish Cultural Center.

While there are many challenges with Short Sales and Bank Owned Properties, it is a great time to purchase a home, particularly for a first home buyer. There are many properties for sale at less than $100,000.00 and there is an $8,000.00 cash back incentive for first time home buyers which is good through the end of November, 2009. It is believed that the majority of the foreclosures hit the market earlier in the year.

The Irish Cultural Center is as busy as ever with many great events scheduled all during the month. If you’re planning an special event or know someone who is, consider the Irish Cultural Center! It’s a beautiful facility located in the heart of Phoenix! Please visit www.azirish.org to learn more.

Our next ERIN Meeting will take place on Friday, October 9th at 7:00 am at the Irish Cultural Center.

Next meeting: Friday, October 9th at 7:00 am at the Irish Cultural Center.

Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 9 at this week’s meeting, including:

Dorothy Brogan - Attorney
Jeff Barnes – Triple Digit Communications
Dave Binsfeld – General Southwest Insurance
Chuck Vallelonga, CPA – Tax Preparation
Brenda McKay – Estrella Environmental & Earth Bound Environmental
Lynne Mascarelli – Muralist & Docent at the Irish Cultural Center
Mary Hannon – Send Out Cards & Shaklee

Guests:

Dick Higgins
Shaun Burns

Discussion

Dorothy recently launched a second legal specialty, Divorce Mediation and is working with an organization called Out of Court Solutions. This specialty requires two degrees which Dorothy has; her law degree and a Masters in Counseling as well as extensive training which Dorothy completed this summer. Out of Court Solutions Divorce Mediation is well suited for couples who are able to work together in the dissolution of their marriage. There are several reasons why divorce mediation is a good option; reduced cost, no court appearance and the couple is able to make their own decisions as opposed to having a judge make the decisions. Eight hours of mediation is what’s usually required to complete the process and a free one hour session can be arranged. You may visit the website to learn more: www.OutOfCourtSolutions.com

Chuck Vallelonga won the 50/50 split the pot.

Next meeting: Friday, September 25th at 7:00 am.

Members in attendance:

E.R.I.N. had 16 at this
Week’s Meeting, including:

Rory Sweeney
Mary Hannon
Brenda McKay
Dorothy Brogan
Jeffery Barnes
John Reilly
John Keane
Bruce McHenry
Julie O'Mahar
Tim Luckey
John Daniels
Mary Temme
Bill O'Brien
Megan McCulla
Len Wood
Wanda O'Malley

Discussion:

The AZ Irish Festival is coming up October 31st, Brenda McKay asked again for more volunteers. Please check with Brenda this Friday coming, if you are able to help out, and what you would be able to do.

Our speakers today were John Keane and Megan McCulla from New York Life. John and Megan split the presentation up evenly between each of them giving us the following synopsis: New York Life is a private company, one of the top AAA rated companies out there. Being a private company, there are no stocks that can be bought. New York Life works with people from ages 1 through 95 years old. They are also a brokerage company. Their profits this last quater were up 300% over this period last year. The company works with mutual funds, 401K's and as mentioned previously they are also a Brokerage company. John and Megan work their business to a large dgree from referrals.

John Keane gave us a little insight into his family background from which we learned that he has 46 cousins on his father's side, his father being the eldest of 12 siblings. He has another 29 cousins on his Mother's side. John is originally from Sioux City, Nebraska, and has worked for Meryll Lynch and Wells Fargo before starting with New York Life.

Megan McCulla is an Arizona native, but also worked in Washington state for a 1 and a halfas a pulmonary specialist - sounds way too technical for me, don't even know how to spell it, or what she did other than the fact that she worked with 24 patients on a weekly basis. Now Megan, if I didn't get this next bit right, please feel free to tell me, but I believe you joined New York Life because you saw too many of the elderly people you were working with, not being able to afford the medication that they needed, so made the transition over to New York Life, in order to be able to educate people at an earlier stage in their lives about how to be able to prepare for the latter stages in their lives - is that correct??

We also had a new prospective member, Tim Luckey, who graduated from Apollo College and is a licensed Massgae Therapist and Reiki specialist, which I believe can be interpretted as follows: " Reiki is the usage of spiritual energy to heal a person's aura or situation. The word "Reiki" actually translates to "Universal Life Force Energy."


Thank you to the speakers, John and Megan, and to Tim for your backgrounds.

Next meeting: August 7th , 2009

Members in attendance:

Discussion:

Next meeting: July 24th , 2009

Members in attendance:
 
Rory Sweeney
Mary Hannon
Brenda McKay
Dorothy Brogan
Betty Breckenridge
Jeffery Barnes
Dave Binsfeld
John Reilly
Tim Murphy
Chuck Valalonga
Dan McGee
Chris Kelly
John Keane

Discussion:

New officers have been elected to the Board for a 6 month stint, and have been updated on the website. The Light Rail will apparently be starting up a newsletter, in which we will be able to advertise. That should greatly reduce the parking problems for the Irish Festival that we have had in previous years. For those who may not have been to our meeting for a few weeks, I would like to introduce some new members, Tim Murphy, Megan McCulla, John Keane and a guest of Dan McGee who visited us last week, Chris Kelly. Welcome to all.
 
The AZ Irish Festival is coming up October 31st, for which John Daniels has asked for ERIN participation in the organization of the festival. There are many opportunities available, such as :
Marketing
Site
Entertainment
Vendors
Sponsors
Secretary
Volunteers
Treasurer

Next meeting: July 10th , 2009