The Rotary Club of Tucson (RCOT) has selected Pima County Joint Technical Educational District (JTED)
as the winner of its dream big; make a difference in our community centennial project competition.

JTED’s project, the Innovation Learning Center, will be built in one of the areas of greatest need in our
community. It will receive a minimum $250,000 grant as recipient of all the proceeds from RCOT’s 2021
Centennial projects.

“We knew it would be hard to choose just one charity, given how strong and caring our nonprofit community
is here,” said Jim Lubinski, past president of the Rotary Club of Tucson and Chair of its Centennial
Celebration Committee. “We were blown away by the ideas presented, but JTED’s concept of preparing
students for quality employment and/or college, really stood out because it will help our young people and
improve our regional economy.”

Kathy Prather, JTED Superintendant/CEO, said “We dreamed big when we set out to bring JTED Career
and Technical Education programs to high school students on Tucson’s Southwest side, but we could never
have imagined the unparalleled level of collaboration we’re seeing among builders, developers, school
districts, city of Tucson officials, and the Rotary Club of Tucson. Their enthusiastic response to help
students succeed in their chosen careers is a great affirmation of our ability to change lives and strengthen
our economy. We appreciate the generous support from the Rotary Club of Tucson to offer a greater
number of high school students throughout the metro area premier Career and Technical Education
programs in high growth areas such as medical professions, cyber security, robotics, engineering, and 3-D
Animation. JTED’s Innovative Learning Center will be a game-changer for students and provide the skilled
workforce needed to grow our economy.”

RCOT will create a major fundraising event in conjunction with its 15th annual Tucson Classics Car Show to
celebrate its 100 year anniversary in 2021 and, between the two events, is committed to raising a minimum
of $250,000 for JTED. It is anticipated, though, that the net from the two events could be as much as
$400,000 to $500,000.

In recent years, the Rotary Club of Tucson has donated close to $5-million to Southern Arizona charities,
not to mention countless volunteer hours on community service projects, the continual granting of
scholarships to the U of A and Pima Community College, as well as partnering with other Rotary Clubs for
humanitarian projects throughout the world. Club members want this project, during the Club’s centennial
year, to have a significant impact on our community for years to come.

Jim Murphy, who chaired the RFP & Evaluation Committee, said RCOT received proposals from 41 area
nonprofits. The committee narrowed the projects to 5 and visited each to discuss and verify the proposals
before narrowing the projects to three, which were presented to the membership of RCOT for a vote. The
other two finalists, Interfaith Community Services’ planned midtown Family Self-Sufficiency Center and the
Reid Park Zoo’s planned Treetop Adventure will each receive 20% of the net proceeds of the 2019 Tucson
Classic Car Show.

Contact: Jim Lubinski, Chair
Rotary Club of Tucson Centennial Committee
(520) 904-3777 / jiml@bookmans.com