Stories
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Big Contribution by RotarianRotarian Charlie Tegarden lives in Tehachapi and loves to bicycle. He's become such a talented rider that he's often entered into grand scale biking events like our local Gran Fondo. He has found a way to help the worldwide Rotary effort to eliminate Polio. See his letter below that resulted from his recent ride in the Tucson Arizona Ride to End Polio. Thanks Charlie for your great efforts! Dear President Linda, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for Tehachapi Rotary Club’s generous gift of $250 to support my Ride-To-End Polio. The results are in and I finished the 100 mile ride in a time of 5 hours, 13 minutes. Plus I had the pleasure of riding with Rotary General Secretary John Hewko and many other great Rotarians. More importantly, thanks to Rotarians and clubs like the Tehachapi Rotary Club, I was able to gain total financial support of $3,475 in sponsorships for my ride. Including the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation match, it means that $10,425 will go to support Polio Eradication. I do not know the total raised by all participants in the ride this year but I am certain it will exceed one million dollars. Thank you for being a part of this major fundraising effort for Polio eradication. With my very sincere thanks, Charlie Tegarden .jpg) |
Amy Watkins is Honored by Rotary
Our Tehachapi High School Interact Club on-campus Adviser is now an Honorary Rotarian. Amy Watkins, shown here on the Left, was given the Honorary Induction by meeting leader Tim Trujillo and Amy's Rotary Sponsor, Judy Trujillo (R). Amy has done a great job of revitalizing the Interact group and has enthusiastically participated in our community service projects including the Senior Smoke Detector Battery Exchange, the Holiday Senior Luncheon and the Brite Lake Tree Planting. Amy and Judy host the regular Interact Club meetings on campus and are instrumental in selecting students to attend RYLA and to support Rotary service projects during the year. Welcome to the Club, Amy!  |
Our Newest RotarianWe're happy to have Stacey Larson-Everson become our newest Rotarian. Stacey is the new Superintendent of Tehachapi Unified School District. Her Rotary membership was sponsored by Paul Kaminski who was the acting Superintendent. Stacey and Paul are pictured here with President Linda Carhart at the recent induction ceremony. Welcome aboard Stacey!  |
Shaken but not Broken
The recent earthquakes that shook the Ridgecrest area were some of the largest in the memory of most local residents. Thank goodness there were no injuries or major damage sustained by our sister Rotary Club members in Ridgecrest or Indian Wells Valley. After the Rotarians of both clubs cleaned up their own earthquake damage they then did what Rotarians do - they helped their neighbors and others who had severe damage to their homes and were in need of assistance. To say thanks to these Rotarians, District Governor Savi Bhim and Executive Assistant Governor Tim Trujillo visited a meeting of both the China Lake and the Indian Wells Valley Club. They presented Shaken but not Broken certificates to each of the club presidents. Pictured here are (l to r) DG Savi, RC of China Lake President David Haugen, RC of IWV Terry Bollino and EAG Region 1 Tim Trujillo. Many thanks go to all the local Rotarians who helped their community during this difficult time!  |
Expanded Literacy Project CompletedRotary continues efforts to stimulate an early interest in reading and this year expanded it's efforts.  |
Welcome Lance Patton
We're happy to have Lance join us as our newest Rotarian! Lance is a talented Financial Adviser who has taken over the investment portfolios of J. Williams Financial here in Tehachapi. Pictured here (l to r) at his induction ceremony are Club President Chris Naftel, Lance and his Club Sponsor, Tim Trujillo. Lance has a real talent for money management -- he won the big weekly marble-bag drawing ($276) at one of his first meetings. With his good luck, we're hoping he'll buy each of us a Lotto ticket! Welcome aboard Lance.  |
Generous Mr. Huff
Rotarian Craig Huff has done it again. On Thursday May 9th Craig donated $250 to our Rotary Club of Tehachapi Foundation. The donation is wonderful - but even better, it will be matched by another donation of the same amount by his employer, Merrill Lynch's parent company, Bank of America. Thank you Craig for your second straight year of generosity! All donations to our Foundation are used exclusively for our charitable projects, so the money is well spent.
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RYLA Attendees Report
This year's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) attendees shared their four day camp experience at a recent Rotary meeting. They all expressed heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to learn and grow at RYLA in April. A majority of our club's annual charitable giving is directed to youth activities and this year we invested $2,500 to send deserving students to the camp. Leadership training has a wonderful payoff in developing talent to lead our local Interact Clubs at THS and Valley Oaks HS and it promotes good citizenship and community service in the youngsters. Pictured here, left to right, are Max Morelos, Daisy Andrade, Brandon Birka, Steven Whelan and Club President Chris Naftel.  |
Another New RotarianRick Santa Maria joined Rotary last month. As shown below, Rick was formally inducted at our May 9th meeting. His sponsor, Jerry Hildreth, is giving Rick his Rotary Pin as Meeting Chair for the day, Tim Trujillo, looks on. Rick lives in Bear Valley Springs, is a pilot who flies private jet aircraft and is interested in community involvement and service to his fellow man. Rick's wife and two kids attended the induction ceremony. Welcome aboard Rick! .jpg) |
Rotarian Talks to Rotarians
Our regular weekly meeting on May 9th turned out to be something special. Zack Scrivner, Kern County Supervisor and Tehachapi Rotarian, gave a wonder talk on "The State of the County". Zack once again demonstrated his grasp of the key issues facing our East Kern area and how plans are unfolding to meet community needs. Like Rotary, Zack is a supporter of programs service veterans, animal shelters and economic development. He's been instrumental in fixing County financial challenges and in leading Kern County to being one of the most financially sound counties in California. Zack is shown below with Tim Trujillo who was filling in for Chris Naftel who was out of town.  |
Ida Perkins Joins Rotary
On Thursday, May 2nd, we welcomed Ida Perkins as our newest member. Ida is the President of the Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce and has long demonstrated her interest in serving the community. Pictured here, left to right, are Stephanie Garcia, Ida's Sponsor, Ida and Chris Naftel, Club President. Welcome to Rotary Ida!  |
Tijuana Orphanage Visit Planned
Kara Robbins, orphanage Director came all the way from Mexico to make a presentation at a February Rotary Meeting. It was great for club members to meet her and hear an update on the Kid's Home that we support. The name of the home has changed to Casa de Sanacion, which translated means Healing Home. We're planning a visit to the home soon and welcome Rotarians to make the trip with us. So let Chris, Tim or Judy know if you'd like to come along. We'll probably drive down that on a Tuesday morning and return the following day. We'll take donated goods and make a shopping trip in Tijuana to help resupply the kids cafeteria. Here's a photo of Chris giving Kara a TRF donation in her honor during her visit.  |
Welcome Annette and Mindy
We're happy that two new members were inducted into Rotary on March 7th. Welcome Annette Shepherd and Mindy Martindale! Club President Chris Naftel is shown below during the induction ceremony. Both Annette and Mindy are excited to begin giving back to the community thru Rotary service projects.  |
Wine Pairing Fun
It was a night filled with good friends, fine wines, and food to be long remembered. The Rotary Club's annual Wine Pairing Dinner and Fundraiser was again a sellout, with nearly 120 guests attending Saturday at The Shed restaurant. Dinner ticket sales, along with a wine pull and silent auction of more than 40 enticing items, led to a successful fundraising evening. Chef Mano Lujan and his staff prepared a full four-course dinner, carefully pairing each dish with an individual wine from the Boisset Collection of fine wines grown in Napa Valley. Wow, was it yummy and tasty! All this fun led to good funds. Over $8,000 was raised to provide Community Service projects for our area. The many beneficiaries of the projects include Senior Citizens, Youth in our town, and Tree Planting at Brite Lake. |
Tijuana Children's Home Visit Rotarians from our club and the China Lake club visited Casa de Sanacion, (formerly Ninos de la Promesa). We met the new director and staff and learned about the repair and rebuilding of the home for abandoned kids. Casa de Sanacion translates to Healing Home. If you're interested in coming along on a future trip to visit the childern's home contact Chris Naftel or Tim Trujillo for trip details. We're looking forward to now working with Kara Robbins who'll be moving the home forward.  |
Bike Raffle Pays Off
This year's Gran Fondo Bike raffle (opportunity drawing) was a hit. Pictured here is the happy winner, Chris, husband of ticket buyer Laura Haight. Not pictured here is the $800 + that Rotary raised to support our Community Service Projects. Congratulations to Chris and Laura Haight.  |
Rotary Supports Coats for Kids!.jpg) With winter weather upon us we think about our local kids and how they'll handle 'ol man winter. Pictured here is Rotary club president Chris Naftel presenting a $500 check to the Salvation Army's Sandy Chavez. She heads up the annual Coats for Kids drive to ensure the neediest kids in town have a warm new coat to wear when the weather turns. Last year Sandy's talent in procurement was able to obtain 50 new winter coats with our donation. Thanks Sandy!
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September 8th Fall Social Event
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Two New Rotarians
Welcome Craig Huff and Danielle Evansic! They were officially inducted into Rotary on August 9th by (L) Club President Chris Naftel and (R) District Governor Sandi Schwartz. We're happy to have them aboard. Both are talented individuals who bring a lot to Rotary. Craig is First Vice President, Merrill Lynch Investments and Danielle is a teacher at TUSD specializing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics  |
Rotary Scholarships 2018 |
RYLA Attendees Share Experience |
International Project SuccessRotary Continues Support for Tijuana Orphanage through combined club efforts.
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Rotary's Citizen of the Year Award |
Rotary Wine Pairing a Big Hit
Amid an adventurous crowd of diners, the annual Rotary Wine Pairing Fundraising Dinner was held Saturday night at the The Shed in Tehachapi. The wine was from the vineyard of Minassian-Young in Paso Robles. The food portion of the four-course culinary adventure and pairing was the creation of Tehachapi Chef Mano Lujan, who created appetizers of brochette on naan bread, Brussels sprouts and pork, with octopus and celery. There was a soup of Japanese Oxtail and bokhoy, and a salad of of jelly fish with cucumbers and coriander. The above was paired with both a 2015 Tannat wine and a dry farmed Zinfandel known as 2016 Tarantula. For the main course a 2016 Zinfandel was paired with wild boar and elk, along with garlic mashed potatoes. Side dishes included eight grain rice with duck and a vegetable side dish of chard with golden raisins and pine nuts. Dessert was vanilla ice cream served with a light topping of balsamic vinegar, along with jalapenos and applewood smoked bacon. Silent auction items were plentiful and the bidding active. All proceeds go to fund the various activities that the Rotary Club of Tehachapi supports in the community. |
Rotary Wins Rose Parade Award
For the second consecutive year the Rotary entry in the Pasadena Rose Parade was awarded the "Princess Trophy" for the best float under 35 feet in length. Pictured here is the winner "Planting the Seeds of Service" as seen on New Year's Morning. Congratulations to the Rotary Districts in southern California who sponsored this wonderful float!  |
International Project Results in New Dinning Decor.jpg)
Photo of kids at Ninos de la Promesa children's home in Mexico enjoying a meal at one of the new tables with new chairs provided by Rotary. The project was a joint effort of local area clubs, including Tehachapi, China Lake, Bakersfield Breakfast and Indian Wells Valley. .PNG) |
People of Action
Want a brief video overview of what Rotary is all about? Paint the following URL then click on it to check us out: h |
Charlie's Long Ride to End Polio
To Tehachapi Rotarians, I want to thank you for your generous support of my Ride to End Polio and the support of your club. I finished successfully but along the way I made a wrong turn and rode 117 miles instead of 106 so you got some bonus miles out of me. Over a hundred Rotarians rode in the Ride to End Polio on November 18th in Tucson and raised over 6 million US dollars for Polio eradication. You and the members of the Tehachapi Rotary Club were part of making that history through your generosity. Your support is helping to end Polio worldwide forever. We are so close now that any day could be the last day that any child will suffer again from Polio. Thank you again.  |
District Governor for 2020-1021 Announcement
On a recent Saturday, interviews were held for the position of District Governor for 2020-2021. In accord with our District and Rotary Bylaws, we are pleased to formally announce that the Nominating Committee selected Deborah Linden from the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo. Deborah has a rich resume for both Rotary and her Vocation in Public Safety as follows (click on Read More below). |
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Tehachapi
· Annual Ladies Tea – this June event provides scrumptious desserts and tea for those ladies wishing to dress up and socialize at Wren's Garden. · Youth Service – We sponsor and support the Interact Clubs of Tehachapi High School and of Valley Oaks HS. These groups are designed to provide youngsters with leadership and good citizen training, they provide community help projects throughout the school year. Rotary provides opportunities for high school Interact students to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp each year. The four day immersion in leadership training and citizenship building takes place in Ojai each April. A few weeks before, KernYES is held at the Taft Fort. KernYES is a one-day leadership experience. · Literacy Project – The club provides a special personalized story book to kindergarten kids at all Tehachapi Unified Elementary Schools. The book gives the children a fun start with reading and helps them develop an interest in education. · Breakfast with Santa – in conjunction with other local service clubs, we host the annual Breakfast with Santa for the children in our community. We serve juice, milk, coffee, pancakes and sausage and created an opportunity for a free picture with Santa. · International Projects – Each year the club selects a project to assist people in a foreign country. Our Rotarians travel to Tijuana, Mexico, to help at an orphanage. We've raised funds in association with the Thousand Oaks Rotary Club to provide a Van for the Orphanage. We are also participating in a Global Grant for polio eradication...Our Fashion Show fund raiser has been key in supporting polio eradication. In 2021 we organized a community benefit concert that raised $12,000 for Ukraine refugees. · Community Support – throughout each year the Tehachapi Rotary Club takes the initiative to assist locally wherever possible. We were there to help after large fires. We support the Salvation Army’s ‘Coats for Kids’, aided their back to school clothing drive and shoe drive and participated in Christmas bellringing. We started the 12 Days of Christmas food drive three years ago that has reached over 200 families in need. Monthly our members team up with Platinum Realty for one week and serve recipients of Meals on Wheels. Vocational support - One day each month Rotarians skilled in sewing teach a 3 hour class to those interested. While serving our fellow citizens, the Tehachapi Rotary Club embraces the concept of fellowship and good fun. Our activities include regular social events where we come together to celebrate our friendships and our successes. Our club is made up of business, professional and community leaders. |
Ninos de la Promesa
The Rotary Club of Tehachapi has helped support a home for needy children in Tijuana, Mexico, for the last several years as our International Service Project. During our visits south of the border we've been joined by Rotarians from the China Lake Rotary Club and the Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary Club. Together, we provide essential needs for the home, Ninos de la Promesa. Among our contributions to the home were a new washer and dryer (they do nearly 100 loads of laundry daily), new go-to-school backpacks for all the kids and regular cartloads of groceries and kitchen supplies. It’s rewarding to be there and to see the immediate results of our service. The kids and home managers are always so pleased and thankful for our visits. Most of the kids have come from the red light district of Tijuana, where they have been seriously neglected and sometimes abandoned to fend for themselves. Ninos de la Promesa provides a clean, safe environment for them and ensures they attend school and church activities. Giving to these kids not only improves their lives but improves the lives of us who help them out. For more information about this project or about Rotary, please contact Tim Trujillo, at tim-trujillo@earthlink.net |
Wine Pairing a HUGE Success! |
Paul Harris Fellow Award |
January 30th! Wine Pairing Dinner!
Get ready for a great evening! Mark your calendars for our Wine Pairing Dinner, January 30th at the Shed.
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Social Thursday! |
Recycling Made easy!
Do you have plastic cans, bottles, soda cans, recyclable containers just waiting for you to find time to recycle?
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Turkeys needed for Senior LuncheonIt's that time of year again! We need turkeys for the Holiday Luncheon! |
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Rotary Club of Tehachapi 
