Stories

In Memory of Augie Caires

In Memory of Augie Caires
October 6, 1946 - August 2, 2023

Augie Caires Celebration of Life

On Saturday, September 9, 2023, Friends, and Family came together to celebrate the life of Augie Caires. It was both a sad and a happy occasion that highlighted the all the great contributions that Augie left our Rotary and local community. We even overlooked that he was a Raider's fan.

We thank you Augie for the time we had with you and hope to see you again in God’s kingdom. Here's a poem that was said at the service to help us all help promote our Service about Self in our lifetime.

The Dash by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own -- the cars...the house...the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, remembering this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent YOUR dash?

Reference The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis

Santee Lakeside Rotary Give a Sheet Donation

Santee Lakeside Give a Sheet Donation to ECTLC

Santee Lakeside Rotary Give a Sheet Donation

2022-2023 Year In Review

Here are some of the accomplishments our amazing members helped make happen as they “Imagine Rotary”:

Welcomed new members: Heather, Susie, Malcolm, Justin, Katie, Loree and Denise

New Blue Badgers: Taylor, Mike and Loree

New Paul Harris Awardees: Bill, Karen, Sandy

District Grants

Donated $1,750 through District Grants to reduce food insecurity in our community, with funds supporting the Santee Food Bank and Meals on Wheels
Provided a District Grant for $750 to the Malawi Sewing Project to help women gain skills to support their families
A $1,000 District Grant was given to East County Transitional Living to help individuals experiencing homelessness
PAWS for Purple Hearts was given a $1,000 District Grant to assist their program to train service dogs for veterans
A $750 District Grant was given to Home of Guiding Hands for one of their homes to provide a holiday meal and presents for their residents with developmental disabilities; a few members also got the chance to be elves and deliver their presents
Donated $1,000 to help literacy in our community, with funds supporting Buddy's Backpacks, Reading Legacies and the San Diego Council on Literacy
Donated $750 to support the District Initiative on Mental Health through the Vista Hill Foundation.

Service Projects:

Created We Care Packages for Meals on Wheels to be delivered to their senior clients for birthdays and holidays
Members helped decorate the Rotary International Float at the Rose Parade
Members hand wrote 300+ holiday cards for local seniors
Assembled almost 1,300 boxes to be used by Santee Santas to provide food and toys
Members purchased and collected over 584 pounds of food for the District 5340 Food Drive and all of it was donated to the Santee Food Bank
Members picked fruit to be donated to Meals on Wheels
Members helped clean up Lindo Lake Park on I Love a Clean San Diego Day
Members spent the day volunteering at St. Madeliene Sophie's Center Morning Glory Brunch for Rotarians at Work Day
Members volunteered at the Post Office during Stamp Out Hunger to make sure food donated in Santee went directly to the local food bank
Annual Rotarians Give a Sheet Collection
Members helped purchase supplies, assemble and distribute 1,000 backpacks full of school supplies to local children with Buddy's Backpacks
Members volunteered at Special Olympics
Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside had a table at the annual Taste of Santee

Ongoing Service Projects

Every month a different Rotarian helped deliver food to seniors in mobile home parts for in partnership with the Santee Food Bank
The club signed up 3 new Scholars for our program and members helped mentor our other scholars throughout the year
Supported the End Polio Now campaign with donations from the Happy Bucket

Social Events

2 FireSide Chats - Karen and Doug
2 East County Rotary Socials - Hooley's in August and Grand Ole BBQ in June

District Governor 2023-2024

Don Fipps has been a Rotarian for 17 years and is a member of the Rotary Club of Del Mar where he was president 2018-19. Don had been an Assistant Governor 2019-2021 and Chief Aide to Rotary District 5340 Governor Dan Gensler. Del Mar is Don’s third Rotary Club, he was also a member of the Rotary Clubs of Wilkes-Barre, PA and West Sacramento, CA.

Don is a native Californian born in Bakersfield. He attended California Polytechnical State University in San Luis Obispo majoring in Biochemistry and graduated in 1977 and was subsequently commissioned in the United States Army through ROTC. Don retired from the Army in 1997 as Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Services Corps. He also has an MS in Biology from Bowling Green State University. After working for the American Red Cross in several locations, an independent blood center in Sacramento and finally the University of California San Diego Health, Don retired in 2018.

Don married Donna McIlwain in 1975 after meeting at Cal Poly. Don and Donna have 2 children, Aaron married to Colleen with 2 children Burnie and Ben; and April, married to Ray with 2 children Charlie and Caroline. They raise Canine Companions service dog puppies.

Don is a Paul Harris Fellow plus 6 and a member of the Paul Harris Society, Don and Donna, also a member of the Rotary Club of Del Mar, are level 4 Bequest Society members and level 1 Major Donors. Don will be visiting our club on Sept 21st. of this year. For more information log onto The Rotary District 5340 website.

The Santee Lakeside Rotary Club Making a Difference

Are you interested in making a difference?

Check out all of the great projects that
Santee-Lakeside Rotary has already accomplished this!

"Rotarians Give a Sheet" Toilet paper collection for East County Transitional Living Center.
Club members serving in several in District 5340 positions.
Donated $1200 to Canine Companions for Independence, to help train a service dog for military personnel.

In addition to money raised privately, we received a district grant for $4,000 and put in solar at Rancho Santa Marta, saving the school $10,000 per year that they can use towards educating the children. The total project was over $60,000!
Participated with SMOAC elves program by handwriting holiday cards for seniors in our local mobile home parks.
Teaming up with Buddy's Backpack to help distribute 900 backpacks to kids gearing up for the new school year.
Sent 9 local high school students to RYLA, a Rotary leadership program for students.
Raised money for our Scholars program by putting on a Concert at the Lakes, graduated 3 scholars and got 3 new ones.
Assembled 1,000 boxes yearly for Santee Santas which was used for food and toys for local families.
Joined with Rotary club of Ensenada to provide food, blankets and clothing to over 300 families.
Served as greeters for the Rotary International Assembly.
Awarded Paul Harris fellows, equating to saving 64 lives!
Working with the local Kiwanis Club of Santee to support the Southern California Special Olympics.
Fingerprinting children at Kids Care Fest, in cooperation with the Grossmont Healthcare District and in Santee at the Santee Active Lifestyle Expo.
Come join us to see what you can add!

2023-2024 Installation Dinner

The Board of Directors
Invites You and your Spouse
to Join Us for the Installation of the
2023-2024 Officers and Directors
of the Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside.

Dinner will be held at Fifty9Fifty Local Eatery
5950 Santo Road, San Diego, CA 92124
On Thursday June 29th at 6:00 PM on their patio.

Dinner will be an open buffet of Caesar Salad, Garlic Rosemary Rolls, Lasagna al Forno, Penne Alfredo and Chicken ai Marsala, Dessert, Tea, soda and coffee. Ticket price is $45.00/person and is payable before the event. A full-service bar will be available for wine or mixed drink purchases.

In order to accommodate everyone, please RSVP no later than June 20th. Please RSVP to bill@bpommering.com with names of attendees. Sweaters and Jackets suggested.

We will also be sponsoring “Give-a-Sheet” again this year. Please bring your donation of toilet paper for East County Transitional Living Center to the event with you.

Santee Santas Box Making Day 2022

Clean San Diego

Rotarians Give a Sheet

Rotarians Give a Sheet
The Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club donates annually to the East County Transitional Center (ECTLC). The Center provides transitional living and programs and services that restore the lives of those who are homeless. One of the ways the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club helps ECTC is engaging in a very simple project supporting a very basic human need - toilet paper! Club members each contribute packages of toilet paper for East County Transitional Living Center because “Rotarians Give a Sheet.” This drive took place at the Club's installation dinner. It's a fun project and everyone looks forward to participating.

Buddy's Backpacks 2023

This year on Saturday, August 19, 2023, the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club volunteered with Buddy's Backpacks to help distribute over 900 backpacks to kids gearing up for the new school year. The Santee Lakeside Rotarians joined with others helped pass out the backpacks. The event was at Rio Seco elementary school.

The program is named after Buddy Rubaya, a founder of this program, who passed away in 2020. All the supplies and backpacks are donated by community members and organizations. Special Thanks goes to John Hossick and the Santee Mobilehome Owners Action Committee Inc. (SMOAC) who help organize this great event.

Rotarians at Work Day 2022

Annually, on the last Saturday in April, Rotarians celebrate Rotarians at Work Day. This year we celebrated on April 30th, with a great group of Rotarians and spouses from our club. Feeding San Diego was the beneficiary of our efforts where we sorted corn - good from bad - and then bagged for distribution. Mixed in were some worms/caterpillars, which caused a few "ewes” as we purged them from the corn. Nothing was wasted. Discarded corn will be sent to a farm to feed pigs. Altogether we bagged 1200 pounds of usable corn on the cob, which will feed 600 families. Thank you to all our volunteers! We even got a special visit from District Governor Dan Gensler and Governor Nominee Don Fipps.

Rotary helps Fisher House SD

The Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside donated much needed supplies for the Fisher House San Diego, from laundry detergent to coffee to toilet paper. Fisher Houses are comfortable temporary homes designed to provide a sanctuary for the families of our military's wounded, ill and injured. Since 1991 The Fisher House Foundation has been building these homes and gifting them to the operating branch of service. At present time there is no cost for a family to stay at a Fisher House. All lodging costs are covered by the Fisher House Foundation. The two houses in San Diego each have 9 guest suites, common kitchens and dining areas, laundry and outdoor seating. It is a “home away from home” available to active duty and retired military, veterans and their families coping with the medical crisis. These homes allow military families to focus on the medical care and recovery of their loved one. More information about Fisher House San Diego can be found at https://www.sandiegofisherhouse.org/.

Rotary Helps Home of Guiding Hands

The Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside gave a grant to Home of Guiding Hands (HGH) to support a holiday home party for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, many of whom survive on a minimum income and don’t have family nearby. The donated funds were used to purchase holiday gifts and a holiday meal to make it possible for the residents to have a memorable and joyous holiday. Besides donating funds, Rotarians also got to shop for the holiday presents, wrap the presents, and most importantly, deliver the presents as Santa’s Elves. This holiday project helped HGH’s mission “to improve the lives of those we serve.” https://www.guidinghands.org/

Rotary Helping Santee Santas Foundation

On December 5, 2021, members of the Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside, friends of Rotary, and Rotary Scholars spent the morning assembling approximately 1,000 boxes for the Santee Santas Foundation. This annual volunteer project comes with paper cuts and sticky tape, but’s it’s always worth it knowing the boxes are used to create food and holiday gift packages for members of our community in need. For information on how Santee Santas has been bringing the spirit of the holidays to Santee for more than 67 years visit https://www.santeesantas.org/.

2020 - 2021 Year in Review

Even with setbacks this year due to Covid and only having virtual meetings, the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club was able to achieve a lot over the last year. Here are some of the accomplishments our amazing members helped make happen because of their commitment to “Service Above Self”:

Welcomed a new member, Mike Aiken
Recognized for 60 years of service to the community by the City of Santee
Donated $1,750 in supplies to Buddy’s Backpacks through a District Grant and helped distribute them to students in need
Celebrated Gene’s 90th birthday with a drive thru event
Visited Erna at Jimmy’s
Adopted and stocked Little Free Libraries in Santee and Lakeside
Collected men’s shoes for St. Vincent de Paul
3 groups volunteered at PAWS for purple hearts
Supported End Polio Now through our happy bucket, purchasing ceramics at the La Mesa fundraiser, and raised awareness with purple pinkies
The club was recognized at the Foundation Seminar for our annual donation to End Polio Now
Collected bolt bag items for City Hope La Mesa
Wrote kindness cards for UCSD Healthcare workers, Meals on Wheels, Serving Seniors and St. Paul’s Senior Services
Hand wrote 400 holiday cards and donated 21 pairs of socks for our local seniors through the SMOAC Elves program
Assembled 1,300 boxes for Santee Santas which were used to provide food and toys for local families

2020-2021 Rotarian of the Year

The Rotarian of the Year award is given to a Santee-Lakeside Rotarian that exemplifies the principles of the Rotary 4-Way Test, “Service Above Self”, and that Rotarians are

“People of Action”. This year we are proud to announce our Rotarian of the Year is Neferti Kinser.

Here are just a few reasons why Neferti earned this honor:

Even when she was on vacation she made it a point to attend meetings.
If for any reason she couldn’t make it to a meeting she would always check in with someone and let them know how she would miss being with us.
She could be found at almost every volunteer opportunity.
She helped interview students for our club’s education programs.
She also helped a lot with projects done at home, from writing cards, to collecting goods, to knitting hats.
While Neferti is quiet, she has a heart of gold and truly embodies “Service Above Self”.

East County Transitional Living Center

On Saturday, May 22, 2021 members of the Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside rolled up their sleeves and got dirty while beautifying the playground at the East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC) with weed pulling, hedge trimming, and landscape management. It was a lot of hard work, but the transformation was worth it. The playground is used by families that are helped out of homelessness by ECTLC through their various programs. For more information on ECTLC and their mission to provide transitional housing and restore lives visit https://www.ectlc.org/.

2021 Rotarians at Work Day in Santee

2021 Rotarians at Work Day

Residents of the Meadowbrook and Mission Gorge Villas Mobile Home Parks in Santee had a helping hand from the Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside on Saturday, April 24^th for Rotarians at Work Day. In partnership with the Santee Mobile Home Owners Action Committee (SMOAC), club members cleared overgrowth and weeds to beautify the yards of residents in need. Club members worked hard, but it was all worth it to see the smiles of the residents.

Rotarians at Work Day takes place the last Saturday of every April. What started in 2006 as a joint effort between two Rotary Districts (one in the United States and one in Mexico), has grown to a service day for Rotarians around the world. Each year, Rotary clubs identify hands-on projects that all members can participate in to help their local community. The Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside is proud to participate in this day of service. For more information on Rotarians at Work Day visit RotariansatWork.org.

Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club Scholars

The Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club Scholars Program began in 1995 to address the growing number of high school dropouts. High school graduation is considered essential for long term success and independence. The Scholars Program identifies students who need additional support and encouragement to graduate high school. Club members, along with our coordinator Angie, provide mentoring to the students to help them graduate on time with their class. Scholars are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA, do community service, remain free of criminal activity and stay drug/alcohol free. As long as the requirements are met, students are awarded a scholarship of up to $4,000 to cover tuition, books and fees at an accredited college or training program. This program is offered at our three local high schools: El Capitan, Santana and West Hills. Each year, three new students are chosen (one from each campus). Since its inception, the program has assisted over 155 students and has an 83% graduation rate with 63% of those graduating going on to attend college or post-secondary education.

Santee K-12 Students Receive Backpacks

District 5340 Buddy's Backpack Santee Lakeside Rotary

The Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club donated $1,750 worth of backpacks and schools supplies as part of a community driven back-to-school backpack effort.

As strong supporters of their local schools and students, the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club decided to seek a District grant to help with this community project. The Club contributed $1,000 of club funds which was matched with $750 District dollars. This event was also supported through various community fundraising efforts.

The backpack event started in 2015 and is named after the founder and community activist, Buddy Rabaya who died from complications from a hemorrhagic stroke this past year. Buddy had always been very supportive of Rotary events and volunteered at many of them. He was a tremendous community partner.

Now known as Buddy's Backpacks, this program helps families having a tough time paying for school supplies. The backpacks were distributed at two school location with COVID safety measures practiced. Families drove to the school site parking lots and remained in their cars as volunteers provided age-appropriate backpacks for the kids and placed them safely into their vehicles. The child (children) had to be present in the car.

Santee Rotarians joined in and helped with the distribution of the backpacks and supplies. It is estimated that over 800 students were recipients at this annual event.

Rotarian and superintendent of the Santee School District, Kristin Baranski thanked the volunteers and community supporters for doing this for the children of Santee.

Source: Article from Rotary District 5340 and Sandy Pugliese.

Canine Companions

Members of our club visited the Canine Companions for Independence Training Center in Oceanside. Canine Companions for Independence has been providing assistance dogs free of charge since 1975. After touring the facility and seeing demonstrations of assistance dogs at work, club members presented the organization with $1,200 to help train an assistance dog for a disabled service member.

Kaylyn Gonzales

Kaylyn Gonzales - Rotarian of the Year

Our 2019 Rotarian of the Year is Kaylyn Gonzales. Kaylyn is what Rotary is about - someone with a big heart and a desire to give back. Kaylyn works for Waste Management and became a Rotarian in 2017. Kaylyn has been our club's membership chair and with her leadership, we have seen our membership thrive and grow! Kaylyn does our birthday messages on Facebook, as well as synopsis of each meeting so club members can learn more about our speakers. She championed club shirts and also designed free lunch cards to invite new people to our meetings. She has been a 2-time Rotarians at Work Day leader and comes to every meeting with a smile on her face! Congratulations Kaylyn!

Rotary Holiday Party 2019

Please Join us for our Annual Holiday Party

Brigantine Seafood Restaurant
9350 Fuerte Dr
La Mesa CA 91941
December 19th

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Welcome to our Newest Rotarians

Welcome to the Santee Lakeside Rotary
Darcy Fagerwold and Lili Patch

Rotary International Convention in Hawaii

The special promotion discount available to Rotarians for next year's RI convention in Hawaii has expired. However, there is continued good news - there is a reduced early registration fee for those who register by December 15, 2019. Registration is available to Rotarians with a My Rotary account online at http://www.riconvention.org/en/honolulu . To see video highlighting next year's convention click here.

Rotary Rose Parade Float

Rotary needs your help to make this year's Rotary Rose Parade Float a success. This year's theme is Hope Connects the World. PGD, Wade Nomura, Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee Chair announced the registration date of September 15 for signing up to decorate the Rotary Rose Parade Float. Mark your calendars accordingly!

Instructions for registering:

Visit www.rotaryfloat.org to sign up and support the float.
Follow the Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee's work on Facebook and share your Tourament of Roses experience with family, friends and neighbors. This is how we can grow the family of Rotary.
District 5340 will be supporting the float but let's help participate as club members and Rotary Clubs. Donations of $1000 or more will be listed as major donors....but, honestly, any amount can help. Checks payable to "Rotary Rose Parade Float" can be sent to P.O. Box 92502, Pasadena, CA 91109. You can also donate online.

2019 Rotarians at work day

Residents of the Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park in Santee had a helping hand from Santee-Lakeside Rotarians on Saturday, April 27 -
Rotarians at Work Day. A coordinated effort with Santee Mobile Home Owners Action Committee (SMOAC), club members cleared overgrowth and weeds in resident's yards of those who had the greatest need. Residents looked on and some even pitched in. Throughout the project there were many smiles and comments of appreciation, including being called Garden Angels. Click here to see more pictures of the event.

2019 Concert at the Lakes

Posted on May 05, 2019

Concert at the Lakes 2019

The Santee Lakeside Rotary and The Santee Lakes Foundation present the 10th Annual 2019 Concert at the Lakes. This great event supports Youth Programs, Scholarships and Family Recreation in the Santee and Lakeside Communities.
Spend the evening enjoying great music under the stars at beautiful Santee Lakes. Tickets always sell out so purchase them early. It be hosted again by San Diego Legend ShotGun Tom Kelly.

Tickets are available
Dinner tickets are $65.00, Lawn Tickets just $35.00. Gates will open at 4:00 pm for Dinner. The Concert starts at 6:00 pm. Log onto www.concertatthelakes.com/ for more information. Don't be Square - See you there!

Become a Sponsor: Please Call John Morley 619-306-2479

Concert at the Lakes 2019

Concert at the Lakes 2019

The Santee Lakeside Rotary and The Santee Lakes Foundation present the 10th Annual 2019 Concert at the Lakes. This great event supports Youth Programs, Scholarships and Family Recreation in the Santee and Lakeside Communities.
Spend the evening enjoying great music under the stars at beautiful Santee Lakes. Tickets always sell out so purchase them early. It be hosted again by San Diego Legend ShotGun Tom Kelly.

Tickets are available Soon
Dinner tickets are $65.00, Lawn Tickets just $35.00. Gates will open at 4:00 pm for Dinner. The Concert starts at 6:00 pm. Log onto www.concertatthelakes.com/ for more information. Don't be Square - See you there!

Become a Sponsor: Please Call John Morley 619-306-2479

_________________

2019 District Training Assembly

2019 District Training Assembly

March 30, 2019

8:30 to 12:00 p.m.

Joan Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at USD

Held only once a year, District Training Assembly offers training for Rotarians including club officers, directors, and committee chairs to help them become more effective club leaders. All club members, especially Red Badgers, are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Come learn club management tips and best practices from other Rotarians at District Training on March 30, 2019 at the Joan Kroc Center for Peace & Justice on the USD campus. Online registration is $30 per person. This is a great opportunity to learn about Rotary and network with other Rotarians. We expect full attendance for each class, so don't miss out.

Registration ends on March 29, 2019

Marta Knight, District Governor Elect, Convener

SCHEDULE

7:45 AM- 8:30 AM                    REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:30 AM -9:00 AM                    WELCOME

SESSION 1      9:10 AM – 10:00 AM
Presidents-Elect & Asst. Governors - (2019-2020)
Current Club Presidents (2018-2019)
Club Secretaries using ‘MyRotary’
Club Treasurers and Reporting Requirements
Community Service
Membership Recruiting
Youth Service
The Rotary Foundation
Bridging the Generation Gap-Recruiting Millennials

SESSION 2      10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
Club Presidents (2020-2021)
Effective Leadership
Public Image & Branding
Membership Retention
Club Fundraising
RYLA & LEAD
Youth Protection
Pathways to Peace
International Service

SESSION 3      11:10 AM – 12:00 PM
District Grants Management
Effective Speaking
Young Professionals in Rotary
Navigating RI Website for Presidents and PE’s
Social Media
Creating Great Club Programs Using Technology
Rotaract, What it’s all about
Rotary 101
R.I. Conventions - What to Expect

SESSION 4       12:10 – 2:00 PM
GLOBAL GRANTS MANAGEMENT SEMINAR

Rotary Installation Dinner

Please Mark your Calendars for the
Rotary Installation Dinner on July 1st.
Starts at 5:30 -8:30

2019 - 2020
BOARD MEMBERS

President	Paul Ague
President Elect	Laura Purdom
Secretary	Elana Levens-Craig
Club Treasurer	Bill Pommering
Foundation Treasurer	Doug Wilson
Member at Large	John Morley
Membership Chair	Kaylyn Gonzales
Youth Chair	Karen Fleck
Past President	Elana Levens-Craig

BOARD ADVISOR'S (Non-board member)

Program Chair	Sandy Pugliese
International	Allen Carlisle
Youth Protection	Lori Bird
Service Projects	Champions (Varies)
Peace Chair	Phil Herrington
CATL Chair	John Morley
Social Media / Website	Ronn Hall

ROTARY

Santee – Lakeside Rotary Club

Santee – Lakeside Rotary Club Foundation

New Website!

The Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club of has a new logon. Just remember http://santeelakesiderotary.org/

Santee Lakeside Rotary

Fireside Chat Photos

On October 4th, Santee Lakeside Rotary had a Fireside Chat at the home of Karen Fleck & Tom Clarke. Good food, fellowship and fun were enjoyed by all of the attendees, both Rotarians and their spouses. President Elana Levens-Craig shared information on District 5340 grants and projects that she heard about at the District Foundation Seminar. Rotarians are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and the diverse list of projects, both local, national and international definitely illustrated the power of Rotary.

See pictures from the 2018 Fireside Chat Photos

The 2019 Fireside Chat will be held on May 26th at the home of Virginia & Ronn Hall

Soles4Souls

Posted on Sep 14, 2018

Santee Lakeside Rotary Club President, Elana Levens-Craig attended her very first Rotary International Convention this past spring in Toronto, Canada and came home inspired. While at the convention and in the House of Friendship, Elana came across a booth for Soles4Souls, a non-profit social enterprise that creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through the distribution of shoes around the world. She was pretty sure most of her club members had shoes in their closets they no longer needed. The Club enthusiastically backed this project and set a goal of collecting 300 pairs of shoes during the month of August. Members not only raided their own closets but they also reached out into the community via social media for donations as well. The end result, nearly double the goal, was 583 pairs of shoes! This is an amazing start to Elana's presidential year and the collection effort is a true reflection that Rotarians are People of Action!

New Meeting Place

We are now meeting at a new location

San Diego Christian College
200 Riverview Pkwy,
Building A Upstairs
Santee, CA 92071
____________________________

Santee Lakeside Rotary Helping the Community in 2018

Posted on Jul 04, 2018

Stamp out Hunger 2018

Rancho Santa Marta

Rotarians at Work Day

Pictures from the
109th Rotary Convention in Toronto

Santee Lakeside Rotary 4 Way Test

Rotarians at Work Day!!

Pictures from this Great Event

2018 District Training Assembly

Posted by ronn

Join us for the 2018 District Training Assembly. Held only once a year, District Training Assembly offers training for Rotarians including club officers, directors, and committee chairs to help them become more effective club leaders. All club members, especially Red Badgers, are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Come learn club management tips and best practices from other Rotarians at District Training on March 24, 2018 at the Joan Kroc Center for Peace & Justice on the USD campus. Online registration is the same as previous year's at $25 per person. This is a great opportunity to learn about Rotary and network with other Rotarians. We expect full attendance for each class, so don't miss out.

Schedule of Events

7:45 AM – 8:40 AM - Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM - Welcome
9:10 AM – 10:00 AM - Session 1
10:10 AM – 11:00 AM - Session 2
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM - Session 3

The Global Grants Management Seminar will also be hosted from 12:10 PM to 2:00 PM at the KIPJ Theatre. For more information on that seminar, please click here.

2018 District Training Assembly
USD's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
United States

Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club Fingerprints Children

Posted by SMP

In today’s society where our children are more vulnerable than ever, child fingerprint kits makes a lot of sense for parents who want to be able to provide the maximum assistance to policing agencies should the unthinkable happen. The Santee Sheriff's Department has always been responsive to the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club when requesting kits to take on the road. Their partnership in providing the necessary tool kits to make this happen is essential to the club's success. This past fall, the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club fingerprinted children at the Grossmont Healthcare District's annual Kids Care Fest, held last year at the Lakeside Rodeo grounds and this past month did the same thing at the City of Santee's 2nd Annual Healthy Lifestyle Expo held in Trolley Square. This is one of the club's community outreach programs where Rotarians can interact with community in an engaging fashion sharing safety tips for their children all-the-while sharing the many benefits of being a Rotarian. This is also a great outreach to get your red badgers involved in community service. Senator Joel Anderson knows the importance of community outreach and acknowledged the club's effort with a Certificate of Outstanding Service right on site of the event itself.

Rotarians Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Posted on Aug 31, 2017

Seeing Rotarians Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey Reminds Me Why I Am in Rotary our neighbors to the east are facing a natural disaster of epic proportions right now.
Some experts have estimated that Harvey could be the single costliest storm this country has ever faced, and thousands of residents are waking up this morning huddled in
storm shelters, not sure what (if anything) remains for them to come home to. Members of Rotary are often the first to ask, "How can I help?" It warms my heart to have heard
from so many of you, wanting to know how best you could make a difference in these devastated parts. We have just launched a new web portal to provide ways to support
Harvey relief efforts. I am also very pleased to announce the launch of the Rotary District 5340 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) designed specifically to support disaster relief efforts like
those taking place in Texas and Louisiana. Starting today, the 5340 Foundation is collecting donations that will support the American Red Cross and ShelterBox. Donations you
make to the 5340 Foundation can be earmarked for the charity of your choice (e.g. 100% to one, 50% to both) or they can be used to help fund our response to future disasters,
all while keeping future fundraising solicitations to an absolute minimum. Several Rotary districts have also mobilized and provided information on emergency relief funds that they
have setup. Our new web portal can help sort through the options to support these individual efforts directly. Please check harvey.rotary5340.org often, as we will be posting update

s right there on how Rotarians are supporting the relief efforts that are just now beginning. While it has been downgraded as a storm, Harvey still remains a threat, and the clean-up
has not even begun in many parts of the region. Just this morning, new reports emerged of a chemical plant exploding due to loss of power, and oil storage tanks toppling over from the
floodwaters, releasing thousands of gallons of oil into the environment. The need for help is great, and I am heartened by the outpouring of support our District has shown.

Rotarians are truly People of Action. Let's put our words into action, and start helping these individuals begin to reclaim their lives.

Thank you very much,
Scott Carr District Governor 2017-18

P.S.
Many Rotarians have also asked how they can help provide donations of items, including necessities like clothing, blankets, and more. Many of the highways
right now resemble lakes (click here to see how bad it really is). When those roads dry out, our challenge will be logistics, transporting these goods to the area
s where they are needed most. If you have ideas or leads on how we could transport these items, please email me directly at scarr@rotary5340.org.

Concert at the Lakes 2017

Concert at the Lakes

Saturday July 29 the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Foundation and the Santee Lakes Foundation presented the Annual Concert at the Lakes.
This year was another great success with over 1,000 people attending. The event was held at Santee Lakes lake five. Master of Ceremonies was radio personality Shotgun Tom Kelly. The evening featured food from Cupid’s Catering and dessert from Eccentric International Bakery and Deli

For more highlights log onto: The ECHERALD

ROCKING MEMORIES........
Guest MC "Shotgun Tom" Kelly

DOG ‘N’ BUTTERFLY - The Ultimate Tribute to Heart
The Long Run - Experience The Eagles

Show will feature, DOG ‘N’ BUTTERFLY The ultimate Tribute to Heart.
DOG ‘N’ BUTTERFLY has performed on stages through the U.S. for over a decade. They have performed on stage with Heart's original members; Roger Fisher and Steve Fossen, they've performed LIVE in studio on the KTLA Morning news, and recently Dog N Butterfly received the prestigious honor of performing on AXS TV's popular show; WORLD'S GREATEST TRIBUTE BANDS!!! (Something not many tribute bands can brag about!) And even world-famous rock jock "Uncle" Joe Benson from KLOS has said that Dog 'N' Butterfly is one of the best tribute bands he's ever seen!

THE LONG RUN, - Experience The Eagles is a superb tribute show based in Los Angeles dedicated to respectfully performing the timeless music of The Eagles for audiences all over the world.
The Long Run, is a group widely regarded as the finest Eagles tribute act performing today
THE LONG RUN is back at Concert At The Lakes by POPULAR demand. After performing for us in 2014 and 2016, we have had numerous requests to bring them back one more time!
These bands have sold out venues from Casino showrooms to Concert Clubs and Performing Arts Centers throughout the US.
With two excellent tribute acts in one night, this is a show you will not want to miss!
Specifically, the money brought in from the event goes towards scholarships to graduates of Santana, West Hills, and El Capitan High Schools as well as other educational materials in local grade schools. The Santee Lakes Foundation uses funds from Concert At The Lakes for improvements and recreational projects within the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.
See you next year at ConcertAtTheLakes.com