July of 2018 brought some major changes in the top leadership spot for the Sunrise Rotary Club. Camilla Boolootian has taken over the helm as the President of the Club and has some huge "shoes" to fill from the 2017-18 President, Rick Hofstetter. A special " dynasty debunking" party was held in July to honor Rick and to thank him for all of his efforts as President. When asked about some insights that he had regarding his tenure as President, Rick commented, "It was FUN... yes, some work too. But, what a great way to spend more time with everyone in the Club. The position "forces" you (in a good way) to be involved in pretty much everything the Club is doing... I liked that. The only advice I have for Camilla would be to not freak out over the flood of emails she's going to get this year."
Camilla is no stranger to leadership and responsibility. Camilla spent twenty years working in advertising, leaving to take a position as the development director for Pacific Collegiate School where she spent four years. Today, Camilla is a regional fundraiser for the American Red Cross. She is past president of Leadership Santa Cruz County, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. She served as an ambassador for the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, and served on the Board of Directors for Santa Cruz Montessori.
She lives in Santa Cruz with her husband Mark, who was also her college sweetheart! They have two sons, fine young men they love and adore. On weekends, Camilla can be found walking trails, or performing community service work with the Red Cross or her Rotary colleagues.
After being deployed by the Red Cross in response to Hurricane Sandy, Camilla attended her first Rotary meeting as a guest speaker, where she spoke of the amazing work of the Red Cross humanitarian efforts and the inspirational commitment of volunteers during times of disaster. That led to an invitation to join Rotary, an invitation she quickly embraced after seeing the commitment to community service and fellowship of Rotary members.
Camilla's goals for her Presidency are simple. She wants to increase exposure for the Club in sharing all of the amazing things Sunrise does for others and the community. She also wants to increase membership in the club by creating more opportunities for outreach. "I'm looking forward to this amazing adventure. I feel prepared and ready for the work that needs to be done."