President Cedric's First Meeting
by Jim McFarland
Our new Sergeant at Arms, John Bartlett, led our flag salute and gave us a modified version of an Ayn Rand passage from Atlas Shrugged: "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the "Service Above Self " hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the world that we deserve and are trying daily to create. The world we Rotarians desire can be won. It exists. it is real... it is possible. it's ours!"
Cedric Tuck-Sherman welcomed us to his first meeting as our new president! He explained that the Sergeant at Arms, John Bartlett, is the heavy and will be making sure we get going on time. Guests: Jesse Alexander, our new MB Fire Chief, brought by Kelly Stroman. Joe Franklin brought by Gerry Morton. Candy Deemer wife of Ken Deemer, Debra Lotstein and Asher Greenspon brought by Bruce Greenspon, Kavita Patel brought by Coby McDonald, Lisa Schlager by Sandesha Singh, and Kate Orsoth. Also, Gretchen Stipec was present to see her guy take charge!
New spot…Last Week in Rotary highlights what happened with our Rotary crew over the previous week. Rita Crabtree-Kampe, Deb Robertson, Kathleen Terry with husband Fred, and President Cedric and wife Gretchen and Kristen, all went to the Altadena Concert series to support the fire victims through the Altadena Rotary. If you would like to support and attend Altadena Concerts in the Park contact craigcox@charter.net.
Happy Dollars. Nelson Gray had $$ for 49 years of marriage to wife Peggy. Rita Crabtree-Kampe had $$ for attending the Altadena Concerts in the Park, Mark Maruyama had $20 for a Homes of Hope trip to Mexico, where they built a home for a family in need. Mark also introduced cashless donations for Happy Dollars, etc. About time!! Wade Austin had dollars for 48 years of marriage. Norm Levin had happy dollars as well!
The best Happy Dollars from John Rhind were for El Donn Ennis for 50 years in MB Rotary today July 14th!!! Standing ovation!!
Rotarians in the Wild/News! Photos of Wimberly Meyer in Montepulciano, Italy, Tony Rogondino, and Gerry Morton’s wife, Mercedes on the cover of MB Social. Kathleen Terry at the opening of the Leadership Manhattan Beach Time Capsule. Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio featured in MB Weekly.
Call to Action. President Cedric introduced weekly highlighting of volunteer opportunities. Members can donate directly to the Texas flood victims through Rotary District 5840. Floating Doctors trip to Panama. Deb Robertson and Rita Crabtree-Kampe are headed there on the 27th of July for this year’s first international humanitarian trip of the year. If you’re interested, the District 5280 humanitarian trip to Costa Rica February 2nd-7th through 10th.. Sign up https://rotary5280.org/
President Cedric’s Craft Talk. He cheated a little. He took his craft talk from April 24, 2017 ran it through ChatGPT and reprised his talk.
He’s a first-generation American. Parents born in Belgium. Came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in their early 20s. Moved to New Jersey. That’s where he grew up…funny I don’t hear an accent.
He’s always had a foot in the U.S. and in Europe. As a kid he was an avid bike rider and mechanic. He was invited on an all-girl bike trek across the country. He couldn’t say no. The trip was supposed to end in Yellowstone, but he continued to Oregon and the Pacific Coast. His trip took him to Stanford for a group interview. Didn’t get in…. Shipped his bike back to New Jersey and hitchhiked back home.
He's always been an adventurer. He worked at a winery in Italy, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Indonesia trip hacking his way through the jungle with a machete. Moved to New York. Did a charity swim around Manhattan that took him over 8 hours to complete. He was living in Brussels and, on a trip back to New York, he was invited to a party where he met his wife, Gretchen Feb 4, 1994. He says, “It got deep real quick.” Joined her on a trip to Puerto Rico. The rest is history. Moved to Manhattan Beach in 2006. Has a son Alex, who went to NYU. Lives on Agnes, where we will be having his president’s party on September 9th.
What he does for a living. Was Chief Marketing Officer for InterDent, then Scale+. Now a partner in his own company Vistamar Consulting https://vistamarconsulting.com
He never realized how great Rotary would be for business networking. Andy and Kevin Deemer have both helped him with his company as has Kim Chwalek (Deb Robertson’s daughter). His son is working in Houston for a company Harrison Clay connected him with.
His wife Gretchen is in medical research and his muse. His thanks -- Manhattan Beach Rotary. Gerry Morton for introduction to the club, Ken Deemer for his first Rotary assignment, John Acker for trusting him as his successor, Board members for taking ownership and ALL Rotarians the club for enriching their lives with meaning and fellowship.
Club Vision - 2025-2026 Overreaching Objectives – President Cedric forwarded these important slides to all members, so check your email.
Rotarian of the month is Walt Kasha who sponsored two new members in June - David Barnes and Mark Shoemaker and brought in four speakers in 2025. He is also co-photographer, has a >90% meeting attendance, and is very active in district and club events.
Raffle. Bottle of Justin won by Rita Crabtree-Kampe and Steve Murillo won $72 which he donated back to the club!!
For more meeting photos, go to SmugMug.
Our new Sergeant at Arms, John Bartlett, led our flag salute and gave us a modified version of an Ayn Rand passage from Atlas Shrugged: "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the "Service Above Self " hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the world that we deserve and are trying daily to create. The world we Rotarians desire can be won. It exists. it is real... it is possible. it's ours!"
Cedric Tuck-Sherman welcomed us to his first meeting as our new president! He explained that the Sergeant at Arms, John Bartlett, is the heavy and will be making sure we get going on time. Guests: Jesse Alexander, our new MB Fire Chief, brought by Kelly Stroman. Joe Franklin brought by Gerry Morton. Candy Deemer wife of Ken Deemer, Debra Lotstein and Asher Greenspon brought by Bruce Greenspon, Kavita Patel brought by Coby McDonald, Lisa Schlager by Sandesha Singh, and Kate Orsoth. Also, Gretchen Stipec was present to see her guy take charge!
New spot…Last Week in Rotary highlights what happened with our Rotary crew over the previous week. Rita Crabtree-Kampe, Deb Robertson, Kathleen Terry with husband Fred, and President Cedric and wife Gretchen and Kristen, all went to the Altadena Concert series to support the fire victims through the Altadena Rotary. If you would like to support and attend Altadena Concerts in the Park contact craigcox@charter.net.
Happy Dollars. Nelson Gray had $$ for 49 years of marriage to wife Peggy. Rita Crabtree-Kampe had $$ for attending the Altadena Concerts in the Park, Mark Maruyama had $20 for a Homes of Hope trip to Mexico, where they built a home for a family in need. Mark also introduced cashless donations for Happy Dollars, etc. About time!! Wade Austin had dollars for 48 years of marriage. Norm Levin had happy dollars as well!
The best Happy Dollars from John Rhind were for El Donn Ennis for 50 years in MB Rotary today July 14th!!! Standing ovation!!
Rotarians in the Wild/News! Photos of Wimberly Meyer in Montepulciano, Italy, Tony Rogondino, and Gerry Morton’s wife, Mercedes on the cover of MB Social. Kathleen Terry at the opening of the Leadership Manhattan Beach Time Capsule. Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio featured in MB Weekly.
Call to Action. President Cedric introduced weekly highlighting of volunteer opportunities. Members can donate directly to the Texas flood victims through Rotary District 5840. Floating Doctors trip to Panama. Deb Robertson and Rita Crabtree-Kampe are headed there on the 27th of July for this year’s first international humanitarian trip of the year. If you’re interested, the District 5280 humanitarian trip to Costa Rica February 2nd-7th through 10th.. Sign up https://rotary5280.org/
President Cedric’s Craft Talk. He cheated a little. He took his craft talk from April 24, 2017 ran it through ChatGPT and reprised his talk.
He’s a first-generation American. Parents born in Belgium. Came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in their early 20s. Moved to New Jersey. That’s where he grew up…funny I don’t hear an accent.
He’s always had a foot in the U.S. and in Europe. As a kid he was an avid bike rider and mechanic. He was invited on an all-girl bike trek across the country. He couldn’t say no. The trip was supposed to end in Yellowstone, but he continued to Oregon and the Pacific Coast. His trip took him to Stanford for a group interview. Didn’t get in…. Shipped his bike back to New Jersey and hitchhiked back home.
He's always been an adventurer. He worked at a winery in Italy, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Indonesia trip hacking his way through the jungle with a machete. Moved to New York. Did a charity swim around Manhattan that took him over 8 hours to complete. He was living in Brussels and, on a trip back to New York, he was invited to a party where he met his wife, Gretchen Feb 4, 1994. He says, “It got deep real quick.” Joined her on a trip to Puerto Rico. The rest is history. Moved to Manhattan Beach in 2006. Has a son Alex, who went to NYU. Lives on Agnes, where we will be having his president’s party on September 9th.
What he does for a living. Was Chief Marketing Officer for InterDent, then Scale+. Now a partner in his own company Vistamar Consulting https://vistamarconsulting.com
He never realized how great Rotary would be for business networking. Andy and Kevin Deemer have both helped him with his company as has Kim Chwalek (Deb Robertson’s daughter). His son is working in Houston for a company Harrison Clay connected him with.
His wife Gretchen is in medical research and his muse. His thanks -- Manhattan Beach Rotary. Gerry Morton for introduction to the club, Ken Deemer for his first Rotary assignment, John Acker for trusting him as his successor, Board members for taking ownership and ALL Rotarians the club for enriching their lives with meaning and fellowship.
Club Vision - 2025-2026 Overreaching Objectives – President Cedric forwarded these important slides to all members, so check your email.
Rotarian of the month is Walt Kasha who sponsored two new members in June - David Barnes and Mark Shoemaker and brought in four speakers in 2025. He is also co-photographer, has a >90% meeting attendance, and is very active in district and club events.
Raffle. Bottle of Justin won by Rita Crabtree-Kampe and Steve Murillo won $72 which he donated back to the club!!
For more meeting photos, go to SmugMug.
Out with the "Old" - In with the "New"
by John Acker
As my last official day of being MB Rotary Club President, I would like to thank all of you for putting up with me for the past year. I personally think it was a great year as I was supported by a great Board of Directors. All of them worked hard to make this past year a success - please thank them. It was a fun journey for me as I got to know many of you better on a personal basis. I thought I would get impeached sometime during my year, but to my surprise, most of you liked me:). If I offended any of you, it was probably on purpose as we sometimes take ourselves too seriously.
The Demotion Party was awesome. Cedric, Lisa, Richard and the team knocked it out of the park. Lido did a wonderful job with the food, drinks and decorations. The comedian who roasted me was very funny - we should get a group to go see her at the Comedy & Magic Club. I was told your guys drank too much as they ran out of booze and had to bring more in - good job.
Thanks again and my best wishes to Cedric for his upcoming year and to Richard who will follow him. The Club is in great hands and I'm just glad I didn't screw it up.
With much gratitude,
Almost Past President John Acker
For more demotion photos, go to SmugMug.
As my last official day of being MB Rotary Club President, I would like to thank all of you for putting up with me for the past year. I personally think it was a great year as I was supported by a great Board of Directors. All of them worked hard to make this past year a success - please thank them. It was a fun journey for me as I got to know many of you better on a personal basis. I thought I would get impeached sometime during my year, but to my surprise, most of you liked me:). If I offended any of you, it was probably on purpose as we sometimes take ourselves too seriously.
The Demotion Party was awesome. Cedric, Lisa, Richard and the team knocked it out of the park. Lido did a wonderful job with the food, drinks and decorations. The comedian who roasted me was very funny - we should get a group to go see her at the Comedy & Magic Club. I was told your guys drank too much as they ran out of booze and had to bring more in - good job.
Thanks again and my best wishes to Cedric for his upcoming year and to Richard who will follow him. The Club is in great hands and I'm just glad I didn't screw it up.
With much gratitude,
Almost Past President John Acker
For more demotion photos, go to SmugMug.
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