Learning and Doing the Rotary Wayby Sue Vogl
MB Rotary is heading into our busy season – so many volunteer opportunities, social activities and events. So, read on and check out the Club Activities - Save the Date section below as well as ClubRunner.
President Cedric Tuck-Sherman started the meeting by introducing Dan Graham, who brought us up to date on our 6th annual VetFest, November 8. Yes, there is a $10 discount – but only if you bought your tickets by September 15. Popular bands, The Pine Mountain Logs and Joe’s Band, will be there, along with that all-important Kinecta barbecue stand. Dan is hoping to attract at least 1,000 guests. Don’t forget to tell your veteran and first responder friends that they can attend free of charge!
President Cedric said that our 75th anniversary will be part of the VetFest celebration, and he urged us to respond to the survey regarding T-shirt size so we can wear them there (the logo is designed by our own Wimberly Meyer). See the survey link below.
Jason Wallace, head of the Dine Around committee, is still looking for hosts. So, please contact him to volunteer. And Larry Johnson has been named to the District Governor’s selection committee for the 2028-29 year.
Lee Walker had a great Happy Dollars story. While walking in his neighborhood, he noticed someone pulling into his driveway. Lee recognized him as Jim Harbaugh, coach of the LA Chargers, who was there to pick up his son. After a friendly chat, Jim went on his way, and Lee realized he hadn’t asked him to move his car.
MB Rotary is a proud supporter of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, so it’s no wonder that member children get involved. This year, Lili Shaer (daughter of Tarek Shaer) was a co-winner at the local level with her HipDigz padded volleyball shorts. Lili talked about her experience at the national competition, where she placed sixth! And YEA! Instructor Rachel Thomas, accompanied by YEA! Program Support Ro Schreiner, talked about the program and our chance to participate as mentors.
Scott Yanofsky was our Rotarian in the news for his role in the design and construction of the Manhattan Beach 9-11 memorial. Of course, he was at the memorial ceremony, along with fellow members Ken Deemer, Paul Rudy and Tim Hageman.
Mike Jenkins introduced our speaker Scott Houston, whose accomplishments filled a PowerPoint page. Scott has been Director of Division IV of the West Basin Municipal Water Department since 2014. Although we had a surprising rain this week, water is a scare and vital commodity in California. Scott had some good news, but also some bad news. On the good news front, we are relying less on imported water (although it’s still the majority of what we use), and more on recycled water and groundwater. Offering rebates to people who remove thirsty lawns in favor of sustainable landscaping is also making a difference in water usage. The bad news is that a major source of our water, the Colorado River, is under strain, as illustrated by the photos he showed. To answer Scott Yanofsky’s question – Does my drinking water have some recycled water, Mike’s answer was “yes.” But he assured us that indeed it was safe.
If you participated in the Connection Challenge, as 89 of us did, you got a lottery ticket and a chance at a pair of lovely prizes – 4 Rotary cocktail glasses or four Rotary wine glasses. And the winners were - Chris Coye and Chad Ahrens. Kudos to Kathleen Terry for heading this popular program.
For more meeting photos, go to SmugMug. |
|
| |  |
Communication Survey Results Are In!by Sue Vogl
Thanks to all of you who responded to our MB Rotary Communication Survey. So please, check out the results here! 75 of you completed the survey -- 66% of our active members, which is an excellent return. I want to thank the Communications Committee for all their contributions -- Donn Ennis, Bob Lanahan, Jim McFarland, Walt Kasha, Bruce Greenspon, Dave Hornbecker, Jan Rhees, John Bartlett, John Ranaudo and Paul Rudy. And, since no good deed goes unpunished, this committee will be following up with an action plan based on your survey responses. A big thanks goes to Gerry Morton for putting our questions into a google survey and compiling a Google doc of the results. And another special thanks goes to Bob Lanahan, who created PowerPoint slides of the questions, answers and member comments. Every time you sit down with your calendar to write down Rotary activities, every time you sign up for a volunteer activity or to attend an event, it's because you are taking advantage of the many ways MB Rotary communicates with you. |
|
Richstone Rotary Momentsby Editor
Our recent MB Rotary Communications survey revealed that members would like the Bulletin to have more photos, and we hear you. Here are photos sent to us by Walt and Priscila Kasha having memorable Rotary moments tutoring at the Richstone Community Center. This annual service opportunity was organized by Rita Crabtree-Kampe, and you can sign up here. If you have volunteered to spend time with the kids at Richstone, and you would like a photo in the Bulletin, please send it to svogl@usc.edu. |
|
 Today's ProgramsSeptember 22 - Lindsay Horvath, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors |
|
Upcoming ProgramsSeptember 29 - Brian Goldsmith, media consultant
October 6 - Venice Family Clinic
October 13 - We are dark to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day |
|
Club Activities - Save the DateSeptember 9 - June 25, weekly tutoring at Richstone Family Center, 13634 Cordary Ave., Hawthorne, see email from Rita Crabtree-Kampe for details and sign up here.
T-shirt size registration - Tell us your size for the 75th anniversary T-shirt here.
September 20 - Shotgun shooting event, Vinny Fazzino contact, 9:05-12:30, 12651 Little3 Tujunga Canyon Blvd., Sylmar, sign up here
September 20 - District Dodger Night Fundraiser in support of youth programs, $75, sign up here
September 27 - Operation Teddy Bear, 12-3 pm, 432 4th St., Manhattan Beach, program delivers literacy school bags to 5,000 children in under-served school districts, register here
September 29 - Rotary Means Business, Hollywood Sports Complex, 4-7 pm, register here
September 30 - Fireside Chat, Badminton Club, 6-7:30 pm, gathering for new members, register here
September 30 - Board meeting, Badminton Club, 7:30 pm, register here
October 4 - Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair Wine Garden, Dorsey Field, from wine pouring to registration, sign up here
October 4 - Camp Pendleton Collection, 9-12, Hawthorne HS, 4859 W. El Segundo Blvd., see wish list here, contact David Henseler, dhenseler@socal.rr.com, 310/753-0929
October 5 - District Breakfast, Woodland Hills, 11-1, purchase tickets here
October 9 - MB Rotary Women & Wine, 6:30-8:30 pm, hosted by Shannon Ryan at her home plus Kathleen Terry and Martha Mansfield, see evite from Kathleen Terry and register here
October 10-12 - RYLA Pali Retreat, Dan Graham contact, see details here |
|
|
|
