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RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly, is more than just a weekend in the mountains.  Over the past two years, the Calabasas Rotary Club has sent eight students to RYLA.

Every year, one of the highlights of our weekly club programs is our annual visit from Lewis Wilkenfeld, Artistic Director of the Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks.  This year promises to be no exception, as Lewis is joined by actors Harrison Meloeny and Natalie MacDonald, accompaniast Lloyd Cooper, and production assistant Katie Angeli (to whom we owe great thanks for our annual visits from CMT).  Natalie, Harrison and Lloyd will dazzle you with selections from past CMT productions and give you a taste of the what to expect in the 2014-2015 Season at Cabrillo Music Theatre.

This truly is a meeting you won't want to miss.  Come early -- and bring a guest!

It is with sadness that we must share the passing of one of our founding members of the Calabasas Rotary, Robert (Bob) Guthrie. Bob became a member of the Club on July 01, 1989. He was a past president, a Paul Harris Fellow, and one of the most respected leaders in the Club. Our prayers are with Rebecca, his beautiful wife of 61 years. Information regarding services will be posted when it becomes available. 

A profile of RI President Sakuji Tanaka EN from Rotary International on Vimeo.

Corazon de Vida (CDV), or Heart of Life, was formed in 1994 to raise funds and support for the children of Baja, Mexico. Without funds for housing, food or social programs for orphaned, homeless and abandoned children, Mexico is not able to provide a future for its youngest citizens.

In keeping with our ongoing commitment to Corazon de Vida, and in the spirit of the season please review the Corazon de Vida Wish List and, if you are able to contribute any of the listed items, please bring them to the meeting and George will see to it they are delivered promptly.

Many of these children are found living on the streets, while a lucky few have been taken in by well meaning families. These families offer help to one or two children in desperate need, and shortly find themselves running a home for as many as 75 or 100 children. The families often seek support from churches, area businesses or friends to feed and clothe the children, but there are no government funds. 

Come out and support the Rotary Club of Calabasas for an afternoon filled with fun and prizes!  All proceeds from the event go to support the Calabasas Rotary Club's mission to provide humanitarian services to our local community and around the world.

Date: December 4, 2011 
Doors open at 1:30 pm   Event starts at 2:00 pm
Event Fee: $1

Location:   Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center

27040 Malibu Hills Rd

Calabasas, CA 91302

• Come see what a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, or dollar can buy
• Your entrance fee of $1 buys you 100 tickets
• 6 tables filled with opportunities to win huge variety of prizes ranging in value from $1 to several hundred dollars.
• Play the tables for a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, $1 or $5
• To win a prize you put your numbered tickets and the corresponding money (ex:penny table = 5 tickets + 5 pennies = 5 chances for your number to be drawn and you become a winner)
• Move fast before someone gets the prize you want

Thanksgiving this year was once again a festive occasion at the Sagebrush Cantina for hundreds of local senior citizens.  As in past years, all the turkeys were collected and donated by Kathleen Sterling, publisher of the Valley Vantage Group of Newspapers, and traditional pumpkin and fruit pies were generously donated by St. Bernardine's Church and School while, in addition to offering the use of its amazing establishment, the Sagebrush Cantina rounded out the meal with delicious holiday side dishes. The overwhelming generosity of these sponsors to provide the traditional holiday dinner essentials was matched only by the willingness of over 150 community volunteers to contribute their time and energy to do the hard work required to make this event possible.

A very special thanks also goes to L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander who, along with L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine donated bus transportation from several area Senior Centers, providing transportation for over 200 senior citizens. Silverado Senior Living provided an accessible shuttle to transport those with special requirements, and many other Seniors arrived by car.  Councilman Englander, and his family, were also on hand to work alongside the other community volunteers greeting the Senior Citizens and serving meals. 

Making the day particularly special for the honored guests, were the scores of students who helped in every way possible.  While students from the newly formed Canoga Park High School Interact Club  comprised the largest group, a good number of students also came from the Calabasas High Interact Club, Viewpoint High School and El Camino Real High School, with others from Harvard Westlake School, Nobel Middle School and other area schools.   The opportunity to interact with the students has been consistently noted as a high point by many of the Seniors.

Without a doubt the Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors was a great success in benefiting not only the Senior Citizens, but was also an enriching experience for all the volunteers and sponsors who participated.

Don't miss it!  Be sure to attend the meeting on Tuesday, August 2nd, for a  first hand account of the sights and sounds - and a beautiful array of photos - from Bill & Jean's  recent tour of twelve countries in Eastern Europe.

Come enjoy this fabulous feast of fellowship with our Calabasas Rotarians!

Finally, an accountant who can make taxes accessible and udnertandable! Last year, Jim Karp joined us to update us on some of the most critical changes in the tax law affecting business owners and personal estate plans. After he finished, members rated it one of the best programs of the year and extracted a promise from Jim that he'd come back at the beginning of 2012 to bring us up-to-date on any other changes we needed to know about.  Now, exactly one year to the week, Jim returns to keep his promise.  Based on Jim's program last year, you can rest assured that this is one meeting you won't want to miss!  

Bryna Fischer worked for a major Boston publisher, first in the trade and reference division, and later in the elementary school reading department, before turning to freelancing. Bryna has been a freelance editor for more than twenty years, working with diverse clients. She has edited textbooks, trade nonfiction books, and corporate materials. More recently, Bryna has worked as an editor and writer for a major internet content producer, where she edits and writes SEO-driven articles. In her spare time, Bryna serves as vice president of education for her local Hadassah chapter, for which she writes and presents monthly articles on a variety of subjects of interest to Jewish women. She also writes a blog about whatever strikes her fancy. Bryna is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association.

This past September, Calabasas for the first time ever entertained large numbers of people at Juan Bautista De Anza Park with an evening of music, wine, food and socializing under the late summer sky, at the first Annual Calabasas Music Festival.  The Evening under the Stars Music Festival is the brainchild of Woodland Hills artist Noel Webb.  Vendors, business sponsors, charity groups and on-site food and wine service were on hand. "It's not just a concert, " Webb told the Calabasas Parks, Recreation and Education Commission.  "It's almost like a block party; comfortable, with colleagues and friends all getting together to enjoy a music festival," he said.  

 This week we will be meeting at Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewing Company, at 26787 Agoura Rd, Calabasas.  Click here for directions from our current meeting location at the Canyon Sports Grill & Deli.

In addition to sampling the fine fare at Wolf Creek, we will also be presented with Bette Hall's Final Preparation for Thanksgiving plans to discuss.  

All Club members who plan to volunteer on Thursday, at the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors should make every effort to attend - It may rain on Thursday, and we must discuss our contingency plans.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of meeting our District Governor, you're in for a real treat.  We look forward to welcoming DG Tom to our Club on Tuesday, October 18th.  In honor of his visit, and as an informal introduction to our new District Governor, please take a look at his October message, reprinted below:

  Flatly stating that one Avenue of Service is our most important Avenue is always a recipe for getting yourself in trouble—so I am going to stay away from saying that Vocational Service is our single most important Avenue; but’s it’s really tempting to stir the pot by saying so. Why? Because it is the one Avenue of Service that really and truly sets Rotary apart from so many other organizations that do good in the world. For someone who just wants to help out by serving his or her community or the world there are lots of groups out there; groups that don’t ask you to come to meetings once a week and pay dues. What makes a Rotarian a Rotarian is that while we want to serve others, we want to extend that service all the way down to what we do in our businesses and professions every single day. We honor all “useful occupations” and encourage our members to conduct their lives according to the Four Way Test. Rotary has five “core values” and three of them relate very strongly back to Vocational Service: fellowship, leadership, and integrity.

 

We can’t ever forget that Rotary started out in 1905 as an organization for men (and now, thank goodness, women) who were engaged in business and the professions, and who wanted to associate with others who shared their ethical standards and beliefs. They believed in coming together in friendship once a week to share experiences and contacts, and to serve others. We have never really been a “business referral network”, and we are not supposed to expect any “advantage” from doing business with Rotarians, but our clubs have always been forums where individual Rotarians could trust in the integrity of their fellow club members, learn from them, and never worry about referring customers and clients in need of a product or service to a fellow member.

 

Perhaps most importantly, Rotary Clubs have always been made up of people who are active and working in the community. Back in 1905 we were founded by a group of “thirty-somethings” who wanted to be connected to their communities. Our Clubs should still be fulfilling that roll as a place in our communities where business, professional, and community leaders come together to make things happen.

 

This year, I am asking all the clubs in our District to implement a Vocational Service project that is directed to reminding Rotarians about our commitment to high ethical standards and personal integrity. While we have many Vocational Service projects, many of these are aimed at educating and helping non-Rotarians—so I want to see at least one project in every club for the members themselves that truly advances our commitment to being better individuals. Let’s remember that Vocational Service adds value back to each of us and gives us all a compelling reason to be Rotarians.

 

Maybe I will go ahead and risk it—Vocational Service is our most important Avenue of Service.

 

Rocking on . . .

Tom

Be sure to stop by the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival this weekend  for a fun-filled family day with friends and neighbors.  Enjoy rides, bands, contests, car show and lots of food!  

Speaking of FOOD, the Rotary Club of Calabasas will reprise its premier Pumpkin Pie booth this year, where we will once again be selling generous slices, with or without a dollop of whipped cream, both in celebration of our city's namesake, and to raise much needed funds to help our Club sustain its ongoing projects.

We have a very special meeting in store for our lunch meeting this Tuesday, October 4th.  Honorary Calabasas Rotarian,  Kathleen Sterling will be the special guest , and will discuss her recently published book, "Sex After Death: A Love Story".  

Kathleen Sterling is an award winning journalist and, as owner of the Valley News Group, publisher of three weekly newspapers in Los Angeles: Warner Center News, Valley Vantage and Las Virgenes Enterprise.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from USC and received a MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Sterling started her first newspaper at the age of twenty-two. She and her husband Rodger worked together for twenty-five years until his death in 2009.

Sex After Death began as a journal she kept in the hospital at her husband's bedside. It evolved into a chronicle of her life as a young widow - true, tragic and often funny. Sterling lives and works in suburban Los Angeles. She is actively involved in the community as a publisher, and as a volunteer with many organizations. In her spare time - which she doesn't have a lot of! - she is an avid reader and traveler.

Dan Duncan worked as a physics and electronics teacher for 33 years for both the Los Angeles and Pasadena school districts.   Dan has been a licensed amateur ("ham") radio operator since 1966, and is known online by his license number, WA6NZZ.

When disaster strikes throughout the world, amateur radio operators step in to support or, when needed, replace the traditional lines of communication. They work closely with the Red Cross, Red Crescent Society, Rotary, Lions and so many other service and relief organizations to provide help to thousands in need throughout the world.

Don't even think about missing next Tuesday's meeting, when we will have the extraordinary opportunity for an intriguing glimpse at the significant roles of translators and translation services in the world today.

Irene Agnew is founder and President of Agnew Tech-II, dba Agnew Multilingual, with more than 30 years experience in the translation field. Prior to establishing Agnew Tech-II in 1986, she was a consultant for Bunker Ramo Corporation on machine translation research and at the height of cold war translated radio broadcasts from USSR for the US State Departments’ Foreign Broadcast Information Service.

Irene Agnew is a founding member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Ventura County, and a recipient of the Trailblazer of the Year award in 2001. She is a member of the American Translators Association, and is International Chair of Rotary Club of Conejo Valley.  

With Labor Day  marking the official end of Summer, it's now time to re-focus our minds and energy on work, school and Rotary.  

The Rotary Club of Calabasas has a number of projects scheduled for the next three months - with enough variety to satisfy anyone's interest.  All Club members and other interested individuals are encouraged to come to our weekly Tuesday lunch meetings, beginning this Tuesday, September 6th, to learn more and to sign on as a volunteer for one or more of our planned projects, including the Pumpkin Festival, Food Drives,  the Calabasas Classic Run/Walk, and of course our big Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors event.

 

MEETING REMINDER

More specifically, on Tuesday, August 30th, our Club will meet at 6:00pm for an EVENING MEETING at the Sagebrush Cantina.

See you there!

Invited to speak at the meeting on Tuesday, July 19th, Jordan Wright, also known as "Mr. Right",  will discuss Surrealism: Exploring the World Between Fantasy and Reality.

Jordan is an accomplished performer with over 15 years of experience performing in major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. His Las Vegas performances have graced venues as large as the 6,000-seat Orleans Arena and the elegant Wynn Las Vegas. In addition to performing in different venues across the U.S., Jordan has also performed for crowds of people all over Canada, Italy, Taiwan, and China. For four years Jordan apprenticed under world-renowned magician Jeff McBride, obtaining knowledge and performance techniques useful for his future in magic.  Blending psychology, art, and magic to create riveting performance pieces, Jordan gives his audiences an entertaining and uniquely interactive experience.

Due to the Independence Day holiday on Monday, July 4th, the Club will be DARK on Tuesday, July 5th.

The next scheduled meeting of the Rotary Club of Calabasas - and the first scheduled meeting in the new 2011-12 Rotary year - will be held on Tuesday, July 12th.  Be sure to attend on the 12th for a report on the wild success of Nuts for Mutts!

Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July!

MEETING REMINDER

More specifically, on Tuesday, May 31st, our Club will have its SECOND 6:00pm EVENING MEETING at the Sagebrush Cantina.

See you there!

• Is there a Community or International project you'd like to organize for our Club to do this year?
  
  
• Do you have any comments or suggestions to discuss with the Club as a whole?

See you all on Tuesday!

REMEMBER...Click on Upcoming Events to view the list and Register Online for those you plan to attend. Upcoming Events can be accessed at any time via the Club Bulletin from the menu at left, or on the Calendar, from the top menu.

Don't miss this exciting meeting about an historic National treasure in our own backyard!

Representing the Development office at the Ronald Reagan Library, Angie Bartel will regale us with information about all the benefits the Library and Museum have to offer.

Charlotte Stehlik first came to the Adobe on a school tour with her special needs students. She retired in 2004 and joined the Adobe as a guide in September of that year.

In addition to her work as a guide and the museum's community liaison, Charlotte works part time in the museum office heading up membership.

Charlotte can be reached at: charlotte@leonisadobemuseum.org

• Is there a Community or International project you'd like to organize for our Club to do this year?
  
  
• Do you have any comments or suggestions to improve the success of ongoing projects?

See you all on Tuesday!

REMEMBER...Click on Upcoming Events to view the list and Register Online for those you plan to attend. Upcoming Events can be accessed at any time via the Club Bulletin from the menu at left, or on the Calendar, from the top menu.

Find out how Rotary is helping to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp for District 5260 this year, will be held from March 4th - 6th, in Malibu Creek State Park.

Our own New Generations chair, Victoria Burke, also serves as the 2010-11 District 5260 RYLA Director. Be sure to attend the meeting this week to hear about ways our Club can help promote this important Rotary program

Click HERE for more details and to download the RYLA 2011 application.

This partnership between state parks and the association provides critical funding and support for docents to operate the park's backcountry Visitor Center, lead nature hikes for visitors, local schools and inner city families, and assist with ranger campfire programs. Currently, the association is seeking funding to support future interpretation at the former M*A*S*H filming site and expansion of the visitor center Children's Program to other outdoor areas.

Malibu Creek Docent Association has proven itself to be a valuable ally to the parks, visitors and staff at Malibu Creek State Park. Join them by becoming a member or by visiting their website at www.malibucreekstatepark.org!

Do you know about this very special program funded by the Rotary Foundation? Come to our meeting on Tuesday, November 2nd to hear the life-changing personal experiences of 2010-11 German Ambassadorial Scholar, Josephina Mayerle!

Ambassadorial Scholarships, The Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program, was founded in 1947. Since then, more than 40,000 men and women from about 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is one of the world's largest privately funded international scholarships programs. Nearly 700 scholarships were awarded for study in 2009-10. Through grants totaling approximately US$16.2 million, recipients from about 70 countries studied in more than 80 nations.

Click HERE to view or download the flyer

So are your microwave, your TV, your hair dryer, your computer and your drinking water!

According to news sources, upwards of three million people were in need of emergency aid after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, just 10 miles west of the capital - and most heavily populated - city of Port-au-Prince. The USGS classified the quake as the strongest to hit the area since 1770.

Many organizations and individuals stepped up to offier aid and assistance in the aftermath of the quake. Locally, with the help and dedication of their respective representatives, three San Fernando Valley organizations joined forces to contribute to the effort to island of Haiti. The Rotary Club of Calabasas, Humanitarian Travels International (HTI), and Living Praise Christian Center, represented by Kenneth Lamberson, Korina Smith, and Dr. Fred L. Hodge respectively, pooled their resources to help acquire desperately needed medical equipment and supplies.

• Is there anything you'd like to see our Club do this year?
  
  
• Do you have any comments or suggestions to improve the success of ongoing projects?

See you all on Tuesday!

REMEMBER...Click on Upcoming Events to view the list and Register Online for those you plan to attend. Upcoming Events can be accessed at any time via the Club Bulletin from the menu at left, or on the Calendar, from the top menu.

As a chiropractor, Dr. Campos specializes in the treatment of low back pain and neck/shoulder disorders. As a sports physician, his focus is on golf related injuries, disorders of the shoulder girdle, and biomechanical disorders of the feet.

Dr. Campos spends his spare time studying philosophy and various healing arts practiced around the world. He also is an avid writer, focusing primarily on health and wellness but also writes about

Pacific Lodge Boys' Home--Nestled at the foot of the Santa Monica Mountains in Woodland Hills, just a stones throw from the hustle and bustle of Ventura Boulevard, a few dozen boys ages 13 to 17 reside in one of four cottages in a homelike environment on a tranquil wooded campus. On Tuesday, September 7th, Calabasas Rotarians will welcome Director of Development, Debbie Sands, and Activities and Education Supervisor, Dan McCollister to present to our Club and the

Drew Frohlich is Past President of the Rotary Club of Granada Hills and the District 5260 Governor for 2010-2011. At the completion of his year as President, he received the District Governor's Award as Outstanding Club President and his club was the winner of the "Silver Bell" as the outstanding Rotary club in District 5260 in their membership division.

Don't miss this unique presentation by Architectural & Editorial Photographer Joel Mark on Tuesday, August 17th. Joel will introduce us visually to some of the unknown architectural and design treasures of Los Angeles, including some which no longer exist. This meeting is one you won't want to miss, and is a great opportunity to introduce your friends and colleagues to Calabasas Rotary.

Also, please click on Upcoming Events to view the list and Register Online for those you plan to attend. Upcoming Events can be accessed at any time via the Club Bulletin from the menu at left, or on the Calendar, from the top menu.

Todd will also be the speaker for the first meeting of the new Rotary year. The theme for this year, which is also the title of Todd's presentation, is "Building Communities, Bridging Continents". Plan on being there to hear Todd share his goals and objectives for the Club during his term this year.

Byron Walls has been speaking with wit and humor on the subject of crime safety for 20 years.

Prior to starting California Crimefight in 1996, Byron was the Director of Citizens Against Crime in Portland, Oregon, where he and his speakers spoke to over 20,000 people a year.

He is a member of the National Criminal Justice Association and, in 1995, served on the Governor's Task Force on Workplace Violence for the State of Washington. Byron is also a professional comedian, actor and songwriter. (His songs have been recorded by Andy Williams, Emmy Lou Harris and Ronnie Milsap, among others.)

It is his unique ability to entertain and make people laugh that makes him the most sought-after speaker in the field.

The West Valley Food Pantry and its clients depend on all its regular donors and donor organizations to meet ongoing and growing needs for food. In January, the efforts of Calabasas Rotarians and friends helped to

In particular, many kudos to Calabasas Rotarian Ron Lebow for not only conceiving of this project as a way to raise money for the Club and bring the Community together, but also for his persistence and tireless efforts in bringing it to fruition. And of course to Calabasas Rotarian Annemarie Flaherty, on whom all three organizations relied for her superb organizational and management skills that enabled a project of this magnitude that would otherwise be impossible for our small Club to achieve alone.

As reported by Stacy Fisher in the CalabasasPatch, more than 1,000 dogs and their owners participated in The Walk("Going Nuts for Mutts"), greatly contributing to the

THE ROTARY CLUB OF CALABASAS, has partnered with New Leash on Life and the Agoura/Calabasas Community Center to co-host a fun filled day to raise funds to benefit all three of these Non-Profit Organizations. The Rotary Club of Calabasas Foundation will receive a full third of the net proceeds raised by walkers, vendors and Nuts for Mutts sponsorships, which will help support the Club's various humanitarian and community service projects throughout the year. So come out to the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center on April 18th, join the fun, and make a difference!

The day will start with a 5k Dog walk, and will include Project Dogway Fashion Show, Foxy Feet with Fox Television to showcase your Pet's best tricks, music, food, vendors, pet adoption, silent auction, kid's events, celebrity judges and much, much more.

Click below and register today!

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I understand the WAPI's produced by the students at Viewpoint School and Calabasas High are being put to good use by the Red Cross there. I will keep you updated as information is available. I will meet this week with Jennifer Sutton, of Viewpoint School whose students made an additional 100 WAPI's just last month. These WAPI's will be sent to Fiji on Friday's flight to assist in providing clean water to islands in the North through the Red Cross.

I personally thank all of you for your continued support and supply the following release as the latest information.

On March 07, 2010 four young women embarked on a tremendous adventure as they left with their Team Leader, Eliseo "Eli" Gauna, for the trip of a lifetime to Katmandu, Nepal. The Rotary Club of Calabasas is thrilled to have sponsored one of the four, Michelle Lee from Calabasas, as part of that team. We are very excited to be able to hear about Michelle's travels when she shares her journey with us as guest speaker at our lunch meeting on Tuesday, May 4th.

For those who missed it, the speaker at our last meeting was none other than Mel Powell, President of the Sherman Oaks Sunset Club, who also happens to be an trained expert on Identity Theft.

The Rotary Foundation has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, a donor advised fund, to streamline the flow of contributions from U.S. Rotarians.

The fund will be directed by account holders who will work with local Rotary clubs and districts, as well as emergency relief agencies, to meet the most pressing needs of people in affected areas.

Use your cell phone to make a one-time US$5 donation. Text ROTARY to 90999.
Contribute now.

• If you're a Rotarian outside the United States, visit the District 7020 website for more information
• Read about Rotarian efforts in Haiti.
• Download a PDF of frequently asked questions

Kudos to everyone who came out to donate blood at Calabasas Rotary's 1st ever Save-a-Life Super Sunday Blood Drive!  As a direct result of your kindness generosity we were able to provide Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with 37 pints of blood which, at the average rate of $350 per pint equates to a sizable donation of $12,950.

For this event, Calabasas Rotarians teamed with Cedars-Sinai to launch the biggest Blood Drive in Calabasas history! While falling a bit short of our ambitious goal to provide Cedars-Sinai with donations of at least 200 pints of blood, we did achieve a great milestone in hosting the largest community blood drive in Calabasas history.