Bruce Howard introduced Frank Ortiz and told us that he has served over 40 years in the Fire Service, which included 13 years as Fire Chief for the City of Santa Ma-ria. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Saint Mary’s College and a Mas-ter’s Degree in Emergency Services Administration from CSU Long Beach. Since his retirement , Frank continues to volunteer in his community in various capacities. A 24-year Rotarian, he is a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Maria Breakfast where he served as Club President in 2003-04. He served as District Governor for Rotary District 5240 in 2012-13 and currently serves as District Rotary Foundation Chair. Frank is a charter member of the District 5240 Paul Harris Society and a charter member of the Triple Crown Donor Circle. He and his wife, Scottie, are Level 2 Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation. They both have partici-pated in several humanitarian projects, both locally and internationally for the benefit of serving others.
Frank explained to us that doing good in the world means a lot of things. We can do good in our community and around the world. Many of us wish we could do more but we don’t have the money to tackle many of the huge projects that we care about. That is where the Rotary Foundation comes in. There are about 35,000 clubs that donate to TRF! The Foundation uses those funds to help Rotary make a difference in the world by funding some of these huge projects. A copy of the Power Point Frank used in his presentation is attached to this newsletter.
Frank then explained Paul Harris Fellow. Continuing the legacy of our founder, the Paul Harris Fellow program recognizes individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Multiple Paul Harris Fellow recognition is extended at subsequent $1,000 levels (e.g., $2,000, $3,000). Recognition consists of a pin with additional stones corresponding to the recipients recognition amount lev-el. There was a well deserved standing ovation when our very own President Patty was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow + 2 for her total contribu-tion of $3,000. Congratulations Patty.