When a little girl named Kate was failing to thrive because she couldn’t tolerate any of the available tube feeding formulas, her parents, Richard and Michelle Laver, knew her life could be better. The two had a transformative idea to develop a better formula using the highest-quality plant-based, organic ingredients without allergens found in other formulas; Kate Farms was born.
John Hommeyer joined Kate Farms in 2017. As Chief Experience Officer (CXO) he leads inspired teams to create groundbreaking consumer experiences (CX) and employee experiences (EX) that are enabling Kate Farms to change the face of medical nutrition.
About John:
After graduating from Dartmouth, John joined Procter & Gamble in brand management in 1988 where he honed his marketing and general management skills for more than a decade. He then became successful at consumer-oriented technology start-ups including Hotwire.com where, as CMO, John drove runaway growth which resulted in a $750 million acquisition by Expedia.com in 2004. He then joined The Clorox Company as Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for driving double-digit growth of the Clorox franchise before leading the successful acquisition of Burt’s Bees. In 2013 John co-founded and served as CEO of life sciences company MicroNature which now has its groundbreaking natural food safety technology in regulatory trials.
We'll meet at Leadbetter Beach at 5:00 PM (in the parking lot at 801 Shoreline Drive), pick up trash until about 6:00 PM, then relax and enjoy catching up in person (while socially distanced, of course).
Feel free to stop by as time permits, but remember to bring your mask! We'll provide gloves & trash buckets if needed.
This is a great opportunity to have fun with fellow club members while doing good for our community.
There are ongoing opportunities to volunteer at our local food bank, with shifts available for driving/delivery, sorting and packing in both the south and north county.
This month we’re kicking off our “Step Up for Polio” campaign in partnership with the local area Group 8 Rotary Clubs. Through Rotary’s decades-long commitment to end polio around the world, more than 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine. The work must continue. We’ll be having group activities such as hikes, bike rides, walks, and service projects during September and October to raise funds for Polio.
To accomplish our fundraising for Polio, we’ll be using two online fundraising tools, one from our District 5240 and one from Rotary International. The District is part of a multi-district Step Up for Rotary effort to raise funds through personal fitness challenges
Our Club is also offering a new Rotary platform – “Raise for Rotary” – that allows the donations to be directly credited to the Rotary Foundation’s Polio Fund:
All donations from both platforms will be tallied and included in the Club results reported at the Group 8 World Polio Day celebration planned for Oct 24th.
More information will be made available soon, with links to the Club page from which you can begin to create your own individual fundraising page to track your donations.
See you next Tuesday,
Thought for the Month
“There is hope in dreams, imagination,
and in the courage of those who wish
to make those dreams a reality.”
- Jonas Salk, American virologist & medical
researcher who developed one of the first
successful polio vaccines.
Kudos to Anita Blakemore for organizing a meaningful and fun service project at the Salvation Army this past Tuesday (Sept 8th).
Members volunteered in shifts with Lynda Nahra, Claude Dorais (Rotary E-Club), and Kati & Peter Buehler taking the morning shift; while Liz Westwick, Gary Hopkins, Bernadette Bagley, and Anita & Jason Blakemore covered the afternoon shift.
Work was fast paced and physical as we loaded boxes of food into the vehicles of arriving families. Once deliveries were complete, the team switched to assembling additional food boxes and loading them on pallets for storage. At the end of the day we had an impressive stack of nearly 150 boxes prepped for future distribution.
Bruce McRoy is joining Past President Cathy Cash as part of a new family membership. Read the interview below to learn more about Bruce.
Welcome Bruce McRoy!
Please tell the Club a little bit about your life: where you grew up, how you & Cathy met, your personal interests/hobbies, and what both of you enjoy doing together.
Born and lived in Chicago for about 11 years, then moved to Evansville, Indiana for three glorious years with University of Evansville (nee College), National Small College B-ball champs, then to Westport, Connecticut. After college, three years with the Navy in Barbados and Adak, Alaska. After law school in New York City, to Los Angeles for 20 years and finally to Santa Barbara. Saved the best for last.
Cathy and I were married May 11, 2018 in a small ceremony in the Mural Room at the Courthouse. A friend was the officiant, which made it special.
Since retiring in January, I have started playing golf. Friends gracious as initially my game was atrocious. With their patience it has progressed to something that keeps the rounds moving and is fun.
Cathy and I have enjoyed trips to Ireland, Eastern Europe and Africa and planning for future travel. The shelter in place has put a crimp in that as we have had to cancel two trips.
Since meeting Cathy, I have been hands-on studying for my general contractor’s license. Two remodels and becoming a landlord twice over.
Tell us about your professional career as an attorney.
I was blessed with a stimulating and positive practice. Entered law school wanting a tax practice, and the practice has been tax, corporate finance, and M&A practice, representing electronics companies and entrepreneurs and some bankers.
Grew up with the semiconductor industry and watched it move from Intel and Apple to software-based industries. Also blessed to work with entrepreneurs & lawyers who were creative and pursued their ideas, even if it took two or three tries to find the success.
Please share a couple of things about yourself that we may not know.
There is so much; the FBI won’t let me release most of it; and what they will let me release is boring. But a few tidbits.
Played backyard basketball with starting guard for Evansville College. A thrill for a 13 year-old and I learned stuff, but likely an indulgence for the guard.
Swam the Mississippi and lived to tell about it. Fascinating swimming in water where you can’t see and have no idea what is below your fingers and then enjoying the mud bottom when you exit.
The way to do the Mississippi River is honeymooning in New Orleans and seeing it from a hotel window or river boat. First time in New Orleans and a blast!
No kids, but I have inherited a couple of cats.
In researching ancestry for our trip to Ireland, Cathy and I learned that both our families lived in Antrim, Ireland circa 1600. On-going discussion about whose family got the plantation when they came from Scotland and whose family got the shovel. Both families emigrated from Scotland to Ireland to the U.S.
I'll bet this interview made you want to spend more time with Bruce. Invite him to join you at a social, a service project or for a cup of coffee. His contact information is easily accessible in the ClubRunner mobile app.
Rotary and its GPEI partners celebrate a monumental achievement, say global eradication of wild polio is possible with the continued dedication and persistence of Rotarians
We meet the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 12:00 PM.
