Axis Newsletter - September 15, 2023 (Sep 15, 2023)

Published: September 15, 2023

Sep 19, 2023 12:00 PM

David Neels, Fire Chief

Montecito Fire Department

David Neels is the new battalion chief at the Montecito Fire Department. Neels began his career in 1998 as a firefighter paramedic with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. In November 2015 he was promoted to battalion chief and now joins the chief officer ranks of the Montecito Fire Department.

“We are very excited to transition David Neels into our already excellent management team, and look forward to drawing from his depth of knowledge as an emergency response professional,” said Fire Chief Kevin Taylor.

Neels worked with federal Incident Management Teams for over 15 years. Over the course of his 25-year-long firefighting career in Santa Barbara County, he has responded to dozens of major local incidents including the Tea Fire, Thomas Fire and 1/9 Debris Flow. In addition to his role as Montecito Fire Chief, he currently serves as an Incident Commander for the Santa Barbara County Type 3 Incident Management Team.

Neels grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children.

Nov 07, 2023

Keld Hove - San Ysidro Pharmacy & More!

Nov 21, 2023

Community Grants Luncheon

View entire list

We meet the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 12:00 PM
on the main patio of the
Music Academy of the West
1070 Channel Drive

Free parking is available in both the upper and lower lots.

We adhere to all COVID protocols required by the Music Academy of the West:

fully vaccinated people can attend unmasked
unvaccinated people must wear masks

Accepting Grant Applications Now!

Each year the Rotary Club of Montecito Foundation awards community grants to qualifying Santa Barbara County non-profit organizations, with a particular focus on projects serving the Montecito area.

To date our Foundation has awarded more than $85,000 in assistance to our community through the Community Grants Program.

The foundation welcomes submissions from all local non-profit organizations and encourages them to apply.

For complete information on eligibility and preferences please visit the club website at:

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2839/

Please encourage your favorite nonprofits to visit the same website to access and complete our online application

The deadline for applications is Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Member Birthdays

Brandon Bottin

September 12

James Fenkner

September 19

Join Date

Kurt Koenig

September 1, 1993

30 years

Sese Ntem

September 11, 2022

1 year

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

September is turning out to be a busy month for our club. Thanks to Cathy, Bruce, Murray, Kim and Larry for volunteering at ShelterBox's Night of Inspiration on September 7th.

And, a huge round of applause to Cathy for organizing and preparing lots of great food for our wonderful Rotary Club Beach Picnic at Hope Ranch on September 12th. Kurt did a fantastic job as the grill master! The bonus was a truly amazing sunset.

Additionally, applications are starting to come in for our club's annual Community Grants program. Deadline for submissions is Friday, October 13th.

Our Program Committee has lined up a great speaker for our next meeting on Tuesday, September 19th. David Neels, the newly appointed Chief of the Montecito Firefighters, will join us to share news about this essential organization.

Yours in Service,

Tony

RYLA Students Visit Club

Karen Hickman and President Tony Morris pose with RYLA graduates.

Our Club continues to sponsor local high school students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA). Participants in the popular weekend retreat learn valuable leadership skills that can be applied as they continue their education and move into their future careers.

In 2023 we expanded our sponsorship from two to three students, and we're planning to sponsor even more next year! Kudos to Karen Hickman for her continued commitment to recruiting students and overseeing our involvement in the RYLA program.

ShelterBox Night of Inspiration

Rotarians Larry Minasian and Murray Ray welcome guests to a Shelterbox disaster relief tent.

Rotarians joined forces with Shelterbox staff and volunteers for an inspiring evening to benefit the local disaster relief organization. Event attendees learned about the work Shelterbox does around the world and were able to see firsthand the tents and supplies provided by Shelterbox to people impacted by disasters like floods, earthquakes and fires,

Thanks to Cathy Cash, Bruce McRoy, Murray Ray, Kim Stone and Larry Minasian for volunteering to be part of this inspiring event.