Stories

 

There were many Montecito members among the 50 local Rotarians who joined forces for a work day April 10th at Camp Whittier.  Volunteers assembled picnic tables, refurbished a sports court and ropes course, cleaned cabins, cleared brush, and painted multiple structures. 

 

The highlight of the day was the dedication of Rotary Hill in recognition of the decades of support Rotary has provided to Camp Whittier and the United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County,

 

Our March service session at Ledbetter Beach allowed club members to enjoy a little face-to-face interaction while beautifying the Santa Barbara beachfront. We had 14 people participate and took lots of pictures (including this one of Allyson, Todd, Craig, and Eryn).

 

Newest member Eryn Shurgart had a chance to put Zoom faces to actual bodies at our beach clean-up event.  President Kati took advantage of the event to formally present Eryn's Rotary pin and new member packet. Eryn's husband, Dr. Craig Shugart, was there to witness the special occasion.

 

There's no way a brief newsletter article could do justice to the incredible accomplishment that is the Congo Peace School. Fortunately, Amani Matabaro, our fellow Rotarian and the visionary leader behind the Congo Peace School, has provided us with a detailed update with lots of pictures.

 

Click here to access Amani's update, and as you read it remember that funds provided by our Club helped make this dream a reality for hundreds of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

 

 

 

COVID-19 restrictions are especially challenging for seniors.  To ease the burden we sent hand-written holiday cards and gifts of essential items to senior residents at the Golden Inn & Village, a retirement community in Santa Ynez.

 

 

Club members Peter Buehler, Bernadette Bagley, Kati Buehler and Gary Hopkins joined Salvation Army volunteers and staff member Major Jessyca Carr for a day of service.

 

We had record turnout for the clean-up and social at Leadbetter Beach. 

 

Sam Tabbara, our new applicant for Corporate membership, brought three of his co-workers from U.S. Bank to help in the effort.  They were joined by junior volunteers Sole and Lola (who are becoming regular fixtures on the service scene) and club members Gary Hopkins, Jeff Kerns, Karen Hickman, Tony Morris, Liz Westwick, Bernadette Bagley, Cathy Cash & Bruce McRoy, Jason & Anita Blakemore, and Kati & Peter Buehler.  Read more to see all the photos before, during, and after clean-up.

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.  

 

 

We had a great turnout for our Tuesday evening beach clean-up with 15 participants, including Santa Barbara Rotaractor Geoff Chappaz.  Gary Hopkins brought his daughters Lola & Sole which significatly lowered the average age of our clean-up team.  But great things come in small packages; together with Gary they collected a record amount of trash off the beach. 

 

Anita Blakemore organized two volunteer sessions to help out C.A.R.E. 4 Paws.  Turnout was great with a dozen volunteers participating across the two days, including our most recent applicants for family membership, Jason Blakemore and Peter Buehler (pictured below).

 

 

We packaged an impressive amount of pet food in the hour allotted, aided no doubt by the danceable ABBA tunes playing in the background.

 

This week's Mask-querade was a great success!  The small group of registered attendees was able to meet in person while maintaining appropriate social distance. 

 

Thanks to our social committee, Liz Westwick, Anita Blakemore & Tony Morris, for organizing.  Liz & Anita cooked up a delicious array of appetizers, pizzas and dessert, but I think the highlight may have been the specialty cocktails created by Liz's husband John. 

 

Our recent work day at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore was a do-it-yourselfer's dream. In addition to exploring aisles of appliances, electrical equipment, tile & plumbing fixtures, volunteers were able to take home any items being removed from inventory. 

 

Lora Fisher coordinated the event, then put on her work gloves to help haul merchandise along with her husband Tom Fisher, and club members Gary Hopkins & Bernadette Bagley.

 

The first meeting of Rotary year 2020-21 was a Club Assembly skillfully led by President Kati.  Kati's husband Peter attended as a special guest and is rumored to be interested in joining the club.

 

After a flag salute by Del and Larry's announcements of birthdays and Rotary anniversaries (36 years for Jerry Horan!), Kati introduced her board and shared her three goals for the coming year:

 

Kurt explained his role as Treasurer and shared our club budget for the coming year.  Members will vote to approve the budget at out next meeting on July 21st.

 

Kati announced the new newsletter (designed by Jessica and Bernadette) which will be sent out regularly in advance of  meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month.

 

 

Continuing more than 25 years of support for Santa Barbara City College, our club foundation awarded ten students with vocational scholarships totaling $12,500.

 

SBCC Foundation CEO Geoff Green expressed gratitude for our club's ongoing comitment and noted the economic significance of these scholarships stating, “the vast majority of these exemplary students move directly into our local workforce after completing their education.” 

 

Read the NoozHawk article to see Geoff's complete comments.

DG Savi Bhim celebrates the accomplishments of Rotary year 2019-20. View video on YouTube.

Social distancing restrictions prevented us from celebrating in person, nevertheless the club managed to give John a fitting farewell including a video review of his year as club president.

 

NoozHawk annouced Kati Buehler as President of the Rotary Club of Montecito for 2020-21.

Congratulations, Kati!  (Click here to read the full article.)

 

Montecito resident Leslie Zemeckis held the club spellbound with her story of Mabel Stark, the first female tiger trainer and the subject of Leslie's latest documentary film. (See trailer here).