Stories

Come join our next meeting on Thursday, April 5, where our speaker will be Dr. Thomas Cook, Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Iowa and current Director of Global Operations of the Ponseti International Association for the Treatment of Clubfoot (http://www.ponseti.info/). 

Tom holds graduate degrees in Physical Therapy, Biomedical Engineering, and Human Factors Engineering and has published over a hundred peer-reviewed papers and several chapters and books.  He has served as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and has lectured or overseen research projects in more than 40 countries, and has been a consultant to the World Health Organization, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Global Health Workforce Alliance. Tom is a member of the Noon Rotary Club of Iowa City and a founding member of the Rotarian Action Group for Clubfoot. 

Join us for happy hour/dinner 6-7pm at the 3F Invention Bar, followed by our meeting at 7:15pm.  

Guests and visiting Rotarians welcome!

RSVP to William Baxley at william.baxley@rotarydtla.org.

Come join our upcoming meeting on August 20 (Thursday) at the Los Angeles Athletic Club where our guest speaker will be Tavio Hobson, of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Tavio Hobson currently serves as the Corporate Partnerships Manager for the Los Angeles Clippers.  He is responsible for helping corporations best leverage their brand via the Clippers platforms in the Los Angeles market. In his first 120 days, Tavio was responsible for securing the largest corporate partnership deal in Clipper history. He continues to help transform the Clipper franchise into a global brand.  Prior to being with the Clippers he was the Founder and Executive Director of A PLUS Youth Program in Seattle, Washington, where he spearheaded the establishment of A PLUS, a community based afterschool youth development program for boys and girls grades 4-12.  Tavio received his BA from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and his Executive Masters in Leadership from the Georgetown McDonough School of Business.

We'll begin with pre-meeting happy hour from 5:30pm on the 3rd floor, followed by our meeting from 6:30pm on the 4th floor.

Guests and visiting Rotarians welcome!  There is a $20 meal charge per person.

RSVP to Jennifer at jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

We were honored to receive a visit by our District Governor DJ Sun, Executive Aide Cozette Vergari, and Assistant Governor Zainul Abedin on August 6 for the annual District Governor's visit.  This special meeting gave us the chance to share our goals for the upcoming year including our newly unveiled three-year Strategic Plan, focusing on growing membership, service projects in Downtown LA, and nurturing future leaders through initiatives targeting youth and young professionals.

The district team provided inspiration and helpful advice to enhance our work.  It was not all strictly business, however - the evening was filled with much fun and laughter, and comic relief was especially plentiful via Skype where Past President Peter Lattey joined us from Vancouver, Canada.

At the meeting we also inducted our newest member, Brenda McCabe, who recently transferred from the Rotary Club of Madrid.      

The 2015-16 Rotary year continues to unfold with many more great things in store for Rotary DTLA - stay tuned!

Photo: District Governor DJ Sun, Rotary DTLA member Brando Parada, and Peter Lattey on iPad

On August 6 at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, we will have a special visit by Rotary 5280 District Governor DJ Sun.  We will have a chance to share with him our plans for the 2015-16 year and highlight our past accomplishments.  DG Sun will make a special presentation to share his vision for the current Rotary year.

Guests and visiting Rotarians welcome!  There is a meal charge of $20 per person.

RSVP to Jennifer Usyak at jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

We will meet for our first board meeting of the year on Thursday, July 30 at 6:30pm at the LA Athletic Club.  We will discuss and plan for the 2015-16 Rotary year and for the visit by District Governor DJ Sun on August 6.  Please note we will be meeting also with DG Sun on the day of his visit, prior to the meeting.

All board members please RSVP to jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

This week's meeting on Thurs., July 16 will be for members only, to discuss strategic planning for the 2015-16 year. 

We will meet at 6:30pm at the LA Athletic Club.  Members please RSVP to jennifer@rotarydtla.org. 

Come join our meeting on July 1 (Thursday) where we'll begin the Rotary year with the installation of new officers and the induction of our newest member!  We'll be joined by special guests Past District Governor Vicki Radel and Assistant Governor Zainul Abedin.

We'll begin with pre-meeting happy hour from 5:30pm on the 3rd floor, followed by our meeting from 6:30pm on the 4th floor.

Guests and visiting Rotarians welcome!  There is a $20 meal charge per person.

RSVP to Jennifer at jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

Come join our party at 10e Restaurant (http://www.10erestaurant.com/) on June 18, Thurs. from 6:30pm to celebrate our accomplishments this past year!  RSVP required by Mon., June 15 - please contact Jennifer Usyak at 818-744-3581 or jennifer@rotarydtla.org.   

Join us for Happy Hour Thursday!

Come have some drinks and relax with Rotarians and friends at the rooftop Perch restaurant (http://perchla.com/) on Thurs., June 4 from 6pm.  RSVP to Louise Oliver at loliver@goodwillsocal.org or 818-515-1403.

On May 19, Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles distributed dictionaries to third graders at Equitas Academy Charter School, where we were pleased to hear from one of the teachers that this year's fourth graders proudly continue to use the dictionaries we gave them last year.  The students there are called "scholars" to inspire them early on to see themselves as college-bound high achievers.  A beautiful school brightly decorated with pennants from various universities around the U.S. - they continue to expand with a middle school and soon a high school campus too!  They certainly brightened our day and we wish them all happy reading!

Special thanks to all those who came out for the event and to our dedicated volunteers from: Hawthorne-Lennox Rotaract, Da Vinci Interact, Hawthorne Interact, Simon Tech Interact, Roosevelt H.S., and Mama Hill's!

MISSED THE EVENT?
YOU CAN SEE THE LOFTS COURTESY OF PAST PRESIDENT PETER LATTEY'S VIDEO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ppRD4-wtY

by Peter Lattey, Past President, Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles

The power of Rotary clubs joining forces is bringing water to schools and a clinic in Kenya.

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles, has spearheaded a project to provide a clean reliable source of water and clean latrines for four schools and a clinic near Migori, Kenya, led by Peter Lattey. This project is the result of a year long collaboration between Peter Lattey and Ben Onam, the past president of Suna Migori.  Ten clubs in District 5280, District 5280, the Slinger Allenton Club, District 9212 in Kenya and the Suna-Migori Club all contributed funds.  The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles contributed $1,690, and LA 5 contributed $1,500.

This project will provide clean water to the 1,450 students who attend four schools in Osingo, Kenya and to the Ayego Clinic and will benefit many of the 5,000 families who live in Osingo.  The Osingo Primary School currently gets water from a nearby creek at the bottom of a small valley.  This water is not clean and in the dry season it is difficult to find.  The students are the carriers, who must spend time fetching water when they should be in school. This source of clean water will help curb water borne diseases and help eliminate school dropout by girls.

An important benefit of this project is the improvement of the educational opportunities for the girls of Osingo.  By having a clean source of water at the schools, the girls will be relieved of the task of walking miles every day to get water. They will instead be able to spend that time in school becoming better educated.  Numerous studies have shown that educating girls and young women is a critical factor in economic and social development.  When you educate a girl, you have educated the whole community. The new toilets will also provide a critical facility for the young women to enable them to attend school during their menses.

This $40,000 project is in progress and will be completed by the end of November 2014. The Suna-Migori Club has delivered ten 2,500 gallon tanks, built two concrete towers, poured concrete slabs, placed the tanks on the slabs and installed roof gutters.  The parents and students are digging the 20-feet deep latrines.

Downtown Los Angeles Club Past President Peter Lattey is travelling to Migori in the middle of October to assist with the construction and to audit the completion of the project.

Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, working together CAN make the world a better place.

It has been a week now since I arrived jet lagged and weary in Migori Kenya.  It has all been good so far.  My Rotary friends in Migori have been great hosts. In fact everyone in Kenya has been friendly, helpful and a delight to deal with.

Migori is a small market town about 30 km from the Tanzania border and 50 km from Lake Victoria.  The "downtown" is about 12 city blocks of very intense commercial activity. The Kenyans really hustle when it comes to business.  Beyond the downtown, it is more suburban which merges into small farms.

I get around town by walking or paying for a ride on the back of a motorcycle.  I value my safety so won't ride on a bike with more than three people on it.  For trips out of town, we take a taxi.  These get a little crowded.  Did you know you can carry 11 or 12 people in a small Toyota station wagon?  Easy.  You put 4 in the front, 5 in the back seat and 2 or 3 more in the space behind the back seat.

I flew into Kisumu airport and was met by three Rotarians.  It was great to finally meet Ben Onam after emailing and skyping him for over 18 months.  We took off right away for Kisii, for a Rotary meeting there.  A little confusion as to timing.  It turns out that the Kisii people thought the meeting started at 11:00.  We and the district governor thought 1:00. But it was still fun.  By the time we left about 5:00 it was pouring rain.  This probably was a factor in the truck running into the back of us and going off the road into a creek bed. Nobody was hurt and another car drove us the rest of the way to Migori where I checked into the Bliss Park Hotel.  Not quite the Hilton, but the room was clean, the staff very friendly, and the price was $16 per night including a full breakfast in the dining room.

Tuesday morning, the Rotarians took me on a tour of the four schools and clinic where we are installing the rainwater harvesting systems. We reviewed the work progress and worked out a few unresolved technical issues. The Migori Rotarians have done an amazing job.  The money was approved at the start of August.  Now, two months later, the tanks are in place and partly filled with water and the latrines are about 90% complete.

One of the schools, the Adugo Primary School, was built by the community and just opened.  It has four classes with 120 students in two classrooms.  At the start of August they had no electricity and no water.  When a child was thirsty they walked 1.5 km down the hill to a creek with bad water. Sometimes they just hung out there, sometimes they got diarrhea and stayed home for a couple of days. Now there are three 2,500 gallon tanks with clean rainwater right outside the school door.  Attendance is up, enrollment is up and everyone is very happy.  The people from the community are also coming to the school to get their drinking water. Everyone is getting less diarrhea.  It is hard to express how good this makes me feel.  The photo of the kids at the water tap may help you understand.

Lots of happy kids.  I am the tall guy in the middle of the mob.

We are waiting for the delivery of one more tank this week. Then we will install it, paint the Rotary logo on the tanks and have an official opening ceremony.

I visited a co-operative school/workshop, run by a Rotarian, like nothing I have ever seen before. They train about 20 students at a time in sheet metal work, stove making, car repair, sewing and welding. After they are trained, the graduates get a little workshop where they can have a business plying their trade. It is an incredibly noisy, industrious place.  The students come in with no shoes and leave with a job, a business, a life and a way to buy a house and raise a family.  It is a crazy wonderful place. 

I made what I thought was a social visit to the boys high school where George the Rotary club president is a teacher.  I quickly found myself meeting the principal and making a pitch for forming an Interact club, having email pen pals with kids in LA for the students and a future student exchange. We then went off for lunch and a visit across the border to Tanzania.  I was supposed to talk to a few students about Interact when we go back. The "few" students turned out to be all 600 students. That is a tough audience when you really haven't prepared.  But I went back the next day and met with 25 students and started the process of getting them pen pals.  First they need email addresses, then they must write a paragraph about themselves, then the school has to keep the power on so they can send the emails.  Challenging but fun.

I am taking a few days to visit the Masai Mara game preserve.  This is a northern extension of the Serengeti.  I have seen herds of zebra, giraffes, elands, Cape buffalo and antelope.  And that was in the 3 miles from the lodge to the entry to the park!!!

MORGAN CURTIS

I am currently studying Peace, Conflict and Development at Universidad Jaume I (UJI) in Castellón de la Plana, which is the UNESCO Chair in Philosophy of Peace. My international cohort is an excellent match for my interest in diverse cultures.  While obtaining my undergraduate degree in Film Production at the University of Southern California from 2010 to 2014, I traveled to over 40 countries - mostly in the developing world. While I was traveling, I focused a great deal of my attention on photography, filmmaking, and cultural immersion.

During this time, I became more informed about politics in the “global village” and the difficulties faced by workers in the field of international aid. The master’s program at UJI will afford me the opportunity to combine my media skills with my knowledge of the international aid community. In addition, I am developing a community development platform that will support Sub-Saharan African refugees and immigrants living in the communities of Castellón and Valencia. My project here in Spain will be enhanced by my experience with photography, journalism and filmmaking. I look forward to sharing my work with the Rotary Club of Castellón as well as those of you back in the United States.

Come by Lawry's The Prime Rib for the District Literacy Breakfast on August 13 at 7:00 AM!

We invite all Rotarians to the annual Literacy Breakfast. This year's special guest speakers are District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who will be addressing the District 5280 Senior Scam Awareness Project, and Austin Beutner, founder of Vision To Learn.

Breakfast is complimentary, but reservations must be made by August 6, 2014 to Mike Birkholm, District Literacy Chair. mbirkholm@birkholmdirect.com or 818-400-3814

Location: Lawry's The Prime Rib

               100 N. La Cienega Blvd.

                Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Come learn about the recycled bicycles joint project between the Downtown LA, Woodland Hills, and Malibu Rotary Clubs, to benefit the Pacific Lodge Boys Home for at risk youth, during a community event Saturday January 25 from 9 am - 11 am at 19040 Vanowen Street, Reseda CA 91335.  Includes an easy community bike ride with members of Rotary, Reseda Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, and LAPD support.  No host lunch and tour of the Pacific Lodge follows.

We're offsite for the next meeting.  This special meeting at Equitas Academy Charter School starts at 5:30 pm (tour) and 6 pm (meeting).  Equitas is located at 1700 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90015; school tel # (213) 201-0440; www.equitasacademy.org.  Limited parking available. Members are asked to bring $20 payment to Equitas to cover meal costs.

RCDTLA members only.  Thanks.

RCDTLA is supporting Vision To Learn with a $250 donation as part of a larger Reverse Grant Project.  In addition, we have an opportunity to do hands on volunteer work (vision screening for the kids) on Thursday, January 23 between 8:30 am – 2:30 pm at Para Los Ninos Elementary School at 1617 E 7th Street, Los Angeles 90021 (downtown LA). Spanish speakers especially helpful.  Club member Angela Fisher has committed several volunteers already.  Contact RCDTLA President Kathleen Copus (Kathleen@rotarydtla.org) or Rotarian and VTL Coordinator Nora Maclellan (310-489-0160 cell) to sign up.  Remember to wear your Rotary!

Vision To Learn (www.VisionToLearn.org) began operations in March of 2012.  Since that time they have provided over 12,300 free eye exams and over 9,300 free prescription eye glasses to elementary aged children enrolled in Title 1 schools and or living in the low income communities in the Los Angeles Area.  This month they began operations in Sacramento.  Students with vision problems tend to have lower academic performance as measured by test scores and grades.  Low income and minority students are disproportionately affected by untreated visual impairments.  From a recent outcome study conducted by UCLA on Vision To Learn it was found that having corrected vision children almost immediately are:

·         More confident and have better classroom participation,

·         Improved attention and classroom behavior,

·         Improved academic performance, and

·         More ease with homework. 

Let’s ENGAGE ROTARY AND CHANGE LIVES!

The RC of Downtown LA, represented by Club President Kathleen Copus (in Rotary t-shirt), and the Woodland Hills Rotary Club (Dana Sherman, on far right) teamed up for a bike giveaway as part of the The Fleet Street project, during the SFV Anti-Gang Coalition community event on Saturday, October 26 in Granada Hills.  

Besides getting quizzed about my favorite iPad applications (aka apps), I'm often asked how I find out about the projects that I don't work on, or what's the next big neighborhood development.  Here's the list of blogs and other media sources that I look at a couple times each day (through the glory of RSS Feeds) 

You haven't touched your LinkedIn account since 2008? Maybe it is time for an update!

For those who may have forgotten, the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles will not meet this Thursday, May 2. Instead, get yourself to the Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort in Santa Barbara for the 2013 District Conference!

Please join us Thursday as we welcome guest speakers Leonard Brazil, Esq. and Deborah H. Petito, Esq. of Clark & Trevithick.  This presentation on Obamacare is intended to help Rotary members understand the general business and employment law responsibilities regarding the new Obama health care plan.  The speakers will discuss guidelines for compliance and ways to avoid unnecessary costly penalties.

Topics to be Covered:

• How the law will affect your business bottom-line
• What to expect regarding penalties & fines
• Understand "full-time equivalent" employees & the "pay or play" mandate
• Review deadlines, key dates and legislative updates
• Compliance and IRS regulations
• Grandfathering & non-grandfathering concerns regarding executive level vs. non-executive level benefits
• Renewals

Leonard Brazil and Deborah H. Petito are both litigation partners at Clark & Trevithick, a business law firm in Los Angeles.  Leonard assists companies in minimizing risks and litigation exposure in the employment arena, while Deborah represents public and private sector employment clients in all types of labor and employment matters.  This should be quite an informative talk - hope to see you there!

Please join us this Thursday, March 21 to hear guest speaker Vic Majarian.  Golden string Jewelry is a family-friendly business serving the Los Angeles area in the same downtown location for 22 years. Proprietor Vic Majarian is a third generation jeweler, an active importer and exporter of high-grade diamonds and a highly respected designer of custom fine jewelry. He believes that "Golden string's growth is due to excellent service, fair dealing, and or many repeat customers - some of whom we first met shortly after we first opened our doors." Majarian is active in civic affairs and serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Midnight Mission, a shelter for the homeless.

The kids join the fun this year at the Santa Barbara District Conference!

Pilar Buelna, newest club member with the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles, will speak on February 21.  As Executive Director of Social Services with The Salvation Army, Ms. Buelna provides leadership and direction to a Department of nine social services sites in program planning and development, personnel management, contract compliance, budgeting, quality assurance and evaluation.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of Equitas Academy, a free, college preparatory K-5 charter school where 85% of the student population are English learners.

Please join us on Thursday to hear more about Ms. Beulna's many accomplishments and years of public service, and about our club's special connection to Equitas Academy.

David Roberts, candidate for Los Angeles City Council - District 9, will speak on Thursday, February 7.  Before he decided to run for elected office, David worked for USC's Government Relations Office, after 11 years with the City of Los Angeles.  In 2009, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative cited his skill, expertise and passion when they honored him with their Outstanding City Partner Award.  

Please join us on Thursday to hear more about Mr. Roberts' many accomplishments and years of public service, as he shares his vision for District 9 and Los Angeles.

Rotarians and Friends,

We will be having an additional special Rotary meeting on January 31.  This meeting is in addition to our regular January meetings.  Jennifer has arranged for Mrs. Masako Unoura Tanaka to speak to our club about how she survived the Tsunami in Japan last year.   She is an engaging speaker and you won't want to miss this presentation.  As usual the meeting will begin at 6:30 with the happy hour starting at 5:00 in the third floor bar.

The cost for this dinner meeting for guests is $25.  As this is a special meeting, members will only be charged the usual cost if they attend.

An invitation to this meeting has gone out to the Japan America Society of Southern California and we expect to have several of their members attend.  I hope that most of our members will be there to make them feel welcome.

Because of the numbers of guests we expect, it is important that everyone RSVP prior to the event.  Please RSVP by January 28 to Jennifer Usyak at 818.744.3581 or jennifer@rotarydtla.org.  Please feel free to bring guests.

Peter Lattey, President - Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles

Mr. Rob Asghar is a University Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy and a member of the Pacific Council for International Policy. His essays and commentaries have appeared in more than 30 publications around the world, including the Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, Japan Times and Johns Hopkins’ SAIS Review of International Affairs. Mr. Asghar is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and has also written for the online outlets of the Washington Post, CNN, Asia Times and Foreign Policy magazine.

Hope to see you there!

For 40 years Darla Kim has been interested in persons who are deaf, hard of hearing and the deaf-blind. Not an interpreter, but a signer, Darla feels her role is an advocate for that population in letting the hearing population understand and embrace the truth that there is nothing wrong with being deaf - it’s a beautiful language, an interesting culture and a precious population.

In her position as Director of Program Development and Sustainability with Goodwill of Southern California, one of Darla’s responsibilities is to oversee Deaf Career Services, a program providing employment services, job preparation and related services for persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened and deaf-blind.

Hope to see you there!

On December 20, 2012 the RC of Downtown Los Angeles will celebrate 2012 and get ready for 2013 as we party at the Clubroom at Mozaic Apartments, Union Station from 6:30 pm - 8 pm.  Event cost is $30, with proceeds to benefit our community service projects.  Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for the families of the Midnight Mission.

Take Metro to the party, or park in the secure Gateway Center Garage located under the Patsaouras Transit Plaza. Walk to the Amtrak Thruway bus bay and just beyond the bus bay you will see the two buildings of the Mozaic complex. The party is being held on the ground floor of the west (left) building.

RSVP to Jennifer Usyak at 818-744-3581, or jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

President Peter Lattey message to Rotarians and friends:

The pumpkins are ripe and the weather is getting cooler (well maybe).  At this time of year, in most of the country people are getting their snow blower tuned up and cleaning up their snow shovels.  BUT, in southern California, we get ready for our fall vegetable planting. We can plant lettuce, kale, brussel sprouts, cool weather tomatoes, and carrots at this time of year for harvest throughout our "winter".  

(And yes we will be planting broccoli.  One of the unique things about broccoli is that when you cut the main head off, it continues to grow secondary heads down the stalk.  This is different from caulliflower which only grows one head.  Bet you didn't know that did you?)

So on Saturday, November 10 at 9:00 AM we will go over to Mama Hill's and pull old plants and weeds, dig, rake, mulch, fertilize, and plant.  Some of her students will be there to help and to learn how to pull old plants, dig, rake, mulch, fertilize, and plant.  So plan on packing up your kids and plan to be there.

This will also give you a chance to admire the storage shed we built for her with several other Rotary Clubs in District 5280. 

Please RSVP to Peter Lattey at 310-968-3252 or peter@rotarydtla.org.

It's election time - time to brush up on our history and act on our right to vote!

Our speaker will be Virginia Elwood-Akers, a Women Studies Subject Specialist for the Library at CSU Northridge for 30 years, and author of two books on women's history, "Women War Correspondents in the Vietnam War, 1961-1975," which came out in 1988, and a biography of a suffragist and founder of the women's club movement, "Caroline Severance," which came out in 2010.  

Virginia will address why the subject area of Women Studies was created in the 1970's at the universities, how women war correspondents are a good example of why there is such a subject area, and Caroline Severance - who she was, and why she is important in American history.  

It should be an informative and entertaining talk - hope to see you there!

Join us on Thursday, September 6, 2012 to hear about RowLA’s integrated program of rowing training and academic support from President Liz Greenberger and several program participants.

RowLA’s mission is to engage girls from underserved communities in the Los Angeles area, offering them intensive rowing activities, academic tutoring and college counseling as a means of encouraging them to become student-athletes, confident in their abilities to make wise choices for themselves and those they affect.

On Thursday, August 16 we’re fortunate to have two guest speakers.  Esther Lee, an outbound Ambassadorial Scholar sponsored by the Rotary Club of Koreatown, departs for South Korea in late August.  She will be hosted by the Seoul Rotary Club, and will study at Yonsei University in the Speech Pathology master’s program.  She also plans to gain clinical experience at Severance Hospital, which is affiliated with the university.

In keeping with the university theme, we'll also hear from Cindy Joseph, Education & Diversity Director for the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations at the University of Southern California.  She’s interested in exploring ways to combine education, science and mentoring opportunities for young adults.  Her presentation is called “A Series of Paradigm Shifts: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Ocean Biosphere.”

Hope to see you there!

• 2nd Annual Sparks Suite Fundraiser on Saturday, August 25: You may RSVP (and find additional event information) on this webpage using the "Attend or Decline" feature or you may RSVP in person at upcoming club meetings. Tentative price: $35 and will include light snacks and a visit from the infamous Staples Center dessert cart. Dinner and drinks can be purchased throughout the stadium at your discretion and brought back to the suite.

Oiwake Restaurant is located on the edge of Downtown Los Angeles just 2 blocks East of City Hall and in the heart of Little Tokyo. The old Japanese Firetower is the landmark of the Japanese Village Plaza Mall. It can be found on the corner of 1st Street and Central. Oiwake is located on the Second Floor at #122. We have two entrances: One on the second floor next to an abstract metal sculpture, The other next to the fountain on ground level. Free Two Hour validated parking is located on Central between 1st and 2nd Streets in the Japanese Village Plaza Parking structure.

Marcello Vavala, Preservation Associate at the Los Angeles Conservancy, will discuss the organization’s wide-ranging efforts in downtown Los Angeles.  You’ll learn about the Conservancy’s mission and outreach to thousands of downtown residents and visitors alike through popular programs such as the Last Remaining Seats film series and walking tours exploring downtown’s historic buildings and revitalization through adaptive reuse. Some of the latest projects taking place on Broadway will be discussed, as well as a fresh look at one of downtown’s most iconic civic structures—the Department of Water and Power Building—which the Conservancy has nominated for local landmark designation.

Thank you to everyone who turned out last Saturday for the winter planting at Mama Hill's house. With the kids leading the effort, the carrots, squash, and beans are now quickly growing into sprouts. Special thanks to Peter for lining it all up!

-- Club President Ginny 

The garden we planted last August at Mama Hill's Help was a great success.  It produced a bumper crop of tomatoes, corn, strawberries, basil, peppers and beans with a few cucumbers and even one lonely watermelon.  Mama Hill's kids learned about gardening and there was plenty of food to go around.  For most of the kids, this was their first opportunity to grow something and to eat fresh, organic vegetables.  They loved it.  But, seasons pass and the crops were finished.  Now it is time to replant for the next growing season. 

This time will be a lot easier.  No rototilling is needed as the ground was already prepared last year.  We will just be turning the ground over, fertilizing and planting.  The crops for this season are tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, basil, onions and beans.

Once again will be partnering with our friends in the Crenshaw Watts club to grow Rotary in South Central LA.

Please come out again and help Mama Hill's garden to flourish once more.  Planting will commence at 9:00 AM on Saturday, January 28.  The address is 755 East 92nd Street, Los Angeles 90003.

Come Join Us! 

Be there!

Shelter Partnership's immensely successful S. Mark Taper Foundation Shelter Resource Bank is a unique project that distributes, free of charge, donations of surplus inventory from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and others to homeless service agencies throughout Los Angeles County. Come volunteer with The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles as we help sort donated goods in this wonderful way to kick-off the holiday season! Kids welcome! More information, including RSVP instructions, is available here.

UPDATED DECEMBER 1 @ 1:15pm: Tonight's club meeting has been cancelled due to inclement weather as well as illness. Please join us for our Club Reunion / Holiday Celebration event on Thursday, December 15!

Be sure to join us at this Thursday's club meeting, as District Governor Brad Robinson will be our featured speaker. This is a great opportunity to share with him our accomplishments and things that are on our horizon. If you can't make it, please let me (President Ginny) know as soon as possible.

...Circus Vargas, that is. This is the 27th Foundation Celebration in District 5280 and it is going to be unique and special. The Drawing Tickets and Live Auction raise funds to support The Rotary Foundation, providing much-needed funding for such projects as PolioPlus, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, the Group Student Exchange Program, and Matching Grants for joint projects throughout the world. Rotarians, family, and friends are invited to join us for this great event.

Admission tickets are $65 per adult, $35 for children under 16, and children aged 2 and under attend free. Food and drink included. Notify Club Secretary Alex at 310 497 3557 or Club President Ginny at 213 248 0698 to reserve your ticket. You may also reserve and pay for your tickets at this Thursday's club meeting. If we have interest in purchasing tickets in groups of ten, tickets can be purchased through the club; otherwise individual tickets can be purchased online with a small surcharge.

Drawing tickets are $10 each or $100 for a book of 12. Please contact Peter Lattey to purchase.

Don't miss out on this fun- and fellowship-packed afternoon!

On Saturday, July 29, the Downtown Los Angeles Club and the Crenshaw/Watts Club attacked the front yard of Mama Hill’s Help on East 92nd Street with a rototiller, shovels, rakes, hoes and other implements of destruction.

We dug, we rototilled, we mulched, we raked, we watered, we fertilized and we planted. Boy, did we plant. We planted corn, we planted five kinds of tomatoes, we planted six different kinds of chili peppers, we planted thai and sweet basil, we planted watermelons, we planted lavender and we planted cucumbers. From 8:00 till 1:00, we worked with Mama Hill's kids to build a beautiful vegetable garden for Mama Hill and the kids of South Central LA.

This week join us for a discussion of the Rotary Foundation from our District 5280 Rotary Foundation chair, Rick Mendoza. This Thursday, July 21, we will return to the Los Angeles Athletic Club for our 6:30pm light dinner meeting.

This week join us for a discussion of the upcoming Rotary 2011-2012 year and what we as a club can do to enhance our presence in the DTLA community, build upon our service project offerings, raise money for PolioPlus and the Rotary Foundation, stay involved in District events, and build membership. This Thursday, July 7, we will meet at Maria's Italian Kitchen in the Financial District instead of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Weather permitting, we will meet on the Maria's patio at 6:30pm for fellowship and pizza provided by club members Ginny and Alex. No-host bar available (Maria's happy hour is held from 4-10pm). Program will start at 7pm.

Parking and directional information available on the Maria's website as linked above.

DR. BRENDAN R. VAHEY, DDS

I graduated in 2014 from the Doctor of Dental Surgery program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.  During my time in dental school, I established my continued interest in dental surgeries and humanitarian work through various school-related clubs, organizations, and volunteer clinic service.  It was through these moments I was given the opportunity by Dr. Kyle Stanley’s recommendation to attend the Federal University of Santa Catarina’s Post-Doctoral Specialization in Dental Implantology Program in Florianopolis, Brazil.

As a Rotary Global Scholar Grant recipient, I will attend the Federal University of Santa Catarina-Brazil’s prestigious dental implant program, and through the host club, Rotary Florianopolis-Trinidade, I will be able to create and sustain a local community project: The Smile Project.  My hope is to design an afterschool program focusing on literacy and health.  Through having young children and adolescents write and illustrate their own health-based books and promoting dental hygiene through education and toothbrush give-away programs, I hope to create and sustain a project that generates and sustains long lasting health for the residents of Florianopolis, Brazil.  Without the Rotary Foundation’s endless global support system of local community-based Rotary Clubs, these transformative experiences would not have happened.  Please follow my story further, via my website and blog:  www.ecosmiles.org.

Please join us this Thursday, May 21, for our regular club meeting. Our speakers will be our very own RYLA Youth who will be sharing with us their experience at RYLA this past April.

Rotarians and guests are welcome! Our meeting begins at 6:30 on the 4th floor, and there is optional happy hour beginning at 5:30 on the 3rd floor. The meal charge is $20.

At our club meeting this week RDTLA will be holding a Club Assembly to discuss the May Loft Tour fundraiser.

This meeting is not open to Rotarian visitors or guests. Visitors, feel free to join us at our next meeting on May 21st!

Thank you

On Thursday April 16, we are honored to have LAPD Officer Deon Joseph as our speaker. Officer Deon Joseph has been called Skid Row's "Angel Cop" for the work he does in Downtown LA. He has been featured on NPR, CNN, and in the LA Times. 

You may view some of the articles here:

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/14/353525565/for-lapd-cop-working-skid-row-theres-always-hope

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/02/us/skid-row-cop/

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/03/25/lapd-officer-deon-joseph/

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4th floor. There is a $20 meal charge per person. Please rsvp to Mina Soroosh at mina@rotarydtla.org.

Our speaker this Thursday April 2nd will be Andre Miripolsky. Miripolsky's keen understanding of pop imagery and energy launched a dynamic career that resulted in work with Elton John (the famous 1980 Concert in Central Park “Piano Keys” costume) and Bette Midler (album package/visual design for her 1982 worldwide “DeTour”), as well as Quincy Jones, The Rolling Stones, Gato Barbieri, Robin Williams, Beastie Boys, Cheap Trick, MTV, and “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. For thirty years, he has continued to explore and discover creative wonders in his Kingdom of Color.

Miripolsky serves on the boards of the L.A. Art Alliance, the Downtown Artwalk, and the Hollywood Arts Council. 

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4th floor. There is a $20 meal charge per person.

Come tour a selection of the most unique, artistic, and architecturally significant living spaces that define the unique Downtown LA lifestyle at the second annual INCREDIBLE LA LOFTS TOUR!  This fundraiser benefits the local and international service projects of the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles. 

This self-guided tour will take you through twelve lofts in the Historic Core, allowing you time to enjoy a leisurely stroll through ever evolving Downtown Los Angeles.  Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1387151

On Thursday March 19, our speaker will be Lieutenant Christopher Golden. Commissioned an Officer in The Salvation Army in 2012, Lieutenant Christopher Golden has the served the Gateway Communities of Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach for nearly 10 years. Along with his wife, Lieutenant Joanne Golden and their 8 year old son Micah, The Golden Family is dedicated to improving the life of people while presenting Christ as option for positive growth and experience. A Rotarian since 2011, Chris was invite to a Rotary meeting by another community figure in Mr. Wayne Spencer who said we need someone like you to be apart of the "community team". This had to be the best decision I've made in my personal and professional development. "Rotary makes me a better person, better community leader, and a better Officer in The Salvation Army. I'm excited to be a Rotarian and what we get to do in changing the world" said Golden. Lieutenant Golden achieved Paul Harris Fellowship in 2012.

Lieutenant Golden holds and A.A. in Ministry from The Salvation Army College of Officers' Training, Rancho Palos Verdes, a B.A. in Religion from Vanguard University of Southern California, and will complete his M.A in Leadership Studies in December 2015 from Vanguard University. A member of the first ever Vocational Training Team (VTT) to Istanbul, Turkey for Peace and Conflict Resolution Matters (October 2013), Lieutenant Golden participates in many Rotary and Community based leadership teams including Orange County based Leadership Tomorrow (Alumni 2012) and Leadership Long Beach (LLBI 2013 Alumni). Lieutenant Golden enjoys all things Rotary and Leadership based as well as traveling the world with his family, photography, and his classic home arcade. You can find him on Twitter under the handle of @tsachrisgolden and The Salvation Army Inglewood Citadel Corps and Community Center at www.facebook.com/tsainglewoodcitadel

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3^rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4^th floor; there is a $20 meal charge per person.

At our club meeting this week RDTLA will be holding a Club Assembly to plan the May Loft Tour fundraiser.

This meeting is not open to Rotarian visitors or guests. Visitors, feel free to join us at our next meeting on March 19th!

This Thursday Jeff Weigel from the Redondo Beach Rotary Club will be speaking about the WASUP Fiji Water and Sanitation Global Grant of which the Rotary Club of Downtown LA is a supporter. The mission of WASUP is to improve self-sustainable clean water and sanitation systems in rural communities, to foster a culture of hygiene, to steward product ownership among the beneficiaries and to inspire the replication of a clean water community model on Taveuni and across the South Pacific Islands. The vision of WASUP is to eliminate waterborne disease from drinking sources across the South Pacific.

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3^rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4^th floor; there is a $20 meal charge per person.

On Thursday, February 5, Tim Benson will be speaking to us about The Peacock Foundation, a local non-profit organization which has served many homeless children in the downtown area.

The Peacock Foundation (peacockfoundation.org) is Los Angeles’s first animal-assisted mental health program for kids. Created in 2002, the foundation set out to change the face of child counseling forever. Since then, the Peacock Foundation has served over 5,000 children and teens in Southern California. The mission of the Peacock Foundation is: To provide Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) for at-risk youth by partnering with mental health practitioners, public service agencies, and community organizations.

Tim Benson, M.Ed., is an expert in K-8 education. His diverse experience includes classroom teacher, Gifted & Talented (GATE) coordinator, school administrator, parent and teacher trainer, and Senior Director of an elite L.A. academic and test prep services firm. He recently started his own firm, Vault Consulting Group, to support families who are navigating the vast educational landscape. (vaultconsultinggroup@gmail.com)

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3^rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4^th floor; there is a $20 meal charge per person.

Please join us this Thursday January 22 for our regular club meeting. Steve Musnicky from the Woodland Hills Rotary Club will be speaking to us about their Fleet Street Project. 

Founded in 1923, Pacific Lodge Youth Services (PLYS)
 operates Pacific Lodge boys home in Woodland Hills,
California. Pacific Lodge provides a supportive,
therapeutic residential environment for boys aged
13 to 18 who are experiencing psychological,
emotional and/or behavioral problems.
Pacific Lodge provides the guidance, education and
life skills training necessary to help these boys begin
and continue living positive and productive lives. For more information about Fleet Street, go to: http://www.fleetstreetbikes.com

Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome! Join us for our Happy Hour on the 3^rd floor of LAAC from 5:30-6:30pm. Our meeting begins promptly at 6:30pm on the 4^th floor; there is a $20 meal charge per person.

Dear Rotarians and Friends, 

Hope you can join us this Thursday Jan 15 for our monthly Happy Hour. If you've never visited LA's historic Grand Central Market (opened in 1917), you won't want to miss this, along with the limited time art installation (see description below)!

January’s Happy Hour includes the Yarn-O-Polis art installation at the DTLA Grand Central Market. This is a Greek-inspired public art installation staged by Yarn Bombing LA and the GCM. This is designed to examine the GCM as an agora in DTLA that brings together the different histories, neighborhoods and makers. This represents 6 months of work from over 100 knitters and crocheters from all across the world, including Gather DTLA, Angeles Plaza Senior Center, Downtown Women’s Center, Braille Institute, Pasadena Crochet Meetup and Central Public Library Knitting Group. Yarn-O-Polis is also an official part of Downtown LA Art Walk.  

The Grand Central Market is at 317 S. Broadway, but we will meet on the Hill Street side, between 3rd and 4th Streets, from 5pm on.  We will meet on the Hill Street Platform of the Market. Parking lot entry is also on the Hill Street side.

Please rsvp to Louise Oliver: LOliver@goodwillsocal.org.

Clean Water Everywhere and Plenty to Drink in Migori, Kenya

Last year the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles led a $39,000 Global Grant that provided clean, reliable water, hand wash stations and latrines to 1,500 students and their families at 4 schools and a clinic in Osingo Kenya.  This year we are leading a $45,500 grant to do the same for over 3,500 students and their families at 8 primary schools in Migori County, Kenya.

Happy 2015! We've got an exciting program to start off the new year.

On Thurs Jan 8, we will be having a Club Assembly! This meeting is open to RDTLA club members only. Visiting Rotarians and guests, please join us at our regular club meeting on Thurs Jan 22.

On Thurs Jan 15, we will be having a Happy Hour at the Grand Central Market downtown. Guests welcome! Details to come.

On Thurs Jan 22, we will be having a regular club meeting. Dana Sherman from the Fleet Street Program of the Woodland Hills Rotary Club will be our speaker. Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome!

RDTLA had a wonderful holiday dinner at the Zinc Café, organized by RDTLA members Harjas Kler and Angela Fisher, where former members as well as new friends joined the celebration. A good time was had by all on the beautiful terrace hours before the skies opened and the rainstorm began! Great timing :)

RDTLA also had a wonderful service opportunity made available to us by member Pilar Buelna, Executive Director of Social Services for Salvation Army - LA Metro. Thanks to Pilar and to Jennifer Usyak for helping to organize our service evening last week at Zahn Memorial Center where members helped to serve dinner at the downtown facility for families in crisis.

Please join us Thursday December 4th for our regular club meeting. Our speaker will be composer and violinist Benedikt Brydern.

Benedikt Brydern studied violin and piano at the Richard-Strauss Academy of Music in Munich, Germany. He undertook private composition studies with Rumanian composer Stefan Zorzor. He was selected out of 1000 applicants for Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival to perform in the Festival Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Bernstein in 1988. He returned to the Festival in 1990 to be part in the TV series “Orchestra!” hosted by Sir Georg Solti and Dudley Moore.

After graduation in 1992 he received a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to continue his studies in the United States where he completed the Advanced Studies Program “Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television” at the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles.

Besides being a classically trained concert violinist he co-founded the “Hot Club Quartette” which pays tribute to the great music of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. He owns a 1910 Stroh-viol which he uses in “Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys” vintage band and a custom built electric violin for blues, rock and pop engagements. He played violin on various film, game and TV scores (“Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Cats & Dogs 2, Command & Conquer”)

As a Past President of the Rotary Club of Hollywood and a board member of the Harmony Project, a non-profit organization providing free music lessons to more than 700 under privileged children in the Los Angeles area, he connects with the community and shares his passion and love for music.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).

Please join us this Thursday, November 6th, for our regular club meeting. District Governor Elsa Gillham will be addressing our club.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).

Friends and Rotarians

HAPPY HOUR THURSDAY! at Takami Sushi & Robata

Come join Rotary DTLA for happy hour at Takami Sushi & Robata (811 Wilshire Blvd., 21st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071) this Thursday Oct 30 from 5:30pm - 8pm.

RSVP by Wed Oct 29 to Louise Oliver at LOliver@goodwillsocal.org.
Hope to see you there!

Join us for our regular meeting this Thursday, October 16th, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Our speaker will be Kelly Stieglitz. An alumnus of Baylor University and the USC Keck School of Medicine, Kelly has a life-long passion for philanthropy. With her Masters degree in Global Medicine she is pursuing a career in international development and global health. In 2012 she co-founded The Kai Project, a non-profit organization that works to provide business loans, support, and resources to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Mexico. Earlier this year, Kelly got the opportunity to move to Mombasa, Kenya where she worked with Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) as part of an internship through the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD). For seven months, Kelly worked alongside the WOFAK staff to establish or strengthen existing programs for people living with or otherwise affected by HIV. This included training community health workers on home-based care, facilitating vocational trainings for young mothers, mobilizing resources and support for orphans and vulnerable children, and more. Having just returned from Kenya, Kelly is eager to share her experiences and to use what she has learned to further expand The Kai Project and move forward in her career. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles and greatly enjoys the fellowship within the club as well as the common enthusiasm among Rotarians for bettering our community and our world.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).

Friends!

Come enjoy Downtown LA Art Walk with Rotarians and friends! Dinner first, Art Walk stroll to follow. RSVP by Oct. 7 for dinner reservations to jennifer@rotarydtla.org. For more information on LA Art Walk, visit: http://www.downtownartwalk.org/. Hope to see you on Thursday!

Where:
Maccheroni Republic (dinner location)
332 S Broadway
Los Angeles CA 90013

When:

Thu, Oct 09, 2014 at 6:00PM - 7:30PM

Gallery Tour: 7:30PM - 8PM

Headline Galleries: Robert Reynolds Gallery, Tod Lychkoff Gallery

Join us for our regular meeting this Thursday, October 2nd, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Our speaker will be Ms. Kendra Glass. As the president of Proud 2 Be (P2B) Mentoring/Educational After-School Program for at risk youth since 1999, Kendra has spent over 15 years counseling and mentoring youth and their parents. P2B Home(s) provide a safe, clean and nurturing home environment, for youth between ages 12-17 for short-term, long-term, transitional and emergency shelter. Kendra works with P2B program participants as they deal with personal issues of peer pressure, self-esteem, self-worth, economic hardship and abandonment. The most damaging impact on their lives is the lack of parental guidance, dysfunctional home environments and communication, and Kendra works with the entire family as a mediator and counselor for both youth and parents, building better relationships and implementing the communication technique "learning to listen" motivating change.

Kendra’s professional experience includes conflict resolution, relationship & confidence building, youth counseling and mentoring, Certificate of Training in Crisis Intervention, Certified Group Home Administrator, a Bachelor’s Degree (BS), Business Management, Master’s Degree (MS), Information Technology and currently working on  2nd Master’s, Marriage & Family Therapy (MFT).

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).

Join us for our regular meeting this Thursday, September 18th, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Our speaker will be Tina Hovsepian, a designer and philanthropist. Tina graduated from the University of Southern California with her Bachelors of Architecture in 2009. She currently works on global commercial architecture with Callison in Santa Monica, CA. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tina always had a consuming interest in humanitarian causes, especially the plight of the homeless on Downtown’s infamous Skid Row. During her time at USC she had the opportunity to synthesize this interest with her architectural studies. In 2007 she designed and built a prototype of a temporary shelter made of folded cardboard, Cardborigami. Tina received Second Prize for Most Innovative at the 2009 USC Undergraduate Symposium for Creative Work. That was the first time an Architecture student had won an award in this school-wide category.

Currently, Tina has undertaken the ambitious task of starting a non-profit while pursuing her career in Architecture. This has proven to be a challenging yet educational effort. Despite the lengthy journey to fruition, Cardborigami continues to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback for its ingenuity. Within months of public exposure, Hovsepian’s shelter raised interest from 92 different countries, is featured on CNN, the LATimes and KTLA. It also appears in articles on many prestigious design blogs.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.
 


Guests welcome (meal charge of $20). Hope to see you there!

Join us for our regular meeting this Thursday, September 4th, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Our speaker will be newly-inducted RotaryDTLA member Peter Opa. Peter is the director of The Ajara Project and president of Rethink Africa. He is passionate about issues of poverty, the environment, and girls’ education in Africa.  Having lived successfully in the U.S., he turned his American Dream into African Dream—a dream to bring hope to his impoverished village where people are dying from preventable diseases and children dropping out of school for hunger. His Food for School (FFS) initiative has helped more than 40 orphans and drop-outs graduate from elementary and high schools. Speaker and writer, his articles have appeared on several blogs and in newspapers, including, MSNBC’s Newsvine, Triple Pundit, Berkeley Daily Planet, and the Dickinson Press.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.
 
Guests welcome (meal charge of $20). Hope to see you there!

Come celebrate these waning days of summer at The Rooftop, atop the Standard Hotel, with a fabulous view of the downtown skyline on August 28 (Thurs.) from 6pm!

The Standard Hotel is a Midcentury landmark located in the heart of Downtown LA and its Rooftop bar features a heated swimming pool, red AstroTurf deck, dance floor, nightly DJs, bar, outdoor fireplace, waterbed pods, sculptured topiary and a Biergarten.

RSVP by Aug. 27 to Jennifer Usyak at jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

Hope to see you there!

Join us for our regular meeting on Aug. 21, Thurs. at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

We'll be joined by Ginny Brideau this week, as we learn about Downtown LA's Local Sanitation Project. Below is an excerpt about Ginny.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).  Hope to see you there!

On Aug. 7, Rotary DTLA members Jennifer Usyak and Angela Fisher led 11 Rotary Youth Exchange students on a tour of downtown. The group included five students visiting from Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom and the six host family students from District 5280.

The day began at City Hall where the visiting students were presented with Welcome Certificates from Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge presented by Director of Los Angeles Sister Cities Kamilla Blanche.  Alex, a student from Berlin interning for the Councilman, led the group on a tour of City Hall including the observation deck and beautiful views of downtown and the surrounding areas.

Courtesy of the Midnight Mission van, the students next moved on to Olvera Street, then to Chinatown for lunch at Ocean Seafood Restaurant for dim sum, followed by a short walking tour of Little Tokyo.

The highlight for many of the students was the visit to the Midnight Mission later that afternoon.  After a brief tour of the facility to learn about its work as a drug and alcohol rehab center, the students got busy in the kitchen helping Chef Chris prepare and serve the evening meal.  Many commented later that it was an eye opening experience for them.

The day ended at the Rotary DTLA meeting at the LA Athletic Club.  Guest speakers Sally and Jonathan Tiongco, educators and owners of Six Taste Culinary Tours gave an inspirational talk about their vocation as educators linking the five tastes (bitter, sour, salty, sweet, and umami) with their careers and their passion project Six Taste.  A long day came to a happy end, and several of the students presented Rotary flags from their home districts for the traditional flag exchange at the end of the meeting!  We wish the students well and hope they will always consider Los Angeles their second home and come visit us again soon!

Join us for our regular meeting on Aug. 7, Thurs. at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

We'll be joined by students participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange program, from Japan, Spain, and the U.K.!

Guest speakers Sally and Jonathan Tiongco will share their experience as educators and their Six Taste Culinary Tours.  The husband and wife team graduated from UCLA and have helped establish two start-up charter middle schools in the San Fernando Valley and Downtown Los Angeles, which serve low-income and at-risk youth.  Sally recently served as an instructional coach at Youth Policy Institute Charter Schools while Jonathan is the Director of BLAST (blended learning) implementation at Alliance College Ready Public Schools.  They are also owners of Six Taste - LA's largest and highly rated walking food tour company. 

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome (meal charge of $20).  Hope to see you there!

Come join Rotary DTLA for Happy Hour Thursday at The Edison, Thursday July 24 from 6pm.

Located in the sub-basement of the historic Higgins Building, The Edison retains architectural and mechanical artifacts in an homage to its history as the first private power plant built in Downtown Los Angeles in 1910.

Enjoy drinks and fellowship in this electic lounge which features a combination of design features ranging from Art Nouveau to Industrial Gothic.

RSVP by July 23 to Jennifer Usyak at jennifer@rotarydtla.org.

Hope to see you there!

Meet our two newest members Harjas Kler and Peter Opa, who were inducted at our July 10 meeting.

Harjas Kler has been a real estate investor since 2012, with a focus on the San Bernardino area.  She is an avid traveler and has lived in Spain and India, where she went to an academy boarding school in Dehra Dun.  She will complete her bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from the California State University Los Angeles later this year.  She has been tutoring at School on Wheels on Skid Row and aspires to open a tutoring center or home to help children in need where she invests.

Peter Opa is a writer, environmentalist and public speaker, originally from the Benin Republic in West Africa.  He is the President of Rethink Africa and Director of the Ajara Project, which provides books to his home village in Africa where there is a great need for access to education and academic materials.  His Food for School (FFS) initiative has helped more than 40 orphans and dropouts graduate from elementary and high schools.  He is the author of the bestseller “Jesus Would Vote for a Black President.”

  Sponsor Peter Lattey pinning Peter         Harjas (right) with sponsor Louise Oliver

Join us for our regular meeting July 17, Thurs. at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.  
 
Our guest speaker will be Hal Bastian, the Executive Vice President & Director of Economic Development for the Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District (DCBID).  Since joining the DCBID in December 2001, he has been responsible for overseeing the business and residential recruitment efforts for the organization, furthering the DCBID’s goal of establishing the Downtown Center District as the location of choice for world-class businesses and residential living.

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm (normal $20 meal charge applies), with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

Guests welcome.  Hope to see you there!

Join us for our first meeting of the new Rotary year where we will induct two new members Harjas Kler and Peter Opa as well as the 2014-2015 Rotary DTLA officers, to commence an exciting year of increased fellowship and service!
 
Morgan Curtis and Brendan Vahey, Rotary Global Grant Scholars sponsored by Rotary DTLA in the upcoming year, will join us as our guest speakers as they prepare for their year abroad.
 
Our meeting begins at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club (normal $20 meal charge applies), with pre-meeting fellowship from 5:30pm at the 3F Invention Bar.

**Sneak Preview** - to keep the new year rolling along, at our next regular meeting on Thursday July 17 we'll welcome Hal Bastian of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) as our guest speaker.  Open to all.

 
Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday May 27 the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles brought The Dictionary Project to the Equitas Academy Charter School in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Club President Kathleen Copus, club members Jesse Rhines, Pilar Buelna, Louise Oliver, Brando Parada and Tina Olson, along with club friend Shelley Drievold, distributed dictionaries to the 3rd grade classes during a special morning assembly.  Rotarian were welcomed with fight songs from the Ivy League college-themed classes, and the students beamed with pride as they took home their very own copies of the books at an age where children transition from learning to read, to reading to learn.  The event had special meaning as our club helped to found this school, which is doing so well it's expanding to other grades/facilities.  We can't wait to do it again with next year's 3rd grade class!

On June 5 we welcomed Rotary District 5280’s Vocational Training Team to talk about their recent trip to the Mediators Beyond Borders Congress in Istanbul Turkey.  VTT Team Leader Greg O'Brian (Dist. Governor Nominee Designate) and team members lawyer/mediator Robyn Weinstein, and mediator Dominik Grace Onate gave their final talk of the Rotary Year and shared their excitement for Rotary’s global work in conflict resolution, mediation, team building and peacemaking activities.

On Saturday, May 10 the members of the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles were busy learning and growing across greater Los Angeles.  President Kathleen Copus, incoming President Mina Soroosh, along with Jennifer Usyak, Aaron Weiner, and Pilar Buelna attended the Rotary District 5280 District Assembly to network and learn how to run a strong Rotary Club.  It's going to be an exciting year in 2014-2015!

Also on Saturday, Past President Peter Lattey led a group of Rotarians and Friends for a spring garden clean-up at Mama Hill's Help in South Los Angeles.

Members (and also Past Presidents) Ginny and Alex Brideau are busily preparing for the District Conference on May 15 - 18 at the Hyatt Regency in Indian Wells - wear your school colors and prepare to have fun!

IMPORTANT! - There will be no meeting of the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles on May 15, to allow members to participate in the Rotary District 5280 District Conference this weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Indian Wells CA.

We return to the Los Angeles Athletic Club for a Members Only meeting on Thursday, May 22 to plan for upcoming events, including the dictionary distribution at Equitas Charter Academy on May 27, and the Anniversary Party on June 19.  

All are welcome at our next open meeting, which will be Thursday, June 5 at the LAAC; speaker is Mediators Beyond Borders.  (Hal Bastian, Executive Vice President and Director of Economic Development with the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, has been rescheduled to speak at our July 24 regular/open club meeting.)

Contact Club President Kathleen Copus at kathleen@rotarydtla.org or 310-722-9779 with any questions.

Come join us at our upcoming club meeting on Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, preceded by fellowship hour from 5:30pm at the Invention Bar (3F)!   

Our very own Rotary DTLA member Brando Parada will be speaking about his participation in this year's District Humanitarian Trip to Colombia, plus we'll hear lots of updates on projects and grant recipients. 

Guests welcome! 

$20 meal charge for dinner served at meeting.  

On Mar. 31 President Kathleen Copus joined by member Jennifer Usyak visited the Thai Town Rotary Club and enjoyed sumptuous Thai food and a presentation by owners of food truck and catering company "Streets of Thailand."  Check them out at http://streetsofthailand.com/ - and perhaps soon at a location near you! 

Thai Town Rotary member and Assistant Governor Sue Kanchana overseeing Rotary DTLA recently returned from the District Mission trip and shared stories of fun times with our very own Brando Parada, who also traveled to Colombia on the mission - besides inspiring service projects, the word is they enjoyed great dancing, food, wine, and the beauty of Colombia! 

Come join us at our upcoming club meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club at the corner of Seventh and Olive Streets in downtown Los Angeles. Our program will be Dana Sherman and Steve Musnicky of the Woodland Hills Rotary Club speaking on the Fleet Street Bike Project, a bicycle refurbishing vocational project supported by a joint Rotary Community Service Grant between the Downtown Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, and Malibu Rotary Clubs. 

And don't miss fellowship hour from 5:30pm at the Invention Bar (3F)! 

Guests welcome.

$20 meal charge for dinner served at meeting.  

Come join us at our upcoming regular club meeting on Mar. 20, Thurs. from 6:30pm at the LA Athletic Club. Our speaker will be Larry Johnson, who serves on the Board of Wells Bring Hope, a nonprofit focused on drilling water wells for impoverished villages in West Africa.  He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Manhattan Beach. 

And don't miss fellowship hour from 5:30pm at the Invention Bar (3F)! 

Guests welcome.

$20 meal charge for dinner served at meeting.  

For further information about the scholarship, please visit: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50010/SitePage/scholars. 

For any questions, contact Mina Soroosh, Global Grant Scholar Committee Chair, at mina@rotarydtla.org.

FIRST ANNUAL INCREDIBLE LA LOFTS TOUR A HIT!

WE DID IT!  Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors and Friends came together with our sponsors on Sunday, April 13 for a fantastic day of touring incredible LA lofts and raising funds and awareness for our the Downtown Los Angeles Rotary Club's local and global community service activities.  Congratulations and thanks to you all.  The tour was a big success.  We had 11 incredible lofts and over 200 happy people touring them.  We made almost $6,000. We met many new friends for Rotary and we met several people who are now thinking about joining our club.  Time to celebrate, take a deep breath, and then start planning the next one!

March is looking to be another invigorating month with lots of opportunity for fellowship, fun, and good work.  Look for more details at the next club meeting on several ways to get involved and help make your community stronger:

Sat March 8, afternoon - Love to Nippon event, downtown LA (Jennifer/Brando)

Sun March 9, afternoon - Staff Rotary info booth at AIDS/LifeCycle bike event, Hollywood with Woodland Hills/Malibu RC (Kathleen)

Tues March 11, lunch- RI President Elect Gary Huang guest speaker at Woodland Hills RC lunch meeting - $45 (Kathleen)

Sat March 15, morning - Shelter Partnership Day of Service/sorting donated goods (Louise)

Mon March 31, evening – Visit to Thai Town RC dinner meeting (Jennifer)

Any questions or to RSVP, contact President Kathleen at kathleen@rotarydtla.org.

On Thursday, February 27 several Downtown LA Rotarians and friends met at the Hotel Figueroa for fellowship and fun at the first of several planned happy hours.  Going from the lights and activity of the revitalized L.A. Live area to the quiet, dark, Morrocan-themed interior of this hotel (built in 1925 as a YWCA residence) felt like stepping back in time. These informal gatherings are open to all, and are a great way to relax and recharge after a busy day.

Thursday, February 20 will be a members only meeting at the LAAC to discuss the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles' Spring Fundraiser.  All DTLA club members are strongly encouraged to attend.  Please RSVP to President Kathleen at kathleen@rotarydtla.org.

We look forward to welcoming friends and guests to the next open meeting on March 6, when the speaker program will be on RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).  See you back at the Los Angeles Athletic Club for 5:30 pm pre-meeting fellowship in the 3rd Floor main bar, and 6:30 pm - 8 pm club meeting (4th Fl); $20 fee for light dinner.

All are welcome at the first meeting of the new year as we listen and learn from Angela Fisher, one of our newer club members who joined the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles this Rotary year.  Angela will be our speaker program as she tells us about The Kai Project, a Los Angeles based nonprofit organization that she started with fellow club member Kelly Stieglitz in order to empower small businesses around the globe by promoting entrepreneurial ventures and providing business resources in developing countries.

Pre-meeting fellowship starts at 5 or 5:30 pm in the 3rd floor Invention bar at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, followed by the regular club meeting from 6:30 pm - 8 pm on the 4th floor.  The $20 meeting fee includes dinner.  

Happy New Year!

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles returns to our regular meeting format for Thursday, December 19, 2013.  Guests and visitors are welcome to join the 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm pre-meeting fellowship at the Los Angeles Athletic Club's Invention restaurant and bar on the 3rd floor, followed by our regular meeting on the 4th floor from 6:30 pm - 8 pm.  We have lots to talk about as we get ready for 2014 (dictionaries - recycled bicycles - fundraising events - Kenya water project), so look forward to an interesting meeting!

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles will be celebrating 2013 and toasting to 2014 at our annual holiday party on Thursday, December 5 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.  Join us in the newly renovated 3rd floor Invention Bar and Restaurant from 6 pm - 8 pm for delicious passed hors d'oeuvres and a no-host bar.  Guests and visitors are welcome; cost is $20 per person plus a new unwrapped toy to be donated to The Midnight Mission.  New socks (for men, preferably) will also be collected and donated.

The LAAC is located at 431 West 7th Street, Los Angeles CA 90014 (corner of W. 7th and S. Olive St.; enter from Olive for adjacent parking garage); LAAC telephone is 213-625-2211.  Please RSVP by Wednesday December 4 to Aaron Weiner at aaron.weiner3@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

We take our meeting on the road this week - to The Midnight Mission, to be exact.  This is an RSVP only event.  Meeting information will be emailed to confirmed attendees in advance. Email President Kathleen Copus at kathleen@rotarydtla.org if you have any questions.

Also, we return to the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Thursday, December 5 for our annual holiday party.  Guests and visitors are welcome!  Details to follow. 

Come join our next meeting on Nov. 7, where Ms. Candace Carnicelli, the Director of Common Peace, will be our guest speaker.  The mission of Common Peace, Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence, is to heal, empower and revitalize our lives and our communities through the practice of nonviolence as a way of life.  Through education, inspiration and cooperative action, Common Peace strives to create a society that honors the dignity and worth of every human being. 

Visitors and guests are welcome!  The cost for non-members is $20 (light dinner will be served).  

Our meeting begins at 6:30pm, with fellowship hour (no-host) from 5:30pm at the Athletic Club Bar (3F).

We hope to see you there! 

Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles Charter Member Tina Olson received the following request recently:

"Dear Tina, I am a member of a Finnish Rotary club in Turku, Finland (Turun linna). I am a 27 year old Finnish girl and currently working as a lawyer. I will do an internship in a law firm in LA this fall (from 28th of Octorber until Christmas). The law firm is Clark & Trevithick and it is located at Los Angeles Downtown Office 800 Wilshire Blvd., 12th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 I was wondering if I could ask your rotarymembers if a family could host me during my stay. I am very outgoing, social and love to do any kind of sports on my free time and also enjoy cooking. Also movies are close to my hearth. I would be happy to help around in the house. I am willing to help with the garden/cooking, you name it :) I have travelled in the States also before and a couple of years ago I did an internship in Chicago and fell in love with American culture. I am eager to get to know Californian people. I have had some visitors from Chicago in Finland and I would be happy to host my Californian host-family in the future if they decide to travell to Finland. And I do not smoke. Tina, do you think you could ask around? As I am coming pretty soon I hope you could reply as soon as possible. Have a great day, Sincerely Krista Siro"

If anyone is able to host Rotarian Krista this Fall, please contact Kathleen Copus, DTLA Club President, at kathleen@rotarydtla.org or 310-722-9779.  Thanks. 

This is how the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles does community service and fellowship.  On Sunday, September 15, Peter Lattey gathered up a crew of our Rotary Club members and Mama Hill's "cookies", to weed, plant, and generally refresh Mama Hill's garden.  What a sight to see - Rotarians Peter, President Kathleen with daughter Bryce, Brando, Jennifer and Aaron, all in bright yellow "Downtown LA Rotarians at Work" t-shirts, getting down and dirty prepping, planting and watering peppers, peas, beans and more. 

On Sunday, September 8, Peter put on his captain's cap and sailed out of Marina del Rey with more of Mama Hill's kids and DTLA Rotarians Mina, new member Kelly, and several other friends and prospective members for a day of adventure.  A good time was had by all.

Watch for more opportunities to join the Downtown LA Rotary Club in helping to improve communities and enjoy fellowship of other service-minded volunteers!

Our September 5 meeting included inductions of two new members: Angela Fisher and Kelly Stieglitz.  Kelly and Angela are co-founders of the Kai Project, a non-profit whose goal is to empower small businesses around the globe by promoting entrepreneurial ventures and providing business resources in developing countries.  We are pleased to welcome our newest members to the Rotary family! 

Kelly, Angela, and Past District Governor Chuck Anderson

Past District Governor Chuck Anderson will be our special guest speaker on September 5, representing District Governor and PDG Doug Baker as we celebrate activities to date and the exciting plans for 2013-2014.  We're welcoming new members and recognizing those who've given so much to the club.  Guests are welcome at the 6:30 regular club meeting; $20 meal fee can be paid at the door.  

Board members are reminded to join the pre-meeting from 5:30 - 6:30 with Assistant Governor Sue Kanchana of the Rotary Club of Thai Town. 

Hope to see you there!

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles was thrilled to be a part of this special exchange!   

Join us this Thursday, July 18 for our regular club meeting with guest speaker Kathleen McChesney, retired career FBI and author.  As posted on the FBI website as a In Their Own Words story, "Special Agent Kathleen McChesney had a 24-year career with the FBI, working her way up to become special agent in charge of the Chicago Division, assistant director of the Training Division and eventually, the executive assistant director for Law Enforcement Services."  It is sure to be a fascinating presentation, please join us!

Update - Please join us on Thursday June 27 at WOKCANO RESTAURANT at the corner of 7th and Flower in downtown Los Angeles, as we celebrate President Peter at his Demotion Party!  All are welcome at the 5:30pm pre-meeting fellowship / 6:30- 8pm celebration.  Note this is a venue change.

Outgoing and incoming boards and club members meet to discuss plans for another great year for the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles!  Please, members only for this meeting. Guests are welcome to join us at President Peter's Demotion Party on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles Club proudly announces the following awards presented at the May 2013 District Conference in Santa Barbara:

Awards of Excellence:

Community Service - Focus on Water, Health and Hunger - Community

The Rotary Foundation - GSE & Ambassadorial Scholar Support

Membership - Overall Membership, Retention, Resources, Statistics

Club Service - Club Meeting Programs

Plus Awards of Achievement for Vocational Service, Community Service, and The Rotary Foundation.  

Well done, Team!

Althea Mumford Stokes, travel professional in the industry since 1981 with a current focus on cultural travel exchanges throughout the world including: Support to the African Diaspora, College Study Abroad Programs, Cultural Culinary Training  Experiences, Local and International Food & Wine Events, Historic Vintage Train Travel, and just....TRAVEL.

Join us as we learn more about Althea's world perspective on travel - it should be fun!

Our featured speaker for Thursday, December 6, 2012 is Muir Ranch, a non-profit organization, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and farm located on the John Muir High School campus in Northwest Pasadena.  Leader Mud Barron will be joined by some of the high school students who are learning the joys and business of running a successful program that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to the Pasadena and Los Angeles County area.

Come hear what all the excitement is about!

The Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles welcomes Councilwoman and Candidate for Los Angeles Mayor Jan Perry to present at our regular club meeting on November 15, 2012.  

We are anticipating a great event and a large turnout.  RSVPs are required so that we can give the Los Angeles Athletic club an accurate number of attendees prior to the meeting.  Please RSVP by Monday, November 12 to RCDTLA President Peter Lattey at 310-968-3252 or peter@rotarydtla.org.

As Governor Doug's visit to our club is almost upon us, please take a look at this informative bio on The Downey Patriot's website.

Providing an introduction to our current and past service projects, this new webpage helps illustrate our Rotary club's dedication to service.