Our guest speaker for June 4, 2026 was Martin Reed, who presented on behalf of the Sonoma County Tool Library. Martin is a Sebastopol real estate agent and Executive Director of the Tool Library. Martin has recently led the library to a new home at 427 Mendocino Avenue. Martin started out with the library when he needed a jack hammer to deal with some concrete in his back yard. He was amazed to find an expensive jack hammer on loan without charge!

The Tool Library was started 19 years ago and provides free access to thousands of tools for Sonoma County residents. Its values include making tools available to everyone regardless of income and reducing consumption through sharing economy principles.  The tools on loan range from landscaping tools for defensible space projects to power tools, sewing machines, drills, and bike repair kits. The tools are loaned without charge to Sonoma County residents. Last year the library made 4,000 loans. It currently has 650 borrowers signed up and is involved in 1,400 defensible space projects. The library focuses on helping people create defensible space by loaning tools, such as trimmers and chippers. One of the library’s most important current projects is the creation of microsites throughout the county to allow easier access to tools by people outside of Santa Rosa. Currently, tools are loaned at the Santa Rosa Avenue location.

The Tool Library also helps create community. Shared resources strengthen the fabric of the community. People get together to discuss their projects, how they approach problems, and the best tools to use for projects. Borrowing builds trust! The library has a few requests. Donation and volunteers are always appreciated, as are word-of-mouth referrals. The library does not accept donated tools as it prefers to buy new tools.

Many thanks to Martin for his presentation of an important Sonoma County resource that many of us may never have heard about.

On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.

Thanks for all the great pictures Warren! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!

As my year as president of Rotary International comes to a close, I offer my heartfelt thanks to each member of our global Rotary family. Your kindness, warmth, and dedication have changed my life.

During this year, I had the privilege of traveling across our world, from San Francisco, birthplace of the United Nations, to the innovative Rotary clubs of Nigeria. In every place, I saw Rotary members and our partners working side by side to create lasting, positive change, reminding me that our strength lies in shared purpose.

That spirit leads naturally to a simple truth: Rotary is not something we attend, but something we do. We are not spectators. We act, and through that action, we transform our communities and ourselves.

As we continue this work, we must keep our focus on building conditions for peace. Rotary is, at its core, a peace machine. But maintaining that machine requires intention, commitment, and steady effort.

That same resolve is needed now as we push toward polio eradication. The final mile is often the hardest, but we cannot falter in our promise to the children of the world.

You have shown that when we Unite for Good, there is no challenge we cannot meet if we stand together. Let us carry this momentum forward with courage, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to the safety and prosperity of all.

Nearly a year ago, I wrote my first message to you as Rotary Foundation trustee chair, encouraging you and all our members to take a fresh look at the Foundation and its unique way of making the world better.

In the months that followed, I invited Rotary members from around the world to share their own stories about projects they have led with Foundation support. They described the impact they witnessed firsthand and how thousands of lives have been transformed.

Now that you have heard about so many successful projects and the wonderful members and dedicated staff who make them happen, I ask that you, too, become part of this success story.

Your donation to The Rotary Foundation already makes a difference. However, I would like to take it a step further and encourage you to think bigger: Consider making a targeted investment in the area most important to you.

Each of us has a particular passion. Yet we all share something in common: We want people around the world to be better off. In Rotary, your dreams of a better world can become reality with the help of The Rotary Foundation. Because Rotarians don’t just dream — they put their dreams into action. And these actions make a real and lasting difference in so many lives.

With your investment in polio vaccinations, you work to ensure that no child will ever contract polio again. With your investment in Rotary Peace Centers, you contribute to world peace. By investing in our Annual Fund, you ensure that effective projects will continue to be sustainably funded.

Not every contribution to the Foundation needs to be large. Every gift helps us achieve the lasting impact you have read about this year. The world needs Rotary more than ever. It needs our courage, optimism, and commitment to the common good. This is why we need you.

We have a variety of areas of focus in Rotary. Whether you choose to support maternal health in Nigeria, literacy programs in Belize, economic empowerment in communities recovering from hardship, or freshwater protection projects, your investment will create a lasting, measurable impact. Giving to the Foundation is about so much more than funding projects. It’s a way to show compassion and empathy for others. As I have said many times before — and believe more now than ever — everything we do opens an opportunity for someone, somewhere.

I am grateful for this opportunity to serve.