Last Thursday's meeting ~ A New Rotary Year and a 37-year Rotary Anniversary Reflection.
Our gavel was officially handed to our new President Debra Robertson. She led the meeting with grace and confidence to a full house at Franchetti's.
After a flurry of important announcements and delicious food, our club had the honor to listen to the reflections of our "Fab Four" members. Warren Smith, Dave Lorenzen, Kent Seegmiller, and Peter Trelevan founded Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary in the mid 1980's. Their dedication and open mindedness set the foundation for what our club is today: robust, inclusive, and dynamic. Santa Rosa Sunrise was the first Sunrise Club to be created in the area, and created more opportunities for professionals with busy work schedules to attend before their work day began.
Our club became a provisional club last minute-June 30, 1986 with 32 members. Warren Smith led the charge as our first president. The weekly bulletin was created during his year, and the club held rip roaring meetings in the back room of Carrows restaurant.
The Fab Four recounted the handful of other venues they met throughout the years before settling on our current meeting location: Franchetti's. The Hilton was a lack luster venture that did not provide a welcoming environment for our group; therefore, the club decided to venture next door to the Fountain Grove Inn for its lively meetings. We met there until its untimely demise as a result to the Tubbs Fire in 2017.
Dave Lorenzen, our club historian and master data extraordinaire shared with us that shortly after the club became part of the district, Del Raby joined. He then was elected District Governor, and Santa Rosa Sunrise became the host club. Del was deeply inspired by recent past DG John Blount's District Conference where there was a slide show. Del was determined to knock all members of the district's socks off with a more evolved slide show. Santa Rosa Sunrise, small but mighty team hit that slide show out of the park. This was one example of our willingness to be adaptable and creative with technology.
The Fab Four talked with enthusiasm about our first female member to be sworn into the club: Vickie Lockner. Vickie's contributions to the club throughout the decades have been profound. This opened the door for other strong, successful women to join including Shauna Lorenzen and Nancy Aita who continued to help pave the way for an inclusive club.
The decades long friendship and partnership with Rotarians in Kagoshima was initiated by former member Dan Lambert. This led to our SRKSEP program that positively impacted Santa Rosa high school students as well as Japanese students. Many lifelong friendships were forged with this program.
Besides ongoing, impactful service projects and fundraisers, this club knows how to party! Their first fundraiser turned into a "fun-raiser" at a local brewery where Dave Lorenzen announced that they "broke even" at the event. Then there was the early 1990's volleyball team. A lot of grit, passion, short shorts and tube socks were in the mix.
The Fab Four did an excellent job showing everyone how our club has evolved. From its inception Santa Rosa Sunrise has held its values of "service above self" close to its heart. Warren, Dave, Peter, and Kent are to thank for forming this foundation, and it is a source of pride for all of us to be members of this club.
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!
Even as we face new and serious challenges, Rotary takes care of its members and those we serve, works to build lasting peace, and embeds belonging and inclusion in everything we do. That is why I am asking everyone in Rotary to Create Hope in the World.
This year, we’re prioritizing projects to support mental health. This effort is deeply personal to me. I know what it’s like to see someone suffer in silence. I have also witnessed the power of personal connections, the value of discussing emotional and mental well-being, and the lifesaving impact of preventive care and treatment.
Research shows that performing acts of kindness is an effective step any of us can take to protect our well-being. And by building peace within, we become more capable of bringing peace to the world.
Building peace is the essence of Rotary. Many of our service projects foster the conditions for Positive Peace. We work tirelessly to overcome barriers and create new connections. This year, we’ll promote virtual international exchanges for members to strengthen those vital connections.
Peace isn’t a dream, and it’s not passive. It’s the result of working hard, earning trust, and having open conversations that may be difficult. Peace must be waged persistently — and bravely. Everything we do across our areas of focus has the potential to foster the hope that can make peace possible.
The spirit of connection and purpose should inspire every Rotary member. When club leaders focus on offering an excellent club experience, we retain more members and attract more prospective members. We must make our clubs as welcoming and as engaging as we can.
Our goal is to create a sense of belonging, from our club meetings to our service activities. We need to continue creating inclusive, welcoming environments where everyone can be their authentic selves. All people of action need to be able to imagine a place for themselves in Rotary — it’s up to us to ensure they can do so.
Over the next year, I will be putting a focus on continuing our journey in diversity, equity, and inclusion — ensuring that Rotary reflects the communities we serve and continues to take significant steps toward accessing the full range of human talents and experiences, so that we can better serve humanity. And we will continue to empower women and girls by helping them unlock the potential already within them.
As we begin this journey together, I take inspiration from Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, who in the 18th century spoke of all the world becoming kin, promoting “sense and worth, over all the earth.” This has long been my call to action, and I share it now with you.
Let us build peace within and spread it freely. Let us create belonging and imagine the future of Rotary afresh. Let us work together joyously and Create Hope in the World.
I love Rotary for many reasons, perhaps most of all for the impact we make when we work together. There is really no other group like us.
In the last five years, The Rotary Foundation has helped 100 million beneficiaries. That is staggering.
But the need is great. There are countless more we could be reaching and supporting right now if we had the resources. We could reach twice as many in the next five years. And your fellow Rotaractors and Rotarians are ready to help. They're hungry for more grants to help more people who need us.
That's why, this year, The Rotary Foundation Trustees have set an ambitious goal for giving of $500 million, our highest ever.
This breaks down to $150 million for the Annual Fund to help fund grants and $50 million for polio eradication, to be matched by $100 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For the Endowment Fund and our future, we are targeting $60 million in outright giving and $80 million in commitments, totaling $140 million. And we want to collect $60 million in other contributions, such as direct giving, cash for global grants, and Disaster Response Fund donations.
To make this happen, we need all of you — each and every Rotarian and Rotaractor.
Did you know that over 80 percent of Rotary members make no contributions to PolioPlus, or that over 60 percent make no donation at all to The Rotary Foundation? For an organization of 1.4 million members, that means that nearly 1 million of us are not contributing each year.
Imagine the tremendous difference it would make if each of those 1 million could contribute just $25 a year. That would be $25 million we wouldn't need to raise from our best donors.
We can all give something. That's why I am asking each of you to set a goal to give what you can to The Rotary Foundation this year.
Never have we set such an audacious goal, but I believe that you, who make up Rotary, always respond to a challenge, especially when you see the difference we can make with those funds. We are part of an audacious organization, one that dreams big and makes our dreams a reality.
Let's think bigger and differently this year, so we can meet our goal and do more to Create Hope in the World. In this way, we will make the Rotary year ahead an unforgettable one, not just for ourselves, but most importantly, for those whose lives we will soon touch.
Scotsman will take office as president of Rotary International on 1 July
Second Scot to lead the membership service organization will focus on mental health
EVANSTON, Ill., USA (30 June 2023) — Gordon McInally, member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, Lothian, Scotland, will begin his one-year term as president of Rotary International on 1 July 2023.
During his term, McInally will focus on steering the global membership service organization with an emphasis on mental health, recognizing its critical role in community well-being worldwide. McInally aims to create a culture that understands and supports mental health, while working to reduce stigma, increase awareness, and improve access to mental health services. With 1.4 million members in 200 countries and regions, Rotary will continue to actively address mental health as part of its ongoing efforts to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
“Mental health has often been a less talked-about aspect of wellness. However, in a world grappling with various challenges, it is imperative that we bring mental health to the forefront. Rotary, with its widespread network, has the capacity to foster dialogue and support,” said McInally. “By emphasizing mental health, we can make a considerable difference in communities around the world. This is about nurturing humanity for a better tomorrow.”
Rotary members—including those in nearly 200 Rotary clubs in Scotland as well as throughout the world—develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment. More than US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation—Rotary’s charitable arm that helps clubs work together to perform meaningful, impactful service—to support these initiatives over the last 100 years.
As head of Rotary’s global network of 46,000 clubs, McInally will also oversee Rotary’s top goal of eradicating polio. Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9% reduction in polio cases, and contributed more than US$2.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children from this paralyzing disease.
About Gordon McInally: McInally a graduate of dental surgery at the University of Dundee, owned and operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh. He was the chair of the East of Scotland branch of the British Paedodontic Society and has also served in other charitable organizations including as an ambassador for Bipolar UK and as a patron of the UK-based nonprofit Hope and Homes for Children.
A member of Rotary since 1984, McInally has been president and vice president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. McInally and his wife, Heather, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation. They are also members of the Bequest Society.
About Rotary:Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
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