Sgt's. at Arm Lorenzo Dueñas and Carmen Gutierez greet members and guests and remind them to take their badges and raffle tickets!

Sharon Wright may be envious of Marina Gachet's birthday recognition.  Marina takes it in grateful stride, President Merle checks off her delivery list!

Olin Leasher knows how to age enthusiastically!

Mike Roa accepts the club's $500 grant from Steve Zwick for the Science Challenge he champions each year.

Steve Zwick presents Elsie Allen Agriculture student and Future Farmer of America Chapter President Mariana Hernandez the Club's $10,000 check toward the program's new goat barn project.

Elsie Allen High School representatives including (center) Principal Mary Gail Stablein and Ag Program Booster President Jim Isaacs presented a wonderful snapshot of the school and gratefully accepted Rotary's $10,000 grant to their upcoming goat barn construction.

Rotarians and Veterans, Peter Treleavan center, recognize the Club's contribution to the now annual City-wide Veterans luncheon. The event is generously supported by city Kiwanis and Rotary Club members.  Elsie Allen High School's fabulous Marching Band and Drum Corps accent the honoring of Veterans.  Financial support also comes from ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, such as Linkenheimer and Morgan Stanley.

Ralph Harryman is reminded of he and Kathy's upcoming anniversary.

President Merle recognizes Ken Petro's 15 years in Rotary and Shauna Lorenzen's 25!

Sunriser Jon Stark looks hale and hearty upon return from his Hawaiian vacation.  Jon was touting the virtues of Maui Memorial Hospital where he credits the staff with his remarkable treatment and recovery from serious health threats including a "small heart attack"!

Jon expresses his gratitude to Merle with the traditional pineapple motif bowl, and some macadamia nuts to fill it.  

Ben Stone, Director of Sonoma County Economic Development Board outlined the strengths of our fortunate enterprise diversity:  Tourism with it's allied service sector, manufacturing which includes wine making and our "creative" , artisan niches contribute to our current robust 206,000 jobs, a gain of 26,000 over the slump of 2008.

Better luck next time Harry:  A white marble is nice, but the black one is beautiful, and takes the pot.

On a regular basis, our resident photo pros Warren Smith and Jack Strange submit 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 and Ross! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!

Additional photos may be found on the SR Sunrise Facebook Page.

John F. Germ

President 2016-17

On 23 February, we will mark 112 years since the founding of Rotary. It is incredible to think about how much has changed, in our world and in our organization, since the first Rotary club met in Chicago with Paul Harris as a founding member.

Some things are easy to compare between now and 1905. There have been changes in technology, medicine, and society. When we look at a map of the world in 1905 and a map of the world today, we can see what’s different. What we can’t do is compare what is with what might have been. There is no way to compare our world as it exists now with the world as it would have been without Rotary.

Rotary has risen to so many challenges in its 112 years. We’ve answered conflict with peace, and poverty with education. We’ve responded to a lack of basic health care with projects large and small, from equipping clinics in tiny villages to eradicating polio across the globe.

We will never know how different the world would have been if Rotary had never been founded; if any one Rotary club had never been chartered; or if any single Rotarian had declined the invitation to join a Rotary club.

But I will say, with absolute faith and complete confidence, that the world is a far, far better place now than it would have been without Rotary and that Rotary itself is stronger because of every one of you.

The world needs Rotary more than ever. It needs our courage, our optimism, and our idealism. It needs the voice of tolerance, cooperation, and hope that we can offer. It needs the example of an organization that has proven that the citizens of all countries can work together successfully, gladly, and in friendship.

None of us ever knows the full impact of our actions. None of us knows the effects that will ripple out from the things we do and say, the decisions we make, the opportunities we seize, and those we let pass. But I think we all know that when we choose to do good, good will follow; and that when we choose Service Above Self as our life’s path, the direction it will take us will be a good one.

No one can see the future. No one knows what changes lie ahead. But I have faith in Rotary, and in Rotarians, that with every passing year, you will make our world a better place through Rotary Serving Humanity.

Kalyan Banerjee

Trustee Chair 2016-17

Our Foundation’s long commitment to peace

This February, let’s celebrate the success of our Rotary Peace Centers and the important work that graduates of the program are doing throughout the world to honor Peace and Conflict Prevention/ Resolution Month. I think it’s also important to note that the launch of the peace centers in 2002 built on many decades of peacebuilding  efforts supported by our Foundation.

In the 1930s, clubs in France and Germany formed the first petit comité, now known as an intercountry committee. Both countries were still recovering from a devastating war, but the former adversaries knew that peace, however fragile, was worth keeping. Although a second world war dashed their hopes, these peace-minded Rotarians reconvened in 1950. Since then, Rotarians have formed 250 intercountry committees to promote international friendship and service.

Rotarians have long believed that international understanding develops most quickly through personal relationships. Before study abroad programs and international business travel became commonplace, our Foundation sent scholars and young professionals to other countries to experience different ways of living and doing business. For many participants, these life-changing adventures helped them view the world through the eyes of their hosts, who often became close friends.

Every year, our Foundation allocates millions of dollars for projects that attack the root causes of conflict – lack of access to education, health care, economic opportunity, clean water, and adequate sanitation. Our global grants have a unique requirement that moves the needle on peace even further: To qualify, project sponsors must include clubs from at least two countries. In addition to combining local knowledge with international and Foundation resources, these projects build friendships that often lead to long-lasting service relationships between the sponsoring clubs.

Of course, one of the best places to form international friendships is at our annual convention, where Rotarians from dozens of countries come together. This year in Atlanta, we will celebrate The Rotary Foundation’s 100 years of Doing Good in the World. I hope you will join me and thousands of your fellow Rotarians for the biggest birthday party of the year!