Melissa Stewart has been at Chop’s Teen Club for 23 years and has been focused on youth development in Sonoma County for nearly twenty-six years. For thirteen years, Melissa served Chop's as the Program & Events Director and is now Executive Director. She is passionate about creating an environment and opportunities that empower youth to expand their capacity to be confident and well-prepared for whatever future endeavors they pursue. Melissa has worked closely with teens of different cultural and economic backgrounds and helped to create programs focused on mentorship, sexual orientation, gender, juvenile justice, and much more.
Keith Rogal: The Sonoma Development Center Community
Our speaker for October 16, 2025, was Keith Rogal, a property developer based in Napa known as a visionary in reimagining obsolete properties into world-class communities. His notable projects include the Carneros Inn in Napa Valley and the Napa Pipe redevelopment project, including a large, family-friendly residential community currently under construction. Keith is a proponent of “New Urbanism”, a movement in urban planning that promotes walkable, mixed-use communities. Keith’s company is one of the two main developers of the Sonoma Development Center, which plans to use these principles to transform the Sonoma Developmental Center into a vibrant community destination.
Keith’s vision for the SDC property is a walkable, mixed-use community, with a village-like feel and environmental sustainability. The project involves developing 17% of the 945-acre site, retaining 785 acres as open space, including parkland and a wildlife corridor. The plan preserves the main SDC building and central green as a public gathering place with various neighborhoods interconnected by streets and sidewalks. The development will include a mix of housing types, commercial spaces, and a privately funded library, with flexibility for multiple builders and users. A hotel is planned for a distinct area with significant grade changes offering views of the surrounding countryside. The master plan envisions 990 residences, including townhomes, duplexes, market rate apartments, and small single-family homes. 200 of these residences will be affordable housing units. The residential area will include 67 acres of parks. The commercial area will be in the center of the development surrounded by the residential and open areas. The village-like feel will be heightened by continuous walkable sidewalks throughout the project. All residential garages will be behind the homes.
The development’s first environmental impact review was successfully challenged in court because of a variety of problems, including its failure to thoroughly examine the project’s impact and reliance on unsupported conclusions. The EIR process is now ongoing, and the team is working to address the concerns raised in a recent lawsuit. Keith also addressed concerns raised by Sunrisers about traffic impact, especially the evacuation of area residents during fire events. Keith explained that traffic models are extremely complicated and can account for varied work schedules, increased work-from-home schedules, and the fact that the development would be built over multiple years. The development team plans to conduct new evacuation studies with the sheriff's department and fire experts to address safety concerns. The development will have 100% new housing and sprinkler systems. Keith also noted that the project will include a complete rebuild and upgrade of utilities, including water, sewer, and power lines, as well as the addition of new fire stations and a central evacuation point. Keith believes that the new EIR will address and answer questions about the development’s impact on traffic in the Highway 12 corridor.
Many thanks to Keith for the interesting and highly relevant discussion of the effort to recycle the Sonoma Development Center into a completely new mixed residential/commercial property.
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of Keith Rogel's presentation.
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!
A boy tells his father that his gym teacher wants to meet with him. “What’d you do?” the dad asks. “He said I was aiming for kid’s heads during dodgeball,” the boy explains. “Well did you win?” “Yes, I did” “That’s my boy. I’ll talk to your gym teacher soon,” the dad decides.
The next day, the boy says his band teacher wants to see him. “Why’s that?” he says. “She said to play louder, so I played as loud as I could.” The father laughs, “Well you did what she asked. I’ll drop by soon to talk to him.”
Two days later, the father says he is going to school to meet the teachers. The boy admits: “Well you don’t have to go now, I got expelled today.” Confused, the father asks why. “I got called to the principal’s office, and there was my gym teacher, band teacher, and art teacher there.” “What the f*ck was the art teacher doing there?” questions the father. “That’s exactly what I said!”
Rotary members and their partners in service come together each World Polio Day on 24 October to recognize progress in the fight to end the disease. Here is a sample of the ways members are taking action to make history and eradicate polio.
There may be no better way to spotlight (literally!) polio awareness than through the can’t-miss illuminations of global landmarks. Those monuments have included the Sydney Opera House, London’s Houses of Parliament, Rome’s Colosseum, the Egyptian pyramids, Scottish castles, and more. For World Polio Day 2024, the Rotary and Rotaract clubs in the Pisa area teamed up with community leaders to turn the floodlights on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. “This is a commitment that we wanted to share together precisely to reach a wider audience,” the club presidents noted in a statement. They’ve showcased historic buildings for about 25 years and the city’s signature tower over the past five. The clubs also had a video about polio eradication shown on monitors at the Pisa Airport.
Ghana
In the port city of Tema, more than 300 Rotarians, Rotaractors, and partners stepped out in October 2024 for a twilight World Polio Day walk. A campaign surrounding the action included a “polio tower” lighted for the occasion, signage, and a sea of End Polio Now T-shirts donned by participants. The Rotary Club of Tema-Community 25 led the effort, which was supported by the Rotary clubs of Tema and Tema Meridian, as well as the Ghana PolioPlus Committee. The involvement of 25 Rotaract and Interact clubs contributed to the sizable turnout, says club member Elizabeth Ahiagba. “Participants distributed educational materials, engaged commuters and residents, and advocated for vigilance, particularly among families with young children,” Ahiagba says.
This story originally appeared in the October 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary projects make a difference in communities around the world.
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There may be no better way to spotlight (literally!) polio awareness than through the can’t-miss illuminations of global landmarks. Those monuments have included the Sydney Opera House, London’s Houses of Parliament, Rome’s Colosseum, the Egyptian pyramids, Scottish castles, and more. For World Polio Day 2024, the Rotary and Rotaract clubs in the Pisa area teamed up with community leaders to turn the floodlights on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. “This is a commitment that we wanted to share together precisely to reach a wider audience,” the club presidents noted in a statement. They’ve showcased historic buildings for about 25 years and the city’s signature tower over the past five. The clubs also had a video about polio eradication shown on monitors at the Pisa Airport.
In the port city of Tema, more than 300 Rotarians, Rotaractors, and partners stepped out in October 2024 for a twilight World Polio Day walk. A campaign surrounding the action included a “polio tower” lighted for the occasion, signage, and a sea of End Polio Now T-shirts donned by participants. The Rotary Club of Tema-Community 25 led the effort, which was supported by the Rotary clubs of Tema and Tema Meridian, as well as the Ghana PolioPlus Committee. The involvement of 25 Rotaract and Interact clubs contributed to the sizable turnout, says club member Elizabeth Ahiagba. “Participants distributed educational materials, engaged commuters and residents, and advocated for vigilance, particularly among families with young children,” Ahiagba says.