Tom Kelber is a retired resident of Oakmont who volunteers his time for health and life-related causes. He worked over 25 years in the credit union industry and 10 years for Southern California Edison, a major electrical utility. He is a graduate of Cal Poly, Pomona, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management & Human Resources. He is also certified in Project Management, Personal Training, Health Coaching, and Nutrition.

He became interested in health-related causes due to being a heart patient, and having to care more about his own health. Fitness, family, food, gardening, and the outdoors fill most of his leisure time. He currently volunteers for the Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) as a Medicare Counselor and Educator, and also in the Speaker’s Bureau of Final Exit Network (FEN) for death with dignity and end-of-life rights.

Our speaker for Thursday, January 8, 2026, was Nancy Brown, PhD, Community Preparedness Program Manager for Sonoma County’s Department of Emergency Management. Dr. Brown received her master’s degree from Long Beach State University and her PhD from Massey University in New Zealand. She worked in emergency preparedness for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim from 2012 to 2015. She joined Sonoma County in her current position in 2019.

Nancy believes that one of the most important keys to surviving emergencies is to know your neighbors. People often get left behind in natural disasters for a variety of reasons, including not hearing about the disaster until it’s too late and not discussing what needs to be done with neighbors in advance. Her department includes 20 emergency managers, many of whom work with neighborhood leaders in community support programs that help communities prepare for disasters. Nancy says, “meet your streets” so that you and your neighbors know how to stay in contact in an emergency.

Key concepts in preparedness include staying informed, making a plan, and having a kit. To stay informed, you can sign up with the SoCoAlert, the NOAA Weather Channel (buy a radio from Amazon), Nixle, socoemergecy.org, and CivicReady. The Department also publishes a Personal Emergency Plan, including personal information and contact information, and checklists for your “go bag,” sheltering in place,” and evacuation information. Your “go bag” should include food and water for 3 days plus clothes, blankets, battery-operated radio, and prescriptions, etc. (The Personal Emergency Plan has a complete checklist.) You should also have a “sheltering-in-place” kit, including 1 gallon of water per day per person, food for 7 days, and other items. Other ideas for being prepared are having emergency out-of-state phone numbers, since those locations may be accessible when local numbers are down, and knowing your emergency zone.

Thank you, Nancy, for all of the great information you provided, and for working to improve and safeguard our community. Note, you can find much of this information, and a lot more, on socoemergency.org.

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!

It took 8 years, but I finally installed a Sunrise Rotary Plaque to the pump house & grape arbor our club built for Glen Oaks Ranch right after the 2017 Tubbs fire.

In a garage outside Salinas, California, young people who are learning to restore classic cars are doing more than developing a skill — they are reclaiming their futures. This training program provides mentorship and, for some, a path away from gang involvement toward meaningful employment. Graduates leave with certifications, practical experience, and hope.

This is what Rotary’s Vocational Service Month celebrates each January — the power of bringing together people with unique skills to do good in the world. It reminds us that integrity isn’t just about our actions matching our words. Integrity is in everything we do.

The California automotive program has been such a success because it was built on integrity. Members of the Rotary Club of Carmel-by-the-Sea didn’t assume they knew what the community needed. They listened. They learned there was a shortage of skilled mechanics as well as a large number of young people lacking job training. They recognized that technical skills alone wouldn’t be enough, so they partnered with Rancho Cielo, a nonprofit offering counseling and support services alongside vocational training.

That is The Four-Way Test in action. Those four simple questions help us not judge others but guide us toward genuine, effective service.

Consider our commitment to ending polio. For nearly 40 years, we have promised the world’s children we will eliminate this disease. Despite obstacles, we persist, and today we are closer to defeating the virus. Keeping this promise is the very definition of integrity.

The same integrity must drive our vocational service. With 1.2 billion young people in emerging economies reaching working age in the next decade and only 420 million jobs projected, we face a critical gap. Communities long excluded from economic opportunities need our support.

But support doesn’t mean imposing our will. It means listening to local needs, building partnerships, and designing projects that communities can sustain themselves.

You have knowledge that can transform lives. Whatever your profession, your expertise combined with Rotary’s values creates lasting change. The question isn’t whether you have something to offer, it’s how you’ll use your skills to serve.

This January, I encourage you to ask how your club can address vocational needs in your community. What skills do your members have that could change someone’s life? How can your networks open doors for young people? What partnerships can create sustainable jobs?

Let integrity guide you. Let The Four-Way Test light your path. And let the young people in California and the multitudes worldwide who need job skills remind you why vocational service matters.

Let us celebrate putting our professional skills to work for humanity with integrity at the heart of everything we do.

When we think of global projects at Rotary, we often think of the cooperation between two clubs or districts that goes into Rotary Foundation global grants. These efforts form the backbone of our international grant activities. Yet we have also seen how larger projects can have even greater impact by attracting significant partners and long-term funding. These initiatives are measurable and visible, attracting yet more partners and new Rotary members who see the work in action.

Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, one of the Foundation’s Programs of Scale, embodies this vision. I asked Dolapo Lufadeju, a Rotarian from Nigeria and co-founder of the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health, to share why this model has been so successful:

Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, which began in 2022, aims to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths by 25 percent. We focus on training doctors, midwives, nurses, and community health extension workers in emergency obstetrics, neonatal care, respectful maternity practices, and long-acting reversible contraceptives.

The most vital aspect is community engagement. We conduct dialogues with traditional, religious, and youth leaders. We are organizing joint medical outreach and home visitations. State ministries of health are increasingly adopting these approaches as part of their primary health care interventions, using the template and methodologies Rotary developed.

Our electronic data-tracking system allows better monitoring of maternal and child deaths. Notably, our community-based system now tracks maternal deaths during home deliveries, something previously unmeasured.

Most significantly, maternal deaths dropped by 20 percent and neonatal deaths decreased by 28 percent in supported facilities, while postnatal clinic attendance increased by 10 percent.

I am also a member of the action group and have followed this project for over 20 years, long before it was awarded a Programs of Scale grant. In November I observed the dedicated work there of the teams with midwives and health workers.

This evolution shows what’s possible when Rotary dedication meets strategic partnerships. The program’s success prompted Nigerian philanthropist Sir Emeka Offor to contribute $5 million, allowing the initiative to expand. Other countries are interested in this model.

Every contribution you make to The Rotary Foundation strengthens its power as a global force for change that channels your generosity into lasting transformation.