Catholic Charities offers various programs that challenge poverty, provide counseling for immigrants, and care for seniors in the Diocese of Santa Rosa. Services include shelter and housing support for families and single adults, rural food distribution, immigration counseling to provide a path to US citizenship or a green card, Alzheimer respite care, benefits enrollment, and Home Alone calling for seniors. The Diocese includes Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

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.

For other formats, sizes and lists, including past members, click here. 

Ian H. S. Riseley

President 2017-18

In Rotary, our diversity is our strength. This idea dates back to the earliest years of our organization, when the classification system was first proposed. The idea behind it was simple: that a club with members who had a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities would be capable of better service than one without.

In the years since, the idea of diversity in Rotary has come to be defined more broadly. We have discovered that a club that truly represents its community is far better able to serve that community effectively. Looking ahead, it is clear how essential diversity will remain in Rotary: not only to strong service today, but to a strong organization in the future.

One of the most pressing aspects of diversity to address in our membership is the age of our members. When you look around at almost any Rotary event, it becomes immediately obvious that the age range in the room does not promise a sustainable future for our organization. Our membership is near a record high, and we are bringing in new members all the time – yet only a small minority of those members are young enough to have decades of Rotary service ahead of them. To ensure a strong and capable Rotary leadership tomorrow, we need to bring in young and capable members today.

We also cannot discuss diversity in Rotary without addressing the issue of gender. It is difficult to imagine that just three decades ago, women could not join Rotary. Although we have come a long way since then, the legacy of that misguided policy is still with us. Far too many people continue to think of Rotary as an organization only for men, and that idea has had a detrimental effect on both our public image and our membership growth. Today, women make up just over 21 percent of Rotary's membership. While this is certainly a great improvement, we have a long way to go to meet what should be the goal of every club: a gender balance that matches the balance of our world, with as many women in Rotary as men.

Whatever brought each of us to Rotary, we stay because we find value in Rotary membership and believe that our service has value to the world. By building clubs that reflect that world in all its diversity, we will build even more enduring value in Rotary: Making a Difference.

Paul A. Netzel

Trustee Chair 2017-18

We are at the halfway point of this Rotary year. There is plenty to look forward to in 2018 as we complete the first year of The Rotary Foundation's second century of service. By working in partnership with our Foundation, Rotarians are making a difference in ways we could never have imagined when we began.

First, our signature polio eradication initiative continues to bring us closer to the historic day of a polio-free world. Following our tremendous World Polio Day event in Seattle, and the thousands of local events hosted by Rotary members around the world, we are keeping up the momentum to reach this year's polio fundraising goal of $50 million (including District Designated Fund contributions). We are already closing in on that target thanks, in part, to the efforts of Rotarians and friends who participated in the recent Miles to End Polio bike ride to raise funds for the cause.

Second, our Foundation's comprehensive fundraising target of $360 million this year will empower you and other Rotarians to continue helping people all over the world.

In addition, the Building TRF Endowment: 2025 by 2025 initiative is progressing well. Our goal is to build an endowment of $2.025 billion by 2025 to ensure the long-term financial stability of the Foundation and provide essential resources well into the future.

Another emphasis relates to our work in peacebuilding and the Rotary Peace Centers program. Applications for Rotary Peace Fellowships become available this month. Be on the lookout for great candidates and support our Peace Fellow alumni in the field by inviting them to work with you as advisers on your projects.

Between February and June, RI President Ian H.S. Riseley is convening six Presidential Peacebuilding Conferences, which will showcase the connections between our work in each area of focus and sustainable peace. You are invited to attend!

Of course, the biggest event of the Rotary year will be the 2018 Rotary International Convention in Toronto from 23 to 27 June. We will celebrate not only the highlights of this Rotary year, but also the 50th anniversary of Rotaract.

In the new year, let us continue to show that we are People of Action! And let the world take notice: We Rotarians are Making a Difference.