Alaska & America's Public Lands & Waters: Why do they Matter to Americans?
Fran has been the Chair of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) globally, and she now serves on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). She is former Lt. Governor of Alaska, Chancellor of the University of Alaska/Anchorage, and visiting professor at Stanford and Harvard. Fran's topic is of great importance to us all in light of threats to our public lands and waters: Synopsis: Alaska’s vast area contains a variety of our country’s treasures, from the largest oil deposit ever discovered in North America to 60% of all of our national park lands. Management decisions regarding the utilization and the protection of these Alaska public lands and public lands and waters in other U.S. States have local and national implications. In what ways do these decisions impact you?
Joy in Action, Presented by Sunrise President Lori Rodrigues
Our very special speaker for Thursday, February12, 2026 was our own Sunrise President, Lori Rodrigues, with a little help from other club members. Lori presided over an interactive group discussion of “Joy in Action: Serving, Connecting, and Thriving.” The topic grew out of a previous interactive discussion about grief, which helped Lori get to know fellow club members on a deeper level. In addition to her service as our club president and her other Sunrise activities, Lori is a CPA and has years of experience handling tax returns, negotiating tax disputes, and even working for the IRS!
Lori’s presentation included a brief introduction, with thoughts from poet Mary Oliver and author Sue Monk (“The Secret Life of Bees”), thought-inducing suggestions and questions for group discussion, and a brief summary of the results of the group discussions. The group suggestions/questions included members sharing small moments of joy from the past week and describing they joy felt in Rotary. The small moments of joy mentioned by members ranged from a member hearing that their cancer is in remission, a member's new golf swing designed to overcome a disability, a videotaped amazing grandchild interaction, a member’s joy in working with people through Rotary, and the simple joys of singing and eating a steak! The joyful Rotary moments were also varied and included the weekly joy of attending a Rotary meeting, hearing our wonderful speakers, appreciating the humor of our Rotarians during our meetings and events, and the many opportunities Sunrisers have to give back to the community. Here's link to a joyous video Lori provided with her meeting slides. YouTube video about Joy
Many thanks to Lori and the group leaders for presenting this thoughtful and rewarding discussion. We live in a particularly challenging time and it helps to remember the importance of joy plays in our daily lives. As the poet Mary Oliver wrote: “it is a serious thing // just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.”
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 fitting Valentine lovers' tribute was delivered with humor and honesty in the intimate closeness of Luther Burbank Center's full Carston Cabaret.
The multi-generational audience of friends, fans and lovers had their attention held in the two-part 90-minute dialogue between fictional friends to lovers Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner.
Chris Smith aka Andy Ladd in the production was greeted by many friends and colleagues from his Press Democrat days. Here, Linda waves her heady hearts to Chris' debut.
"Love Letters" written by A. R. Gurney has been performed for over 50 years by actors including Steve Allen, Christopher Reeves and Julie Hagerty. This local production was a fundraiser for Santa Rosa YWCA, a strong community partner in women's health advocacy. Madeline Keegan O'Connell current Executive Director of our local YWCA created compassionate characterization of Ms Gardner from her 8th birthday through the next 50 eventful years!
During intermission, Mr. Sawyer of E.R. Sawyer Jewelers drew for the Hearts Afire pendant he donated. In a twist of luck his name was drawn. He offered to auction it or draw again and this time a lady's name was drawn much to her delight!
Congratulating Chris are Rich and Betsy Randolph, friends and lovers and total fans of "Love Letters" For the second time in 46 years privileged to hear a Christopher read his letters: in the early 1980's Christopher Reeves and Julie Hagerty read their parts in the Curran Theater San Francisco. Newlyweds Rich and Betsy were fortunate to hear them.
Kudos to Chris and Madeline! Long live Love Letters, written and read!
A charity wine auction by the Rotary Club of Budapest-Margitsziget in November sold off over 100 bottles. Local wineries and three other clubs — Berlin-Gendarmenmarkt, Milano Sud-Ovest, and Paris-Quai d’Orsay — donated signature wines from their countries. The fundraiser’s attendance nearly doubled from 2024 and helped raise about $17,000 for the Fellegajtó Nyitogatók Foundation, which is constructing a residential home for children with disabilities. “We are delighted by the outcome, which far surpassed our expectations,” says Ferenc Szénási, the club president. “It is a great joy to see how the strength of community can bring real change.”
Mauritius
On the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, Rotarians are helping the country shift from an agricultural economy dominated by sugar to one centered on technology, banking, and tourism. The Rotary Club of Haute Rive joined the Ministry of Education to coordinate a job and education fair to connect job seekers with employers in hospitality, financial services, information technology, manufacturing, education, retail, and other industries. “For many, it was a first-time experience of being seen, heard, and valued in a professional setting,” says Deeksha Bundhoo, a member of the club, which has since established a mentorship program. Government officials lauded the outreach. “The fair represents a bridge between the aspirations of our youth and the evolving needs of our industries,” says Mahend Gungapersad, the country’s minister of education and human resource, who attended the fair with other senior officials and members of Parliament.
This story originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.
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A charity wine auction by the Rotary Club of Budapest-Margitsziget in November sold off over 100 bottles. Local wineries and three other clubs — Berlin-Gendarmenmarkt, Milano Sud-Ovest, and Paris-Quai d’Orsay — donated signature wines from their countries. The fundraiser’s attendance nearly doubled from 2024 and helped raise about $17,000 for the Fellegajtó Nyitogatók Foundation, which is constructing a residential home for children with disabilities. “We are delighted by the outcome, which far surpassed our expectations,” says Ferenc Szénási, the club president. “It is a great joy to see how the strength of community can bring real change.”
On the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, Rotarians are helping the country shift from an agricultural economy dominated by sugar to one centered on technology, banking, and tourism. The Rotary Club of Haute Rive joined the Ministry of Education to coordinate a job and education fair to connect job seekers with employers in hospitality, financial services, information technology, manufacturing, education, retail, and other industries. “For many, it was a first-time experience of being seen, heard, and valued in a professional setting,” says Deeksha Bundhoo, a member of the club, which has since established a mentorship program. Government officials lauded the outreach. “The fair represents a bridge between the aspirations of our youth and the evolving needs of our industries,” says Mahend Gungapersad, the country’s minister of education and human resource, who attended the fair with other senior officials and members of Parliament.