Andrew was born and raised here in Sonoma County. He attended Piner High School and the Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to the University of British Columbia where he earned a bachelor’s of science degree in Agroecology.

During summers back in Sonoma County Andrew worked as an agricultural Program assistant in the pest detection trapping program for the Sonoma County Department of Agriculture. After Graduating from UBC 2005 he began full time work with the Agriculture Department as an Agricultural Biologist.

With more than 12 years in the department Andrew has worked in all the department’s agriculture division programs and has worked in each of the three geographical districts across the county. In June of 2017 Andrew was promoted to Deputy Agricultural Commissioner and supervises Ag staff in the east district of the county, as well as the pest detection trapping staff. Andrew has overseen the development of the crop report for the past 9 years. He is currently the program supervisor for the county’s pest exclusion program, detection trapping program, Crop Statistics, and the county ag department’s newest program, Cannabis. Andrew has been working closely over the past 8 months with other county staff in the Permit and Resource management department, the County Administrator’s office, the economic development board, Environmental health, and county counsel to help develop the county’s cannabis cultivation permitting system.

Andrew is an active member and volunteer with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, sitting on the membership committee, and he also sits on the SRJC Foundation’s Ag Trust Committee. In his free time he enjoys gardening, landscaping, ice hockey and golf. Sundays you can find him walking his dog with his girlfriend Katia on the Santa Rosa Creek Paths.

Randy provided a very detailed description of his experiences in medical device manufacturing and the devices that are produced in Sonoma County. His presentation focused on surgical heart valve replacement and the devices used to accomplish successful replacements.

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.

Elizabeth joins in the classification of Public Relations and was sponsored by Steve Zwick.

She moved to Sonoma County from Ashland, OR about a year ago and has been active with the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

WELCOME LIZ!

Ian H. S. Riseley

President 2017-18

Some years ago in the Melbourne, Australia, museum where my daughter used to work, an iron lung was on display. For most people my age who remembered the terrifying polio epidemics of the 1950s, that iron lung was a testament to how far vaccination had brought us: to the point where that once-critical piece of medical equipment had literally become a museum piece.

For much of the world, the story of polio is a simple one: After years of fear, a vaccine was developed and a disease was conquered. But for some of the world, the story was different. In so many countries, the vaccine wasn’t available, mass vaccination was too expensive, or children simply couldn’t be reached. While the rest of the world relegated polio to its museums, in these countries, the disease continued to rage – until Rotary stepped forward and said that all children, no matter where they lived or what their circumstances, deserved to live free of polio.

In the years since PolioPlus was launched, the combined efforts of Rotary, the governments of the world, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have brought the number of cases of polio down from an estimated 350,000 per year to just a few so far in 2017. But we must reach zero cases, and stay there, to achieve eradication. To do that, we need everyone’s help.

On 24 October, we will mark World Polio Day. It is a day to celebrate how far we have come and an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness and funds to complete the work of eradication.  I ask every Rotary club to participate in some way in World Polio Day activities, and I encourage you to visit endpolio.org for ideas and to register your event. Whether you host a silent auction, a virtual reality viewing, a fundraising walk, or a Purple Pinkie Day, your club can make a real difference.

This year, our World Polio Day livestream event will take place at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters in Seattle; you can watch it on endpolio.org beginning at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. As many of you know, Rotary has committed to raising $50 million a year for the next three years. This amount will be matched 2-to-1 by the Gates Foundation – effectively tripling the value of all money Rotary raises on World Polio Day and throughout the year. Let’s all make a difference on World Polio Day – and help End Polio Now.

Paul A. Netzel

Trustee Chair 2017-18

What do we mean when we talk about peace?

In 1921, the fourth object of Rotary was established: "The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service."

In Rotary today, we see peace not as an abstract concept but as a living, dynamic expression of human development, integral to our humanitarian mission.

Much of our work for peacebuilding depends on the ability of Rotary members to execute three important activities: forming transformative partnerships, raising funds to support our many hundreds of projects, and recruiting and supporting Rotary Peace Fellows in their work.

This year The Rotary Foundation formed a strategic partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace, one of the leading organizations in identifying and measuring the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies.

Through this partnership, Rotary will work with the institute to create an online learning portal for Rotarians and peace fellows to build on their current expertise, apply new methods, and mobilize communities to address the issues underlying conflicts. Our goal is to foster community-based projects in peace and conflict resolution that are practical and impactful.

Rotary has also launched a Rotary Peace Centers Major Gifts Initiative to raise funds for new partnerships while continuing to garner contributions to educate and support our peace fellows and more.

President Ian H.S. Riseley's six peacebuilding conferences – taking place globally from February to June – will explore the relationship among peace, Rotary's areas of focus, and environmental sustainability. Our history proves that you don't need to be a diplomat to make peace.

When you mentor a student struggling to graduate, you are a peacebuilder.

When you launch any project to support economic development in your community, you are building conditions for sustainable peace and conflict management.

When you support and collaborate with a Rotary Peace Fellow, you are advancing peace.

Today's complex conflicts require more creative community-based initiatives. Together we can really make a difference.