For our interactive program on May 18, member Ezbon Jen is going to start us off by sharing a significant life-changing experience which led to his vibrant (and still active) career in public health.
We then want to hear from YOU—whether you’re actively working or now retired!
Why did you select your career/profession (choose one, if you have had more than one career!)
Who was your most influential mentor(s)?
If you had to start over, (fill in the blank and answer your own question)!
Some of us probably don’t even know or remember what one or more other Rotarians in our club “do” or “did” for a living (especially if a name badge says “retired”)! Let’s find out together and have some fun!
Elsie Allen Interact Club's 2022-2023 Retrospective
Our speakers for May 11, 2023, were the Elsie Allen Interactors, who gave us a great summary of their academic year as Interact officers and participants. Sunriser Merle Hayes introduced the speakers and gave us some background on the status of Elsie Allen Interact. We also heard from Doug Gibson, the Interact Advisor. Doug is a math and physics teacher and is in his 15th year at Elsie. Doug has been the Interact Adviser for 8+ years. This was an interesting year for Interact because it “restarted” this academic year after several years of inactivity due to Covid.
The speakers included Johnny, the 2022-2023 President. Johnny told us that the Interact Club of Elsie Allen has 30 students and meets every Wednesday at lunch. At the meetings they plan their projects and activities. The goal is to help the community and have fun. He noted that it was easy to restart Interact at Elsie because the club members were all friends and worked cooperatively. During its existence, Elsie Allen Interact has contributed over 400 hours of community service. Their key accomplishments this year included working at local food banks, distributing food at the fair, working with Toys for Kids, planting trees in the community, the creek clean-up, and working at the Elsie Allen beautification day. Maria and Jennifer also spoke briefly. They were Interact’s community service leaders with the most community service hours. Maria joined Interact this year even though she didn’t know what it was before she joined. She had free time and found that Interact allowed her to make friends and help her community. Jennifer also joined because she wanted to help the community. Interact allowed her to do things this year that she could not have done had she not joined. Jennifer also sold the most candy for the club, and she sold another at auction during the meeting. She has a talent for sales and fundraising!
Merle also mentioned Interact’s recent trip to Alliance Redwoods. 22 students attended and each earned 10 hours of service time. For many of these high school students the Alliance Redwood trip was the first time in their lives that they spent the night away from home! Merle also thanked Sunrise Rotarians Max Childs, Shauna Lorenzen, Jim and Melinda Moir, Steve Herron, Steve Zwick, Penny Millar, and Paul O’Rear for helping transport the kids to and from Alliance Redwoods.
Well done Elsie Interact! Each of the students gave very articulate and engaging presentations. Elsie students continue to amaze us with their cool, calm, collected and informative talks! Thank you for getting up so early to give us this valuable update and thanks to Merle and Doug for their dedication to Elsie Allen Interact!
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!
In his own words: "Success resides within me and will bear fruit when I know myself, accept myself, activate myself and enjoy myself."
Jon's family invites friends to attend his funeral mass Monday May 22 10:00 AM at St. Eugene's Cathedral San
OBITUARY: Jon M. Stark
It is with sadness that we share that Jon Milford Stark, 93, of Santa Rosa passed away peacefully on May 2, 2023, at his home with his beloved wife and his daughter by his side. He was a generous, hardworking member of his community who loved his family very much. Jon is survived by his wife of 60 years, Maria Teresita (Terry) Esteva; his daughter, Annemarie and her husband, James Bailey; his son, Eric and his wife, Jeannette Schram of Portland, Maine; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Jon was born April 11, 1930, at the start of the Great Depression to Vernon and Dorothy (Anderson) in the small town of Dayton, Iowa. Although not a farming family, he grew up connected to rural life as his father had a feed business. He played basketball and baseball for the Mount Vernon Mustangs and was the first of his family to go on to college. He graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa in 1952 and served as a Naval officer during the Korean War. Upon completion of his service, he returned to school and completed his MBA at Stanford University. It was there that he met his future wife, Terry.
Upon completing his MBA, he began his life work in financial management with corporations in Zurich, London, and finally corporations in the USA. It was an exciting and demanding career. As Jon approached retirement age, he left the corporate world and began working with small companies that used his financial expertise to grow and succeed. He enjoyed planning and was a master at creating financial projections. This new phase gave him great satisfaction and freedom.
Jon loved Dixieland jazz, a good bottle of wine, golf with friends, tennis when he was younger, and travel. Jon was a generous man, always ready to help. He was a member of Rotary for more than 25 years and served on the Santa Rosa Symphony Board. He had a deep concern for the homeless, so he was an avid supporter of Caritas Center and he was a member of the Burbank Housing board for many years until the time of his death. He never forgot his alma mater, Cornell College, and served as a trustee for many years.
As part of his legacy, Jon wants his children and grandchildren to know about the power of compound interest. He lived by what he called the Jon Stark Creed: “Success resides within and will bear fruit when I know myself, accept myself, activate myself, and enjoy myself.”
The family welcomes you to join in prayer at a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of St. Eugene on Monday, May 22 at 10 am with refreshments to follow at the parish center. A Celebration of life will be held this summer.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to:
First it was "Fines". And when that was thought to be "negative" it became "recognitions" and after that "High Five". But Jack has announced a new twist for these moments, designed to fit every celebration as well as sorrowful news. And it does not have to be a "High Five". "Happy Dollars" and "Sad Dollars" can be whatever you want them to be. Or whatever you feel is appropriate.
Happy Dollars
Katharine Anderson held up a copy of the Press Democrat to pass along great news - After 13 years, the Southeast Greenway is coming closer to reality!
Steve Herron announced his retirement. Here's to a jolly good fellow!
Debra Robertson announced her new position - Advanced Assistant for the Children's Museum.
Randy Seelye has graduated from a walker to a cane as he mends from a bad ski accident.
More than 300 Interact clubs submitted videos, photos, and essays showcasing their accomplishments for the 2022 Interact Awards. This month we feature some of the clubs that entered the contest. See the winners.
Wales
Members of the Interact Club of Croesyceiliog School in the Welsh town of Cwmbrân asked family, friends, and teachers to crochet rosettes, hearts, butterflies, and other designs for a Random Acts of Croesy Kindness project. As batches of the woolen pieces came in, the students placed them in random locations; one was spotted on the lapel of a prominent statue. The Interactors attached uplifting notes for people who found the gifts. “We have an event on our Facebook page where members of the public can post a photo of their crocheted treasure,” says Pritti Davies, club adviser and a member of the Rotary Club of Henllys. Since the club’s inception last summer, its members have also played host to an intergenerational tea party and collected hundreds of advent calendars and items for food banks.
Nepal
To foster inclusion, the Interact Club of GoldenGate International College in Kathmandu organized table tennis matches and invited people with disabilities. The event was dubbed Triveni, a Sanskrit word referring to the confluence of three holy rivers. The club chose the name because it unites three themes — diversity, equity, and inclusion — into one project. In July, about 18 club members joined representatives of the Inclusive Sports Club to stage the event, which drew about 200 people to the historic Patan Durbar Square in nearby Lalitpur.
This story originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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Members of the Interact Club of Croesyceiliog School in the Welsh town of Cwmbrân asked family, friends, and teachers to crochet rosettes, hearts, butterflies, and other designs for a Random Acts of Croesy Kindness project. As batches of the woolen pieces came in, the students placed them in random locations; one was spotted on the lapel of a prominent statue. The Interactors attached uplifting notes for people who found the gifts. “We have an event on our Facebook page where members of the public can post a photo of their crocheted treasure,” says Pritti Davies, club adviser and a member of the Rotary Club of Henllys. Since the club’s inception last summer, its members have also played host to an intergenerational tea party and collected hundreds of advent calendars and items for food banks.
To foster inclusion, the Interact Club of GoldenGate International College in Kathmandu organized table tennis matches and invited people with disabilities. The event was dubbed Triveni, a Sanskrit word referring to the confluence of three holy rivers. The club chose the name because it unites three themes — diversity, equity, and inclusion — into one project. In July, about 18 club members joined representatives of the Inclusive Sports Club to stage the event, which drew about 200 people to the historic Patan Durbar Square in nearby Lalitpur.