John Lambert, Sr. Vice President at Morgan Stanley, was our guest speaker on April 18, 2019.  John’s topic was the importance of being prepared.  John himself learned at an early age how important it is to plan and be prepared for his future. His father passed away when John was 12 years old. The family, including John, his mother and his sister, were not prepared to deal with this horrible and unexpected loss.

This experience left John with the knowledge that the only way to deal with the future was to anticipate and be prepared for it. He studied like crazy because he knew he would need an academic scholarship to get through college.  He also worked hard to be physically fit. He used his height and athleticism to excel at basketball, and, with the help of an academic scholarship, went to USC and became a star basketball player. 

He later spent almost 10 years in the NBA!  He played with and against all the big stars of that period and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Bill Walton!! But he knew the importance of preparing for life after basketball.  Even while playing he started businesses and preparing for his future in the financial world. He has been a financial adviser to high wealth individuals for 35 years and a partner at Morgan Stanley for many years. 

John gave us an important reminder from Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to prepare you are preparing for failure!”  He finished his presentation with another important reminder: Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Failure is when they can’t stand each other.  Great job John and thank you for sharing your life and your dedication to the art of being prepared!

On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, as well as Club Public Relations-Image Director 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! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!

The messages at Mike's Celebration of Life last Saturday were clear and unanimous:  Mike was a mover and shaker; he made things happen, and if you were lucky, he took you with him!

Whether a colleague in his Real Estate profession, fellow Rotarian, friend , a bee, or fisherman friend, Mike loved to coach, teach, play and deal.

Mike's life played out in bases-loaded innings.  He was an avid Giants fan, and a special recognition game is planned for a Giants v Dodgers game later this season.  The North Bay Realtors have initiated The Mike Kelly Inspiration Award.

Lou Ann, Mike's wife and friend since El Molino High School days, gave further depth to Mike's character and avocations.

Mceed by Keith Woods, and featuring Mike's many close associates, including Harry Coffey who delivered a tribute to Mike's Rotary legacy, the Celebration included  "Take me out to the Ball Game"  ~  the Giants of course, bagpipe odes, and the Irish Blessing by the Guerilla Capalla Quartet.

Everyone joined in a hands~held round of "In My Life"

KSRO Co-Host Cathy Slack closed with a moving solo of Amazing Grace, and a brief encore of "Proud Mary", rolling the crowd  into a fine buffet to continue reminiscing and savoring Mike's touch in their life.
The cover of Mike's program described him as "One of Sonoma County's Natural Resources":  An apt image of his enduring passion for progress and pulling those alongside him up to new heights.  Even his trout catches were glad to see him ~  he released them to meet again when the time was right and they were bigger. 

Plan for the future: The Rotary Club of Napoli Parthenope is attracting young professionals who are looking for ways to serve their community. In particular, it has given Rotaractors and Rotary youth program alumni a way to stay in the Rotary family. The club’s focus on young people also has led to a leading role in a scholarship program for the children of police officers killed in the line of duty.

Club innovation: The club has a flexible meeting schedule and uses social media to organize events and projects and to promote itself to the community. Its gatherings — many open to family and friends outside of Rotary — reinforce the bonds forged at regular meetings.

As he approached the 30-year age limit for Rotaract membership, Francesco Saverio Alovisi began looking into the Rotary clubs in his area, prospecting for a good fit. He wanted to join a club that was active in the community, not one centered on presentations and socializing. “Young people like me want a Rotary of action,” he says.

The Rotary Club of Napoli Parthenope enjoys socializing.

Photo by Rotary Club of Napoli Parthenope

When Alovisi’s search for his ideal club was unsuccessful, he turned to Luciano Lucania, then governor of District 2100, and Laura Giordano, then assistant governor. When Lucania suggested creating a new club that would be attractive to young professionals — especially to graduating Rotaractors and program alumni — Giordano, a past president of the Rotary Club of Napoli Chiaja, agreed to lead the effort. She’s now a member of that new club.

The Napoli Parthenope club offers flexibility and an appreciation of the challenges young Rotarians face as they balance their home and work lives. Giordano is proud of the club’s gender balance and youthfulness (she’s the oldest member by about a decade).

The club has eased into organizing projects. “Some are bigger, others smaller. But each month everyone is asked to propose something new,” Giordano says. Members post suggestions and comments on the club’s Facebook page.

“We believe that an external-facing Rotary club Facebook page generates awareness for those audiences that are not already involved,” Alovisi says.

Ludovica Azzariti Fumaroli, a third-generation Rotarian who also made the transition from Rotaract, enjoys the club’s lack of pretension and its members’ enthusiasm for hands-on work. She’s particularly proud of a fundraiser called Caffè Sospeso for Polio. The club decided to create its own take on the pay-it-forward tradition of caffè sospeso, or “suspended coffee,” in which customers pay for a needy patron’s coffee as an act of kindness. During the joint effort with the Rotary Club of Sassari Nord, club members stationed themselves outside a popular café in the Piazza dei Martiri, Naples’ central plaza, and encouraged people to donate to End Polio Now as an act of kindness. They collected $550 for polio eradication.

“It combines the wonderful Neapolitan tradition” of helping strangers in need “with the very important work to eradicate polio from the world,” Fumaroli says.

The club is also helping to lead a program in its district that provides scholarships to the children of police officers killed in the line of duty.

“We want to be more effective without the dogma of tradition,” Giordano says. “This is really a club of service” — one that embodies liveliness and conviviality and keeps its door open to the community. An event held at a popular restaurant in late November featured live music and a bar, demonstrating to potential members “that Rotarians are people of action with their projects — but also that Rotary is fun.”— Brad Webber

• What is your club doing to reinvent itself? Email club.innovations@rotary.org.