August 24 Meeting Speaker:  District Governor Stacy Graham 

Stacy is the youngest District 5190 Governor to date and is from the Auburn Gold club.  She joined the Auburn Daybreak club at 32 and started the Sierra Passbook club.  She lives in Grass Valley and enjoys gardening, hiking, cooking and camping.  She is ASE certified and is the Owner/Operator of Master Technicians / Roberts Repair.  She is the recipient of the Auburn businesswomen's award.  Her geographical area for Rotary is the largest in the mainland US - covering from Alturas in the North to Bishop in the South, Grass Valley in the West and Elko in the East.

Stacy recognized the strong leadership in our club - especially Bob Conner who has been the district leader for the Rotary Leadership Institute, Chair of the District Rotary Youth Exchange.  District Announcements to share:

• A $1 million Bequest Society Challenge has been issued by Tim Williams from the Tahoe Douglas Rotary club.  Tim will match the future donations made by other District Rotarians (up to $1 million) through bequests provisions made in your estate plan.  You have the ability to direct these funds to certain organizations or types of donations.  Contact Stacy if you are interested in the challenge and see the Rotary International website for more information on the Bequest Society.

• 2024 District Conference registration is open.  The event is May 17-19 at the Grand Sierra Casino and Resort.  The theme is “Better Together Conference” and will be joint with Districts 5150, 5180 and 5190.  Rotary International President Gordon McInally will be there in person and will have a casual coffee hour on Sunday morning for anyone interested in meeting him and asking questions.

• With President Marsha, DG Stacy recognized two Rotarians in the Minden club:

  • Quiet Rotarian - a Rotarian who quietly gives from the heart and the pocketbook.  Howard Vipperman was recognized and has been a member since 1992.

  • Rotarian with a Heart - John Breylinger was recognized.  He has been a member of Rotary for 43 years.

Stacy told the story of why Rotary is important to her.  Six years after joining Rotary, her mother passed away.  This overwhelming event could have been an excuse to drop out of Rotary.  Instead, she described the scene at her mother’s service with over 200 people in attendance.  There was a table full of Rotarians who had never met her mother but were there to support her. Stacy describes herself as an introvert who experiences anxiety in front of people.   Her mother was the one who could calm her anxiety down and she was suddenly no longer there.  Rotary has filled that void for her.  Her theme for the year is Rotary from the Heart and she put paper hearts on the table for Rotarians to put a note on and pass to another Rotarian, a family member or someone you see at the grocery store as a simple “You Matter” note to create hope for those who need it.

Finally, Stacy passed on a huge thank you from DG Mark at District 5100 (Hawaii) for the donation made by the Rotary Club of Minden.  It was noted that all 9 of the Rotary Club Presidents lost their homes in the Maui fire.