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March 2, 2023
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2022 - 2023 Rotary Theme
President Laura welcomed Club Members, Zoom participants and Guests.
 
Laura then gave Thanks to Cindy Jacoby for creating the visual aspect of the recent Club survey we all participated in and to Kathy Scroggin for helping create the content.
And Thanks to all of us for filling it out.  She will compile a To Do list that she will share with us all soon.
Some immediate feedback from the survey though had to do with a desire to have a Happy Hour social event.  So, since we are Dark on Thursday, March 30th, Laura is proposing that we meet at the Junkyard that evening at 6:00 PM.  This would be a Buy Your Own Food and Alcohol event.
 
Please be sure to download the ClubRunner App.  It provides access to everything Rotary and is extremely helpful in keeping up with what's going on with the Club and contacting other Club members.  A link to the App is provided at the end of this Bulletin. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Geovanny Ragsdale lead the Invocation this morning with an uplifting message about aspiring to be the best person you can possibly be. 
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Flag Salute
Karen Thompson lead us in Saluting our Flag this morning, a Flag that represents the greatest nation on earth.  
 
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Kathy Scroggin welcomed our Guests this morning and they included Ms. Stella Ortiz (a former member and currently a member of the Sun Up Rotary Club of Prescott, Arizona), Ms. Pamela Manning, Mr. Brian Park and Ms. Gina Truncale (both Special Guests of John Tolson), Ms. Willow Borovay (Larry's granddaughter), and Mr. Tom Johnson.
Stella Ortiz with Bob Donnelly 
Pamela Manning
Brian Park, left, with John Tolson
Gina Truncale and you know who
Willow Borovay and proud Papa
 
Tom Johnson
 
 
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Kim Schulte was our Greeter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Larry Borovay announced a Happy Hour tomorrow, March 3rd 6:00 PM, at Mission Burrito.  The main purpose for the gathering is to review the upcoming cruise to Ensenada but please join even if you're not planning on going.  Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Larry, in announcing the Mission Burrito Happy Hour and being the wonderful Papa that he is, also helped Willow out of a jam.  A jam that anyone who has kids can identify with.  Apparently Willow has a science project that is due shortly and she kind of put it off.  It involves taking a survey of people's fondness for milk chocolate vs. dark chocolate.  We were all willing subjects! 
 
 
 
 
 
Larry Borovay said the Cruise is now SOLD OUT!  He also asked of the people going on the cruise to bring items along that can be given to the Ensenada Rotary Club for local distribution.  Items suggested were socks and toiletries and the like.  See Larry for ideas.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kailey Craig had announced earlier that our  Family of Rotary event on February 11th has been POSTPONED!  The good news is that it has been RESCHEDULED to Saturday, April 22nd.  It will be a Potluck Dinner at the Berger's with more details to follow.  So  SAVE THE DATE for Saturday, April 22nd.  
 
Please RSVP to Kailey or Geovanny at:
 
 
Kailey Craig
 
 
 
 
 
 
Steve P. talked some more about the upcoming Happy Face Music Festival on May 27th.  The Festival will be held from 1 PM to 7 PM at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park and will have an 80's theme.  Tickets will go on sale April 1st.  And Steve will be looking for help with obtaining sponsorships.  Stay tuned....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
YES! is scheduled for October 21, 2023! Dorina Timbol is leading the charge for YES! across the District and is asking that sign ups start early.  This YES! program will be bigger and better than last year (which will be hard to do!) with discussions happening with, among others, the Simi Valley Chief of Police and the Simi Valley Unified School District Superintendent.  One theme this year will be humanizing the police.  
Apparently the YES! program is getting state-wide attention.  Dorina was in Sacramento recently speaking with California Senator Henry Stern who knew about YES! and will be attending on October 21st!  Very impressive.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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John Baxter is looking for help to review and grade the 18 Four Way Test Essays he's received.  They range from the 4th Grade up to Senior High School students.  Please contact John if you are interested at:
 
 
And, much more importantly, a certain Principal of a certain Independent Learning Academy here in Simi Valley wanted to make sure that we all knew that John is now working at said Independent Learning Academy.  Nice move for Monte Vista Dr. P.!
John Baxter
 
 
 
 
 
 
A note from Marta Golding Brown,
District Governor 2023-24:
 
Rotary Greetings!
 
Rotary District 5240 is hosting a virtual District Training Assembly on March 18, 2023, beginning at 9:00 AM.
 
This training is provided to Club Officers, Avenues of Service Chairs, and club committee members. There are also sessions for new and long-term Rotarians. The sessions will begin with an opening presentation by Past District Governor Elizabeth Mahoney, District 5495, Arizona, who will highlight Rotary’s 7 Areas of Focus, including the newest one, the Environment. We encourage all club members to review the sessions and attend as many as possible. In addition to our guest speaker, course offerings include:
 
Morning Sessions 10:30 AM:
  • Club Presidents
  • Presidents Elect
  • Presidents Elect Nominees
  • Club Secretary
  • Club Treasurer
  • Understanding the Foundation with Rotary International
  • Getting the Word Out
Afternoon Sessions 12:30 PM:
  • Club Service
  • Fundraising Strategies
  • Membership
  • International Service
  • Youth Service
Afternoon Sessions 1:30-2:20 PM:
  • Community Service
  • Global & District Grants
  • Peace Service
  • Vocational Service
  • Think Different in Your Club
  • Rotary Then and Now (PRLS)
Late Afternoon Sessions 2:30-3:45 PM
  • Grant Certification Seminar
  • Assistant Governor (AG) Training
Please utilize this link to register today to attend the morning guest speaker session and the additional the sessions of interest to you. You can also find the link on the District 5240 calendar, on the News and Events tab. Please reach out if you have any questions.
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
Marilyn Lippiatt
maryilyn@lippiatt.com | 805-402-3603
District Training Director
Rotary Club of West Lake Village
 
Marta Golding Brown
District Governor 2023-24
Rotary Club of Oxnard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deb Davila continues to educate, and re-educate, us all on what the Rotary Foundation is all about.  Her talk this morning had to with how a Paul Harris Fellow is earned.  Following are slides from her presentation.  After her talk, she presented several Paul Harris Fellows.  See below.....
Steve Munday receiving his first Paul Harris Fellow.  Congratulations Steve!
Harry VanDyck receiving his 4th Paul Harris Fellow.
Larry Borovay receiving his 8th Paul Harris Fellow and presenting it to Willow.
And Karen Thompson receiving her 9TH Paul Harris Fellow!  Quite an accomplishment Karen. 
 
Congratulations to all.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Rotary Club of Moro Bay has established a mechanism to fund Rotary Club Ankara, Turkiye which  is currently leading the charge to bring aid to the victims.  They will collect our donations through Rotary International and use the funds exclusively to aid those in need in the earthquake ravaged areas.
 
$1,000 will be donated by our Club to the Earthquake Relief Fund in Turkey and Syria.  And, earlier, Laura had received the Notice below regarding Disaster Relief and asked that it be distributed:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A reminder about Herschel Berger's previous announcement regarding how Club funds will be allocated this year.  As previously noted, this year will be the first since Covid hit that our Club has the ability to allocate funds to local organizations and activities.  Herschel is heading up a committee to best decide just how this allocation should take place.  A link to an application form in this regard has been created - see below.  Please print out the form and forward it to the organization for them to fill out and submit to Herschel Berger at:
 
 
Here's the link:
 
 
The last day to submit names for allocation is March 31st.
 
A copy of the 3 page Allocation Application form is shown below as well.
Herschel Berger
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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No Wedding Anniversaries this week
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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“Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.”

 

– Henry Ford

 
 
 
 
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A note from Mary Paseta regarding the Rotary Youth Exchange:


Subject: Mar 25 - 26, 2023 - Youth Exchange Workshop at Grand Vista Hotel

Hi Laura,

I would like to share an announcement regarding the Youth Exchange Orientation that will be held at the Grande Vista Hotel in Simi Valley on March 25th-26th.

We need Rotarians to host inbound student and Rotarians.  I will be hosting 6 students at my house.

It would be nice if you and all involved with the Youth Committee could stop by the hotel to see what the Orientation is all about and to meet all of the Rotarians involved with the Exchange Program (SCANEX). In our last Orientation in February the District Governor from LA stopped by to visit.  I'm not sure if you would like to extend the invitation to our District Governor since this is being held in Simi Valley (great points for committee awards 😊).

It  would be great if we could share this video with all:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbTJ3z4B4Iw

 

Thank you.

Mary Paseta

Mary Paseta said this program needs to be promoted.  Prior to covid, there were 24 exchange students involved.  This year there are only 8, with just 4 from our District.  Please get involved if you can!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Tolson announced that our Club will again be involved in the 13 Souls Memorial Run.  Last year we had a booth and John asked for someone from the the Club to lead the charge this year.  The words weren't even out of John's mouth before Sylvie Guerin shot her hand up to volunteer.  Thank You Sylvie!
John Tolson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jake Finch previously gave us an update on the Gift Card program she initiated with the Club last March.  These were the Gift Cards that were donated to help Simi Valley school kids and their families in need.  Jake gave us some stark statistics.  She said that there are 214 children in K-12 that are homeless here in Simi with 58 of those in High School.  In addition, there are 63 Foster Children, 27 of whom are in High School. 
 
The good news is that, since last March, 115 Gift Cards have been donated totaling $4,875 with $1,850 of that being disbursed to those in need. Over $3,000 of that amount was from our Club alone!  Our Club is AWSOME!
 
More help is always appreciated Jake said and that while Gift Cards to Kohls and Target are helpful, she said that she's also looking for Gift Cards to stores like Aldi and Smart & Final as well.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bill Klepper asked that this flyer be posted.  See Bill for details.  His email is:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Bob Donnelly hard at work signing members and Guests in.  Apparently legible handwriting is not a prerequisite for that job.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Mr. Gem Munro was our Speaker this morning and one word describes his presentation - Inspiring!
 
Gem has devoted his life and career to improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged people across Canada and abroad.  Pursuit of this objective carried him into residence in unfortunate communities across most of Canada before carrying him overseas.
 
He is presently a Director of  the Amarok Society, a registered Canadian charity that provides educational programs to the poorest of the poor in the slums Bangladesh.  Gem is also a bestselling author and artist whose new book, And Where the Wind Spun Them, follows the epic adventures of a resourceful girl and her courageous little brother who struggle, by wit and grit, to overcome the perils and extreme disadvantages of their lives.  Sales of his books, including his original, The Silver Apple of the Moon, are a major fundraiser for the Amarok Society.  For their work, Gem and his wife, Dr. Tanyss Munro were recipients of Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medals and Gem was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize a few years back.  We truly were in the presence of someone special. 
 
Gem spoke about uprooting his family, including his four children, from Vancouver, Canada to Dhaka, Bangladesh.  He describes Bangladesh as having the worst slums and school systems in the world and finding millions of children too poor to even go to school.  Traditional methods of alleviating the problems associated with this level of poverty and lack of education didn't work.  His challenge, he said, was to come up with a different approach.  That approach was to educate the mothers in the slums first and then to have these mothers take on the task of educating the children.  Gem was told that this was fool's errand in that these poorest of Muslim women could not be physically reached, let alone educated.   They would be battling a corrupt government, impenetrable slums, evil slum lords, husbands who wouldn't allow access to wives and, worse of all, extremist Muslims who deem education their mortal enemy. However, they persevered and  their program now involves educating and training and educating hundreds of women who then commit to teaching at least 5 children in their village.  The women are taught, free of charge, for 2 hours a day and, in turn, teach the children they take on for 2.5 hours a day.  One of the amazing things they have seen occurring is that the husbands are often found watching and listening to the teaching of the children from a distance.
 
They are teaching these women how to think.  Through this process, the women are coalescing into a society within themselves and becoming leaders in their villages.  The women say that their lives are finally making sense and that they are making decisions for themselves.  They feel fulfilled.  Their depression and despair has turned to hope and optimism.  What better way is there to fight the extremists than through education?
 
Gem talked about the close association the Amarok Society has with Rotary International.  Members from both organizations sit on each other's Boards.  Rotary International has said that this is their problem as well.  Gem said that there are 53 Rotary Clubs in Dhaka and that they have taken his mission of education to heart.   
 
What an amazing operation the Amarok Society has taken on.  Here is a link to Gem's first book:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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HELPFUL LINKS TO ROTARY BUSINESS
 
 
The link for Continuing Resolutions is:    https://rotary5240.box.com/s/dz73te0f4ad4bcotytv5zfi1z578dw0b

The link for the Bylaws is:   https://rotary5240.box.com/s/re2crm11deb8uhwrzvbh9h7lbfrca1za

How do new members add ClubRunner?  

When the secretary adds a new member to our roster, you will receive an automatic email that gives you your login ID and a temporary password so that you can access the web site (ClubRunner).  This gives you the opportunity to upload a photo and enter a permanent password.  You can go to the public portion of our website (no login required) and see the calendar, list of officers, birthdays, past bulletins, etc.  The link to the public portion of our website is:

https://www.rotaryclubofsimisunrise.org/

There is a phone app that can be downloaded to your phone; everyone should have that app on their phones.  You will have to download the app and then log in the first time.  After that, the login portion is not required.  

 
 
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Please remember to bring a friend or an acquaintance to our next meeting.  This is a GREAT way to grow our membership!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Our next meeting on March 9th will be a shortened meeting prior to the Board meeting held at Varenita starting at 7:00 AM.  Looking forward to seeing everyone!
 
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Rotary Club Finder Need to find a club to do a makeup?  Or find out where Rotary clubs meet while you are traveling?  Click here to access the Club Finder page on the RI website.
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Meeting Responsibilities
March 2, 2023
 
Invocation
Ragsdale, Geovanny
 
Flag Salute
Thompson, Karen
 
Guest List
Scroggin, Kathy
 
Greeter
Schulte, Kim
 
March 9, 2023
 
Invocation
Sharma, Arun
 
Flag Salute
Perini, Richard
 
Guest List
Shannon, Stephanie
 
Greeter
 
Speakers
Mar 09, 2023
Mar 16, 2023
My Chosen Vessels
Mar 23, 2023
Electric Bikes
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Mike Mutal
March 3
 
Josh Alexander
March 4
 
Eric Little
March 9
 
Eric Kaufman
March 10
 
Jarrod DeGonia
March 10
 
John Bagnall
March 11
 
Chas Wilson
March 14
 
Josh Persky
March 16
 
Dave McCormick
March 17
 
Jim Anglin
March 20
 
Anniversaries
Ed Chapin
Angie
March 10
 
John Bagnall
Julia
March 17
 
Jim Visage
Beverly
March 18
 
Join Date
Fred Thomas
March 1, 2021
2 years
 
John Bagnall
March 6, 2008
15 years
 
Gary White
March 12, 1987
36 years
 
Demi Fox
March 13, 2014
9 years
 
John Baxter
March 13, 2014
9 years
 
Josh Alexander
March 14, 2019
4 years
 
Matt Rowe
March 14, 2019
4 years
 
Linas Kojelis
March 18, 2021
2 years
 
Executives & Directors
President
 
President-Elect
 
Past President
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Club Service
 
International Service, Co-Chair
 
International Service
 
Vocational Service, Co-Chair
 
Vocational Service, Co-Chair
 
Public Relations
 
Youth Service, Co --Chair
 
Youth Services,Co-Chair
 
Family of Rotary
 
The Rotary Foundation
 
Peace Chair
 
Director at Large
 
Director at Large
 
Director at Large
 
Parliamentarian
 
SSR Charitable Foundation Chair
 
RMC Chair
 
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