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Rotopinion

March 1, 2017
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Woodland Hills!
Wed: - Noon - 1 p.m. - last Wed: 6 - 7:30 p.m., place TBA
Woodland Hills Country Club
21150 Dumetz Road
Woodland Hills, CA  91364
United States
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President's Message
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President Diane Nelson 

Hello my fellow Rotarians,
 
For the club members who participated, we had a blast at Pinot’s Palette, wine and paint night on Feb. 22nd.   That seemed to have been a great combination! Funny how the painting looked better the next day!  Thank you Arturo Velasquez for organizing this event with Patti Jo Wolfson.  We also enjoyed yummy appetizers and great camaraderie. 
 
On Feb. 21st our Peace Committee met AND our members volunteered their time teaching kids about finance at Reseda Elementary.  The principal sent a letter of appreciation to our club for those who volunteered.  See below for all of the impressive accomplishments of the Peace Committee so far this year.  Great team work!
 
Please see the long list of our club’s accomplishments at the end of this newsletter.  Paul Gross put this list together for us.  We should be proud of all we’ve done in the community and in the world!
 
Upcoming events:
 
March 7th – Board meeting at Sheri Polak’s house at 6:00.  All members welcome! 
 
March 8th meeting:
Dennis Zine speaks about his activities in the valley and his articles in the Warner Center News.
 
March 15th meeting
Kathleen Sterling updates us on what’s going on in the valley.  Kathleen owns the Warner Center News and publicizes our events. She’s been very generous to our club and to Rotary in general.
 
March 18th District Color Run fundraiser to end polio in Griffith Park. Contact Lynn Miller for more info.
 
March 22nd meeting:  Craft talks by some of our new members!  Stay tuned for more info to follow.
 
March 25th – Day at the Races which includes a tour!  Contact Lynn Miller or Sandy Rosenholz to sign up.
 
March 29th – Dinner at Pizza Cookery in Woodland Hills from 6 – 7:30.  (this replaces our Wednesday DAY meeting)   I FINALLY get to share the video from last year’s PETS (Presidents-elect Training Seminar). You’ll love it.  Ramesh Ferris is a Rotarian and Polio Survivor who tells his story and it’s very moving.  It’s only 30 minutes of our 1.5 hour time frame.  The rest is fellowship so bring friends, family and prospective members.
 
Here’s an early heads up on an April activity we can start promoting now! FUNDRAISER!!!!  We will be having dinner on April 26th at Café Condesa in Studio City.  The owner has agreed to donate 40% of our purchases to our club!!! Anyone can eat day or night and our club will get credit! Flyers will become available soon.  Bring your friends and family. Let’s take advantage of this generous offer! 
 
Check our website for our updated calendar at Whrotary.org!  (don’t forget to tell you friends about our “donate now” button!)  Donations gladly accepted!    That helps fund our projects!
 
Our Foundation earned $90 for our fundraising dinner on January 31st at Hook Burger.  They donated 25% to us.  Not bad!   
 
We have gained a member a month since July 2016!  Our guest at the March 1 meeting filled in a membership application! He felt very welcome.  Let’s keep bringing in ACTIVE new members.  So far, all of our new members have taken an active role in our club since they’ve joined! 
 
Special thanks to Michael Turner who creates the Rotopinion every two weeks religiously, Bernie Otis who writes up the meetings, Neal Goldman, our photographer, our board and everyone else that makes our meetings and club successful! 
 
Thanks to all of you who make us thrive!
 
Yours in Rotary Service,

President Diane

Peace Committee Activities
By Ronald M. Supancic, CFLS
The Peace Committee meets monthly on the third Tuesday of each month, from 6to 7:30 p.m., at Sheri Polak’s home in Woodland Hills.  Training is offered on a regular basis and has included advanced communication skills; tools of the peacemaker; dealing with bullies and narcissists; managing relationships with high-conflict personality disorders; and how to identify, approach, embrace, and resolve conflict in the home and in the workplace.  Each session is stand-alone.  The information is cumulative.  You can miss one meeting and it won't affect your participation in the next.
 
We have developed a relationship with LAPD through the Topanga Division Volunteer Surveillance Team (VST) and are supporting the division by attending VST training which is offered the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Topanga station, 21501 Schoenborn St, Canoga Park, CA 91304, Canoga Park.
 
We have also established a further relationship with the West Valley Islamic Center in Canoga Park. We participated in the Ramadan dinner and prayer meeting in the spring, and we followed up with a commitment to support and participate in their nationwide Meet a Muslim program which is held in conjunction with their open house celebration at the mosque.
We've offered mediation training through the Cerritos Youth Center Training Program.  Invited members to participate in the Gardena Peace Walk last July.  We invited members to speak on peace to other clubs.  We've invited members to participate in the Islamic Education Regenerative Peace Walk which was held at Cal Lutheran University on Sept. 11, 2016, which commemorated the event of our national catastrophe. 
 
We participated and supported the CSUN Peace Symposium celebrating the life of Mohandas Gandhi on Oct. 4, 2016.  We invited members to participate and support the Rotary Peace Conference in San Dimas on Oct. 1.  We participated in and supported the Blue Mass at St. Mel's in Woodland Hills to celebrate and honor the uniformed officers of the LAPD October 8. We supported the vocational training team in Jakarta, sponsored by Rotary International, designed to teach conflict resolution skills to women in their local communities.
Next week we will participate in the Interfaith Dialogue information exchange and roundtable discussions by offering facilitators to provide feedback and develop an action list for results. We are actively engaged in disseminating information which will encourage members of the community to attend the Rotary Peace Luncheon next Wednesday.
 
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Immediate Past President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Club Service
 
Club Service
 
Community Service
 
Community Service
 
Vocational Service
 
Vocational Service
 
International Service
 
International Service
 
Youth Service
 
Public Relations
 
Public Relations
 
Peace Committee
 
Sergeant at Arms
 
Fundraising
 
Fundraising
 
Rotary Foundation
 
Rotary Family
 
Rotary Foundation
 
Program
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Kim Wall
March 1
 
Norma Domine
March 4
 
Michael Harris
March 16
 
Eva Hainer
March 25
 
Surinder Singh
March 25
 
Jeffrey Stern
March 26
 
Join Date
Jim Domine
March 1, 2014
3 years
 
Neil Sokoler
March 6, 1991
26 years
 
Arturo Velasquez
March 7, 2012
5 years
 
Dale Barnes
March 7, 2001
16 years
 
Gautam Kumar
March 7, 2012
5 years
 
Michael Turner
March 13, 2002
15 years
 
Sherry Martin
March 20, 2013
4 years
 
Upcoming Events
"End Child Sex Trafficking in Southern California
Loyola Marymount University
Mar 04, 2017
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
 
WH Rotary Club Board of Directors Meeting
Sheri Polak's House
Mar 07, 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
 
March 8, 2017 Club Meeting
Woodland Hills Country Club
Mar 08, 2017
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
 
Peace Committee Meeting
Sheri Polak's House
Mar 21, 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
 
Bulletin Editor
Michael Turner
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
ClubRunner
Stories
Rotary Club of Woodland Hills  2016/17 Accomplishments
International
  • Nigeria –Built Toilet facilities to meet basic human needs, increase and improve sanitation to decrease child mortality.
  • Uganda-Financially  assisted orphan girl (Helen) that was born with abnormal bladder(exstopy)  to have corrective surgery in India
  • India- Grant to support five clinics performing club foot surgeries for a period of 3 years.
  • Phillipines- Grant to provide surgeries to children born with cleft lip and palate.
  • Multiple Third World Countries (Days for Girls) Provide feminine hygiene kits for the poor.
  • Participated in “boots on the ground” project in Merida Mexico building playgrounds, planting trees and assisting the poor in the community.
Community Service
  • Canoga Park – Fullbright Elementary School
    • Provided Christmas gifts for K-3rd graders.
    • Provided Thanksgiving Baskets to 80 needy families.
  • San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission
    • Provided supplies to homeless babies
    • Grant to launch Mobile Shower Unit-to provide showers and sanitary services to the homeless in the Valley.      
  • Provided breakfast to 40 residents with El Camino Real High School students
  • Congregation Or Ami – Grant to purchase food truck to feed homeless in Los Angeles.
  • Adopt a Senior – Grant to assist low income seniors in the Valley.
  • Cancer Wellness Center – Grant to provide services which include weekly support groups, stress management and educational workshops.
  • Methodist Church – Provided snack bags for 140 homeless men and women.
  • Reseda Elementary – Grant to provide graphic and art printmaking workshop for all 4th & 5th graders (140)
  • Braille Institute – Grant to assist in programs for low income blind.
  • Valley Women’s Center – Grant to assist in programs and therapy to victims of domestic violence.
  • City of Angels Ballet – Grant to provide outreach programs for children in underserved communities. Students receive ballet classes and earn college credits .
  • Fleet Street- Funding and volunteering. Our signature project.  Program that teaches at risk youth and court mandated youth to repair bikes. They learn discipline team work and rehabilitation. This is a City of LA recognized program that does events in low income areas.
  • Honored Topanga LAPD officers and their families with Officers and Staff of the Quarter awards
Vocational Services
  • Provide speakers at Taft High school every week for the Find Your Calling Club discuss various vocations with the students.
  • Get Empowered Get Employed program at Taft & El Camino High School
Youth Services
  • Coat for Kids Project. We donated 525 coats to New Directions for Youth and the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission
  • Rotary Youth Leadership Award- 5 students going to a weekend leadership retreat.
  • High School Graduating Seniors Scholarship for 4 students in SFV in progress.
  • Interact KIDS are planning for a “Feed the Homeless Project” (Pending)
  • Foster teens Christmas party
  • Valentine Cards making and distribution to a convalescent home by the Pacific Lodge 
  • Junior Achievement introduced to Reseda Elementary School
  • Grants were made to the below non profits:
    • Still Point Resources    
    • City of Angels ballet       
    • Back Pack Project for NDY kids (100)  
    • Boys Scout of America Project 
    • Fleet Street Bicycle Project 
    • Miss San Fernando Pageant Scholarship
    • City of Hope
    • Rotacare

Bringing Junior Achievement to Reseda Elementary School

Hi Everyone,

We want to thank you all for bringing the Junior Achievement Program to Reseda Elementary School.  The students  were grateful  for you taking the time out of your busy schedules to do this. They particularly enjoyed the collaborative acitvities and games and getting to know the volunteers. They are working on thank you letters that will be sent to you shortly. 

A particular thank you to the volunteers for willingly taking on such an endeavor. Having reviewed the materials, I know that it was quite a lot to absorb especially after only one day of training. 

We took many pictures and will be including them on our website. One picture will appear in our upcoming brochure. In the meantime, here are a few for you to enjoy. I'm sending them in two emails due to the size of the file.

Evelyn, please forward this to all the volunteers and express our deep appreciation for coming to Reseda.

Thank you again, so very much,

Rosemarie S. Kubena

Principal, Reseda  Elementary 

 

 

   
Rotary Student Exchange Programs Promote International Understanding
By Bernie Otis

Although I have been a Rotarian for close to 63 years and have served seven clubs during that time I must confess that I have never had a more inspiring experience then that I receive each week since joining the Rotary Club of Woodland Hills.

 
Our February 15 member was no exception. Following a most exciting meeting opener by Tom Ludowitz, our Rotarian of the Day, whose review of the club’s long and interesting history, we were honored to have our District Student Exchange Chairman, Warren Bobrow (picture on the right in the above photo with a District foreign exchange student), bring us up to date on the various Rotary Exchange Programs.
 
Warren told us of the wonderful experiences that young people from all over the world, including the United States, have enjoyed as they stay in the homes of Rotarians in other countries. In doing this they get to know other cultures and enjoy life changing experiences.
 
We must wear a badge of deep satisfaction on our hearts knowing how our active participation in this valuable program contributes to the success of young people who have learned about developing international relationships.
Malibu Rotary Club: Fire Academy Scholarship
 
The  Malibu Rotary Club will award a $3,300 scholarship to  a student enrolled in any fire academy in Los Angeles County, CA.  The $3,300 will be paid directly to the Fire Academy, in the student’s name to pay for the student’s tuition, fees, etc.  The funds will not be written directly to the student.
 
In order to apply, students must email Malibu Rotary Club at MalibuRotaryScholarship@gmail.com a 60-90 second video :
 
(1) Why they want to be a firefighter, and
(2) How winning the $3,300 scholarship would positively impact their life.
 
Additionally, the fire academy student must email the Malibu Rotary Club:
(1) Student's name
(2) Student's phone number
(3) Name of the Fire Academy they are enrolled in
(4) Address of the Fire Academy they are enrolled in
 
The Deadline to apply is midnight on Sunday, April 16, 2017.  NO MORE APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED STARTING AT 12:01 A.M. ON MONDAY, APRIL 17.
 
Each e-mailed application received will receive a confirmation reply e-mail.  If the student does not receive a confirmation e-mail within three days assume it has not been received by the Malibu  Rotary Club. The winner will be notified by April 30, 2017
 
For  questions, please email Malibu Rotary Club at MalibuRotaryScholarship@gmail.com
Painting & Sipping at Pinot's Palette
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Around the Club 
Photos by Neal Goldman

 
Deputy Mayor Economic Opportunity Brenda Shockley 
 
 
Lynn Miller (l) was honored with as a Paul Harris Fellow
 
Michael Turner, editor ► michael@bearsworth.com
 
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 ► (818) 344-5776