It’s been an interesting few months at the club. We have had a flurry of new members and I want to welcome them all in as Rotarians. I look forward to watching all the great things they will be doing going forward.
A few things to mention: The Clergy panel was very successful and powerful and I wanted to thank Anna Sakvarelidze, Ron Supancic and Sandy Rosenholz for working so hard in making this a successful event. Special thanks goes out to Anna’s husband Julian who worked really hard in setting up and breaking down the room. My intent is to continue to grow the event and expand the participation.
Having Henry Oster a Holocaust survivors speak at our club for Holocaust Memorial Day was an honor and it is important that we continue to memorialize that horrific time in the worlds history. (see story and photos below)
As most of you know we are partnering with the Calabasas club this year for our Poker & Casino fundraiser on June 3rd at the Canyon Club in Agoura. We all like to do projects and many of us come to the club for funding of their projects and favorite causes. Needless to say the money does not grow on a Rotary Tree, we need to fund raise. Quite frankly, I have an expectation that every club member do their part in a way that they can. There are multiple ways for club members to help. Buy tickets and attend the event, buy tickets for friends and family, help sell tickets, buy sponsorships, donate auction items and help spread the word. This is the opportunity for each and every club member to be a giver. We are 5 weeks away from the event so let’s get to work! (see information below)
Yours in Rotary service,
Paul
Bringing Peace to Our Community
by Ron Supancic
"Somewhere within us all exists a supreme Self who is eternally at peace."
Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
At the April 17 Peace Committee meeting the Bill Eddy method of high conflict problem solving was revisited. There was discussion of the tactics, techniques, and steps that are necessary in separating people from the problem. It is best to focus on issues, minimizing conflict, stimulating conversation, and provoking solutions that end conflict.
Members of the Peace Committee are encouraged to share incidents, events, and opportunities for using the tools from their Peace Maker Tool Kit. The kit is being developed by the United States Institute of Peace coordination with the United Nations Mediation Support Unit and in collaboration with a number of other mediation institutes and experts. The toolkit will include a series of "best practices" on key aspects of mediation and peacemaking.
During Ramadan, between May 15 and June 15, there will be a dinner with the Muslim community. A Peace March will be held in West Hills on Valley Circle, from St. Bernadine’s Catholic Church to Temple Alia and ending at the mosque in Woodland Hills across the street from El Camino High School. The Peace March Committee will be meet at 6 p.m. on April 30 to discuss the event.
The club has 10 Buddy Benches ordered and three schools are confirmed. Seven additional schools to be confirmed. The process starts with locating decision makers the selected schools and sending a congratulatory letter to them. A meeting is scheduled with the decision-maker, faculty, and student council to talk about any objections or concerns. It is vital that we establish an installation date, which should be an event in which we invite the media so that the community is informed of Buddy Benches and their purpose.
Buddy Bench coordinators included Sheri with Pacific Boys Lodge, Jeff Stern with Reseda Elementary and Serrania Charter, and Ava Teherani with Willow Elementary and Lupin Hill Elementary and A.E. Wright Middle School. Other places being considered are Viewpoint, Fulbright Elementary, Woodland Hills Elementary West Valley Girls and Boys Club and New Directions for Youth.
The club's first Buddy Bench.
Casino Night Volunteers Are Needed
Auction prep - put together auction baskets and other items, make bid sheets, create master list of items for tracking and close out
Auction set up - On the day of the event, set up auction items and bid sheets at the venue
Auction monitoring and close out - Monitor auction tables through out the event, pick up bid sheets at the end of the auction, assist with collection of funds and delivery of auction items to successful bidders
Venue set up - One the day of the event, set up and decorate prior to the start of the event
Check in table - Check in guests and provide instruction/direction on the night of the event
Your name, email address, phone number and the area(s) you are available to help.
Please indicate if you will be able to help on the day of the event. Remember, if you are playing poker or casino games, you need to tell me that so we won't be counting on you to help during those hours.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Stories
Posted by Jeff Stern
Celebrity Poker Las Vegas Night Fundraiser - June 24
We are only six weeks away from our Second Annual Texas "Hold-Em" Poker Tournament. We need our members to fill at least two tables as WELIFTLA, our cosponsor, has already filled more than five tables! A "sign up" sheet will be passed around at our meetings. I want to THANK Dale, Tom L., Barry, Arturo, Matt, Lynn and Sheri for signing up. A Big Thank You to Lonnie, Surinder, Gwen, and Paul L. for their sponsorships.
I'm asking everyone right to commit to either the $75 Casino and Dinner ticket or the $150 Poker, Casino and Dinner ticket unless you want to commit one of the Table Sponsor levels. REMEMBER that you can win the $2,500, $1,500 or $1,000 in cash prizes for the top three finishers and there will be other great prizes for All the Final Table Finishers. PLEASE invite your relatives, neighbors, friends, and coworkers to this FUN event. Many Great Celebrities have already committed!
Click on the Picture to Access Additional Information on Sponsor Opportunities and to RSVP
Posted by Paul Gross, President-elect
Club's New Lunch Policy
As of July 1—club members will pay the same price whether or not they eat lunch.
The country club requires advanced notice for a lunch when the guest count is more than 25 people. The Rotarian who arranges for the day's speaker will be responsible for overseeing the RSVP process and notifying the country club of the guest count. The club's contact is Rebecca Bauman. She wants to know the number of guests by the Thursday prior to the next meeting. It's also important to ensure that we have the large banquet room for special events and larger crowds.
Posted by Paul Gross, President-elect
Club Assembly on July 5
I am back from the International Convention and feeling a bit tired but also energized! I now understand why the club sends Presidents-elect to the Convention. The magnitude of Rotary, the scope of its reach is hard to comprehend until you see over 40,000 Rotarians from all over the world. I listened and learned, there were many talented presenters and educational breakout sessions. It was quite an experience!
I am excited about my term as your President. We have a great club that my predecessors have worked hard on building to the level we are at. I think it’s important that we as a club evolve and grow and are able to look into the future so there is a vibrant club 10 and 20 years from now.
Our Club Assembly is scheduled for the July 5th meeting, as tradition dictates we would like the committee chairs to speak briefly on what projects or events they are lining up for the year. I think it’s important we get involvement from the club so be prepared as a panel to take questions from the club.
If there are multiple chairs to a committee please meet in person or by phone to do some advanced planning ahead of this meeting.
Posted by Ron Supancic, CFLS
Peace Committee: War on Child Exploitation
Cozette Vergari, District Governor-elect, announced her commitment to protecting exploited children in our community in her opening remarks at the recent District Conference in Carson City. She declared the war on sexual exploitation of children is on. Rotary is throwing its resources, energy, and man power in the direction of ending children slaves in California.
The Woodland Hills Peace Committee was honored by the recognition that they are the first District 5280 Peace Committee to sponsor a Peace Booth at a major fundraising event. We were able to share the information we gathered putting together the Peace Booth at the Annual Arts and Crafts Faire, which generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm from people that passed by the booth, took handout materials, and made inquires into the efforts of Rotary International to work in the direction of world peace on a global basis.
The new District 5280 Peace Chair, Vicky Radal, is to be congratulated for the leadership that she has shown in putting together a District Peace Chair training program, which will be meeting electronically on a quarterly basis to provide inspiration, ideas, and support to the Peace Committees throughout the District.
This is an exciting time for Rotary. Those who attended the Ramadan dinner at the West Valley Islamic Center last night in Canoga Park distinguished themselves in an exemplary manner by explaining why we supported their public outreach, & what Rotarian's are doing on a global basis to further World Peace. Find their website online, register for future events, and you will be delighted to be related to a wonderful new Muslim community at a local mosque that is inviting members of Rotary to find out more about the Islamic faith. Acknowledgement, appreciation, understanding, communication, collaboration, & acceptance are the initial steps to peace worldwide.
Holocaust Survivor Henry Oster
At the April 11 meeting Henry Oster told his compelling, inspiring life story, battling prejudice and the politics of fear as a Holocaust survivor. As a young German boy he survived deprivation in the Lodz Ghetto, a life-or-death selection in the Birkenau extermination camp, a firing squad in Auschwitz, being strafed by an Allied fighter, and starvation in Buchenwald. Henry rebuilt his life in America, arriving at 18 with no family, no English, no money and no education. Of 2,011 Jews uprooted from Cologne, Germany in 1941, he is the only survivor. Henry was still working as a world-respected Professor of Optometry on his 89th birthday, helping the world to see.
Michael Turner ► editor ► bearsworth@earthlink.net
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 ► (818) 344-5776