As we enter the last two months of our Rotary year, I fondly look back at all we’ve accomplished and look forward to all that’s yet to come. We’ve been lucky to have a great team of helpful and generous leaders. We welcomed several new members this year. Our total membership number isn’t important. We remain the largest club in the SFV. I’m happy to report that all new members have taken an interest in what Rotary stands for and have become involved in our club’s activities. We all need to think about inviting new members to our club who are qualified with Rotary’s best interests in mind.
On April 21st many members attended Taft High School’s Fashion Show put on by L’Atelier, an inclusive program that provides a career-based education by offering real world experiences where students can practice and perfect skills necessary to achieve success in any workplace. The kids designed, and made the clothing. The students who modeled looked like professional models.Thanks Matt Schaaf for coordinating this event and our relationship with Taft High School.
Our Rotary 48th Arts & Crafts Faire’s success was due to the efforts of PDG Jay Saltzman and his committee. The event was April 22nd and 23rd at the Promenade parking lot. Many new vendors participated. Thanks to all members who volunteered for this event. Thank you Jay!
On April 26th, many members enjoyed dinner at Cocina Condesa in Studio City where the owner returned 40% of the proceeds to our Foundation. We earned $220 that night! Thanks to all who joined in. Our monthly dinners on the last Wednesday of each month have replaced the daytime meeting once per month. This is a great opportunity to invite guests to meet the members in a social setting.
Upcoming events:
May 2nd Board Meeting and Foundation board meeting at Sheri Polak’s house at 6 p.m. (Foundation meeting starts at 7:30) All who are interested may attend! Board members, please attend! Thanks Sheri, for letting us meet at your home all year+!
May 3rd Meeting – Woodland Hills Country Club – noon – 1 p.m. - The Rotterdam University Business School professor who visited the Club last year is back in Los Angeles with a faculty colleague and 20 bright new students. They are pursuing their exploration of the Los Angeles area on bicycles and will tell us all about what they have learned. Just prior to the meeting at 11 a.m., we will be holding our first Halloween Family Faire Committee meeting run by yours truly! (yes, that’s me!) I’m looking for help in all areas. Attend the meeting if you’d like to help!
May 4 – 7th District Conference in Lake Arrowhead. Many members will enjoy enjoy the camaraderie over the weekend and learn about other club’s projects that we can bring back to our club, and vice-versa. There are several break-out sessions as well.
May 10th Meeting – Woodland Hills Country Club – noon – 1 p.m. – Craig and Fiona Huxley – father and daughter, are leading a movement to save elephants. Craig is a Emmy winning film producer and American Grammy nominee musician and soundtrack producer who has been involved in a wide range of entertainment projects.
May 17th Meeting – Woodland Hills Country Club – Noon to 1:30 (yes, that’s not a typo) - It’s a double header! Holocaust survivor shares his story and Topanga Station LAPD Officers of the Quarter awards. The West Valley Warner Center Chamber will join us. Please let Dale Barnes know if you plan on bringing guests so we can alert the Country Club.
May 24th Meeting – Woodland Hills Country Club – noon – 1 p.m. - Javier Piñeda, our exchange student from Chile, will be sharing his experiences with us, and we may see a dance routine as well! Our club continues to support the student exchange program as this brings awareness to high school kids about Rotary and opportunities to visit another part of the world.
May 31st – Evening dinner social (and all day!) - Angel’s City Café will donate 30% of proceeds collected that day to our Foundation. They are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Our club members like to eat together from 6 – 7:30 p.m. This is closer to home so let’s have a great turnout please! This is an easy way to fund raise!
June 24th – Poker Tournament Fundraiser! Jeff Stern leads the way to our second annual Poker Tournament fundraiser with We Lift LA. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the Woodland Hills Country Club. Don’t play poker? That’s okay, there’s a casino too! Poker buy in is $150. Casino tickets are $75. Want to get involved? Come to the planning meeting immediately following the club meeting on Wednesdays. We need sponsors, silent auction items, players and celebrity players . Thanks Jeff, for taking this on again! It was highly successful last year as a first year event. Let’s make it bigger this year!
June 28th - Demotion Dinner at North Ranch Country Club - all members in good standing attend this annual fun event for free. Guests are $40 per person. Don’t miss it! Invitations will be mailed. Thanks Jill, Sandy and Lynn for planning!
Check our website for our calendar of events at www.Whrotary.org! (Don’t forget to tell you friends about our “donate now” button!) Donations gladly accepted! Having a birthday, anniversary, graduation? That would be a nice time to make a donation. That helps fund our projects!
Important regarding lunch meeting costs: Effective July 1, 2017, non-eaters will be required to pay $15 to attend instead of $10. Lunches for members will remain at $20. Please come and eat lunch as we need to meet a weekly minimum amount of eaters at the Country Club weekly.
Everyone should try to bring guests to our meetings so they can see all we do in the community and in the world! Let’s keep building our membership so we can continue on our journey.
Thanks again to all of you who continue to make our club successful!
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