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Rotopinion

February 15, 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 

I hope you had a Happy Valentine’s Day!
 
I want to share with you the wonderful experience I encountered on our District’s Humanitarian trip to Merida, Yucatan last month.
 
I was lucky to be one of 130 Rotarians from our District who had the opportunity to participate in an annual Humanitarian Trip from January 25 – January 30 to Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Members Eva Hainer, Matt Schaaf and Wendy, Arturo and Sandra Velasquez participated as well. We planted trees, gave away 100 water filters and 100 backpacks full of school supplies for the kids. Some Rotarians painted a preschool and helped install playground equipment. Prior to Rotary, the kids played in a rock pile in the backyard!       We provided sewing machines, supplies and paid rent for one year for a business start-up.  We gave $12,000 in medical and dental equipment as well as supplies to a traveling medical team. We also provided a school with musical instruments.
 
The areas we visited were very poor and the people were very appreciative. There was trash everywhere and stray dogs. It was quite a sight. Our evenings were filled with good old fashioned Rotary camaraderie. Our District raised $90,000 and the local district in Mexico spent another $40,000 on these projects. This was a very rewarding trip! We could see where our money is spent! A special thanks to Arturo and Sandra Velasquez for helping organize a great trip! Next year’s trip will be to Columbia at the end of March. I highly recommend this trip to all Rotarians.
 
CPA Panel our Feb. 1 meeting, just in time for tax season!
Anything that you wanted to know about taxes, but were afraid to ask, were answered by our member CPAs Frank Rappaport, Kim Wall, Steve Hornstein, and Rabia Dahal. We heard about various retirement plans, general tax changes in 2016, the benefits of hiring your kids, and how to prepare for your tax appointment to make the best use of your time with a CPA. Thanks team!  Great job! Thanks Michelle Goldwater, for opening the meeting as Rotarian of the Day.
 
Officers of the Quarter Feb. 8 meeting
Wow! What a turnout!  We invited the West Valley and Warner Center Chamber of Commerce to participate and we had 100 people attend our meeting, including 30 members of the chamber! We honored the LAPD Topanga Station’s officers and staff who brought their families to celebrate the occasion. A representative from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office also gave out beautiful certificates. Nothing Bundt Cakes provided gifts to the five honored members of the police department.
 
The reason we included the Chamber is our members are a bit remiss at showing support at this quarterly event. There’s a good possibility we will continue this joint event going forward. The feedback I heard from guests was very positive. We are in contact with several prospective members from this meeting. Thanks to Paul Lawler for being our Rotarian of the Day. A special thanks to Eva Hainer and Michelle Goldwater who worked with RSVPs and collected from the masses at the door. Thanks to Marty Fentress for bringing us this program!
 
On Sunday, February 11 Sheri Polak organized the preparation and delivery of Valentine’s Day Cards to West Hills Health & Rehab Center. Four boys and staff from Pacific Boys’ Lodge made the cards along with Jeff and Barbara Stern, Alberto Solares, Eva Hainer, Linda and Harvey Tapper, Penny Leon, and Sheri Polak. They were delivered by Sheri, Eva, Alberto, Elegance, Michelle Goldwater and three boys from the Lodge. Hearts melted! Thanks gang!  You made a difference in several people’s lives!
 
February 22 at 6:30 p.m. will be our monthly night event at Pinot’s Palette in Westlake Village.  The fee is $30 per person. Feel free to bring guests. Lots of fun to be shared! Here’s the link to sign-up and pay ahead of time: www.pinotspalette.com/westlakevillage/event/119351  Thanks Arturo Velasquez and Patti Jo Wolfson for organizing this event!
 
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!
 
Since it’s officially tax season, you can expect short, sweet and to the point President’s messages between now and April 18!
 
I hope to see you soon! Let’s keep the meeting attendance high so we can continue to grow our great club!
 
Thanks to all of you who make us thrive!
 
Yours in Rotary Service,

President Diane

Tax Preparation: An Accountants' Panel on Getting Ready for Filing Your Taxes
By Michael Turner, M.S. and Photo by Neal Goldman
Well, it’s that time of the year to prepare for filing your income taxes on April 18. Yes, you get three more days because April 17 is a federal holiday in Washington, D.C. As you sort through your boxes and files, here are some tips to follow from a panel of CPAs who delivered their presentation to the Club on February 1.
 
Frank Rapaport recommended taking advantage of making contributions to your retirement funds. This is important because when you begin withdrawing money you will pay a lower tax rate. Each plan has different rules and a CPA can review them with you. In addition, at 59½ you can begin taking contributions. However, if take them earlier you will pay a 10% penalty. Remember, that at 70 you must begin taking the required to withdraw the minimal amount if there is a 50% penalty.
 
Steve Hornstein said that hiring children can be beneficial in terms of tax benefits. You can pay them up to the standard deduction and the money can be placed in a Roth IRA. The one caveat, they must do meaningful tasks geared to their ages. Ask your account what that means.  One of the things that Steve did was to have if kids appear in a cable TV ad and he paid them a $1,000 each.
 
Penalties for not filing on time, not having health insurance and not filing a tax return can lead to your passport being revoked, said Rabia Dahal. If you are a Porter Ranch resident were affected by the Aliso Canyon gas leak, the money that was given to Porter Ranch residents by SoCalGas is tax free.  This year the threshold for medical deductions is 10%. In addition, compensation is down for both nonprofit volunteering and business mileage. California laws conform with federal laws in terms of foreign investments.
 
When you are ready to meet with your accountant have all the information organized that will be needed for filing your return, said Kim Wall. Forget the shoe boxes or bags full of receipts and forms. Most CPAs will provide an organizer that will make the task easier. You need to have support materials for all deductions. In addition, have a list of questions prepared that you want to ask your accountant.
 
The bottom line is that being prepared is key to making it easy to prepare your tax returns. If you do not have an accountant, please talk to one of the panelists to see if he or she is a good fit for you.

Eva Hainer delivering a Valentine's Day card to a resident at the West Hills Rehab & Health Center.

The tax panel with CPAs Frank Rapapport (l to r), Steve Hornstein, Rabia Dahal, & Kim Wall.
 
 
 
 
Executives & Directors
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Art Pfefferman
February 5
 
John Whitmore
February 9
 
Sandy Rosenholz
February 17
 
Sherry Martin
February 25
 
Jerry Athans
February 26
 
Join Date
Alberto Solares
February 18, 2015
2 years
 
Steven Prakash
February 25, 2009
8 years
 
Bulletin Editor
Michael Turner
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
ClubRunner
Stories
Paint & Sip Fundraiser - February 22, 2017
Note: To RSVP click on the Flyer or Call 818-402-9808 - This is an evening meeting. We will not meet at noon.

 
 
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Around the Club

Around the Club - Topanga Officers and Staff are Honored

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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February 28 District Breakfast
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2017 District Conference Lake Arrowhead
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Michael Turner, editor ► michael@bearsworth.com
 
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 ► (818) 344-5776