President Laura welcomed Club Members, Zoom participants and Guests.
Laura talked this morning about the Category Award Criteria that the District puts out. See below. She has touched on this in the past and said that she feels very strongly about achieving as many of the criteria as possible. While not adhering to every criteria on the list (some are just not attainable), she said that our Club has done an outstanding job with most of them. And that "we are that close to finishing". Laura encourages us all to keep these criteria in mind and to keep an eye out for opportunities to complete them such as when committee members meet to discuss an upcoming event. The time spent in these meetings qualify for the criteria.
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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Arun Sharma lead the Invocation this morning.
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Flag Salute
Richard Perini lead us in Saluting our Flag this morning, a Flag that represents the greatest nation on earth.
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James Winstanley welcomed our Guests this morning and they included Ms. Amy Nicholson (Chas Wilson's sister), Mr. Mike Kort (president of the Rotary Club of Simi Sunset), Ms. Gina Truncale and Mr. Brian Park (both Special Guests).
Amy Nicholson with Chas Wilson
Laura with Mike Kort
Gina Truncale
Brian Park
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Zoom was our Greeter
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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.
Laura reminded us that, since we are Dark on Thursday, March 30th, we will be having a Happy Hour at the Junkyard that evening at 6:00 PM. This would be a Buy Your Own Food and Alcohol event. Look forward to seeing you there!
Bill Klepper is coordinating our next Blood Drive on April 6th. Contact Bill to sign up:
Bill Klepper is organizing a way to honor our local school crossing guards on April 19th. He's arranging to have warm drinks delivered to the crossing guards in the morning and cold drinks in the afternoon. He needs help with this so if you can assist, please contact Bill at:
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.
Bill Klepper announced our next Bolio event on April 30th. It's being held at Haley's Valley Bowl, 5255 Cochran. Our Club will pick up the bowling fee so 100% of the $50 entrance fee will go to fighting polio. It will be a fun event involving other Rotary clubs for a great cause. Registration is at 9:00 AM with bowling starting at 10:00 AM. Contact Bill if interested at:
A reminder 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 P. 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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Following are the Club Survey Results
Above is part 1 of the Survey Results. If multiple members suggested the same thing, it was only listed one time.
Above is part 2 of the Survey Results. Again, if multiple members suggested the same improvement, it was only listed one time.
Above is Part 3 of the Survey Results.
Dorina Timbol explaining the Club Survey results that she combed through and published.
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 registertoday 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.
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:
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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“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
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Deb Davila checked in with our fellow Club member, Ryan Valencia, recently. Ryan is currently deployed in the Middle East and Deb asked Ryan if there was anything he or his Unit needed. He said he was being well taken care of but what he suggested we all could do is volunteer with the For The Troops organization. He asked that we gather items from the Wish List posted above and get them packed up and sent overseas.
Deb is coordinating this effort and said that if you didn't have time to purchase items from the Wish List, simply give her a donation and she will make the purchase for you. Deb can be contacted at:
As a follow up to last week's speaker, Gem Munro of the Amarok Society, Laura received the following email:
Dear Laura,
Thank you for inviting Gem to speak to your club, and for your club’s warm reception of him! He had a wonderful time. As a token of gratitude, I have attached the story of Kushi, a Bangladeshi mother who has become a local hero.
We're so pleased to have worked in close partnership with Rotary clubs across North America and in Bangladesh over the past decade. Our partnership together has allowed us to bring education to the most marginalized children on the planet and make education a reality for thousands of people who are now changing the world for the better.
We do not employ professional fundraisers or marketers, and are asking for a donation from each club we visit. While any amount will make a tangible difference to our operations, we’re hoping your club will consider sponsoring a mother-teacher. Every day, this mother will teach at least 5 children everything she’s learned. I have attached a budget that breaks down the cost of adopting a mother.
If you should choose to adopt a mother, we will send your club quarterly updates introducing you to her and the children she teaches, and showing the difference your sponsorship is making.
Thanks for your interest in Amarok Society, and please let me know if there’s any additional information I can provide.
B.J. Anderson asked that we post this announcement.
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:
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!
If you recall, our Club donated funds for the purchase of books for the new Book Vending Machine at Crestview Elementary School. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 6th at 2:00 PM. Laura is encouraging us to attend and represent Simi Sunrise.
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:
Mike Kort, president of the Rotary Club of Simi Sunset, announced their 12th annual Johnna's Tea Party at the Grand Vista Hotel on April 23rd. Mike is looking for volunteers to help out as waiters or donations for the event. His club is also selling raffle tickets for a trip to Italy. The tickets cost $100 with the trip itself valued at $6,500. See Mike Kort for details at:
In celebration of Earth Day on April 27th, Laura announced that several of the Rotary clubs are organizing a clean up of Tierra Rejada. See Laura for details.
Mark your calendars for this year's Rotary Foundation gala on May 13th. It will be held at the Camarillo Airport with more details to follow.
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:
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 16th will be in person at the Best Western Posada Royale at 1775 Madera Road starting at 7:00 AM. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
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