Rotary Fremont – The Experience –Food, Fun, Fellowshipby Linda Bertuzzi  What an extraordinary party held by our Club on Friday, April 27, 2012 at the heart of the Fremont Street Experience! Nearly 200 people in attendance, fabulous food from the Four Queens Hotel (home of this great Club), live music by The Wedge Brothers Band and perfect weather! This was our second annual party downtown and we earmarked this event’s proceeds for our Foundation, which does incredible work within the community and internationally, and the Assistance League Las Vegas “Operation School Bell,” which provides all of the necessities and a lot of love for our disadvantage school kids in Clark County.
The festivities began with Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony presenting a proclamation from the City of Las Vegas announcing April 27, 2012, as Las Vegas Fremont Rotary Day. After a warm welcome from our Club President Dulcinea Almazan, Emcee Kendall Tenney took the stage where he unveiled his singing talent with a rendition of “The Gambler,” followed by an update of Rotary’s PolioPlus campaign from the returning India NID team members. The silent auction ran throughout the evening with fabulous baskets of wine, sporting items, trips, autographed books, dining certificates, and golf outings. Our live auction headed by Paul Workman included a hot air balloon ride from Sheldon Grauberger, a personal tour and dinner for 8 at Dr. Lonnie Hammargren’s home, Front Sight Firearm’s Training, autographed wine and gin bottles with stemware by Mayor Carolyn Goodman and former Mayor Oscar Goodman, and a slot machine from United Coin. And, we can’t forget the Shutterbooth sponsored by PP Linda Bertuzzi & Fundraising by Randy where some very creative memories took place! Nothing Bundt Cakes was nothing but delicious and the 300 bundtinis were devoured within a matter of hours. Thank you to all of our amazing donors & sponsors! As evening took hold, the Fremont Experience light canopy began to warm up - the Rotary Wheel danced down the middle announcing our event, followed by the parade of sponsor’s logos, and ending with hundreds of bigger-than-life photos of the bigger-than-life projects our Club has been a part of throughout the years. Thank you to Megan Conklin, Fremont Street Experience Marketing Manager, for her role in our party’s success. We danced the evening away until the end and enjoyed the company of visiting Rotarians, visiting international judges, and local dignitaries – not to mention each other! Thank you to the incredible committee who spearheaded this event – Co-chairs Robin Smith and Carla Smith, along with Past Presidents Gary Prater, Geoff Holmes, Linda Bertuzzi, Albert Guida, Jim Main, Allen Puliz, Drew Levy, and Dulcinea Almazan. A note of thanks, too, to Ken Swanson, AG Randy Pote, our check-in and ticket sales team and every individual who donated time and service for our event. Check out the photos on our Facebook page and for a limited time your photo booth pictures are available at Shutterbooth. See you next year! Russian Judges Visit Las Vegas Fremont Rotaryby Gary Prater 
April 24th we hosted Russian Judges Irina Fedolova, Ilgar Kuliyev, Talgat Gadelshin, Zemfira Zamaletdinova and Andrey Gerasimov, along with facilitator Larisa Shatova and interpretors Alexander Shepel and Dr. Victor Udin. Through their interpreters, our visiting judges thanked our club for the warm welcome and hospitality being shown to them during their visit to Las Vegas; several of them expressing the desire to return to get to know us better. They all expressed their admiration for our openness, friendliness, and one even exclaimed she had fallen in love with us.
One of the Russian judges commented that the burden to represent Russia with only five representatives is a heavy responsibility. He said further that, "a constitution is not only a reflection of compromise, but the will of the people and the responsibility of judge appointment is huge, whether American or Russian." The judge further said that, due to the experiences of the Open World program, the returning judges have been instrumental in improving the Russian judicial system over the last 10 years with the implementation of jury trials and new positions of Justice of the peace. Arcadia High Student Wins Arcadia Rotary Hensel Ethics Contestby Anne Donofrio-Holter 
Congratulations to Arcadia High School senior Eric Fornaciari, the winner of this year's Arcadia Rotary Club George R. Hensel Ethics Essay Contest. "As Rotarians, we believe that ethics is, and should be, a part of our everyday lives," said Dr. Brad Miller, Arcadia Rotary Club president. The contest, founded and fully funded by late Montebello club member George Hensel, was designed to challenge high school students to analyze ethical issues and concerns confronting them in today's complex world. The purpose of the contest, in its twelfth year, is to promote the importance of ethics among today's youth, to encourage them to express their views, and to fulfill Rotary's commitment to vocational service. Open to all high school students in Rotary District 5300, the contest serves as an opportunity for students to win scholarships as well as a venue for youth to express their views on ethics. It is hoped the contest will promote healthy dialog between adults and youth in this area. "Other Rotary district contests attract musicians and public speakers, the so-called performers of the world," said a district spokesperson. "This is a contest for those whose talents are not usually displayed in public, those who can write well." The essay must be between 500 and 1,000 words and must be an original, unpublished work of the student. Essays are judged on composition, content, and creativity. With the contest's overall theme of "ethics in general," Fornaciari’s essay titled “Integrity or Friendship,” describes a situation where a strong friendship is weakened due to a temporary lapse in judgment by one of the friends. “It goes on to describe how eventually I had to back off the friendship in order to maintain my integrity,” said Fornaciari. Fornaciari is an Eagle Scout and has been active in water polo and soccer for the past three years. He is Publicity Commissioner of the school’s Senior Men and Women Leadership and Service group and served as the 2011 Relay for Life team captain. Future plans include attending UCLA this September to study computer science. “Eric is a wonderful student ready to graduate from Arcadia High School,” said Assistant Principal Catherine Merel. “Thank you for giving our students an opportunity to express their opinions in such a meaningful way.” Fornaciari will continue to represent the club as the contest continues and had advanced to the third level of the competition at the time of publication. The overall winning essay will be presented at Rotary District 5300’s conference this June where the winning contestant will be awarded a $3,000 scholarship. Covina Rotary Club Supports Educational Scholarshipby Lisa Brabo 
Each year in perpetuity, a needy student will receive a $1,000 scholarship for attendance at Mt. San Antonio College. This scholarship is the result of a $13,334 contribution from the Covina Rotary Club and $6,667 matching funds from the Bernard Osher Foundation. “We all realize that a fine education is a fundamental need for everyone in today’s competitive world,” says Dr. Jim Teal, the Covina Rotarian who spearheaded this project. “The benefits of Rotary largess are durable, long lasting, and important to our society.” Lisa Sugimoto, Interim Executive Director of the Mt. San Antonio College Foundation, stated that, “This gift makes it possible for one of our needy and deserving students to receive a scholarship that will help them progress to their educational goal. It is a gift of education, and a gift of hope.” Ushuaia Projectby Tracy Wirthes 
The Rotary Club of Rancho Cucamonga just completed an international matching grant project in Ushuaia, Argentina last January. Club Foundation director, John Lerias, and his wife Carolyn visited the regional hospital in Ushuaia where audiology and other hospital equipment purchased by Rotary were utilized. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world located in the province of Tierra del Fuego at the bottom tip of South America. The hospital is in dire need of modern medical equipment especially in treating patients with hearing problems. The visit was attended by the Provincial Governor and Secretary of Health along with several club members. The local television media was on hand to cover the event. The cost of the equipment purchased was around $ 23,000. Besides the Rancho Cucamonga club and District 5300, the Rotary Club of Ushuaia and their District 4930 provided funding along with the Chalakudy South club and their District 3201 from India. This was truly an international project with funding sources from three continents plus Rotary International. New Satellite Rotary Clubby Margaret Cooker 
The first new members were inducted in the Adelanto Satellite Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of Victorville was selected as a participant in the RI Satellite Pilot Project. The current president of the Victorvlle club, Charles Gehrke, has been working diligently with the Adelanto community leaders, and the first members of the new Adelanto Satellite Club were inducted on May 1st at the Rotary Club of Victorville. This club has its own dues structure, as well as its own meeting schedule, and the new club looks forward to making a difference in their community. The new members are: Amy Byrnes, NW Pipe & VP of the Adelanto Chamber of Commerce, Ed Camargo, Councilman, Jim Hart, City Manager, and Cari Thomas, Riverside Preparatory & Mayor of the City of Adelanto, Jerry Cradduck, Principal of Adelanto High School, Stephanie La Ferriere, Director of Curriculum for Tylion Virtual Academy, Jackie Martin, JMCO Promotional Items, and Teri Ortega, HD Marketing Manager for Desert Community Bank. Awaiting approval/induction are Jose Dominguez and Donna Landry, Director of Administrative Operations for AESD, Isabel Bannon, Branch Manager of DCB, Fran Chevalier, Noble Realty Group, Evelyn Glasper, Trustee of VVUHSD, Bob Wright, retired law enforcement, and Jermaine Wright, MJ Services. Congratulations to this infusion of enthusiasm and service. San Gabriel Valley New Generation Rotary Club Chartersby Christine Montan  On April 20, 2012, the San Gabriel Valley New Generation became the newest addition to the Rotary Clubs in District 5300, receiving their charter from Rotary International. With 30 members all between the ages of 25 and 35, they are, as President Will Kelso likes to boast, “ the new face of Rotary.”
Already the club has partnered with their sponsoring Rotary Club of Alhambra to do hands-on community and international service projects. They participated in the Adopt a Family Christmas Program, the Easter Basket for Families program, where they did the deliveriess, and were the best labor ever in the work day creating the the Organic Garden Project for the developmentally disabled teen students enrolled in the Alhambra Unified School District LIFT program. On May 19th, three members attended the Corazon Super Build project in Tecate, Mexico, as their first hands-on international service project. The first club fund-raiser is a community-wide large scale Yard Sale planned for June 9. A Charter Night Celebration is scheduled for Sunday afternoon July 8, 2012. Rotarians wishing to make-up are encouraged to attend one of their club meetings. They meet at Frontera's Mexican Grille on Main Street in Alhambra Thursday nights at 6pm, with the meeting starting at 6:30 f and running an hour in length. As they develop their own new traditions, they've decided to have Board meetings on the first Thursday of each month, and a strictly social event on the last Thursday. See their website (www.sgvrotary.org) and Facebook page for more information! Welcome New Generations Rotarians to the Family of Rotary! Will There Be Seconds?by C. Ray Carlson, Chair District 5300 Vocational Service (2010-2013) Last February I volunteered one night at a bad weather shelter in a church gymnasium in Pasadena. As I entered the dark courtyard, I heard babies whimpering and crying but couldn't see them until my eyes got used to the dark. There were eight mothers sitting on benches with babies in their arms, waiting to enter the gym at 7 pm. I was assigned to scooping salad onto plates of lasagna and placing them on the counter for collection by the homeless. After the mothers and their kids had been fed, they were bussed to another church to spend the night. At 8 pm the large crowd of 200 other homeless that had gathered outside were allowed to enter in single file, frisked by hefty security men and a woman for knives and guns and drugs. As they came for the plates of food, I tried to keep smiling as I looked at their faces and could only see hopelessness in their eyes. A few said ‘Thank you.’ Most were just glum. Some, looking at the portions on the plates, asked ‘Will there be seconds?’ I was glad when someone behind me shouted ‘Yes!’ They were obviously very hungry. I wondered if we had enough food. If not, could only 3 security people control the crowd? Even worse was word that the bad weather shelter would cease March 1st, though there would be many cold nights thereafter. But far worse was the revelation that there would be no shelter at all next winter! No funds from the City of Pasadena! And the number of homeless this winter had increased to an estimated 1,200. Where were the other thousand that night? A friend, Andy, who had invited me to volunteer, asked if Rotary Clubs might donate money and volunteer? I suggested to a leader of the shelter program that they solicit donations of $12/bed-&-supper. Rotarians could cover many nights. And among the 200,000 residents of Greater Pasadena there must be many potential donors if we Rotarians promote the need. I recalled how Past R.I. President Herbert J Taylor and his wife started a soup kitchen near downtown Chicago during the Great Depression. Though president of a 254-employee factory, Taylor personally served food alongside a few others to the long lines of hungry and unemployed. We along with 33,000 Rotary Clubs recite his 4-Way Test every week. ‘Is it beneficial to all concerned?’ is one of those ways. The needs around us and around the world are enormous, and we Rotarians have endless opportunities for Vocational Service Above Self. Our District’s growing Job Creation & Entrepreneurship program is one every Rotarian can participate in, sharing our business-savvy with the New Generation who are struggling to find jobs in this grim economy. We are teaching them how to write business plans so that some will actually start a business some day and create jobs for themselves and others. Let’s get involved early in the new Rotary year. Here and abroad. |
