Jeff Stern and Lois Koch at Nicola's during the July Rotary Night Out.
From the Desk of Dale...
Dear Rotary Club of Woodland Hills,
I am so thrilled we are off to such a great start! We are well underway into our new Rotary year.
My first meeting as President went well, and I assumed you all forgot your normal tradition when no one walked out on me! However, SURPRISE, week 2 you all walked out. I was surprised!
We had our first board meeting in July, and already, your Avenue of Service Chairs are hard at work. Our club will be taking the lead in a project that will be a reverse global grant to fight human trafficking. Community, Youth and Vocational Service will be contributing to that project. If you have not already joined a committee, please do so! As an active member of our club, you will get the most out of it by actively participating in an Avenue of Service.
August is Rotary Membership Month. All Rotarians are ambassadors of Rotary and their clubs. This is especially relevant during Membership Month in August, when the focus is on building strong, vibrant clubs by inviting prospective members to join Rotary. If everyone agrees to invite someone to visit our club, we are sure to get more members, making our club stronger than it already is. Think about why you joined Rotary. We all had our own reasons, but came together for a common cause. I joined Rotary because I was really looking for a way to give back to the community and to be in a world wide organization that provided service to those in need. The membership committee is not just the two membership chairs for our club. EVERY ONE of us is on the membership committee and is responsible for building our club. With each new member we get fresh ideas and new opportunities. Let’s do this together!
August 8th, Joe Vasquez, our District Governor will be visiting our club. Our Board of Directors will meet with Joe prior to the meeting. Joe will be our program. Let’s get a great turnout and have everyone in attendance on August 8th.
Let’s BE THE INSPIRATION!
Yours in Rotary Service,
Dale
MEMBERSHIP MONTH
Why I Chose Rotary
In honor of Rotary Membership Month, let's hear from some Rotarians on why they chose to get involved in Rotary...in their own words.
Arturo Velasquez: I joined Rotary because I’m being so blessed living in this country that I wanted to give back to the people in need around the world. I found out that Rotary International was the best organization to do this not only internationally but also locally.
Neil Sokoler: I joined the Rotary Club of Woodland Hills as their 'youngest' member in February 1991. The members impressed me as a truly selfless group committed to doing good work within our community and beyond.
At that time we were discouraged from soliciting business within the group.
We were encouraged to devote all our energies to promoting the Rotary motto, 'Service above self.' Our members devotion of time, energy and funding made a lasting impression on me.
Bryna Hornstein: I got involved with Rotary through my husband telling me about this trip to India in January of 2005. Once I went on this trip and saw all the good Rotary does in the world I was hooked. Rotary has been a part of our lives through marriage and kids and will continue to indefinitely. It's great to give back and show our kids the importance of doing community service.
Lynn Miller: An acquaintenance recommended it highly as an organization that gives freely and world wide. My first meeting confirmed that.
I felt an immmediate connection in many many ways!
Michelle Goldwater: Rotary to me is people helping people to create a positive change in their lives with kindness and compassion, love, knowledge and peace. On a personal level, my fellow Rotarians are more than an extension of Family, they are my Family, and I’m deeply honored and proud to be a part of it.
Lonnie Mintz: My parents have been Rotarians for almost two decades. However, I joined Rotary International to help give back to the community where I was raised, live and work. I specifically joined the Rotary Club of Woodland Hills as its members are altruistic, giving caring and dedicated to the betterment of not only our community and city, but throughout the world. Our members are passionate about helping those in need or in distress and it's a truly amazing feeling to be a part of this amazing organization!
Judy Corcoran: I choose to join because a friend of mine was a member. I really enjoyed it and joined. Now I live in Williamsburg VA but I’ll always remember the good times I had in Rotary.
'Peace in the South Bay'
Celebrates Int'l Peace Day
Inspired by the success of our club's interfaith clergy panels promoting peace, District 5280 is sponsoring an event modeled on ours - Peace In The South Bay! The event features Rabbi Leah Lewis of Temple Menorah, Iman Jihad Saafir of Islah Los Angeles, Buddhist Patt Heckman of Soka Gakkai International and Dr. Reinhard Krauss , Executive Director of the Christian, Judaic, Islamic Institute. Cost in advance is $25, and $35 at the door. For more information, contact Past District Governor Vicki Radel at drvictoriaradel@cs.com
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Stories
Posted by Barry Verga
A Day in Ojai on April 28
Here is the tentative itinerary:
10 a.m. ► Meet at Ojai Olive Oil Company ►1811 Ladera Road ► 93023 ► 805-646-5964 ►www.ojaioliveoil.com
11 a.m. ►Krishnamurti Foundation of America ►1130 McAndrew Road ► 93023 ► 805-746-2171 ►www.kfa.org
Noon ► Lunch and optional wine tasting at Boccali’s ► 3277 Ojai-Santa Paula Road ►93023 ► 805-646-6116 ►www.boccalis.com
1:30 p.m. ► Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts ►8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road ► 93023 ► 805-646-3381 ►www.beatricewood.com
3 p.m. ► Explore downtown Ojai or visit Ojai Valley Museum of Art and History ► 130 W. Ojai Ave. ► 93023
4 p.m. ► Wine Tasting and music at Topa Mountain Winery ► 821 W. Ojai Avenue ►93023 ►www.TOPAMOUNTAINWINERY.COM
Note: times are approximate
If you are staying overnight, here are some activities on Sunday:
► Farmers Market downtown Ojai ► 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
► Ojai Valley Museum of Art and History ► A special exhibit called Scorched Souls showing works by Ojai artists in response to the Thomas Fire ► 130 W. Ojai Ave. Ojai, CA ►805-640-1390 ►www.valleymuseum.org► Sun 12-4 p.m.
► Meditation Mount, 10340 Reeves Road ► 93023 ► 805-646-5508 ► www.meditationmount.org► (Call to see if reopened due to the Thomas fire). A great view of the Valley!
► Help A Horse Day Festival and Fundraiser for California Coastal Horse Rescue ► 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. ► 600 W. Lomita Ave. ► 805-649-1090 ►www.calcoastalhorserescue.com. It’s a family fun event with equine training demonstration, food trucks, a beer garden, live music, etc.
Fleet Street Planning: Contribute Your Ideas
We will start planning our event again next fall and I will definitely reach out to you for ideas. We thought the bikes and the passports were a great addition and that the kids probably go more out of it because of it. We hold it in February because we spread out our environmental initiatives throughout the school year. In April we have "Earth Week" at the elementary schools and it aligns with our theme for the year. We are a small committee of teachers, administrators and parents so we need to spread activities out or we will burn out! Contact Dana at danaesq@earthlink.net.
I would like to know if information is presently available with regard to process and protocol, and identifying schools, enrolling schools, and installing Buddy Benches in the community.
I think there are four stages to the process:
First, we should send a letter of congratulations when we have identified a school that has agreed to be a candidate for the installation of a Buddy Bench.
Second, we should schedule a meeting with the principal, the parents, and the students to explain and explore concerns they might have about the installation of a Buddy Bench and how it's to be used.
Third, we need to have an installation of the bench with a training offered to the facility, parents, as well as the student council, so that both children and faculty know how the Buddy Bench is to be used.
The fourth step is in the auditorium for the school, to announce to the school that the Buddy Bench is present, the Buddy Bench has been installed, and now anyone that wants to learn more about the Buddy Bench can be trained. And at that time, we should have some kind of a brochure that we pass out, so that everyone understands what it is, what it's for, and how it's to be used.
An additional fifth step is the follow-up protocol to meet with the school from time to time on a regular basis to determine:
Has the Buddy Bench been used?
Has it been used successfully?
Has there been any interest in the Buddy Bench Program?
Where do we stand with regard to offering this to other schools?
Those are my thoughts. I'd like to hear whether this has already been accomplished. Thank you for keeping me in the loop. E-mail me if you have any questions further in this regard.
Click on image for information on the District Conference
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.
Ernie Koneck ► editor ► emkoneck@gmail.com
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 ► (818) 738-0982