ABOUT THE ROTARY CLUB OF SANTA BARBARA

The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara was chartered by Rotary International on January 1, 1918 and has been serving those in need in Santa Barbara, our region, and the world since. Our Club Members are dedicated to community service projects, both at home and abroad, including supporting foster youth in Santa Barbara County, working with Mayan families in Guatemala, and more. Rotary Club of Santa Barbara members are a diverse group of local leaders in business, non-profits, education, government, and more.

Are you interested in making Santa Barbara, and the world a better place. Join our next meeting and talk with members about how to get involved!
RECENT ROTARY NEWS
From the President's desk
Dear $NICK_NAME$,
 
It takes a village...or a Rotary Club!  What so many of you past presidents out there are aware of, this is a very challenging job to take on, especially when you are also trying to manage a company, care for aging parents and a daughter getting married! 
Many of you have been there, and I want to express how grateful I am to all of you who have stepped up and stepped in to help-many times last minute-I appreciate you! There is also the matter of Rotary business at hand-WE HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO AS A CLUB!  After attending International meetings and reading about all of the cool projects that Rotary is involved with all over the world, it puzzles me why our little Rotary club of Santa Barbara is struggling. That said-we can't get discouraged-ROTARY is so much bigger than US! we need to keep moving forward and leading by example-and we need to do this together!  If you think a meeting sounds interesting-INVITE A FRIEND! If you would like to see a change the way we do something-LETS GO HAVE COFFEE!  If you see an opening in our board-STEP UP TO THE PLATE! If you are on the board, and need some help-CONTACT YOUR COMMITEE! If you are on a committee (and everyone should be) and your chairperson reaches out-ANSWER THE CALL!  I will say one other thing: We have so many interesting and wonderful individuals that make up our club sometimes it's hard to remember to put PRINCIPLES ABOVE PERSONALITIES always.  
 
Speaking of amazing projects that our club proudly supports...We are looking forward to seeing you all Next Friday, October 17th as we hear from Elena (Ellie) Wason of Co-Executive Director of Natun Guatemala!  You may also want to join us at a Wine & Cheese reception Thursday evening before for Ellie at Bill & Bonnie Duttons home at 6297 Parkhurst Drive, Goleta from 4:30-6:00p.m, on Thursday October 16th 
 
 
Also be sure to join us for Happy Hour This Friday, October 10th at the Jill's Place, downtown!
Signing Off from Prez Jim
 
 
 
Hello my Fellow Rotarians,
 
This will be my last message as your President.  Tomorrow, Jennifer officially will become our President.  I am sure she will take the club a long way with her enthusiasm and energy.  And I am sure that all of you will give her your support throughout the year.
 
As I close out my year, I am amazed at the many things our club was able to accomplish during the year.  Among the highlights for me were the following:
  • Our great trivia night that raised monies for victims of the fires in Los Angeles County
  • Reinstituting the Holiday party at Timbers Restaurant
  • Continuing to honor four teachers with plaques and checks for $1000 to help buy supplies for their classrooms
  • Providing grants from our charitable foundation to four amazing local non-profit organizations
  • Raising over $3000 to help foster children during the holidays
  • Sending two high school students to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program
  • Securing a matching Rotary District grant to help with literacy programs in Guatemala
  • Sending a club delegation once again to Guatemala and contributing $5000 to Natun
  • Some great volunteer efforts like club members volunteering for Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army bell ringing, and conducting mock interviews for the Boys and Girls Clubs.
We also had some great programs during the year, including hosting Santa Mayor Randy Rowse, political commentator Jerry Roberts, and Noozhawk publisher Bill MacFayden.
 
And we also had some great opportunities for fellowship, including weekly Friday Happy hours and trivia games at meetings, and special get togethers such as the recent potluck for a visiting Rotarian family from Italy.
 
As I look back over the past year, I am so grateful to so many of our members who pitched in to help our club have a wonderful year.  And I beseech you to try and do more.  Don’t be bashful about volunteering to do your part to make our club successful.  The more involvement we have from everyone, even if it’s just taking on one small role, the more successful our club will become.
 
Thanks so much for the opportunity to serve.
 
Jim
From Almost Past Prez Jim
 
Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our annual Step Down party last Friday night at the University Club.  Our program was hosted by master emcee Michael Baker, and arrangements we handled by Marlee King and Jim Stretchberry amongh others. The food was great, as was the fellowship and humor. And it was also a good night to reflect upon the last year in Rotary and the many things we accomplished.

The Step Down party was also a great chance to induct our new President Jennifer LeMert, who will officially take office on July 1.  Jen will bring lots of high energy to the job, and I know she will have a fantastic year.  And I also know that all of our members will step up and support her, as you have done for me.

This week, Jennifer is attending the Rotary International convention in Calgary along with several thousand Rotarians from nearly 200 countries. For me, the Rotary RI convention was an incredible way to see the breadth and impact of Rotary upon the world.  I am sure Jen will have a similar reaction. Here's a photo she updated today from Calgary:
 

Jennifer’s first meeting will be on Friday, July 11 in which she will lay out her plans for the next year in a Club Assembly.  I hope you will plan on making the meeting so we can see what she has in store for the next Rotary year.

Enjoy your week.

Jim
Counting Down the Days from Prez Jim
Happy Monday fellow Rotarians,

Hope you all enjoyed our beautiful Father’s Day weekend.  The sun has finally come out, and hopefully, “June Gloom” may be coming to an end.

This Saturday was a busy Rotary day for me.  During the day, I attended District Governor Sherry Sim’s Step Down event in Orcutt.  This was an event to celebrate not only Sherry’s year of service, but also the great work done by many of our fellow clubs.  It was a wonderful experience to connect with many of the other clubs in our District and hear about some incredible work that has been accomplished this year.

On Saturday night, Matt and Stacey hosted Rotarian Serena Carra and her husband Johnathan Vinet from Modena, Italy. Serena is attending a scientific conference at UCSB during the month of June and they decided to bring their two boys and enjoy Santa Barbara as a family.  It was great talking to them about their experiences in Santa Barbara and about their lives in Italy.  Thanks so much to Stacey and Matt for hosting such a nice event.  It was also a good reminder to connect with fellow Rotarians when you travel abroad.
 
 

We do not have a regular meeting this week, since we will be having our annual Step Down event on Friday night at the University Club.  Really hope you can make it as we celebrate a year of many accomplishments and cheer on Jennifer as she starts her club presidency.  Make sure you sign up on Club Runner so we can have an accurate count.

Enjoy your week and hope to see you Friday evening.
 
Jim

CLUB MEETINGS

Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Meeting

First and third Friday of each month.


Costa Kitchen and Bar at the Mar Monte Hotel

1111 East Cabrillo, Santa Barbara, CA 
View our Calendar to see upcoming meeting dates.
Time: 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

UPCOMING EVENTS